“Sure. Anything you want Chris. What’s up?”
“Can we bury Tony somewhere inside the neighborhood? Like start a graveyard somewhere in here?” asks Tony.
I think having a graveyard in the neighborhood is a good and bad idea, but I see that it will mean a lot to Chris, so I say yes to his request.
“Do you have an area in mind where to buy him?”
Chris says, “No, but I don’t feel safe burying him outside of here, and I know his wife and my family would like to be able to pay respects to him.”
Matt says, “What about the empty house plot in the Eastern part of the neighborhood.”
“Good idea, yeah that will work nicely for it. It’s all open. We will just have to cut the grass and clear out anything in the way.
“I’ll start on that right now. I know the spot Matt is talking about. I’ll mow the grass and start digging the hole,” says Chris.
“Okay. Sounds good Chris. We can have a memorial service whenever you are done and are ready for it.”
Chris runs back to his house.
Tony’s wife is standing near the West lookout platform and looking at the cinderblock wall where Tony fell after being shot by Joseph.
I walk over to the woman and say, “Hey Diane. How are you doing?”
Diane says, “I’m doing okay Ryan. I just miss Tony is all. He was a pain in the ass, but he was my pain in the ass.”
Diane starts to cry.
I pull her next to me and say, “Tony was a good guy. We are all going to miss him.”
“Thank you, Ryan. Tony could always make me laugh and he had a good heart,” says Diane.
“I’ll have someone clean off his hand print on the wall. I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“No. Can you please leave it? In a weird morbid way, I see him every time I see the hand print,” says Diane.
“Then it will definitely stay on the wall, Diane.”
Diane responds, “Thank you, Ryan.”
“We will be having a funeral for Tony later when Chris finishes up his grave. It will be a nice way to say goodbye to Tony.”
“That will be nice, but Ryan can you do something for me?” asks Diane.
“Sure. Whatever you need.”
Diane says, “I need you to kill the man who did this to him. Joseph, I believe his name is. I need you to kill Joseph.”
I look at Diane and say, “You got it.”
Bobby G is walking back to his home, and I catch up to him on the sidewalk.
Bobby G stops walking, looks at me, and asks, “Ryan. You doing okay?”
“Yeah. I’m a little banged up, but I’ll live.”
“Good, but we can’t just have you living. We need you leading. We need you protecting these people. I’m your father and worry about you. I don’t want you dying before I do,” says Bobby G.
“Trust me. I don’t want to be dying before you do either. I want to see this place grow into something huge, where we can rebuild the world and grow.”
Bobby G says, “Good, but you can’t be taking unnecessary risks in this world. You can die from them now. That guy Joseph almost killed you.
“I know the risks, but people like Joseph aren’t going to rule us or this world. I’ll die before that happens.”
“That’s what I’m saying. He isn’t worth dying for. Your family and this place are, but not a guy like that, says Bobby G as he puts his hand on my right shoulder.
I look at my dad and say, “It’s kind of the same thing. Joseph’s threatening my family and this place. We need to take him out. It’s either him or me. We obviously can’t coexist in this world. He doesn’t want that. His motto is obey or die.”
My dad tries to respond, but I interrupt him before he can.
I say, “I know how you feel and what you mean, but this guy Joseph won’t stop. He will keep coming back here until one of us dies. The threat of what Joseph will or won’t do, and if he comes back or not, needs to be off of the table. I can’t live with the uncertainty of what a person like that will do next. I need your help with taking him down. Are you with me?”
“Yeah, of course, I’m with you. I’ll always be with you even after I die,” says Bobby G.
A loud horn is heard at the South entrance gate.
It’s Phil, Shaun, TJ, and Odin.
Matt opens the gate, and the guys drive through. They drive down the street and park their vehicles in the cul-de-sac by Shaun’s house.
Bobby G and I walk over and meet the guys.
“How did it go at the base? Get anything good?”
TJ says, “My dad hooked us up. We got food for years and weapons for the attack.”
I pick up one of the M4 rifles and say, “Very nice. These are great and should be just what we needed.”
Shaun shows me the sniper rifle and other weapons.
Phil says, “We got everything we need to take these Conquerors down, and I got something even better for your protection.”
Phil throws me some body armor.
