The Dark Days Series | Book 2 | Sanctuary

by Cole, Christopher

  “How many scores was that?” Molly asked.

  “I wasn’t keeping count!” Ashley said.

  “Well, I think I scored a couple of three pointers, so I think I got the high score,” Jess stated confidently.

  “Yeah right,” Patch said sarcastically.

  We chuckled for a little bit until I noticed Molly staring at something. I looked over and she was looking at Ellen at another table with some other kids. I don’t remember seeing any other kids in the group that came from Oregon, so maybe she had made some new friends.

  I looked back at the others and Patch asked, “So seriously, like how bad is she?”

  I sighed and explained, “Well, last night when we were having dinner Clara asked me if it was really true that I saved Izzy’s life. I answered yes and she asked how. I told her I didn’t want to talk about it. Ellen started mouthing off like, ‘Why don’t you want to talk about it? Maybe you lied about it?’ – that made Clara angry.”

  My friends sat there in silence giving this blank look. After having gone through a life-threatening experience, hearing someone trivialize it felt very wrong. Molly, especially, looked this way as she blinked several times and then tilted her head. I could feel the dread rising within them, it was just oozing out as they tried to stay calm – it was written all over their faces.

  “Lied? She actually said that? She said you . . . lied about it?” Patch asked in a clear tone.

  I nodded.

  “You saved me from a fate worse than death and you’re telling me that Ellen is saying you . . . lied about it?” Molly asked.

  I nodded.

  “What did you do after that?” Jess asked.

  “I said that I had to kill zombies and humans,” I answered.

  Carrie got up and said, “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

  “Where are you going?” Ashley asked.

  “I’m gonna have a little chat with her.”

  I got up and called to her, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Carrie. Just hold up.”

  “This will only take a second.”

  “Carrie! It’s best to leave it alone,” I said grabbing her arm to stop her.

  She stopped to look at me.

  “Look, she’s in pain, too – she lost her brother, it was her grief talking.”

  “That doesn’t mean she can say or do whatever she wants.”

  “I know, but it’s best not to aggravate the situation with her, that will only make things worse.”

  Carrie glared at Ellen then looked back at me and gave a slight nod. We sat back down and finished our lunch. We went back inside to finish classes and then got on the monorail that headed back for the house. I was going to follow my friends back to the apartment to see Will, Kayley, Tracy, Jeff, Faith, and Father Lawrence. On the way back, I saw the big lighthouse on the Northern Rock.

  The light wasn’t working but I couldn’t help noticing how pretty it was. I suddenly remembered the lighthouses from the Outer Banks and started comparing them with the Crescent Lighthouse. It looked like half the height of Ocracoke, not too tall and designed differently. It had a stone platform with a fence on top to prevent people from falling or climbing over the upper railing. Unlike most lighthouses that are built wide at the bottom and thinner as it goes up, Crescent was built more cylindrical, like Oak Island. The lighthouse was built thicker than any I’d ever seen and looked like it was built to last. Most of the lighthouses in North Carolina were made of brick, stone, and concrete. Practically all lighthouses on the west coast were smaller and shorter since they were already perched high on cliffs or bluffs overlooking the ocean; many east coast lights were at or close to sea level and needed to be built higher so the light could be seen by passing ships. Crescent Lighthouse may be one of the taller lighthouses on the west coast of the United States, despite being on a cliff.

  “Awesome lighthouse,” I said aloud.

  “Yeah, wish we can go see it,” Carrie stated.

  “Maybe someday they’ll let us. If not, then we’ll sneak out and I’ll take you there.”

  Carrie smiled and hugged my arm, “I’ll consider that a date.”

  We chuckled and Ashley asked, “Oh? You gonna leave without us?”

  “Of course not! I’ll take you guys, too,” I promised.

  “Good!” Molly said, hugging both Carrie and me from behind.

  When we reached our stop, we stepped out and headed back the way we came and as soon as I went toward the apartment, Ellen called out.

