Fight 4 Us (Book 10): Ghosts

by Grenda, Brian

  “I want to leave,” answers Hector.

  “You are free to leave at any time Hector, but remember who helped you when Javier and his people left you on your own,” says William to Hector.

  Hector exits the classroom and walks down a hallway.

  A man is slowly walking down the hallway and approaches Hector.

  Hector sees that the man is missing his left forearm and instantly recognizes the man.

  “Hey Hector, how are ya?” asks the man to Hector.

  “Hey Ken, I’m good. How are you?” asks Hector.

  “I’m just glad to be alive and that’s the most important thing right now,” answers Ken.

  Hector smiles at Ken and replies, “That’s true. That’s very true. Have a good day.”

  “You too Hector. Thank you for saving my life. I truly appreciate it,” responds Ken to Hector.

  “You are welcome,” replies Hector to Ken.

  Ken and Hector say goodbye to each other, and Hector makes it back to his bedroom.

  Hector stands in his bedroom, takes a deep breath, and thinks about what to do, “Should I go after Ryan? Should I let it be? What should I do?”

  KNOCK! KNOCK!

  Someone knocks on Hector’s closed bedroom door.

  Hector opens his bedroom door and sees Dr. Vargas standing there.

  “Hey Dani. How are ya?” asks Hector.

  “Good, may I come in?” asks Dr. Vargas.

  “Of course, you are always welcome,” answers Hector.

  Dr. Vargas sees two packed bags next to Hector’s bed and asks, “Going somewhere?”

  Hector looks at his bags and answers, “I was thinking about it, but I’m not sure what to do.”

  “Why leave this place?” asks Dr. Vargas to Hector.

  Hector thinks about his answer to Dr. Vargas’ question.

  “I just don’t know if this place is right for me now,” answers Hector.

  “What happened?” asks Dr. Vargas.

  Hector sits on the edge of his bed and Dr. Vargas sits next to him.

  “I’ve only been here a little while now, but I think this place is great. The people are nice and the fact that it’s so safe is pretty amazing,” says Dr. Vargas.

  “How well do you know Ryan?” asks Hector to Dr. Vargas.

  “Dr. Briggs?” asks Dr. Vargas to Hector.

  “Yeah, Ryan. The tall white guy who runs Citrus Oaks, uses a katana, and has a beard,” answers Hector.

  “Pretty well. I worked with him for almost ten years and I got to know him pretty well. Why?” answers Dr. Vargas.

  “Because I’m not sure if I can trust him anymore. He did some things the last time that I saw him that I didn’t agree with,” answers Hector.

  “I don’t know what happened with you two, but I think Ryan is a good guy and a great doctor... So that’s pretty important I would say,” says Dr. Vargas to Hector.

  Dr. Vargas can feel some tension building in Hector, and she isn’t sure what to do.

  Hector nods his head and thinks about what Dr. Vargas said about Ryan.

  “Well, I hope you stay here. I would like to get to know you some more. You have been nice to me,” says Dr. Vargas to Hector.

  “Oh so I’m just a nice guy huh?” jokes Hector.

  Dr. Vargas smiles and turns towards Hector.

  Hector looks down at the floor and says, “Well they say nice guys finish last.”

  Dr. Vargas puts her right index finger on Hector’s jaw and gently turns Hector towards her and replies, “I say nice guys finish first.”

  Dr. Vargas kisses Hector on the lips and Hector kisses Dr. Vargas.

  “Is it okay Shaun?” I ask Shaun as he looks at the side of the ice machine that he and Matt took from Fisher Sporting Goods.

  “I think it will be okay, but the side got a little scratched up and dented,” answers Shaun.

  Jon and Matt are unloading boxes from the tractor trailer and talking about the drone and the orange house.

  “What did you find out about that orange house Jon?” asks Matt.

  Jon places a light carboard box onto the pile of carboard boxes he already has stacked and answers Matt, “Something is definitely up with that house. I’m not sure what’s going on, but they have several generators outside with solar panels, two satellite dishes, tons of wires and several other devices that I have never seen before.”

  “Did you record with your drone today?” asks Matt.

  “Yeah, always,” answers Jon.

