Fight 4 Us (Book 9): Settlement

by Grenda, Brian

  Bobby G asks, “What are we taking?”

  I look at Bobby G and answer, “Everything. I’m done worrying about this place.”

  CHAPTER 7

  YOU REALLY THINK SO?

  BANG!

  SLICE!

  SHICK!

  Phil, Jon, Shaun, and I kill a small group of zombies in the Big Club parking lot that were attracted by the gunshots, screams, and fires around the Big Club.

  A truck and a car pull into the Big Club parking lot and drive towards the main entrance of the Big Club.

  William, Bruce, Hailee, Jeremy, and several other Haven guards get out of the truck and car.

  I kill the last zombie and look at William.

  The parking lot is clear of zombies now.

  “Let’s get these burnt bodies away from the store. The crows will be coming for them soon,” I say as I shake off the zombie blood and brains from my katana.

  William orders his men to help move the bodies and then walks over to talk with me.

  “Good afternoon Ryan. I was surprised to hear Philip over the radio today,” says William.

  “We had to break radio silence to get help, but we took care of it,” I reply to William.

  Jeremy and Hailee walk into the Big Club through the main entrance.

  Hailee sees Donnie sitting in a chair near the main entrance with his arms tied behind his back.

  Hailee shakes her head as she walks over to Donnie.

  “What the hell Donnie?” shouts Hailee.

  Donnie looks up and sees Hailee.

  Jeremy walks with Hailee over to Donnie.

  “Oh, thank god, Hailee. Untie me,” says Donnie.

  “No, I’m not going to help you,” replies Hailee.

  “My arm is badly burned, and it hurts being tied behind my back like this,” says Donnie.

  Lauren and Bobby G walk over to Hailee and Donnie.

  “Why are you blaming Ryan for us breaking up? He’s not the reason for that!” shouts Hailee.

  “He is! I saw the way you look at him and I overheard you talking with Misty and Ashley!” shouts Donnie.

  Lauren gets a puzzled look on her face as she overhears the conversation between Donnie and Hailee.

  “What I do with my friends is not your concern anymore!” shouts Hailee.

  “Just admit it. I know you have a thing for Ryan,” says Donnie to Hailee with tears in his eyes.

  “I’m happy Donnie. Why can’t you just accept that and move on?... I have,” says Hailee.

  I walk into the Big Club main entrance with William and Bruce.

  Lauren sees me walk in and walks directly over to me.

  “Is there something going on with you and Hailee?” asks Lauren.

  I smirk at the idea of that but notice that Lauren seems to be serious with that question.

  “No, of course not,” I answer Lauren.

  I see Hailee and Donnie talking and walk towards them.

  “What the fuck is going on here?” I shout.

  Hailee, Donnie, and Jeremy look at me.

  Donnie starts to laugh and says, “There he is. The guy who stole my girl.”

  I can’t believe what Donnie is saying.

  “Are you serious with this? I have not been with Hailee or anyone except my wife!” I shout as I walk closer to Donnie, Hailee, and Jeremy.

  Hailee looks at me and says, “I don’t know what he’s talking about Ryan.”

  Donnie shouts, “Just admit it! I know you were with someone else recently!”

  “Again Donnie! We broke up, but yes I am with someone else now!” shouts Hailee.

  “It’s me Donnie,” says Jeremy.

  Donnie looks at Jeremy and gets angry.

  “I’m sorry bro, but Hailee and I are together now,” says Jeremy to Donnie.

  Donnie puts his head down and starts to cry.

  I look at Lauren.

  Lauren looks at me.

  “Enough with the high school romance bullshit! What is going to happen with this idiot? He tried to blow this place up and kill us!” shouts Shaun.

  William walks over to Donnie and says, “We will handle it. We will take him back home and deal with him.”

  “What does that mean?” I ask William.

  “I don’t know exactly, but it won’t turn out well for young Donald here,” answers William.

  Hailee sees Lauren and walks over to her.

  “I’m sorry about what Donnie said. I have not been with Ryan. Donnie is lying,” says Hailee.

