Fight 4 Us (Book 12): Power Read online

  Jon asks, “Should I go with them?”

  “It’s up to you,” I answer Jon.

  Jon exits Bobby G’s house.

  I look at Matt and see that something is bothering Matt.

  “What’s up Matt?” I ask as I grab two empty beer bottles off Bobby G’s living room table.

  “I’m just worried about things,” answers Matt.

  I say to Matt, “Help me clean this up.”

  Matt grabs three empty beer bottles and follows me into Bobby G’s kitchen.

  “What has you so worried now?” I ask Matt as I place the two empty beer bottles on the kitchen counter.

  Matt places his three empty beer bottles next to mine on the kitchen counter and answers, “It was a warzone around the parking lot of the electric company.”

  “Bakari and Saba said they were attacked at the electric company,” I say.

  “Yeah, but how can we fight some large military group, and zombies, and the Conquerors, and whoever else comes along?” asks Matt.

  I think about what Matt just asked and answer, “Together.”

  I exit from the kitchen and gather up the last remaining empty beer bottles from the living room and bring them into the kitchen.

  “That’s it? Together?” asks Matt.

  “Yeah, whatever comes our way we can handle it if we stick together and work as a team,” I answer Matt.

  “But they have guns, and vehicles, and gear and training,” says Matt.

  I can sense that Matt is having one of his freak out moments. I think of what to say to calm Matt down and to make him feel better about everything.

  “Look I hear what you are saying and feel the same concerns that you do,” I say to Matt.

  “Then why aren’t you freaking out?” asks Matt.

  “What good would that do? Plus you are freaking out for both of us,” I answer with a smile on my face.

  Matt smirks at my answer.

  “But seriously though. I feel, I truly feel, that we can do anything and put up a good fight against anyone that challenges us. We aren’t military trained special op badass soldiers or anything, but we are a team that would do anything for each other... And that’s hard to beat,” I say to Matt.

  Matt still looks freaked out and I’m not sure what I can say to make him totally feel better about everything.

  “Look, we’ll always try to keep things as safe as possible around here. We have some good connections, and allies, and we’ll try to stay on the right side of things,” I say to Matt.

  “The Ghosts and the Haven are good connections and people to have on our side,” says Matt.

  “Exactly. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” I say to Matt.

  “You’re right. I’m going to head over to Whitney and Mike’s tomorrow and see if Mike found out anything new around here,” says Matt.

  “Good thinking. Just make sure you take someone with you,” I say to Matt.

  “I will, you mind if I head back home?” asks Matt.

  “Go ahead. I want to write a little before I head back home myself,” I answer Matt.

  Matt walks towards Bobby G’s closed front door and then stops walking. Matt turns around and says to me, “Thanks Ry. You really are a great friend and good leader. I’m glad that I’m here with you and the guys.”

  “Thanks. You and the guys are the people I’d want to spend the end of the world with,” I reply to Matt with a smile on my face.

  CHAPTER 2

  LET’S PLAY IT COOL

  It’s the next morning. I wake up and walk into my man cave with a sense of anxiousness and a slight headache. I place my thick black yoga mat on the floor of my man cave, and I try to relax and meditate.

  I slow my breathing down and try to relax. I haven’t meditated in a while, but I remember the last time that I did I saw a vision of my father being fatally wounded by Chris and it actually happened.

  I ask myself, “How did that happen? Why was I able to see what happened to my father so clearly?”

  My anxiety and headache go away as I meditate for about thirty minutes. I finish up my meditation and perform some abdominal, lower back, and leg exercises and stretches.

  I hear Lauren in our kitchen, I finish up my exercises, roll up my yoga mat, and then exit my man cave.

  “Everything okay honey?” asks Lauren as I enter the kitchen.

  “Yeah,” I answer Lauren and then I kiss Lauren.

  “Do we have anything different than oatmeal?” I ask Lauren.

  “Not really, what would you like?” answers Lauren.

  “I really want some eggs, bacon, and cinnamon rolls,” I answer Lauren.

