Fight 4 Us: Legacy

by Grenda, Brian

“Okay, just wanted to make sure. You two be safe.”

  “We will,” replies Kiersten.

  “I’m having a medical training class in three hours in the medical building if you want to attend. All are welcome, but we still need guards at the South entrance.”

  “I’ll be at your class sir, and I’ll make sure we have someone at the South entrance also,” says Brody.

  I look at Brody and Kiersten and say, “I’ll see you later.”

  I walk away from Brody’s house with Lauren.

  Lauren smiles and says, “I hope Jerri-Lynn is okay with Kiersten seeing Brody.”

  “Kiersten said her mom knew she was over here.”

  Lauren replies, “That might not be true. Kids at that age might try to sneak away and see each other.”

  “You think that’s what is going on?”

  “I don’t know, but I could see that happening. Remember when you were eighteen?” asks Lauren.

  “That was a long time ago, but yeah. I remember trying to get away from my parents and wanting to be with my friends.”

  “Yeah, exactly. Let’s just hope those two are safe with everything,” says Lauren.

  “Oh geez. I don’t even want to think about it.”

  Lauren and I walk back to our home.

  “What are you going to teach today?” asks Lauren.

  “I want to use today as a Q&A for what people might want to learn, but I’ll also cover some lifesaving topics today.”

  “I like that idea, I think you teaching is a great way for people to learn around here,” says Lauren.

  Suddenly, my front door is opened.

  Shaun walks through my front door holding his video camera.

  “Who is ready to learn?” shouts Shaun as he points his video camera on me as I’m standing in my kitchen with Lauren.

  “Dude, the class isn’t for like three hours. Are you going to record the class today?”

  Shaun asks, “Is the class worth recording?”

  “I think so, but that’s totally up to you.”

  Shaun stops recording and puts his camera on my kitchen counter.

  “I think I want someone to take notes though. We need to start keeping a journal, or notes, or a record of things. We need someone to document what happens around here.”

  “That’s what I want to start doing with the video camera. I think I’ll need more memory cards though,” replies Shaun.

  “We can see if anyone has any around the neighborhood and if not, we can check out some stores for them. I doubt people were dying to get memory cards when the world fell apart.”

  I look at Shaun and ask, “Any word if Phil got a hold of Brad?”

  “Yeah, Phil wants to meet up to tell us what he and Brad decided,” answers Shaun.

  “Where at? Channelside or Davis Island?”

  “I’m not sure, we can ask Phil when we see him later,” answers Shaun.

  I look at Lauren and say, “I’m going to start setting up for the class today. Please bring something to write on and some paper for everyone.”

  Lauren replies, “Okay honey. I’ll see you there.”

  I kiss Lauren goodbye and exit my house with Shaun.

  Shaun and I walk down the street along the sidewalk towards the medical house.

  “Remember that time your jeep started to skid on the snow and ice back home?”

  Shaun laughs and answers, “Hell yeah. We almost died that day.”

  “I’m sliding, I’m sliding,” says Shaun and me.

  “It’s funny now, but we could have died. That median luckily stopped us from going right into traffic.”

  “Yeah, it did. What brought that up?” asks Shaun.

  “I don’t know. You ever just get that random memory or thought sometimes?”

  “Yeah,” answers Shaun.

  “That’s just what happened and that was the memory.”

  Shaun and I stop at Phil’s house, as it’s on the way to the medical house.

  “What’s up guys? Is the class now?” asks Phil as he answers his front door without a shirt on.

  “No, you have about two hours or so. I was wondering what you and Brad came up with.”

  Phil replies, “He wants to meet, but I don’t want to go to Channelside or Davis Island for the meeting.”

  “Where is Brad now?”

  “He’s home now, but he’ll be in Clearwater tomorrow. Somewhere in the Gulf,” answers Phil.

  “How about we meet at the Clearwater Sand Beach Resort?”

  “You want to go back there?” asks Shaun.

