“Yeah they were. Those pies were pretty good also,” says Phil.
Bobby G says, “I saw the high school several months back, but I didn’t see anyone there. That school looked like a nice home base for a zombie apocalypse. Glad someone took it over, and it’s someone that we are working with.”
Shaun pulls up to the Big Club parking lot and we follow in behind him.
There is a small group of zombies near the front entrance of the store when we arrive.
Shaun beeps his horn to get their attention and half of them walk right towards Shaun’s jeep.
Shaun drives right through them and crushes several zombies with his big truck tires.
Shaun turns around and parks his jeep near the front entrance.
Phil pulls up to the front entrance and parks his SUV.
Several remaining zombies are banging on the metal front door of the store while other zombies are eating a body of a deceased person.
Phil and I run over to the zombies and take care them. I use my katana and Phil uses his metal baseball bat.
“I wonder why the zombies were trying to get inside the store? This entrance door should remain closed unless people are trying to get in and out.”
Phil looks down at the two bodies near the front entrance of the store.
“Why are these two bodies lying here? They look like fresh kills of people who were alive,” says Phil.
Two bodies are lifeless on the concrete entrance floor outside of the front door. A man and a woman.
I walk over to the bodies and see the bodies were recently killed. They were shot in the chest and only one of them was stabbed in the head. The bodies have some zombie bites on them, but they aren’t completely ripped apart as they would if the bodies were laying outside for several days.
I stick my katana in the brain of the remaining male body and look at Phil.
“This can’t be good. Chris has to be responsible for this.”
Phil walks over to the store front metal door and bangs on the door.
“Open the door guys. It’s Phil and Ryan,” shouts Phil.
No one opens the door.
Phil takes out his door key and unlocks the door.
Shaun, Matt, and Bobby G walk over to us.
Phil and I open the metal door to the Big Club and we walk inside.
Chris comes running over to us.
“What’s going on guys? Didn’t expect you this early,” says Chris.
“We have some guests coming here shortly. We need to clean this place up and clear out the zombies at the front of the store.”
Chris says, “Okay. We will get right on it, but who is coming here?”
Phil says, “Don’t worry about that. Get the zombies cleared out and clean this place up. Now.”
Chris shouts, “Come on guys, let’s clean this place up.”
Chris and his family run outside and dispose of the zombies at the side of the building and start cleaning up the blood and debris at the front of the building.
Carlos walks over to me and says, “Hello Ryan. Hello everyone. Everything okay Ryan?”
“Yeah, Carlos. We have another group coming here, in about 20 minutes. We need to make this place look great and get ready for them to arrive.”
Carlos responds, “No problem. I will get it done.”
Carlos runs to help Chris and his family.
The store looks to be in good shape, but I can see that Chris and his family are living pretty well here.
Some of the food and products have been depleted or totally wiped out.
“Guys break up and check out the store. Let’s clean this place up a little bit. If you want something for yourself, now is the time to take it as we don’t know what The Warriors will be taking.”
TJ and Odin walk into the store and walk over to me.
“How are we doing Ryan?” asks TJ.
“Doing okay. The store looks okay, but Chris isn’t doing the best job. I have to look into that more.”
“Is it still okay if I leave the group for a little while Ryan? Remember I asked you yesterday about me leaving to go see my dad at MacDill?” asks TJ.
“Yeah. I understand your commitment and concern for your father. You will be missed, but I will see you again. Try to get something great from the base though.”
I look down at Odin and say, “I’m going to miss you also Odin. I owe you some treats or something for saving me.”
TJ replies, “I won’t leave until after we meet with William and his group today. I want to make sure you are in good hands before I leave.”
The loud sound of horses walking is heard as I talk with TJ near the entrance of the store.
I shout, “They are here guys!”
TJ, Odin, and I go outside to welcome William and his group.
William and four of his men are riding horses while a large moving truck follows behind them.
“Hello Ryan, TJ, and Odin,” shouts William as he rides towards us.
“Hello William. Welcome.”
William and his men arrive at the entrance of the Big Club.
William, Justin, Bruce, and Jeremy get off their horses and approach me.
The moving truck is parked near the front entrance. About 10 men exit the back of the moving truck. Half of the men guard the horses, and the other half of the men stand guard near the truck and entrance.
William, Jeremy, Bruce, and Justin walk into the store with TJ, Odin, and I.
William and his men are introduced to Matt, and Bobby G and say hello to Shaun and Phil.
Chris and Carlos come over to us.
Chris says, “I’m Chris, I run this place.”
William says, “Nice to meet you Christopher. How is everything going here?”
Chris replies, “Good. You know. We are holding it down and taking care of this place. What can I help you guys with?”
I look at Chris and say, “Thank you, Chris. We will take it from here and show William around.”
Chris becomes agitated at my remark and walks over to Jamie and Diane.
William and I walk down the center aisle of the store as Jeremy, Bruce, and Justin walk around the store with Phil, Shaun, and Matt.
