Fight 4 Us: (Book 3): Refuge

by Grenda, Brian

  A loud boom is heard towards the South entrance of the neighborhood.

  We all stop our conversation and are intrigued with how the construction is going.

  Shaun, Bobby G, Matt, Phil, and I start to walk towards the South entrance.

  Once we arrive there, I see Carlos and two other men moving a palm tree into position. Carlos has done a good job at blocking a good chunk of the South entrance and lawn.

  Carlos walks over to me and says, “Hey everyone. I’m Carlos. Ryan, we are pretty set for what we can do here at the South entrance. We need to work on the West entrance next.”

  I respond, “It looks pretty good, but we need walls and a setup to be able to open and close the street entrances. Like with cinder blocks, fencing, gates, and something on wheels or hinges that we can open and close.”

  Carlos responds, “I can draw up some plans, but we don’t have the supplies for that around the neighborhood.”

  “You draw up the plans and what you will need to make it happen. We will go back to the local hardware store and search around for what we can get.”

  Phil comes over to me and says, “We can go back to the hardware store today and get what we need.”

  I look at Shaun, Matt, and Bobby G and say, “Let’s go check out the West Entrance. Carlos is going to draw up plans and an item list for what we need to get at the hardware store first.”

  We all start to walk towards the West entrance. We come up to my house, and I see Jon and Frank standing by their car.

  Jon says, “I will be back. I wanted to make sure that you guys were setup with solar power.”

  “Thank you, Jon. I will see you again. Take care and be safe. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to come back around.”

  Jon and Frank enter their car, and we say goodbye.

  Phil, Shaun, and I start walking along the sidewalk and towards the West entrance.

  I turn to Phil and ask, “How did you make it back into the neighborhood after your drove through the zombie herd with your SUV?”

  Phil says, “I drove through the zombie herd, but there was too many of them. Zombie bodies were flying all over the place. They broke the windshield, got stock in the front plow, and got stock in the wheel wells.”

  “I saw you go flying by the entrance, and the SUV was all banged up.”

  “Yeah it was. I slammed on the breaks. Zombie limbs and bodies flew off the front hood and the SUV skidded down the road. I was clear of the zombies as they started going into the neighborhood towards you,” says Phil.

  “I tried to make my way to your SUV Phil, but there were too many zombies coming towards me.”

  Phil says, “I know you wouldn’t leave me to die, plus I saw the herd go towards the neighborhood. I pushed open my door and took out my handgun. Most of the zombies were going into the neighborhood, but a couple were coming towards me. I fired a shot and killed a zombie, but another one was coming my way.”

  Phil continues saying, “I pulled the trigger on my gun, but I was out of bullets. I pushed the zombie to the ground and heard a loud rush of vehicles coming down the road towards the neighborhood.”

  Shaun interrupts, “We saved his butt also. Man, you guys would be so dead without us.”

  “That’s for sure. Thanks again Shaun.”

  Phil, Shaun, and I get to the West entrance but realize that no one else is behind us. I look around and am confused where Bobby G and Matt are.

  Then suddenly Jon comes driving up to us and stops. Bobby G and Matt get out of the car and Jon drives away. Jon gives a goodbye beep and starts his drive back to his condo.

  I smile, laugh, and say, “What a bunch of lazy guys.”

  Matt laughs and says, “Work smarter, not harder.”

  I show the guys what the plan is for securing the West entrance, but know that we need more supplies from the hardware store.

  The guys and I have a plan for the neighborhood entrances, but can’t work on it until we get the materials and supplies from the hardware store that Phil and I went to before.

  CHAPTER 4

  HARDWARE STORE MESS

  “Do you have the plans that Carlos gave us?” asks Phil.

  I reach into my pocket and pull out the piece of paper that Carlos made for us.

  “Yeah. I have it. Let’s get going.”

  Phil and I meet up with Shaun and Matt in my living room. We are all set and geared up for the trip to the hardware store.

