TJ drives over to the military gas pumps and the guys start to fill up their vehicles. The base is very quiet and TJ doesn’t like the fact that he can’t shake this feeling of something being very wrong.
The base is never this quiet.
As the guys are gassing up their vehicles, a military helicopter comes flying in over the gas pumps and lands near the main building on the base.
TJ watches the helicopter land and says, “We need to check out that helicopter.”
The guys finish up at the gas pumps and drive towards the helicopter.
Several people come rushing out of the helicopter. TJ, Phil, and Shaun make their way through the crowd and flag down the pilot.
The pilot comes over to TJ and asks, “Can I help you with something?”
TJ asks, “Where can I find Captain Bailey?”
The pilot responds, “I’m not sure exactly, we just got in from the craziness downtown. It’s starting to get pretty bad down there.”
“What do you mean? What’s going on?” asks TJ.
“It’s a war zone right now in downtown Tampa and around the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard is holding back a big threat right now, but I’m not sure for how much longer. Downtown Tampa is becoming overrun by zombies as more and more people are dying and turning,” says the pilot of the helicopter.
“Thank you for the information,” says TJ.
The pilot responds, “Yeah. No problem. We are loading up and trying to go back out again. This time probably towards the Gulf.”
Phil comes over to TJ and asks, “What do we do now?”
“We find my father and see if he can help us get some guns and supplies. Let’s go check out his office,” says TJ.
The guys get into their vehicles and drive over to the military staff offices.
The base is not totally deserted, but has scattered vehicles and personnel all around the base.
TJ and the guys get to the office building and make their way to the third-floor offices.
They walk down the hall and hear someone in their office. The man is frantically trying to make a call on his satellite phone, but the service keeps getting interrupted.
“Damn it!” the man shouts as the phone call is disconnected.
TJ walks over to the partially opened door and knocks on it.
The man looks at the door and shouts, “Yeah.”
TJ pushes open the door and sees that the man in the office is his father.
TJ walks into the office and says, “Hey dad.”
The man walks over to TJ, gives him a big hug and says, “Man. I’m glad to see you. I’m glad you are okay.”
Odin runs into the office and jumps up with his front paws onto TJ’s dad’s stomach.
“Hey Odin. I’m glad to see you too boy,” says TJ’s dad.
TJ says, “Phil, Shaun, this is my dad. Captain Richard Bailey.”
“Please. Call me Rich. Nice to meet you guys,” says Rich.
Everyone introduces themselves, and they start to talk with Rich. They fill him in about what has been going on, and about the possibility of getting some supplies and weapons.
“So, this outbreak is all over the place? No place is safe right now? What’s the government doing about it?” asks TJ.
Rich replies, “It’s everywhere that I know of. The folks in D.C. are telling me that its worldwide as well, not just in the U.S. They are trying to keep everyone safe that they can, but there are too many of those freaking zombies.”
Shaun asks, “Is the government working on a cure or some big weapon to kill zombies and not people or something? They have to be working on something right now, right?”
“This ain’t the movies kid. I heard someone in one of the meetings talk about a possible weapon to fight the zombies that would be airborne, but they are far away from mass production right now,” says Rich.
Phil says, “We can’t rely on the government. Really never could before either. We need supplies and weapons.”
“Is that why you guys are here?’ asks Rich.
TJ responds, “Yes. We need weapons, food, water, and anything that you can spare for us. We have a problem with another group, and they need to be taken care of.”
“The war is never over I guess. We have a whole new war we are all fighting right now. I can help you get some weapons and supplies, but you didn’t get them from me,” says Rich.
“Of course not. I was merely seeing how my father was doing during these rough times,” says TJ with a sarcastic tone.
“Let’s get going to the supply area on the base,” says Rich.
We exit Rich’s office and make our way to the parking lot.
Rich hops into TJ’s jeep, while Shaun and Phil get into their vehicles.
As the guys drive towards the weapons and supply building, TJ and Rich have a talk. They haven’t seen or talked to each other in several months.
“How are you holding up in all this? How is mom doing? I haven’t talked to you in like 4 months now,” says TJ.
Rich replies, “I’m holding up, but you mother isn’t. She didn’t make it. One of those things got her. It was one of our neighbors. It happened at the start of all this crap. Your mother was taking out the trash and she was attacked.”
TJ shouts, “Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I tried to call you, but the phones were working sporadically. The base needed me, and I got so held up with everything going on. I haven’t even had a chance to bury her yet,” says Rich as he starts to cry.
“Once the problem is solved with this new group, I’m coming to your house and we are going to bury her in the backyard together. She deserves better than this,” shouts TJ.
TJ and the guys get over to the weapons and supply building.
Rich gets the guys into the building with his security clearance, and they start to examine what is available for them.
“Damn, this place is stacked. You got a who arsenal here,” says Phil.
“You guys can’t take everything obviously, but can take a variety of things. What’s up with this group that is causing trouble?” asks Rich.
Shaun says, “They are bad news. They attacked our neighborhood and seem to have taken control of a lot buildings, businesses, and homes around it.”
