Fight 4 Us (Book 4): Conquered

by Grenda, Brian

  Matt and Kylie walk across the courtyard and over to the automotive department.

  “The belt keeps slipping off!” shouts a man.

  Another man replies, “It’s the wrong belt. It won’t fit the 67. We need to find another car just like this.”

  “Hey Tran. I want to introduce you to my husband Matt,” says Kylie.

  Tran and Matt shake hands and greet each other.

  “You like cars Matt?” asks Tran.

  “Yeah. I like cars. I used to have a 95 with a V8 before the world fell apart,” says Matt.

  “That’s cool. I was more of the import guy. You know street racing,” says Tran.

  “Very cool. What are you working on here?” asks Matt.

  “Jim and I are trying to get this transmission belt to fit on this 67, but it’s not the right fit. We have had a hard time finding the right parts for the cars that need to be repaired,” says Tran.

  Cheering and shouting starts to erupt in the center courtyard.

  Bruce and Master Li are sparing. A large group has gathered around to see the match between Bruce and Master Li.

  It’s a sword fight with wood practice swords.

  “I don’t want to hurt your Li,” says Bruce.

  Li replies, “Don’t worry I won’t hurt you Bruce. Just your ego a little bit.”

  The sword fight begins and Li scores a quick point by stabbing Bruce on his left side quickly.

  “Come on Bruce. Don’t hold back on her,” shouts Justin.

  “Yeah, Bruce. Don’t hold back. I know I won’t,” says Li as she smiles at Bruce.

  Li attack Bruce, but Bruce blocks her high sword attack.

  Bruce is holding back as he doesn’t want to hit a woman.

  Li attacks several times with her sword, but Bruce blocks every one of her strikes.

  Bruce feels a sense that he needs to protect himself, but also not to hurt Li.

  Li slides back, swings up with her sword. Bruce holds his sword up and blocks her sword strike.

  As Bruce has his hands up holding his sword to block Li’s sword, Li sees an opportunity to kick Bruce in the stomach.

  Bruce falls to the ground and starts coughing.

  Li drops her sword and rushes over to Bruce.

  “I’m sorry Bruce. Are you okay?” asks Li.

  Bruce coughs one more time and smiles at Li.

  “I’m okay, but that was a good kick. You are fighting dirty over there,” says Bruce.

  “I don’t play. I win,” says Li.

  William interrupts and shouts, “Okay. Okay. That’s enough. I can’t have my best warriors hurting each other.”

  Li helps Bruce up from the ground.

  Bruce and Li hug.

  Li says, “Maybe we can continue this another time.”

  Bruce smiles at Li.

  Li says, “How about tonight at my place?”

  “Sounds great. I’ll see you tonight,” says Bruce.

  The group scatters and gets back to work.

  William walks over to Matt and Kylie and says, “Tomorrow we will go back to the Big Club and set up the store with some solar panels and help secure the store.”

  Matt and Kylie say, “Okay. That sounds good.”

  Kylie says, “I need to get back home also. I can go back home after we go to the Big Club tomorrow.”

  “Yeah. I’ll go back home with you,” says Matt.

  The morning comes and William, Matt, Kylie, Bruce, Justin, and Jeremy pack up their vehicles and horses to ride over to the Big Club.

  As Jeremy is walking to get his horse, he sees a horse running down the street towards the area where the horses are kept.

  “We have a horse loose!” shouts Jeremy.

  Bruce, Justin, Jeremy, Li, William, and fellow Warriors see that a horse is running along the fence line outside of the school perimeter.

  Justin and Bruce count the number of horses that they have inside the school.

  Justin says, “That’s not one of our horses. We have all of ours.”

  William sees that several zombies are making their way towards the horse now.

  “We need to save the horse!” shouts William.

  William and Jeremy run towards the gate at the South entrance of the school.

  Bruce and Li follow William and Jeremy.

  Ten zombies are closing in on the horse now.