  “Hey, moron! Not that way, the house is this way,” Ellen called.

  My friends glared at her.

  “I’m visiting my friends, remember? Tell Mom and Dad they’ll be coming to visit for dinner,” I replied.

  Ellen rolled her eyes and started to walk away. Carrie clenched her fists.

  Carrie spoke in my ear, “One of these days she’s gonna push someone too far with that shitty attitude of hers.”

  “Yes, but better that person be someone else and not you. That way you don’t have to take responsibility.”

  “He’s right, let her be angry and eventually she’ll cool off . . . hopefully,” Ashley said.

  “Alright,” Carrie remarked adjusting her hat again.

  We went up the stairs to the apartment, but the place was empty. We assumed everyone must still be working at whatever jobs they’d been assigned. I noticed the Polaroid camera was sitting in a charger on the kitchen counter plugged into the wall with all the manuals next to it. Patch went to the refrigerator to get us drinks while the rest of us relaxed in Will and Kayley’s living room. The living room was right next to the balcony, it didn’t have quite the view of the ocean like my bedroom did, but we could still see the water. I sat down on the couch looking at the ocean, and Patch came in with bottles of water. We chatted for a while about school until Will, Kayley, and Tracy came home.

  “Hey,” Jess said, as they walked in.

  “Hey, what up?” Will asked.

  “We’re good,” Carrie answered.

  “How was school?” Kayley questioned.

  “It was okay,” Ashley said.

  Tracy walked in with her shoulders slouching and whined, “Ugh, I’m so tired!”

  Tracy took her shoes off and laid on the couch with her head on my lap.

  “Hi, Tracy,” I greeted her with a smile.

  “Hey, Sunshine,” Tracy responded.

  “So, you all got jobs?” Molly asked.

  “Yep. I got work with the maintenance shop – electrical repairs in the city with Bob. Evan and Jeff work in the farming fields. I think Father Lawrence works in a general carpentry and repair shop,” Will answered.

  “And you and Tracy?” Ashley asked Kayley.

  “Hold up, before we answer that, let’s see if this works,” Kayley said, unplugging the camera and turning it on.

  Kayley flipped the screen up and aimed it at Tracy and me. “Smile!”

  We did and the flash from her camera lit. She pressed a few buttons and the photo emerged out of it.

  “God this camera is so cool! It’s like the old school Polaroid cameras but with all the cool new stuff as well. There are like a million things you can do with it since it’s a digital camera. You can print more than one of the same picture and you can control the color and print settings and it doesn’t use ink!” Will explained.

  “It doesn’t use ink?!” Carrie asked, amazed.

  “Yeah, it’s Zink, which uses heat to print the color on the photos.”

  “No way,” Tracy said amazed.

  Kayley looked at the photo and then came over to us with a joyful face.

  “I love this, Sonny! Thank you, I love this and I love you so much!” Kayley said.

  “I love you, too and I’m glad it put a smile on your face,” I said.

  Kayley planted a few kisses on my face and handed the photograph for us to see. It was like the traditional instant camera photos – the picture was in the middle and had the four white borders with the bottom being the bi
ggest to write something below the picture – it was also in a good size of 3x4.

  “Kayley, give me the camera and the rest of you get in there,” Will said.

  Kayley gave Will the camera and then bent down to lean in right next to my face as the rest of my friends got in the shot as well. Ashley, Carrie, and Molly got behind me – Ashley stood in the middle with her arms around Carrie and Molly’s shoulder. Molly and Carrie had an arm around Ashley’s shoulders. Patch sat next to me with Tracy’s legs over his lap while flexing his arm like that woman from that ‘We can do it!’ WWII propaganda poster and Jess sat down on the floor between Patch and I with her head covering Tracy’s belly. We all smiled as Will took the photo. It was a great photo.

  “Now you and Will. Both of you stand by the window and I’ll get the sunset behind you,” Molly said.

  “Okay here,” Will gave her the camera.

