Fight 4 Us: (Book 3): Refuge

by Grenda, Brian

  FIGHT 4 US

  REFUGE

  CHAPTER 1 – WHERE DO WE SLEEP?

  CHAPTER 2 – MILO AND CALLIE

  CHAPTER 3 – ALL CLEAR

  CHAPTER 4 – HARDWARE STORE MESS

  CHAPTER 5 – CLEAN UP IN AISLE TWO

  CHAPTER 6 – CARLOS THE BUILDER

  CHAPTER 7 – UP IN THE SKY

  CHAPTER 8 – HOSPITAL RUN

  CHAPTER 9 - BABY DADDY DRAMA

  CHAPTER 10 - TOUGH DECISION

  CHAPTER 11 – LOW RATIONS

  CHAPTER 12 - NEIGHBORHOOD CHAOS

  CHAPTER 13 - JOSEPH THE CONQUEROR

  CHAPTER 14 – KNOCK KNOCK

  CHAPTER 15 - MACDILL AFB

  CHAPTER 16 - PLAN THE ATTACK

  CHAPTER 1

  WHERE DO WE SLEEP?

  My house is full of people now, almost too full. It feels great to have my father, friends, and wife all together in one safe place though. I have always felt that it was important to see my friends and family when the world wasn’t falling apart, but having us all together now means everything to me.

  I don’t know how long we will all be together like this, safe, and what the future holds, but I want to savor moments like this one for as long as I possibly can.

  My father walks into my house through the front door, and I follow behind him. As I am walking in, I smile, for I can see that everyone is talking to each other throughout various spots in the house.

  Matt, Kylie, Ann, and Nicole are in the living room as they tend to Mia and Mason.

  Lauren and Lisa are standing in the kitchen talking.

  Phil and Shaun are sitting in barstools at the kitchen countertop in deep conversation as well.

  I walk through my front doorway, close the door, and lock it. As I turn around with my back towards the front door now, I look out into the living room and see that the house is now completely silent, with everyone staring directly right back at me.

  I freeze and feel that everyone is looking at me and expecting me to say something great and inspirational. I don’t know exactly what to say, but know that they are looking at me for leadership.

  I’m about to speak, when Shaun beats me to it and shouts, “So what’s next, oh fearless leader?”

  Everyone has a good laugh and it causes the tension to break in the house.

  “Thanks Shaun. Thanks for putting me on the spot like that, but I’m still glad that you are here. I’m glad all of you are here. The world has fallen apart, and we need people who we can trust now more than ever. You all are my family, and together we will survive. Maybe even thrive.”

  Everyone in the house is looking at me as they trust me and support me in my decisions. I feel that they are anxious for a plan and to know what the next step is.

  “You all must be tired from the long drive down and from your journey so far. We have food and water for everyone, but please conserve as we don’t know how long our supplies and food will last.”

  Lisa raises her hand and looks like she wants to ask a question.

  I see Lisa has her hand raised and I ask, “Yes, Lisa. Do you have a question?”

  Lisa replies, “Yeah. Where are we all going to sleep?”

  I reply, “Good question. We can make it work here in the house on sofas, air mattresses, and on the floor, or some of you can start to stay in some of the neighbors’ abandoned homes.”

  Kylie looks at Matt and whispers, “I’m not sure about what we should do, but I know that I’m not leaving you and your family.”

  Matt looks at his family and says, “We stick together whether it’s here or wherever.”

  Shaun asks, “Are you neighbors alive or would we be taking over their homes?”

  “Some of our neighbors are alive, but several homes are abandoned, due to the owners either fleeing when all hell first broke loss, or unfortunately, losing their lives in the chaos and madness of the zombie outbreak. I can show you the homes that are empty, and we can make them your new homes.”

  The group looks at one another on what to do and no one is sure how to answer. People want to be safe, but they also want to be comfortable.

  I feel that people aren’t sure what to do about where to stay, but they want to be directed.

  I look at the group that has now made their way into the living room and say, “Let’s all stay here tonight, and we will go check the empty homes in the neighborhood tomorrow.”