  “We need to take two vehicles. We will take the red truck and my SUV. We have the list that Carlos gave us. Most of it will be cinderblocks, wood, and mortar to build the walls at the entrances. Does anyone have any questions?”

  No one says anything, but they all have a look on their faces like they are ready to go. Except Matt, he looks like he is tired.

  “You okay Matt? You look disinterested with all this?”

  Matt replies, “Well I am kind of hungry.”

  Phil throws a protein bar at Matt and says, “Here. Here is some food. Get your mind right.”

  “Now that’s settled. Say goodbye to whoever you want to say goodbye to and be outside in five minutes.”

  The group scatters and the guys say their goodbyes to their wives. Phil says goodbye to Nicole, Ann, Mia, and Mason.

  Lauren walks over to me and gives me a kiss goodbye.

  “You be safe out there,” says Lauren.

  “I always am sweetie.”

  I hug and kiss Lauren goodbye and walk out my front door.

  Phil jumps into his truck with Matt. Shaun joins me in the SUV. I check to see that the radios are working and start up my SUV.

  I drive down the street and Phil follows. I drive to the West entrance and see that Phil’s SUV is still parked in the middle of the road.

  The streets in the neighborhood and right outside of the neighborhood are clear of any danger or zombies. I give a look at Phil’s banged up SUV and we start our drive to the hardware store.

  As we make our trip to the hardware store, I feel it’s a good time to catch up with Shaun. Except for our guys trip to Tennessee before all this mess started, I really hadn’t seen him in over two years now. Shaun has always been a great friend to me since we were in the sixth grade.

  No matter how long of a time goes by that we don’t see each other, the moment we see each other, we are able to pick up right where we left off and have a good time with one another.

  I look at Shaun and ask, “So what’s up man? How are ya? How is everything going with Lisa and the house?”

  Shaun replies, “What’s up? The world has gone to crap and somehow we are surviving.”

  I’m taken back by Shaun’s tone and reply as he usually is an upbeat glass half full kind of a guy.

  Shaun jokes, “I’m just messing, but things are pretty crappy. We are holding on. Lisa is doing okay, but she has had her tough moments. Especially when we had to leave our house.”

  “I can only imagine how it feels. Leaving your house and everything you’ve worked so hard for. It’s all gone. It has to suck.”

  Shaun says, “It does suck, but I’m partially relieved man. That mortgage was killing me. Uncle Sam and the banks can suck it.”

  As I drive down the street, I pass by a bank and a convenient store. The bank is untouched and looks to be left alone. The convenient store has broken into, looted, and heavily damaged.

  Food and water are the new things that people must have. Gone are the days that people cared about money, wealth, and material possessions.

  I pull up to a major intersection and can see the hardware store. As I’m stopped at the intersection, I look at the hardware store parking lot. Something seems off about the store. It looks much different than the last time Phil and I were there.

  I pick up the radio and ask, “Phil. You see the parking lot of the hardware store?”

  Phil replies, “Yeah. It looks much different now. Almost like people aren’t allowed inside.”

  “What should we do?”

  �
�I think we check it out. Maybe the store is empty now,” says Phil.

  I make a left at the intersection and pull into the parking lot of the hardware store. I decide to drive slowly through the parking lot and observe the store first.

  Phil follows behind me and takes a good look at what is possibly going on at the store.

  As I slowly drive by the main entrance, I see barricades set-up near the front entrance door. No one is going in or out of the store. The parking lot is pretty empty, but does have some cars and trucks parked in parking spaces.

  I drive around back of the store and find that there are several cars parked behind the store in employee spots and the back door is closed.

  “Phil, you seeing this? What’s up with all the vehicles behind the store and no one going in or out of the store?”

  Phil replies, “Someone most likely has taken over this store.”

  I want to find out, so I drive to the outdoor material section and park. Phil parks behind me and we wait a couple of seconds, before exiting our vehicles.