  “Thank you, Hailee. I believe you,” replies Lauren.

  “You need to get Donnie back to the Haven if you want to give him any chance at surviving. Your new doctor needs to take a look at him soon,” I say to William.

  “We will take him back with us now,” replies William.

  “We are done with the Big Club. It’s just another thing to worry about. I’m going to be taking most of the supplies from here now and possibly over the next couple of days or so,” I say to William.

  William nods his head in agreement with my statement.

  “You can take ownership of this place and have anything you want after we leave,” I say to William.

  “Thank you, Ryan. I think we will continue to run this place,” replies William.

  I shake William’s hand.

  “Again, I’m sorry about Donald. He acted alone with this attack and he will be dealt with. I hope we are still good standing,” says William.

  “We are. I’m going to check in with Hector and get an update on The Grove,” I say to William.

  “My men will help you load up your items into your vehicles, and we will be in touch,” replies William.

  William, Bruce, and several other Haven guards exit the Big Club.

  Two Haven guards escort Donnie out of the Big Club and into the back of William’s truck.

  Hailee and Jeremy walk towards the main entrance of the Big Club.

  Jeremy grabs Hailee’s left hand and Hailee smiles at Jeremy as they exit the Big Club.

  Shaun walks over to me with a radio in his hand.

  “So, I guess Donnie was waiting for you to arrive here, and he knew you were here when you broke radio silence,” says Shaun.

  “What a little shit! Should I still try to contact Hector?” I ask Phil and Shaun.

  “I would. I’m interested in an update with The Grove and any news about Kat or Jacob,” answers Phil.

  I pick up my radio and ask, “Hector? Can you hear me?”

  I wait for Hector’s reply over the radio.

  Bobby G and Jon walk over to me and say, “We are starting to load up the supplies in the trucks now.”

  “Good, keep me posted of any problems, but when in doubt take it with us. I don’t want to come back here again if possible,” I say to Jon and Bobby G.

  “I thought you said radio silence bro?” asks Hector over the radio.

  “I guess I missed you too much,” I joke with Hector over the radio.

  “You can reply to us, but don’t give specifics of where you are and what you are doing please,” I say to Hector over the radio.

  “Well, we are in position still. We have seen some gunfire and fights around the parking lot, and they aren’t letting anyone in anymore,” says Hector over the radio.

  “Any sign of the target?” I ask over the radio.

  “Not yet. No one has left the facility besides the guards that left when we first got here,” answers Hector over the radio.

  “Thank you, Hector. When do you plan on coming back to our neighborhood?” I ask over the radio.

  “When do you want us to come by?” asks Hector over the radio.

  “Whenever you can, but we will be busy today and tomorrow,” I reply over the radio.

  “Okay, we will come by in two days then. Plan on getting a full update in two days. We will stay off the radio unless we have some big news to report,” says Hector over the radio.

  “Thank you, Hector. See you in two days,” I say over
the radio to Hector.

  “Over and out,” replies Hector over the radio.

  I smile at Hector’s reply and reach to turn off my radio.

  “Ryan?” asks a woman over the radio.

  I look down at my long-range radio and hesitate to answer.

  “Ryan, if you can hear me. It’s Deb,” says Deb over the radio.

  “I can hear you Deb. Please give me an update of things. Are you and Kat safe?” I ask over the radio.

  “I am safe, but I’m not sure about Kat. She was taken by Jacob’s men and hasn’t left Dr. Morris’ office,” replies Deb over the radio.

  “We are working on something Deb, but I fear Jacob and his men may be listening over the radio,” I reply to Deb over the radio.

  “Thank you. I understand. Things are getting pretty bad here. Fights are happening all over the place. The guards that are still here are with the Conquerors now, and they are killing people for no reason,” says Deb over the radio.

  “Stay hidden Deb. Or if you can get out, come to our community. You can stay with us,” I reply to Deb over the radio.

  “I will try, but I don’t want to leave Kat. She is my friend, and I won’t feel right leaving her,” says Deb over the radio.

