Fight 4 Us (Book 9): Settlement

by Grenda, Brian

  “We will take her back with us to the Haven. Our community is the closest from here,” says William.

  Matt helps Dr. Morris stand.

  William looks at Jeremy and says, “Help her.”

  Jeremy gives William a dirty look.

  “Boy! Go help the injured doctor!” shouts William to Jeremy.

  Jeremy walks over to Matt and Dr. Morris.

  “What should we do Ry?” asks Shaun.

  “We can take Kathryn as well Ryan,” says William.

  I look at Kat and see that she needs medical attention.

  “We go after Jacob,” I say to Shaun.

  I look at Shaun and Phil and say, “Go after them. I’ll catch up.”

  Shaun and Phil run down the hallway that Jacob and DK went down.

  I look at Matt and Jon and say, “Get Kat and Dr. Morris to the Haven. We will meet you there.”

  Jon, Matt, and Jeremy start to walk with Kat and Dr. Morris.

  I look at William and say, “Thank you William. We will come by the Haven after this.”

  “Good luck,” replies William.

  I run away from William and take out my handgun.

  I hear gunfire and people screaming outside and around The Grove as I run down the hallway.

  I hear zombies eating dead bodies and biting into people on the first level of The Grove.

  I run down some steps and get to the first level of The Grove.

  P-TAFF!

  I shoot a zombie in the head with my handgun.

  I dodge an approaching zombie’s hands and holster my handgun.

  I remove my katana from my scabbard that is attached to my new back holster that is holding my katana and my assault rifle.

  SLICE!

  I cut a zombie’s head off.

  I run towards the main entrance of The Grove, and I find a large group of zombies around the main entrance.

  I see another exit door and make a quick dash for it.

  I hear someone scream as I exit The Grove.

  AHHHH!

  I pass a male Conqueror who is being attacked by two zombies. The male Conqueror tries to push away the zombies, but the two zombies take the male Conqueror to the ground and start biting him.

  I watch the zombies bite into the man’s face and forearm.

  “They are getting away!” someone shouts from the rear parking lot of The Grove.

  I run towards the rear parking lot of The Grove.

  DAKKA!

  BANG!

  BOOM!

  Several people from Hector’s group, Phil, and Shaun all fire shots at the convoy of vehicles that are driving out of The Grove’s rear parking lot.

  I run over to Shaun and Phil.

  “Jacob got away, and I don’t know where DK went,” says Phil.

  Hector comes over to me, Shaun, and Phil.

  “Sorry we were late, but I had to check on some friends of ours,” says Hector to me.

  James walks over to Hector.

  “I’m glad you are alive man,” says Hector to James.

  James replies, “Me….”

  BOOM!

  As James is replying to Hector, I feel some liquid hit my face.

  I look at Hector and see that Hector’s face and shirt are covered in blood.

  James’ body collapses onto the street of the rear parking lot of The Grove.

  I look down at James’ body and see a large puddle of blood in the street.

  I look closer at James’ body and see a huge hole that goes through James’ chest to his back.

  “Holy shit! That gunshot blew a giant hole through his body,” says Phil.

  Shaun, Phil, and I look all around for the shooter, but we don’t see anyone.

  “Who the fuck shot James?” shouts Hector.

  I see a truck come speeding down the street, that is right outside of The Grove, and I grab my assault rifle.

  I point my assault rifle at the truck and pull the trigger.

  DAKKA! DAKKA!

  A line of zombies walk in my line of fire and are ripped apart by my gunfire.

  I keep pulling the trigger until the bullets run out of my assault rifle.

  My assault rifle is out of bullets, and I don’t have anymore bullets to load.

  I watch as the truck safely speeds down the street and wasn’t touched by any of my bullets.

  A person in the back of the truck stands up and looks at me.

  I see the person standing in the back of the truck and recognize who it is.

  It’s DK.

  I make eye contact with DK as the truck drives by The Grove.

  “It was DK. He killed James,” I say.

  “From where?” asks Shaun.

  “Why did he only kill one person?” asks Phil.

  “I don’t know,” I reply as I look down the street.