  The horse zips past the gate.

  William and Jeremy open the gate and call for the horse.

  The horse stops in her tracks, but isn’t sure what to do.

  Bruce and Li run towards the zombies and start killing them with sword slashes to the head.

  William walks over to the horse. The horse steps back and then stops.

  “Come on girl. It’s safe. We won’t hurt you,” whispers William to the horse.

  Jeremy shouts, “Hurry up dad, there are more zombies coming towards us.”

  Jeremy takes his spear and stabs several zombies in the head as Bruce and Li chop several zombie heads into the street.

  William reaches for the leather strap around the horses’ head and grabs it.

  The horse steps back at first, but then settles down.

  “Good girl. Come on. Let me take you away from all this craziness,” says William to the horse.

  Bruce stabs a zombie in the head.

  Li shouts, “William, you need to bring that horse inside now.”

  William starts to walk into the school with the horse.

  The horse is hesitant at first, but then walks with William inside the gate of the school.

  Jeremy runs inside the fence and shuts one part of the gate.

  Bruce and Li kill a few more zombies with their swords before running back into the school property. They close and lock the gate behind them.

  The last remaining zombies are killed by Jeremy who uses his spear through the metal fence and stabs the zombies’ in the head.

  William walks the horse onto the property of the school and is met by a fellow Warrior.

  “Put her in the empty horse stable. I’m not sure how she will fair next to the other horses just yet,” says William to a female Warrior.

  As the woman takes the horse to the stable, William notices some writing on the saddle.

  Next to the seat it says, “TM.”

  And near the front of the saddle it says, “Sunny.”

  Bruce, Li, and Jeremy come next to William.

  “Are you alright?” asks William.

  Bruce, Li, and Jeremy all say yes and everyone is in good shape.

  Matt walks over to William and says, “That was amazing. How did you get control of the horse?”

  William replies, “I had to make her feel comfortable and safe. Once she knew I was there to help, we were there to help, she listened to me.”

  William orders four of his men to clean up the zombie bodies and to burn them in the zombie pit at the far end of the school property.

  “Let’s get ready and get over to the Big Club,” says William.

  Matt and Kylie get their belongings and join Justin and Jeremy in a car.

  Bruce walks over to Li and says, “Last night was great. Can I see you again tonight?”

  Li jokes, “Easy tiger. I might need a little rest tonight.”

  Bruce puts his head down in disappointment.

  Li says, “Come by when get done at the store later. I’ll make us some dinner.”

  Bruce smiles.

  Li kisses Bruce on the lips and then walks away.

  William walks over to Bruce and says, “Easy with that one Bruce. She is a tough one.”

  Bruce says, “I know, that’s what I like about her.”

  William shouts, “Let’s saddle up everyone! Open the gate!”

  William hops into a truck with Bruce and a couple other Warriors. They are brining several solar panels and the equipment to start the setup of solar panel power for the Big Club.

  William, Matt, Kylie, Bruce, Jeremy, Justin, and several other Warriors le
ave the school and make their way over to the Big Club.

  William and his group arrive at the Big Club.

  The parking lot of the Big Club is secured by shopping carts, blockades, and the front door is blocked off by a metal fence that can only be opened by the inside.

  William beeps his truck horn and waits.

  Bobby G, Carlos, Phil, and Nicole open the front gate and move the shopping carts so William and his group can driver closer to the front of the store.

  William and his men drive their vehicles to the front of the store and park. Phil and Carlos reposition the shopping carts to block the entrance of the store.

  William walks over to Bobby G and greets him.

  “Hello Robert. How are doing on this day?” asks William.

  Matt and Kylie walk over to Nicole and exchange hugs with each other.

  “What are you doing here Nicole?” asks Matt.

  Nicole replies, “I wanted to see the store and get out of the house. I came with Phil.”

  Matt glares over at Phil and seems to be mad that Nicole came with Phil.

  Suddenly several people come rushing towards the store. A large group of about 12 people come running towards the store.

