Fight 4 Us | Book 13 | Reckoning Read online

  Odin looks up at TJ for help and TJ tries to stay calm, but he can’t help to get emotional at the sight of Odin suffering.

  TJ wraps a towel around Odin and Odin lets out a moan. “I know O. I’m sorry, but we are going to get you help,” says TJ to Odin as TJ carries Odin down his hallway and towards his living room.

  Janet exits from TJ’s master bedroom and she starts to make a pile of things she is bringing with her.

  TJ carries Odin towards his front door. Janet opens the front door and TJ walks towards his jeep. Alice exits her room with her bags and supplies, and she makes her way outside to TJ’s jeep.

  Janet brings several bags of supplies, gear, food, and weapons over to TJ’s jeep and she quickly loads them into the back of TJ’s jeep.

  TJ sits with Odin in the backseat of his jeep and he tries to comfort Odin.

  Janet locks the front door to TJ’s house and Alice gets into the passenger seat of TJ’s jeep.

  Janet gets into TJ’s driver seat and notices that the military vehicle that was parked behind TJ’s jeep is gone.

  “Where did the Army jeep go?” asks Janet.

  “I don’t know, but the bigger question is where are we going to go?” answers TJ.

  “Let’s go see Ryan,” answers Janet.

  “We can’t. I told you I’m done with them,” replies TJ.

  “Where else can we go?” asks Janet.

  “I don’t know, but we can’t go to MacDill or to see Ryan,” answers TJ.

  Alice, while sitting in the passenger seat of TJ’s jeep, looks down at her paper map and answers, “I think I know a place.”

  CHAPTER 2

  IS IT STARTING TO STINK?

  As TJ is telling us his story he gets a call over is radio. “Where did you go T?” asks the person over the radio to TJ.

  TJ looks down at the radio that is clipped onto his belt and says to us, “I have to take this.”

  TJ walks into Bobby G’s kitchen and talks with the person over his radio.

  I call Odin over and Odin walks over to me and Lauren who are sitting on the loveseat in Bobby G’s living room.

  “He is walking pretty good,” says Lauren as Odin sits in front of me.

  I check over Odin and see that the bullet hit him on his left side near his left hip and also exited near his left hip.

  I see that Odin is still a little tender around the gunshot wound and I apologize to Odin for touching Odin’s wound.

  “Everything okay?” asks Phil as TJ enters the living room.

  “Yeah, Janet was asking if I went to my house,” answers TJ.

  “Did you?” I ask TJ.

  “Yeah I went before I came here, and it looks the same since the last time we were there,” answers TJ.

  “Where did you go after you left your house when Odin was shot and who stitched him up?” I ask TJ.

  “Alice took us to the reservation that she was researching and I’m glad she did because they saved Odin’s life,” answers TJ.

  “What about Janet’s cats?” asks Lauren.

  “We went back and got them, and they are at the Reservation as well,” answers TJ.

  “They did a good job on Odin’s wound. It’s still healing, but it looks good,” I say to TJ.

  “The Reservation has everything you could think of and they are self-sufficient there,” says TJ.

  “Where are you staying? Are you in a tent or teepee or what?” asks Phil to TJ.

  TJ chuckles and answers, “Yeah, we have an extra-large teepee for Janet, her two cats, Alice, Odin, and me. No, they have a whole community built with large homes for tons of people.”

  “These are the same people from the casino that shot at us and almost killed Jon?” asks Phil.

  “No, well technically yes, but they aren’t the same people. The casino is only one aspect of the Native Americans and most of them hate the casino,” answers TJ.

  “I doubt they hate the money that it brings in,” I sarcastically reply.

  “How far away is the Reservation?” asks Phil.

  “Not far at all, especially with the highways being wide open now. You can be there in about 20 minutes,” answers TJ.

  “But enough about me, what’s been going on here?” asks TJ.

  “Just trying to get things under control around here,” I answer TJ.

  “What’s going on with the Conquerors? I have seen more and more of their symbols popping up,” says TJ.

