by Brian Grenda
“Jacob? He’s the bigger threat? What about Joseph?” asks Lauren.
“Jacob is the brains, Joseph is the brawn,” says Bruce.
“And in this world, you must kill the brain,” says William.
CHAPTER 15
MUCH TO LEARN
Our night ends with William and The Warriors. It was a great night with good food, friends, and family.
I hate to have the night end and return to the reality of the world again.
The dinner was a nice escape from the stress and problems of the world.
“Thank you, William. Thank you, everyone. This was a great night and we all appreciate your hospitality.”
“You are very welcome Ryan. It was our pleasure,” says William.
I realize that I still haven’t given William his gift.
“I have a gift for you William. I will be right back.”
I excuse myself from the cafeteria and walk back to my SUV.
I pop the trunk and grab the heavy gift for William.
I enter the cafeteria and find everyone talking to each other about a variety of topics.
“You have never been to China?” asks Li to Lauren.
“I have never left the United Stated except to the Caribbean on several cruises, “says Lauren.
I over hear the talk of China and other parts of the world and think about how the rest of the world is doing with the zombie apocalypse. Are they doing better or worse than us? Are they winning the war against the zombies or are we all fighting a war that we can’t win?
I walk towards William and hold up the heavy object with both hands.
“What do you have their Ryan?” asks William.
“It’s Joseph’s battle axe. I don’t want to look at it anymore and I think you can find a better use for it.”
Bruce walks over and says, “It’s a fine barbaric weapon. It’s too heavy.”
I hand the battle axe to Bruce and the weight of the axe pulls Bruce’s arms down towards the floor.
William says, “A fine weapon for a huge man, but I won’t be able to use it.”
“I figured that you could break the weapon down and turn it into a smaller weapon or two smaller weapons. The blades are very sharp and intact.”
Bruce says, “That’s good. I like that. We turn the big battle axe into two smaller lighter axes.”
“Thank you, Ryan. Thank you for the gift. We will repurpose the axe into something far more useful for us,” says William.
Lauren comes over to me and says, “Ryan, Li has offered to teach me some self-defense and weapons training here.”
“I like that idea, but I don’t want you here by yourself. I’m just not sure when we will be able to find the time to get away from home.”
I see the look on Lauren’s face as she is telling me about Li teaching her. She sees very happy and I don’t want to let her down. I never liked letting her down in life and don’t want to start now.
Matt says, “We can run Citrus Oaks while you and Lauren are here. Between Shaun, Phil, Kylie, and Lisa we can hold the fort down.”
Bobby G says, “I’ll go back to the Big Club and Phil and Nicole can go back home. Carlos and I will secure the Big Club.”
William says, “I can provide several men and woman for the Big Club and Citrus Oaks. Some people would like to live in homes again and a lot of them have useful skills that will benefit your store and neighborhood.”
“And I can teach you how to use your sword properly,” says Bruce.
I look at Bruce with a look of annoyance and say, “Sounds good Bruce. Lauren and I will be here. Sounds like I have much to learn about using my sword properly.”
“We will see, but I think so. Everyone can learn something in this world,” says Bruce.
William and I work out the details of who will come to the store and who will come to our neighborhood.
“Lauren and I will be back tomorrow. My father will be the point of contact at the Big Club and Matt and Shaun will be the contacts at our neighborhood.”
“Very well Ryan. I will see you very soon,” says William.
We all say our goodbyes and leave The Warriors.
It’s dark out now and somewhat difficult to see.
Bobby G, Lauren, and I get into my SUV.
I look at Bobby G and say, “I will take you back to the Big Club tomorrow. It’s too dangerous to drive that far tonight.”
“No problem, but I can drive myself Ryan. I’m not a child,” says Bobby G.
Shaun exits through the open gate of the school parking lot and takes Kylie, Lisa, and Matt home.
I drive through the open gate and start my drive home also.
“I know. I just thought to conserve gas. We haven’t found any electric cars around here yet.”
Lauren says, “What about Davis Island and South Tampa? That’s where the super-rich people live. They have to have some electric cars there.”
“Good idea. I think we will have to send a group out to check it out. I’m sure some of the famous sports players will have some nice cars and possessions we can use.”
A group of zombies are in the middle of the road as I’m driving home. I see them as I have my high beams on in my SUV during my drive home.
The zombies are blocking a lot of the road.
I slow down and move to the open side of the road.
As I approach the zombies, they are starting to move towards my vehicle.
I try to avoid the zombies completely, but I can’t help but to hit three zombies with the right side of my SUV.
Blood splashes up on the ride side of the windshield.
“Ewww!” screams Lauren.
I try to use to the windshield wipers, but it only smears the blood and organs into the windshield glass.
“We are almost home, and I can see out of my side of the windshield.”
I make it back home and drive to Bobby G’s driveway.
Lauren gets out of the SUV and goes inside our house.
Bobby G grabs a hose from the front of his house near his garage and hands it to me. I try to wash off the zombie blood and debris off my windshield.