  Everyone smiles and agrees with that notion of everyone staying together for one more night.

  Shaun and Lisa walk out the front door and get a couple things from Shaun’s jeep. Matt and Kylie follow behind Lisa to get their personal belongs from Matt’s car.

  Lauren comes over to me and gives me a big hug. She says with a smile, “I like the idea of everyone staying here and being safe. It will be a little tight in here though.”

  I look at Lauren and say, “Yeah. It will definitely be cozy, that’s for sure. Tomorrow we will secure the homes in the neighborhood for everyone to stay in. I know Ray’s, Martha’s, and Kyle’s homes are empty now, and so our people should be able to stay in them and still be close enough to us to feel safe.”

  Shaun walks in the house and bumps me with his bag as he walks past me towards Phil’s bedroom. I look at Lauren with a look of unsureness after Shaun hit me with his big bag.

  My dad comes over to me and asks, “Where should I park my SUV son?”

  I reply, “Park it next store in Martha’s driveway.”

  Bobby G replies, “Okay, she won’t mind if I park it there?”

  “I don’t think she will mind, as she isn’t alive anymore.”

  “She died?” asks Bobby G.

  Bobby G and I walk out the front door and walk towards his SUV.

  As we step through the front doorway, I say, “Yeah. Martha died and bit Ray in the arm. Ray is gone now also.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” replies Bobby G.

  Bobby G looks at the pile of zombie bodies that are lying on Martha’s front lawn and asks, “What are we going to do about that zombie pile at Martha’s house and around the neighborhood?”

  I reply, “Tonight or tomorrow, we will move all the zombie bodies and burn them near the entrances or somewhere safe.”

  Bobby G nods in agreement and gets into his SUV that was parked in the street in front of my house and drives over to Martha’s driveway.

  Matt and Kylie bring in bags from Matt’s car and go inside the house.

  Phil comes outside and stands right next to me.

  Phil looks at me and asks, “Do you have an air mattress I can use?”

  “Yeah, I have a good one packed up in the closet.”

  “Awesome. I need it as I’m giving Ann my bed,” says Phil.

  I reply, “What a nice guy you are. The air mattress is actually in your bedroom closest in a box.”

  Phil senses my sarcastic tone and punches me in the right shoulder. I kick him in the thigh and he laughs.

  I walk over to Bobby G who is looking at his belongings in his SUV trunk. Phil goes back inside the house to get the air mattress.

  Bobby G packed up his SUV with a lot of stuff and is deciding what to bring inside.

  I walk over to Bobby G and ask, “Do you need a hand with anything?”

  Bobby G replies, “I will in a second. I’m just trying to figure out what each bag has in it, before I bring it inside.”

  “Bring in everything that is valuable to you as I don’t want to risk someone breaking into the vehicle.”

  “It’s that rough around here now?” asks Bobby G.

  I look down the street and reply, “The world is that bad now. People will start stealing and taking whatever, they want. People need to survi
ve. That’s why I want to close off the neighborhood entrances as soon as possible to prevent as many problems as we can.”

  “That’s a good idea. You have always had this engrained view of survival and preventing bad things from happening, before they could happen,” says Bobby G.

  Bobby G continues, “Your gut instincts will serve you well in this new world. Tomorrow I will look at the entrances and see what we can do about securing them.”

  Bobby G grabs too bags and puts them down on the ground. I pick up the bags and feel that they are heavy.

  I jokingly say, “Damn, what you got in these bags. Gold bars?”

  Bobby G closes the SUV trunk, locks his SUV, and jokes, “Yeah. I got my gold bars in the bag to buy a yacht.”

  Bobby G and I make our way back into the house. I take the bags into my bedroom and place them on the floor.

  Bobby G follows me into the bedroom and starts to unpack his belongings.

  Phil and Matt are talking inside Phil’s bedroom.

  “Are you sure bro?” asks Matt.

  Phil replies, “Yeah man. You and Kylie take my bed.”

