Fight 4 Us (Book 1): The Beginning

by Grenda, Brian

  Shaun walks through the back-sliding glass door and finds the pain pills sitting on the kitchen counter. He grabs a bottle of water, the pain pills bottle, and goes back out to see Frank. Shaun opens the bottle, gives Frank one pill and the bottle of water. Frank puts the pain pill in his mouth, takes a drink of water, and swallows the pill.

  Shaun is interested to see what Frank has in his bomb shelter. He knows that Frank has been a doomsday prepper for some time now and thinks that his bomb shelter is going to be stocked with tons of food and supplies.

  Shaun turns to Frank and asks, “Do you mind if I see what you got in your bomb shelter?”

  Frank laughs and says, “Sure, but don’t steal anything!”

  Shaun walks over to the bomb shelter door, it’s still unlocked and partially open from when Frank was loading supplies this morning. Shaun walks into the bomb shelter and is shocked to see what is in front of him.

  The shelter is huge and filled with so many things. Frank has weapons, food, supplies, medication, toilet paper, gas masks, magazines, and lanterns. Basically, everything you would need to survive. Shaun is amazed that this one guy has all this stuff. He could live for 40 years down there.

  Shaun walks out of the bomb shelter and says, “Holy crap Frank you got everything you would need for the next 40 years in there.”

  “50 years. I could last 50 years in that thing,” replies Frank.

  Shaun looks at Frank and asks, “How are you feeling Frank?”

  Frank stands up from the chair and says, “Better now.”

  Shaun starts picking up the canned goods that are sprawled around the backyard and putting them in the box. Shaun is a good guy and genuinely wants to help Frank out. They have been neighbors for about 4 years now. They get along great and look out for each other.

  Shaun finishes boxing up the canned goods from the yard and asks, “Do you want me to put this box in the shelter for you?”

  Frank replies, “Yeah, that would be great.”

  Frank and Shaun walk into the bomb shelter.

  Shaun puts the box of canned goods on top of the other boxes of canned goods already stacked in the shelter. Frank sees that Shaun is a good guy and that he means him no harm. Frank is thankful for Shaun’s help and wants to give him something for his help. Frank grabs two loaded handguns and hands them to Shaun.

  “Here ya go Shaun. One for you and one for Lisa,” says Frank as he hands Shaun the guns.

  Shaun is speechless and thankful.

  “Thanks Frank, these are awesome,” says Shaun.

  Shaun gives Frank a big hug. Frank winces in pain as his back is still sore from this morning. Shaun realizes that his hug hurt Frank and apologizes.

  “You know how to use a handgun?” asks Frank.

  Shaun replies, “Yes sir. I have a gun permit and shoot a couple times a year at the shooting range.

  Frank says, “Okay. Great. Be safe with them.”

  Shaun says, “No problem, I will.”

  Frank replies, “Okay, now get outta here. Lisa is probably worried sick about you.”

  “You sure you are okay Frank?” asks Shaun.

  “Yeah. I’m good now. Get back to your wife,” says Frank.

  Shaun puts down the guns and shakes Frank’s hand. Those guns should come in handy for Shaun and the group. Shaun picks up the guns and exits the shelter. Shaun walks to Frank’s fence, opens the gate, and walks to his house. As Shaun comes around the corner of his house, Lisa is waiting outside on the front step for Shaun.

  “Everything okay with Frank?” asks Lisa.

  Shaun replies, “Yeah. Now it’s okay, his back went out, and I helped him sit up and gave him some pain medication. He also gave me these two handguns for helping him.

  Lisa replies, “Two guns? I guess we may need them now.”

  Shaun and Lisa walk through their front door and into their house. As they walk in the house, they see Matt and Kylie in the kitchen making breakfast. Matt doesn’t know how to cook, but Kylie does.

  Shaun holds up a gun and says, “Look what I got ya Matt.”

  “Sweet. Where did you get that?” asks Matt.

  Shaun hands Matt the gun and replies, “From my neighbor Frank. He has tons of supplies in his shelter.”

  Shaun runs up the stairs and goes to the bathroom to wash his hands and clean up for breakfast. Kylie finishes making the last pancake. Lisa sets the dining table for breakfast, while Matt tries to stay out of the way.

