by Brian Grenda
SOLAR ENERGY OF TAMPA
“I think we need a truck for this trip. Maybe even two vehicles.”
“We have to go back to the police station for the truck then,” says Phil.
“I just think the truck will be a better option to hold the solar panels.”
Phil replies, “I agree, as those panels can be huge.”
Phil and I are in the kitchen and are getting ready for our trip to the Solar panel company warehouse.
Solar panels will be a necessity if we want to survive. The sun can provide tons of energy for us and help us run our home like normal. Not sure how long we can make it without our appliances, our air conditioning and a hot water heater.
“Let’s gear up and get ready for the trip. We will go to the police station first, then the solar company.”
Phil walks to his room to get ready, and I enter my bedroom. Lauren is in the bathroom and hears me walk in.
“What are you guys up to now?” asks Lauren.
“Phil and I are going to the police station to get the truck and then to the solar company to get some solar panels.”
“Solar power, huh? Didn’t you want to do that a while ago?” asks Lauren.
“Yeah. I had this same company come out to our house, and they wanted twenty-five thousand dollars to connect the whole house.”
“I couldn’t afford that at the time, but hopefully today, I won’t have to.”
Lauren says, “I guess it’s free now. One good thing coming out of this zombie apocalypse.”
I finish putting my gear on and kiss Lauren good bye.
“I’ll see you later.”
Lauren says, “Wait. One more kiss.”
I exit the bedroom and meet Phil in the kitchen. I see the basket of tomatoes sitting on the kitchen counter and shout to Lauren.
“Hey Lauren. Can you wash these tomatoes and put them in the fridge?”
Lauren replies, “Yeah, but where did they come from?”
Phil says, “I took them for your neighbor’s backyard. He has a bunch of tomato plants growing in his backyard.”
Lauren says, “Oh okay. I was wondering where they came from.”
Phil and I exit the kitchen and go out the front door. We walk over to my SUV and the enter the vehicle. I make sure that I have the keys to the police station before leaving. I check the SUV and find the police keys in the center console.
I drive down the street in my neighborhood and come to the South entrance to the neighborhood.
I look at Phil and say, “We really need to block the entrances to the neighborhood better or at least narrow the openings. The neighborhood is open to anything and everything that wants to enter.”
Phil says, “That’s a good idea, we will have to get some cars or something to cut down the open space.”
I turn right out of my neighborhood and make an immediate U-turn on the street to go towards the police station.
After about a 10-minute drive, we arrive to the police station main entrance and drive to the back of the station. I use Ray’s police badge to enter the employee parking lot. The employee parking lot remains empty, but something feels different about it.
I drive over to the gas pumps and fill up the police SUV. I don’t know how much gas that police station has left, but I’m appreciative to have the option still.
Phil exits the SUV and walks over to the police station propane tanks. He checks locker 11 and finds the truck keys in the locker along with something else.
Phil picks up the keys and finds a note in the cabinet under the keys. Phil picks up the note and it reads:
You have a friend. Be careful out there. Ray was a great guy. TJ
Phil runs over to me and shows me the note. I read it and try to make sense of it. I’m a combination of nervous and excited as I read the note. I’m not sure who TJ is, but he clearly is connected to Ray.
I can’t help but to look around as if TJ is watching us as I read the note. Hopefully, he will help us if we are ever in need, but I’m not sure what to make of the note.
Phil gets in the truck and checks the truck for any more clues to possibly make more sense of the note. He checks the truck’s center console, sun visors, and glove box, but does not find anything useful.
“I don’t know who this TJ is, but I hope he isn’t going to try and hurt us,” says Phil.
“Me either, but I don’t think he would leave a note saying he is a friend if he wanted to kill us.”
Phil says, “Hopefully it’s not a trap. Let’s get out of here. I’ll lead the way to the solar panel place.”
Phil hops back into the truck and starts the engine. I go back into the SUV and start the engine. Phil and I exit the police station, and we make a right onto Main Street.
As we are driving down the street, I see several convenient stores being looted. People seem to be running low on supplies and food. I don’t fault people for trying to survive, but it’s hard to see people hurting others for their own survival.
I make a left down a street that leads me to an industrial complex. The business complex is empty. People seem to be focused on gathering food and aren’t worried about things like solar panels right now.
We arrive at Solar Panels of Tampa and it’s a big warehouse. They have a bunch of work trucks and company cars parked at the side of the building.
Phil and I drive around back to the warehouse entrance. We park our vehicles by the warehouse entrance door and check to make sure the building is clear of zombies and people.
Phil and I don’t see any danger, so we exit our vehicles and walk towards the warehouse door. I try to open door, but the door is locked.
Phil comes over to the door and tries the handle.
I look at Phil and ask, “Can you pick this lock?”
Phil smiles and says, “Yeah.”
Phil pumps his shotgun. I move out of the way and Phil fires a shotgun blast to the door lock.
Boom!
The door flies open as the shotgun blast blew the door handle off.
