Fight 4 Us (Book 10): Ghosts

by Grenda, Brian

I see my orange badge that is on a table inside my man cave, and I think about the badge. Are the orange badges necessary? Are they actually something we need to worry about still?

  I hear Lauren open our refrigerator, and I exit my man cave.

  Lauren pours some water into a bowl that she is using to make some oatmeal in.

  “Morning. How was your run?” asks Lauren.

  “Good. I stopped by the cemetery and talked with Nicole also,” I answer Lauren.

  “Do you want some oatmeal?” asks Lauren.

  “Yeah, that would be great,” I answer Lauren.

  Lauren places her bowl of oatmeal in the microwave and turns on the microwave.

  “How are Nicole and the babies doing?” asks Lauren.

  “Good, Mason had some gas Nicole said, but overall I think they are doing good… Nicole told me that she thinks the date today is November 2nd,” I answer Lauren.

  I look at the calendar on the side of our refrigerator and flip the calendar to the month of November.

  Lauren thinks about the date and says, “We missed your dad’s birthday.”

  I look at the calendar and reply to Lauren, “Yeah. We did. It was October 10th.”

  The microwave goes off and Lauren takes out her bowl of oatmeal.

  “He was 76 when he died… He didn’t make it to the average age for a man in the US which is 78,” I say.

  Lauren puts my bowl of oatmeal in the microwave and turns the microwave on.

  “I’m sorry honey. But I’m sure the average life span is much shorter now a days,” says Lauren.

  Callie and Milo walk into the kitchen and look at Lauren and me.

  Callie meows at Lauren.

  Lauren looks at Callie and says, “Okay mama. I’ll get your food ready.”

  Milo rubs up against my leg and I ask Milo, “You hungry also belly boy?”

  Milo gives me a short high pitched meow, and I know that means that he wants some fresh dry food.

  I get Milo some food and water, while Lauren sets up the dining room table for breakfast and gets Callie’s food together.

  I wash my hands in the kitchen sink and notice the tap water has turned more yellow.

  “Is the water still clear after filtering?” I ask Lauren.

  “I don’t know. I have been using mostly bottled water and not the water in the pitcher,” answers Lauren.

  I grab the water pitcher from inside the fridge and fill it up with water from the kitchen faucet.

  I let the water filter through the water filter inside the water pitcher and go into the dining room.

  I join Lauren in our dining room for breakfast.

  “So what’s your plan for today?” asks Lauren.

  “I don’t know actually. We have to finish going through the stuff from Fisher Sporting Goods and that’s all I have come up with for today,” I answer Lauren.

  Lauren eats some of her oatmeal.

  I let my oatmeal cool down a little more.

  “I think at some point we should meet the people who live across from Jerri-Lynn and secure more of the area around our neighborhood,” I say to Lauren.

  “I think that’s a good idea. We should clear out all the homes, buildings, and anything suspicious around here,” replies Lauren.

  I eat some of my oatmeal.

  “I’m glad you are being proactive about things still honey, but you can take some time for yourself and get your mind in the right place,” says Lauren.

  I finish my oatmeal.

  I take in Lauren’s statement and think about my response.

  “I know you are a busy person and you’re always working on something… But losing your father is something that will take time to get over,” says Lauren.

  I look at Lauren and say, “I’m not sure I will ever get over losing my father, but sitting around being depressed about him being gone isn’t something I want to do.”

  I stand up from my dining room chair and place my empty bowl of oatmeal and spoon in the kitchen sink.

  Lauren gets up from the dining room table and places her empty oatmeal bowl and spoon in the sink too.

  I look at the water pitcher that I left on the kitchen counter.

  Lauren looks at me as I look at the water pitcher.

  I test the filtered water and see the levels of bacteria and minerals in the water.

  Lauren says, “Look at me Ryan.”

  I see the results of the filtered water and the filters are still making our tap water safe to drink.

  Lauren walks over to me and says, “Enough with the water right now. Look at me.”

  I look at Lauren.

