I couldn’t wait for tomorrow to try my hand at whatever job my friends had lined up. The group left just in time, Clara and I heard some yelling from upstairs. Clara and I exchanged looks.
Clara sighed, “What in the world is happening with your sister?”
“Puberty?” I lied.
Clara scoffed a chuckle, “Yeah, perhaps. I just hope she won’t be as crazy as I was.”
“Oh, were you a handful for your—uh, grandma and grandpa?”
“Oh, no one’s teen years are entirely smooth sailing. It depends on the person and I myself have ‘acted out’ a fair amount according to your grandparents.”
“How did you behave that earned you an ‘acting out’ brand?”
Clara placed her arm around my shoulder and answered, “Ah parties, sneaking out, skipping class, and other stuff. Things that you shouldn’t do, so take it from your mother Nate, be better than your parents.”
I looked down.
“I’ve done things that even adults shouldn’t do,” I stated.
After a moment of silence Clara said, “Nathan, please tell me what happened when we got separated.”
We sat down on the couch and I prepared myself to tell my story with changes to make it more digestible. I thought I should first ask what she remembers and then patch my story on to hers.
“What do you remember?” I asked.
Clara took a moment to think, “I remember our camp was being overrun. There were zombies everywhere. Everyone panicked and ran into the woods after the explosion. After that, we couldn’t find you and I don’t seem to remember much of anything after that. What do you remember?”
“Well, I ran from the roamers – I’m not really sure how we were separated. But when we were, I was on my own for quite a while. I managed to survive until I ran into Will and Kayley. They were in some trouble; I helped them and they took me in with them after I passed out,” I explained.
“You looked different when I saw you at the gates, like you were surprised to see me or that you didn’t recognize me.”
“I . . . I thought you were dead. I thought I’d never see you again.”
“I thought the same. I was so broken after we were separated, and then when I saw you, it was like God granted me a miracle – we got you back.”
I paused for a moment, and found myself wanting to tell her how bad it had been for me, “Mom . . . I was serious when I said I had to kill people to stay alive. It was intense, I almost died out there.”
Clara looked stunned but she hugged me tight.
“Well, it’s over now. We’re safe here and we’ll stay together no matter what,” Clara told me.
I hugged her back and it didn’t feel uncomfortable, I guess, I was starting to get used to it. We cleaned up the dinner dishes together and then went upstairs. Before I could go into the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed, Clara stopped me.
“Maybe we should see Ellen,” Clara said.
“Uh, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to talk to Ellen,” I said.
“Why not? She’s your sister. I don’t understand why she’s acting like this.”
“I don’t either, but I think it might just be best to give her some space.”
“No, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from all this, it’s that you never leave those you love in a time of need.”
“Mom, I don’t think this is one of those times—”
Before I could finish my sentence, Clara grabbed my arm and took us to Ellen’s room. Jonathan was sitting next to her on her bed while Ellen was half face down in her bed. Her eyes were wet and red from crying, which really confirmed for me that this was a bad idea.
“Ellen,” Clara spoke.
Ellen didn’t respond.
Clara sat on the other side of the bed and leaned in close, gently holding her shoulder as she kissed her on the head.
“Ellen, please talk to me, tell us what’s going on. I’m trying to understand why you’re like this and it just doesn’t add up. We finally made it to this place and we got Nathan back, but instead of being happy it’s like a switch just flipped within you – you’re not like yourself,” Clara said.
Ellen closed her eyes hard with a few tears falling when Clara mentioned Nathan.
“Ellen, we have a home and your brother is back. Aren’t you happy?”
“Clara,” Jonathan spoke.
“Maybe we should just give her space,” I added.
“Nathan,” Clara said in disbelief.
“Mom, I love you and Dad and Ellen, but I really think that Ellen needs some personal space.”
“Yes, please just leave me alone,” Ellen spoke.
“I want to know what’s wrong,” Clara said.
Ellen sat up, but before she could speak Jonathan gave a look begging her to not say the truth.
“Ellen please,” Clara pleaded.