  Milo comes into the kitchen and meows at me.

  “Speaking of bacon,” jokes Lauren.

  I get Milo’s cat food and pour some into his bowl.

  “I already gave Callie her food,” says Lauren.

  “I’m sure you did. You definitely favor her over Milo,” I reply.

  Lauren places her bowl of oatmeal into the microwave as I walk back into the kitchen. “I love Milo very much,” says Lauren.

  I reply, “I know you do but you give Callie a little more love and attention than our belly boy Milo.”

  “Milo definitely loves you more than me and Callie takes to me,” says Lauren.

  Callie comes into the kitchen and rubs against Lauren’s pajama pant leg.

  I look down at Callie and say to Lauren, “See.”

  Lauren and I enjoy a nice breakfast at our dining room table.

  “What are you doing today?” asks Lauren as I sit with her at our dining room table after finishing our breakfast.

  “I’m not sure. We are waiting to hear from William on meeting with him and also Bakari to meet with Isiah,” I answer Lauren.

  “I’m glad Bakari got the power back on and the tap water looks so much better now,” says Lauren.

  “Me too, but I still don’t get who put the device on the electric company to prevent the power from being sent all over Tampa Bay,” I say.

  “Me either, I just thought it went out because people weren’t at the power companies anymore,” says Lauren.

  “I think most of the power companies are controlled remotely and by AI now. People had to stay employed with the power companies to make sure everything was running smoothly, but I think most operations were performed by robots and computers now,” I say.

  “I guess making minimum wage at sixteen bucks an hour made companies hire less people and turn to hiring robot and machine employees,” says Lauren.

  “That definitely didn’t help things. People became expendable and cost too much money for companies. Salary, insurance, benefits, time off, and workers comp cost way too much for companies,” I say to Lauren.

  I enter my kitchen and ask Lauren, “What do you have planned today?”

  “Nothing really, just planned to spend some time with mom today. We haven’t had much time just the two of us,” answers Lauren.

  “Good idea,” I reply to Lauren and then I enter my master bedroom.

  I change my clothes and put on my sneakers.

  Lauren walks into our master bathroom. I say to Lauren, “I’m going outside. I’m going to check around the neighborhood.”

  I kiss Lauren goodbye and exit my house.

  I notice that the weather is somewhat cooler now. It’s not cold, but it’s definitely cooled down as it sometimes does in November around Tampa Bay.

  Two O2U delivery vans are parked in the driveway of the abandoned house next to Shaun’s house and I walk over to them.

  I make my way down to the O2U vans and try to open the back hatch door. The door is locked, and I say to myself, “Figures.”

  I see Sam and Kiersten exit from their house and walk towards me.

  “Hey ladies,” I say to Kiersten and Sam.

  Sam and Kiersten walk over to me and I ask, “How you doing?”

  “Good, how are you?” answers Kiersten.

  “Pretty good. Where
are you two going?” I ask.

  “To see my mom, Sam found an owl statue to put at her grave,” answers Kiersten.

  I see Sam holding a good sized owl statue that was made to be put outside in a yard.

  I look at Sam and say, “Sorry about yesterday, but I just want to make sure you are safe.”

  Sam smiles and replies, “I totally get it, and like I said before, your concern is nice, but I can take care of myself.”

  “I don’t doubt that, but I just feel responsible for your safety now. You are a part of our Citrus Oaks Brotherhood,” I reply to Sam.

  “We are glad to be here,” says Sam.

  Kiersten asks me, “Can you do me a favor Ryan?”

  I look at Kiersten and answer, “Sure, what’s up?”

  “Can you look after Brody? He’s been acting pretty aggressive lately and I’m pretty sure he’s looking for Chase still,” answers Kiersten.

  “What do you mean aggressive? Did he hit you?” I ask.

  “No, god no. He has been going out more and more looking for Chase, and I see that it really bothers him that Chase hasn’t been found still,” answers Kiersten.