  “Don’t take what I said the wrong way. I know how you are, and you probably took it like I was telling you what to do,” says Lauren.

  I look into Lauren’s eyes and reply, “I know what you meant, but I can’t just sit around and cry about my father. I want to stay busy, and protecting this place will hopefully make me feel better.”

  I place the water pitcher back into our refrigerator and walk into our master bedroom.

  Lauren follows me into the master bedroom.

  “I just want to make sure that you are okay and not keeping anything repressed. Especially about your father, Chris, and Jacob,” says Lauren.

  I take a deep breath and close my eyes.

  Lauren hugs me and I place my arms around Lauren.

  “I thank you for being there for me. I probably won’t ever get over how my father died, letting Chris stay alive, and not being able to prevent the losses that we have suffered, but I have to keep going forward… The past is the past. The past will always be there and remind me what happened.”

  “I know honey, and I just wanted to let you know that I am here for you. Whatever you need, I will try to help you with it,” says Lauren.

  “Thank you, sweetie. I appreciate it,” I reply to Lauren.

  I kiss Lauren and then hop in the shower.

  A couple hours pass and it’s a nice Florida day.

  Matt and Jon are watching the drone video that Jon captured the other day when Matt, Shaun, and Phil went to Fisher Sporting Goods.

  “Pause it right there…” says Matt to Jon as Jon and Matt sit on Jon’s living room sofa and look at Jon’s television.

  Matt stands up and gets a closer look at the drone video that is on Jon’s television.

  Matt points at the television and asks, “There. You see that right there?”

  Jon answers, “Yeah.”

  “Watch it. It will flash. Play it,” says Matt.

  Jon presses the play button on his remote control.

  “Someone is definitely living there and trying to get a signal in or out,” says Matt.

  “But what does that red light mean?” asks Jon.

  “It means that they have power and their equipment is working. I’m not sure what they are doing, but I think that they are trying to reach someone,” answers Matt.

  “What should we do?” asks Jon.

  “Let’s get the guys and go take a look,” answers Matt.

  Jon and Matt exit Jon’s house and arrive at Phil’s front door.

  KNOCK! KNOCK!

  Matt knocks on Phil’s front door.

  Nicole answers the door and let’s Matt and Jon inside.

  “What’s up guys?” asks Nicole.

  “Where’s Phil?” asks Matt.

  “Nice to see you too brother,” answers Nicole.

  “Nice to see you sis, but where is Phil?” asks Matt.

  Nicole answers, “He’s not here. I think he is in the armory.”

  “Thanks,” replies Matt to Nicole and then Matt quickly exits Phil’s house.

  Jon looks at Nicole and says, “Sorry about him. He’s just anxious about something.”

  “I can tell. Good luck Jon,” replies Nicole.

  Jon exits Phil’s house and sees Matt run into the house that Phil has turned into our armory.

  “What an ass,” says Jon.

  Jon enters the armory a
nd finds Matt talking with Phil as Phil is cleaning his handgun.

  “Slow down Matt. I can see this means a lot to you, but slow down,” says Phil to Matt.

  “Jon and I saw something with that orange house in the neighborhood where Chris was hiding, and I think we need to check it out,” says Matt to Phil.

  “When?” asks Phil.

  “Now,” answers Matt.

  “Let’s see what’s going on around here and then we can go check it out. I don’t know what Ryan and Shaun or anyone else have planned for today,” replies Phil.

  “Okay. I’ll go talk with Shaun and Ryan. Do you know where they are?” asks Matt.

  “I think they are in Bobby G’s house and going through the stuff from the sporting goods store,” answers Phil.

  Matt quickly exits the armory and runs down the street towards Bobby G’s house.

  “He’s all over the place. One minute he’s too scared to do anything and the next he’s super motivated to go check out a house,” says Phil to Jon.

  “He’s always been that way. He’s either all about something, or totally against it,” replies Jon.

  “Good luck with him. I’ll meet up with you guys in a little bit,” jokes Phil.

