Blood, guts, and limbs from the Conquerors fly onto The Grove floor and walls.
Matt helps Jon up from the concrete floor.
“Thanks bro,” says Jon to Matt.
Matt nods his head at Jon.
Bruce, William, and Jeremy walk over to me.
“The front parking lot is clear for now, but zombies are starting to herd up outside,” says William.
“Where is Hector?” I ask William.
William answers, “He went to check on another community in St. Pete.”
“I’m sorry about Felix. The Conquerors spotted us after I killed two of them,” I say to William.
“Felix was a good man, but he could be careless at times,” replies William.
“I hate to break up this conversation, but we need to get moving here. We still don’t know where Jacob and DK are,” says Phil.
“We stick to the plan. Hector will be here and hopefully soon. My men will guard the main entrance here,” says William to Phil and me.
“You heard William. We continue on. Stick to the plan.,” I say to my group.
William, Bruce, and Jeremy run down the long hallway to the left of my position.
Shaun and Phil run down the other long hallway to the right of my position.
I look at Matt and say, “That was ballsy Matt. You saved Jon’s life.”
“I just reacted. I guess it was pretty dumb to do,” replies Matt.
“I’m sure Jon and Kelly will be happy you did it,” I say to Matt.
Jon smiles and says, “Yeah, I think Kelly will be happy with what you did Matt.”
I pat Matt on his right shoulder and say, “Now let’s get going. We gotta catch up with Shaun and Phil.”
“Yeah, those two idiots just ran off,” says Jon.
Matt and Jon run down the long hallway to the right of my position.
I look at Bobby G and say, “I’ll stay with you. I know you can’t keep up with the guys.”
Bobby G smiles and replies, “Don’t worry son. I’ll save you again.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know. Never fear Bobby G is here,” I say to Bobby G.
A female Conqueror runs out of a sports memorabilia store that is behind Bobby G.
The female Conqueror swings her knife at Bobby G’s head.
BANG!
I shoot the Conqueror just before she is about to stab Bobby G in the side of his head.
Bobby G looks at the dead female Conqueror.
I look at Bobby G and say, “Never fear your son is here.”
I start walking down the long hallway that Jon, Matt, Phil, and Shaun ran down.
Bobby G smirks and says, “I’m never gonna hear the end of this one.”
As Bobby G and I walk down the long hallway, I smell gun powder, blood, garbage, and burnt hair.
“Where do you think Kat could be?” asks Bobby G.
I look down the hallway and answer, “My best guess would be Dr. Morris’ office.”
P-TAFF!
BOOM!
DAKKA!
PKOW!
Shaun, Jon, Matt, and Phil fire their weapons at a group of approaching Conquerors.
Bobby G walks by a closed door and hears people screaming from behind the closed door.
“Help! Help us!” screams people from behind the closed door.
Shaun comes over to the closed door and tries to open the closed door.
The door is locked.
“Help us! We are trapped in here!” shouts the people behind the closed door.
Shaun runs towards the door and hits it with his right shoulder.
The closed door doesn’t open.
Shaun kicks the door, but the door still won’t open.
“Move!” shouts Phil to Shaun.
Shaun moves away from the closed door.
Phil shouts towards the closed door, “Stand back! Get away from the door!”
The people inside the room move away from the closed door.
Phil looks at Matt, puts his hands towards Matt’s shotgun and asks, “Can I borrow that?”
Before Matt can answer, Phil grabs Matt’s shotgun and fires two shots at the hinges of the closed door.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Shaun kicks the closed door and the closed door falls into the room.
Phil hands Matt back his shotgun and says, “Thanks bro.”
The people that were trapped in the room run out into the hallway.
A lady kisses Shaun on his cheek and says, “Thank you.”
“Go to the main entrance! We have people there that can help you!” shouts Phil to the people that were trapped in the room.
All of the people that were locked in the room get out and run towards the main entrance of The Grove.
