by Brian Grenda
“I hope he’s a lefty!” jokes Janet.
I walk right up to Joseph and say, “I never wanted to do this, but you gave me no choice. My people and I were minding our own business here. We never wanted to hurt anyone.”
Joseph starts laughing and says, “You don’t get it Ryan. You and your people are merely pawns in this world. Simple sheep to us. You’ll never…”
SHICK!
I swing my katana across Joseph’s oversized upper trapezius muscles, and slice through his overdeveloped neck muscles.
SPLASH!
Joseph’s head falls off his body, and lands in a puddle of water in the street right next to his right hand.
Lisa runs over to Shaun.
Matt and Phil run into Matt’s house to check on Nicole and Kylie.
Lauren comes over to me.
I shake my katana to get the blood off it, and put my katana back into its red scabbard that is on my back.
The rain stops, and the sun comes out from the clouds almost instantly after the fight between Joseph and myself ends.
Bruce walks over to Joseph’s head and stabs it with his knife.
“Gotta kill the brain,” says Bruce.
“Thanks, Bruce. Gotta kill the brain.”
TJ walks over to me and says, “Ryan, we need to get over to the Big Club right now. Joseph came here and attacked us, but I’m pretty sure Jacob was going to the Big Club.”
CHAPTER 2
KILL THE BRAIN
“We need to make our way to the Big Club immediately!” I shout to the group.
William comes over to me and asks, “What’s the matter Ryan?”
“Jacob went to the Big Club! We need to make our way there now. My father and Carlos are there.”
TJ says, “Janet and I found Joseph and Jacob on Clearwater Beach. We followed them. Joseph and half of his men came here. Jacob and the other half of the Conquerors went towards the Big Club. I don’t know exactly where they went, but it’s a high probability that they went to attack the Big Club.”
Shaun says, “I will stay here with Phil and Matt to help guard this place, Ryan.”
“You okay Shaun? Your leg looks pretty banged up.”
“Nothing some whiskey can’t fix. You guys get going. We’ll be fine here,” says Shaun.
Lauren and I run to my SUV that we parked outside of the South entrance of Citrus Oaks, and start our drive towards the Big Club.
William, Bruce, and several Warriors follow me, and Lauren to the Big Club. While Enrique, TJ, Odin, and Janet also stay behind to help guard Citrus Oaks.
I am speeding down the road, and William is following behind me. I must be driving 100 miles per hour.
As I’m speeding down the road, my mind isn’t worried about the road, the zombies, or anything except the safety of my father.
Jacob already shot Bobby G in the shoulder, the next step might be to kill him.
The roads are somewhat clear on the way to the Big Club, and we make good time getting there.
During my drive towards the Big Club, Lauren looks at me and asks, “Are you okay sweetie?”
I hear Lauren say something to me, but don’t clearly hear what she said.
“What did you say?”
Lauren replies, “I said. Are you okay?”
I become annoyed at the question. My adrenaline is rushing through my body. I’m anxious, nervous, and apprehensive with what I may find at the Big Club.
“I’m fine. I’m just worried about my father.”
Lauren gets quiet and knows that I’m okay.
Lauren knows that I’m focused and worried about my father. She doesn’t want to cause any more stress on me, but she is also worried about me and wants to make sure that my mind is okay.
As I pull into the Big Club parking lot, something looks off.
There aren’t any cars or vehicles in the parking lot or near the store.
The front entrance looks fine, but the rear entrance is wide open. The barricade of tires is pushed away from the rear entrance door.
I drive to the rear entrance and park.
William drives next to my vehicle and parks.
I run towards the rear entrance of the Big Club, and William shouts for me to stop.
I don’t listen and run right into the back entrance of the Big Club.
Several zombies are in the back of the store.
I easily kill all of them with my katana and run towards the front of the store.
“Hello! Is anyone here?”
The store is quiet, too quiet.
I make my way to the front of the store, and I see a big pile of red liquid and broken bottles on the floor. It’s hard to tell if it’s blood that’s on the floor, or what the liquid is from inside those broken bottles.
I turn the corner around a pallet of supplies and find Carlos lying on the concrete floor in a puddle of blood.
“Oh my god! Carlos!”
I grab a towel, and start to clean up Carlos’ face.
Carlos is alive, but he is struggling to breathe. It sounds like he could have some blood in his lungs or even a collapsed lung.
“Are you okay Carlos?”
William, Lauren, and the rest of the Warriors come into the store.
Carlos tries to say something, but it’s hard for him to talk.
“I’m sorry,” says Carlos.
Carlos coughs up some blood, and grabs his chest.
“Where is my dad Carlos?”
Carlos points to something hanging from a pallet of rice bags near the front of the store.
Lauren walks over to the pallet and grabs the piece of paper.
Lauren starts to read the letter and hands me the piece of paper.
The paper reads, “Hello Ryan. Your father is with us, for now. He will remain alive until we meet again, which will be in two days. We will meet back here at your store at 0900. If you are reading this, then my brother is probably dead. We will talk about that and your future in two days. Jacob.”
William and Bruce come over to Carlos, Lauren, and me.