  “Good I want to see the video of that house whenever you have it ready,” replies Matt.

  Matt tosses a light box at Jon.

  Jon catches the box and says, “Sounds good.”

  Lauren opens a box and sees that it has women’s athletic clothes in it.

  “Oh man this stuff is great. We can definitely use these clothes,” says Lauren as she goes through the box.

  “Let’s get all the stuff from the truck out first and then we can go through it,” I say to Lauren.

  We finish unloading the tractor trailer and have stacks and stacks of boxes, clothes, products, and various items from Fisher Sporting Goods.

  “Did you guys clean out the whole store?” asks Jon.

  “Basically,” answers Shaun.

  “What are we going to do with all this stuff?” asks Lauren.

  I look at the stacks of boxes and answer, “We’ll have to make an inventory of all these items. We’ll keep what we need, and either trade or giveaway whatever we don’t.”

  “How will we know what we need?” asks Matt.

  Shaun picks up a lunch box and answers Matt, “Well stuff like these ten pink camo lunch boxes can go. Unless you think we need them Matt?”

  I laugh at Shaun’s reply to Matt and say, “When in doubt we keep it, but let’s use common sense.”

  Brody grabs a pink camo lunch box and Phil sees him take it.

  “You really need one of those Brody?” asks Phil.

  “No, but I know someone who might,” answers Brody.

  Matt, Shaun, Phil, Jon, Lauren, Lisa, Brody, and I go through the items and make two piles.

  The two piles are divided up of stuff to keep and stuff to trade.

  It takes a couple hours to separate the items from Fisher Sporting Goods thoroughly, but we organize them into several different groups.

  I open a box of items and see several pairs of all black sneakers. I check out a pair of sneakers and see that they are my size. Eleven and a half.

  Phil sees me check out the sneakers and asks, “You know what those are Ry?”

  I turn towards Phil with a sneaker in my left hand and sarcastically answer, “A sneaker.”

  “Yeah, smart ass, but you know what is special about those sneakers?” asks Phil.

  I look down at the sneakers and answer, “No, they are all black though and they look cool.”

  “They are basically indestructible. They were made to wear around construction sites, hunting, and really anywhere you would need to protect your feet,” says Phil.

  “Awesome, I’ll have to try them out,” I reply to Phil.

  I see a couple bags of million dollar candy bars, and I laugh.

  Lauren sees me pick up the bag of candy bars and says, “Oh man, those are good.”

  I toss the bag to Lauren, and Lauren catches the bag of candy bars.

  “What are we going to do with this tractor trailer now?” asks Matt.

  Shaun answers, “I’ll move it outside of the neighborhood tomorrow.”

  The main gate of Citrus Oaks opens, and TJ’s jeep drives into our neighborhood and down the street where we are unloading the tractor trailer.

  BEEP!

  TJ beeps his jeep horn and drives over to us.

  “What did you guys do? Rob a truck stop?” jokes TJ.

  “No, a sporting goods store actually,” I answer TJ.

  TJ says, “Let me go park, and we’ll help you guys.”

  TJ parks his jeep in front of Shaun’s
house, and Janet and TJ exit from TJ’s jeep.

  “No Odin or Alice today?” asks Shaun to TJ.

  “Alice isn’t feeling well, and she wanted to stay home and rest,” answers TJ.

  “Everything okay?” I ask TJ.

  “Yeah, I think she’s just stressed out and tired,” answers TJ.

  Janet walks over to Lauren and helps Lauren go through the boxes that Lauren has in front of her.

  “Is it a bad time to talk with you Ryan?” asks TJ.

  “Well, we are just finishing up with the truck, but then we can talk,” I answer TJ.

  TJ and Janet help us organize the items and place them inside Bobby G’s house.

  Brody, Janet, TJ, Lauren, Shaun, Matt, Phil, and Jon help me organize the items from Fisher Sporting Goods as we place them inside Bobby G’s living room.

  “I wrote labels on most of the boxes for what is inside them,” says Jon.

  “Thank you. We will decide how to divide them up tomorrow,” I reply to Jon.

  Brody comes over to me and asks, “Is it okay if I take a couple things with me sir?”

  “Show me what you want to take,” I answer Brody.