  Kylie shouts as she puts the pancakes on the table, “Breakfast is ready.”

  Shaun runs down the stairs and is ready to enjoy a nice breakfast. The group loads up their plates with breakfast food and enjoy a nice breakfast before they head out to check on their parents today.

  Shaun says, “The plan will be that Lisa and I check on my parents today, while you two check on Kylie’s parents.”

  Matt replies, “Yeah. Kylie’s parents live about 25 minutes away and shouldn’t be a problem. They live in a retirement community.”

  Shaun responds, “Great. My parents live about 10 minutes away. Let’s finish up breakfast and head out to the houses. Hopefully, things will go smooth and quick, but let’s plan for the worst.”

  Kylie looks at Matt and says, “What if they are dead?”

  Matt responds, “Honey. You can’t think like that. We need to stay positive.”

  Kylie says, “You are right. They will be okay.”

  Shaun and Lisa finish their breakfast and go to their room to change. Kylie finishes her breakfast and is anxious to get going. She kisses Matt on the forehead as Matt is still eating his breakfast. Matt looks around at the empty table and continues to eat his pancakes.

  Matt slowly eats his pancakes and says with a smile, “Most important meal of the day.”

  Shaun and Lisa get changed and are ready to head out to Shaun’s parents’ house. Lisa is wearing workout attire. Black yoga pants, and a green athletic fit shirt. Shaun is wearing a black sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. He loads the shotgun with 4 rounds and puts a couple more rounds in a bag to bring with them. He puts the handgun that he got from Frank in the bag as well.

  Shaun and Lisa come down the stairs and find Matt still eating breakfast. Shaun gives Matt a key to the house, so that he can lock the door when they leave.

  Shaun grabs Matt by the left shoulder and says, “Good luck out there. I will see you later.”

  With a mouth fool of pancake, Matt says, “Thank you. See you later.”

  Both Matt and Shaun laugh, which is good as they both are somewhat nervous that they may never see each other again.

  Shaun and Lisa go out the front door and get into Lisa’s car. Lisa has a full tank of gas in the car, so taking her car makes more sense than taking Shaun’s jeep that has less than a quarter tank of gas now. Lisa and Shaun get into the car. Lisa starts the engine and backs out of the driveway. They are off to Shaun’s parents’ house.

  Kylie comes walking down the stairs and sees Matt still eating his pancakes.

  Kylie looks at Matt and shouts, “What is taking you so long?”

  Matt takes his last bite of pancake and says, “All done. I’ll be right up.”

  Matt gets up from the dining table, puts the plate in the sink and walks up the stairs to the bedroom. Matt changes his clothes and decides to put on a black flannel shirt over a white under shirt and some jeans. He checks to see if the shotgun is still loaded, and it has one round in it. He loads 3 more rounds and puts a couple more rounds in a small duffel bag. He gives the handgun to Kylie as she can hold the bag that they are bringing with them. Kylie is wearing a red athletic jacket and jeans.

  Matt and Kylie check to make sure they have everything that they want to bring with them. They are ready to go. Kylie runs down the stairs and out the front door. Matt walks down the steps and goes to the fridge. He grabs a bottle water and then goes out the front door. He locks the front door and walks to his car. Kylie is impatiently waiting by the passenger side door.

 
Kylie shouts at Matt, “Hurry up slow poke.”

  Matt laughs as he walks towards his driver side door. Matt unlocks the car. Kylie jumps in the car, followed by Matt who slowly gets in the driver side door. Matt starts up the car and puts his bottled water in the cup holder.

  Kylie looks at the bottled water and asks, “Really?”

  Matt replies, “Yeah. I will probably get thirsty while we are out.”

  Kylie laughs and says, “Okay. Okay. Let’s get going.”

  Matt puts the car in drive and slams down the gas pedal. The tires screech down the street as Matt speeds down the road.

  Shaun and Lisa pull up to Shaun’s parents’ house. The house looks to be in good shape and without any problems. Shaun and Lisa look out the car windows to check for any zombies or any other potential dangers around the house. Shaun and Lisa both exit the car and start walking towards the front door. Shaun hears a noise, stops in his tracks, raises his shotgun, but doesn’t fire.

  Lisa says, “It was probably a squirrel.”

