"Man, you suck," jokes Shaun.
We drive our golf carts up to Shaun's ball, which is in rough grass right next to a wooded area. Just as Shaun is about to hit his next shot, we hear a loud bang and scream.
"Dude, c'mon. Don't scream in my back swing," says Shaun.
"It wasn't me, it came from the woods," says Phil.
We all look around and try to see what the noise was and who screamed, but the woods are covered and we can't see anything. We decide to check it out and enter the woods. We walk into the woods, and hear another scream but now on the golf course.
"Get off him," screams a golfer a few holes away. We jump in our golf carts and drive to where the screams occurred. We find a group of people surrounding a man on top of another man in the fairway.
"He's biting him. What the hell is going on?" screams a male golfer.
A man tries to help by separating the two men. The intervening male who was trying to help is now attacked and bitten on the arm.
"My arm," screams the man as he falls to the ground.
Everyone scatters, but we stay. The zombie that attacked the two men, is coming towards us now.
I tell the guys, "I told you I saw a zombie attack this morning."
As the zombie comes toward Shaun, Phil takes out a 6 iron and hits the guy in the arm, but the zombie keeps coming at him. He takes another swing and hits the zombie golfer in the head which knocks him down. Phil hits him in the head a couple more times. Followed by a couple more shots to the body and legs. Phil looks to be enjoying himself as he is killing the zombie.
"It's dead bro," says Matt.
"Always have to be sure," says Phil.
As we are examining the now dead zombie, the two guys who were attacked by the initial zombie have turned into zombies. They get up and start coming after Matt. We hear the zombies coming and all get out golf clubs. Phil comes up and hits the one in the head, knocking him to the turf. Shaun and I take out the other zombie, while Matt watches.
"Dude, you gonna help out Matt?"
"You guys had it," yells Matt.
"I think this means that the trip is done and we have to get the fuck out of here."
We all nod in agreement and head back to our golf carts.
We hop in the golf carts and head back to the parking lot.
"What was the final score?"
Matt tallies each player score. Shaun is driving a golf cart with Phil as the passenger. I'm driving the other golf cart with Matt as the passenger. As we drive the golf carts, Matt is shouting the scores.
“Through 9 holes, I shot a 46, Phil shot a 49. Shaun shot a 45, and Ryan shot a 44.”
"I won the bet Shaun."
Shaun replies, “No way man. It doesn't count bro. We didn't play 18.”
"Fuck that, I won. Which cheek do you want punched?"
"Dude the bet doesn't count," shouts Shaun.
In my eyes, the bet counts because I won. When Shaun doesn't expect it, he's paying that bet.
On the way, back to the cars, we encounter a couple more zombies and people frantically trying to survive. We decide to drive around problems and make it back to my car and Shaun's jeep unharmed.
Shaun and Matt make it back to Shaun's jeep and Phil and I make it back to my car. While loading up the jeep, Matt is swarmed by 3 zombies. He narrowly escapes but is unharmed. He pushes a zombie down but the other 2 zombies jump towards him. Shaun grabs the shotgun from his jeep and loads it with a couple rounds. Matt is fighting off the zombies but they are aggressively trying to bite his hands and arms. They are piled on top of Matt now. One of the zombies is about to bite Matt on the shoulder.
Matt screams, "Help!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Shaun shoots both zombies in the back and head. Matt is covered in zombie blood and guts, but he's alive and wasn't bitten.
"Thanks bro! I thought I was a goner," says Matt.
"Not today," replies Shaun.
Phil and I run over to make sure everyone is ok. I say to Shaun, “You got pretty good with that shotgun bro.”
Shaun replies, “Phil and I have been shooting more at the gun range.”
The golf course parking lot has become overrun with zombies now. We load up our vehicles and head back to the cabin. I start my car and the sound attracts a couple of nearby zombies. I swerve through a couple zombies while Shaun drives right through them in his jacked-up jeep.
"And I thought muddin was fun!" says Shaun as he rides over a couple of zombies.