  I look at Shaun and say, “This doesn’t look good, but I have to find out what is going on here.”

  Shaun opens his door and says, “Let’s find out.”

  I open my door and exit the SUV.

  Shaun walks over to the closed chain link fence door that is housing the outdoor supplies, such as the concrete blocks, wood beams, and various other building materials.

  Phil walks over to me and says, “Something isn’t right here. Everything is locked and closed for a reason.”

  Shaun grabs the chain linked fence door and tries to pull it open. The door won’t open as it is locked and has a chain around the poles.

  A voice yells out from inside the store, “Can I help you guys?”

  I reply, “We are looking to get some building materials. We don’t want any trouble.”

  The man starts to walk towards us and says, “Well, you definitely found some trouble, and we can’t help ya.”

  The man is standing on the inside of the fence and is holding a shotgun at his waste.

  Phil shouts, “You going to kill us over building supplies? Did you take over this store now?”

  Several men come out from various points of the store now. Three men come from behind the man who was talking to us, and two men are standing on top of the roof pointing rifles at us.

  I look at the man behind the fence and ask, “So you aren’t going to help us out and let us get some building supplies?”

  “Nope,” replies the man.

  Shaun starts to get angry and shouts, “Thanks a lot. You really aren’t going to help us? That’s real kind of you to be turning us away when we need help.”

  The man starts to laugh.

  That only angers Shaun more.

  I see that Shaun is getting angrier and I want to avoid any problems right now.

  I walk over to Shaun and say, “Let’s get out of here. These guys aren’t worth our time and worth the fight.”

  The guy shouts, “Better listen to your friend there, boy! This can turn real ugly, real fast.”

  Shaun runs towards the fence and says, “Boy? You better hope that I don’t see you again.”

  The man walks up to the fence, up to Shaun’s face, and says, “No, boy! You better hope I don’t see you again. For your sake.”

  The man goes to walk away from the fence, but quickly turns towards Shaun and slams the end of his shotgun into Shaun’s face.

  Shaun is hit directly under his left eye, in his left cheek. He stumbles back, but remains on his feet. I help Shaun get into the SUV.

  Phil shouts, “This ain’t over. This definitely ain’t over.”

  I get in the SUV and drive off towards the exit of the hardware store.

  Phil follows behind and we speed home. During the drive home, Shaun’s face starts to swell and bruise. I check his face with some light palpation and don’t think his cheek bone is broken.

  Shaun is more pissed than in pain right now.

  I look at Shaun and ask, “You doing okay Shaun? How is the pain on the cheek?”

  Shaun shouts, “I’m fine. My cheek hurts, but it’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

  “Don’t worry we will get even with that prick. We have to develop a plan to attack the hardware store, but that guy will definitely get his.”

  After about 15 minutes, we make it back home to my house. I park the SUV in the street in front of my house, and Phil parks his truck in Martha’s driveway.

  We exit out vehicles and meet in my front lawn.

  Shaun is pissed, I’m trying to come up with a plan of attack, Phil is thinking about what to do next, and Matt is worried about going back to the hardware store.

  Phil asks, “What are we going to do?”

  “First let’s get some ice on Shaun’s face, then we plan to attack the hardware store.”

  Phil and Matt take Shaun inside the house to get some ice on his face and control the swelling.

  I stay outside to gather my thoughts and figure out what to do now. As I’m standing in my driveway I look over at the burnt pile of zombie ash that remains in the center of the cul-de-sac in front of Ray’s house.

  Something is moving around the pile of ash, but I can only see part of it. I take out my katana and start walking towards the moving object.

  As I get closer to the object, I see that it’s a dog. An all-black Germain Shephard.

  The dog notices me walking towards him and starts to run towards me. I gather my stance and sword as I’m prepared to kill this dog if he attacks me.

  The dog is moving towards me fast and is about to leap towards me.

  Then a voice shouts, “Odin down.”

  The dog immediately stops running and sits.