Ellen shifted her eyes at Clara, then at Jonathan, then at me. When she looked at me, I shrugged.
Ellen sighed and lied, “I can’t stop thinking about everything that’s happened. All the death and now here we are doing . . . doing normal things like nothing happened at all.”
“Ellen that life is over now. This is our home now and we don’t have to worry about the zombies or losing each other again,” Clara said.
Ellen didn’t speak.
“A lot has happened Ellen, but none of that has affected how your mother and I feel about you. We love you and no force on earth is ever going to change that. Ever,” Jonathan stated.
Ellen muttered, “I love you too.”
Clara kissed her head and hugged her; Jonathan joined in. I wish I could smile and be happy about this, but I couldn’t. I felt I was intruding, that I really shouldn’t be here and I had to fight hard to resist the urge of leaving the house to go back to my friends. I slowly turned around to head for my room.
“Where are you going?” Clara asked me.
“Just headed for bed,” I answered.
“Nathan, hug your sister goodnight.”
That was just going to make it worse for Ellen. I turned around and Jonathan gave a look that suggested it was a good idea. Ellen didn’t say anything and, in fact, she even held her arms open for a hug – I walked over and gently hugged her. I was expecting Ellen to either push me away, or perhaps, whisper something hateful, but she didn’t do either. She just gently hugged me and wiped her eyes.
“Goodnight Ellen,” I said kindly.
“Goodnight . . . Nathan,” Ellen replied.
Clara might have not seen, but I knew it stung Ellen. Again, the thought spilled forward that maybe we should just confront Clara with the truth – but I wasn’t sure it would make anything better, and it might actually make it worse. So, I brushed my teeth and headed for bed, feeling unsettled and conflicted.
Chapter 4
Nathan/Sonny
I got up early by the sounds of the doorbell ringing and I was the first to answer. I opened the door to a pretty face, Molly. She was wearing her Legend of Zelda T-shirt with a pair of jean shorts and an unzipped grey sleeveless hoodie.
“Molly!” I greeted her.
“Umm, we forgot to mention how early the job starts. So, if you’re in, you better get ready!” Molly smiled.
“I’ll be right back,” calling over my shoulder as I ran up to my room to change.
I got dressed in a dark blue T-shirt with a wolf on it with a pair of dark blue jean pants and slipped on my watch – it was 6:55 am. I wound it again and clipped my Tree of Life keychain and my Toy Story alien keychain to one of my pant belt loops. I ran out the door with Molly; Jonathan and Clara weren’t up and moving yet. Outside, I saw Patch and a soldier in an old Ford truck. It was a dark blue two door Ford F-150 and I was surprised to see Patch sitting in the driver’s seat. Patch was wearing a red sleeveless Nike T-shirt and a pair of black cargo shorts.
“Hey Nate!” Patch said.
“You’re driving?” I asked.
“Yep, Private
Thompson says that we all need to learn if we want to work.”
I looked at Private Thompson and he just nodded. He was a meathead Marine with strong arms and a solid face in his digital camouflage field utility uniform.
“Yep, besides not everyone in the fort has a car so this is probably the only way you’ll learn. Anyway, hop in the back. We’ve got a lot of driving to do,” Private Thompson ordered.
In the pickup bed, there were boxes of supplies and enough room for Molly and me to sit. As Patch drove down the road out of the neighborhood, it felt kind of cool sitting on the outside of a vehicle feeling the wind.
“What are we doing?” I asked Molly.
“We’re delivering supplies to people. All the food at the main cafeteria is free, just like Fort Denver, but if you want stuff at your own place you pay with work points and the goods are delivered. Most people prefer to cook their own food because the fort’s food is crap. So, we go around and deliver whatever’s ordered,” Molly explained.
“Are we earning work points for this?”
“Yep. Ashley, Carrie, and Jess are working in other trucks earning points too.”
