Sunshine

Sunshine

Natalie Wenner

Sunshine

Chapter 1:
The Rising Sun

Chapter 2: It’s the New, Easier Way to Get Healthy and F
ast

Chapter 3: Color of Blood

Chapter 4: On the Run

Chapter 5:
Stan’s General Store

Chapter 6: One Shot

Chapter 7: The Barn

Chapter 8: Marcus

Chapter 9: A Shark by a Different Name

Chapter 10:
It’s Just You and Me

Chapter 11:
A Kind Gesture

Chapter 12:
Paradise

Chapter 13:
Silent Treatment

Chapter 14:
Glow

Chapter 15:
Family

Chapter 16: Hungry Mouths

Chapter 17: Private Hell

Chapter 18: The Colors

Chapter 19: Butterflies

Chapter 20: The Hospital

Chapter 21: Save One and Lose the Other

Chapter 22:
Boomerang

Chapter 23: Dr. Emma

Chapter 24: Bathing, My New Favorite Activity

Chapter 25: The Dark Side

Chapter 26: Ding, Ding

Chapter 27:
Finally

Chapter 28:
Dark Abyss

Chapter 29:
The Longest Day

Chapter 30:
My Story

Chapter 31:
Savior

Chapter 32:
Farewell

Chapter 33:
The Setting Sun

Chapter 1

The Rising Sun

              We were in an old, rotten building that at one point may have been a house. It now had half a roof and the floor was made out of rotten leaves, deer droppings, and moss. This was not a place to birth a child, but there was no other option. They were out there, hunting for us, and her screams could only be muffled so much. She was in serious pain, more pain then she should be.

“Rosa dear, I know it hurts, but the baby’s not
gonna come out on its own. You have to push” I said as I examined her. Of course I had no idea what I was doing. I had taken Sex Ed. in high school, but that didn’t prepare me for this.

“Emma
, something is wrong. It hurts. It hurts so bad.” This wasn’t right. Why was she in so much pain and why was there blood? I imagined there would be some blood, but there was more blood than anything else.

“Ros
a you need to start pushing now! I’m sorry, but this baby needs to come out. Next contraction you have to start pushing. Ok?” All I could see was fright in her eyes. The screams from outside were not helping either. I had my gun at my side, but if they came in now I doubt we would survive.               I’m sure they could smell the blood. The only thing saving us now was the decoy I had set a mile away. I sure hope the cow carcass would keep them busy for a few hours. Or at least until my hands were free.

Rosa started to push and her screams became louder. I hated myself as I put a piece of cloth over her mouth. She had not asked for this. Nothing we did these days were things we asked for. Life likes to shit in your lap, my uncles favorite saying now applies to everyday. I met Rosa only two months ago, but we became sisters instantly. She was like me
; a young intelligent woman, without anyone, and on the search for answers.

We had run into each other in a trailer park
. She flagged me down and we made ourselves comfortable in the sturdiest trailer. She was quite pregnant and had very little food, water, or ammo. That night I learned she had been beaten and raped by a man she had come across while on the run. When there is so little good in the world why someone would make it anymore evil is still a mystery to me. She was not weak though. She got away with her life and when her stomach started to grow she tried to care for the baby as best she could.

Oh my Rosa had to fight, she was so strong. She had survived the end of the world, the lo
ss of her family, and rape, how she could have so much fear in her eyes right now?

The blood was increasing. What do I do? We don’t have any medicine or bandages
, only some old towels and blankets. I wish I had some pain medicine or even some ice. I’ve tried to keep everything sterile and boiled it first. But how do I stop the bleeding?

At this moment Rosa pulled the cloth from her mouth. “Emma, listen to me. There is something very wrong. I need you to get this baby out of me. I don’t think I’m going to live through this.
So you have to take care of it. This baby is yours now. You be its mama. I trust you will keep it alive and one day when hell has ended, it will be able to live in a happy world like before. Oh and Emma, name it Sunshine. The world could use a little more sunshine.” Her smile is so genuine, so peaceful. There are a couple of seconds before I smile back and reply, “Of course I will take care of your baby Rosa, but you’re not dying. You’re a fighter. So fight Rosa.”

At that moment another contraction started and she pushed harder
than ever before. The baby started to crown, then within seconds he was out. I quickly cleaned him off. He was a little blue, but I could tell he was alive; he was a fighter like his mother. I rubbed him like I had seen a friend’s mother do to her dog’s puppy. He let out his first cry and I realized how beautiful he truly was with his blonde hair and soft pink skin.

I was amazed that there could still be such beauty.
I quickly cut his umbilical cord and tied it off with some string. I heard a noise next to me and I realized this was not a joyous occasion. Rosa was no longer screaming she was whimpering and the floor was now covered completely with blood.

With Sunshine in one arm I turned to Rosa and tried to stop the bleeding. There was nothing I could do. So I did the only thing I could think o
f. I showed her her son. She smiled as she looked at him and then the light was gone in her eyes.

My only friend, only family member was now dead and I had a newborn to tend to. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I wanted to punch something.
But I was a rational person, always had been, and I could do none of this right now. The screams outside were a reminder of this. They had to be about done feeding by now. I had to weigh my options.

We had planned on staying here, because Rose wouldn’t be able to travel for a while. But now that she was gone my optioned changed. I could still
stay; fight them off until I would have a chance to bury her. Or we could make a run for it. Oh how unprepared I felt. I had barely any infant supplies. We had stocked up on some formula, bottle, blanket and some clothes, but they wouldn’t last me long. Plus he would cry and attract them.

The thought of leaving Rosa body there
, simply abandoning it, seemed very wrong. She deserved more than that. The thought of what they would do to her made my stomach churn. They were really starting to get loud and I could tell there were a lot of them.

