Brody let’s Faith and her people into Citrus Oaks and they park their vehicles in our front cul-de-sac.

  I look at Phil and say, “I’m going there alone. Wait until I say it’s okay. If you don’t hear from me, then stay out of sight.”

  “I’m going to check in with you over the radio. If you don’t answer, then I’m coming down there,” replies Phil.

  “Hold onto that book, that could be our only leverage,” I say to Phil.

  I say goodbye to Phil and everything feels like a normal day in the ZA. Nothing feels out of the ordinary as I walk down Phil’s driveway and down the sidewalk.

  “They are all in the front cul-de-sac sir,” says Brody over the radio.

  “How many vehicles and people are here?” I ask Brody into my radio as I walk down the sidewalk across from the Armory House.

  “Two vehicles, and six people,” answers Brody over the radio.

  “Tell them I’ll be right there, but I need to do something really quick,” I say to Brody over the radio and then I enter my house.

  I wake Lauren up and tell her that Faith and her people are here.

  “Already? What time is it?” asks Lauren who is still half asleep in our bed.

  “It’s early, but I know you wanted to use your drone today to see what was going on,” I answer Lauren.

  Lauren sits up in bed and she’s not happy to be up so early.

  “Why are they here so freaking early?” asks Lauren.

  I go into my walk-in closet and put on my body armor chest piece.

  Lauren goes into our master bathroom as I continue to get ready.

  I put my thigh holster onto my right thigh and load my pistol into my thigh holster.

  Our bathroom door opens as I put on my wrist gauntlet onto my right wrist.

  “Faith’s got some nerve coming here so early,” says Lauren as she walks into our walk-in closet.

  “Remember to stay here, until I say it’s safe,” I tell Lauren.

  “I will and I’ll stay on the secure channel to talk with everyone in here,” replies Lauren.

  Lauren and I finish getting ready and I walk into my backyard with Lauren. One of Saba’s drones comes over to me as Lauren gets her drone ready.

  The AI on Saba’s drone tells me that there is electrical interference again and that Saba has been alerted.

  I thank the drone and can’t believe I’m thanking a drone.

  Lauren’s drone flies up into the air and Lauren notices the electrical interference right away.

  “Something keeps messing with the connection and controls,” says Lauren as she moves her drone with her drone remote control.

  “It’s the electrical interference that Faith and her people keep bringing here,” I say to Lauren.

  I look at Lauren’s drone video display and I see Faith, four people in scrubs, and a person in a fancy suit.

  “Check out the person in the suit,” I say to Lauren.

  Lauren moves her drone camera and she tries to zero in on the person in the fancy suit.

  The person in the fancy suit looks directly at the drone and I see that it’s not anyone that I’ve seen before.

  Lauren tells me to be careful.

  I kiss Lauren goodbye and exit my backyard.

  I walk on the grass that’s between my house and Bobby G’s house and I see foot prints in the dirt and grass.

  “It’s time to see what these fuckers really want,” I say to myself.

  I step on Bobby G’s driveway and stop walking. A small white bird grabs my attention as it sits on a low tree branch of Bobby G’s oak tree.

  “Hope you’re looking out for us dad,” I say to myself as I look at the small white bird looking back at me.

  “How we looking Ry?” asks Phil over the radio.

  “Six people are here. Faith and some different guy in another fancy suit are here,” I answer Phil.

  “So six and those two, so eight?” asks Phil over the radio.

  “No, six total. Faith, the guy with Faith, and four women,” I answer Phil over the radio.

  I look down the sidewalk and I see the guy in the fancy suit looking right at me.

  “I gotta go, the fancy suit guy is giving me the stink eye,” I say into my radio to Phil.

  “If you don’t let me know what’s going on in five minutes, I’m coming there,” replies Phil over the radio.

  “Okay, I’ll keep you and everyone listening over the radio in the loop,” I say to Phil over the radio as I walk down the sidewalk towards our front cul-de-sac.

