Sunshine

by Wenner, Natalie

  We spent the rest of the day in the barn. We took turns watching for the Jacks and he taught me some of his knowledge. It turned out he did know a lot more than me.

  The safest place to sleep was in trees. They Jacks were horrible climbers, so they would make a lot of ruckus, which could wake the dead from slumber. Then it was like shooting fish in a barrel as they tried to make it up. This was interesting to me, but worthless knowledge as I wouldn’t be able to sleep in a tree with a baby. A tree house sounded inviting though.

  He also said they were good swimmers. This saddened me as I was still hoping to find a boat. I’m sure I would be safe in the middle of the ocean, but my peace of mind was now gone. He confirmed my knowledge of them being territorial and working in small groups. They seemed to still be pretty smart and seemed to have formed some sort of grunt language.

  The thing that caught my interest the most was about the other humans out there. The nomads as he called them. “There aren’t many nomads anymore. I’ve only come across three groups since it all happened. I usually avoid them when I see their tracks. Everyone is always very kind and nothing like science fiction would make them out to be. No one is a cannibal. I only ever observe from afar, though. You’re actually the first person I’ve talked to in a very long time.”

  There were still other humans and they didn’t want to hurt Sunny or I. Rosa wasn’t the last kind person in the world. This sounded like a miracle to me. It was nice just to have the very uncharismatic Marcus to talk to, I couldn’t imagine finding a group to talk to that would treat me like family.

  Sunny was still impatient as I held him. Why he wanted to be held by Marcus was beyond me, but I wasn’t letting him anywhere near my baby.

  Finally he fell asleep in my arms and we tucked in for the night. Marcus decided he wanted to sleep on the roof. He felt safest up there.

  This was nice. I was actually smiling as I feel asleep.

  Chapter 9

  A Shark by a Different Name

  I awoke in the night to Sunny crying and a very loud storm outside. Well it wasn’t actually contained to outside. Sunny and I were both soaked from holes in the roof. The Jacks didn’t travel much in the rain, which was good news as I wouldn’t be able to hear them coming in this storm. I scooped up Sunny and headed downstairs hoping it was dryer down there. I wondered were Marcus was.

  As I came down the stairs that question was answered for me.

  He appeared to be naked with a blanket tied around his waist as he laid out his clothes. What the hell was he thinking? This was so inappropriate. Yet, I couldn’t keep my eyes off his bare chest. I made my presence know with a very loud, haahumm.

  “Oh Hi, sorry all of my clothes are soaking wet. I had to borrow a blanket. I see you both got wet up there as well.”

  “Well you could cover yourself up a little better. You can keep the blanket, now that you’ve rubbed your stuff all over it.”

  He burst into laughter. “Well if you rather I run around naked, here’s your blanket.” he grabbed for the tie in the blanket.

  “No,” I burst out,” keep it please. I’ve got more blankets in the truck”

  I changed Sunny and dried myself as best I could with our one towel.

  “Do you think the storm will last long? I like them, the Jacks always hide away during them”

  “I think it will quickly rain itself out and then the Jacks will again be hunting us.” Why did he smile almost all the time?

  “Well good night; wake me up if anything happens.” I wasn’t going to take any chances. I set Sunny in the passenger seat and spend a very rough rest of the night sleeping in the driver seat.

  The next day after breakfast I laid out the map to study. I was still planning on making it to the coast. Marcus didn’t have any advice about towns. He avoided them. So I picked out a town 30 miles south that looked very similar to Fenton.

  Marcus was getting rather jumpy. I could tell he didn’t spend much time in manmade shelters.

  “Would you like to come with us? I’m hoping I’ll be able to find a boat along the coast and live out at sea. I know it sounds like a long shot, but I think it’s the best option.”

  Again he burst into laughter. “You man a ship. Now that’s a good one. You two wouldn’t last a week, but you go right ahead. I would rather face the Jacks then be fed to sharks.”

