“You serious, Brad?” asks Trish.
“You tell people that’s what happened. You can have your crew go out with the Captain, and then he just doesn’t come back. You and your crew have a story to tell, and the Captain is gone.”
Brad gives me a look of disbelieve.
“Or you can keep living under his shitty command and keep getting nowhere,” says Phil.
Brad doesn’t know what to say.
“I like you Brad, we all do, but we aren’t going to keep helping Channelside with your current leader around. We want to work with you and your crew here. You do what you have to do to make that happen, and we’ll continue to support you and Channelside.”
I stand up from the table.
“You think it over and you let us know what you decide. Nice to see you all, and I hope to keep working with you.”
I exit the restaurant and I’m followed by Jon, Matt, and Phil.
Shaun looks at Brad and says, “You can do it. You can run Channelside and make it great. Your Captain is bringing it down.”
Shaun says goodbye to everyone and exits the restaurant.
Brad looks at Eric, Trish, and Carmine.
“They are right. We need to get rid of the Captain,” says Trish.
“Yup. The Captain needs to sleep with the fishes,” says Carmine.
Eric looks at Brad and says, “We are here for you, and we will help you with the Captain.”
Brad looks through the broken restaurant windows and into the Gulf of Mexico.
“Ryan’s right. The Captain hasn’t done anything to help us. Ryan bled for us. Channelside needs new leadership,” says Brad.
“You really think Brad will go through with it?” asks Jon to me as we approach our electric trucks.
“I hope so. I’m done with Channelside, unless Brad is there leader.”
Jon, Phil, and Matt stand near Phil’s truck.
“Where are we going now?” asks Phil.
“Let’s drive onto the beach and check out the beach around the resort.”
I get into my electric truck.
Shaun gets into the passenger seat of my electric truck.
Phil, Jon, and Matt get into Phil’s electric truck.
I drive down the entrance ramp of the resort and drive onto the beach.
My electric truck tires dig into the sand but keep their traction.
I find an open part of the beach that doesn’t have any zombies around and park my electric truck.
Phil parks his electric truck near mine.
“It freaking stinks here!” shouts Matt.
“It’s all the dead bodies,” replies Phil.
I look down the beach and see tons of dead zombies and people.
Phil looks down the beach and sees a couple of interesting marks in the sand.
Jon sees Phil looking at the sand and asks, “What do you see Phil?”
Brad, Eric, Carmine, and Trish walk down the beach and get into their boat.
I wave goodbye to them as Carmine steers the boat away from us.
“I hope they get rid of their captain, he’s a waste of air and resources,” says Shaun to me as we watch Carmine speed away into the Gulf of Mexico.
“I hope so too.”
Phil looks at the dead bodies along the beach and sees a distinct line in the sand running along the dead bodies.
“I think someone killed all these zombies and people. You see the line along the beach? It runs straight through most of these dead bodies,” says Phil.
Jon looks at the dead bodies and asks, “What could have done this?”
“A drone, a military attack drone. You see how the line is driven into the sand? You can almost see the angle,” answers Phil.
I look back at the Clearwater Sand Beach Resort and see the destroyed restaurant windows.
Something flies down and joins a group of birds around the resort property.
I take a closer look through my binoculars and see that a group of vultures are eating Jason’s dead body.
“Anybody see anything useful?”
The guys look around and see some vehicle tire tracks in the sand but nothing that important.
“I think someone is controlling a drone still. Some of these bullet casings in the sand are fresh and look to be from a drone’s gun,” says Phil.
“Let’s get out of here before the drone comes back and targets us.”
Jon and Matt get into Phil’s electric truck.
Shaun gets into my electric truck.
DAKKA! DAKKA!
The sound of a military drone machine gun turret rapidly firing is heard in the distance.
Phil and I start up our electric trucks.
DAKKA!
The military drone fires several more rounds from its machine gun turret as it flies along the beach.
I nervously push down on my electric truck gas pedal. I push down too hard on the gas pedal and I slide on the beach sand.
Shaun sees the military drone flying in the distance. The military attack drone makes a quick turn and is now flying our direction.
I take my right foot off the electric truck gas pedal and my electric truck stops sliding.
Phil slowly drives away in his electric truck.
DAKKA!
The military drone destroys several zombies as it flies down the beach and approaches my electric truck.
“That thing is getting closer!” shouts Shaun as he sees the military drone through his passenger door window of our electric truck.
I see the military drone quickly approaching our position, and I try to calm down.
I slowly push down on the gas pedal of the electric truck with my right foot.
The electric truck tires skid a little bit, but they are able to dig into the beach sand with good traction.
DAKKA!
The military drone fires its machine gun and a line of bullets are coming right for us.
“Punch it!” shouts Shaun.
I slam my right foot down on the gas pedal.
My electric truck tires dig into the beach sand and I speed away from the line of bullets coming from the military drone.
DAKKA! DAKKA!
The bullets from the military drone just miss the back bumper of my electric truck.
“Holy shit that was close!” shouts Shaun as he watches the military drone fly away from us.
