The Dark Days Series | Book 2 | Sanctuary

by Cole, Christopher

  “You stay with the truck and those two kids!” I ordered the soldier.

  The soldier turned around and asked, “What?”

  “That’s an order!”

  His eyes widened when he saw me, “Uh, yes sir!”

  I ran down the alleyway where they were taking Nathan. When I caught up with them, I saw him struggling as he was kicking and trying to get free. One of the attackers punched Nathan twice, hard in the gut. I sprinted toward them and kicked one of them hard in the back. He fell flat on his face and the other let go of Nathan and pulled out a knife – he swung his knife twice and tried to make a couple of stabs, but he wasn’t very good with it. As he jabbed with his knife, I grabbed it, twisted it hard and threw him over me to the ground. I twisted his arm counter-clockwise, forcing him to drop the knife as he let a cry of pain. I simultaneously back-kicked the other guy in his balls before he could make a move. I slide the knife out of either of their reach and attacked the guy standing. I punched him in the face and he tried to swing at me with his left. He tried to kick me in the side with his right, but I grabbed his leg with my left arm and used my right foot to trip him. When he fell, I punched him hard two times in the face until I grabbed his KA-BAR fighting knife from his belt and stabbed him in the eye. I quickly got up leaving the knife there to deal with the last asshole. He threw several punches, I blocked or slipped them, and as he threw a left I blocked and struck his ribs with my left knee. I punched hard at his face with my right and as his head was turned around, I grabbed it firmly with both hands and snapped his neck. As he fell dead, I went and picked up the other knife and stabbed it into the last guy’s skull.

  Nathan sat on the ground stunned at my actions and shifted his eyes back and forth at the two dead men and me. I tried to be patient and control my anger, but I was gonna have to be firm with this kid.

  “Goddamn it,” I said, as I roughly grabbed his arm to pick him up.

  I dragged him back to the Ford truck.

  I gritted my teeth and continued, “You’ve got to be more careful! Just because this city has walls, doesn’t mean that you’re safe! You have to keep an eye out for these kinds of people. For these kinds of places. Jesus Christ! Don’t ever let your guard down – particularly in a place like this. If you’ve been out there, you should know.”

  “Why do you care?” Nathan asked.

  I turned to him, “What?”

  “Why do you even care?”

  For a few moments, I stood there in silence without an answer until finally I let go of his arm and headed back to my vehicle. As I marched back, I saw two assholes trying to get in my car. I pulled out my Para-Ordnance and fired just over their heads. They both jumped and turned around at me, scared.

  “Get the fuck out of here,” I warned.

  They both sprinted away and I got in. I drove passed Nathan and his friends, but I didn’t look at them. I did look in the mirror to see them watching me go – the point was made.

  Chapter 8

  Nathan/Sonny

  After the soldier left, Private Thompson ordered us back in the truck to get us out of this place. Private Thompson decided to drive while I sat in the passenger’s seat and my friends in the pickup bed. My gut still hurts from where one of the thugs punched me, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what just happened. Two guys try to rob me and then out of nowhere that soldier shows up and kills them. Who the heck is he? Why in the world would he save me? In fact, why the hell is he following me? There’s no way he was just strolling by and he just happened to be there. As we drove away, I couldn’t help but feel he wanted something from me.

  Private Thompson nearly drove 60 miles an hour as soon as he sat behind the wheel. He had this nervous look on his face as he drove.

  He asked me, “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” I answered.

  “What happened?”

  “Two guys tried to rob me and then that soldier showed up and he killed them.”

  “He killed them?!”

  “Yes.”

  He hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand angrily and grunted.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, but we’re done for the day,” Private Thompson answered.

  “But don’t we have more boxes to deliver—?”

  “I said you’re done for the day!” Private Thompson snapped.

  After a few seconds he spoke again, “Look, just take the rest of the day off. I’ll pay you your normal wage, but just go home.”

  “Should we be worried about something?” I asked.

  There was a long pause, “Do you know who that guy is?”

  “No.”

  “Stay away from him. The less you know, the better. Don’t tell anyone that you saw him or what happened back there, understand?!”

  “Okay,” I muttered.

  Private Thompson grabbed my shirt and ordered, “Swear it!”

  “Alright, I swear! Cross my heart!”

  “Good.”

  He parked the truck and we got out. By the looks on Molly and Patch’s faces they wanted to know what happened and what’s going on.

  Private Thompson gave us our usual labor cards and said, “Now go on. Get out of here.”

  As we walked away Private Thompson called, “Hey! Mum’s the word!”

  I crossed my heart and nudged my friends to do the same.

  When we were halfway to the monorail station Molly asked, “What happened?”

  “What’s got him all scared?” Patch asked.

  “I don’t know. Two guys tried to rob me and this soldier comes out of nowhere and kills them both. Then he left and Private Thompson kept telling me not to tell anyone I saw him and to stay away from him,” I answered.

  “Rob you?! Wha?! Are you hurt?” Molly asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. They just punched me in the stomach, but I’m fine.”

  “What soldier? The one that drove off before we left?” Patch asked.

  I nodded.