I was able to clear a good amount of the blood and the windshield is clearer now.
“I’ll clean the rest of it off tomorrow morning. Go get some sleep Ryan,” says Bobby G.
I turn off the hose and put the hose back into its holder.
Bobby G walks over to me and says, “You are doing a good job Ryan. You have always done a good job in life. William and his group look to be important for this world and very useful. You will help each other.”
“Thank you. William and his group are good people. Not sure if we will find more good people like William, but we have to keep looking and trying. If we are going to make it, then we need to find more good people like William and eradicate people like Joseph and Jacob.”
“You will. We will. The world will. Life finds a way, and humans won’t die easily,” says Bobby G.
“Life does find a way to survive. Thank you for being there for me and helping me in my life. I truly appreciate you, and want you to know that.”
Bobby G gives me a hug and says, “Of course. I love you. You are my only child. You mean everything to me. I would do anything for you.”
I say goodnight to my dad and enter my house.
I am greeted by Milo as I enter the house.
He starts purring and rubs against my right leg.
I greet Milo and pet him on the head.
I walk by my sectional sofa in my living room and see Callie sitting on one of the cushions.
Callie meows at me, and I walk over to her.
She looks up at me with her big cat eyes and I pet her.
I hear Lauren in the master bathroom getting ready for bed.
Lauren is singing some 90’s song when I enter the master bedroom.
“That dinner was very nice, and I really like William and The Warriors,” says Lauren.
I change my clothes in t
he walk-in closet and say, “I like them also. I’m glad they are nice and helpful. They will be good friends and a good group to have on our side. I just hope we can find more good people like them in this world.”
Lauren walks out of the bathroom and gets into bed.
“It has to be a 50-50 chance of how people are when you meet them. People are just trying to survive now. I don’t know how long this zombie outbreak has been going on for, but I’m sure life isn’t getting easier for anyone out there. Just be careful when you meet people,” says Lauren.
I get into bed and lay next to Lauren.
“This world will make you do crazy things to survive. We have it pretty good. I have to remember that. We have food, water, shelter, weapons, and people. It’s definitely easy to forget how good we have it. People are struggling out there and that makes them dangerous. Good people will turn bad really quick. I like the idea of you learning more skills from Li. She looks to be kind of a badass.”
“Hiya!”
Lauren playfully chops me on my left shoulder with her little right hand.
“Pretty soon I will be able to take you down. Li might turn me into a badass as well,” jokes Lauren.
Lauren kisses me, and we enjoy the night together.
The sun comes up and Lauren is actually up before me.
I hear her packing up some bags and getting ready to go to The Warriors.
“Rise and shine sleepy head. Let’s get going,” says Lauren.
Lauren is very excited about being trained by Li. It’s nice to see her be excited again. I haven’t seen her this happy since the zombie outbreak started.
I hop out of bed and walk into the kitchen for some breakfast.
Lauren has her bags packed and puts them by the front door.
“How long do you think we will be with The Warriors? I want to leave enough food and water for the cats,” asks Lauren.
“Probably three days at the max. I don’t want to be away from this place anything longer than that.”
“Okay I’m going to leave an extra food bowl and water bowls for the cats then,” says Lauren.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Someone knocks on my front door.
Lauren answers the door and it’s Shaun.
“Morning Lauren. Is he up?” asks Shaun.
“Yeah. I’m in the kitchen.”
Shaun walks into the kitchen and says, “Good morning Ry. The Warriors are already here. We let them in the gate, and I’m not sure what you want to do with them.”
“Damn. They are here already. They work fast and are early risers. I’ll be out in a second. Take them over to Chris’ house and that cul-de-sac. They can have those empty homes there for now.”
“Okay Ry. I will take them over there now. You want to meet us over there?” asks Shaun.
“I will be over in like an hour, but I will meet you over there. Thanks Shaun.”
Shaun exits my house and takes The Warriors over to their next homes inside the neighborhood.
I finish my breakfast and say, “I guess it’s going to be an early start today.”
I tell Lauren to load up her bags and whatever else she wants to bring with her into my SUV.
I walk outside and over to my dad’s house. I see that his car is gone. I get concerned about what he did and where he went, so I enter his house.
“Yo! Dad? You in here?”
I walk into the house, and it’s quiet. I listen for any sound, but the house is quiet. My dad isn’t sleeping as I would hear him snoring.
There is a note on the counter in the kitchen.
“Went to the Big Club early this morning. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to get going. I didn’t want to wake you up. I’ll see you at the store. Bob”
I exit my dad’s house and walk back over to my house. I pack up my bags, take my weapons and make sure the cats are set with enough food and water until we come back.
Lauren and I load up the SUV, and I drive over to the cul-de-sac near the South entrance to meet up with Shaun and The Warriors.
I introduce myself to everyone and see what they can do around the neighborhood.
There is a good mix of people and families that will be our new neighbors. Most of them are excited to be in the neighborhood and to have a house again. The school was functional, but not a home. Most people need a house with a living room, privacy, and their own space to feel comfortable in.
