Sunshine (3 page)

             
Sunny falls asleep halfway through his bottle and I set him gently into his crib. He’s surrounded by several stuffed animals I collected. I then make myself as comfortable as I can. Sleeping with a gun in your hand and snuggled with a softball bat isn’t that easy. I let my mind wonder. I’ve been having extra odd dreams lately. Last night I dreamed I had a sick kitten and when I picked him up from the vet he was now a box of French fries with eyes. Needless to say, I’m starting to worry that I’m losing it.

             
I awoke a few hours later. Sunny must have been having a nightmare as he was restless and whining in his sleep. I debated whether to wake him or not and finally decided he needed to be comforted. It is what I longed for when I have nightmares these days. Maybe he too was dreaming about a blanket that liked to turn people into balloon animals. The second I touched him he opened his eyes and started to wail. He soon settled down, though, as he realized I was there for him. That’s when I heard something.

             
It was a very odd sound. It sounded as if a large bull was being tortured. However, the sound was unmistakable these days and it nearly stopped my heart. There was a Jack in the area and it was close. There were no other noises so it may be alone. I thanked god that Sunny was being silent; this was no time for a crying baby.

             
I set him down in his crib. It was torture to do so, but I couldn’t hold him and hold my gun properly. I was going to do a perimeter check, and then I would be right back, five minutes most. I ran to the peep hole to see if it was visible. I could see nothing but the next building. There was a full moon, thankfully. This would work in my favor.

             
I ran to the next room and peeked out. There it was standing at the end of Main Street only two buildings away. I could tell even in this distance in the dark that it was huge. The Jack was alone maybe this was his territory or maybe it was here to claim it. Either way this was no place for me or my son. I ran back to Sunny and quickly gathered our things. It appeared we were being evicted from our happy home.

             
I could hear it getting closer. I was praying we could sneak out unnoticed. It was making his presence known by banging its fists on every surface it came in contact with. I peeked out the hole quickly again and I could see it now. It appeared it was looking right at me. It must be able to smell me. I tried my best to hide our scent, but I didn’t really know what I was doing. Something changed within it, it only took a fraction of a second, but I could see it went from claiming his territory to being on the hunt. I knew we needed to get out of here now!

Chapter 6

One Shot

             
Thank goodness I had all of our necessities packed. I grabbed the sling I used to hold Sunny and tied him safely in. He was not being quiet at all. His every cry was giving our location away. There was no way or time to sooth him.

             
I put our rucksack on my back and put my bat into the loop. It was still my trusty weapon when it came to hand to hand combat. However, I’ve never had to use it with Sunny attached to me and didn’t want to find out how that would work out. Our vehicle was located behind Stan’s and there were two exits to get to it. I ran to the hallway and pulled down the attic ladder. I climbed up and ran over to the peep hole. I couldn’t see him near the exit or by the car, but it was apparent he had already been there. The car was destroyed. The window had been smashed in and the front end was crumpled as hell.

             
I had a backup vehicle, but it was in the auto repair shop on the other side of the street. What was I going to do? The Jack was nowhere to be seen and for some reason it was silent. It could be anywhere. I ran to the other side of the attic and check to see if it was near the repair shop. Yet again it was nowhere to be seen.

             
Sunny was still crying his eyes were full of fear and panic. He was so loud I didn’t hear the Jack enter the building. I finally heard it when it knocked into the bells I had set up on the stairs. This must have surprised it as he was now grunting. I had never observed a Jack that was trying to be stealthy. I than ran over to the ladder. I had forgotten to close the trap door. I got to it just as he came into view.

             
Up close it was even more frightening. It had to have been a male at one point. He had to be near seven feet tall, his hair was past his shoulders and his beard was just as long. He wore barely any clothing, but was rather clean which was unusual. I could, however, see blood on his hands that looked relatively new. His muscles were tensed and his eyes crazy with the prospect of a kill.

             
He jumped for the trap door, but I closed it just in time. Sunny grew very quiet as the door shut. He knew this was no longer the time for tears.

             
The Jack went on a rampage I could hear him breaking the furniture and smashing in the walls. He was going to tear down the building from the inside out. I went to the small window in the front of the attic. I removed my blockade and threw out the rucksack and started to climb out. The Jack had managed to punch a hole through the ceiling and was attempting to climb up.

             
In a panic I jumped out of the window and slid on to the lower roof. There was no way down, but to climb over to the roof of the next store. I grabbed my backpack and hurried over to the building and climbed up onto the roof. A quick look down and I saw Sunny was still safe. It was a good thing I had added some foam to his sling to keep him protected.

             
The Jack was nearly in the attic. It sounded like the store was putting up a good fight, as he broke all of the beams and floor boards. The other store had a fire escape and I run over to it when I was nearly to the bottom the jack jumped out of the building onto the lower roof. He didn’t see me yet, so I froze. I was too far from the truck to run and if I did he would soon discover me. I had to use my gun, there was no other option.

             
I had been avoiding this. You have to shoot a Jack either directly in the heart or the brain to kill them instantly. If you shot them anywhere else it will simply piss them off. Once I shot one only an inch or so left of her heart and she kept on after me. She was fiercely bleeding, yet she still ran full force towards me. I shot again this time missing her completely and she got her hands around me before I had time to grab my bat. She was trying to ripe my throat out. I only had one option left. I stuck my free fingers into the bullet wound and tore at her heart. She soon bleed out.