  “Why? Who is he?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s just go back to the apartment.”

  We took the monorail back to the apartment and relaxed in Will and Kayley’s living room. I went to the bathroom to check on my side and my stomach – that guy hit me hard; my side had a bruise. I don’t know who that soldier was, but he is right about this place not being immune to danger. I should have known when we drove in there. What was I thinking?

  Molly poked in, “Sonny?”

  “It’s just a bruise,” I said, putting my shirt back on.

  “You need ice.”

  “Yeah, but don’t tell anyone. Especially, Will and Kayley . . . and Tracy.”

  “Wasn’t that soldier the same one from downtown? The one that sat with you?” Patch asked, as I sat on the couch.

  “Yeah.”

  “What did he say?”

  I figured the truth wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to them, so I lied.

  “Nothing much . . . about his boots and the weather. He seemed normal,” I said.

  Molly got a bag ice for my side, “And back there in that alley?”

  “He just said I’ve got to be alert and then he took off.”

  Patch crossed his arms, looking confused and asked, “That’s it? Just like that and—? “

  “Patch, I don’t know any more than you or Molly,” I sounded cross.

  “First you pretend to be Nathan, then the Black Shadow, and now this? What’s next?” Molly asked as she sat next to me.

  “I don’t know, maybe the next moon landing,” I joked.

  Molly didn’t smile, “You almost got mugged and killed and you’re joking? Jesus, Sonny.”

  “Okay, first of all, it’s ‘Nathan,’ and second, those muggers are dead. That soldier killed them.”

  “Wait, did he destroy the brains?” Patch asked, with his eyes wide open.

  I nodded and answered, “Yes.”

  “Okay, for a second there I thought we were screw
ed – you know, dead guys turn and they bite others and . . . you know.”

  I saw the whole fight and couldn’t stop thinking about how the soldier killed those two men – it was easy for him, he was in complete control, and his strength was incredible. The way he killed seemed almost ‘scripted’ . . . fast and like everything they did was anticipated. He looked like he was in his early fifties, but his strength and skill were unlike anyone I’d ever seen. I used to watch action movies and see guys with unreal skills, but he fought with all that technique but it was real!

  “Hey, since we have the day off, we can visit River and her family’s apartment. What do you guys say?” Patch asked.

  Molly and I exchanged looks. Molly shrugged and I thought maybe we could do that.

  “Yeah, sure. Let’s go see them,” I said.

  “Okay,” Molly agreed.

  We took a few different monorails that took us to the City’s east side where we would find the Rose family. The east side was very close to downtown, so skyscrapers surrounded us. We kind of wandered around for a while before we started actually looking for the right apartment.

  “Did he say which apartment?” I asked.

  “Nope, just an apartment on the east side,” Molly answered.

  “He said they got the top floor,” Patch added.

  “All the apartments have top floors,” I said, looking up at them.

  “Alright well, let’s ask around and see if they know anyone who— “

  “Oh wait, there’s River!” Molly pointed.

  “Where?” Patch asked.

  “Over there.”

  River just got off a monorail and looked like she was headed to her apartment. She had a small satchel bag that had fruit poking outside the bag. We ran across the street toward her, “River!”

  She turned toward us and smiled.

  “Hey!” River waved.

  When we got across the street, we hugged her without hesitation. We followed her back to her apartment, where the rest of her family and Bob were waiting. Ginger was the first to welcome us in.

  “Hey!” Ginger greeted, and hugged us.

  “Dad! Nathan, Molly, and Patch are here!” River called.

  River got my attention when she called me Nathan instead of Sonny. Clark and Cody were sitting at the dining room table eating lunch and Evan was having a drink with Bob while looking out the window. Evan and Bob gave us bear hugs as everyone else greeted us before we sat down on the living room couch. Their apartment was about the same size as Will and Kayley’s, only it was designed differently – the place had an attic loft with more skyline roof windows. The place didn’t have a balcony like the Way house and like Will and Kayley’s apartment, but they definitely had a view.

  We chatted for a while – Evan and Bob got jobs working in the farm fields and on weekends Clark and Cody work there as well. Ginger works with both supply inventory and electric repair and River helps her out on weekends.

  “River, you called me Nathan. So, you already know about Clara?” I asked.

  “Yeah, Will and Kayley came by and explained,” River answered.

  “Oh.”

  “Yep, and actually we think you made the right decision to help them,” Evan said.

  “You do?” I asked.

  “Yes, we do.”

  “That was very grown up of you. Although, I’m surprised at how everyone else was so against it,” Bob added.

  “They were just unsure about him living with strangers, but they mean well,” Molly said.

  “So, how do you feel about it . . . Nathan?” River asked.

  I took a few moments before speaking, “I think it’s hard to see that something’s wrong with Clara. Other than her mistaking me for her son, she’s completely normal. She’s incredibly nice – and loves her family fiercely.”

  “Yeah, he is right about that. We’ve actually met Clara,” Patch agreed.

  Ginger nodded and stated, “That’s what Will and Kayley said, which is good considering the fact that you’re living with her.”

  “I’ve got a question; what do you do if or when she brings up the past? You know, like memories and stuff?” Cody asked.