  “Yeah, it’s right in Clearwater and we can easily meet Brad there. Plus, I want to check it out again and see what happened that day.”

  “We can get some supplies also. I know they had a fully stocked bar the last time we were there,” says Shaun.

  “Sounds good. I’ll set it up. I’ll see you guys later,” says Phil as he closes his front door on Shaun and me.

  Shaun and I look at each other and start laughing.

  “Wonder what he was doing?”

  “More like, who he was doing?” jokes Shaun.

  Shaun and I laugh as we exit Phil’s front porch and make our way to the medical house.

  “This class better be good, or I want my money back,” jokes Shaun.

  “I got your money right here,” I joke as I kick Shaun in his butt.

  CHAPTER 14

  BACK HERE

  “That class sucked!” jokes Shaun.

  My first medical training class at Citrus Oaks just ended and people are leaving the medical house.

  “Brad is all good to go for tomorrow,” says Phil as he walks over to me.

  “Great, what time?”

  “Any time after noon, he said,” answers Phil.

  “Sounds good. I want to check out the Big Club first and then go straight to the resort. I think we’ll be able to meet Brad around two or so.”

  “Okay, I’ll let him know,” replies Phil.

  “When do you want to check out the Conqueror areas and buildings?” asks Shaun.

  “Let’s wait on that for now. Send out a drone and see what you can find. Can our drones make it to the Conqueror shopping center, that had the pet store, from inside our neighborhood?”

  “I think so. It will be close to the limits of the drone signal range, but it should make it,” answers Shaun.

  “If you want Shaun? You and Jon can send a drone out now.”

  “You got it, I’ll go see if Jon wants to send his drone out,” says Shaun.

  Shaun exits the medical house and goes to find Jon.

  “Great class honey. I took some notes in this notebook. I think I’ll leave the notebook here and have it available for people to read,” says Lauren to me as she puts her notebook on the kitchen counter of the medical house.

  “Good idea. I’ll try to add some notes and new material to it as well.”

  “I’m going home now honey. I need to take some medicine. I have a headache,” says Lauren.

  Lauren kisses me goodbye and walks back to our home.

  “Good class man. You covered a lot of good practical information and stuff we can definitely use,” says Phil.

  “Well, I thought it sucked,” jokes Matt.

  “Thanks Matt.”

  “No problem Ry, always here for ya,” jokes Matt.

  I finish cleaning up the medical house and see that the garage is completely clean now. The Fisher Sporting Goods boxes are all gone, and the garage is empty.

  I walk back into the medical house kitchen and ask Matt, “What happened to all the sporting goods that were in the garage?”

  Matt answers, “We moved the boxes and cleaned out the garage. We plan to use a house next to Jon’s for the sporting equipment storage.”

  “Oh okay, it was just weird to see the garage so empty.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll fill it back up with more stuff I’m sure,” says Matt.

  Matt, Phil, and I finish cleaning up the medical hous
e.

  Phil, Matt, and I exit the medical house and start walking down the street.

  “I think we should start an armory. We need our guns, weapons, and ammo organized. I’ll be in charge of it,” says Phil.

  “Where can we put one?”

  Phil points to a house, two houses down from the medical house, and says, “That house. No one is living there, and it’s pretty central to the neighborhood.”

  “That should work. Good thinking.”

  “We should still keep our weapons in our homes, but we can put the extra weapons in that house,” says Phil.

  I look at the house Phil wants to use for the armory and say, “When we go to the Big Club tomorrow, let’s take a lot of the weapons from there. I think we still have a lot of guns in there.”

  Phil replies, “Yeah, I believe we still have a bunch of guns there.”

  I look at Phil and ask, “How is the Big Club anyway?”

  “It’s good. I went there a couple days ago when you were laid up in bed. Everything is good there. They even got a couple more solar panels which has the store completely running on solar now,” answers Phil.

  “Yup, I helped hook the panels up,” says Matt.

  “What a guy!” I joke with Matt as I slap Matt’s upper back.