Bobby G walks over to William and me.
I introduce William to my father again.
William asks, “What happened to your shoulder Robert?”
“I was shot. I was shot right over there actually, when we took this place from The Conquerors,” says Bobby G.
“I’m sorry to hear that. We have a great doctor back home. He can look at it for you, if you would like,” says William.
“My son fixed my shoulder. He is a doctor, but thank you for the offer,” says Bobby G.
William looks at me and says, “You didn’t tell me you were a doctor Ryan. That’s impressive.”
“It doesn’t matter what I am, or used to be. What matters is what I do in this new world now, but yes I am a doctor and have been one for a long time.”
“I like that, but you are a good resource for this new world. We must protect that,” says William.
William and his men look around the store and they see some things that they would like to have. They take some woman products, soap, detergent, towels, and other odds and ends.
The Warriors don’t take much, but do like the idea of having the store running with the ovens, grills, and kitchen.
Bruce walks over to William and me and asks, “Ryan. How is the store being powered? Generators?”
“Yes, several generators are running the lights, freezers, and other essential equipment.”
“That won’t last forever though. We will have to setup a solar grid on the roof with some leftover panels that we have,” says Bruce.
Matt overhears Bruce talking to me and says, “I would like to help with that and see how you set up your power grid for the school, if that’s possible.”
William says, “That would be fine, Matthew. You can come back with us today, if would like, and we
can start gathering up the solar power equipment for this store.”
Matt replies, “That would be great. I will go with you.”
“You can’t take that! You can’t just take whatever want! This is ours. You slanty eyed immigrants can’t steal from us,” shouts Chris as he grabs a pack of batteries from Justin.
I walk over to Chris and grab the batteries out of his hand.
I hand the batteries back to Justin and say, “I’m sorry Justin. You can have them.”
Chris shouts, “What the hell Ryan! You are just letting them take whatever they want. Why are you being such a pussy?”
I turn towards Chris and punch him square in his nose.
Blood starts pouring out of Chris’ nose.
Chris grabs his nose and shouts, “You broke my freaking nose. You asshole. You won’t get away with this.”
Chris’ s covered in blood now.
Jamie runs over to Chris and puts a towel on his nose to help stop the bleeding.
Chris and Jamie walk away from me.
As they walk away from me, I say, “We will talk about this later, but consider yourself done with running things here.”
Chris stops walking and reaches for his handgun.
“Excuse me Ryan? What did you say?” shouts Chris as he stops walking and turns towards me.
Chris points his gun at me and says, “You left me in charge of this place. This is my place.”
I look at Chris and say, “Lower your weapon, and we will talk about what is next for you.”
“I’m done talking. Your time is up Ryan. You got my uncle killed. It should have been you!” shouts Chris.
Chris puts his finger on the trigger of his handgun. He is about to pull the trigger.
CRACK!
The sound of a whip goes off.
A whip hits the gun out of Chris’ hand.
Chris drops the gun and is tackled by Phil.
Bruce pulls his whip back towards him as Phil holds Chris down to the ground.
Jamie is about to punch Phil, but she is grabbed by Shaun before she can do so.
“Thank you, Bruce,” I say as I walk towards Chris.
Bruce replies, “My pleasure Ryan.”
Phil stands Chris up, and I look at Chris.
“I’m sorry you feel that I got your Uncle Tony killed, but Joseph did that, not me.”
“I will deal with you later Chris. Phil put him in one of the offices and tie him up. I don’t trust what he will do.”
I walk over to William and say, “I apologize for Chris and his actions. He will not be a problem going forward.”
William replies, “I hope the rest of your people don’t feel the same way Chris does about us.”
“I cannot speak for them, but Chris will not be a problem in this store or anywhere going forward. I know I do not feel the same way he does and would like to think that the rest of my people don’t as well.”
“I will not let one bad apple, well, you know how the saying goes. This changes nothing between us. I trust you and your ability to lead. You did what you had to do with Chris and I accept that. What will happen to poor Christopher?” asks William.
“He will be relieved of his duties at this store, but I need to talk with him, before I decide to kill him or not.”
“Being a leader is never easy. Everyone thinks they can lead and be in charge until you have to make decisions like this. I know you will choose the appropriate measure to be taken,” says William.
“Thank you, William. You and your men are open to have whatever they want as long as they don’t leave us with nothing. You saw what we have here now. Take inventory and see if anything else here will work back at your home.”
William replies, “I will and my men thank you. Matthew will come back with us. I will have my men bring him back here in a day or two. He will be safe. Matthew will learn much from our home and bring that knowledge back here and back to your home. Bruce, Matthew, and other members of my group will set up this building with solar power and get this place running on its own power grid.”
My group and I say goodbye to William, his men, and Matt as they leave the Big Club.
TJ and Phil come over to me and ask, “What do you want us to do with Chris?”