  “She doesn’t really bring up the past. Whenever she does, I kind of just go along with it – she only brought up one memory and it was of ‘us’ in Portland, Oregon,” I answered.

  “That must feel weird,” Clark said.

  “It does sometimes. So, how do you guys like your new apartment?” I asked, changing the subject.

  “It’s definitely bigger than the one Ginger and I had after college,” Evan said.

  “Really small?” Molly asked.

  “It was pretty much just a box. An RV was bigger,” Ginger said.

  We chuckled.

  “How are the farm fields?” Patch asked.

  “They’re actually a lot better than we thought, and BIG!” Cody answered.

  “How big?”

  “They pretty much grow every kind of fruit and vegetable out there. I never thought I’d ever see peaches ever again.”

  “They have peaches?” I asked surprised.

  “Yeah, you want some?” River asked.

  “Yes!” Molly answered excited.

  River took out a bag of peaches from the refrigerator and my mouth watered, smelling how ripe they were. She cut them into slices and gave us some – each slice I tasted was perfect. River sat at the end of the couch next to Molly while eating a few slices.

  “How’s school?” Ginger asked.

  “It’s cool, how about you and your brothers?” Patch asked River.

  “The same, it’s alright – nothing fancy, except the building. Although, I really hate being the newest objectified hot girl,” River answered.

  “Why’s that?” Molly asked.

  “Within the first week, I got hit on by at least eight guys.”

  “Hit on?”

  “It’s a phrase for asking out. You know, like a date,” I explained.

  “Oh, I see,” Molly nodded.

  “Wait, don’t people like that?” Patch asked.

  “Guys maybe, but girls not always,” Clark said.

  “I wouldn’t mind it so much if all the guys weren’t short little jocks. I swear, they were all shorter than me,” River said.

  “That must be annoying,” I said.

  “Tell me about it! They’re trying way too hard – they’re trying so hard to act like they’re too cool for school. I have to stick to Clark and Cody like glue just to get them to give me some space.”

  “Did you tell them you weren’t interested?” Molly asked.

  “Like a million times,” River smiled while rolling her eyes.

  Clark explained, “Some of them are pretty dense. I was walking down the hall with River, this guy named Spencer points at River and says, ‘You and me, Friday night,’ then winks dramatically and points at her. After she firmly told him ‘No,’ he kept trying with a bunch of one-liners and that’s when I told him to piss off and you know what he says? ‘Get lost shrimp,’ – and he’s like a foot shorter than me!”

  “Seriously?” Molly asked, amazed.

  “So, what did you do?” I asked.

  “I did the shoulder squeeze until he fell to his knees crying uncle,” Clark answered.

  “Good, very good. Up top!” Patch raised his hand.

  They high-fived.

  Shrimp? Really? What the hell is this? Do jocks even exist anymore? I never thought they’d still play football or baseball after all this.

  “Hey, speaking of which, you know that ‘everything you need to know of how to be a man,’ speech? Are you and Bob gonna give me and Nate that speech someday?” Patch asked.

  Evan and Bob exchanged looks.

  Evan placed his glass on the table, “Yeah sure, one day we can do that. Although, from what I’ve seen and heard of you and your friends, you’re practically grown up already.”

  “Really?” Patch asked.

  “Don’t get me wrong, there�
��s still a lot you’ve got to learn about being an adult, but you still got time to enjoy your youth.”

  “Especially, since we’re in here,” Bob added.

  “What they’re saying is don’t be in such a rush to grow up,” Ginger said.

  “You had to when you were out there, but you’re in here now. It’s a lot safer,” River stated.

  We nodded in understanding, but I found it hard to understand. How can you just go back to being a kid again after we had to grow up faster? I’m not sure if I can just decide to dial it back, and I’d be surprised if my friends could either.

  “Oh, and speaking of Will and Kayley, Kayley brought over that camera you gave her and we took some photos,” River said, bringing out a small collection of photos on the table.

  Molly, Patch, and I looked at all the photos on the table and we saw how happy they all were. They posed for each other in each photo – there were good shots of River and her brothers, Evan and Ginger, Evan and Bob, Evan with Ginger and Bob, River and Ginger, and Evan with his sons. There was also this really great photo of all of them together.

  “These are great,” Molly smiled.

  “She’s really happy about the camera you gave her. During the whole visit when she and Will were here, she talked about how great you are. I think you’re her favorite,” River suggested.

  I didn’t have to see Molly and Patch to know that they felt a little bad.

  “We’re all her favorites,” I said, placing my arms around both Molly and Patch.

  That was enough to put a small smile on both of their faces.

  We chatted for a while and they told us a little bit about their jobs, but I wanted to ask something a little serious for which there probably wasn’t an answer.

  “I know this is a little out of left field or maybe waste of energy, but it’s something that has continued to bother me – what makes bad people bad?” I asked.

  That got everyone’s attention.

  I explained, “I didn’t used to put much thought into why people were bad. I just knew that if they were, then that’s all I need to know if I wanted to protect my friends. I just never understood why – are they born that way or did something happen or a series of somethings happen that led them to choose to be the way they are?”