  William, Bobby G, Carlos, Bruce, Jeremy, Phil, and Justin grab their weapons.

  The people come rushing towards the store, but don’t seem to have any weapons on them. As they get closer to the store, it’s clear that this group is not doing well and they are looking for help.

  “Please! Please help us! We are dying out here. We need help. Let us inside your store!” shouts the crowd.

  Bobby G shouts, “This is the third time this week!”

  William steps towards the crowd as they are blocked by the blockades and shopping carts.

  Jeremy says, “Dad. You sure you want to be getting closer to these people?”

  William turns towards Jeremey and says, “Yes son. We need people in this world.”

  The crowd is trying to get through the blockade but can’t.

  The crowd is getting more and more aggressive with moving towards the store.

  “People. Stop moving forward. We need you to stop trying to barge your way in. We can work together. We want to work together. Is anyone sick, bit, or injured?” asks William.

  “No one is bit, but we are dying out here. We are hungry, thirsty, dirty, and scared,” shouts a woman in the crowd.

  Bobby G walks over to the group and next to William.

  “I’m sorry everyone. We gave you care packages yesterday and that’s all we can do right now,” says Bobby G.

  “Those care packages sucked. We want into your store. Now!” shouts one of the men.

  Bobby G starts to get annoyed by the man’s remarks and is about to reply when William shouts, “We can’t let you in right now as we don’t know if you are trust worthy, safe, and infection free.”

  The crowd starts to get unruly as they aren’t getting what they want.

  “This is bullshit! I told you they wouldn’t let us in!” shouts one of the men.

  The crowd continues to push their way through the blockade and one man hops over the shopping carts and makes a run towards Bobby G and William.

  Bruce and Jeremy step closer to William as the man approaches.

  William says, “I got this.”

  SLICE!

  William chops the man’s head clean off with his Chinese hook swords.

  The crowd gasps in horror.

  “I didn’t want to kill this man, but he left me no choice! What will you decide? We will help you, but we can’t help you right now! I have a camp that is nearby and will tell you how to get to the camp after we are finished our work here today. Please go back home or wait here. We will be done in a couple hours though. But for those who do wait, it will be worth the wait,” says William.

  William and Bobby G start to walk towards the front store entrance. Jeremy walks over to the head of the man William just cut off and stabs it in his forehead with his spear.

  Jeremy says to the crowd, “We can help you. My father and I will help you. Please give us some time here, and we will give you directions to our camp. We have a doctor and can provide care for you.”

  William, Bobby G, and the rest of the group goes inside the Big Club.

  Bobby G looks at Phil and Carlos and says, “Let’s give the people outside some water and give them food that we have on that palate over there.”

  Phil and Carlos start loading up shopping carts and are helped by Jeremy and Matt. They load up the carts with the food and water and go back outside to give the people some food and water.

  William walks with Bobby G around the store and they talk.

  “How’s the store holding up? Any problems recently or that you see happening?” asks William.

  Bobby G replies, “People keep coming here for help, food, and water. We did a good job blocking them out, but I feel bad that we can’t give them more. They keep coming more and more frequently and in bigger numbers.”

  “Can you handle them? Are they dangerous yet?” asks William.

  “We can handle them for now, but if they keep showing up we will run out of things for them to have and they may break through the blockages eventually,” says Bobby G.

  “Where do you want us to put the solar panels?” asks Justin as he walks back in to the store with Jeremy and a couple other Warriors.

  Bobby G says, “Carlos can show you the setup for those. Some of them will go on the side of the building and some will go on the roof.”

  Justin and Jeremy find Carlos and they start installing the solar panels around the Big Club property.

  Matt walks over to Nicole and asks, “What’s going on with you and Phil?”

  Nicole and Matt walk away from Kylie and talk.

  “What does it matter Matt? Phil and I are seeing each other. We care about each other,” says Nicole.

  Matt gets frustrated and pissed after hearing what Nicole just said.