  I see that more and more zombies are approaching our position and it’s not safe at The Grove anymore.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I say to Shaun and Phil.

  PKOW!

  I see Bobby G run towards the rear parking lot and kill a zombie with a shot from his handgun.

  Three zombies are coming towards Bobby G.

  I run towards Bobby G.

  PKOW!

  Bobby G shoots one of the three zombies that are walking towards him.

  CLICK! CLICK!

  Bobby G is out of bullets for his handgun.

  “Fuck!” shouts Bobby G as he aims his handgun at the two approaching zombies.

  Bobby G backpedals away from the two zombies, but the zombies are gaining on him.

  I run past a parked car and see the two zombies quickly approaching my father.

  I aim my handgun at one of the two zombies and pull the trigger.

  PKOW!

  The bullet from my handgun hits the zombie in the side of her skull and she falls to the ground.

  I aim my handgun at the other zombie that is still trying to attack Bobby G and pull the trigger.

  PKOW!

  The bullet from my handgun hits the zombie in the front of his skull as he is about to bite into Bobby G’s right forearm.

  Bobby G falls backwards onto the pavement.

  The zombie, that I just shot, falls backwards and hits his head on a piece of concrete.

  Shaun and Phil look over at me and Bobby G.

  I help Bobby G up from the pavement.

  As Bobby G stands up, I look down at the two dead zombies that were coming after Bobby G.

  I recognize one of the dead zombies.

  “What’s wrong son?” asks Bobby G to me.

  While looking down at the dead male zombie I answer, “I think I knew this guy. He looks like the guy Brian that worked with Kat here at The Grove.”

  Phil and Shaun walk towards Phil’s black SUV.

  I look at Bobby G and ask, “Are you okay dad?”

  Bobby G checks his arms and answers, “Yeah, I think so. Those fucking zombies almost got me though.”

  I check Bobby G’s arms, face, and clothes. He looks okay, and I don’t see any bites or scratches on him.

  Shaun, while standing next to Phil’s SUV, shouts over to Bobby G and me, “Over here Ry!”

  Bobby G dusts himself off.

  I walk with Bobby G over to Phil’s SUV.

  Shaun, Phil, Bobby G, and I enter Phil’s SUV and Phil starts up his SUV.

  Phil drives away from The Grove.

  As Phil drives away from The Grove, Hector looks at James’ dead body and shakes his head.

  Hector whispers to himself, “What a shitty day. I lost two friends today.”

  Javier and Carlos walk over to Hector.

  “I’m sorry for your friend Hector. James was a good guy,” says Javier.

  Carlos watches Phil’s SUV drive away.

  “Was that Ryan?” asks Carlos to Hector.

  “Yeah, do you know him?” asks Hector to Carlos.

  “Yeah, I used to know him. He got my kids killed,” answers Carlos.

  He
ctor looks down at James’ dead body and replies, “He has a knack for that.”

  Several hours go by.

  Phil parks his SUV at the Haven parking lot.

  Phil and Shaun exit from Phil’s SUV.

  I stay seated in the backseat of Phil’s SUV.

  Phil and Shaun look at each other and wonder why I am still sitting inside the SUV.

  “Are you coming Ry?” asks Phil.

  I open the driver side rear door and slowly exit from Phil’s SUV.

  “What’s up Ry?” asks Shaun.

  I take a deep breath and gather my thoughts.

  I answer, “I’m nervous to see Hector and his group. I know Hector blames me for Felix getting shot.”

  “We don’t know what Hector feels about Felix dying, but we will deal with that when we see him,” replies Phil.

  “Come on, let’s go get Matt and Jon and see Kat,” says Shaun.

  I walk with Shaun and Phil into the Haven.

  As I’m walking with Shaun and Phil down the hallway of the Haven, I nervously look at every person that we pass and hope that it’s not Hector.

  Phil sees Jon and Matt standing in the hallway outside of the medical room.

  “How are they?” asks Phil to Jon and Matt.

  “Good, Dr. Vargas is patching up Dr. Morris right now and Kat is a sleep,” answers Jon.

