Fight 4 Us: Legacy

by Grenda, Brian

  “Do you want us to stop?” asks Shaun.

  “No, keep driving. I was just curious if anyone saw the car and recognized it.”

  “I didn’t see the car,” replies Jon.

  “Me either,” says Bobby G.

  “Two eagle eyes in the back,” I joke.

  Jon looks down at his orange badge that he is wearing around his neck.

  Jon looks around and sees that we are all wearing our orange badges still.

  “You think these orange badges actually mean something?” asks Jon.

  “Probably not,” answers Shaun.

  “I don’t know, but I think it’s good that we have them though.”

  “Better to be safe than sorry,” says Bobby G.

  Shaun approaches the entrance to Bo’s ranch and says, “Everyone wave to Bo.”

  I look at the entrance to Bo’s ranch and see that it’s still well hidden and covered by trees and branches.

  “You think we can stop by Bo’s ranch and try to get some eggs or something?” asks Shaun.

  “Lauren and I were just talking about that. I think we should stop by and see Bo very soon.”

  We arrive at World of Trade.

  Shaun drives to the East entrance of World of Trade and parks the electric truck.

  Four armed guards check our weapons, trade goods, and vehicle.

  We are cleared by the guards and the guards go check another vehicle.

  “It’s much busier here today. I’m glad to see more people here.”

  “I’m not. That means there is gonna be long lines and shitty people,” says Jon.

  “Where are we supposed to meet Kat?”

  “Phil told me that she said at the vendor where you first met her. She said you would remember,” answers Shaun.

  “I know the vendor. Hopefully we won’t have a repeat performance by Kat.”

  I make sure I have Lauren’s list, my trade goods, and my bag of weapons.

  Bobby G, Shaun, and Jon grab their belongings.

  “Let’s go shop.”

  Shaun, Jon, Bobby G and I walk towards the level one outdoor vendors.

  “I hope we don’t run into those creepy people with the masks over their faces again,” says Shaun.

  “You say that every time.”

  “They freaked me out,” replies Shaun.

  “They didn’t attack us. Maybe they are looking out for us.”

  Shaun and I make our way over to Precision Elite Mods.

  Bobby G and Jon meet with a couple other vendors.

  “What’s up Shaun?” asks Dutch as Shaun and I walk over to the Precision Elite Mods tent.

  “Nothing much, my brother Ryan here needs your expertise,” answers Shaun.

  “Let’s see what you got,” says Dutch.

  I unzip my duffel bag, and Dutch looks at my guns.

  “Where’s Cage?” asks Shaun.

  “He’s home sick. He has had a bad stomach bug for the past two days,” answers Dutch.

  “I’m a doctor Dutch. If you need me to look at your brother, I’d be more than happy to help.”

  “I appreciate that but let’s give it a couple more days. He should be okay,” replies Dutch.

  Dutch looks over my shotgun, assault rifle, and handguns.

  “When do you need these back?” asks Dutch.

  “As soon as possible, but no hurry. When do you think?”

  “Give me four days. I’ll probably have them done in three, but definitely in four,” answers Dutch.

  “Sounds good. We’ll be back in four days then. What do you plan on doing to them and what do you want in return?”

  “What do you have to trade?” asks Dutch.

  I put my box of trade goods on Dutch’s table.

  Dutch looks through the box and sees some things that he’s interested in.

  “You can have most of the things in there but let me keep some items as I have to make a couple more deals today.”

  Dutch grabs a couple things from the box and says, “I’ll take this stuff now as a down payment. Bring some more of these exact items next time and we’ll be good.”

  I look over the items that Dutch took and write the items that he wants on the side of my box.

  “You got it. I’ll bring more of these items when I pick up the guns. Anything else you guys need?”

  “I need a freaking steak. I haven’t had a good piece of red meat in months,” answers Dutch.

  “A steak would be amazing right now,” says Shaun. “I can’t help you their brother. I wish I had access to red meat.”

  “I understand, but your trade items are good. I’ll hook you up. Your stock weapons will have some sweet upgrades,” replies Dutch.