  “I’m sure he feels responsible for getting even with Chase for stealing our stuff. I’ll talk with him and try to calm him down,” I reply to Kiersten.

  “Thank you Ryan. It would mean a lot to me,” says Kiersten.

  “Of course, have a good day you two,” I say to Sam and Kiersten.

  Sam and Kiersten start to walk away from me and head towards our cemetery towards the back of our neighborhood.

  I turn around and shout to Sam, “Hey Sam! If you find any more of those animal yard statue things, grab them for us!”

  “Will do!” shouts Sam as she continues to walk with Kiersten away from me.

  I see Matt exit from his house, and he has his gear on.

  “Where are you going this early?” I ask Matt as I walk over to him as he stands in his driveway next to his car.

  “Heading over to Mike and Whitney’s house,” answers Matt.

  “Who is going with you?” I ask Matt.

  “Brody and two other guards,” answers Matt.

  “Keep an eye on Brody. Kiersten is worried about him,” I say to Matt.

  “Why? What’s going on with Brody?” asks Matt.

  “I’m not sure, but I think he’s all about finding Chase and he could be aggressive and short tempered with things,” I answer.

  “What should I do?” asks Matt.

  “Just watch over him and make sure he doesn’t do anything dumb and risky,” I answer Matt.

  “I’ll do my best,” says Matt.

  Shaun exits from his house with Chewie and he walks over to me and Matt.

  “What’s up ladies?” asks Shaun.

  “What did you find in the O2U vans?” I ask Shaun.

  “Not much as we need the passcode to get into the back of the vans,” answers Shaun.

  Matt starts up his car and Shaun asks, “Where is he going?”

  “Over to Mike and Whitney’s house,” I answer Shaun.

  “Who?” asks Shaun.

  “The orange house,” I answer.

  Matt reverses out of his driveway and drives towards our main exit of Citrus Oaks.

  “What do you mean passcode?” I ask Shaun.

  Shaun hands me the key to one of the O2U vans and answers, “Go see for yourself. I was going to check it out after I walked Chewie.”

  I look at the van key and ask, “Which key is this for?”

  “The one at the back of the driveway. I’ll meet you over there after I walk Chewie,” answers Shaun.

  Shaun walks down the sidewalk with Chewie and I walk over to the O2U vans and open the back hatch door of the O2U van with the key Shaun gave me.

  I see a thick black metal fence and door that has an electronic number pad on the door inside the back of the O2U van.

  I see the only way to get the packages out of this van is through this rear door that requires an electronic code to open the door. I say to myself, “O2U. Online to you.”

  “Nice van you got there,” says someone, with a joking tone, as they stand behind me.

  I turn around and see that it’s Jordan.

  “If only we could get into it and see what packages are in here,” I reply.

  Jordan walks over to me and says, “I think I can help with that.”

  Jordan takes out a LED flashlight from his belt and shines it onto the number pad on the black metal door.

  I look at what Jordan is doing and see that he changes the LED flashlight into a different mode and the white light from the LED flashlight turns purple now.

  Jordan’s LED flashlight shows different smudges on the number buttons on the electronic number pad and he says, “I see a lot of smudges on two, five, one and three on this pad. So I’m guessing those are the numbers of the combo.”

  “How do you know how to do that?” I ask Jordan.

  Jordan smiles at me and answers, “I have lived a pretty crazy life.”

  Jordan clicks off his flashlight, “Try a couple different sequences of those numbers. Two, five, one, and three.”

  “I will, thank you. How are things going? How’s Deb doing?” I reply to Jordan.

  “Things are good, and Deb is hanging in there. I’m looking after her now,” answers Jordan.

  Jordan’s smartwatch that’s on his left wrist beeps, Jordan looks at his smartwatch and says to me, “I have to get back home. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Jordan runs away from me and heads back to his and Deb’s home at the back cul-de-sac of Citrus Oaks.

  I turn towards the number pad inside the O2U van and punch in a couple different number combinations.

  After several different combinations, the door still won’t unlock. I try two more combinations of numbers and I’m starting to get frustrated.