  Will and Kayley held each other close like couples do with the sunset behind them, and Molly took the picture, another to the collection. After Will and Kayley looked at the photo, they smiled at each other and kissed. This was making me pretty happy. I smiled at my friends.

  “I love this photo,” I stated, looking at the one with all of us.

  “Me, too,” Carrie smiled.

  “That’s a keeper,” Tracy said.

  “We’re gonna need a scrapbook or a board to keep all these photos,” Ashley stated.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Molly agreed.

  “What I need is a good long rest after today,” Tracy said.

  “Got no problem with that, no sir,” Patch voiced.

  “Anyway, Tracy and I have jobs in supply and inventory,” Kayley answered.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “We organize, shelf, and package supplies for the people in the Fort. Think of it like doing volunteer work at the food bank,” Tracy answered.

  “Oh.”

  “Actually, Father Lawrence met a few other priests when he went with us for work,” Will added.

  “Oh, he did?” Jess asked.

  “Yep, think that made him feel a little more at home. Tomorrow, he’ll go to their church to meet Father Aberforth, head of St. James Church.”

  “That ought to be nice,” Ashley said.

  “Yeah. Oh hey, Kayley, don’t cook anything here. I told Ellen that I would bring you guys over for dinner,” I said.

  “You did?” Kayley asked.

  “Yeah, you guys wanted to meet the Way family, right?”

  Tracy sighed, “So, you’re really doing this thing?”

  “Yeah, come on guys. Once you meet Clara, you’ll see she’s very sweet, just emotionally confused,” I explained.

  Father Lawrence walked in hearing our conversation, “Well I think Sonny, or Nathan I should say, has a good heart for making this decision. It’s better than leaving an innocent soul in depression and hopelessness.”

  Carrie asserted, “His name is Sonny. When we’re in their house we’ll call him Nathan, but in here— “

  “No, it’s better to start calling me Nathan everywhere, if Clara hears people calling me Sonny she’ll wonder why and . . . well, it may fall apart from there,” I claimed.

  “Alright . . . Nathan. Whatever you say,” Ashley said, with a frown.

  I looked at Patch and gave a look that we needed to talk about something else.

  Patch grabbed the camera and aimed it at Father Lawrence, “Father, let’s take a picture of you by the balcony.”

  “Okay,” Father Lawrence agreed.

  He stood by the balcony door with the sunset right next to him and Patch took the shot.

  “Looking good Father!” Patch said, holding the photo.

  Father Lawrence smiled as he looked at his photo and was even happier when we showed him the others. We all hung out until everyone else showed up and then went to the Way house for dinner. Everyone showered and dressed nice before heading for the Way house. Faith brought some food with us since there were so many of us coming for dinner. Jonathan greeted us at the front door as we arrived.

  “Welcome,” Jonathan said to us.

  “Hello,” Father Lawrence smiled.

  Everyone went through the hallway to the kitchen. Jonathan and Clara cleaned up too – they dressed nice for tonight’s dinner as well.

  Clara smiled and greeted, “Ah! You came! I’m so glad to see you all here.”

  “Hello,” Will said.

  “I’m sorry we never fully introduced ourselves to the rest of you when we first met. I’m Clara, Clara Way. This is my husband, Jonathan, our daughter Ellen and of course you know Nathan,” Clara said.

  “I’m Will, William Jay, and this is my girlfriend, Kayley Star.”

  Clara smiled as she shook their hands, “Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” Kayley greeted.

  “I’m Tracy Amber, this is Jeff Wells and his wife Faith, and Father Lawrence,” Tracy introduced.

  “The little ones are Ashley and her sister Carrie, Molly, Patch, and Jess,” Kayley added.

  Clara’s eyes widened and expressed, “My, my, Nate! You have so many friends!”

  “Yeah, I do,” I said.

  “We really appreciate you coming,” Jonathan said.

  “Listen, I can’t thank you all enough for bringing my son back to me. When we got separated in Oregon, I was terrified that he was gone forever, but then there he was. Alive and back in my arms again,” Clara said wrapping her arms around me.