“Great. My body and Lauren will be grateful.”
TJ asks, “So what’s the plan now?”
“We attack the Conquerors at the Big Club. Maybe Joseph is there or not. If he’s not there, we keep taking over what The Conquerors have until we see Joseph again.”
“Okay great. I have several ideas for attacking the store and any buildings that we will hit,” says TJ.
“Good. I’m relying on your military and police experience for these types of situations.”
Phil asks, “When do we move on Joseph and The Conquerors?”
Shaun jokes, “That sounds like a bad cover band. And next up is Joseph and The Conquerors.”
We all laugh at Shaun’s dumb joke, as it is a much-needed source of stress relief.
“We will move out tonight, but first we need to have a funeral for Tony.”
Phil is clearly getting impatient with the attack on The Conquerors, but they ain’t going anywhere.
“Tony saved my life. His family lives here in the neighborhood, and we need to have a nice funeral and grieve for him. We can plan the attack, prep for it, and make sure we are ready for our parts during the attack.”
Bobby G and I help Phil, Shaun, and TJ unload the weapons, supplies, and food. We evenly distribute the food among the homes in the neighborhood.
TJ goes over the plan for the Big Club attack and how to use the guns, rifles, knives, and other supplies that we got from the base.
I have never shot a semi-automatic rifle before, so it took some time to learn and become comfortable with it.
Two hours go by.
Chris and his family are ready for the funeral of Tony. Chris and his family did a great job at preparing the grave, wooden headstone, and area for the graveyard.
It’s been some time since someone mowed the grass and took care of any landscaping in the neighborhood.
Everyone in the neighborhood comes to the funeral for Tony. It’s a nice, but somber gathering for everyone to pay their last respects for Tony.
We wrapped a clean sheet around Tony’s body before we placed him in his grave.
Tony’s family handed out candles, and we burned them as Diane, Chris, and Chris’ family said a few things about Tony’s life and Tony himself.
It’s a very nice moment that we all could share, but for a terrible reason.
Losing Tony, especially how we lost him, will forever stick with me. Having a near death experience forever changes you in multiple ways.
Joseph will pay for everything that he did to me and my group. Killing Joseph is the only option for me.
I am not totally comfortable with killing helpless people and anyone that hasn’t attacked me, but Joseph and his people tried to kill me. I have no problem with defending myself and taking out the people that pose a threat to me and my people.
The incoming attack on Joseph and his men is offensive, but also defensive. I’m defending myself and my people by going on the offensive.
The funera
l for Tony ends. Carlos and some of Chris’ family shovel the dirt on Tony’s body that was wrapped in a clean white sheet.
Chris walks over to me and says, “I’m going with you guys when you go after Joseph. He killed Tony and I can’t sit back and wait for him to die.”
“Okay. You got it. Meet us at my house in about an hour. We will go over the plan again and assign you a part.”
Chris joins his family as they say their final goodbyes to Tony at Tony’s grave.
Lauren comes over to me, and we walk back to our home.
As we walk home, Lauren feels a big sense of worry and concern for me.
“I can’t lose you Ryan. I don’t know what I would do without you,” says Lauren.
“Stay positive Lauren. Don’t even think about losing me. I’m not going anywhere.”
We arrive at my house and go inside.
“You were freaking shot Ryan,” shouts Lauren.
“I know. I know that. I’m reminded about being shot every time I put on my bulletproof vest. I should be dead. I’m not though, for some reason I’m not.”
Lauren starts to cry, and I feel bad for making her upset, but I don’t need her or anyone reminding me that I was shot and that they don’t want me to die.
I value my life, but am willing to lose it for Lauren and anyone that is living in this neighborhood with me.
I look at Lauren, and with a comforting voice I say, “Lauren I love you. I love you more than anything in this world. I don’t want to leave you. Ever. I don’t plan on leaving you. I plan on growing old and grey together.”
Lauren says, “You are already turning grey a little bit.”
We both laugh and break the tension between us.
Lauren and I hug. I hold her close to me and realize that this could be the last time I get to hold her close to me like this.
Someone knocks on my front door.
Lauren answers the door and it’s TJ, Shaun, Matt, Phil, and Bobby G.
“Well hello everyone,” says Lauren.