  Shaun laughs and they continue walking.

  Lisa and Shaun make it to the front door. Lisa knocks on the door. Shaun tries the door knob, but it’s locked.

  Shaun shouts, “Mom. Dad. Open the door.”

  Shaun and Lisa hear someone unlocking the door. The door opens. Shaun sees his mom Linda standing at the front door. Shaun’s mom opens the door further, so that Lisa and Shaun can both enter the house. Linda is glad to see both Shaun and Lisa. She gives them both big hugs.

  Shaun asks, “Where is dad?”

  Linda starts to cry and says, “He’s in the bedroom.”

  Shaun runs to the bedroom and finds his dad lying in bed. Shaun’s dad is a tough little guy named Don. He has done construction for the past 30 years.

  Shaun asks, “Are you okay dad?”

  Don replies, “I don’t think so son.”

  Don takes his left arm out from under the covers and shows a heavily bandaged wound on his left forearm.

  Shaun asks, “What the hell happened?”

  “I was working at this job site, when this homeless guy just ran up and bit me,” replies Don.

  Shaun removes the bandages and sees a deep bite wound. Shaun feels his dad’s forehead, and he has a fever.

  Shaun asks, “When were you bit?”

  “I think two or three days ago,” replies Don.

  Shaun walks out of the bedroom and finds his mother crying to Lisa on the sofa. Shaun knows that his father doesn’t have much longer to live, but isn’t sure that he can be the one to kill him.

  Shaun goes outside to clear his head and sees something moving in the backyard. He runs down the back-patio steps with his shotgun. He sees a zombie trapped in the woods between some branches. He only has his shotgun and doesn’t want to cause more noise with firing the shotgun.

  So, he runs back to his parents’ shed and finds a plethora of zombie killing tools. Machetes, axes, shovels, hammers, and a chainsaw. He picks up the machete and runs back to the trapped zombie. He walks up to the zombie and raises his machete. He swings down on the zombie and the zombies head explodes. Blood and brains fly all over the place.

  A woman’s scream is heard. The scream came from inside Shaun’s parent’s house. Shaun hears the scream and runs back to the house. He runs up the back-patio steps and is met by Lisa.

  Lisa says, “Come quick. It’s not good Shaun.”

  Shaun runs into the bedroom and finds something terrible. Shaun immediately starts to cry from what he sees. His dad has turned into a zombie and is biting, chewing, and chomping on Linda’s right arm and neck. Blood is everyone. Shaun drops the machete and leaves the room. He falls to the floor and is in disbelief. Lisa comes to Shaun’s aide and tries to figure out what to do. Shaun is in a state of shock and can’t really understand what Lisa is saying.

  Lisa continues to try to get an answer out of Shaun as to what to do next, but Shaun still won’t answer. Lisa decides to act now as she doesn’t want any more people to die. She picks up the shotgun and walks into the bedroom. Lisa finds Don still eating Linda. Don stops eating Linda for a second and looks at Lisa. Lisa is saddened by the sight of Don, but knows that she must end this. Don groans and reaches for Lisa. Lisa raises the shotgun and points it at Don.

  She says, “I’m sorry for this Don.”

  Boom!

  Lisa fires a shotgun blast straight through Don’s face. Don is instantly lifeless as he falls to the carpet.

  The shotgun blast must have woken Shaun out of his trance. Shaun stands up and walks over to Lisa who is in shock that she just killed Shaun’s dad. Shaun grabs the shotgun from Lisa and hugs her.

  Shaun whispers to Lisa, “Thank you. I couldn’t do it.”

  Shaun looks at her mother and knows that she will come back as a zombie. He picks up the machete and walks over to his mother’s body. He starts to cry and struggles with killing his mother. He starts to walk away again, but gathers himself and knows that he needs to do this.

  He stands over his mom’s bleeding and bitten body and says, “I’m so sorry for this mom. I should have been stronger before. I love you.”

  Shaun stabs his mom in the head with the machete. He immediately leaves the room and wants to leave the house. Lisa meets him in the living room and gives him a hug.

  Lisa says, “I know it’s tough. I’m sorry you had to go through this.”