I leave Shaun in charge of Citrus Oaks and of our new neighbors.
“You, Matt, and Phil are in charge of this place and these people.”
“I understand. We will take good care of it. Have fun with The Warriors and don’t get your butt kicked too bad by Bruce,” jokes Shaun.
“I’ll try not to. I hope he isn’t wearing a yellow track suit when I seem him again. Stay safe brother. Lauren and I will be back in a few days.”
I say goodbye to Shaun and our new neighbors and start my trip to the Big Club.
Lauren waves goodbye to Shaun and the new group as we exit through the South entrance.
“We really need to block off the sides of the roads that we take on a regular basis. I would like to prevent anything from getting on our main roads and make them clear for when we drive.”
“That’s a good idea honey,” says Lauren.
I see a SUV approaching my direction as I drive down the road.
The SUV slows down as it gets closer to me.
I stop my SUV in the lane I was driving in, and roll my window down.
The black SUV stops right next to me in the lane next to mine and rolls the driver side window down.
“What’s up buddy? You going to the store? Your dad is already there,” says Phil as he and Nicole are sitting in the SUV with Phil’s driver side window rolled down.
“We are heading to the Big Club to get a few things and then we are going to The Warriors. They are going to teach us a couple things, and we are going to stay there for a few days.”
“Nice. They are going to teach you how to use your sword huh?” jokes Phil.
“Yeah. You better watch out. I’m going to learn how to shove it up your butt.”
“Well, have fun. I will help look over the neighborhood while you are gone. The Big Club is in good shape. It’s locked down pretty good. Someone will need some big weapons and vehicles to get into the store,” says Phil.
“Glad everything is going good. I will see you guys in a couple days.”
We say our goodbyes to Phil and Nicole and make our way to the Big Club.
Lauren and I make our way into the Big Club and find Bobby G alone in the store, and he is eating something.
“What you snacking on their Bob?”
“Nothing,” Bobby G jokes with a mouthful of candy bar.
I walk over to my dad and see that he has a candy bar in his hand.
“What’s this? A million-dollar bar? It’s morning still. You couldn’t wait until lunch to have it?”
Bobby G laughs and says, “What difference does it make. I was craving one of those so bad and decided to indulge a little bit.”
Lauren walks over to me and asks, “How many should I take for William?”
“Let’s take around twenty. We have so many of them still. Twenty is plenty for them and won’t put a dent into our supply.”
Bobby G asks, “Twenty guns? You are giving them 20 of our guns?”
“Yeah, I know Phil took a bunch back with him, and we are pretty loaded up back home. You and Carlos only have two arms. You think you are an 80’s action hero now?”
Bobby G walks over to the pile of guns and says, “Yeah. Twenty is fine. We have about forty guns left here anyway. We should have enough for The Warriors to use here when they arrive today.”
Just as Bobby G finishes his statement, we hear a loud roar of horses and vehicles outside of the Big Club.
“Guess they are here. These Warriors are punctual and like to start early in the morning.”
Lauren and I grab several guns and load them
up into my SUV. I help The Warriors park their vehicles and horses at the Big Club and enter the store.
Justin says, “Hey Ryan and Lauren. We are here for you guys. There are five of us now and more will be coming later. We will change out every couple of days, but there will always be a Warrior presence to help your dad and Carlos run this place.”
We say hello to Justin and The Warriors and direct everyone to Bobby G.
“I will be making my way to Citrus Oaks after we get set up here. My sister and mother already left this morning for your neighborhood,” says Justin to Bobby G.
Bobby G and Justin set up the best locations for everyone and go over what is best for the store and best for both parties.
Lauren and I finish up loading my SUV with the guns and supplies for us and The Warriors at the high school and then we make our way to Tampa high school.
We arrive to the front gates of the high school and are directed into the fenced in school parking lot.
Some Warriors come to greet us and help us with our bags and belongings.
I look at one of the Warriors that are helping us and ask, “Can you please get William for me? I have something I want to give him.”
The man replies, “Yes sir. I will go get William right now.”
The men take our bags and belongings to our room and Lauren goes with them.
I wait for William at my SUV and am excited to show him what I brought him.
After waiting for a couple minutes, William and Jeremy come outside to my SUV.
“Ryan. How are you on this blessed day today?” asks William.
“I’m doing well William. Hey Jeremy.”
William and Jeremy walk over to my SUV and are taken back by my gift.
“Thank you, Ryan, but you shouldn’t have. I am a man of the sword and blades. I rarely use guns,” says William as he looks at the pile of guns in my SUV trunk.
Jeremy picks up a gun and says, “I like guns. They are a necessary weapon in the world today.”
“Careful with that Jeremy. That gun is loaded and ready to fire.”
William looks at Jeremy, then me and says, “Much to learn we have in this new world. You, me, Jeremy, everyone. I will learn how to use these guns as they will be a great weapon to fight the living and the dead.”