The guys say hello to Lauren and meet me in the kitchen.
Shaun has a piece of cardboard with a drawing on it. Shaun, TJ, Phil, and Matt drew up the plan for the attack on the Big Club store.
I look at the guys and say, “Chris wants to come during the attack. Do we have a spot for him?”
TJ says, “Yeah. More the merrier. We can find a spot for him.”
Another knock at the door is heard.
Lauren opens the door and lets Chris and Carlos into the kitchen.
“Hey guys,” says Chris.
We all greet Chis and Carlos.
Carlos asks, “Is it okay if I come along with you guys?”
“Heck yeah it is Carlos,” says Phil.
Carlos smiles and says, “Thank you. I want to help get rid of these people. I don’t want these people coming back and hurting my family.”
I look at Carlos and say, “I hear ya man. Not one of us want these people coming back. That’s why we are going to take them out.”
TJ goes over the plan and assigns us specific parts.
Chris asks, “How you do know Joseph will be at the Big Club?”
“We don’t know exactly, but we know that he has taken over that store and several other buildings and businesses in the area.”
Lauren comes in and walks over to me as we are going over the plan.
“What can I do Ryan?” asks Lauren.
I see that Lauren wants to help us, but I don’t feel comfortable with her joining us. I don’t want her to get hurt or worse.
I look Lauren in the eyes and say, “I don’t want you to go. It’s too dangerous. I can’t afford you getting hurt.”
“I won’t get hurt. I will stay out of sight and hide. I can provide cover fire with a gun or the bow. You know I’m a good shot,” says Lauren with a smile.
Phil says, “She is a good shot, and we could use her.”
I give a glaring look at Phil and become instantly pissed that Phil supports the idea of Lauren coming with us.
“See. You guys need me,” says Lauren.
TJ senses that I don’t want Lauren to come with us and tries to intervene.
“Lauren, if you really want to come, you need to know that we are most likely going to kill these people. Can you handle that?” asks TJ.
Lauren quickly answers, “I can handle it. It’s either them or us, right?”
TJ says, “Okay then. Lauren, I want you hidden and providing a lookout. You are wearing body armor and staying hidden for the attack.”
“Okay. I can do that,” says Lauren.
We finalize the plans and make sure everyone knows their parts.
The group is ready for the attack, but nervous and anxious about what will happen at the Big Club.
Before the group breaks from the meeting and starts to suit up for the attack, I decide to give them a motivational speech.
I address the group who is standing in my kitchen and see that they are looking for some reassurance on our plan.
“Now guys and girl. I appreciate you wanting to take on Joseph and his group, The Conquerors. What a dumb name. Right? They can’t come into our neighborhood, threaten us, and attack us!”
“Tony did not die for nothing. He saved me. I’ll never forget that. We will take revenge for what Joseph and his people did to us. Their reign ends tonight.”
I make eye contact with everyone in our group, and look directly at the group as I give my speech.
“This won’t be easy. We should be ready to kill these people. We can’t keep these people alive. They are dangerous, and we have to cut our dangers down in this new world. It’s either them or us. I chose us. I will fight for you. Will you fight for us?”
The group cheers and says, “Yes.”
My group and I are ready. We are emotionally ready and now we need to become physically ready.
The group leaves my house and goes back to their homes to get ready, gear up, and move out for our attack on Joseph and his men at the Big Club.
Lauren and I enter my bedroom as Phil enters his room.
I give Lauren some body armor. She tries to put it on, and it is way too big for her.
“Look at this. It’s huge,” says Lauren.
I come over to Lauren and adjust the straps of the body armor to help fit her better. The armor is still big for Lauren who stands at only 5 feet 3 inches tall.
I put on my bulletproof vest and body armor over it. I feel that the bulletproof vest is my good luck charm and can’t risk not having it on for this attack.
Lauren finishes getting dressed and is ready.
I put on my final piece of gear and am ready.
Lauren says, “I love you Ryan. I know we will make it out alive from this, but I just wanted to say I love you.”
“I love you too. Stay positive. We will make it out of this. Joseph and The Conquerors are going down. This attack is the start of their demise. The Conquerors will be conquered. They messed with the wrong people and we will end their rule tonight.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
Fight 4 Us: (Book 3): Refuge Page 17