  “Excuse me; I was just trying to be polite.” I stormed off like a two year old.

  The storm was over and the sun was out. I thought some fresh air would be good for us, so we headed out. The grass was already dry.

  I knew this wasn’t a very smart idea. We weren’t that far from the barn, but it was still out in the open. I had my gun ready, just in case.

  Sunny was really starting to grow. I was holding him, but letting him try to stand. He was actually doing it and when I set him up against me he didn’t fall over. He really would be mobile before I knew it.

  I looked over at the barn and Marcus was standing in the door watching us. He looked away the second we made eye contact.

  There was some movement in the trees. I hadn’t heard any screaming. I quickly grabbed my gun and surveyed the area. Through the trees came a real surprise. It was a deer. A doe from what I could tell and she was beautiful. She seemed at ease, but still walked into the open. She was so graceful.

  I lowered my rifle and watched her, as did Sunny. It was so peaceful. Then ought of nowhere there was a loud bang and the deer feel to its side. It was twitching on the ground and making the most awful sound. I grabbed Sunny just as he started to cry. Then Marcus was running past me to the deer and he slit its throat.

  I don’t know why I was so horror struck, but I quickly made my way back to the barn. Sunny was very upset and it took a lot of rocking to finally sooth him.

  Marcus came into the barn dragging most of the deer with him. He had skinned and gutted it quicker than I thought possible. I could smell a smoke in the air. He did know how to live in the wild.

  “Why did you shoot her? She wasn’t harming us.” I was fuming.

  “I’m sorry sweetheart, I didn’t know you adopted outside your species too. You better get your stuff together. If there are Jacks in the area they will be here soon.”

  That was it. “Fine, I didn’t want to stay here any longer with you any ways. Sunny and I were better alone.”

  I packed up the truck. Put a very angry baby into the front seat and buckled myself in.

  “Good-bye, Marcus. I would like to say it was fun, but it was not. I hope you the best.”

  “Good-bye, Emma and Sunny. Good luck finding your boat.” He was still smiling.

  I spun out and took off leaving that annoying, ignorant, jerk in the barn.

  Chapter 10

  It’s Just You and Me

  Good thing I have memorized the way, because I was so furious I could have easily gotten lost otherwise.

  “Sunny you must stop crying. It’s just me and you now. We don’t need anyone else. I can take care of you all by myself and to think the nerve of that man.”

  I needed to get myself together. We were now is unknown territory there could be Jacks anywhere.

  I took the main road to the next town. I hoped to find a couple more supplies for our journey. It turns out I didn’t pack the truck as well as I should have. Plus Sunny really needed some more formula and new clothes. I used old rags as diapers, but finding disposable ones was always nice.

  The road was often blocked, so I would have to get out and move the debris or broken down vehicles. It was very frightening and I soon became exhausted. The town had to be close by.

  I soon came to a huge tractor trailer on its side. It was blocking the way, so I would have to go off the road to get around it. After making it around, the truck started to shake and then there was a loud pop. Damn, that must have been my tire.

  Yep it was. The tire was shredded. I didn’t have a spare nor did I know how to change a tire. I would have to find another vehicle. The only
problem was the overturned truck was the only vehicle around.

  “Well, what are we gonna do now?”

  It was starting to get dark and I had no other option, but to wait it out till morning in the truck. I checked the area and saw no signs of danger. The tractor trailer had nothing of use in it. I gathered some wet bushes and set them to smoke. I sure hoped this trick really did work.

  So I hunkered down for one long night. The wind made an eerie sound as it blew over the truck making the mood only tenser. I wasn’t going to sleep tonight. I needed to keep alert.

  Several hours later my eyes were really starting to get heavy and I kept seeing things. I felt like a sitting duck. I swear I could see shapes coming towards us, like a line of soldiers leading into battle. The wind was still so loud. It was blowing even harder now.