  As Jon makes it to the oak tree in Bobby G’s front yard, he sees a car enter the neighborhood through the main gate and the car drives towards Bobby G’s house.

  Jon sees the car slowing down and Jon approaches the car.

  Jon sees Jaws Junior, Darlene, and Indy in the car.

  Jaws Junior stops his car and parks his car in the street at the side of Bobby G’s house.

  Darlene, Indy, and Jaws Junior get out of the car.

  Jon greets Darlene and Jaws Junior and they walk over to Jon.

  “What’s going on?” asks Jon to Jaws Junior and Darlene.

  “We might have a new group around here,” answers Jaws Junior as he holds up a small white pamphlet and then gives the pamphlet to Jon.

  Jon looks down at the pamphlet and sees the words on the front page of the pamphlet.

  “THE END IS NOW. JOIN US AND BE SAVED. IF YOU ARE READING THIS THEN YOU WERE SAVED FOR A REASON,” reads Jon.

  Jon opens the pamphlet and sees that there is an address for a church.

  Jon looks at Jaws Junior and Darlene and asks, “Did you go there?”

  “No, we found that pamphlet and tons more of them on abandoned cars near our house and around town,” answers Jaws Junior.

  “Come inside guys. Ryan should be in here,” says Jon as he leads Jaws Junior, Darlene, and Indy into Bobby G’s house.

  I see Jon enter Bobby G’s house with Jaws Junior, Darlene, and Indy.

  “What’s going on Jon?” asks Shaun.

  Jon walks over to me and hands me the white pamphlet that Jaws Junior just gave him.

  I read the pamphlet and look at Jon, Darlene, and Jaws Junior.

  “What the hell is this?” I ask.

  “It looks like some religious group trying to recruit people,” answers Jon.

  “Where did you get this?” I ask.

  “In our neighborhood,” answers Darlene.

  “They gave it to you?” I ask Darlene.

  “No, they were placed on parked cars and all over our neighborhood. We also saw them all over the streets on our way over here,” answers Jaws Junior.

  “Have you seen these pamphlets before?” asks Darlene.

  Shaun grabs the pamphlet out of my hand.

  “Luckily no, but I know some people that went to that church,” I answer Darlene.

  “Was it safe? What did they say about it?” asks Jaws Junior.

  “I don’t recall them saying anything good about it,” I answer Jaws Junior.

  Shaun reads the pamphlet and says, “Great, this is the last thing we need around here. Some crazy religious fuckers going around claiming to save people.”

  “What should we do about this?” asks Jaws Junior.

  “I would not go there until we find out more about that church and stay away from those people if you see them,” I answer Jaws Junior.

  “Did you see any people from this group?” asks Jon to Jaws Junior and Darlene.

  “I heard them, but I only caught a glimpse of a couple of them. I did see that they were wearing either all red or all white though,” answers Jaws Junior.

  “Like white hoods?” asks Matt.

  “I didn’t see any hoods, but I saw three people and one person was wearing all white, and the other two were wearing all red,” answers Jaws Junior.

  “Well, good luck with that. If I see those fuckers, I’m putting them down. I don’t trust people who make creepy pamphlets claiming to help save people,” says Shaun.

  “Well, Shaun is right. I don’t trust a group that is claiming to help people right now. Something doesn’t seem right about it,” I say.

  “Yeah, and the text just looks weird. If it wasn’t printed, I would think it was written in blood,” says Shaun.

  I look at Matt and say, “Let’s pump the brakes on the orange house for right now.”

  Matt gets a discouraged look on his face.

  “We’ll get over there eventually, but let’s get the drones out again and see what you can find out about the group that is putting these pamphlets around here,” I say to Matt and Jon.

  Jon replies, “Matt and I will both take our drones out and check different areas.”

  CHAPTER 10

  HANDLE IT

  Kat enters her bedroom and a small grey cat jumps onto her bed and greets her.

  “Hey Lucky, how are you?” asks Kat to the grey cat.