  Matt replies, “Where are you going to sleep?”

  “I have the sofa or air mattress,” replies Phil.

  I walk over to Matt and Phil and ask, “Is everything okay over here?”

  Matt replies, “Yeah. We are just figuring out the sleeping arrangements. Right now, it’s Nicole and my mom in Nicole’s room with the babies. Kylie and myself are in Phil’s room and Phil said he has the sofa or air mattress.”

  Shaun comes over and says, “Where are Lisa and I gonna sleep?”

  I look at Shaun and say, “It looks like it’s you, Phil, and Lisa in the living room.”

  Shaun replies, “Where is Bobby G going to sleep?”

  “I’m giving him my bed, Lauren and I will sleep in my man cave. We don’t have bed in there, but we will figure something out.”

  Phil replies, “Take the air mattress. I’ll take part of the sofa or floor.”

  “You sure man?”

  “Yeah, that air mattress is built for 2 people. It would be a waste, if I was the only one on it,” says Phil.

  Phil walks into the living room and picks up the uninflated air mattress from the floor.

  I open the man cave door and Phil puts the air mattress on the floor.

  Shaun and Matt walk right into my man cave.

  The guys have never seen my man cave before and they are shocked to see my martial arts weapons, sports memorabilia, and other items I have collected over the years.

  Shaun picks up my black bo staff and smacks Matt in his right shoulder. Matt grabs my martial arts sais and wants to throw one of them at Shaun, before I walk into the room.

  I see Matt holding my sais and say, “Careful with those Rafael. Don’t hurt yourself.”

  Shaun and Matt put down the weapons and keep looking around my man cave.

  Matt picks up a baseball and says, “Man the world has fallen apart. I can’t believe it. It seems like we are in a movie or TV show or something.”

  Shaun says, “I know man. Every time I wake up I hope that I just had a bad dream and that the world isn’t what it is now. Part of me wishes the world was normal and that I had my normal job and life. No zombies, and no apocalypse.”

  Phil says, “I know what you are saying about having our normal lives back, but I’m somewhat glad to not have my old life. I had nothing waiting for me back there.”

  Matt and Shaun look at each other and think about the last time they were in Phil’s house.

  Shaun looks at Phil and says, “I know what ya mean Phil. Matt and I went to your house before we came down here.”

  Phil says, “What? You did?”

  Matt replies, “Yeah, we got your weapons from your safe.”

  Shaun exits the man cave through the door.

  Phil says, “What was the house like?”

  Matt replies, “It was okay, but we did run into Amber and these two guys.”

  “What guys?” asks Phil.

  Shaun walks back into the room with a bag full of weapons. Phil unzips the bag and sees his weapons from his weapons safe.

  As Phil takes out the compound bow, Shaun says, “It got pretty crazy in your house. Matt and I had to kill Amber and the two guys.”

  Phil looks at Matt and Shaun and says, “You did? Holy crap. Did they hurt you guys?”

  Matt says, “No. I blew a hole in one of the guys stomachs with my shotgun. He died and then came back to life as a zombie. He bit the other guy, and we left after he bit Amber.”

  Shaun says, “I would never go back to the house if I were you. Amber is probably stuck inside the house as she is a zombie now.”

  I shake my head and ask, “What did you mean, when you said that one of the men came back as a zombie? Was he bit or something before?”

  “No. The two guys were working on breaking into the safe and were fine before they attacked us and I killed him,” says Matt.

  I sit down in a recliner chair in the middle of my room and can’t believe what Matt just said.

  The guys look at me and ask if I’m alright as they are concerned about the nervous look on my face.

  “Do you know what this means?”

  The guys give me a weird look, but don’t say anything.

  “If that guy came back a zombie after he died, that means that we don’t have to be bitten to be infected. We all might be infected.”

  Shaun says, “We could be man. All these pesticides and hormones in our foods. The government could have infected all of us.”

  Phil says, “Relax with that government conspiracy talk, but we all might be infected already, that’s for sure. We will have to pay attention and see if people come back to life as zombies if they die without being bitten.”