I drive off the beach and make it back onto the street.
Phil picks up his radio and says, “God damn, I thought you were a goner. That was so freaking close.”
I drive by Phil, who parked his electric truck in the street next to the beach, and keep driving down the street.
Shaun picks up my radio and replies, “Too freaking close for my taste, but we are all good. See you boys back home.”
“I’m not coming back here for a long time. I almost died twice here. This place and I aren’t good for each other.”
“Good idea let’s stick to St. Pete beach,” jokes Shaun.
“What’s next?” asks Shaun as I drive down the street.
“Let’s get a hold of Kat. Tell her about Brad and see what’s going on at The Grove.”
“Can we get some food first? I’m starving,” replies Shaun.
“Yeah, we are going home. We’ll try and get a hold of Kat through the radio.”
As I drive down the street, I keep looking at the trees, the homes, the buildings, and the debris all around. Tampa Bay is in rough shape still, and I’m not sure how we are going to turn it around.
“What do you miss about the world?” asks Shaun.
“Good question. I definitely miss the food and the ability to get anything at my convenience.”
“I miss the internet and a good burger,” says Shaun.
“A burger and a pizza sound so good right now."
My mouth starts to salivate at the thought of a juicy hamburger and a slice of pizza.
“I definitely don’t miss my boss, my job, or my bills,” says Shaun.
&nb
sp; “I don’t miss dealing with inconsiderate and annoying people.”
“I hated my boss. She was never happy and was always bitching about something. I bet she is bitching about the zombies right now,” says Shaun.
“I didn’t like my boss either. The hospital director was never satisfied with what we did. She was always complaining about the budget and finances.”
“We don’t have to worry about money, bills, or taxes now. That’s probably the best part of all this,” replies Shaun.
“That’s for sure. No more mortgage payments, student loans, or nothing.”
I drive through the South entrance of Citrus Oaks and say, “Home sweet home.”
“It really is,” replies Shaun.
I park the electric truck in front of Shaun’s house.
“I’m glad we didn’t die today,” I say to Shaun as we both exit the electric truck.
Shaun grabs his duffel bag, that is filled with liquor bottles, from the back of the electric truck and says, “Today was a good day.”
CHAPTER 16
YOU LOVE THAT PLACE
It’s mid-morning, and I’m loading a bunch of things into one of our electric trucks.
“You sure they want this stuff?” I ask Shaun.
“Definitely, I know what they want. Make sure you bring your guns to be modified also. Dutch and Cage will hook you up,” answers Shaun.
“Kat is going to meet you at World of Trade,” says Phil.
“Awesome, we can kill two birds on this trip.”
“Who is all coming?” asks Shaun.
“I’m not sure, but I know you are. You love that place.”
“I sure do, it’s nice to have a place like World of Trade, people need it. I know I do,” replies Shaun.
“I’m going to stay here and work on the armory,” says Phil.
“I’ll go ask Bobby G and Lauren.”
Phil replies, “I’ll go ask Jon. When are you guys leaving?”
“In about an hour.”
Phil says goodbye and starts walking down the sidewalk
“I’ll be back, I’m going to talk with my dad and Lauren,” I say to Shaun as I walk away from Shaun’s driveway.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
I knock on Bobby G’s front door and then walk inside his house.
“You got clothes on?” I shout as I open Bobby G’s front door.
Bobby G walks out from his master bedroom and answers, “Yeah, I’m up.”
“You want to come to World of Trade with us?”
“Yeah, I’ll go. I like that place. When are you leaving?” asks Bobby G.
“In about an hour. You okay?”
“I didn’t sleep well last night, and I haven’t slept well the past couple nights,” answers Bobby G.
“What’s up? You stressed or something?”
“Who isn’t stressed? I do have a lot on my mind, but I just couldn’t get comfortable last night. Maybe it’s my mattress,” replies Bobby G.
“I know the feeling. You should take some cold medicine or something to help you sleep tonight. You gotta get your rest. I need an alert Bobby G around here.”
Bobby G jokes, “Even a Bobby G at fifty percent is better than most.”
“What world are you living in?” I joke with Bobby G.
Bobby G laughs and replies, “I’ll be ready to go in half an hour.”
“Sounds good, see you later.”
I exit Bobby G’s house and enter my house.
I find Lauren in our backyard with Fran.
“What’s going on here?”
“Just tending to the crops. The squirrels and rabbits keep eating our crops,” answers Lauren.
“You might have to take your bow and send those rabbits a message.”
“That’s terrible,” says Fran.
“You want them eating our crops?”
“No, but we can’t kill squirrels and bunnies” replies Fran.
“The bunnies and the squirrels need to go. One way or another. I don’t care if you kill them, or you get them to leave our neighborhood.”
“What’s up honey?” asks Lauren to me.
“We are going to World of Trade in about an hour. You want to come?”
“No thanks, but please take our list of things we need. See if you can get more dark chocolate too. I’m all out,” replies Lauren.
“Oh, I see, you want me to get the stuff for you. You are lucky I love you,” I joke with Lauren.