“We have eyes on Jacob and DK,” says William into his radio.
Phil picks up his radio and asks, “Where?”
“Second level. At the suites. They went into a room,” answers William over the radio.
I look at Phil and say, “Let me talk to him.”
Phil hands me his radio.
“We will be right there. I think I know where you are,” I say into Phil’s radio to William.
“Hurry, Ryan. They may be trying to escape,” replies William into his radio to me.
I hand Phil back his radio.
“Let’s get to level two. Follow me,” I say to the guys and Bobby G.
I run to the second level stairwell and the guys and Bobby G follow me.
The stairwell is clear of any danger, but there are some dead bodies on the stairs.
As I run up the stairs that lead to the second level at The Grove, I notice that the dead bodies are of unarmed people that were most likely just living at The Grove.
I make my way up the top stair and run towards the suites.
BANG!
I’m suddenly shot in the chest.
I fall backwards and land on the concrete floor.
“Ryan!” shouts Shaun.
BANG!
BOOM!
Phil and Matt each fire a shot from their guns and kill the Conqueror that came out of a bathroom and shot me.
Bobby G runs over to me.
“Son, son,” says Bobby G to me.
I grab my chest and feel the bullet in the body armor chest plate that I’m wearing.
“Fuck that hurt!” I shout.
Shaun helps me up from the concrete floor.
The bullet from the Conqueror’s gun falls out of my body armor chest plate and hits the concrete floor.
Bobby G checks my body armor chest plate and sees that the bullet didn’t penetrate my body armor.
“You good?” asks Shaun.
I nod my head.
“Go ahead. William is waiting,” I say to Shaun.
“We will clear this floor,” says Phil.
I take a deep breath and try to calm down. Adrenaline is flowing through my body, and I feel my pulse pounding in my neck.
“You okay son?” asks Bobby G.
“Yeah, thank god for the body armor,” I answer Bobby G.
“That was too close for my liking. Please don’t do that again,” says Bobby G.
“I’ll try not to get shot again,” I joke.
“Clear!” shouts Phil.
I look at Bobby G and say, “All clear. Let’s go end this.”
I walk with Bobby G and meet up with Phil, Jon, Shaun, Matt, Jeremy, Bruce, and William.
I see the door that everyone is standing in front of, and I recognize the door.
“I knew they would be in here,” I say as I walk over to Phil.
“What should we do?” asks Jon.
“We need to be careful with this. They might be using Kat as a hostage. I’m sure Dr. Morris will do anything she can to stay alive,” I answer Jon.
I see that the door to the suite that is next to Dr. Morris’ office is open.
“I have a plan. Keep an eye on the door. William, Bruce, Jeremy, and Bobby G with me,” I say as I walk
towards the suite that is right next to Dr. Morris’ office.
I take my assault rifle and point it into the suite as I enter the suite.
I walk around the suite and find it empty.
“Clear,” I say as I walk into the center of the suite.
William, Jeremy, Bruce, and Bobby G enter the suite now.
“What are you doing Ryan?” asks Jeremy.
I put my ear to the wall that is next to Dr. Morris’ office and listen.
I hear muffled sounds of people talking and yelling in Dr. Morris’ office.
“People are in there. I can hear them,” I say as I have my left ear against the wall.
“What is your plan Ryan?” asks William.
I look at Bruce and see that he has three grenades attached to the front of his tactical vest.
I make eye contact with Bruce and ask, “Bruce, do you have anything that could blow this wall up?”
“I definitely do. I brought the plastic explosives you gave us,” answers Bruce.
I walk out of the empty suite with Bobby G and walk towards Shaun, Matt, Phil, and Jon.
“We are going to blow up the wall that is next to Dr. Morris’ office. I heard people yelling inside Dr. Morris’ office. Someone is definitely in there,” I say to the guys as we stand right outside Dr. Morris’ closed office door.
Bruce, Jeremy, and William exit from the empty suite.