  “Damn, that hurt. I got sunburn on my back,” says Matt as he grimaces in pain.

  “I’m so sorry Matt. Reverse cherry man?”

  “Yeah, my back is super red this time. I forgot to put sunblock on,” answers Matt.

  “I’ll never forget that time you guys came to visit me here and you got so sunburnt on your chest. You were a lobster.”

  “Yeah, and you had that jar of cherries with the little cherry man picture on the jar,” replies Matt.

  “Yup, and you became known as the cherry man.”

  “Good times,” says Phil.

  Phil walks down his street and towards his house.

  “I’ll be over tomorrow morning to go to the Big Club and then the resort!” shouts Phil.

  “See ya tomorrow morning!”

  Matt and I continue walking down the street.

  “How is everything? How’s Kylie? How’s your mom?”

  “Everything is good. Kylie is doing well. My mom is lonely though. I feel bad for her,” answers Matt.

  “Have Ann talk with Fran and Bobby G. She needs to be more social. I think being around more people will help her.”

  “I told her to stop by Bobby G’s house. They always got along well,” says Matt.

  Matt and I stop walking next to my front lawn.

  I look across the street at Matt’s house and his lawn.

  “You should mow your grass bro. It’s getting pretty high.”

  “I’ll have to borrow Bobby G’s old ass push mower,” replies Matt.

  “That thing sucks at cutting high grass, but it’ll get the job done.”

  “How’s the leg?” asks Matt.

  “It’s good. I need to keep stretching it and rehabbing it, but the wound is all healed up now.”

  “I gotta get inside and put some aloe on my back. I’ll see you later,” says Matt.

  I shake Matt’s hand and say goodbye to Matt.

  Matt crosses the street and walks towards his front door.

  “You coming tomorrow?”

  “What time?” asks Matt.

  “Early, we could really use your help tomorrow!”

  “Then I’ll be there, just come get me!” shouts Matt.

  “I will!”

  Matt walks into his house.

  I look down my street and take in the view. I look up in the sky and feel the hot sun on my face. I take in the moment and feel a sense of gratefulness and contentment.

  Lauren opens our front door as she is holding Milo.

  I see Lauren holding Milo in our doorway.

  “What are you doing to him?”

  Milo gives a little cry as he looks outside.

  “He wants to go outside and was crying by the door,” says Lauren as I walk towards Lauren and Milo.

  I pet Milo and he starts purring.

  I close my front door.

  Lauren puts Milo down on our area rug and says, “He’s such a big boy.”

  Milo runs into the living room.

  “How are we on Milo and Callie’s food? Do we have a lot left?”

  “I’ll have to check. I started a new list of things we need now, and things we will need soon,” answers Lauren.

  “I’m going to the Big Club tomorrow. I’ll bring back what I can from the store. Hopefully we are still fully stocked there.”

  “When’s the last time you were there?” asks Lauren.

  “About a week or two ago.”

  “I hope the store is still standing,” says Lauren.

  “It should be. The guards are supposed to let us know if any problems arise. Plus, Phil was just their he said.”

  “I think you should start bringing more things back here. After hearing Kat ask for more supplies, I started to think about our supplies and what we have. We have a lot still, but what will we do when it runs out?” asks Lauren.

  “Our charity days are over. We will trade for things, but I’m done giving handouts. My goal is to be self-sufficient with crops and food here.”

  “I agree. We need to worry about us and our people here,” says Lauren.

  “I’m going to make an updated inventory list tomorrow. I want to see what we have, what will expire soon, and what we can afford to trade.”

  “I love the oatmeal for breakfast, but I’m definitely getting tired of it. Any new food options?” asks Lauren.

  “I’ll have to see what we can do in the breakfast department. I think Bo is our best option for new food. Hopefully, he is willing to trade some eggs or something.”

  “I’d love to make an omelet,” says Lauren.

  “I’d love some scrambled eggs. Really, I’d love anything different then the stuff we have been eating.”