Rich asks, “Do they call themselves The Conquerors?”
The guys look at Rich with a look of amazement and ask, “How did you know that?”
“Those idiots where shooting at us when we were in a chopper a couple days ago. We arrested a big group of them from downtown Tampa, and they were calling themselves Conquerors and talking about some guy named Joseph,” says Rich.
“Yeah, Joseph is there leader. Our leader Ryan and he got into a fight. We defended ourselves, but Joseph got away. We are looking to end it now,” says TJ.
“Well I recommend you using these M4 Carbine guns, one of these sniper rifles, these Beretta M9’s, body armor, and variety of knives we have,” says Rich.
TJ responds, “Definitely will take you up on those weapons, but do you have any food, like ready to eat meals that you could spare?”
Rich walks the guys into the next room, and it’s filled with boxes and pallets full of food.
Phil says, “Awesome. We got plenty of food for a lifetime here.”
“You can’t take it all, but we will load you up pretty good,” says Rich.
TJ says, “Okay guys. Let’s load up the vehicles and get back to Citrus Oaks.”
As Phil and Shaun are loading up the vehicles, TJ pulls his dad to the side to talk to him.
“What’s going on with this outbreak? Anything you can share about what is going on or what to do?” asks TJ.
“I talked with some of my guys in D.C., and they said that it’s not looking good. The large cities like New York, LA, Chicago, and Philadelphia are already lost to the zombies. There are just too many of them. The best advice that I can give you right now, is to stay safe, hunker down, and wait it out,” says Rich.
TJ asks, “What are you doing? Are you living here on the base? What’s your plan?”
Rich replies, “We have to wait it out and get orders from the higher ups in D.C. first, if they ever come. I have to help protect this base and Tampa Bay. I’m staying here at the base as it’s the safest place right now.”
“I hope so, but you didn’t have a guard at the front entrance, and it looked like people were being brought here by helicopter,” says TJ.
“Yeah. We are short staffed here at the base, but the front entrance is secure for now. We will have to get a new guard out front. We are turning this base into a partial safe zone for any civilians that we find. We have doctors and nurses here, and we are providing medical attention to anyone who needs it,” says Rich.
Rich and TJ help Shaun and Phil load up the last of the supplies and weapons. Rich gives the guys plenty of supplies that we can live off of for years and enough weapons to fight a small army with.
Another military helicopter lands on the base, and it is bringing another group of people that the military rescued from Tampa Bay.
The guys and Rich load up into their vehicles and start the drive back to Rich’s office. As they are driving back, they hear screams coming from the helicopter.
Rich looks at TJ and says, “Take me over to helicopter now!”
They get over to the helicopter and find a person has died that was brought back from downtown Tampa. The medical staff have him on a stretcher and are trying to revive him.
Rich runs into the building as the medical staff is working on the dead man.
TJ, Phil and Shaun go into the building behind Rich. The medical team working to revive the man disappear into a medical section of the building.
Rich and the guys walk into a section of the building that has been turned into military barracks for the people that have been brought to the base.
It’s a tough scene to see.
Families are huddled together on cots. Wounded individuals are bandaged up and recovering from wounds that they have recently suffered.
It’s looks like a scene out of a refugee camp in times of war.
People are surviving here, and holding on, but just barely.
It’s a good thing what Captain Bailey and the military are doing, but it’s hard to watch people suffering so much.
A scream is heard from inside the medical part of the building. Nurses come running out of the building.
Rich and TJ go running into the medical building. A man is lying on the ground, bleeding profusely from his neck and screaming for help.
TJ and Rich try to provide help for the man, but the man passes out and dies.
Phil and Shaun come running up behind TJ and Rich and see a doctor fighting off the man in the operating room.
The doctor is struggling to defend himself from the man that he was trying to save.
The man is no longer a man, but has become a zombie and is attacking the doctor.
Rich runs into the operating room and tries to help the doctor. The zombie tries to bite Rich, but Rich is able to narrowly move his hand away in time.
The zombie is about to bite the doctor on the forearm, who is struggling to push the zombie away.
Bang!
A gunshot goes off, and the zombie is instantly dead from the blast.
The doctor turns back and shouts, “Thank you.”
TJ holsters his gun and says, “You have to be careful doctor.”
Phil and Shaun come into the operating room and see that it’s all clear now.
Shaun goes to the doctor and says, “You okay doc? We got to keep all the doctors alive that we can.”
The doctor says, “Yeah. I’ll be alright.”
Rich looks at the doctor and asks, “What happened?”
The doctor replies, “The man died, became a zombie, and started to attack me and my medical staff.”
Rich asks, “Was he bit or something?”
The doctor is about to answer when he is interrupted by Shaun.
Shaun says, “You don’t have to be bitten to become a zombie.”
Phil shouts, “We all seem to be infected. When people die, they seem to come back as zombies whether they were bitten, or scratched, or not. You have to be ready for people to come back to life as a zombie when they die.”