  “Yeah, we are working on that, but they look to have come back around Tampa Bay, and they have started causing trouble again,” says Phil.

  “What’s your next move?” asks TJ.

  I think about TJ’s question and answer, “Not quite sure, but we have to meet with some people and then go from there.”

  “Well, if you need my help, just reach me over the radio,” says TJ.

  “You’ll answer now?” jokes Phil.

  TJ smirks and answers, “I will, but again, I’m sorry about before and if you can setup a meeting with Bakari, I would appreciate it.”

  “I’ll keep you in the loop and the next time we meet with him you can come with us,” I reply.

  “Sounds good,” replies TJ.

  “I have to be getting back, but I’m glad I was able to talk with you today,” says TJ.

  “Me too. I’m glad you and Odin are doing well,” I reply.

  I walk with TJ, Phil, and Odin over to TJ’s jeep.

  “So are you done with MacDill?” asks Phil to TJ as we stand by TJ’s jeep.

  “I haven’t been back since those soldiers came to my house,” answers TJ.

  “Who sent them to your house?” I ask TJ.

  “I’m not sure and I’m not really sure what they even wanted, but I’m just glad we made it out of that crazy situation,” answers TJ.

  “What about your dad? Is he okay?” asks Phil to TJ.

  “I’m not sure about that either. I want to check on him, but I don’t think going to MacDill is the best thing for me to do since I killed a couple of their soldiers,” answers TJ.

  “Well stay safe and I’m glad you came here today,” I reply to TJ.

  “Me too, I see the world in a different light after the soldiers attacked us and I almost lost O,” says TJ.

  TJ and Odin get into TJ’s jeep and TJ exits Citrus Oaks.

  “Man, what a crazy story,” says Phil as Phil and I walk down our main street and towards Shaun’s house.

  “Yeah, I’m just glad they are okay. Especially Odin. He’s lucky to be alive,” I reply to Phil.

  “What’s our next move?” asks Phil as we walk by Bobby G’s oak tree.

  “What do you think should be our next move?” I answer Phil.

  “I’ll check in with Shaun and Bakari and see what they say. I’m not sure what to do next, but I know we’ll have to get rid of the pastor’s dead body soon,” says Phil.

  “Is it starting to stink?” I ask Phil.

  “No, it’s just weird that we have a dead body in a freezer,” answers Phil.

  “Yeah, but what do we do with it? Give it back to the church?” I ask Phil.

  “We could do a drive by and leave the body with a note,” jokes Phil.

  “Let me know what you find out and I’ll talk with you later,” I reply to Phil and then I enter my house.

  I hear Lauren in our master bedroom, and I enter my master bedroom.

  “I can’t believe the story TJ told us,” says Lauren as I enter my walk-in closet.

  “Yeah, it was pretty crazy,” I reply as I remove my shoes and gear.

  “Do you think the military will show up here?” asks Lauren as she stands up from sitting on the edge of our bed.

  “Maybe, but let’s not give them a reason to come here,” I answer Lauren.

  “What if they do though?” asks Lauren with a concerned tone.

  I feel the concern in Lauren’s voice and I quickly answer, “Then we’ll listen to them and see what they want.”

  “Do you think they know about our community?” asks Lauren.

  I walk into my master bathroom and answer Lauren, “I’m sure they do, but we aren’t a threat to them.”

  Lauren still seems very concerned and she stands at the doorway of our master bathroom and looks at me.

  I dry my face with a towel and look at Lauren. I know she’s concerned, and I decide to tell her how I see the world.

  “Look sweetie, we are doing pretty good all things considered. People will always want to take what we have and that’s never going to change… But we’ll keep fighting and working together on whatever or whomever comes at us,” I say to Lauren.

  Lauren hugs me.

  “I love you, forever and always,” I say to Lauren.

  “Always and forever,” replies Lauren and then Lauren kisses me.

  “I’m going to shower,” says Lauren.

  “Okay, I’ll be in my man cave,” I reply to Lauren and then I exit my master bedroom, walk across my house, and enter my man cave.