  The man in the fancy suit looks at me as I approach the front cul-de-sac and he talks to someone through the radio that’s in his right ear.

  Brody comes over to me and says, “They want to use the house by the front entrance.”

  “What’s wrong with that?” I ask Brody.

  “Nothing, just letting you know sir,” answers Brody.

  Faith introduces me to the man in the fancy suit and she tells me that his name is Christian.

  I’m kind of confused as the man clearly looks different than the man that was previously here with Faith.

  “Same name huh?” I say to Christian.

  “What do you mean?” asks Christian.

  I look at Faith and then at Christian and I answer, “Because you aren’t the same person that was here before.”

  “Are you sure sir?” asks Christian.

  I’m confused by Christian’s question and I carefully look at Christian and remember what the other Christian looked like.

  I shrug it off and look at Faith. Faith looks very nervous, but also like she’s trying to hide how nervous she is.

  “You okay Faith?” I ask Faith as I look at her.

  “She’s fine, where is everyone else for testing?” asks Christian.

  I look at Christian and notice that he stepped closer to me. I feel like Christian is trying to intimidate me and that doesn’t sit well with me.

  “What’s your problem?” I ask Christian with some assertiveness and aggressiveness in my voice.

  Christian doesn’t answer me and looks at Faith.

  “Easy Ryan,” says Faith in a low voice.

  “What’s going on here?” I ask as I look at a woman that is dressed in blue scrubs as she stands behind Faith.

  The woman in the blue scrubs doesn’t say anything and she also looks scared like Faith.

  “Sir, let’s go into the house and start the testing,” says Christian. I notice Christian’s voice changed and that it sounds very robotic now.

  Faith sees that the interaction with Christian and me is still confrontational so she intervenes.

  “Please follow me Ryan,” says Faith.

  I hear Faith, but I stay looking at Christian as I’m slightly taller than him.

  “Why do you all wear sunglasses?” I ask Christian.

  Christian gets a call and he steps away from me.

  Faith steps closer to me and in a quiet voice says, “Please Ryan, just go along with the testing for today and it should go smoothly.”

  “Who is making you test us?” I ask Faith.

  “I can’t tell you, but every problem that you make with Christian, the worse it could be for you and everyone in here,” answers Faith.

  “What do you mean? What will they do?” I ask Faith.

  Christian ends his call and he sees Faith and me talking.

  “Is everything okay Faith?” asks Christian as he steps towards us.

  “Yes, I just want to test Ryan alone in the room. Alone with my team,” answers Faith.

  Christian looks at me and I say, “I’m not doing shit for you otherwise.”

  Christian gets a message delivered to his smart watch, he reads the message, and replies, “That’s fine, but let’s get the testing started.”

  I look at Faith and Faith smiles at me. Faith’s smile seems forced, but I think I need to go with Faith to calm the situation down.

  Faith and her team of four women take me into the house that is next to our main entrance.

  I enter the house and I see that Faith’s team and Christian set up a high-tech testing facility inside the house.

  “Sorry about Christian, he can be pretty annoying at times,” says a woman that is dressed in blue scrubs.

  “What is actually happening in here today?” I ask.

  “We are going to take some blood samples, a saliva sample, urine sample, and a whole bunch of scans will be performed,” answers Faith as she turns on a machine.

  “Why did you go to the Haven?” I ask Faith.

  Faith and her crew don’t answer my question and don’t even acknowledge it.

  I notice a camera in the corner of the living room and it looks a lot like the cameras that were in Isiah’s condo.

  Three of the women in the blue scrubs put on respirators.

  “You’re going to have to remove the body armor piece for the scans. Most of the scans won’t be able to get through metal,” says one of the women in the blue scrubs that doesn’t have a respirator on.

  I notice that Faith’s group of four women all have respirators on now.

  “Do you want to give us a saliva or urine sample first?” asks Faith to me.

  Suddenly it’s hard for me to stand. I’m trying not to freak out, but something seems off as I struggle to step towards the living room sofa.