  Shaun walks over to me and says, “See that fucking code is tough to crack. We might have to use a blow torch and burn the lock.”

  “We can’t risk burning up the packages or destroying the vans,” I say to Shaun.

  “Jordan said the numbers are probably a combo of one, two, three, and five,” I say to Shaun.

  “How does he know?” asks Shaun.

  “He used a UV light to see the different smudges on the pad,” I answer Shaun.

  Shaun punches in the basic code of one, two, three, five and the door clicks open.

  I look at Shaun and Shaun asks, “Did that really just open?”

  “Yeah,” I answer Shaun and then I open the door fully and jump into the back of the O2U van.

  I start handing Shaun packages from inside the van and Shaun starts to make a pile of the packages.

  About five minutes go by, and I have removed all of the packages inside the O2U van.

  Phil comes running down the sidewalk towards Shaun and I with his satellite phone.

  “You got it open?” asks Phil.

  “Yeah, the code was one, two, three, five,” answers Shaun.

  “I guess we overthought it last night,” replies Phil.

  “What’s up Phil?” I ask.

  “Just got a call from Bakari and he said to meet with him tomorrow at Tampa Hospital,” answers Phil.

  “What time?” I ask.

  “He didn’t say an exact time, but sometime in the afternoon is good,” answers Phil.

  “Very good, but why Tampa Hospital?” I ask.

  “He didn’t say why, but he said to meet him there and Isiah will be with him,” answers Phil.

  “Isn’t that where you use to work?” asks Phil.

  “Yeah, and it’s where we went for supplies,” I answer Phil.

  “That’s where you landed on top of the SUV after the sheet came off the pipe,” says Phil.

  “What happened?” asks Shaun.

  “Nothing, Phil, Lauren and I went to Tampa Hospital to get supplies and hopefully find someone to talk with. Shit got crazy and we had to repel down the outside of the hospital,
but the sheets we used to repel down with came untied and I fell onto the top of the SUV,” I answer.

  “No way. That sounds awesome,” says Shaun.

  “We can laugh about it now, but zombies were so close to getting me and it wasn’t fun at the time,” I reply.

  Phil, Shaun, and I put the packages from the O2U van in Shaun’s garage and we start to go through them.

  “You know this is a federal offense. Opening someone else’s mail,” says Phil.

  “Well I’m pretty sure the federal government has other things to worry about right now,” replies Shaun.

  I open up a package and find some ladies underwear and bras. I toss the ladies underwear to Shaun and joke, “Here, you can use these.”

  Shaun looks at the ladies underwear and jokes, “Yeah, I think I can.”

  “You guys ever have a package stolen from your porch?” I ask.

  “Yeah, a couple times. I fucking hate porch pirates,” answers Shaun.

  “Me too, I had a couple things taken when I was living in my condo before I bought my house. But I must say O2U mailed me new items no questions asked,” I say.

  “O2U really dominated the market and changed the way we bought things,” says Phil.

  “I hated going to a store. No matter what store it was, but especially the supermarket,” I say.

  “I remember seeing an O2U superstore somewhere around here. You think it’s working now, since we got the power back on?” asks Shaun.

  “It’s worth a shot,” answers Phil.

  Phil opens up another O2U box and he finds a toy wrist gauntlet and tosses the light box to me.

  “What’s this?” I ask as I open the box Phil just tossed to me.

  I examine the toy wrist gauntlet and put it on my wrist and hand. I extend my wrist back and a plastic knife comes forward out the bottom of the wrist gauntlet.

  “This is pretty cool,” I say as I look down at the toy and think about how I could make one of these for real.

  Phil, Shaun, and I finish going through the packages from the first O2U van and I take a couple good items that I found from the packages.

  Phil and Shaun take what they find useful from the packages and we leave the rest in a pile inside Shaun’s garage.

  “What should we do with all these carboard boxes?” asks Shaun.

  “Breakdown the boxes, but keep the carboard. I’m sure we’ll find a use for them,” I answer.