  “Yeah. Nothing we can do about it either way, but we will have to plan for people coming back to life once they die, just to be on the safe side.”

  Lauren knocks on the man cave door and walks into room.

  “Everything okay in here?” asks Lauren.

  I reply, “Yeah. This is our new room sweetie.”

  Lauren smiles and replies, “Okay. Great. Your dad is asking for you in our room Ryan.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right there,” I reply.

  Lauren, the guys, and I exit the man cave room.

  I walk into my bedroom and find my dad unpacking his last bag.

  “What’s up dad?”

  Bobby G asks, “Where are you and Lauren sleeping?”

  “In the man cave, I have an air mattress for us in there.”

  “Oh okay. You and Lauren will be okay in there? I feel bad taking your bed,” says Bobby G.

  “We will be fine. Don’t worry about that. I want you to have the bed.”

  Bobby G replies, “Okay, but tomorrow I’ll move into one of the houses next door. Martha’s house is empty, right?”

  “Yeah. You can takeover Martha’s house tomorrow, but tonight you can have this bed.”

  Phil knocks on Nicole’s bedroom door and is told to come in.

  Phil walks in the room and sees that Ann and Nicole are each holding a baby as they are relaxing in the room. Ann is sitting in the bed and holding Mia and Nicole is sitting in the rocking chair and holding Mason.

  “What’s up Phil?” asks Nicole.

  Phil looks at Nicole and says, “I just wanted to see how you and the babies were holding up in here.”

  Nicole replies, “We are doing great. I’m just happy everyone is safe and together now.”

  Phil smiles, looks at Ann, and says, “Do you two need anything? Water or anything?”

  Ann says, “I could use some water if you wouldn’t mind.”

  Phil says, “One water coming up. Nicole, you want one also?”

  Nicole says, “No thank you. I’m okay for right now.”

  Phil says, “I’ll get that water right away.”

  Phil exits the room and walks towards the kitchen.

/>   I walk into the kitchen with my dad and see Phil walking towards me.

  “What’s up Phil?”

  Phil opens the refrigerator takes 2 bottles of water out of the fridge and says, “I’m getting Nicole and Ann some water.”

  “Nice. Can you get Matt and Shaun and meet my dad and I outside on the back patio?”

  Phil says, “Yeah. No problem. We will be right out.”

  My dad and I walk outside to the back patio through the sliding glass door.

  It’s night time and cool for a Tampa Bay night in the summer time. Bobby G sits down at the patio dining table as I light a couple of candles in the center of the table.

  Phil, Shaun, and Matt walk through the sliding glass door and join Bobby G at the patio table.

  Shaun looks at me and says, “What’s up Ryan?”

  I gather my thoughts as I’m standing next to the dining table. I feel a sense of relief that everyone is together and safe. These three guys and my father are my family. I want them to know how I feel about them and what the plan is moving forward.

  I clear my throat and say, “First of all guys, I want you all to know that I’m glad you all made it here and are safe. Unfortunately, that’s only the start of this. We have a lot of things to accomplish, before we can relax.”

  A cool breeze comes by and makes the candles on the table flicker.

  I scan each of the guys faces and say, “The world has gone to crap and may not ever go back to the way it was. We can either cry about what we had and fail in this new world, or we can keep pushing forward and survive. What do you guys want to do?”

  The guys give a gesture that they are here for our survival and are not giving up.

  Phil interrupts, “We are here to survive and won’t ever give up. Well I know Shaun and I won’t, but I don’t know about Matt.”

  We have a good laugh and make light of the meeting.

  Matt responds, “Very funny Phil, but I’m here for the long haul. I have my mom, my sister, Kylie, and the babies to worry about now.”

  “We all have things to live for and that includes all of us. You are my brothers and well Bobby G, you are the only father I have ever had. Together, we will make this new world the best that we can. It won’t be easy by any means, but nothing worth doing ever is.”

  Bobby G asks, “So what’s the plan Ry?”