  “Is that so?” Tracy asked.

  “Yes, I even had nightmares about it. I used to cry myself to sleep when he wasn’t there. The mere thought of Nate being gone was just—” Clara said, with her voice breaking a little.

  Tracy’s eyes widened as she saw the pain in Clara’s expression.

  “Seeing him again was . . . like I was able to feel the sunshine again. I honestly and truly can’t express how grateful I am that you brought him back,” Clara said, with watery eyes.

  I looked up at her and she leaned down to plant a long kiss on my face. My friends exchanged looks at each other before speaking.

  “Well, we’re glad that he’s alright. You got one hell of a kid here,” Will stated.

  “Yeah, he and these kids fought hard to get here,” Kayley added.

  Jonathan nodded and said, “I don’t doubt it.”

  “So anyway, now let’s get some food in our bellies!” I said.

  Everyone sat at either the dinner table or the counter and over the meal talked casually for a long time of trivial things, the subjects that never come up when you are struggling to survive. It felt strange – all of us together eating dinner and talking – this was what normal people did before the outbreak, but nothing was ‘normal’ anymore, it felt a little like pretending. Maybe that’s okay, maybe they needed it. Last night Jonathan was begging me to play along as their son and now here we are together sharing a meal like neighboring families without a care. By the looks on my friends’ faces they seemed to like Clara – she’s a hard person not to like. She has a genuine openness that invites trust and draws people to her. I think they had concluded she wasn’t crazy – they were all smiling and laughing. As nice as this was, the only person who wasn’t smiling at all was Ellen. So far, she hadn’t said a word since my friends arrived. Jonathan kept looking her way and I could see she was making Jonathan anxious.

  “That’s quite a theory you’ve got about zombies,” Jonathan said, amazed by Father Lawrence’s explanation of zombies and the human soul to be released within.

  “I’d like to think that God has some purpose for all of us, whether it's small or big, but it’s the choice in which we find our particular purpose that gives us earthly gratification in this life. I believe mine is protecting our fellow man . . . and woman – but especially, the children,” Father Lawrence explained.

  “Amen to that,” Faith and Jeff said in unison.

  Pointing to the water, Will said, “You know they’re working on getting boats out th
ere so we can fish for food.”

  “Yeah, I heard about that. I can’t say that will be better work than farming or labor,” Jeff said.

  “Some people like the smell of low tide and fish,” Faith mentioned.

  “I don’t mind the ocean and I do like fish, but there are certain smells I can’t stand,” Will stated.

  “Which is why it was fun for me to drag him with me to Belk and Macy’s,” Kayley said.

  “What?” Clara smiled.

  “Holiday shopping was pure torture,” Will said.

  “Word, brother,” Jeff added.

  Everyone chuckled.

  Then all of sudden, Ellen noisily got up from her seat and marched up the stairs. Her exit ended the mood and our laughter.

  “Ellen!” Clara called out.

  “Damn. I’ll talk to her,” Jonathan said, under his breath getting up.

  “Is everything alright?” Faith asked.

  “Hope that wasn’t our fault,” Jeff added.

  “No, please continue your conversation and eating,” Jonathan stated, heading up stairs.

  We finished our meals and my friends got ready to head back for their apartment. Since it was Friday, we didn’t have school tomorrow and Will remembered that he got a job for my friends. The job was basically delivering home supplies to families and people throughout the city. He asked if it was alright for me to join in and Clara said it was okay.

  “Thanks for the dinner, Clara,” Will said.

  “My pleasure, please come back anytime. You are always welcome here. Don’t be strangers,” Clara said being friendly.

  “It makes us happy to see Nathan, too,” Kayley said.

  “If you’re up for the job then I guess we’ll see you tomorrow,” Patch said.

  “Yeah, see you tomorrow,” I replied.

  “Well, goodnight, Sunshine,” Tracy said.

  Tracy and Kayley both hugged me especially tight.

  “Goodnight,” I said smiling, thinking girls feel pretty good sometimes.