Under a Broken Sun

by Kevin P Sheridan

  The shattering woke up the whole world. “Over here!” Someone shouted. I ran though the shattered remnants of the front sliding door, turned, and saw Tommy running for me.

  “Adam,” he pleaded. “Wait.” But I couldn’t. He had a mob after him armed like the soldiers they pretended to be. A single gunshot erupted and Tommy dropped like he just ran into tripwire. He fell and didn’t move, and I didn’t hang around to find out how bad it was.

  I ran to the side of the building towards the horses. I climbed aboard mine, and left Tommy’s bucking and neighing from the shots. I didn’t want to drag anything extra along. I still had my backpack but Tommy had half the food. Including the baby food. I couldn’t go back empty handed. Didn’t matter now. I kicked the horse into a gallop, clung to the saddle horn for dear life, and bounced away, never looking back.

  12.

  The sun rose with a fresh smell of nature, and the solitary calls of a bird. My chin drooped to my chest as I struggled to stay awake; and my mind spun so fast with thoughts and questions that I thought for sure I'd devolve into madness. I just wanted to fall asleep and wake up in a normal world. With all the insanity, I never stopped to realize how utterly alone I was. People think of being alone as being without any other human beings. But I had Marilyn, Ashley, and, well, I used to have Tommy. Still, that didn’t clear up the loneliness. I think you can be surrounded by people and still feel alone, because none of them know who you really are. Even though Marilyn and I were cutters (was she cutting now?) she still didn’t know me well enough to know how I felt. And that means she didn’t really know who I was. No one did.

  Not even my dad.

  I clung to the hope that if anyone had to learn more about you, had to care about you and how you were feeling, it was your dad. Especially in a crunch like this, right? Ok, so he never did know me as I was growing up, but he left me that message. He trusted me with his info. He must’ve cared.

  I’d find out soon. But how soon? The Whackjobs were on the move to Chicago. They thought the antichrist was there. They’d burn the city to the ground. Forty-five of them here, how many elsewhere? I had to get to Chicago. I had to leave now.

  I came to the top of a hill, and below us Tommy’s house and barn spread out like a painting. I knew better now and covered myself in sunscreen.

  I could see for miles around on this hill, but there I didn't have the luxury of time to enjoy the scenery. White streaks of foam dripped from my horse’s mouth, and the air felt as dry as a photograph. Dark patches along the horse's neck showed the sweat gathering, and matched the stains on my own gray t-shirt. The horse threw his head back, breathing shallower, pleading for a break. I looked for any kind of shelter, but the nearest thing seemed to be Tommy’s house. Maybe that clump of trees up ahead. Yeah, I could just rest there for a while. Let the sun go down some more. What the hell, I've got all the time in the world, right?

  I kicked the horse forward, getting the hang of making it respond to my commands. I turned to see where I had come from, how far it really was, now that it was daylight.

  I didn’t have all the time in the world.

  Behind me, in the distance, clouds of dust spiraled up in the air as troops, hundreds of them, marched in formation from where Tommy and I stood not three hours ago. Way in front were three men on horses. One of them had binoculars, and although the horse riders were no bigger than the tip of my thumb, I could see from where I stood that the binoculars were pointing at me. They were following me.

  I kicked the horse into high gear, and reluctantly it obeyed, galloping down the hill to Tommy’s house. We had maybe five, ten minutes.

  I threw open the door, saw Marilyn shoot up, and the baby, asleep on the floor, let loose a startled cry. “Where’s Ashley?” I asked. Marilyn sprung up and wrapped her arms around me.

  “Oh God, we thought you were dead,” she cried into my neck.

  "You ok? Where's Ashley?"

  “She’s upstairs,” she said. “With Tommy.”

  Ashley came downstairs. “Adam?” She ran the rest of way to me and wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her head in my chest. “I’m so glad you’re ok,” she said.

  “Tommy’s back?”

  “Yeah, upstairs. He got shot in the shoulder too. Like me.”

  “Is he ok? Good enough to walk?”

  “Probably, why?”