I hand William the letter, and try to comprehend what the letter means and where we go from here.
William reads the letter and says, “We will get your father back. Jacob is smart, but we are smarter.”
Lauren gives me a hug and says, “We will be okay. Bobby G will be okay. He won’t back down. Your dad is probably talking their ear off as we speak.”
I laugh at Lauren’s joke, and it’s needed right now.
Lauren has always been able to calm the tension down between us, or in any situation really, since I have known her.
I kneel next to Carlos and make sure he’s stable enough to stand. I check him for any gunshots or other injuries, besides the marks on his face.
Carlos keeps coughing up blood, but there is less and less blood with every cough that he makes.
“I can stand. I’m okay to stand. This concrete floor sucks to be on,” says Carlos.
Bruce gets a chair as Lauren and I help Carlos stand up from the floor.
We help Carlos into the chair.
“What happened?”
Carlos gathers his thoughts and says, “They just came in through the back door. Jacob and Chris ripped open the back door with a machine or something, and then they came rushing in here.”
“Chris was with them?”
Carlos responds, “Yeah. He was right next to Jacob when they came over to your dad and me.”
I look at William and Bruce and say, “I should have killed that prick Chris.”
“You will Ryan. You will,” says William.
“They attacked me and your father. Your dad punched a couple of them, before they knocked him out and took him away,” says Carlos.
“So, my father was alive when they took him?”
“Yes, I tried to fight them also, but there were just too many of them. Must have been about 60 or so of them,” says Carlos.
Carlos looks at me and starts crying.
“You did all you could do Carlos. It’s not on you. I’m just glad you are alive. We live to fight another day.”
Several zombies come in the rear entrance of the Big Club.
“Zombies!” shouts Jeremy.
We all look to the back of the store and see that several zombies are coming towards Jeremy and Ricky.
Jeremy sees that a zombie is coming right towards Ricky and shouts, “Rick! Look out on your right!”
Ricky turns and shoots the zombie in the head with his rifle.
Jeremy and Ricky clear out the last zombie from the rear entrance of the Big Club.
“I told you, stop calling me Rick. I’m Ricky!” says Ricky to Jeremy.
“Sorry Rick,” jokes Jeremy.
Ricky shakes his head and says, “Let’s block this rear entrance with these pallets.”
William and Bruce come over to Jeremy and Ricky. William sees that they took care of all the zombies and are starting to block the rear entrance now.
“Good job boys. Are you okay?” asks William.
Jeremy replies, “Thank you. We are okay.”
I look at the red liquid on the floor, and Carlos’ beaten and bloody face.
Lauren hands Carlos a bag of ice, and Carlos holds it against his face with his right hand.
I see Carlos’ right hand, and I instantly think of Joseph’s right-hand laying palm up in the street.
I ask myself, “What is going on? Is this reality? Did I really just cut some guy’s hand off, and then decapitate him?”
William comes over to me and says, “The rear entrance is secured for now, but we will have to replace the door, reposition the tires, and improve the security measures around it.”
I look at William and say, “Thank you, William. I appreciate your help. I don’t know what we would have done without you and your men.”
“Are you okay Ryan?” asks William.
“I will be okay, but everything just hit me all at once right now. My adrenaline has worn off I guess. Did I just kill Joseph?”
“Yes. Yes, you did. I know it’s hard to realize what you just did, and to rationalize it as a good thing. It is a good thing though. Humans are not made to kill, but when it’s time to fight, we either fight or flight. You are a Warrior. You will fight and not flight. You did what needed to be done. Unfortunately for Joseph, it was the end for him. He and Jacob do terrible things. We will stop them. Together. You aren’t alone Ryan,” says William.
“Thank you, William. I don’t know how we could have survived that attack without you and your group.”
Bruce comes over and says, “Fight isn’t over Ryan. We need to plan for the meeting between you and Jacob. We have less than two days to prepare and plan what to do.”
Lauren comes over and asks, “What can we do?”
Carlos says, “You can’t trust them Ryan. They want you to play your cards and show them what you have. Jacob is smart and has to have something up his sleeve.”
I look at William and ask, “How do we play this? What should we do?”
William replies, “I have a plan for the meeting. It’s a little dangerous, but it should get the best results for us.”
Lauren looks at me with a concerned look and is nervous at the thought of me being in danger.
William calls over his men, and he goes over the plan with Lauren, myself, and Carlos.
Several hours go by, and we finish prepping the Big Club for the meeting and securing the rear entrance of the Big Club.
Lauren, William, Bruce, and I exit the Big Club, and walk toward our vehicles.
“You comfortable with leaving my men in charge of your store?” asks William.
“Yes, but I really don’t have a choice. I need to take Carlos back home, and see how the repairs are coming to our home.”
“We will follow you home. My men will protect the store. The store is safe. We barricaded the rear entrance very well, and doubled the number of tires around the rear entrance. No zombies can get in,” says William.
Lauren and I get into my SUV, and I start the engine.
I look back at Carlos who is sitting in my backseat and ask, “You doing okay Carlos?”
Carlos replies, “Yeah. I’m doing okay. The swelling has gone down some, and I’m not coughing up blood anymore.”