  I smile at Dutch.

  Shaun asks, “Can you increase the magazine capacity and firing rate of the guns?”

  “Of course. I’ll do that and much more. I’ll go over what I did to each gun when you pick them up,” answers Dutch.

  “Thank you, Dutch. I appreciate it. I hope your brother feels better. I’ll see you in a couple days.”

  Shaun and I exchange handshakes with Dutch and we say goodbye to Dutch.

  Shaun and I walk down the center aisle of the level one outdoor vendors at World of Trade, and I see Kat and Deb looking at a box fan.

  “Hey Kat. Hey Deb.”

  Kat and Deb turn towards me and say hello.

  Shaun looks at me and says, “I’m going to find your dad and Jon. I’ll be back.”

  Shaun walks down the center walkway of the outdoor vendors as I talk with Kat and Deb.

  “I talked with Brad, and he said that he is willing to talk with you. He doesn’t have much, but he could offer some fish he said.”

  “I love fish. We could use some fresh fish,” replies Deb.

  Kat looks at me and says, “Deb and I thought it over and we are done working for Dr. Morris.”

  Deb says, “We love the people at The Grove, but Dr. Morris is a bitch.”

  “Yeah, I agree Deb, but what will you do when you run out of supplies?”

  “That’s her problem. I think we need to manage our resources better. I’m going to start being more involved with the supplies,” answers Kat.

  “We are going to keep our supplies safe and guard them better,” says Deb.

  “How? You going to keep someone on supply watch?”

  “If need be. I have some good people working there, and we’ll come up with a plan,” replies Kat as she looks at Deb.

  “Have you seen any vendors that have chocolate? Dark chocolate?”

  Deb points to a vendor and answers, “I think that vendor does.”

  “Thank you, Deb, I have to get some for my wife. She has it on our list.”

  Deb jokes, “Even in a zombie apocalypse people have grocery lists.”

  I smile and reply, “Yeah, I guess we do. Helps us stay sane.”

  Kat says, “I’m glad you are here Ryan. I don’t want you or your group to think Deb and I were being ungrateful the other day. We are very thankful for everything you have done. We don’t want you to see us as some bitchy entitled people.”

  “I didn’t, and I made sure to tell my people that you two weren’t to blame. It was your shitty boss Dr. Morris.”

  “Good, I was worried about that. We both were. You are good people and we want to keep our good graces with you,” replies Kat.

  “We do as well. Good people are hard to find.”

  ‘Thank you, Ryan,” replies Kat.

  “If you need anything. You come to me. If it’s for you and not Dr. Morris. I will help you. We just did an updated inventory list and we are still pretty stocked at our store, but I can’t give out to the masses.”

  “Thank you, and I’ll remember that. I don’t know how much longer I have at The Grove, it’s getting pretty bad there, and I don’t see it getting any better,” replies Kat.

  “Well, you know where to find us. Don’t be a stranger. Either of you,” I say to Kat and Deb.

  �
��We won’t,” replies Kat.

  I say goodbye to Kat and Deb and go look for Bobby G, Jon, and Shaun.

  I find them talking with Doorman at the level two entrance.

  “If you came yesterday, I could have let you in but today I can’t,” says Doorman to Jon.

  “How about in four days?”

  “That might work, but right now we have some military people in there and they don’t want any extra people inside today or the next couple of days,” answers Doorman.

  “What’s the story with the Trade Master?”

  “All I know is that he’s some rich guy from Dubai. He knows a lot of people and a lot of powerful people know him,” answers Doorman with his thick Southern accent.

  “Thanks for your time. We appreciate it. You let us know what you need, and we’ll try to get it for you,” says Bobby G to Doorman.

  “We are coming back in four days. See what you can do about getting us inside.”

  “I will,” replies Doorman.

  We all say goodbye to Doorman and walk away from the level two entrance.

  “What the hell do they have in there?” asks Bobby G.

  “Probably something awesome and it’s only for the rich and powerful,” answers Jon.