We drove for a while until we came to an apartment complex and the soldier relayed the address for one of the deliveries on the clipboard. I lifted the box and took it to the address – the person who lived there was very friendly and grateful. I returned to the truck and we continued with more deliveries. I noticed the soldier had a silver shotgun sitting on the dashboard – I think it was a Mossberg 590A1 Mariner. He was also wearing a shotgun shell bandolier and a sidearm.
“Is Private Thompson our security?” I asked.
“Yep, he’s here to make sure nobody robs us,” Molly answered.
We delivered five more orders and then we drove back to where the supplies were. The building was a giant warehouse with both vehicles and wagons being pulled by horses with crates and baskets of fruit from the fields. The place smelled of ripening fruit from a variety of produce. As we drove in, I saw Ashley and Carrie loading supplies onto their truck. Ashley was wearing a blue tie-dye T-shirt with blue jean shorts and Carrie was wearing her Jack Skeleton T-shirt with tan cargo pants. Ashley was smiling and talking to another girl. She was young, Ashley’s age and height with light brown hair and green eyes. Her tan skin glowed setting off her smile and made Ashley look a little pale. She was wearing a cool blue camouflage tank top with a pair of faded jean shorts. Carrie was talking with three other kids, two boys and a girl – one of the boys and the girl looked like brother and sister. They were attractive, Hispanic with dark hair and eyes. The brother was older, Carrie and my age, while the sister looked a little younger, about Carrie’s height with her hair tied back in a ponytail with her bangs out. The brother was wearing a red, black, and white striped short-sleeve collared shirt with dark grey shorts; his sister was wearing a black T-shirt with white crossbones and a skull with a pair of blue jeans – both were wearing black Converse All-Stars. The other boy actually looked a lot like Patch except he had blonde hair with blue eyes – he was wearing a black sleeveless Adidas T-shirt with a pair of jean shorts.
When Patch parked the truck, Private Thompson said he had to get some paperwork filled out and told us to wait. I took the opportunity to meet Ashley and Carrie’s co-workers. Patch, Molly and I walked over to them.
Ashley smiled when she saw me, “Nathan!”
Carrie smiled instantly when she saw me.
When I approached Ashley said, “Hey guys, this is the friend Carrie and I were telling you about.”
I turned to Molly and she said, “We met them the other day after Izzy had her daughter, when we arrived at our apartment.”
Ashley introduced, “Nate, this is Sarah – Sarah Jean Adler. I met her the other day. Sarah, this is Nathan.”
Carrie introduced, “This is Shaun Riley, his younger sister Scarlet, and Warren Kyle.”
I shook Sarah’s hand first and then the others. “Nice to meet you all.”
Sarah smiled and responded, “You, too. We would have met you at school, but we had to work here to help our parents.”
“We just got into town, have you guys been here a while?” I asked.
“Yeah, a while. I think we got in maybe five months ago. It’s been a while and it’s better than out there,” Shaun answered.
“No kidding,” Molly said.
“From what these two have said you’ve been through a lot, right?” Scarlet asked.
“Oh yeah, a lot,” Patch answered.
“We know what that’s like,” Shaun told.
“We heard about Fort Denver . . . how it fell. That’s messed up man,” Warren said.
“Yeah it is.”
“Anyway, can we help?” Molly asked.
“Yeah, we’re supposed to move all these boxes onto those pallets,” Ashley said.
We chatted for a while and as we worked, I got to know these new people. I had to admit I actually liked the new friends Ashley and Carrie made. They’ve been through a lot before they got here, but they were able to settle in here. They said it felt weird at first, but that we’ll adjust over time and they even said they’d help us get used to this place. Scarlet somehow reminded me of Jess; a nice girl who's a bit of a tomboy as well. Sarah on the other hand, I liked even more, because of how well she was making Ashley happy – I think they might be BFFs.
“Come on, Shaun! Put your back into it! I know that thing isn’t heavy for you,” Scarlet said.
“Actually genius, you’re supposed to lift with your legs, not your back,” Shaun replied, lifting a box up.
“Alright, a five-points card says I’ll get more in that truck before you!”
“You’re on!”