“We are good to go,” says William as Bruce, Jeremy, and William walk over to me.
I look at the guys and say, “Keep your guns pointed at this door but stand back away from the door. Bruce will blow the plastic explosives that he has on the wall and then all hell is going to break loose.”
“What if Kat is in there? What if she is next to the wall?” asks Phil.
I think about what Phil just asked.
Phil notices the perplexed look on my face and says, “I think we still blow up the wall, but I just had to ask that question.”
Before I can respond, the closed door to Dr. Morris’ office opens.
A male Conqueror steps out of Dr. Morris’ office.
“What the fuck?” asks the male Conqueror as he sees all of us standing outside the door.
I grab the male Conqueror and use him as a human shield.
The door to Dr. Morris’ office is wide open.
As I position the male Conqueror in front of me, I look into Dr. Morris’ office.
Jacob and DK see me grab the male Conqueror.
DK picks up his radio and calls for his group of Conquerors to come attack us.
I see that three Conquerors, who are standing inside Dr. Morris’ office, take out their guns and point them at me.
I notice that all three of the Conquerors are standing near the wall that Bruce put the plastic explosives on.
“Don’t shoot!” shouts the male Conqueror that I’m using as a human shield.
Two Conquerors shoot at me.
BANG!
BANG!
The bullets from the Conquerors guns hit the male Conqueror, that I’m using as my human shield, in his chest and neck.
I duck down behind the male Conqueror and shout, “Blow it Bruce!”
Bruce hits the switch on his remote detonator.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Two explosions go off.
I release the male Conqueror, that I was using as a human shield, as I hit the floor.
Smoke fills the hallway and Dr. Morris’ office.
The explosions from the plastic explosives have disoriented me and the rest of my group.
I breathe in some of the smoke from the explosions and then cough.
COUGH! COUGH!
I stand up and try to make my way into Dr. Morris’ office, but I stumble.
Shaun and Phil make their way into Dr. Morris’ office.
P-TAFF!
Phil fires a shot from his handgun.
CRASH!
A window in Dr. Morris’ office shatters.
The smoke in Dr. Morris’ office is starting to clear.
I step into Dr. Morris’ office and see the body of a woman lying on the carpet of Dr. Morris’ office.
I walk over to the body of the woman, and I see that it’s Kat.
I slowly turn the woman onto her back, and I check her airway and pulse.
Kat has a weak pulse and is barely breathing but she is alive.
“Please don’t shoot!” shouts Dr. Morris as Jacob is standing behind Dr. Morris with his handgun pointed at her temple.
“I’ll kill her!” shouts Jacob.
DK raises his hands above his head.
“Guys, we have a problem out here!” shouts Jon from outside Dr. Morris’ office.
I look at Shaun and Phil and see that they have their guns pointed at Jacob and DK.
“You will be outnumbered soon. I’ll call off my men, if you let us out of here,” says DK to Shaun.
“Shut up!” shouts Shaun to DK.
Kat takes in a deep breath and starts coughing.
COUGH! COUGH!
Kat coughs one more time, and I help her stand up from the carpet.
I hear the loud sounds of people coming towards us down the hallway.
Jon, Bobby G, Matt, Bruce, Jeremy, and William aim their guns down the hallway towards the sound of the people running towards them.
No one is seen, but the sounds of people running down the hallway towards Dr. Morris’ office is heard.
DK looks at Shaun and says, “I can stop my men from attacking you.”
DAKKA! DAKKA!
BOOM!
Gunfire and a small explosion goes off in the hallway outside of Dr. Morris’ office.
“Our group has it under control,” says Shaun to DK as he has his assault rifle pointed at DK.
I help Kat stand up and look at DK.
“Call off your men, and I’ll call off mine,” I say to DK.
“Don’t do it. It’s a trap,” says Jacob to DK.
DK picks up his radio and says, “Stand down men. I repeat. All Conquerors stand down.”
