Fight 4 Us (Book 6): Keeper Page 6

  Phil asks, “What should we get first for The Grove?”

  I hand Phil the list.

  Phil looks at the list and says, “Okay. Sounds good. I will get the detergents and cleaning supplies in the very back of the store.”

  Phil runs to the back of the store.

  Wesley asks, “What else is on your list? Where are you taking these supplies?”

  “We are taking these supplies to a shelter in St. Pete. It’s called The Grove.”

  “Like the old baseball stadium? That Grove?” asks Wesley.

  “Yup. The same place. They turned it into a huge FEMA shelter.”

  Lauren says, “You can always direct people to The Grove. It sounds like they can take in most people and have a lot of room still. We are going there next, so we will find out what it’s all about.”

  Jakobe comes back in through the front entrance of the Big Club and says, “The red pickup truck is ready for whatever you are putting in it.”

  Wesley looks at Jakobe and says, “They are going to St. Pete and The Grove with these supplies.”

  Jakobe says, “Nice. Be careful in St. Pete though. I heard that place is pretty rough. Enrique, Felix, and a couple of other people told me about the chaos they saw around downtown St. Pete.”

  “Felix is crazy. He loves his double sword thing. He’s deadly with that weapon. I saw him kill like 20 zombies with his custom double sword thing,” says Wesley.

  “I’ll make sure to be careful in St. Pete, but I hope to meet this Felix and his badass sword. Let’s start loading up all the care packages and then I’ll start loading supplies on a couple of pallets.”

  Wesley and Jakobe gather up the remaining care packages and take them outside to the truck.

  Phil comes from the back of the store with Hailee and Donnie.

  “Hey Ryan. Hey Lauren,” says Hailee.

  Lauren and I say hello to Donnie and Hailee.

  Phil and Donnie take the supplies that Phil got from the back of the store outside to the truck.

  Hailee helps Lauren and I gather up the rest of the supplies.

  Several hours go by and we finish loading up the red pickup truck with tons of supplies for The Grove.

  Lauren looks at the truck and says, “The people at The Grove are getting some good stuff.”

  Phil says, “I hope they appreciate it.”

  I walk back into the Big Club and over to the book and DVD section.

  I look at the DVDs and find a movie to watch with Lauren when we have our date night.

  Hailee and Donnie walk over to me.

  Donnie says, “Hey Ryan. It’s been fun looking over this place, but I think Hailee and I will be going back home to Warrior High when William comes by this week.”

  I look at Donnie and say, “Thank you for your service. You and Hailee have been great. I appreciate your help. I’m sure I will see you around when I come visit William.”

  Hailee says, “Don’t be a stranger. Make sure you say hello when you come to Warrior High.”

  Hailee gives me a hug.

  “I will make sure I say hello when I come by Warrior High. You guys need a cool name for your home. The next time I see you two, I want to know the cool name for your home.”

  Hailee says, “You got it. We will see you later. Be careful out there.”

  Hailee and Donnie walk back to the rear entrance door.

  I look at them and say, “You too. You two be careful as well.”

  I walk towards the front of the store and find Phil standing with Lauren, Wesley, and Jakobe.

  Phil says, “We are all set and ready to go to The Grove.”

  Lauren says, “I gotta pee really quick. I’ll be right out.”

  Lauren runs to the bathroom.

  I look at Jakobe and Wesley and say, “I want you guys to keep this place secure but also make sure people know not to mess with this place. If the word spreads that the Big Club is open for looting, then we may be in trouble.”

  Phil says, “Don’t open these doors for anyone other than the Brotherhood or the Warriors.”

  Wesley and Jakobe say, “Okay. We will. We will lock this place down.”

  Lauren comes back over to us.

  “Much better now. I’m ready to go,” says Lauren.

  I shake Wesley and Jakobe’s hand and say, “Keep up the good work guys. Keep the doors shut but if you run into anyone, direct them to The Grove.”

  Phil, Lauren, and I say goodbye to Jakobe and Wesley.