“It’s not a race guys,” Warren said.
“Says the wimp!” Scarlet mocked.
“Shut up!”
“What do you think Ashley? Any idea who’d win?” Sarah asked.
“I don’t know, their ambition and spirits are about even,” Ashley answered.
Sarah chuckled, “Along with their ego.”
“Are they always like this?”
“Nah, but when they are, it's kinda entertaining, at least for me.”
They both laughed.
Then Private Thompson called us over for us to make more deliveries, but this time he said it was my turn to drive. After we loaded all the stuff on the pickup bed, Patch said he wanted to teach me how to drive and Private Thompson was okay with that. I’ve never driven any kind of vehicle in all my life. I felt a little nervous about it, but I also felt eager to learn how to drive.
I sat in the driver’s seat and Patch sat in the passenger, “Alright, put the key in the ignition and turn it while your foot is on the brake.”
I did and the truck started.
“Now take the stick and shift it into reverse, into the ‘R’ on the dashboard. When you back out, look at your mirrors.”
I did it as carefully as I could and we started driving to our first site. After a while, I started to get the hang of this driving and it was actually kind of fun. There weren’t that many cars on the road so I didn’t really have to use turn signals. However, I did have to be careful around the monorail trains.
“You’re doing good. Keep it steady like this and you’ll be a pro,” Patch complimented.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Alright stop here! This is the delivery address,” Private Thompson told.
After a couple of stops, Patch got to take Molly’s place of handing boxes to the front door or to the person inside. Molly sat next to me in the passenger’s seat and we continued to the next address, but I noticed that the next one was close to the hospital where Izzy and Blair are. I wonder if we’ll get to see them.
“You’re really good at this,” Molly said.
“Thank you and when it’s your turn to drive, I’ll help you,” I responded.
“I’d like that. I can’t wait.”
“Private Thompson says that this place will take
the last three for the day. I wonder if he’ll let us see Izzy and Blair.”
“I hope so. I’m wondering how they’re doing.”
After a while of silent driving, I thought of bringing up something nostalgic, “You know before the outbreak . . . my dad, my real dad, he had this great Toyota Tacoma truck – it was in that cool speedway blue color. I always loved riding in it with him – he would play his favorite country music. I always thought one day he would teach me how to drive and possibly give his truck to me when I became a man. I couldn’t wait for that day where he would be proud of me driving his truck.”
“I think he would be proud of you no matter what – especially, how strong and how good of a person you are,” Molly stated.
I nodded.
Molly took a few moments before speaking again, “You may not make any new memories with your parents now, but you’ve still got us that you can make new memories with. Isn’t that why you gave Kayley that camera?”
My eyes slightly widened. She’s right. I’ve still got my friends that I can make plenty of happy memories with.
I smiled.
“Yeah, you’re right. We’ll make lots of good memories together,” I stated.
“You know it!” Molly replied.
After a while I wanted to ask Molly about any good memories of her own.
“Hey Molly, have you ever laughed so hard you had tears coming out of your eyes?” I asked.
Molly thought for a moment.
“Yeah, I've had a few moments where I busted a gut. Like the first time I saw a compilation video of vines. You remember those? My favorite were the ones with Thomas Sanders and Curtis Lepore,” Molly explained.
“Oh yeah, I remember. Those were good.”
“A few times Will and Kayley made some vines and one of them—”
Molly started chuckling.
“—one of them was where Will dressed up as that guy who ran around kicking people in the nuts. You remember? He wore that blue jumpsuit and—”
“Had that stupid rainbow afro wig. Yeah, I remember,” I interrupted.
“Yeah, so Will did the same thing on his vine – running around kicking people in the nuts and saying ‘You just got kicked in the nuts.’ After three guys, they showed Will getting blasted with a shotgun. They use effects for the blood to make it look like it and then it showed Will dressed like a hitman and he said, ‘You just got your guts blown out you low hitting annoying little motherfuc—’ and then the video ends,” Molly explained.
The Dark Days Series | Book 2 | Sanctuary Page 9