I look at DK and listen for any gunfire in the hallway.
“Copy that,” answers a Conqueror over the radio to DK.
“What’s happening Jon?” I shout from inside Dr. Morris’ office.
“Hold on!” shouts Jon.
“They stopped coming at us! They are stepping backwards! The Conquerors are retreating!” shouts Jon.
I start to walk out of Dr. Morris’ office with Kat.
“What do we do Ry?” asks Phil.
Jon walks over to me and helps Kat stand.
William walks over to me.
“You won’t get ten steps if you fight us,” says DK.
William whispers to me, “We can’t make it out of this alive. There are too many of them.”
Jeremy walks into the empty suite that is next to Dr. Morris’ office and sees Jacob standing behind Dr. Morris with his handgun pointed at her temple.
“I can’t risk our lives for the lives of these two men. We need to stand down,” I say as I look at DK and Jacob.
DK looks at me.
Jeremy steps closer towards Dr. Morris’ office with his rifle pointed at Jacob.
“Ryan is right. We have had enough bloodshed for today. We have to walk away from this if we all want to live,” says William.
“Listen to your Chinese friend and your leader. Let’s all live to fight another day,” says DK to Shaun.
“Ryan, Kat needs medical attention. She won’t last much longer,” says Jon.
I look at Jon and see that Kat is barely holding on.
“Let’s go guys. We got Kat. Let’s get out of here,” I say to Shaun and Phil.
“You sure Ry?” asks Shaun as he still has his assault rifle pointed at DK.
“Yes! Let’s go!” I shout.
William walks over to Bruce.
I step out of Dr. Morris’ office, but keep my eyes on Shaun, Phil, DK, Dr. Morris, and Jacob.
DK keeps his
hands above his head but walks towards the hallway.
Jacob walks towards the hallway with Dr. Morris in front of him.
“No! You can’t just let him get away!” shouts Jeremy as he walks into Dr. Morris’ office through the destroyed wall that Bruce blew up.
William sees Jeremy walking towards Jacob.
DK steps into the hallway and runs towards his large group of Conquerors.
“Hold your fire! Let them go!” I shout.
Phil keeps his handgun pointed at Jacob.
Shaun grabs Jeremy.
Jeremy drops his gun.
Jacob back pedals into the hallway while keeping Dr. Morris in front of him and facing us.
I watch Dr. Morris and Jacob slowly walk down the hallway and away from us.
“Good try Ryan, but not good enough,” says Jacob to me.
Jacob takes a big step backwards, pushes Dr. Morris towards us, and fires a shot from his handgun.
P-TAFF!
Jacob’s bullet hits Dr. Morris in the back of her leg near her left hamstring.
AHHH!
Dr. Morris screams in pain as she hits the concrete floor.
Jacob fires two more shots at us as he runs down the hallway.
BANG!
BANG!
We all duck down as we hear Jacob’s shots.
Jacob’s two shots hit the concrete walls of The Grove and no one is injured from his two shots.
Jacob catches up to DK and the large group of Conquerors, and they all run down the hallway towards the rear exit of The Grove.
The sound of people running towards our position from the hallway behind us is heard.
We all turn around and point our guns at the approaching group of people.
“It’s Hector! Don’t fire!” shouts Bruce.
Hector, Enrique, several Haven Warriors, and a large group of people from The Factory run over to Bruce and William.
CHAPTER 17
THIS IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT
“We can still get to them!” shouts Jeremy as we all stand outside of Dr. Morris’ office inside The Grove.
“Jeremy, no! We will find another way!” shouts William.
“Let us go after them sir,” says Hector to William.
William sees the desire in Hector’s eyes and the large army behind Hector.
“Very well, but be safe my friend,” replies William.
Hector leads Enrique and his group down the hallway to go after Jacob and DK.
“She needs medical attention Ry,” says Matt as he checks Dr. Morris’ leg.
Fight 4 Us (Book 9): Settlement Page 18