  Before I can reply to Deb, Deb says over the radio, “I hear a large group coming. I have to go. I will try to contact you when I can.”

  “Stay safe,” I reply to Deb over the radio.

  Phil, Shaun, and Jon walk over to me.

  “Everything okay Ry?” asks Phil.

  I turn off my radio and answer Phil, “I talked with Hector and Deb. The Grove is definitely being controlled by Jacob now. Deb is safe, but Kat has been taken by Jacob.”

  “What’s the plan?” asks Shaun.

  “We will meet with Hector in two days back home. Tomorrow we have World of Trade and then hopefully when we meet with Hector, he will have some great information for us,” I answer Shaun.

  “I hate waiting like this,” says Phil.

  I look at Phil.

  Phil says, “But, it’s the right call. We need to get all the information first before we attack The Grove.”

  “We are going to The Grove and we will help Kat, just not right now,” I say to Phil.

  “Should we send out a drone?” asks Jon.

  “Let’s finish loading up the trucks and get back home. Hector and his group have eyes on The Grove and they will let us know what is going on there in two days.”

  “Sounds good. I’m starting to get hungry,” says Shaun.

  “Always. This guy is always worried about food,” jokes Phil.

  Shaun, Phil, and Jon go help Bobby G and the Haven guards load up the box trucks and our vehicles.

  Lauren walks over to me.

  I look at Lauren.

  “Everything okay honey?” asks Lauren.

  “You tell me?” I ask Lauren.

  “Yeah, everything is good,” answers Lauren.

  I look Lauren in her eyes and say, “I would never cheat on you. Especially with a teenager. You are the love of my life. Forever and Always.”

  Lauren smiles and replies, “Always and Forever.”

  I kiss Lauren.

  “Get a room!” jokes Jon.

  Lauren and I laugh at Jon’s joke.

  “I trust you honey, but I just had to make sure,” says Lauren.

  “I know sweetie. I’d grab anything and everything that you want from here. I don’t plan on coming back here again,” I reply to Lauren.

  “Really? I’ll take another look around then,” replies Lauren.

  Lauren walks away from me, and I head outside to see how much room we still have in our trucks.

  I see that the trucks are almost full, and a couple of zombies are approaching the Big Club in the distance.

  The zombies stop at the burnt bodies that the Haven guards piled up at the far end of the Big Club parking lot.

  Shaun walks over to me, and I point at the zombies.

  Shaun looks at me and I jokingly say, “Guess they like barbeque.”

  Shaun looks at the group of zombies eating the burnt bodies and says, “Man, I could go for some barbeque right now.”

  I say to Shaun, “We’ll be enjoying some of that deer meat soon enough. Bo bringing it tomorrow?”

  “Yeah, he said he would stop by tomorrow with the deer meat,” answers Shaun.

  “I can’t wait,” says Shaun as he walks away from me and back in to the Big Club.

  I see Jakobe talking with Wesley near the front entrance of the Big Club, and I walk over to Jakobe.

  “Can I talk with you Jakobe?” I ask Jakobe.

  “Sure,” replies Jakobe.

  Wesley leaves Jakobe and I alone to talk.

  “What happened with Donnie?” I ask Jakobe.

  Jakobe looks at one of the box trucks and doesn’t answer me.

  I make eye contact with Jakobe and say, “It’s okay man, I just want to get a picture of what happened here.”

  “I’m not a snitch man,” replies Jakobe.

  “I know you aren’t, but I need to know what happened here,” I say to Jakobe.

  Jakobe doesn’t want to tell me anything.

  “After we leave here today, I probably won’t be here anymore. This place is yours after we leave. You are the new leader here,” I say to Jakobe.

  Jakobe looks at me with a scared look on his face.

  “You can do it man. I know you can. You have done a great job here so far,” I say to Jakobe.

  Jakobe asks, “You really think so?”

  “Yeah, this place is still standing and it’s in good shape,” I answer Jakobe.

  Jakobe looks at the bullet holes and the burn marks on the ground and exterior walls of the Big Club.

  “Yeah, it looks great,” jokes Jakobe.

