Fight 4 Us: (Book 3): Refuge

by Grenda, Brian

  As I open the gate, I say, “It’s okay everyone. We know this man.”

  Phil runs over to me and says, “Why are you letting him in? I don’t want him in here.”

  “I don’t either, but we can’t have him outside the gate making all this noise and attracting zombies to the neighborhood.”

  Derrick drives through the gate and stops. We close the gate as Derrick enters, and we walk over to Derrick’s car.

  I walk over to Derrick as he sits alone in the driver seat of his car and ask, “What are you doing here Derrick?”

  Derrick shouts, “Where is she? Where is Nicole?”

  Phil comes over to Derrick’s driver side door and says, “You got a lot of nerve coming here. Where is your girlfriend at?”

  Derrick replies, “She is dead. I’m here to see Nicole and my kids.”

  Derrick drives down the street and shouts, “Nicole, where are you? Nicole!”

  Derrick starts beeping his car horn and people start coming out of their homes.

  Derrick turns the corner and shouts, “Nicole! Where are you?”

  Matt walks out of his front door and sees Derrick driving right towards the house.

  Derrick stops and parks his car in front of Matt’s house.

  Matt says, “Hey Derrick. What are you doing here?”

  Derrick gets out of his car and walks over to Matt and yells, “Where is she Matt? I want to see her and my kids.”

  Matt tries to diffuse the situation, but starts to get angry as Derrick isn’t listening to him.

  Derrick starts to walk towards Matt’s house.

  Derrick says, “I know she is in your house Matt. I’m going to see her and my kids.”

  Derrick moves past Matt and starts to walk towards the front door. Derrick makes it about 10 feet from the front door, before Matt grabs his right arm.

  Matt says, “Wait. You can’t just go walking into my house, like you own it.”

  Derrick says, “Watch me.”

  Matt pulls Derrick towards the street.

  Derrick turns towards Matt and punches him in the face with a left hook.

  Matt falls onto his driveway.

  Phil and I see the whole altercation and run over to help Matt.

  Derrick makes his way into the house and shouts, “Nicole where ya at?”

  Nicole comes out of the kitchen and walks towards Derrick.

  Nicole is holding Mia in her arms as she walks towards Derrick.

  Nicole says, “I told you that I never wanted to see you again. Why are you here?”

  Derrick says, “I love you Nicole. I wanted to see you and my babies.”

  Derrick steps towards Nicole, but Nicole backs away.

  Derrick tries to touch Mia’s face, but Nicole moves her away from Derrick before he can.

  Derrick starts to get mad and makes a move towards Nicole and Mia.

  Derrick reaches for Nicole and is about to grab her when he is suddenly grabbed from behind, dragged out of the house, and tossed onto the front lawn by Phil.

  Phil tosses Derrick onto the lawn and shouts, “You aren’t welcome here Derrick! Nicole deserves better than you! You need to leave!”

  Derrick tries to run back inside the house, but Phil stops him and pushes back onto the lawn.

  Derrick shouts, “Come on Nicole. I know you love me. You are my wife and those are my kids.”

  Phil shouts, “Stop yelling. Nicole doesn’t want you in her life, so you need to go.”

  Derrick tries to shout again, but Phil punches him in the face.

  Phil is seeing red and reaches for his gun. He points the gun at Derrick’s face.

  Derrick starts to cry and plead with Phil not to shoot him.

  I look on as Phil is ready to kill Derrick. I hate Derrick, but I’m not sure it’s right that we kill him or not. I’m not sure what the best action here is, but I think we need to discuss it within the group.

  “Please Phil. I just want Nicole back,” says Derrick with tears coming down his face.

  Phil wants to shoot Derrick and is about to when Nicole comes outside and says, “Don’t Phil. I don’t want you to kill him.”

  Phil lowers his gun and looks at Nicole.

  Nicole walks over to Phil, places her hand on his left shoulder and says, “Please Phil. Spare his life, for me.”

  Phil holsters his handgun and grabs Derrick. Phil checks him for weapons and finds a gun tucked in the back of his pants.