  I walk into the medical room and see Dr. Vargas stitching up Dr. Morris’ left hamstring gunshot wound.

  “How are these ladies doing doc?” I ask Dr. Vargas.

  Dr. Vargas trims the last stitch on the back of Dr. Morris’ leg and answers, “They are doing well. Kat is doing well, and Jenna here will be fine.”

  Shaun and Phil walk over to Dr. Morris, who is laying on her right side while Dr. Vargas finishes stitching up her wound.

  Phil looks at Dr. Morris and asks, “Where did Jacob and DK go?”

  Dr. Morris answers, “I don’t know, and I don’t care. I’m done helping those assholes.”

  “Why did you help them in the first place?” asks Shaun to Dr. Morris.

  “It was a mutual partnership. They helped me, so I helped them,” answers Dr. Morris.

  Dr. Vargas puts a bandage over Dr. Morris’ stitches and Dr. Morris’ rolls onto her back.

  I walk over to Dr. Morris.

  Dr. Morris smiles at me.

  “Hey Ryan, how are you?” asks Dr. Morris with a flirtatious tone of voice.

  I feel awkward as Dr. Morris flirts with me, but I look her in the eyes and ask, “Can you help us find Jacob and DK?”

  “What do I get out of it?” asks Dr. Morris.

  “Well, that depends if we get Jacob or not and how good your information is,” I answer Dr. Morris.

  “Well, if you give me something good. I will give you something good,” replies Dr. Morris.

  Shaun, Phil, and Dr. Vargas sense that Dr. Morris is being overly flirtatious with me as they watch the conversation between me and Dr. Morris.

  “We will compensate you fairly for the information that you provide,” says Phil to Dr. Morris.

  “We saved your leg and your life. You should give us something for that,” says Dr. Vargas to Dr. Morris.

  “Well, all I know is that they were headed to another location and they said something about getting away from Tampa Bay,” says Dr. Morris to Shaun, Phil, me, and Dr. Vargas.

  I hear Kat wake up as she moves around on her medical table.

  “Well that’s a start. When you get a more concrete piece of info then we will work on your compensation,” I say to Dr. Morris.

  I walk over to Kat.

  “Hey Ryan, I’m so glad you are okay,” says Kat to me as I walk towards Kat.

  I sit on the edge of Kat’s makeshift medical table.

  “How are you? Any injuries?” I ask Kat.

  “I’m pretty good, just some dehydration and some minor cuts and scrapes, but I’ll be fine,” answers Kat.

  “Where is Deb?” I ask Kat.

  “I hope she got away. I told her to go home when she got the chance, but I’m not sure,” answers Kat.

  “Where am I?” asks Kat.

  I answer Kat, “You are at a safe place called the Haven. Dr. Vargas here is my friend and she will take good care of you.”

  Kat looks over and sees Dr. Morris.

  Kat instantly gets mad, stares at Dr. Morris, and shouts, “You! You did this! We lost The Grove because of you!”

  “Now Kat, you are just as much to blame as me,” replies Dr. Morris.

  Kat goes to stand up from her medical table.

  Kat becomes light headed as she quickly stands up, and she almost collapses to the floor.

  I catch Kat from falling and help her sit back down on her medical table.

  “I can’t be in the same room as her Ryan. You have no idea how terrible she is,” says Kat to me as Kat tries to calm down.

  “Okay, let’s get you out of here,” I say to Kat.

  I see a wheelchair in the corner of the room and tell Phil to bring it over to me.

  Phil wheels the wheelchair over to me, and I have Kat sit in the wheelchair.

  “Was it something I said?” asks Dr. Morris with a sarcastic tone of voice.

  Kat gives Dr. Morris the finger.

  I push Kat towards the exit of the medical room and say, “Thank you Dani. I will see you later.”

  “I hope to see you later Ryan,” says Dr. Morris.

  I quickly push Kat’s wheelchair and wheel Kat out of the medical room and down the hallway.

  Jon, Matt, Shaun, and Phil follow behind me.

  “What do we do now?” asks Matt.