  Brody shows me a box of things that he wants, and I notice something interesting in his box of items.

  I say to Brody, “Everything you got there is fine to take.”

  “Thank you, sir. I just wanted to make sure, but I did see that we had several of these items,” replies Brody.

  I grab a pink camo lunch box out of Brody’s box of items and ask Brody, “Why do you need two of these?”

  Brody gets nervous and red in the face.

  I see Brody’s nervousness after my question and wonder what he’s up to.

  Everyone in the room looks at Brody and waits for his answer.

  “Well sir, I think I know a couple people who may like them,” answers Brody.

  “Is one of them Kiersten?” asks Lauren.

  “Yes ma’am,” answers Brody.

  “And how about the other one?” I ask Brody.

  Before Brody can answer, Phil asks, “Is it that chick Whitney?”

  Brody gives a half smile but doesn’t say anything.

  “Dude come on. You can’t be doing that,” says Shaun.

  “What? I just thought she could use it,” replies Brody.

  “Oh man, that’s bad news Brody. You are playing with fire,” I say to Brody as I shake my head.

  Janet says to Brody, “It’s not smart to give two women the same gift.”

  “He’s not ready for that,” jokes Shaun.

  I put the pink camo lunch box back in Brody’s box of items and say to Brody, “You can have all that stuff Brody, but be careful with the ladies.”

  Brody smiles and replies, “Yes sir.”

  “I think TJ wants to talk to us guys. We can stay in here, and whoever wants to stay is welcome,” I say to everyone that is in Bobby G’s house with me.

  Brody asks, “I’m going to go home, if that’s okay sir?”

  “That’s okay Brody. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I answer Brody.

  Lauren says, “I’m going to go home and take a shower. I’ll see you later.”

  Brody exits from Bobby G’s house with his box of items from the tractor trailer.

  Lauren says goodbye to everyone in Bobby G’s house and goes over to our house.

  Jon, Phil, Matt, and Shaun stay in Bobby G’s living room along with TJ, Janet, and me.

  I open up Bobby G’s fridge and see a case of beer in the fridge.

  I take out the case of beer and pass out cans of beer to everyone.

  “Nice, Bobby G is still looking out for us,” says Shaun as I hand him a can of beer.

  I smile and say, “Yeah, he still is.”

  CHAPTER 8

  IT’S CLASSIFIED

  “So what happened TJ?” I ask TJ as I sit on the sofa next to Jon in Bobby G’s living room.

  TJ answers, “Where should I begin?”

  “How about the day you were supposed to be here with us for our trip to The Grove,” answers Phil.

  TJ tells us what happened with him and why he couldn’t make it to The Grove with us.

  “I’m not a child TJ! I can handle myself!” shouts Alice to TJ as they stand in TJ’s living room.

  Odin barks at the sound of Alice shouting.

  “Sorry O,” says Alice to Odin.

  “Look I understand that you want to go back to the casino… But it’s not safe out there and you don’t even know if he’s alive,” says TJ to Alice.

  “That’s the problem. Not knowing if he’s alive or dead is stressing me out,” replies Alice.

  TJ looks at Janet for help with Alice.

  Alice looks at TJ, and then she glances at TJ’s jeep keys that are sitting on the living room coffee table.

  “I hope you aren’t stupid enough to think that it’s safe for you to go out there alone!” shouts TJ to Alice.

  “I guess I am!” shouts Alice to TJ.

  “Okay everyone. Time the fuck out. This yelling shit isn’t going to settle anything. We are supposed to help Ryan tomorrow,” says Janet.

  “Oh I see. You will help some random person, but not me. Not your own sister,” says Alice to TJ.

  “What do you want me to do? How can I help you?” asks TJ to Alice.

  “Take me back to the casino,” answers Alice.

  TJ looks at Janet for support.

  “We don’t think that’s a good idea Alice. The casino was destroyed, and I doubt it is safe there,” says Janet to Alice.

  “Then what can we do?” asks Alice to Janet.

  “I say we go talk with pop and see what he knows about Al, the casino, and anything else around here,” answers TJ.

  Alice looks at TJ.

  “But what about Ryan and The Grove?” asks Janet.