  I shout goodbye to Donnie and Hailee.

  They shout goodbye back to me.

  Phil and Lauren exit the Big Club.

  Phil gets into the truck driver seat and Lauren gets into the passenger seat of my SUV.

  I exit the Big Club and get into my SUV driver seat.

  Phil starts up the truck.

  I start up my SUV.

  Phil drives the truck towards the exit of the Big Club parking lot.

  I look at Lauren and ask, “You ready for this?”

  Lauren replies, “Yeah. I’m nervous, but I’m ready. I really hope my parents are there. I don’t want to have to drive all the way down to Boca.”

  I drive towards the exit of the Big Club.

  Phil makes a left-hand turn.

  I make a left-hand turn and follow Phil.

  I pick up my walkie-talkie and say, “Phil, I’m going to get in front of you and lead the way.”

  Phil replies through his walkie-talkie, “Sounds good. I don’t want to stop with all these exposed products sitting in the back of the truck. People might start looting the truck if I have to stop.”

  “No problem. It’s only about a 15-mile drive from here. I just hope the roads are clear for us. We should get on the highway and take exit 22,” I say over my walkie-talkie to Phil.

  Phil replies over his walkie-talkie, “Yes sir. Exit 22 it is. Next stop The Grove.”

  I pass Phil on his driver side.

  Phil jokingly gives me the middle finger as I pass him.

  Lauren and I laugh at the sight of Phil’s middle finger.

  I push down on my SUV gas pedal, look at Lauren, and shout, “To The Grove!”

  CHAPTER 6

  THE GROVE

  “We really need to clean out those litter boxes when we get home. Milo keeps peeing in both litter boxes and his pee stinks so bad,” says Lauren.

  I laugh and say, “We will honey.”

  “What’s so funny?” asks Lauren.

  I’m focused on driving towards The Grove and see a big trash pile of debris and a couple of overturned cars.

  I glance at Lauren and say, “I just think it’s funny how the world has fallen apart, but the everyday responsibilities are still a thing for us. Milo and the kitty litter. I guess Milo didn’t get the memo to stop peeing so much.”

  Lauren says, “We really need to do something with all the trash around the house and neighborhood. It’s starting to smell and attract flies.”

  I agree with what Lauren is saying, but I’m not sure what to do about the trash.

  I look at Lauren and say, “I guess Phil and I will have to steal a garbage truck and start a trash collection service. We could really clean up. No competition.”

  Lauren laughs and smiles at me.

  “But seriously. I will come up with a plan to get rid of the trash around the neighborhood and outside of the neighborhood. I’m sure we can burn some of the trash and we’ll have to find a place to dump our trash.”

  Lauren says, “Thank you babe. You know how sensitive to smells I am. Plus the trash is starting to attract bugs and rodents.”

  I continue driving towards The Grove and see the large dome shaped building with the large bold letters which reads, “THE GROVE.”

  Phil asks over the walkie-talkie, “Is that it ahead of us? Is that top part painted orange?”

  Lauren grabs the walkie-talkie and says, “Yeah. That’s it. It’s a former aquarium that was turned into a baseball stadium. It’s all covered and hopefull
y a safe shelter for everyone.”

  Phil says, “Well alright. Should be secure from the elements around here. The streets around here are pretty rough.”

  I turn into the main entrance of The Grove and I’m met by armed military personnel.

  The main entrance is guarded by tons of armed guards inside the thick metal fencing and guard stations.

  The former indoor professional baseball stadium and concert venue has turned into a very secure government run shelter.

  I look at the armed guard as he stands at my driver side window. The guard is wearing all black military fatigue attire and so are most of the other armed guards. Most are wearing black fatigues, and some are wearing green fatigues.

  “Can we help you sir?” asks one of the armed guards at the main entrance.

  I look at the man and say, “We are dropping off supplies and meeting a couple of nurses that work here. It’s myself and the truck behind me.”

  The man says, “We will open the gate, and then pull into a parking space to the right. We need to check you and your cargo.”