  Phil takes the gun from Derrick and asks, “Where did you get the gun? What were you going to do with that? Shoot one of us again?”

  Derrick says, “I found it on one of my dead neighbors. I needed to defend myself.”

  Nicole asks, “Dead neighbors? Is the neighborhood okay?”

  Derrick says, “It’s gone. It was overtaken by a huge group of zombies. Everyone in the neighborhood is dead. Denise is ….”

  Nicole shouts, “Denise is what Derrick? A whore? A terrible person? What is she, Derrick?”

  Derrick looks at Nicole and says, “A mistake. Denise was a mistake.”

  Nicole starts to cry as she looks at Derrick. Nicole walks over to Derrick and isn’t sure what to do. Should she hug him, comfort him, or slap him?

  Nicole looks down at Derrick’s left hand and instantly gets mad.

  Nicole grabs Derrick’s left hand and shouts, “Where is your wedding ring Derrick?”

  Derrick looks down at his left hand and says, “I must have lost it. It must have come off when I was fighting for my life and coming down here.”

  Nicole shows Derrick her left hand and points to the wedding rings that she was still wearing.

  “You see Derrick. I still have mine. I loved you and what we had, but that’s clearly done now. I wasn’t sure what to do with you when I saw you, but you clearly are full of crap. You only care about yourself. You only came back to me, because Denise is dead. You are a liar and you deserve to die,” says Nicole.

  Nicole turns away from Phil and Derrick, starts to walk towards the front door of the house, takes off her wedding rings and throws them in the front yard.

  Phil looks at me, and we both aren’t sure what to do.

  Should we kill Derrick, spare his life, or what?

  A large group has gathered around Matt’s house and has been watching the altercation between Derrick, Phil, and Nicole.

  Phil looks at me and says, “What are we going to do with this idiot?”

  I’m not sure what to do. I feel that we need to kill him, but Nicole doesn’t want that.

  I look at Phil and the group and say, “Okay everyone, the show is over. Nothing to see here. Let’s go back to our homes. We will handle this situation.”

  A neighbor asks, “What is going to happen to him? Are you going to kill him?”

  I look into the crowd and am not sure who asked the question, but I reply, “We will handle it. He definitely won’t be staying here in the neighborhood with us.”

  Another neighborhood asks, “What does that mean? Are you going to kill him like you did the other men that were living in the Fisher house?”

  I can see that the people want answers and aren’t going to leave until they get them.

  People are constantly watching a leader and judging them on their words and actions.

  I feel this is the time to assert my dominance as a leader and keep the group trusting my decisions.

  “Everyone, we will handle this. I will handle this. One way or another, Derrick will not be staying in the neighborhood. My group and I have a history with this man and that clouds our decision on what to do with him.”

  The crowd is looking at me for a definitive answer, and they are feeling that I’m avoiding the big question if he should die or not.

  “Killing isn’t easy. It shouldn’t be the only way, but it needs to be done in this new world. I have always believed in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. People are an asset in this world, and we can’t lose sight of that. My group and I will decide on what we do
with Derrick tonight, and it will be carried out.”

  Shaun walks next to me, looks at the group and says, “Do not worry everyone. We will handle it, and he will be gone. One way, or another. Please go back to your homes.”

  The crowd starts to walk away from Matt’s house and go back to their homes.

  As the group is walking away from the house, I overhear two ladies talking.

  “I hope they kill that guy,” says a red headed woman.

  “Really? He didn’t do anything wrong. He only wanted to see his wife and kids. Plus, he was kind of cute,” says a blonde-haired woman.

  Derrick tries to get into his car and drive away. Phil kicks the driver side door closed as Derrick tries to open it.

  “Where do you think you are going?” asks Phil.

  Derrick says, “I’m leaving. Nicole doesn’t want me here, and I will leave and never come back.”

  Phil walks right up to Derrick’s face and says, “You are leaving, when we say you are leaving. You are leaving how we want you to leave.”

  Derrick gets a worried look on his face and falls to his knees.