  TJ answers, “We can still make it. The plan is to go to The Grove tomorrow… We can go to base, talk with pop, and then come back and help Ryan.”

  “Do we have to go to base?” asks Alice.

  “Yes, it’s either that or nothing. I’m not driving around here aimlessly without a plan,” answers TJ.

  TJ looks at Alice and waits for her reply.

  Alice senses TJ’s anxiousness and asks, “Okay, when do we leave?”

  “After you shower, you stink,” jokes TJ.

  “Go freshen up, and we’ll leave when you are ready,” says Janet to Alice.

  Alice runs into her bathroom.

  TJ sits down on his sofa and runs his left hand through his disheveled brown hair.

  Janet walks into the kitchen and asks, “You want a shake?”

  “Yes please,” answers TJ.

  TJ looks down at Odin and jokes, “I need a vacation O.”

  Odin stares at TJ.

  TJ laughs at Odin’s funny face and pets Odin on his head and behind his ears.

  About an hour goes by and TJ, Odin, Alice, and Janet get into TJ’s jeep.

  “We finally ready to get going?” asks TJ as he starts up his jeep.

  TJ reverses out of his driveway and drives down the street.

  Alice is sitting in the backseat of TJ’s jeep with Odin while Janet is sitting in the passenger seat.

  “Has anyone tried to contact the government or anyone outside of Tampa Bay?” asks Janet.

  “I don’t know. That’s a good question for pop,” answers TJ.

  “Are the soldiers at pop’s base the last big group of soldiers?” asks Alice.

  TJ answers Alice, “I hope not. We’d be in big trouble if we only had them left.”

  “How will we know if that’s all we have left?” asks Alice.

  “I’m sure there are people trying to reach any survivors, soldiers, and government officials that are left alive,” answers Janet.

  TJ makes a turn and the Pride’s border wall is seen.

  “I hope they are doing okay in there,” says Janet as she sees the Pride’s border wall.

  TJ sees that Janet is talking ab
out the Pride and replies to Janet, “I hope so too, but those ladies are tough.”

  A group of three helicopters are seen flying from the location of MacDill Air Force Base and towards downtown Tampa.

  TJ sees the three helicopters and says, “I guess Ramano is taking them around.”

  The three helicopters are flying in the sky and they are approaching the Pride’s community.

  Two of the helicopters break off from formation and head towards their desired locations.

  The last remaining helicopter flies over the Pride’s community, slows down, and then hovers directly over the Pride’s community.

  As TJ drives down the street towards MacDill, Alice sees the helicopter hovering over the Pride’s community.

  “Ummmm… Why is that helicopter just stopped like that?” asks Alice.

  Janet looks out her passenger side door window and sees the helicopter hovering over the Pride’s community.

  “That can’t be good,” says Janet.

  TJ asks, “Do you see anyone coming out of the chopper or any rounds being fired?”

  Janet answers, “Stop.”

  TJ stops his jeep in the middle of the large two lane street and puts his jeep in park.

  Alice, Janet, and TJ look at the helicopter that is still hovering over the Pride’s community.

  BOOM!

  A large explosion goes off near the helicopter.

  DAKKA! DAKKA!

  Automatic gunfire is heard around the streets and shops outside of the Pride’s community.

  The gunfire is directed at the helicopter.

  The helicopter is damaged from the explosion and gunfire, but it can still fly.

  “Holy shit!” shouts Alice.

  The helicopter is smoking, but is able to fly away from the Pride’s community and is now heading back towards MacDill.

  “I hope that’s not Ramano’s chopper,” says TJ.

  TJ sees the helicopter struggling to stay in the air but it’s steadily making its way back towards MacDill.

  TJ starts to drive slowly towards MacDill.

  “Why are you going so slow?” asks Alice to TJ.

  “I’m trying to stay away from the helicopter. I don’t want the damn thing to crash into us,” answers TJ.

  TJ sees the helicopter fly over to MacDill.

  TJ drives faster down the street and he approaches the heavily secured MacDill Air Force Base main entrance.

  “I didn’t see an explosion, and I don’t see any more smoke,” says Janet as TJ talks with the MacDill main entrance guards.