I drive through the parking lot of the Big Club, and make my way back home to Citrus Oaks. William, Bruce, Jeremy, and Ricky follow behind in William’s car.
As I’m driving home, I see that Lauren has a concerned look on her face.
“What’s wrong sweetie?”
Lauren replies, “It’s just been a long crazy day. Crazy couple of months. I have a headache, and I’m just nervous about the future. Are we going to have to keep rebuilding our home?”
Carlos hears what Lauren just said and starts to worry.
“What happened back home?” asks Carlos.
I make a left hand turn on to the street outside of Citrus Oaks and say, “This.”
Carlos is shocked at what he sees.
The South entrance is exposed, white smoke is coming from several homes, and the streets are filled with blood, guts, limbs, bullet shells, weapons, and debris from the explosions and battle with the Conquerors.
I pull into the neighborhood and find the streets cleared up, and a pile of bodies burning in a cul-de-sac.
Carlos shouts, “Stop the car!”
I stop in the middle of the street, and Carlos exits from my SUV.
Carlos runs to his house and sees that his wife is holding one of their children.
“Gloria! What happened?” asks Carlos.
Gloria looks up at Carlos with tears in her eyes and shouts, “They killed them! Those bastards killed our children!”
Lauren and I watch as Gloria and Carlos talk on the front lawn of Carlos’ house.
Lauren starts to cry as she hears that the Conquerors killed both of Carlos’ and Gloria’s children.
I walk over to Gloria and Carlos and try to console them.
Gloria shouts, “Don’t touch me! Stay away from me! You did this Ryan! You brought them here! If it wasn’t for you, then they never would have killed my babies!”
Gloria stands up from the front lawn and walks into her house carrying her dead daughter.
I look at Carlos with tears in my eyes.
Carlos says, “She is just mad right now Ryan. I don’t blame you, but please stay away from Gloria and me for a while.”
Carlos goes into his house and shuts the front door to his house.
I walk back to my SUV and drive home.
William drives his car towards the burning pile of bodies in the cul-de-sac.
“Where is Joseph’s body?” asks William as he exits his car.
Phil says, “Over there. We weren’t sure what to do with his body. We also separated the Warrior bodies from the other bodies, as we thought you might want to take them back, and bury them.”
“Thank you, Phillip. Do not burn his body. We may need it for when we meet Jacob. We will take our deceased Warrior family members back with us,” says William.
“Do you want his head and hand?” asks Phil.
William replies, “Keep all of Joseph together. Do not burn any of him.”
I park my SUV in my driveway. I exit from my SUV and walk to my trunk. I gather my Samurai armor, weapons, bags, and Lauren’s weapons.
As I’m gathering the supplies, weapons, and gear from my trunk I glace over at Bobby G’s house.
I can’t help but to think that I may never see him alive nor come walking out of that house ever again.
I have always been accepting of death. As everything that lives, must die. I appreciate the circle of life, but only when someone dies of natural causes, or by something medically related.
If my father dies by the hands of Jacob, I don’t know if I will ever accept it. As I will see his death as unnecessary and avoidable.
I try to stay positive with my thoughts, but it’s getting harder and h
arder to do that the longer I live in this new world.
I grab our belongings from the trunk, and Lauren closes the trunk of the SUV.
Lauren opens the front door of our house, and we walk into our house.
Milo greets me as I enter the house, and Callie runs into the master bedroom.
I put the bags, gear, and weapons in the living room.
I walk into the bathroom and wash my hands and face.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Someone knocks on my door.
Lauren opens the front door and says, “Hey TJ. What’s up?”
TJ says, “I hate to bother you and Ryan, but I need a favor.”
“I’m fine, TJ. Really,” says Janet.
Lauren tells TJ to come inside the house.
TJ and Janet walk into my house.
TJ introduces Janet to Lauren as Lauren closes the front door.
I walk up to TJ and ask, “What’s up TJ?”
“Ryan, I want you to examine Janet. We were in the house when the Conquerors blew it up, and I want to make sure she is okay,” says TJ.
I introduce myself to Janet and say, “Sure. I can check her out and make sure she is okay.”
Janet says, “Really, I’m fine. Thank you though.”
“You were unconscious, and weren’t breathing for some time Janet,” says TJ.
Lauren asks, “Oh my god, what happened?”
Janet replies, “The Conquerors shot a rocket into the house TJ and I were in. We narrowly escaped before the top half of the house was blown off. I must have passed out from the smoke. I’m okay now. TJ performed CPR.”
“You look okay Janet, but let me get my medical bag. I’ll just do a quick health screen.”
Milo walks over to Janet and rubs against her leg.
“What a fat cat,” says Janet.
Lauren replies, “Milo is definitely well fed.”
I walk into the living room and say, “Janet come here. I’ll check your lungs, and the wounds on your legs for any infection.”
Janet walks into the living room, and I examine her wounds and lungs.
As I’m performing the health screen, Lauren sees how TJ is watching Janet. TJ is intently watching Janet with a look of concern.
“How do you know Janet, TJ?” asks Lauren.
TJ replies, “I met her downtown. She is a Navy Seal and was helping out at MacDill.”