  “Are you okay Ryan?” asks Faith.

  Faith notices that I’m struggling to stand and she tells her crew to sit me down before I fall down.

  I smell gas in the room and I feel weak. I collapse onto the tile floor and hear Faith say something.

  “That should be enough gas in here now, let’s start,” says Faith to her all-female crew, in a muffled voice, as she has a respirator on.

  Phil calls for me over the radio. I try to reach for my radio that’s on my belt, but I pass out before I can reply to Phil.

  Suddenly I’m awaken by loud sounds of gunfire and Faith telling me to wake up as she doesn’t have a respirator on anymore. I notice that I’m on the sofa in the living room of the same house that I came in with Faith and her all-female crew.

  “One minute,” says one of the women in the blue scrubs to Faith.

  “Listen to me Ryan, I’m sorry about all this. I’m so sorry, but I had to do this to get Rachel back,” says Faith to me.

  I try to stand but I’m woozy and I need to sit back down on the sofa I awoke on.

  “I wrote you a letter explaining everything as I’m not sure you’ll remember all this,” says Faith to me.

  “Twenty seconds,” says another woman in the blue scrubs to Faith.

  “I’ll be in touch and I hope to see you soon,” says Faith to me and then Faith and the four women in the blue scrubs exit the house and leave me on the sofa.

  BANG! BANG!

  BOOM!

  I hear gunfire and explosions outside.

  I gather myself and feel good enough to stand now.

  My radio is on the living room coffee table, I grab it and call for everyone in Citrus Oaks.

  No one answers me over the radio.

  BANG! BANG!

  I hear more gunfire outside and wonder what is going on and who is shooting.

  Tires screech and a big explosion goes off outside.

  BOOM!

  Another explosion goes off at the front of the house I’m in and I’m knocked backwards and fall onto the tile floor.

  BOOM!

  I stand up from the tile floor as someone enters the house through the front door, but it’s hard to make out who the person is through the smoke that is coming into the house now.

  CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

  The unknown person who just entered the house that I’m in steps on several pieces of broken glass.

  I look at the person as the smoke clears and I see that it’s Christian.

  “I knew you people were going to be a pain in the ass,” says Christian to me.

  Christian’s face, arms, and hands are badly burnt and I see metallic parts in his face and hands.

  “I knew you were a fucking robot,” I say to Christian as Christian moves towards me.

  “We prefer the term enhanced humans,” replies Christian and Christian throws a right hook at my face.

  I dodge his right hook and step backwards as Christian keeps throwing strikes at my face and body.

  Christian throws a right roundhouse kick. I catch his kick, sweep his left leg, and Christian falls onto the tile.

  WHAP!

  I throw a powerful kick and my right sneaker makes direct contact with Christian’s badly burnt face.

  I run out of the house and find our main entrance and front cul-de-sac of Citrus Oaks is a chaotic mess. I look to my left and see that our main entrance is open, but the walls and gate are still intact.

  I go to shut our main entrance and a group of three zombies come at me.

  A male zombie lunges at me and I’m able to block his mouth as he tries to bite me and I push him away. The other two zombies are coming after me now, so I run away from our main entrance.

  Gunfire is heard at the back of Citrus Oaks and I start to run down the middle of our main street when I’m tackled by Christian.

  Christian lands on top of me and punches me in the chest. He repeatedly punches me in the chest and it sounds like metal on metal as he keeps punching my thick body armor chest piece.

  “Nice armor,” says Christian.

  Christian swings down with his right fist towards my head and I’m able to move my head just enough out of the way to avoid his robotic fist.

  I knee Christian in his balls and that hurts him.

  “Glad you still have those,” I joke and then I kick Christian square in the face with an up-kick.

  Christian is knocked out and he lands on top of me.

  I push Christian’s heavy ass limp body off of me and I get up off the street.

  A speeding vehicle is heard coming down the street I’m standing in. The vehicle comes barreling towards me and it just narrowly misses me.