“Is that true doctor?” asks Rich.
The doctor responds, “We have seen evidence of that, but we couldn’t be completely sure of it, until now. I’ll have to see what the doctors in D.C. are saying about it, but I’m not denying it.”
TJ says, “Yeah. Well, you need to tell everyone about it. Military and everyone who is trying to save people need to know about the possibility of people coming back to life as zombies. Whether they have been bitten or not. That way, hopefully, we can avoid any more zombies coming to life than we already have.”
“I will get on the phone with D.C. and see what they say about that. Either way let’s prepare for the possibility that people come back to life as a zombie when they die,” says Rich.
Rich and the guys leave the operating room and walk down the hallway towards the exit of the building.
The man that was bitten by the zombie in the operating room and passed out in the hallways is now a zombie and making his way towards the people in the barracks.
He sees a child standing alone. The zombie is about to bite the small child. His mother tries to grab the child, but she is too far away. The zombie is inching closer to biting the kid’s head when the zombies is aggressively ripped away from the child.
Odin jumps up, grabs the zombie and pulls him away from the child. The mother screams as she grabs the boy and runs to safety.
Odin has the zombie locked down on the concrete floor. TJ comes over and stabs the zombie in the back of the head.
Odin releases the zombie’s right arm and looks at TJ.
TJ says, “Good boy Odin.”
Phil and Shaun drag the zombie out of the barracks and bring him outside.
Rich orders military personal to dispose of the body, help clean up the blood, and any signs of the zombie attack.
The guys and Rich make it back to Rich’s office. Rich and the guys say goodbye, and they thank each other for everything that went on today.
TJ and Rich have one more conversation before TJ and the guys leave the base.
“Son, you be careful. Whatever you have planned, just be careful. The Conquerors aren’t anything you haven’t seen before in war, but it’s different now. You have to worry about zombies and fighting here in the U.S.,” say Rich.
TJ responds, “I will. I have a good group of guys and Odin. I should be okay. Any tactics that you recommend using in this new world?”
“Always be ready. Use the environment around you. Take these zombies or even people where you want to. Create distractions and diversions, then strike,” say Rich.
“Thank you. Good ideas. I’ll see you again. You be safe and keep Tampa Bay as safe as you can,” says TJ.
TJ and Rich give each other a final hug, before TJ gets into his jeep.
Phil and Shaun wave goodbye to Rich. Then the guys drive towards the exit of the base.
The guys make their way out of the base and start their journey back to the neighborhood.
As they are making their way closer to home, they start to see more and more Conqueror symbols on buildings, walls, abandoned cars, signs, and businesses.
The guys make a right hand turn off a main road, and they see a billboard high in the air.
It has a huge message written across the picture on the billboard.
Phil looks up at the sign and reads what it says, “Obey or Die!”
Phil picks up the radio and asks, “Did you guys see that message on the billboard?”
TJ and Shaun both reply, “Yeah.”
TJ says, “Obey or die. What about obey, die, or revolt? I choose revolt.”
Shaun says, “Me too.”
TJ says, “Those Conquerors don’t know w
ho they messed with. I got a good plan for when we attack them. They will be wishing that they had a new slogan.”
CHAPTER 16
PLAN THE ATTACK
I check where Joseph shot me in my chest and see that nothing is broken or pierced but I do have a big black and blue mark on my right pectoral muscle.
“Everything okay in there?” asks Lauren.
I walk out of the bathroom and show her my bruise.
She rushes over to me and hugs me tight.
I grimace in pain as she hugs me tight. Lauren releases her grip and apologizes.
“That’s okay sweetie. I’ll be okay.”
I put on a shirt and walk into the kitchen. I grab a bottle of water and take a sip.
Lauren walks into the kitchen and says, “The first crops that you planted are ready to be picked. The ones Nicole and I planted a week ago are going to need some more time.”
“Great. See if you and Nicole can pick the vegetables that are ready to go. I’m sure people are ready to eat them.”
“I will. I was going to go over to Nicole’s house shortly to see if she can help me,” says Lauren.
“Okay have fun. I’m going to check on the South entrance gate now. I’ll see you later.”
I walk out my front door, across my lawn and over to Bobby G’s house.
As I pass by my dad’s house, I see Milo sitting in the window and looking out. I walk pass Milo in the window and say hello.
I start down the street and see Carlos working on the gate hinge of the South entrance.
Carlos, Matt, Bobby G, and Chris are working well together and look to be finishing up the gate.
“How it’s coming guys?”
Carlos responds, “Good. I just have to finish up securing this last bolt into the cinderblock and then we are good to go. It will be good as new and, actually, better than before.”
Matt says, “We added another screen and layer of metal fencing to the gate. I want to add some metal siding to the bottom half to prevent anything from reaching in, but we have to find some.”
“Good idea Matt. I’m sure we can find an abandoned job site or something for the siding.”
Chris walks over to me and says, “Ryan, I have a favor to ask.”
Fight 4 Us: (Book 3): Refuge Page 16