On the drive home, we try our cell phones. I'm the only one that got a hold of anyone. I use my Bluetooth connection in my car to call Lauren.
"Are you ok Lauren? Do you see any zombies or anything in the neighborhood?"
Lauren replies, "Zombies! What do you think this is? The neighbors are mostly in doors but Martha is walking around still. The neighbors down the street are gone but the cop a couple houses down is still home. I see Ray the cop going to his car now. Martha is walking towards him. Martha just fell and Ray tried to help her. She just bit him. Holy crap. Ray just shot Martha in the head."
I tell Lauren, "Stay inside, lock the doors, and close the blinds Lauren. I'm going to make my way home now. It's going to take me some time to get home, but don't leave the house. I love you and want you safe."
Lauren replies, " I love y....." the phone connection stops and I can't hear Lauren anymore.
We arrive back to the cabin and find it in good shape. We get out of our vehicles and run back into the cabin.
I ask the guys, "Did anyone get a hold of anyone back home? How is Kylie and Lisa?”
“I saw a couple of text messages but my phone is not working right still. Kylie told me that Charlotte is a war zone and that she is scared,” says Matt.
"What is the plan now?" asks Phil.
I reply, "I say that we get the hell out of here and head back home."
We run back upstairs to our rooms and pack up our stuff from the cabin and start frantically grabbing everything we can find to take with us. Phil turns on the TV to find the emergency broadcast going on again.
The broadcast says, “Please be advised, this is not a test. Please stay inside and obey local law enforcement and military. Do not leave your house unless of an emergency.”
Phil turns away from the TV and says, “This is not a good sign."
"Yup, the world is fucked!" says Shaun.
I am outside packing up my car when Phil comes out.
"You going back to Tampa?" asks Phil.
I turn towards Phil and say, "Yeah, I have to make sure Lauren is ok in our house. I'm sure she is as we have hurricane impact windows and doors. Just hope they are zombie proof."
"I'm coming with you. Don't want you going alone and I don't have anything back for me in North Carolina except an empty house and bad memories," says Phil.
"Awesome! I'm sure I can use your help with all this," I say to Phil as I throw two bags in the trunk.
Shaun and Matt leave the cabin and load up Shaun's jeep. I run back inside for one final sweep of the cabin. I open the closet to find a baseball bat and a jacket. I take both items. I go into the kitchen and see a couple of knives.
"You never know if we will need these," I say to myself as I grab the knives.
I take the knives and go back outside to my car. I open the passenger side door of my car and place the knives in the glove compartment. Phil loads his last bag into the trunk and closes the trunk. I exit my car and find Matt walking over to Phil and me.
"I need a favor. Can you check on my sister in Orlando Ryan? She is pregnant and I need to know she is ok," asks Matt.
"Of course, I can and will do it," I say to Matt.
Shaun tries using his cell phone to make a call but his cell phone service isn’t working around our cabin. He gets frustrated and screams, "What the fuck is going on?"
Shaun comes over to where we were standing.
I grab Shaun’s left shoulder and say, "I need you and Matt to get back home to North Carolina. Get
back to your wives and check on our parents if you can. Get your wives and safety under control first and then if you can check on our parents and families."
"You got it. I'll get over to your dad's place as soon as I can. I have to check out my house and Lisa first though," says Shaun.
"Lisa will be okay, and so will Kylie," says Phil.
We all share handshakes and hugs.
"What a guy’s weekend huh? Might be the end of the world," jokes Matt.
Shaun says, "What if it's the start of the new world or the revival or something?"
I reply, "I don't know, but we have to fight for us and our loved ones."
Matt turns towards me and says, “Please check on Nicole. The plan right now will be for us to come down to her place in Orlando and meet you guys after we get settled with everything back home in North Carolina.”
We get in our vehicles and start our journey home. Shaun drives up the road and stops. He gestures for me to come to the side of his jeep. I drive to the left side of Shaun’s jeep.
Shaun looks at Phil and I and says, “You guys be careful. We will see you soon.”
I reply, “Be safe and get down to Florida as soon as possible.”