  I step into my man cave and sit down in a chair; I think about everything that has happened so far. I think about who I’ve met, who I’ve hurt, and what could be in store for me and our community.

  I close my eyes and try to relax. I’ve been feeling more anxious lately, more so than my normal anxiety levels that I had before the zombies took over.

  I ask myself, “Who will attack us here at Citrus Oaks and why?”

  I do some breathing exercises and continue to try to relax. With my eyes still closed I start to see something, and it gets clearer and clearer to me.

  I see a person, it’s a person that is leading a group of people. It’s a man and it’s Jacob, he’s with DK and they are planning something.

  I open my eyes and see the bottle of tea that Isiah gave m
e. I didn’t drink any tea today, but I feel that I just saw a vision as it felt similar to what I have seen previously after drinking the tea.

  I look around my man cave and I don’t see my radio or the walkie-talkie that DK gave me. I exit my man cave and decide to go over to Bobby G’s house.

  I enter Bobby G’s house and see a radio and DK’s walkie-talkie sitting on the kitchen counter.

  I pick up my walkie-talkie and think about calling DK as I’m worried that Jacob and DK could attack us or the Haven.

  “Come in DK,” I say into my walkie-talkie.

  I wait for the reply over the walkie-talkie and there is no reply.

  I think about using the radio to call Brad, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea after our last radio conversation.

  “Are you there DK?” I ask into my walkie-talkie.

  A couple seconds go by and the no reply from DK starts to make me worry. I didn’t think DK would answer, but I had to give it a try.

  I’m about to switch off the walkie-talkie to save the battery, when I hear over my walkie-talkie, “Why are you calling me?”

  “I needed to talk with you,” I answer into my walkie-talkie.

  “What do you want?” asks DK over the walkie-talkie.

  “I want to know what Jacob is planning and if we should be worried since your group attacked the Haven recently,” I answer DK.

  About five seconds go by and DK doesn’t answer me over the walkie-talkie.

  “You don’t need to worry for now,” says DK over the walkie-talkie.

  “Why did you attack the Haven?” I ask into my walkie-talkie.

  “I didn’t attack the Haven,” answers DK over the walkie-talkie.

  “Well, the Conquerors did. I saw the bullet holes in the walls and the wounded Haven residents from the attack,” I reply into my walkie-talkie.

  DK doesn’t reply over the walkie-talkie.

  “I figured the agreement with Jacob is done, but I need to know if we need to worry about being attacked here,” I say into my walkie-talkie.

  “I’ll be in touch,” replies DK over the walkie-talkie and then I hear DK’s walkie-talkie turn off.

  “What does that mean?” I shout into my walkie-talkie.

  There is no answer from DK over the walkie-talkie and I shout, “What a fucking lunatic! With his bullshit cryptic replies!” I then toss the walkie-talkie onto Bobby G’s kitchen counter.

  Someone knocks on Bobby G’s front door.

  KNOCK! KNOCK!

  “Come in!” I shout.

  Bobby G’s front door opens, and I hear the person enter Bobby G’s house along with the sound of small footsteps tapping on the tile floor.

  I look towards the front door and I see Matt and Chewie.

  Chewie runs over to me and I pet him on his head.

  “Everything okay in here?” asks Matt as he walks into Bobby G’s kitchen.

  “Yeah, what’s up?” I answer Matt.

  “I heard you yelling as I was walking Chewie,” replies Matt.

  “I just talked with DK and he did his usual cryptic creepy thing over the walkie,” I say to Matt.

  “What did he say?” asks Matt.

  Chewie sits down on the tile floor.

  “Not much, but that he would be in touch and he didn’t attack the Haven,” I answer Matt.

  “Do you believe him?” asks Matt.

  I think about Matt’s question and then I answer, “Yeah, he’s weird and he has a creepy voice, but I think he tells the truth. Even if it’s too direct at times,” I answer Matt.

  “Well, that’s important. You have to know what you are getting with people. And trust is pretty important,” replies Matt.

  “Is everything okay? How’s your mom and Kylie?” I ask Matt.

  “I was actually going to see if you and a group wanted to go back to the Haven for Kylie to get checked out by Dani,” answers Matt.