“I am lucky,” replies Lauren before she kisses me.
“Okay, well have fun out here. Put some sunscreen on if you are going to be out here a while and think of a solution to the squirrel problem.”
I walk back into my house and enter my kitchen.
I see Lauren’s grocery list on our refrigerator door and I read it.
“Dark chocolate, eggs, bananas, chips. I know we got some of this stuff from the Big Club,” I say as I read Lauren’s grocery list.
I grab a pen and write a check mark next to the items on the grocery list that I just brought back from the Big Club yesterday.
I place Lauren’s grocery list on the kitchen counter and go into my man cave. I grab my shotgun, assault rifle, and two handguns. I make sure the guns aren’t loaded and place them in a duffel bag.
I look down at my duffel bag and see the police department patch on the side of the bag. I think about Ray and TJ and hope that TJ is doing well.
I exit my man cave and close my man cave door.
I grab Lauren’s grocery list from the kitchen counter and exit my house.
Shaun puts his last bag of items for World of Trade in the back of the electric truck.
I walk over to Shaun’s house.
“Jon should be on his way here shortly. Your dad and Lauren coming?” asks Shaun.
“Lauren isn’t, but Bobby G is.”
I place my duffel bag in the back of the electric truck.
“What you got in there?” asks Shaun.
“My guns to be modified.”
“What are you bringing them?” asks Shaun.
“My shotgun, assault rifle and two handguns. I don’t really use them.”
“You will. I know Dutch and Cage will hook you up. They are good people,” replies Shaun.
“What if they aren’t there?”
“Then we do it another time. I will only give my guns to them. They do a great job,” answers Shaun.
Shaun and I wait for Bobby G and Jon. We sit in Shaun’s garage with the ceiling fan blowing on us.
“Why is it still so hot out?” asks Shaun.
“Because it’s Florida. It usually doesn’t get cool around here until December. Sometimes we can get a cool down around here in late October, if we are lucky.”
“What month are we in now?” asks Shaun.
I laugh and answer, “I don’t know actually. I think September.”
“That’s so weird that we don’t know the date or month,” replies Shaun.
“I know. I used to have monthly schedules planned out. With surgeries, meetings, conventions, and time off. I would always mark the previous day off the calendar when I woke up.”
“I did that too, but I would mark the day off the calendar when I got home from work. I was always happy to leave work and get home to see Lisa,” replies Shaun.
“I guess this is what retirement feels like. Every day is the weekend. No job or plans. Just do what you want, when you want.”
“It’s a little different than that, but I know what you are saying. We don’t have any responsibilities like we had before. No bills and no reason to kill yourself every day for some bullshit job,” replies Shaun.
“I liked my job before all this. It was nice helping people and operating on them. It gave me a sense of purpose and was rewarding.”
“You still have a purpose, we all do. A job doesn’t give you purpose. It gives you stress and headaches. Staying alive and protecting the ones you love is our purpose now,” replies Shaun.
“That’s
true. I loved my job, but it did give me daily headaches and stress. I think every job has its problems though. Even professional athletes have problems.”
“I’m not sure they had the same problems that you and I both had. Professional athletes were on easy street. Millions in the bank, tons of perks, tons of women, and really anything they wanted. Most of them were just dumb with their money,” replies Shaun.
Jon walks up Shaun’s driveway.
“What do you miss about your life before the world fell apart?” I ask Jon.
“Umm, that’s a tough question,” replies Jon.
“I guess my family. My house and my pets,” says Jon.
“See, people are what matter. Not some shitty nine to five job,” says Shaun.
“Well, I liked my job. I met a lot of interesting people and was able to help a lot of them,” replies Jon.
Bobby G walks over to Shaun’s driveway.
“You guys ready?” asks Bobby G.
“Just waiting on you Bob,” replies Shaun.
“Let’s get going,” says Bobby G.
Shaun, Jon, Bobby G, and I get into the electric truck that is parked in Shaun’s driveway.
Shaun starts up the electric truck and exits Citrus Oaks through the South entrance.
“What do you miss about the world Bob?” asks Jon to Bobby G.
“Definitely food. I miss a good steak, a good sandwich, and ice cream,” answers Bobby G.
“Damn. I miss pizza so bad.”
“I definitely don’t miss people though. Like the rude inconsiderate people. The type of people you had to deal with while driving and in stores. The selfish people that only cared about themselves,” says Bobby G.
“I will never miss the people speeding through traffic, driving up your ass, or the people who acted like everyone else didn’t matter in life.”
“So, basically Joseph, Chris, Jacob, and all of the Conquerors,” jokes Shaun.
“Yup, hated those type of people before and of course we have to deal with them now.”
Shaun drives down the street and he sees a couple of zombies walking towards a neighborhood.
I see the zombies walk into the neighborhood.
As Shaun drives by the neighborhood entrance, I see a car drive down a street inside the neighborhood.
“Did you see that?”
“See what?’ asks Bobby G.
“A car was driving away from those zombies.”
Fight 4 Us: Legacy Page 17