  “Speaking of powerful. I need to get Lauren some dark chocolate, or I’ll be in trouble.”

  I find the vendor that has the chocolate and get several bars of dark chocolate for Lauren.

  CHAPTER 17

  WE GOT A PROBLEM

  Shaun parks the electric truck in his driveway.

  I get out of the electric truck.

  “I’ll see you guys later. I want to check out the new stuff I got,” says Bobby G as he grabs his box of items from the back of the electric truck.

  “I’ll see you later dad.”

  “You okay with the stuff you got Jon?” asks Shaun.

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Nothing I got is real heavy. I’ll see you guys later,” answers Jon.

  Jon walks away from Shaun’s house and starts walking down the sidewalk.

  “How’d you make out today?”

  “Pretty good, nothing great but I got some good stuff. How about you?” replies Shaun.

  “I got Lauren’s dark chocolate, so I’m good. Plus, Dutch doing the gun mods should be awesome.”

  “I’m sure he will do some sweet modifications,” says Shaun.

  Shaun and I grab our boxes out of the back of the electric truck.

  I put my plastic bag with Lauren’s chocolate in my box.

  Shaun closes the tailgate of the electric truck.

  “I’ll see you later Shaun.”

  Shaun replies, “Wait, I was reading this book from our library and I think you should check it out.”

  I look at Shaun as I’m holding my box of trade goods.

  “Come inside for a second. I want you to see this book,” says Shaun.

  I follow Shaun through his garage and into his house.

  Chewie runs over to me.

  I pet Chewie on his head, and he sprints back into the living room.

  Lisa is in the kitchen.

  I say hello to Lisa.

  “What are you making?” I ask Lisa.

  Lisa replies, “Some soup. I got a couple cans of chicken noodle.”

  “Big dinner tonight?”

  “Yeah, a whole lot of soup,” jokes Lisa.

  “We have some ready to eat meals also,” says Shaun as he walks by Lisa in the kitchen.

  “Barf, I’m over those things already,” replies Lisa.

  Shaun hands me a thick book.

  I look at the book and say, “Life Hacking: How To Live Off The Land & Off The Grid. What kind of book is this?”

  “It’s a survival book. How to live without electricity and stuff like that. It’s pretty good. I think we should try a lot of the things in the book around here,” answers Shaun.

  “You done with it?”

  “I read through a lot of it, but I think you should check it out and see what you think. I already have some ideas for this place, the Big Club, and maybe even another area,” answers Shaun.

  “I’ll read through it today and tomorrow, and we can brainstorm ideas in a day or two.”

  “Could be a game changer,” says Shaun.

  Lisa walks into her living room and sees Chewie biting the leg of her wooden coffee table.

  “Stop that Chewie!” shouts Lisa.

  Chewie cowers and goes to his dog bed.

  “What did he do?” asks Shaun.

  “He keeps biting the wooden legs of the coffee table! He’s going to ruin that leg and the table could fall on him!” shouts Lisa.

  “I’ll come up with something for the table and I’ll have to get him another dog toy. He destroyed the last one I gave him,” replies Shaun.

  I look at the wooden coffee table leg and say, “I guess we know why he’s called Chewie.”

  I say goodbye to Shaun, Lisa, and Chewie and walk to my house.

  “Sweetie, I’m home,” I say as I enter my house.

  Milo runs over to me as I put my katana by the front door.

  “I said sweetie, not belly,” I say to Milo as he rubs against my legs.

  I put my box of trade goods and Shaun’s book on the kitchen counter.

  I look around for Lauren and I don’t see her.

  I hear laughter in my backyard, and I see Lauren and Fran sitting in the shade and talking.

  “What’s up ladies?”

  “Hey honey, how was your trip?” asks Lauren.

  “Good, I got a couple things,” I reply to Lauren as I show her a bar of dark chocolate.

  Lauren quickly stands up and grabs the dark chocolate bar out of my hand.

  I look down at my hand with a shocked expression.