  The soldiers didn’t look like they were holding weapons just marching. Why would there be soldiers? What the hell was I thinking?

  I brought myself back into the present and took a good hard look at what stood before me. There were three Jacks standing side by side. How had I missed this?

  They were small, but that didn’t give me any reassurance. They had stopped and where checking me out. I could handle one Jack maybe two, but not three. I would have to get out of the truck so I could be the decoy. I couldn’t have them trying to get in here with Sunny. I slowly reached for my pistol and bat. I was definitely going to need the bat.

  I slowly opened the door not wanting to spook them. Sunny was still fast asleep, thank God. I hoped they would be dead by the time he started to cry. The one in the middle took a step closer as I took several steps to the left. They looked very wild and very skinny. That means they were only going to fight harder.

  I raised my pistol and decided I needed to take out the middle one first. I pulled the trigger hitting her in the chest. The other two were after me before she even hit the ground.

  They raced towards me, while I only ran farther from the truck. There was no out running them. They were soon only a few yards behind me so I stopped and readied myself. I took another shot and hit the one on the right in the knee. It barely fazed her. I then dropped the pistol and took my bat into both hands ready to swing.

  As the first came into striking distance I gave it all I had and swung right into her head. It fell to the ground. The one I had shot in the knee came to me before I could ready myself and knocked me down. She came for me with her mouth open wide and I managed to kick her hard in her shattered knee. She too fell to the ground and crawled on top of me.

  The bat was now the only thing between me and her. I held it out stopping her from tearing out my throat, but she was too strong. I used the only other weapon I had, my head. I head-butted so hard I could see stars, but I was expecting it so my reaction time was quicker. I quickly grabbed the gun that lay beside me held it to her mouth and shot her point blank.

  I pushed her off of me and ran over to the unconscious Jack, this one wasn’t dead yet so I put a few bullets through its brain as well. I was now covered in blood.

  The three Jacks were dead so I turned back to the truck. Sunny’s cries were quit loud and I soon learned why. Sunny was no longer the only one in the truck. I hadn’t heard him coming.

  Leaning in the driver’s window was a huge Jack. He was trying to get to Sunny he was literally inches towards him. I pulled the trigger, but I was out of ammo. There was no way I would be able to get to him in time. He could break Sunny in two with one hand.

  I ran towards him anyways hoping I could distract him. He paid no attention. I wouldn’t make it in time. There was no way. His screams were deafening.

  Then suddenly his screaming stopped and he went limp. I didn’t understand. I ran up to him and hit him hard with the bat, but he did not fight back. He hadn’t gotten to Sunny yet thank god. I ran over to the other side and took Sunny into my arms. Upon a better inspection he had a very large hole in his head. He had been shot, but who would have shot him? I was out of ammo. I looked around and saw on top of the tracker trailer, a man in a leather coat and cowboy hat.

  Chapter 11

  A Kind Gesture

  “Well, you made it really far, Sugar”

  I didn’t know what to say. Without this man I would have lost Sunny. I owed him everything. Yet he still rubbed me the wrong way. I decided instead to ignore him and take care of Sunshine.

  I rocked him in my arms and hummed a lullaby. I couldn’t help but let the tears flow just as he was. We eventually cried ourselves out.

  “Is he ok?” I had forgotten Marcus.

  “Yes, he’s fine, just shook up.”

  “Are you ok?”

  “I’m fine.” I realized my tone was angry for no reason so I used my puppy dog eyes. “Thank you for saving him. I didn’t hear the other Jack. I don’t know why I keep telling myself I can take care of him. We always barely get away, every time.”

  “You were doing a damn good job. I’ve never seen a girl take on three Jacks before. Oh, and your welcome.”

  He was now standing in front of me and I could see he was being genuinely nice.

  “I’m not a girl; I’m a women thank you very much.” However, I couldn’t keep the smile in and we were soon laughing. It felt good to laugh.