  Shaun hugs Lisa and feels better during the embrace. Shaun can’t take being in this house any longer and wants to leave. He motions to Lisa that they are leaving. Shaun and Lisa exit the house through the front door. Shaun closes the front door and locks it. Lisa and Shaun walk to Lisa’s car. Lisa gets into her car, but Shaun sees a zombie in the distance. He runs over to the zombie and chops off the zombie’s head with the machete. The zombie falls to the ground. Shaun stabs the zombie in the chest. He repeatedly stabs the chest and body. He feels helpless and responsible for his parents dying.

  Lisa drives down the street and sees Shaun sitting in the grass. She gets out of the car and runs over to Shaun. Shaun is crying and not sure what emotion to feel, as he feels a variety of things right now.

  Lisa sits down next to Shaun in the grass.

  She turns towards Shaun and says, “I know you are hurting right now, but let’s get home and calm down.”

  Shaun responds, “That’s a good idea. I don’t want to feel any more pain or loss today.”

  Shaun is clearly upset and will need some time to get over the loss of his parents. Lisa is the right person to help Shaun mourn his parents and heal.

  Shaun and Lisa stand up from the grass and get into Lisa’s car.

  Shaun turns towards Lisa and says, “Thank you for taking care of things in the house. I really froze up and struggled with ending my parents lives.”

  Lisa responds, “I understood what was happening and how it was tough on you, but it had to be done. I’m just sorry that we lost them.”

  Shaun looks down at his wedding ring and smiles. He loves Lisa and knew she was the one for him on their very first date. Lisa compliments Shaun in a variety of ways. Shaun would be lost without Lisa in his life, and that may be even more evident as Shaun just lost his last living family members.

  Matt and Kylie arrive at Kylie’s parents’ house. Matt parks the car in the street. Kylie attempts to jump out of the car, but Matt grabs her left arm before she can leave the car.

  Matt says, “You can’t just go running into places. You have to be careful now.”

  Kylie replies, “I understand. I’m just anxious to see if my parents are okay.”

  Matt looks out the windows of the car. He makes sure the house is clear of zombies and any other dangers. Matt feels that the area is safe enough, and he exits the car. Kylie exits the car quickly and starts to run towards her parents’ front door. Kylie gets to the front door and finds a bloody foot print on the front step leading into the house. Matt sees the bloody foot print as well, and knows that it can’t be a good sign. He goes
to open the front door, but it’s already open slightly.

  Kylie pushes open the front door and shouts, “Mom! Dad! Are you here?”

  No answer.

  The house is quiet. Kylie walks through the front door and enters the house. She walks into the kitchen and sees more blood by the kitchen sink. Matt walks into the living room and is shocked what he finds. Kylie walks into the living room through the kitchen and screams in terror.

  Laying on the living room floor are the bodies of two people covered in blood. The bodies and faces of the people are hard to make out with all the blood surrounding them. The bodies look to have been stabbed repeatedly. Kylie immediately starts to cry. Matt walks closer to the bodies and tries to figure out if it’s Kylie’s mom and dad. It’s hard to tell as the bodies are so bloody and disfigured due to being stabbed and cut so many times. Matt walks over to Kylie and gives her a hug. Matt tries to walk with Kylie into the kitchen, but Kylie slips out of Matt’s embrace and kneels by the bodies.

  She looks at the bodies and feels that they are her parents. She looks at the parts that aren’t as bloody as the rest and notices the shoes and clothing that her parents might be wearing. She also notices that the bodies aren’t wearing any jewelry. Someone must have stolen the watch her dad usually wears, her mom’s necklace, and her parents wedding rings. The bodies look to have been wiped clean of any jewelry that they might have been wearing.

  Matt walks into the kitchen and finds it a mess. Cabinets are open, food and broken glasses are all over the counter top. Someone or a group of people must have robbed Kylie’s parents and then killed them.

  Matt walks back over to Kylie and says, “We need to leave.”

  Kylie asks, “Why? What is wrong?”

  Matt replies, “Someone clearly did this to your parents and they might come back. I’m sorry about your parents, but this house is not safe.”

  Kylie looks are her parents one last time. It’s a hard sight to look at. No one should see their loved ones like that. Kylie runs back to the car, opens the passenger side door, and pulls out the handgun from the bag. Kylie closes the passenger side car door and looks around the neighborhood.