  I looked at the two of them and then started moving, throwing things into my gym bag and backpack. “No time to explain. We’ve got to move. They’re coming.”

  “Who?” Marilyn asked.

  “The...whatever they are...those nutjobs that shot Tommy. They followed us here. C’mon, move! Ashley, go get Tommy. Ask him for a backpack or anything he can spare. Pack as much as you can but only what we’ll need. You know the list.”

  Ashley shot upstairs. Marilyn didn’t move. She simply turned, bent down, and lifted Eve up to her shoulder. “Adam, I’m not going,” she announced.

  I stopped packing. “C'mon Marilyn, quit fucking around. We've gotta move.”

  She sat down on the couch.

  "You're serious."

  "It's Reverend Hill's followers, isn't it?"

  I nodded. She looked up at me. "They won't stop chasing you. And we can’t keep hauling Eve around. It’s not safe out there for a baby and she'll slow us down.”

  "Then leave her," I said.

  "Are you insane?"

  I knelt in front of her. "Marilyn, in ten minutes they'll be here and they can take care of the baby."

  "I can stall them, redirect them. I know these people, Adam; I was brought up by them."

  “Jesus, Marilyn, these guys will kill you. They’re serious.”

  “They won’t hurt the baby.”

  “Bullshit. I’m not willing to take that chance. C’mon.” I grabbed her arm but she pulled it away.

  “No.”

  “Marilyn. They. Will. Kill you. No bullshit.”

  This time she took my face in her hands. "This is what I'm supposed to do. I know it."

  I held back the tears, and fought back an army of anger. Why was she doing this to me? Now? "I need you," I said.

  "Not as much as you think."

  She leaned back and gave Eve a bottle - a real baby bottle. “Where’d you get that?” I asked her.

  “Tommy brought it back for me. Go. Before they see you. I'll be ok."

  Tommy? He was shot. If he did manage to get a bottle with milk or formula or whatever the hell Eve was drinking, he didn’t find it when we were searching. He was given it.

  “They won’t hurt the baby,” Marilyn repeated.

  Ashley came downstairs with Tommy. In the distance, I could almost hear the marching footsteps on the ground. I saw Tommy with a bulge in his back where the fresh bandages were.

  "You son of a bitch," I said walking towards him.

  Ashley pushed him back. "Adam, what's your problem?"

  "You led them here, you DUMB SON OF A BITCH!"

  I went for his throat. How could anyone be so fucking stupid? “You accepted their gifts. They probably would've given you a lift. Made themselves out to be real sweethearts for you didn’t they?”

  Ashley pushed me backwards with a strength I would never have guessed she had.

  "Dude," Tommy said. "I didn't have a choice. What was I supposed to do, just stand there? They patched me up. They let me live. So FUCK YOU if you don't like it.”

  He pushed past me. Ashley looked up at me as she marched past as well. "Nice, Adam. Real nice."

  I turned to Marilyn. She smiled up at me and then pulled Eve up to her lips and kissed her softly. "Go."

  I wanted to yell at her, tell her fuck herself. Scream like a fucking kid. But I couldn't. I bottled it up, safe in the thought that I had a little sharp knife that would open that bottle later. Fuck infection.

  I turned to go. Ashley looked at Marilyn, a tear forming in her eye. She bent down, picked up a small teddy bear that was lying on the ground, and handed it to Eve. To
mmy, standing next to Ashley, said, “You gonna be ok, Marilyn?”

  Marilyn looked up at him with eyes glistening and smiled. “We’ll be fine.”

  Tommy opened to the door and Ashley supported his weight with an arm around his waist as they left.

  Marilyn smiled, stood up with Eve. An explosion not too far in the distance got me moving. Marilyn went to the kitchen and disappeared from view. The three of us high-tailed it out. I hated Marilyn for leaving me. For fucking us up. But I loved her, and that hurt worse than cutting.

  As the sun rose higher in the sky, it seemed even the trees were sweating. Or maybe melting. I felt lightheaded, and as soon as we hit the forest up the side of the mountain we dismounted. After a walk we came to a break in the woods, and looking back, we had a perfect view of the landscape behind us. The army stopped in front of Tommy’s house and the three men on horseback dismounted, entered the house. The soldiers looked like they were done for the day, as tired as we were.