  The man’s voice shouts, “Get over here, Odin.”

  The dog runs over to the man who is standing in Ray’s garage.

  I place my katana back in its holder and walk over to the man.

  “Thank you for stopping your dog.”

  The man replies, “You are welcome. I didn’t want him to attack you.”

  I shake the man’s hand and say, “My name is Ryan. I live over there. May I ask why you are in my neighbor’s garage?”

  The man replies, “My name is Tom. My friends call me TJ. I knew Ray. I was his partner.”

  I hear the man say TJ, and I think to myself, why does that name sound familiar to me?

  It takes me a second or two, but I remember the note that was left at the police station.

  “TJ? You left a note for Phil and me at the police station?”

  TJ replies, “Yeah. I did. I saw you guys at the police station. I cleaned up Ray and Stephanie’s bodies from the station, and wanted you to know that I was available to help you guys if you ever needed it.

  Odin starts to bark as someone is walking towards TJ and I as we stand in Ray’s driveway.

  Phil walks over to us and wants to make sure that everything is okay.

  Phil asks, “Everything okay over here Ryan?”

  “Yeah. Pretty good actually. Phil this is TJ and Odin.”

  Phil replies, “TJ? You the same TJ that wrote the note to us?”

  TJ replies, “Yeah. Same guy. Odin and I are friends, I was Ray’s partner. Ray and I worked together for the last 3 years.”

  Phil says, “Just for the record, Ray was bit by the old lady that use to live over there and Stephanie was killed by Ray when he bit her after he turned into a zombie in the police station weapons locker.”

  TJ replies, “I figured something happened to them as I saw Ray and Stephanie both had bite marks on them when I disposed of their bodies.”

  I look at Phil and ask, “Is everything okay with Shaun and everyone?”

  Phil replies, “Not really. Shaun is pissed and wants to go back and attack those guys right now.”

  TJ interrupts, “Something going on with you guys? Anything I can help you with?”

  “We tried to get into the hardware store down the street,
but some idiots took it over. They attacked my friend, and we just left from there.”

  TJ replies, “Yeah. I know the store. The man that took it over is Joseph. He has a lot of followers and is big trouble.”

  I invite TJ to come to my house and help us develop a plan of attack on the hardware store.

  We cross the street and make our way into my garage. I set up a make shift table so we can draw up a layout of the store and plan the attack.

  Odin sits down on the garage floor next to TJ.

  I draw up the layout to the store, so that we can decide what the best plan of attack would be.

  I redraw what we saw from our previous altercation and start to think of ideas of how to get inside.

  TJ says, “We will need to create a diversion, or several diversions. We go in at night, and try to be silent. As they most likely have more men then you do.”

  Bobby G, Matt, and Shaun meet us in the garage and join in on the planning of the attack. Odin stands up and barks at Matt.

  Odin’s barking scares Matt. Matt is afraid that Odin will attack him. He tries to move away from Odin and trips over some boxes.

  TJ shouts, “Odin down.”

  Odin calms down and sits back down next to TJ.

  Bobby G helps Matt up from the ground and they join us around the table in the garage.

  I introduce everyone to TJ and Odin and we continue our attack planning.

  TJ asks, “Do you have bolt cutters, fire crackers, or anything that can make noise? What weapons do you have?”

  I reply, “We don’t have that many weapons, but we have knives to take anyone out silently. We have bolt cutters, and I have some left over fireworks from 4th of July.”

  TJ replies, “Okay. Great. I have some weapons that we can use, but I have another big question to ask.”

  TJ looks at each of us and asks, “Have any of you killed a person before? Not a zombie, but a person?”

  Phil says, “I have.”

  No one else says that they have killed a person before.

  TJ says, “Killing someone is difficult. It sticks with you. I’m sure Phil you can attest to that.”

  Phil says, “Yeah. It’s not something that is easily forgotten. The movies and shows make it look easy, but killing another human being is hard to live with after you do it.”