  The two gunmen open the gate and direct me and Phil to drive through the gate and pull into a parking space.

  I pull into a parking space, and Phil parks next to me in the truck from the Big Club.

  Two different armed guards tap on our windows and tell us to exit the vehicles.

  Lauren, Phil, and I exit our vehicles and stand next to my SUV.

  “We have to pat you down and check your vehicles,” says the guard.

  Phil says, “No problem sir. We understand. You better be checking everyone that comes in here. There are some crazy people in this world.”

  “Are you one of them sir?” asks a different armed guard as he walks over to Phil.

  I look at the guard to see if he’s joking, but he is serious.

  Phil looks at the guard and says, “No. I’m Phil.”

  I laugh at Phil’s comment.

  An armed guard comes over to me and pats me and Lauren down.

  “We don’t allow weapons inside. You need to leave them in your vehicles,” says the guard as he sees the handgun in my right thigh holster.”

  Phil asks, “Can we take knives inside?”

  “No weapons! That means no knives!” shouts the guard that patted down Phil.

  Phil, Lauren, and I place our weapons in my SUV.

  The guard who patted me down says, “You need to get checked out before you enter the facility.”

  I look at the man and say, “You just checked us out.”

  The guard says, “Heath wise. We need to have you see the doctor or a nurse before you enter. You could be infected, and we can’t have you spreading anything.”

  Lauren asks, “Where do we go for that?”

  The guard points to a huge line and says, “That’s the line to get in. It looks to be about a four to five hour wait. Just based on the size of the line.”

  I look at the guard and ask, “Can you call Kat or Brian? They are nurses and they are expecting us. We will get checked out, but we can’t wait in that line.”

  The guard looks at the other guard and asks, “What should we do?”

  The one guard looks into Phil’s truck and says, “They have some good stuff in here.”

  I look at the two-armed guards and say, “You help us out and we will help you out, or we can just go home with our goods today.”

  I look at the guard’s name badges and say, “Come on, Mills and Schneider.”

  Mills grabs his radio and says, “We have a group looking for Kat and Brian down here at gate five. Please advise.”

  The caller on the radio says, “Hold on. Let me find Kat and see what she says.”

  Lauren looks at me as we are standing in the hot Florida sun.

  I look at Lauren and Lauren gives me a side hug.

  Phil looks around the area and sees that the thick metal fencing is protecting the borders of The Grove.

  Phil looks at Schneider and asks, “Who runs this place? Who feeds this place? Is it secure?”

  Schneider smirks and says, “It’s very secure. This place and the other shelters around Tampa Bay are secure. Our security group and FEMA are making our shelters work. We are helping people.”

  I look at officer Schneider and ask, “Who runs this place?”

  Mills gets a call over the radio.

  “Kat will be right down. She is finishing up something and will be right down. You are in gate 5?” asks the female caller over the radio.

  Mills says, “Okay. Thank you. Yeah, we are in gate 5.”

  Mills looks at me and says, “It’s your lucky day. Kat is coming for ya. Guess you aren’t full of shit.”

  Phil replies, “What? We definitely aren’t full of shit. The big truck full of supplies didn’t show you anything about us. We are here to help out.”

  Schneider reaches into Phil’s truck and grabs a bottle of detergent.

  Phil looks at Schneider and says, “Enjoy that. You need that. You smell terrible.”

  Schneider drops the bottle of detergent and walks right up to Phil’s face.

  “Smart ass huh?” shouts Schneider.

  “Hey Ryan! Hey Lauren!” shouts Kat as she walks over to us.

  Kat walks to us, looks at Mills and Schneider, and says, “Thank you guys. They are with me. They are good people.”

  Schneider picks up the detergent and stares at Phil.

  “Have a good day,” says Phil as he stares back at officer Schneider.

  Schneider and Mills leave us and walk back to gate 5.

  Kat looks at me and asks, “What happened with those two guards? They threaten you or something?”