             
I wouldn’t be able to repeat that with this Jack. He was nearly three times her size and now I had Sunny.

             
I slowly set down my backpack and moved Sunny around so he was on my back. I propped my gun on the rail to steady it. This was it, my only chance. I aimed for his right eye as I usually shot a little to the left. I took in
a very deep breath and I pulled the trigger.

             
The Jack fell to the ground instantly. I had done it. Sunny was now screaming, so I quickly put down the gun and swung him around and into my arms. I too started to cry as I held him. I realized I hadn’t made sure the Jack was dead, but as I looked over I didn’t see him moving so I look that as a yes.

             
A few minutes had passed and we had both cried ourselves out. Even though the Jack was dead this was no longer a safe place. I headed over to the body to give it one last check. I had shot him in the left eye as I had hoped. A perfect shot in my eyes. I walked with sunny against my shoulder over to the truck in the repair shop.

             
It wasn’t what I would have chosen, but it looked like it had been well maintained. I had previously loaded up the bed with gas and other supplies. I set Sunny into his makeshift car seat and placed a pacifier in his mouth.

I drove down Main Street and past the yellow house. I decided to take one last look at our sanctuary in the rear view window. The body on the ground was no longer alone. It appears we had been in another
packs territory. They were pummeling the corpse to a pulp and paid no attention to us. They must have heard the commotion and came to investigate.

The territory was theirs now. We would n
ever be setting foot in Fenton ever again. We were now on the search for a new home.

Chapter 7

The Barn

             
The sun was now rising and I started to feel a little at ease. There was no way the Jacks could have followed us this far. We had to be out of their territory, but that meant we were in someone else’s.

             
I parked in the middle of the freeway that was nearly void of vehicles. I wanted to be in the open so I could see if anything was coming. I gassed up the truck all while holding my gun at the ready. Sunny needed some attention as well. He was restless and needed to be held and played with. I did the best I could.

             
I changed him and gave him a bottle. He was no longer as active as a sack of potatoes; he needed space to spread out his arms and legs. He would be rolling over in a few months and I feared what it will be like when he can crawl and walk. There will only be a handful of months left that I can put him into a sling.

             
I laid down a blanket on the passenger seat and left him free to move. I checked out the area around us. The few cars were smashed in and there were several trees down in the surrounding woods. This really wasn’t a safe place, but I didn’t have any other options. Nowhere is safe these days.

             
I got out my map and looked for somewhere to set up camp. I was hoping for another small town with only a few buildings. We were now in Ohio. There didn’t appear to be much on the map and I couldn’t help but think about going south, maybe travel down the coast. Now there was a thought I hadn’t had before. The ocean. There were no Jacks out at sea. If I could find a boat, we could live out at sea. Sunny would be happy there.

             
But I didn’t know how to drive a boat. It would require fuel unless I got a sailboat. That would only work if I knew how to sail, which was definitely not one of my talents.

             
However, the more I thought about it the more I thought it was worth a try. From the map it looked like the ocean was a two or three day drive, but that was when the roads were clear of wreckage.

             
I needed a better vehicle, because I would probably have to do some off-roading. Sunny would also need some time out of the vehicle, so we would have to camp from town to town. With that factored in it would take us a couple of months to a year to get there. Why did life have to be so difficult these days?

             
I drove off in the direction to the nearest town hoping to find refuge. I had had it good in Fenton, a little too good. I had lived without Jacks for so long that I had kind of gotten used to it. The rest of the world wasn’t like that. There were still jacks everywhere. I could see this as I drove along. I could see them near the roads or off in the distance. I could see the remains of their meals on the grounds and their “homes”.  They seemed to sleep in any form of shelter they could find.

             
I stopped a couple more times to tend to Sunny and to eat. Then we came to a barn. It was getting dark and I didn’t see any other options. I was as loud as I possibly could be as we pulled up. I wanted to make my presence known. Nothing came out for us so I grabbed my gun. I parked as close to the barn as I could and put Sunny in his sling.

             
I slowly moved around the barn and finally entered. I checked every possible hiding area and finally decided it was clear. I opened the doors and drove in the truck. There was no good way to cover our tracks. There was only a small amount of daylight left, so I would have to hurry.

             
The barn door was secured with several boards and the windows that had been for horses, I believe, were easily boarded shut also. I got out all my weapons and laid them in all corners of the barn, just I case in found myself without one.

             
Should we sleep in the truck, where we could make a quick getaway or in the hay loft away from the Jacks if they decide to enter?

             
I decided Sunny would be happier in the lofts and we could jump down if needed.  I made a quick bed for the both of us out of hay and a few blankets. Sunny was happier then I would have suspected.

             
As I set him in between my legs he smiled a huge smile and giggled. He had been making noises for a while now, but this was a genuine laugh.  By some miracle, he was actually happy even in this hell hole. I couldn’t help but to laugh back at him and this soon became the best moment I’d had in over a year.

             
He started to yawn after a bit and we settled into bed. It was hard to sleep in this place. I needed to get some rest, but every noise made me jump awake. Sleep, however, won the battle and I slipped into a deep slumber.