  Lauren unwraps the dark chocolate bar and takes a big bite of the dark chocolate bar.

  Lauren hands the dark chocolate bar to her mom and Fran breaks off a piece from the end that Lauren didn’t bite.

  “Thank you honey. That’s a great present. I was dying for chocolate lately,” says Lauren.

  “I got a couple more bars. I’ll put them in the fridge, so they don’t melt.”

  “Thank you,” replies Lauren.

  I walk back inside my house.

  I put Lauren’s dark chocolate bars and a couple other items in the refrigerator.

  I place Lauren’s list back on the refrigerator door.

  I glance at our wedding save the date magnet. I look at the date and think of how many years have passed since our wedding day which was on May 11th, 2013.

  Fran and Lauren come inside our house.

  “We came up with a good idea for combatting the squirrels and rabbits,” says Lauren.

  I look at Lauren.

  “We should make raised beds for the crops and also cover the crops with plastic. Like a bubble. We can poke holes in the plastic to let rainwater in or keep the plastic solid,” says Lauren.

  “I think you fine tune your bow skills and pick off some rabbits and squirrels. We can have squirrel for dinner,” I joke with Lauren.

  “Gross,” replies Fran.

  “It might come to that. We might have to eat stuff like that at some point. We have it easy here.”

  “You think this is easy?” asks Fran.

  “No, but compared to other places I have seen, yes, we have a pretty great setup here.”

  Lauren replies, “We do. We definitely have a good setup here.”

  “I’m not sure I could eat squirrel,” says Fran.

  “If you get hungry enough, and we don’t have any other options, I bet you could.”

  “Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, but I see Ryan’s point,” says Lauren to Fran.

  “We will work on the vegetable beds. We just need the wood and platforms to get started,” says Lauren.

  Fran says, “I’m going to take a shower then we can start making dinner.”

  Fran walks into her bedroom and closes her bedroom door.


  “How was the trip to World of Trade?” asks Lauren.

  “It was good. I saw Kat and Deb and I let them know about Channelside, but they said they are done with getting stuff for Dr. Morris.”

  “Good for them. That doctor sounds like a bitch,” replies Lauren.

  “Yeah, she’s pretty bad.”

  “We are working on getting into level two. We are going back to World of Trade in four days. I left a couple guns with Dutch, and he said to come back in four days.”

  “Great. How are you going to get into level two though?” asks Lauren.

  “Doorman said that he’s trying to get us in, but he couldn’t today, and he’ll try when we come back.”

  “Doorman?” asks Lauren.

  “Yeah, he’s the big guy who guards the level two entrance. We don’t know his name, so we call him Doorman.”

  “Do you have a name for everyone?” asks Lauren.

  “Just about. How else would people know who we are talking about?”

  “I guess that’s a guy thing. Dinner should be ready in a couple hours. I’ll let you know when it’s ready,” replies Lauren.

  “Okay great, I’ll be in my man cave reading the book Shaun gave me.”

  “Enjoy,” replies Lauren.

  I walk into my man cave and sit in my recliner chair.

  Milo walks into my man cave and sits on my small area rug.

  I watch Milo yawn and fall asleep.

  I open the book Shaun lent me and start reading.

  The book is broken into several sections and covers a variety of useful survival topics.

  I read a section about cooking without electricity or gas.

  I grab some sticky note tabs and start marking pages of interest.

  Several hours go by, and I skimmed through the entire book.

  I close the book and notice all the sticky note tabs I placed. There are tons of sticky note tabs all over the book.

  “Looks like we got a lot of work to do,” I say as I look at the sticky note tabs that I placed inside the book.

  “Dinner will be ready in five minutes!” shouts Lauren from the kitchen.

  I hear Lauren’s announcement and look at Milo.

  Milo opens one eye and looks at me.

  “We gotta get out of here belly man,” I say to Milo. Milo stretches out and stands up.

  Milo and I exit my man cave, and I close the man cave door.

  I walk by Lauren, who is in the kitchen, and say, “I’ll go get my dad.”