  I exit the kitchen and say, “I’m going to take a shower and then relax.”

  “Okay honey, I’ll start working on dinner,” replies Lauren.

  I take a shower and change my clothes.

  Lauren and Fran are making dinner in the kitchen.

  Bobby G enters my house with a bottle of wine.

  I exit my master bedroom and take my dirty clothes to our laundry room.

  “What can I help with?” asks Bobby G to Lauren and Fran.

  “Nothing Bob. We are almost done,” replies Lauren.

  “You can help me set the dining room table,” I say to Bobby G as I walk into the kitchen.

  Bobby G and I set the dining room table.

  Fran brings in a big bowl of salad, and Lauren brings in our entrée.

  “Dinner is served,” says Lauren as she places our dinner entrée on the dining room table.

  Bobby G, Lauren, Fran, and I sit down at our dining room table.

  “Before we start eating, I would just like to say that I love you all. Everyone sitting at this table is family, and I’m thankful to be with all of you.”

  “Thank you, son. I’m glad to be here,” replies Bobby G.

  “I love you all,” says Lauren.

  “I’m grateful for all of you,” says Fran.

  We eat dinner and enjoy our time together.

  We finish our dinner and wash our plates, glasses, and silverware.

  Bobby G goes home.

  Fran goes to sleep in our guest bedroom, and Lauren and I enjoy a nice night together alone in our bedroom.

  The sun comes up and it’s an overcast morning.

  I get out of bed and go into my man cave.

  I set up my black yoga mat, sit down, and meditate.

  I control my breathing and relax. I clear my mind and focus on my breathing.

  After about a ten-minute meditation session, I stand up and go through a stretching and exercise routine.

  I can feel my left quadriceps muscles getting looser and more flexibl
e throughout my routine.

  I finish my exercise routine and exit my man cave.

  I pour myself a glass of orange juice and walk outside to look at our crops in my backyard.

  A cool breeze moves the tree limbs and palm fronds in my backyard.

  Our crops are looking okay, but I feel that they could use some attention.

  I look around my backyard and see the orange tree in the backyard of my neighbor’s property.

  I walk back into my house and start making some breakfast.

  I grab two packets of instant oatmeal from our pantry.

  “Apple cinnamon it is.”

  I put a bowl filled with water and the instant oatmeal packet into the microwave.

  Callie meows at me as I’m standing in the kitchen.

  “Alright mama, I’ll get you your treats,” I say to Callie.

  I grab the rectangular container of cat treats and pour some into Callie’s bowl.

  Callie starts eating the cat treats.

  I fill Milo and Callie’s water bowls and pet Milo as he walks over to the water bowls.

  I make the other bowl of instant oatmeal and walk into my master bedroom.

  “I’m making breakfast,” I whisper to Lauren as Lauren is curled up in our bed.

  Lauren, who is half asleep, replies, “Okay honey. I’ll be out in a second.”

  I walk into my master bathroom and go to the bathroom.

  I wash my hands and walk towards my master bedroom door.

  Callie walks into our master bedroom and jumps on our bed.

  “Go wake her up,” I say to Callie.

  Callie blinks at me.

  I take the bowl of oatmeal out of the microwave and place it on the kitchen counter.

  I set the dining room table for breakfast.

  I bring the two bowls of oatmeal, two spoons, my multivitamin, two drinking glasses, and some orange juice to the table.

  I hear Lauren petting Callie in our bed.

  “Breakfast is ready,” I say to Lauren as I pull out a chair from the dining room table.

  Lauren walks out of our master bedroom holding Callie.

  “Who’s my stinky girl?” asks Lauren to Callie as Lauren holds Callie in her arms.

  Callie puts her right front paw over Lauren’s mouth.

  I laugh at the sight of Callie’s tiny paw on Lauren’s lips.

  “Guess she told you to zip it.” I joke with Lauren.

  Lauren laughs and puts Callie down on the sofa and walks over to me.