  Less than a minute later I jumped as a shot rang out. I closed my eyes.

  Marilyn.

  Maybe they wouldn’t kill the baby, but they’d sure as hell kill Marilyn. I slumped down next to a tree. I couldn’t feel my body - a shock wave rippled through it as numbness replaced life. They killed her. The motherfuckers killed her.

  Ashley bawled behind me, Tommy put his arm around her trying to comfort her, but fuck them.

  Marilyn was dead. And I was gonna make sure Hill answered for it.

  13.

  Dense forests carpeted the hills around Tommy’s house which kept the heat at bay for the rest of the day. When we woke up, the sun was setting, and the sky turned that blue-purple color that to everyone else seemed beautiful. To me it spelled doom. The atmosphere was hosed; UV rays from the sun pounded down on us, as my sunburn continued to remind me. The Earth had become a microwave.

  I shuffled over to the gym bag and grabbed a protein bar and water. I split the bar into thirds, had my share, and drank a third of the water. Not much to go on, but at least it was something. Ashley stirred awake and Tommy snored like a motherfucker. Ashley took her share and sat on a fallen log.

  After a moment of silence she spoke. “This sucks.”

  I had to laugh. It was by far the most understated, obvious point anyone could’ve ever made. Ashley looked up and started laughing too.

  I heard a stream rolling nearby, so I followed the sound. Not sure if stream water would help, but it couldn’t hurt the BO.

  “Where you goin’?” Ashley asked.

  “Taking a New World shower.” I walked further up hill, could hear Ashley following, and saw the stream ahead. Not much more than three feet wide, it did have some water trickling down hill. It wasn’t a roaring river or romantic waterfall, but it’d do. I stripped off my shirt, knelt down, and scooped up the water over my head and back. It wasn’t freezing like I expected, but it sure as hell felt good on my burn - just not so good on my cut.

  Ashley came up behind me with no shirt on. No bra. Just pants. “What the hell?” I said, shocked into stumbling backwards.

  “Touch me and you die. Turn around,” she demanded.

  I did what I was told. I saw the bandages on her shoulder, dirty from sweat and halfway peeled off. Still, I turned away.

  “How’s the shoulder,” I asked.

  “Hurts.”

  “I should look at it.”

  “Nice try.” I heard her splash water over her body.

  “Ashley, get real. I'm not a pedophile. I just don't want it to get infected."

  “I already took an antibiotic today. I can tell it’s starting to hurt like an infection.”

  “I’d feel better if someone saw it. Made sure.”

  She stopped washing herself and sighed. “Fine.” She stood up, moved her hair away from her shoulder, and covered her front. I went over to look. I lifted the gray patch and examined her shoulder. Underneath, the little holes had all scabbed over, and I couldn't detect any smell or anything that might've been wrong.

  Ashley shifted away from my touch. She jerked away from me. “That’s enough. Is it ok?”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  She threw on her shirt. “Good. Then let’s head back.”

  On the return she looked over at me, at my arm. “How can you cut yourself?” She asked.

  I glanced her way. “Beats killing people.”

  “Is that why you do it? So you don’t hurt others?”

  I ducked under a low branch. “Something like that.”

  We came back and saw Tommy rummaging through the bag. “Hey,” I said. “What’re you looking for?”

  “Something more to eat.”

  “Nuh-uh, pal. We’re rationing everything. If there’s one thing people will be dying of it’s starvation. We need to conserve. Get used to it.” I grabbed the bag from him and shuffled through it. I pulled out a gauze patch and some tape.

  “Ashley, we need to change the bandage. It’s ok for now, but it won’t be for too long.” She let out a sigh, turned her back to me, and lifted up her shirt. Tommy whistled.

  Ashley shot him a look. “One more time, jock-boy. Whistle one more time.”

  He quieted down. Smart.

  “So what’s your story?” He asked Ashley.

  I taped up the gauze. “Yeah, what is your story?”

  She lowered her shirt. “I already told you. I was with my parents. I was in the stairwell when the plane hit.”