  “Seeing each other? You aren’t even a widow for a couple months, before you move onto Phil?” asks Matt.

  “Excuse me! Whoever I see and want to be with is my business. Not yours!” shouts Nicole.

  The shout of Nicole’s voice echoes throughout the Big Club warehouse.

  Nicole walks away and Phil walks over to her.

  “Everything okay Nicole?” asks Phil.

  Nicole looks at Phil and says, “Yeah. Matt is just being over protective. Like always. He has been this way my whole life.”

  Phil says, “Let me talk to him.”

  Phil walks away from Nicole and over to Matt who is standing next to Kylie now.

  “What’s the problem Matt? You don’t want me seeing your sister?” asks Phil.

  Matt asks, “You want me to be honest Phil?”

  “Yeah, but I already can see how you feel about it,” says Phil.

  “I don’t want you seeing Nicole. I don’t think you are a good fit for her,” says Matt.

  “A good fit for her? What does that mean?” asks Phil.

  Before Matt can even reply, Phil interrupts.

  “I care about Nicole and have always cared about her. I respected her marriage with Derrick and never forced anything with Nicole. We care about each other and are good for each other!” shouts Phil.

  Kylie walks over to Phil and Matt.

  “Okay guys. Let’s calm down with all this. Nicole and Phil are consenting adults. They can make their own decisions, and we need to accept that,” says Kylie.

  Kylie’s remarks only make Matt more annoyed.

  Phil looks at Matt and says, “Look Matt. I understand your concern for your sister. I really do, but we care about each other, and I don’t know what else to tell you.”

  Matt says, “I don’t know what to say other than I don’t like it. Maybe over time I will, but I don’t right now. I don’t want to see you with her.”

  Matt walks away and goes outside to help Carlos and The Warriors install the solar panels.
>
  Phil walks over to Nicole.

  Nicole says, “He will get over it. He always does. He’s just a protective brother. Just don’t break my heart Phil.”

  Phil looks directly into Nicole’s eyes and says, “I don’t plan on ever doing that. I’m finally with you and don’t plan on ever letting you go.”

  Nicole says, “Me either Phil. I enjoy my time with you, even in this terrible new world.”

  Nicole kisses Phil on the lips.

  Kylie watches Nicole and Phil embrace and kiss. She knows that Phil and Nicole are good together, but she needs to convince Matt that it’s a good thing for Nicole and Phil to be together now.

  CHAPTER 14

  DINNER DATE

  “And that should do it,” says Bruce.

  Half of the Big Club is set up to be powered by solar power now.

  “Should I turn off the generator now?” asks Matt.

  Carlos says, “Yeah, try it. If the lights stay on then we are good to go with the solar power.”

  Matt turns off and unplugs the generator.

  The lights immediately go out.

  “Guess we aren’t set up just yet,” says Carlos.

  The lights then kick back on.

  Bruce says, “Spoke to soon their Carlos.”

  The Big Club is half powered by solar power and just needs a couple more panels to be connected to fully power the rest of the store.

  Bruce walks over to Bobby G and says, “We are all set up for the solar power on half of the store. We don’t have any more panels from the school.”

  “Thank you, Bruce. I think Ryan knows of a solar panel company. We will go back to see if they have any more solar panels left,” says Bobby G.

  William walks over to Bobby G and says, “We are all done here. I want to have a dinner for you and your people.”

  “That would be great William,” says Bobby G.

  “Excellent. Let’s plan to have a dinner in two days at sunset at my home,” says William.

  “Good idea. What do you want us to bring?” asks Bobby G.

  “Anything you would like to have and enjoy with us. I will see you in a couple days. My men and I will direct the crowd of people outside of the store to my home for treatment, care, and anything else they need,” says William.

  Bobby G and William shake hands and say goodbye.

  William shouts, “Warriors! Let’s move out. We are going home. Ryan’s group! I will see some of you in a couple of days.”