  The guys and I must decide on what is the best decision for us to do with Derrick.

  As we stand in Matt’s driveway, we all gather ideas on what to do next.

  Phil says, “I think we kill him.”

  Shaun says, “I’m down for whatever you want to do. I know you guys have a history that isn’t good. I respect your decision.”

  Matt says, “I don’t know what to do. Nicole doesn’t want him dead, and I want to honor her wishes.”

  I look at the guys and say, “I have a plan for what to do, and we’ll do it later tonight, when it gets dark.”

  Phil asks, “What is it Ry?”

  “You will see. It will be dark pretty soon, and I’ll answer it then. Let’s keep him at Shaun’s house for now and get his car out of Matt’s driveway.”

  Phil and Shaun take Derrick to Shaun’s house, and I drive the car down to the South entrance.

  Several hours go by, and it starts to get dark.

  I start to get ready for what I plan to do with Derrick. I gear up like I’m going on a run. I put on my bulletproof vest, tactile gear, and take my handgun with me.

  Lauren sees me getting ready and asks, “What are you doing now? It’s dark out.”

  “I’m handling the Derrick situation for good.”

  Lauren looks at me and asks, “Are you going to kill him?”

  I kiss Lauren and say, “We won’t ever see Derrick again.”

  I walk out of my front door and get into my SUV. I drive over to Shaun’s house and get the guys ready for the trip.

  I walk into the house and see Phil, Shaun, and Derrick sitting in the living room.

  I walk over to Derrick and put duct tape over his eyes and mouth.

  Shaun asks, “What are we doing? Where are we going?”

  “We are taking him out of here. Load him into the back of my SUV Phil.”

  Lisa comes out of the bedroom and sees Phil and Shaun taking Derrick out of the living room.

  Lisa stands in the kitchen and asks, “What’s going to happen to him?”

  I look at Lisa and say, “We won’t be seeing him anymore.”

  Lisa says, “Good. Good riddance.”

  Shaun and Phil load Derrick into the back of my SUV that is parked in Shaun’s driveway.

  I walk out of the garage and meet Shaun and Phil.

  Shaun closes the trunk and asks, “Should I go get Matt?”

  “No. He won’t like what we are going to do with Derrick. Leave him be with Nicole. Get in the SUV.”

  I drive down the street towards the South entrance and stop at Derrick’s parked car.

  I look back at Shaun who is sitting in the back seat and say, “Take Derrick’s car and follow me.”

  Shaun says, “You got it.”

  Tony and Chris open the gate to the South entrance.

  I drive through the gate, followed by Shaun.

  I exit the neighborhood and make an immediate left-hand turn.

  As I make the turn, Phil looks at me and asks, “Where are we going? What are we doing with Derrick?”

  I look at Phil and say, “Derrick is leaving this place. Derrick is going away and won’t be a problem for us ever again.”

  Phil nods in agreement, looks back at Derrick who is lying on his side in the back of the SUV and says, “We should have done this in Orlando, but either way good riddance.”

  “Yeah. It’s a long time coming.”

  I feel the bullet in my bulletproof vest and say, “It should have been done in Orlando.”

  CHAPTER 10

  TOUGH DECISION

  I am driving my SUV down the road and followed by Shaun in Derrick’s car. We have been driving for a couple of minutes, and I’m looking for a good place to stop and deal with Derrick.

  “Did you bring a shovel?”

  “I didn’t know we were going to need one,” says Phil.

  “That’s okay, it’s not important. The important thing is that the Derrick and Nicole drama will be over.

  Phil smiles at the sound of that.

  “How are you and Nicole doing?”

  Phil replies, “Good I guess. Nothing has happened between us, but we are good.”

  “Do you want something to happen with you and Nicole?”

  Phil thinks carefully on how to answer that question, and takes a couple seconds to answer.

  Phil is about to answer, but I interrupt him first.

  “Of course, you do. I see the way you look at her. It’s okay Phil. You aren’t fooling anybody that knows you.”

  Phil replies, “I do care about her and the babies. I’m just nervous about being shot down by Nicole and what that might be like.”