  “You were on your way to Disney,” I continued.

  “Right.”

  “Connecting flight from Columbus?”

  “Right.”

  “Then why were you in the parking garage?”

  Silence. I continued. “You were in the airport, when I first met you. But then I found you under a cardboard box. You acted all girlie and weak, but you know enough to know when your wound might be infected. You look fourteen but are really, what, sixteen?”

  "Seventeen,” she said. She looked down.

  “Really?” Tommy asked, his seventeen year-old bag of hormones suddenly interested. “Hell, I thought you at thirteen, fourteen tops.”

  “You’re a runaway,” I said. “How long you been on the streets?”

  Ashley stood up, her small, five-foot frame now looking very different than it did before. “About three years.”

  “Wow. So why do you wanna go back to Columbus?”

  “I’ve been gone long enough,” Ashley went looking in the gym bag, then the backpack.

  “How’d you get past security?” I asked.

  “I saved up. Got a ticket. One way.”

  Tommy chimed in, “So what’s with the psycho routine all of a sudden? Trying to act your age?”

  Ashley sighed and stood up. “No. We have to go back to Wal-Mart.”

  Not a good idea. “Are you kidding? No way.”

  She stared at me, as Tommy walked over to her, saying, "Ok."

  I stood up and pulled the gym bag over my shoulder. “Let me try again. No fucking way." I said, “First of all, that’s backwards. And it’s not a ‘just around the corner’ trip. Secondly, who knows what’ll be waiting there, or if there’s anything left. Let’s press on. There’s gotta be something up ahead, right?”

  I looked at Tommy for support. “No. Nothing other than farms. Next town’s twenty miles away.”

  I sighed. “Why the hell do you need to go back to the Wal-Mart? What could possibly be worth the risk?”

  “You guys forgot to get certain feminine products. Without it, I get very. VERY. Cranky.”

  I looked at her. At Tommy.

  “I’ll get the horses ready.”

  It took the three of us about five hours on horseback to get back to the Wal-Mart, crossing the other side of the mountain again, down to where Tommy and I first saw the dancing blazes of torches from the mob. Now only the fingernail moon provided any kind of light. The building sat sleeping in its little strip mall, waiting for the power juice to come on and wake it up.

 
; We went to the smashed front door, the peaceful exterior contrasting the destroyed interior. I lit a torch, and immediately saw the results of not only looting, rioting, and stealing, but of murder too.

  The rotting meat smell had only gotten more powerful. The heat of the previous day had roasted everything left inside, including decaying bodies. They hadn’t been dead long. My guess is that the “rationing” that the phony army guys were talking about didn’t happen. Which made me think – the government had no clue what to do, at least out in the remote areas like this. Maybe in the cities, but the rural areas had become forgotten wastelands overnight. How many more farmers and small town folk like these lay entombed in other supermarkets and stores?

  Ashley nudged me forward. I had to lift my shirt up over my nose to cover the smell, but my b.o. wasn’t a much better choice. Looking around, I could tell the chances of getting anything here would be slim – like the convenience store a few nights ago, this place had been picked clean.

  Ashley took the torch and marched right towards the pharmacy area. It took her all of two minutes to find what she was looking for. Women must have a nose for that. She picked out her favorite brand, and ripped open the bag, pouring the maxi-pads into my gym bag.

  “You really need that many?” I asked. She glared at me in the torchlight.

  She went to the pain reliever aisle, grabbed another bottle of pain pills, and then one for cramps and that kinda shit. I told her to keep them with her. “I don’t wanna mix them up and take yours. I might grow tits or something.”

  “Seriously?” She sighed again, zipping up the gym bag. “I swear, men are wussies.”

  We walked through the Wal-Mart. Goods were littering the floor, clothes scattered about off their hangers. The normally neat rows of toys, office supplies, even furniture spread across the floor like a bomb had gone off. We made it to the sporting goods section. The gun cabinet was completely empty.

  Tommy sifted around. “Need more rounds. We only have a few.”

  I didn’t see even a bullet. “Doesn’t look like they left us anything.”