  “They were just giving us a hard time. They told us that we needed to be checked before we came in and it turned into a little problem.”

  I introduce Kat to Phil and show Kat the stuff we brought for her.

  Kat says, “Looks great guys. Thank you. That is more than enough for us.”

  I go into my SUV and get something.

  Lauren looks at Kat and asks, “We don’t have to get checked to go inside, do we?”

  Kat says, “Actually you do. It’s standard protocol. You don’t have to wait in that big line. I will check you out in a separate medical room. Anytime you come here, you need to get checked out. Just make sure to ask for me, Brian, or Dr. Morris.”

  I close my SUV door and lock my SUV.

  BEEP!

  The horn beeps, which shows me that the doors are locked.

  I hand Kat a bag of orange badges and say, “Here are the badges we talked about. I’m surprised no one has given them to you or at least mentioned them to you.”

  Kat says, “I guess we aren’t a high priority for them.”

  Phil asks, “What should we do with the stuff we brought in the truck? I don’t want the guards taking any more of this stuff.”

  Kat asks, “Can you drive the truck closer to the building? I can have an unloading team start taking the goods off the truck.”

  “Yeah. Just tell me where to drive,” says Phil.

  Kat points to a thick concrete pole near an open area and says, “Park the truck in the shade next to the concrete pole with the yellow stripe on it.”

  Phil gets into his truck and starts up the engine.

  Kat, Lauren, and I start walking towards an entrance of The Grove.

  Phil reverses out of the parking space and drives next to the concrete pole with the yellow stripe on it.

  Phil parks the truck in the shade and exits the truck.

  I walk with Lauren and Kat.

  Lauren looks at Kat and says, “Quite an operation you have going on here. Looks to be a good place to be holding up.”

  Kat looks at The Grove entrance and says, “It’s not too bad. It’s safe. No zombies have gotten in since I have been here, and it’s been pretty good. Only a couple of problems here and there.”

  We walk over to Phil and Phil asks, “Is this spot okay?”

  Kat says, “It�
�s great. Lock the truck though. I don’t want anyone stealing your ride.”

  Phil locks the truck doors.

  “Now what?” asks Lauren.

  Kat says, “We need to check you out first. Come with me.”

  Kat escorts Phil, Lauren, and myself into The Grove.

  I feel like an athlete as we walk into the indoor baseball stadium and into the locker room.

  “I’ll check out Lauren first. You two wait out here,” says Kat.

  Lauren and Kat go into the training room of the baseball stadium.

  The lights are on and the fans are working inside the locker room.

  I can’t help but to feel like a fan as I’m seeing the empty lockers, sofas, and chairs.

  “Man, I wish I made it to the pros. They have it pretty sweet in the major leagues,” says Phil as he sits in an oversized leather chair.

  I sit in one of the big padded chairs and recline.

  “This is the life. It’s the simple things that matter right now.”

  Phil walks over to a water cooler and fills up two cups of water.

  Phil brings a cup of water over to me.

  I thank Phil for the water and drink the cup of water.

  “This place is okay so far. I wonder what the rest of the building looks like?”

  “Not this nice I’m sure. It could be tent city or bum row out there,” says Phil.

  Several minutes go by.

  Lauren comes out of the training room.

  “I’ll take Phil next,” says Kat from inside the training room.

  “Everything okay?”

  Lauren replies, “Yeah, I’m not infected.”

  I look at Lauren and say, “Well. We might all be infected sweetie.”

  Lauren looks at me with a concerned look and asks, “You believe that we are all infected?”

  “I don’t know. We haven’t had to deal with someone dying of natural causes or coming back to life after dying without being bit or scratched yet.”

  Lauren sits down in a leather chair and says, “I guess it doesn’t matter, but we have to be careful when people get sick or die. I wonder what Kat and the doctors here know about it.”

  “I’ll see what I can find out, when she checks me out.”

  Lauren walks over to me and says, “I’ll check you out.”

  Lauren kisses me and then grabs my butt with her left hand.