  “Awkward!”

  Phil laughs at my statement and says, “But seriously, I do care for her and I don’t want to mess things up between us. Our friendship means a lot to me and I don’t want to ruin that.”

  “Life is too short bro. Don’t force anything with Nicole, but you know how it is with Nicole. Go with your gut feeling, and you can’t go wrong.”

  “Yeah, I will. I do feel a chemistry between us, and it would be nice to be with someone. I’m tired of being the 5th wheel with all you married couples. You, Shaun, and even Matt,” says Phil.

  “Matt, I hope he doesn’t get mad at what we did. I don’t like lying to him or anyone, but I think we keep this between us until it comes up.”

  Phil replies, “I won’t go around broadcasting it, but I won’t lie either.”

  I pull up to an abandoned house that is in an abandoned new construction neighborhood and stop.

  I look at the partially dug foundation for a new construction house across the street from the house I parked at and say, “That lot should do the trick.”

  Phil and I get out of the SUV. Shaun parks Derrick’s car and walks over to Phil and me.

  Shaun asks, “So this is the final destination for Derrick?”

  I open the back door to the SUV, and Phil and Shaun remove Derrick from the SUV.

  Derrick tries to scream for help, but the tape around his mouth muffles the sound.

  Phil and Shaun take Derrick from the back of the SUV and ask, “Where are we going?”

  I point across the street and say, “Over there. Put him down in the dirt. Where they were digging the foundation.”

  Shaun and Phil pick Derrick up and put him down in the dirt. They make him kneel in the dirt as I walk over to them.

  As I walk over to Derrick, I am feeling a combination of emotions. I want to kill him, but at the same time, I feel sorry for him, and I feel that I should let him go.

  The whole drive over, I was feeling a sense of anger towards Derrick and that killing him is the best decision. That all went away the moment I saw him kneeling in front of me with duct tape around his eyes and mouth.

  I’m not a killer and am still having a hard time killing living people, unless
I feel threatened and that I have no other choice.

  Derrick puts his hands together in a prayer position.

  I look at Derrick, but can’t help to think about the people that died since this all started, and the people that I had a hand in killing.

  What happened to them? Did they go to heaven, hell, or purgatory? Is there such a thing as heaven or hell?

  I have never been a religious person, but I do consider myself spiritual. I do believe everything happens for a reason, and I’m still struggling with why the zombie apocalypse is the new way of the world.

  Shaun sees the hesitation on my face and body and asks, “Ry? You sure about this? You sure you want to do this?”

  I look at Shaun and say, “I’m not sure killing him is the right decision or not, but I can’t take a chance on keeping this idiot alive.”

  Phil shouts, “That’s why we need to get rid of him! Who knows what he will do!”

  Storm clouds start to roll in and rain starts to pour down on us.

  It actually feels good to have the cold rain pour down on us on this hot Florida night.

  Phil shouts, “Ry. Let me do it. Killing isn’t easy and you never forget the people that you kill. This might haunt you for the rest of your life.”

  I feel a sense of relief that Phil is willing to kill Derrick, but I also feel that I am the one who decided to do this, so I should be the one who follows through with it and be true to my word.

  I turn to Phil and say, “I appreciate the help Phil, but I can’t keep putting the tough decisions on you.”

  The rain suddenly stops as I walk towards Derrick and point my handgun at his forehead.

  I look down at Derrick and say, “I’m sorry it came to this Derrick. I just can’t trust you or what you might do around here. You are a danger to me and my group. I wish there was another way, but I don’t see one. Good luck to you in the afterlife and your next life.”

  Derrick screams in fear.

  I pull back the hammer on my handgun, take aim, and then.

  Bang!

  Derrick is hit in the left side of the head.

  I look down at my gun and check to make sure that I didn’t fire it.

  I look back at Phil and Shaun and say, “I didn’t do it.”

  We look around for the shooter and see a white truck speeding towards us.

  The white construction truck pulls in the dirt right next to us. Two men and the driver get out of the truck and walk over to us.