  A group of zombies that came into Citrus Oaks is ripped apart by the speeding vehicle.

  The vehicle slows down slightly after impacting the zombies and I hear a woman screaming for help in the back of the vehicle.

  I can’t make out who is in the vehicle and screaming, but I look closely at the vehicle as it exits Citrus Oaks.

  I make a mental note of the vehicle and it’s a large white SUV with tinted windows and large oversized off-road tires with white rims.

  One of our drones flies out of Citrus Oaks and goes after the all-white SUV and I immediately think it’s Lauren going after the SUV.

  “Is anyone alive?” asks someone on the radio.

  I grab a radio that’s in the grass and I tell the person on the radio that I’m alive.

  “Where are you Ry?” asks Phil over the radio.

  “At the main entrance,” I answer Phil over the radio.

  Phil tells me to stay where I am and that he’ll come to me. I look around and decide to close our main entrance gate. Our main entrance gate closes and I can’t believe that it still works.

  One of the vehicles that Faith and her group drove here is on fire in our front cul-de-sac. Bullet casings, dirt, debris, and blood are all over the street, sidewalks, and lawns at the front of our community.

  I see a large group of people coming towards me and I hear Christian groan in pain as he wakes up.

  I run over to Christian and I’m ready to shoot him.

  “Wait Ry!” shouts Phil.

  I look at Phil, but keep my pistol aimed at Christian.

  “Killing me won’t get your wife back,” says Christian to me as he lays on his back in the street.

  I don’t believe Christian as I think he’s saying anything to save his life.

  Phil walks over to me. I look at the group of people that came with Phil and I see Jon, Kelly, Nicole, Jordan, Jaws Junior, Darlene, Brody, and three guards.

  “Where’s Lauren?” I ask.

  Christian laughs.

  I look at Phil and ask, “Where’s Lauren?”

  Christian keeps laughing.

  WHAP!

  I kick Christian in his face and knock him out again.

  “Someone tie this guy up, we’ll need him as a hostage,” says Phil.

  “Who’s controlling the drone that went after the white SUV?” I ask.

  “Matt. Matt is going to follow it as long as he can,” answers Phil.

  “What the fuck happened?” I ask Phil.

  “I’m so sorry Ryan, but Lauren and Kylie were taken. We fought them off…” answers Phil, but I interrupt him and ask, “What do you mean taken? By who?”

  “We don’t know. You went into the house and when you didn’t answer me or come out we started to wonder what was going on,” answers Phil.

  I look at Brody and his face is all bloody. Brody says to me, “That Christian guy knocked me and the guards out, opened the entrance, and two SUV’s came in.”

  “We blew up one of the SUV’s and killed several of their guys, but the other SUV that escaped had Lauren and Kylie in it,” says Phil to me.

  I remember the moment when I saw the all-white SUV and hearing the person screaming inside the SUV.

  “I’m so sorry Ry,” says Jon.

  My whole body goes numb and I’m in disbelief.

  I’m tired of everyone saying how sorry they are, so I walk away from the group, walk down the street, and enter my backyard.

  Lauren’s drone remote control is lying in the grass and it hits me that Lauren was really taken and I might never see her again.

  I fall to my knees next to Lauren’s drone remote control and I feel something underneath my body armor chest piece.

  I reach under my body armor chest piece, grab what is there, and I pull out an envelope.

  A letter is in the envelope and on the outside of the envelope it says, “TO RYAN I HOPE YOU’RE ALIVE.”

  Fran comes out of our sliding glass door and I hear the sliding glass door close. I stand up from the grass and Fran comes over to me.

  “They took her Ryan,” says Fran to me.

  I look at Fran and I want to cry, but I fight back the tears.

  Fran, who looks like she’s been crying, asks me, “Who took her? What assholes took my baby girl?”

  My sadness immediately goes away, as I hear Fran’s questions, and strong feelings of motivation, drive, and problem solving take over.

 

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