  It turned out Marcus had been following us on a dirt bike he had hidden it in the woods when we were in the barn. He hadn’t said why he had followed us but he was being nice, so I didn’t want to ruin his mood.

  He found it quite funny that I didn’t know how to change a tire and even funnier that I didn’t notice the spare underneath the truck. He changed it quickly, while I washed the blood off myself. When he finished he loaded his bike into the back and took the driver’s seat.

  I took up the passenger’s seat with Sunny in my arms. He seemed quite content as did I. It was nice to have someone else drive for once. I soon realized I hadn’t yet slept as the sun started to rise.

  The next thing I knew I was waking up on a bed. The room smelled of fresh laundry and lavender. The sheets were very soft and warm. It was now dark out. Hmm I didn’t remember my walls being pink, they were white and my comforter didn’t have flowers on it.

  This wasn’t my apartment. Where was I and where was Sunny? I felt around in the bed finally coming to. He wasn’t there. I took a step out of the bed. Man, my legs felt like Jell-O. I was now in full panic mode.

  I was still in the same clothes. They were gross. I took a quick look around and none of my belongings were in the room. So I opened the door and headed down the hallway. This was a very nice house. I didn’t know where to go. I opened the first door I saw and an ironing board feel on top of my head. I came to a very elaborate staircase and headed down stairs.

  There was a glow coming from the room at the end of the hall. I could now hear Sunny babbling. He must be ok, but I still picked up the pace. I opened the door to find a huge sitting room with a fire blazing in the gigantic fireplace. Sunny was lying on a blanket on the floor playing with a bunch of toys. Marcus was lying beside him reading a book.

  This picture was torn from the pages of a different book. This type of thing didn’t happen these days. We couldn’t be safe here.

  I caught Sunny’s eye and his babbles grew even louder. I walked over and pulled him up into my lap.

  “Good morning Sleepyhead, or should I say goodnight.”

  “It’s night time? How long was I asleep?”

  “You slept about 16 hours. Your boy here only slept 8.”

  “You’ve been taking care of him for 8 hours? Why didn’t you wake me up?” This was alarming. I had never even let him near Sunny before and he managed to take care of him for that long. Not only that he had apparently done a good job, because Sunny seemed very happy.

  “Well at one point I tried to wake you up, but you didn’t budge. So I had to figure out how to put a diaper on by myself. It was a very traumatic experience for both of us. He almost peed on me.”

  I looked into Sunny’s pants and he had a
disposable diaper on, but it had been ducted taped close and it was on backwards. I soon had a huge grin on my face.

  “You did a good job thank you. When did he last eat?”

  “He ate about an hour ago. I somehow managed to come upon a house that had a nursery. I found some canned baby food. He likes the squash and peas. I tried some myself, they are disgusting.”

  “Yeah I agree with you on that one. Where are we anyway? I’m guessing it’s safe since you’re not in a tree or on the roof?”

  He was wearing that smile again “No it’s safe. I set up traps in case they come around. Plus look up on the TV. I found a backup generator and hooked it up to only power the security cameras. If we see them coming we can just go into the panic room that’s on the other side of that bookcase. I must say I found a diamond in the rough.”

  He was very smug. “Wow. This place is amazing how did you know where to find everything? I would have never have noticed a panic room.”

  “I’ve broken into my fair share of houses before and after the end of the world.”

  “Oh. Well thank you.”

  “You smell horrible by the way. You can wash up in the bath tub through that door and to the right. I filled it with some spring water. Your and Sunny’s stuff are in there as well. You should wash the little monster as well. He smells just as bad as you.”

  “Ok. You should try to sleep. Come on Sunny it’s been a long time since we’ve really been clean. Let’s see if we can find a rubber ducky for you.”

  Chapter 12

  Paradise

  The next week was very enjoyable and actually a little fun. This place felt more like home than anywhere else. I was warming up to Marcus, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a jerk at times. Sunny was really happy and safe, which was all that mattered.