“Let’s go have a talk with Chris. Lock the front door and keep everyone out of the room. The way Chris answers my questions will decide if he lives or dies.”
CHAPTER 10
WHAT TO DO WITH YOU?
I open the office door, and enter the office that Phil put Chris in.
Chris is sitting in a wooden chair with his hands tied behind his back.
His shirt is covered in blood from his broken nose and his white shirt is now red.
“How’s your nose Chris?”
“The bleeding has finally stopped, but it’s definitely broken,” says Chris.
I close the blinds in the office and pick up a chair.
I put the chair next to Chris and sit down.
Chris looks at me and says, “What are you going to do with me?”
“What to do with you? That is the million-dollar question right now.”
I have never fully trusted Chris, and it looks like I never will.
I’m torn with what to do with Chris as I look at him. I’m not a cold-blooded killer, but I can’t trust what Chris will do if I keep him alive.
He threatened me and was going to kill me. I can’t take extra chances on people anymore and can’t risk keeping people around that pose any threat to me.
I look at Chris and ask, “What should I do with you Chris? What would you do with me, if the tables were turned?”
Chris clears his throat and says, “I don’t know. Trust between us is broken. Without trust, we can’t do much in this world.”
“I would probably kill you, but that’s just me. I overreacted before, and I’m sorry about that,” says Chris.
“What happened with the bodies outside of the store? There were two bodies and a group of zombies outside of the store when we arrived this morning.”
Chris gathers his thoughts and says, “People kept coming to the store. We helped a couple people, but more and more people showed up.”
“It became too much for us. We had to turn people away,” says Chris.
“But two people were laying near the front doors. They looked to be recently killed.”
Chris looks at me and starts crying, “I killed them, okay. They were banging on the front door.”
Chris continues, “They didn’t have anything to offer us, and they wouldn’t go away. I told them to leave but they wouldn’t leave. They attracted several zombies to the store. I killed the two people to stop the banging at the front door.”
I’m taken back by the omission Chris just said, but I’m not surprised by his actions. His actions got people killed, and I can’t have a person like that around the group and in control of a place like this.
I don’t want to kill Chris, but he can’t stay with us anymore.
“I thank you for your honesty, but I can’t have you stay here anymore. You can’t stay around me and my family. I’m giving you a second chance in life, but it won’t be around me.”
I exit the room and I hear Chris shout something, but I can’t make it out clearly.
TJ and Phil are standing by the door as I exit the room.
“What did you decide?” asks Phil.
“We exile him. He can’t stay with us. I don’t trust him around us and our families.”
“His family is not going to like this very much. What do we do if they get hostile?” asks TJ.
“We take them out. They are either with us, or against us. If they take Chris’ side, then they will be exiled as well.”
I walk into the middle of the warehouse and shout, “Everyone! Please come here. I have something to say and I need to know how you feel about it!”
Shaun, TJ, Phil, Bobby G, Jamie, Diane, Carlos, and the rest of Chris’ family come over to me.
Jami
e shouts, “Is Chris okay?”
“Yes. He is alive, for now. But he will not be staying here with us here, or at home anymore.”
As I finish my statement, I feel tension start to fill the room and anger being directed at me.
“Chris threatened me and was about to shoot me. Luckily, he was stopped, but his actions were enough to show me that he is a threat to me and us.”
“But he is our family. We can’t just let you take him away from us,” shouts Diane.
“You are free to go with him, but he isn’t welcome here or around me and my family anymore.”
Chris’ family isn’t happy with my decision, and they aren’t sure what to do.
“I just wanted to let you know of the decision that I made and keep you in the loop. Chris will be leaving us shortly. Anyone that wants to go with him is free to leave, but you will not be welcomed back here or back home.”
Phil, Shaun, and Bobby G start gathering up all the weapons around the store.
Diane walks over to me and says, “Ryan, you are putting me in a tough spot. So, it’s either we stay here and Chris leaves alone, or we leave with Chris?”
“Yes. I know it’s not the best of options, but I can’t trust Chris and anyone that will take his side. Please make your decision and honor my rule.”
Diane shouts, “We need to leave Marchetti’s! We don’t leave anyone behind. Chris is family, and we aren’t leaving him to die out there.”
I look at Diane and ask, “You sure you want to leave?”
Diane says, “Yes. I hope I don’t see you again Ryan. It won’t work out for one of us, if I do.”
I shout, “Marchetti’s, leave the guns here. You can keep your knives, but the guns are ours. Diane made the decision for you. You need to leave.”
I look at Phil and TJ and say, “Let’s get them out of here and make sure they can’t get back in. Get their keys and everything, but their knives. Give them a couple carts full of food and water and get them out of here.”
Bobby G comes over to me and says, “Ryan, you are throwing these people out on their own. You know that right?”
“I gave them a choice, they decided this for themselves. They will be okay. They have a house to return to outside of Citrus Oaks. Make sure they don’t take our belongings.”
Fight 4 Us (Book 4): Conquered Page 9