  “Well, great for a zombie apocalypse,” I jokingly reply to Jakobe.

  “What happened here with Donnie?” I ask Jakobe.

  “He tried to take over this place. He blamed everyone for Hailee breaking up with him and then he killed our leader Max,” answers Jakobe.

  “Does William know that?” I ask Jakobe.

  “I don’t think so. No one outside of here knows, but I’m sure William will figure it out though,” answers Jakobe.

  “Did Donnie kill anyone else?” I ask Jakobe.

  “No, he tried, but we were able to stop him. He recruited a bunch of teenagers and people from the Haven. They attacked us several times, but they couldn’t get in,” answers Jakobe.

  “See, you did a great job. This place survived several attacks under your command,” I say to Jakobe.

  “I did learn a lot from Max. I should be able to run this place,” says Jakobe.

  “I know you can, this place will do well under your leadership,” I say to Jakobe.

  Jakobe smiles at my words of encouragement.

  Jakobe and I help the guys place the last objects into the back of the electric truck.

  SHICK!

  SVAASH!

  Wesley and another Haven guard each kill two zombies who were approaching the main entrance of the Big Club.

  “You probably want to leave soon. I hear more zombies coming towards us,” says Wesley to me as I’m standing with Lauren, Phil, Jon, Bobby G, and Shaun.

  I look at Jakobe, Wesley, and several other Haven guards and say, “This place is yours now. Protect it or leave it. Stay safe, and we will see you around.”

  I say goodbye to Jakobe, Wesley, and the rest of the Haven guards.

  Shaun and Jon get into the box trucks and drive away from the Big Club.

  Phil gets into his white electric truck and Bobby G drives his new SUV away from the Big Club.

  I get into Lauren’s electric car and she drives away from the Big Club.

  As Lauren drives away from the Big Club, I get a feeling of sadness and loss.

  Lauren sees the look on my face and says, “It is kind of sad leaving this place. It was a great idea taking it over though. We got t
ons of food and supplies now.”

  I look at Lauren and reply, “Yeah, we should be good for years with all these supplies. Thank you for helping me sweetie. You are the best.”

  “I am the best,” jokes Lauren.

  Lauren speeds down a road.

  Gunshots and screams are heard in the distance.

  Lauren is startled by the gunshots and screams.

  “It’s okay sweetie, we are safe. It sounds like they are far away from us,” I say to Lauren as I look out my passenger side window of Lauren’s electric car.

  I look down the street that Lauren is driving down, and the street is somewhat clear. The street has some debris and trash in it, but it is clear of zombies and people.

  Lauren makes a left turn and I see two cars speeding down a side street.

  I look in my rearview mirror and Lauren looks at me.

  “What? What is it?” asks Lauren.

  “I don’t know, but I saw two cars,” I answer Lauren.

  I keep looking in my passenger side rearview mirror for the cars, but I don’t see them anymore.

  “I think we are good. I don’t see the cars now,” I say as Lauren drives down the street and I keep looking in my rearview mirror.

  Lauren takes in a deep breath and exhales.

  We arrive at Citrus Oaks and the guards let us in.

  Lauren parks the electric car in our driveway.

  “Let’s get this stuff inside,” I say to Lauren.

  Lauren and I exit the electric car and start bringing the supplies into our house.

  “Mom!” shouts Lauren as she enters our house.

  The house is silent.

  “I wonder where she is,” says Lauren.

  I place several objects onto our kitchen counter.

  “I don’t hear her, was she here when you left for the Big Club?” I ask Lauren.

  Lauren and I walk outside and grab more things from the electric car.

  Bobby G parks his SUV in his driveway.

  Shaun, Phil, and Jon park their vehicles in the street in front of Shaun’s house.

  “She is probably at my dad’s grave. She has been going there everyday now,” says Lauren to me.

  “I’ll go with you over there after we finish putting all this stuff away,” I say to Lauren as I grab a couple things from the trunk of the electric car.

  Bobby G starts unloading the stuff from his SUV.

  Phil, Jon, and Shaun look at all the stuff they got in the back of one of the box trucks.