Phil and I enter the warehouse. I flip the warehouse light switch on and all the lights in the warehouse turn on. The warehouse is huge and has a variety of products. Finding the correct panels and converters may take some time.
Phil and I split up and walk down separate parts of the warehouse. The warehouse looks and sounds to be empty, but we must be safe.
I shout to Phil, “We have to find the BG34 converters. That is what Buck had for his house.”
Phil shouts, “I see converters over here.”
I walk over to Phil and see several boxes of the BG34 model converters.
“Let’s take these converters. Just in case we need to replace them down the road or have to hook up several solar panel systems.”
“How many do you want to take?” asks Phil.
“All of them.”
Phil finds a flatbed cart and loads up several boxes of converters. I walk down a different part of the warehouse and find several models of solar panels. I have no idea what panels to take and don’t want to get the wrong panels.
I look around the warehouse and see the manager’s office door. The manager’s office should provide me with some information about common orders and panel models.
I walk over to the door and open it. I push the door open and make sure no one is inside before I enter. Phil watches me and starts to laugh.
“You okay bro? Afraid of an office desk?” jokes Phil.
Phil hits a button that will open the warehouse bay door and the door starts to open. Phil is looking at me when the door opens. The door opens fully and six zombies come rushing after Phil as they enter the warehouse.
Phil pushes the cart towards them and back pedals away from the zombies. I run out of the office and come next to Phil.
“I guess you shouldn’t have made that desk joke.”
Phil points his shotgun at the zombies and says, “I guess not.”
I take out my handgun and fire several shots at the
zombies. Phil follows behind with 2 shotgun blasts. Zombie blood flies everywhere as the zombies fall to the ground.
The last zombie comes at Phil. Phil pulls the trigger on his shotgun, but he is out of bullets.
The zombie lunges towards Phil, but I shoot the zombie in the head before he can get to Phil.
Phil looks at me and says, “Thanks bro.”
“No problem.”
The warehouse is clear of zombies now, but we still need to get the correct model solar panels to take.
Phil and I go into the office and we look at residual order form receipts. The company seems to provide solar panels for commercial and residential properties. They got everything from solar pool pumps to full home conversion.
Phil picks up an order form that might work and hands it to me. The order form looks to be for a residential setup that is 2000 square feet. The form says they got 8 panels of the SP55 model.
“Looks like we need at least 8 panels of the SP55 model.”
Phil and I leave the office and each grab a flatbed cart. We go down an aisle and find a whole section of SP55 panels.
“Jackpot”
I start grabbing boxes of SP55 panels and try to load them on a cart. Those boxes are heavy. I need the help of Phil to move one box.
Phil and I load up 5 boxes of solar panels on each cart. We push the carts to the warehouse entrance and out to our vehicles.
Phil goes back in the warehouse and gets the cart with the converters on it. I see two zombies walking towards us and take out my katana. Phil loads the converters into the SUV, while I attend to the zombies. The zombies are slowly moving towards me. I stab one of the zombies in the forehead. I pull the katana out of the head of the zombie I just killed and stab the other zombie in the side of the head.
Both zombies fall to the ground. I look around to see where the zombies are coming from, and I see a bunch of zombies stuck between two metal fences. One of the metal fences has a hole in it and some of the zombies are small enough to fit through the hole.
I don’t want to have to worry about these zombies as Phil and I load the solar panels, so I walk over to the four remaining zombies that are stuck behind the metal fence.
I point my katana at a zombies’ forehead and stab the zombies in the forehead one at a time as they are reaching for me from behind the metal fence.
I shake off the zombie blood that is on my katana and place the katana back in its back-strap scabbard.
Phil is trying to load the solar panels into his truck, but they are too heavy for one person to load. I walk over to Phil and help him load a solar panel box into the back of the truck.
We load 6 solar panel boxes into the truck and 4 more into the SUV. I’m glad we brought both the SUV and truck for this trip.
“Are we going back home next?” asks Phil.
“Actually, let’s stop by Jon’s condo next. It’s not that far away.”
Phil replies, “You lead the way.”
I get into my SUV and Phil gets into his truck. I start to drive away from the solar panel warehouse and am followed by Phil.
10 minutes go by, and Phil and I arrive at the outside gate of Jon’s parent’s condo. Jon’s parents’ condo is right on Tampa Bay. It’s a very nice and expensive condo that is located on the 16th floor of a very expensive condo complex.
Phil and I park our vehicles right outside of the condo gate. I can’t tell if the gate will open or not. I exit the SUV and try to open the gate. The gate won’t open.
I see a security call box. The call box is somehow working. I look in the directory for Frank and Tracy Reese. I see their name and press the call button.
No answer.
I press it again and someone tries to answer.
I try one more time and say, “Hello. Jon or someone, it’s Ryan Briggs. Jon’s friend. Can you please open the front gate?”
The front gate opens. I jump into my SUV and drive through the gate. Phil follows behind, and we park in the first open parking spots that we see.
Phil and I exit our vehicles. As I walk towards the main entrance to the condo lobby, I hear the front gate close.