I pull up to make my left-hand turn. As I’m making my turn I give Shaun and Matt a goodbye honk. Shaun makes his right-hand turn and gives a fellow goodbye honk. We are leaving Tennessee and going home. Phil and I to Florida. Matt and Shaun to North Carolina.
CHAPTER 2
GOING HOME TO TAMPA
The sounds of sirens, fires, and screams echoes down the road as the I drive down I-75 South. We are somewhere near the Florida Georgia border on our way to Tampa, Florida. Phil and I have been in my car for about six hours now. I can’t help to think of my wife Lauren back home in Tampa and my parents back in North Carolina. I hate not knowing what is going on and not being able to contact anyone. I have tried to call Lauren and my father several times now but haven’t had any luck with getting a hold of either of them.
Phil has looked calm and relaxed since we got in the car. Phil has been tough to read at times since he was a kid. He doesn’t show that much emotion unless something makes him happy and then we might get a tiny smile out of him.
I look over at Phil and say, “I’m going to have to stop for gas at some point. If you see a good point to stop I think we should do it but only if it's safe. I have just over a quarter tank of gas left, but we still have about 5-6 hours left to get home and won’t make it unless we fill up soon."
"Try to pace your driving speed if you can. Keep it on cruise control and only go about 50-55 miles per hour. That should make the gas last a little longer," says Phil.
Cars are abandoned on both sides of the highway, but traffic can get by them. The highway is not a parking lot or blocked with vehicles or debris yet. Vehicles on the highway are traveling both North and South. As I pass cars on the highway, I wonder where people are going. Are they trying to find loved ones? Are they trying to find somewhere safe? I guess I will never know, but I just wonder how people are doing in this new world we are living in.
I’m trying to make sense of the current state of the world and ask Phil, "What do you think is going on?"
"I don't know man, but it's not good. I love zombie shows and books and that is what we have seen. People eating other people, attacking others, and society is breaking down. I have some military friends in Washington D.C. that talked about a zombie outbreak happening. Most of the conversations where based on the zombie shows and movies, but they did tell me something very interesting about the government and a possible zombie apocalypse. They told me a lot of things about what the government plan might be during a zombie apocalypse, but one of the best things to know is where to go. If a zombie apocalypse did happen they said that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta would be one of the best places to go to if something happened," says Phil.
I reply, "So, the CDC in Atlanta is where we have to end up?"
"It is definitely a good option if possible and needs to be an idea for down the road if we make it out of Tampa or Orlando or wherever else we end up," replies Phil.
I say, "I always thought getting on a boat, like a yacht, or even holding down a bulk food store would be a great idea."
Phil looks at me and says, “We will make it work no matter what we do. Boat, CDC, farm, or even just your house.”
We pass a sign for a rest stop and decide to get off. We need to get gas and supplies if possible. I pull off the highway rest stop exit, and enter the rest stop to find it a chaotic mess. Cars and people are everywhere. Zombies are eating people in the grass. Cars are being stolen. People are getting robbed. Several children and woman are screaming and crying. Some people are getting gas, while other people are fighting over supplies and a group of people are robbing the convenient store.
I say to Phil, "This should be our last gas stop before we can make it to Tampa. We need gas here and can't worry about getting gas at another stop, as we don’t' know what other stations are like."
I pull up to an empty gas pump and park the car. Phil and I check to see if the gas station is safe from people and zombies. The gas pump and surroundings look to be clear and safe for us to exit my car.
I look through my rearview mirror say, "I'm going to get gas. Watch my back."
Phil replies, "I got your back, I always got your back. Pop the trunk."
I hit the trunk release button by the steering wheel. We get out of the car. I get to the pump to find it working. Phil goes to the trunk to get a shotgun. He loads the shotgun with four rounds. I slide my credit card into the gas pump credit card reader. The machine won't read the card. A fight breaks out inside the convention store. A shot goes off and breaks the store front window glass.
A woman screams and yells, "What have you done?"