  “She was just checked by Dani. Is everything okay?” I reply to Matt.

  “I think so, but she’s been having these weird pains at times. She says it’s nothing, but I’ve read that baby book like three times now and I just want to make sure it’s nothing,” replies Matt.

  “Yeah, see if anyone wants to go with you tomorrow,” I say to Matt.

  Matt, Chewie, and I exit Bobby G’s house.

  “Should we be worried about Jacob and DK?” asks Matt as I stand with him in Bobby G’s driveway.

  “I think we have to be ready for anything, and I think it’s only a matter of time until Jacob and his group come here,” I answer Matt.

  “Are we ready to fight them?” asks Matt.

  “I’m not sure, but we will be,” I answer Matt.

  I say goodbye to Matt and Matt walks towards the main entrance of Citrus Oaks with Chewie.

  I look at the Armory house and decide to go check it out.

  I enter the Armory house and check over our weapons and supplies inside the Armory house.

  It’s still so weird to me to be walking around one of my neighbor’s homes, that I never really met before, and no one lives here now.

  I see a variety of guns, gear, bullets, and knives, along with the usual stuff you’d find in a house like sofas, chairs, a dining room table, and that room that no one uses.

  I see a shotgun and it looks to be one of the shotguns that I got for the guys for our guys trip to Tennessee.

  I think to myself, “Why did I think it was a good idea to get the guys, let alone a police officer, shotguns?”

  I grab the shotgun off the rack, and I think about the trip where all this zombie stuff started for us.

  I remember that morning when I went for the run and seeing those two zombies biting that hunter.

  “What is really going on with all these zombies? How did they start? How will they end? Will they end?” I ask myself.

  As I stand with the shotgun in my hands, the Armory house front door opens, and two people enter.

  Out of instinct I aim the shotgun at the two people that entered the Armory house and it’s Brody and another entrance guard.

  “Don’t shoot,” says Brody to me.

  I quickly lower the shotgun and reply, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to aim it at you guys.”

  “What are you doing in here sir?” asks Brody to me.

  “I was just checking out our weapons,” I answer Brody as I put the shotgun on the rack where I found it.

  “What are you fellas doing in here?” I ask Brody.

  “I was going to get a bow and some arrows for a bet of ours,” answers Brody.

  “What’s the bet?” I ask Brody as I look at him and the other entrance guard.

  “We are doing headshots with arrows on the dead. Most headshots wins,” answers Brody.

  I hand Brody a bow and a quiver that is filled with arrows.

  “Thank you sir,” says Brody.

  I exit the Armory house with Brody and the entrance guard and then I lock the Armory house front door.

  “Are there even enough dead around the walls for your bet?” I ask as I walk with Brody and the entrance guard away from the Armory house.

  I stop in the driveway of the Armory house and Brody answers, “Yeah, actually. There has been a lot more today for some reason.”

  “Any idea why?” I ask.

  “Not sure, but we’ll put them down,” answers the other entrance guard.

  “What’s your name?” I ask the entrance guard.

  “Drew,” answers the entrance guard.

  “Nice to meet you Drew, I’m Ryan,” I reply to Drew and then I shake Drew’s right hand.

  Drew smiles and says, “I definitely know who you are sir.”

  “Have fun guys. I’m going to check out the Medical house before turning in for the night,” I say to Drew and Brody.

  “Thank you sir,” replies Brody.

  “Keep up the good work. I appreciate you guys protecting this place,” I say to Brody and Drew.

  I say goodbye to Brody and Drew and then I enter the Medical house.

  I step into the Medical house and close the front door. The smell of cleaning products fills the air as someone must have just cleaned the floors and tables in the Medical house.

  Every time I enter the Medical house I feel the need to check our supplies and see if anything is missing.

  I check our supplies in the cabinets and containers and everything looks to be okay with our inventory.

  The Medical house front door opens, and two people enter the Medical house.

  I look at the people and I see that it’s Jon and Kelly.

  “Oh hey Ry, everything okay?” asks Kelly.