  “We go back home and regroup. We need to rest and get a new plan,” I answer Matt.

  William and Bruce walk down the hallway and see us walking with Kat in the wheelchair.

  “Are you taking our guest so soon?” asks William to me.

  I look at Kat for the answer to William’s question.

  “I really must be getting back home. I’m hoping that my friend Deb is back home waiting for me,” answers Kat.

  “Very well, Kathryn. I hope you find your friend Debra, and everyone is safe. You are always welcome here. Safe travels,” replies William to Kat.

  William looks at me and asks, “May I have a word with you Ryan?”

  “Sure,” I answer William.

  I look at Phil, Shaun, Jon, and Matt and say,” I’ll meet you in the parking lot.”

  “We don’t have a vehicle though,” says Jon.

  “My men will loan you a vehicle,” says William to Jon.

  “Thank you,” replies Jon to William.

  Bruce walks with Phil, Shaun, Jon, and Matt as Shaun pushes Kat’s wheelchair down the hallway.

  I slowly walk with William down the hallway.

  “Where is your father?” asks William to me.

  I answer William, “We dropped him home before coming here.”

  “Is he okay?” asks William.

  I answer William, “Yeah, he’s a little shaken up, but he will be okay.”

  William stops walking and looks at me.

  “Today didn’t go as planned. I will smooth things over with Hector and his men. I do not blame you for the deaths of any of our men,” says William.

  I am relieved to hear William say that and reply, “Thank you William. The last thing I wanted with this… Was for your men to die today.”

  “I know Ryan, but let’s give Hector and his men some distance for a little bit,” replies William.

  “I will. I have plenty of things to attend to back home,” I reply to William.

  William and I see Jeremy walk into his room.

  I ask William, “How is Jeremy? Is he still mad about Jacob getting away?”

  “He’s a teenager and he’s full of hate for Jacob still. He will hopefully get over what happened today,” answers William.

  I start walking with William and ask, “Who were those people with Hector today?”

  “Ahh, you me
an Javier and his Factory crew. Javier is Hector’s cousin and he’s a dangerous man... I’m just glad he’s on our side,” answers William.

  William and I walk into the central courtyard of the Haven and there are tons of people in there.

  I see Tran, Li, some young children, and several groups of people enjoying the day.

  “This is what it’s all about Ryan. Staying alive and having a fighting chance to build for the future,” says William.

  I smile and reply to William, “You have a great place here. You should really be proud of it.”

  “I am, and as should you. Your settlement of Citrus Oaks is quite nice also,” replies William.

  “What should we do now about Jacob and DK?” I ask William.

  “We should let the universe worry about them. We have given too much time, resources, and lives to fighting them. I say we relax and work on our communities for now,” answers William.

  I think about what William just said. I look around at the people having fun, laughing, and not worrying about the world outside the fences of the Haven.

  I look at William and say, “I agree. I will be in touch. Stay safe William. Thank you for today and for everything. We could not have made it this far without you.”

  I shake William’s hand.

  “Thank you, Ryan. You truly are a good man and I look forward to rebuilding the world with you and your Brotherhood,” says William.

  CHAPTER 18

  IT’S MY TIME

  “How did it go with William and Hector?” asks Lauren to me as I sit down in my recliner chair that is next to my bed in my master bedroom.

  “You know this was my grandfather’s chair. My dad and I got him this chair for Christmas like twenty-five years ago,” I say to Lauren.

  Lauren walks out of our master bathroom and asks, “I know honey, but how did it go at the Haven?”

  I answer Lauren, “It went well. I didn’t see Hector and William is still happy with us.”

  “How is Kat?” asks Lauren as she sits down on the edge of our bed.

  I answer Lauren, “She’s pretty good actually. She was in rough shape when we found her in Dr. Morris’ office, but she will be okay.”

  “That’s good. I’m glad you guys found her,” replies Lauren.

  “Me too and when we dropped her off at her house, Deb was there. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving Kat home alone with just Deb, but there were a couple people from The Grove staying in their house too,” I reply to Lauren.

  “Well good, I’m glad it all worked out well for ya,” says Lauren.