Phil turns to see what happened and a car goes speeding by him. The car was driving dangerously close to my car and almost takes out Phil’s legs. I try the credit card reader again, this time it works. I grab the gas hose nozzle, insert the hose into my gas tank and start pumping gas. The rest stop is starting to fill up with more cars, people, and zombies. As I am observing what is happening around the rest stop, I see a man trying to get gas a couple pumps away from our pump get swarmed by three zombies.
I turn towards Phil and ask, "Did you see that?"
Phil replies, “Yeah. It’s getting crazy around here. I’m going into the convenient store to get some things.”
Phil takes one last look around the gas station and makes his way into the convenient store. I am standing by the gas pump and keeping an eye out for any problems.
As I’m pumping gas, two men run up to my car and try to steal supplies from my trunk. I see them and attempt to stop them. One of the men, lifts his shirt up and shows me that he has a gun.
I pause and say, "Ok, just relax. Take whatever you want."
The guy takes out the gun from his pants and replies, "We definitely will. Give me the car keys."
I slowly lower my hands to my sides and say, "Ok, just let me get them out of my pocket."
The pump sounds to show that the tank is full. The sound startles the man demanding the keys. Phil comes out of the convenient store and sees the men trying to steal my car. Phil sees that the man has a gun in his hand. He drops the bag he was carrying and raises his shotgun to shoulder level. He whistles at the guys trying to steal the car. The men turn towards Phil.
Boom! Boom!
Phil takes out the man holding the gun with his shotgun. The other man flees the scene. I pick up the gun from the dead man’s hand as he lies on the gas station pavement. I walk over to the gas pump, take the gas hose out of the car and close the gas tank.
I turn towards Phil and say, "Thanks Phil. I wasn't sure what that guy was going to do with the gun."
Phil walks towards the trunk and says, "No problem, I saw the gun and decided to take him down. If he didn't have a gun I probably would have just knocked him out, but you
were in danger and I had to take him out."
Phil closes the trunk, and we both enter my car. I sit down in the driver seat and close the driver side door of my car. I reach over to the glove box on the passenger side of my car and open it. I put the gun that I took from the man who was attempting to rob me in the glove box and shut the glove box door. I start my car, check the mirrors for any cars, people, and zombies. I reverse my car out of the gas station and run over a zombie in the process. I put the car in drive and haul ass out of the rest stop parking lot.
I look over at Phil and say, "We got a full tank of gas and should be home in about five hours."
"C'mon phone! What the fuck. This phone sucks. I need a new phone," says Lauren.
She is sitting on a chair in the kitchen and trying to get a hold of her family and myself. The cell phone service is spotty at times and is not currently working around our house in Tampa. Lauren is frantically pacing back and forth by the front window now. The sounds of emergency vehicle sirens and people yelling are heard around the neighborhood as Lauren looks out a front window of the house. As Lauren is looking out one of the front house windows she sees a car speeding down the street. The car loses control and side sweeps a stop sign. The wrecked car then rolls into the garage door of a house that is a couple houses down from our house.
Lauren sees the whole thing and screams, "Holy crap."
Lauren gets scared and isn't sure what to do. She wants to help but not sure what help she could be. She tries to call for help but 911 isn't working. The car passengers fall out of the driver and passenger side doors. The people are alive but in critical shape. They are bleeding profusely. The owners of the house that the car ran into come running out to inspect the damage and check the passengers in the car. It's the Stevens family.
Lauren is watching the whole interaction from the window. She is crying and not sure what to do. Lauren has been alone for the past three days since I went away for my guy’s trip. She has witnessed the neighborhood turn from a peaceful quiet neighborhood into the start of chaos and mayhem. Lauren watches as the people inside the car become lifeless and limp. The Stevens family tried to help but the man and woman from the car are now dead in the driveway. Lauren tries to call 911 once again, as she wants to help the situation, but she still does not have cell phone service. After witnessing the accident, Lauren checks to make sure the front door is locked and all the sliding glass door are locked. She looks at one of our wedding pictures hanging on the wall and whispers, "Where are you Ryan?"
Fight 4 Us (Book 1): The Beginning Page 3