  The all grey cat looks at Kat and meows at her.

  Kat sits on the side of her bed and thinks about things. She thinks about The Grove, the people at The Grove, Jacob, Dr. Morris, and how they had a good thing before Jacob got there.

  People are shouting in the living room of Kat’s house.

  Kat looks at Lucky and says, “I’ll be right back.”

  “We haven’t found much of anything lately!” shouts a woman that is standing in the living room.

  “I say we go back out and search a couple more miles out. We can check the smaller stores and shops a couple miles out from where we have been looking,” says a man who is standing in the living room.

  Kat enters the living room, and everyone stops talking.

  “Why did you stop?” asks Kat to everyone that is standing in the living room.

  Everyone in the living room looks at Kat and Kat looks back at everyone that is standing in the living room.

  “You know you can all leave right? No one is being kept here against their will,” says Kat to the group of people that are standing in the living room.

  The people standing in the living room are an old man, a middle aged man, a middle aged woman, a young man, and a young woman.

  Deb walks into the living room.

  “We just haven’t found much on our runs the past couple days,” says the young woman.

  “I know and that sucks, but we can’t give up,” replies Kat.

  “Why don’t we go to that Haven you told us about?” asks the middle aged woman.

  “You can. I’ll tell ya how to get there,” answers Kat.

  “Do you not want to go back there?” asks Deb to Kat.

  Kat looks at Deb and hesitates to answer.

  “Is it safe there?” asks the middle aged woman.

  “It’s safe there and I do recommend it, but I can’t be around Dr. Morris,” answers Kat.

  “What about Citrus Oaks?” asks Deb.

  “I was thinking about going there today actually,” answers Kat.

  “What about the football stadium? I hear it was another place like The Grove,” says the middle aged man.

  “I don’t know about the stadium, but I’ll tell you how to get to the Haven if you want to go there,” says Kat.

  A noise is heard in the backyard of Kat’s house.

  Kat stops listening to the people who are talking in the liv
ing room and looks at the closed back patio sliding glass door.

  The back patio sliding glass door is heard opening and Kat grabs her handgun from her hip holster.

  A young man comes rushing into Kat’s house through the back patio sliding glass door with something in his hand.

  Kat points her handgun at the young man.

  “It’s me Kat,” nervously says the young man to Kat.

  “Sorry Jordan,” says Kat to the young man.

  Kat holsters her handgun.

  Jordan hands what he has in his right hand to Kat.

  Kat looks at what Jordan just gave her, and she sees that it’s a white pamphlet.

  “What is it?” asks Deb.

  “It’s from the church,” answers Kat.

  “What church?” asks the middle aged man to Kat.

  “I do not recommend this place. It was freaking weird, and I’m not going back there,” answers Kat.

  “Can I see that?” asks the middle aged man.

  Kat hands the white pamphlet to the middle aged man.

  “It says to join them and be saved. It’s also a church, how bad can it be?” asks the middle aged man.

  Kat looks at Deb.

  Deb says, “I agree with Kat, and I do not think any of us should go there.”

  “Why not?” It’s pretty close to here,” responds the middle aged woman.

  Kat looks at Jordan and asks, “Where did you find that pamphlet?”

  “They were all over the place, and I saw a big message painted over a billboard that said YOU CAN BE SAVED,” answers Jordan.

  “I know where this church is. I think we go there,” says the middle aged woman to the middle aged man and then the middle aged woman runs into a bedroom to start packing up her belongings.

  The middle aged man looks at Kat and says, “I think we are going to check out the church.”

  “Yeah, I think your wife made that decision for ya,” replies Kat.

  The middle aged man walks down the hallway and into the bedroom that the middle aged woman just went in.

  Kat looks at the old man, the young man, the young woman, Jordan, and Deb.

  “What should we do Kat?” asks the young woman.

  “Whatever you want Dana. But you are more than welcome to stay here,” answers Kat.

  “You all are,” says Kat to everyone that is in the living room.

  “What’s it like out there Jordan?” asks Deb.