I look at Phil and say, “These condos must cost a couple million dollars each.”
Phil replies, “I bet. Must be nice.”
Phil and I enter the main entrance to the condo building. We open the door and walk into the main lobby.
I feel immediately out of place in this multimillion dollar condo building. The main lobby is very luxurious. Very expensive future and fountain are in the lobby. I look over at the main desk and no one is there.
Phil and I step towards the elevators and am surprised to hear that they are working. The elevator doors open. Phil and I raise our guns at the elevator doors. A woman screams as she sees that we have our guns pointing at her.
Jon exits the elevator and says, “Whoa guys, lower the guns. You gave Kelly a heart attack.”
“Sorry Jon. We are just surprised that the elevators are working and didn’t know who would be coming down on them.”
Jon replies, “I understand. C’mon in guys.”
Phil and I enter the elevator with Jon and his wife Kelly.
I look at Kelly and say, “I’m sorry we scared you, but we had to be sure that zombies weren’t coming down an elevator.”
Kelly replies, “I understand, but you guys did give me quite the scare.”
Phil asks, “Do you have any zombies in this fancy place or is this place clear?”
Jon replies, “I haven’t see any zombies in the condo complex, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have any here.”
The elevator stops on the 16th floor and we all get out of the elevator. Jon and Kelly lead us to unit 1602.
Jon opens the door to the condo. Kelly enters, followed by Phil and myself.
As I walk into the multimillion dollar condo, I am amazed at the view, the amenities, and how awesome the condo is. The condo is right on the water and has a great view of the bay.
Jon’s parents Frank and Tracy come out of the back bedroom and greet us. Phil and I exchange handshakes with Frank and hugs with Tracy.
I have known Jon, since I was a little kid. We played sports together and our families were very close. I haven’t seen Jon’s parents in a very long time. They look great and seem be doing very well for themselves.
Jon’s parents must have hit it big in the stock market. I remember them being day traders and always interested in how the stock market did.
Jon walks Phil and I out to the sliding glass doors and onto the wrap around covered patio. The view is awesome. We can see for miles and it gives us a good vantage point.
Jon looks at me and asks, “So how are things going for ya Ryan?”
“Pretty good. We are hanging in there, and we just got our solar panels from the warehouse.”
Jon replies, “Awesome. Are they installed and working?”
Phil says, “No. We literally just got them now from the solar panel warehouse, before we came here.”
Jon says, “No way? So, you need help installing them?”
“Yeah. I’m glad that we saw you at the hardware store and you told us about installing solar panels.”
Jon responds, “I will help you guys for sure. We have to finish our install here actually. Can you guys help us first?”
“Yeah. I would like to learn about them actually.”
Jon responds, “Great. We have to go onto the roof.”
Jon, Phil, and I exit the patio and walk into the condo. Frank is sitting on the sofa and reading a book. Tracy and Kim are in the kitchen and making something to eat.
Jon says, “We are going to the roof to work on the solar panels.”
Frank responds, “Do you need my help?”
Jon replies, “Not for this part, but I will when we make the final panel connections.”
Jon walks Phil and I to the condo front door and then to the elevator.
“What level is the roof on?”
We enter t
he elevator and Jon replies, “23rd floor.”
Jon hits the 23rd floor button on the elevator and elevator doors close. The elevator goes up to the 23rd floor and stops. I’m cautious before the elevator door opens. I grab my handgun out of the holster just to make sure.
The elevator doors open. It’s quiet and empty as we make our way to the roof entrance.
We walk to the roof entrance door and open it. The door opens and the sunshine immediately hits us in the face. The Florida sun is hot and burning today.
Jon walks over to the solar panels that are drilled into the roof. Phil and I take in the awesome view of being 23 floors up from the ground. We can see for miles down the bay and into downtown Tampa.
Phil walks over to Jon and helps him secure the electrical wire to a solar panel. I can’t help myself from just staring at the view and looking at downtown Tampa.
I went to college at a university located in downtown Tampa. Those were the good ole days. Being a care free college kid. When the biggest worry was about where you were going out on a Thursday night and who was coming out drinking.
As I’m looking at the streets of downtown Tampa, I see chaos breakout. Several police cars arrive at a building very close to Jon’s parents’ condo. The building is surrounded by police officers. They shout something towards the building and immediately start opening fire.
It’s a terrible sight to see. Bodies are falling to the ground as the police open fire. I can’t tell if the cops are shooting people or zombies. Soon the cops are overrun by the crowd. The police don’t have enough bullets to take out the large group coming towards them.
Zombies must have heard the gunfire and have now begun attacking and eating the police officers. The police begin to scatter as the area is not safe for them.
“Holy crap guys. You have to see this.”
Phil and Jon run over to my location and look down at the chaos.
Phil says, “Holy crap. It’s a war zone down there.”
Jon says, “I’m almost done with the last connection. Let’s finish up this part and we can go back down to finish up the electrical converter connection.
Boom!
A huge explosion goes off right below us. The whole condo building trembles. I look down to see that several police cars have exploded.