I had to get out of here. It was the only way I was going to keep this baby alive, like I had promised her. So I gathered up my supplies. I said one last good bye to my dear sister and covered her with a blanker. I then
poured the remaining gasoline over her and set it with my Zippo. It was the best I could do for her.

We then set off into the woods, Sunshine in a sling around my front, a huge rucksack on my back, and
my gun in my hands, ready to fire. It was going to be a miracle if we survived to see the light of day.

Chapter 2

It’s the new, easier way to get
healthy and fast

              The KX49 was seen as a breakthrough in modern medicine along with the shiny new attachment, The ISB. It would change the entire health care field overnight. Doctors were no longer the only ones that tended to your medical needs, now the internet itself could heal you. Maybe I should start from the beginning.

The year is 2
017 and technology and medicine have come together. The KX49 is, in simple terms, a computer in your brain. I always found it quite funny that your brain, your body’s computer, needs a computer too. It is simply inhaled into the sinus cavity and painlessly implants itself. The second it attaches it sends out a signal that connects to a server. It even powered by the electrical sparks from neurons in your brain.

The information it provides is truly amazing. It can tell you what your heart rate, blood pressure,
cholesterol is; it can even detect cancer cells. It can relay all the information any doctor would need to make a diagnosis and that is exactly what it does. Any doctor you give permission to view your information can, at any time from any place. It can even alert the nearest hospital if an emergency is detected.

             
Of course, the world had to have them. Nearly everyone from wealthy countries got them. I myself got one within a month. The real revolution in medicine came in 2025 from the ISB or the Immune System Booster, as the public called it. The KX49 could inform doctors if you had an infection and what kind of microbe was causing it, but it couldn’t do anything to help you. The ISB is implanted in the same manor; think of it as doing a tune up to your car’s engine.

             
It could do all that the KX49 could not. It would recognize the microbe and send out chemicals to boost your immune system and fight off the infection. There was no more need for sick days. The common cold was nearly extinct. Of course, it was no match for evolution. I’m sure if it all hadn’t gone so wrong eventually all the killing off of nearly harmless bacteria and viruses would have caused a superbug to arise. But that is a different story entirely.

             
The world came together, for once, and decided everyone who wanted one should have one, so even the poorest of countries received the implants by ways of donations. I got this implant a little later than most; because when I was in college I didn’t care about fighting off the common cold. I felt perfectly healthy. I actually received it a couple of days after graduation just to get my parents off my back. Only problem was it never worked. I still got a cold and had a cough. I later received a letter in the mail informing me my ISB was being recalled along with about one thousand others. Apparently something had gone wrong with the assembly process that prevented the ISB from linking to the KX49, so it never powered on.

             
I never made it back to the doctors to get the implant replaced due to my internship. I had landed my dream job, working in the Cleveland Metro Park Zoo tending to the elephants.

             
Life was happy for a year after the implants went worldwide, but then things started to change. It only took one five days.

             
Everyone was acting a little too happy for the first two days. There were nearly no couples fighting in my apartment building. The crime rate was at an all-time low, but this was the calm before the storm.

             
It was reported on the news in those two days of rapture, that the KX49 were reporting a very high level of testosterone in the blood streams of nearly everyone. It was normal for this high dose to cause a sense of peace and happiness in people. However, there was a very big concern about what the long term effects would be and what would happen if the levels got higher.

             
They had determined it was the ISB that were the cause. There had been a malfunction, possible from an outside signal or from the machine itself. Of course the first thought was a new form of terrorism. Instead of telling the body to produce chemicals to fight off infection it was telling the body to produce large quantities of testosterone.

             
The computer nerds were given one week to solve the technical glitch, and then all ISB would have to be removed. According to the news this was nearly impossible. However, doctor offices were removing the devices from those that could afford the procedure. They soon were overwhelmed and police officers were stationed at all doctors’ offices. The government issued a complete ban on removing of the devices to “keep the peace”.

By day three there was a change in the streets. As I walked to work I noticed a man on a ledge. They were trying to talk him down. It did not work and I turned away just in time to hear his body hit the ground. I turned my little ass
right back around and locked myself in my apartment.

             
I called home and both my parents were still acting like nothing was wrong. On the news there was suicide after suicide and several new murders. From my window I observed two men whom had been in a very minor fender bender beating the shit out of each other. There seemed to be a link. Almost all of the violence was being caused by men with violent tendencies. Apparently their bodies didn’t need any more hormones.

             
I wondered as I lay awake, why I felt perfectly normal. If anything I felt depressed by what was happening not happy or even violent. Then I realized that even though I had the same implants as everyone else mine wasn’t working. It had never powered on, so there could be no malfunction. As long as my ISB didn’t turn on I would be fine.

             
By day four I awoke in a nightmare. The news channel was still on, it now only showed chaos. There were no breakthroughs for repairing the ISB. There were also no more individual stories on the news. Simply clip after clip of violence and death. The stations were clearly on the brink of breaking. The women I watch looked as if she could snap at any moment. She was really trying hard to keep it together. It was as if she was the only one in the studio.

             
She reported that the world was going mad. Her words started to slur and her eyes were terribly blood shot. When she put her arm on the desk it even appeared she had a wound on it that looked like a bit mark. That couldn’t be possible.

             
No matter what she looked like I was absorbed by what she was saying.

             
“Attention. It appears that the ISB, the revolution of medicine, has become the end of us instead of our savior. Scientists, doctors, technicians, no one can save us now, as everyone’s minds have been hijacked. For those of you who did not receive the implant, because of personal choice and those few who were on the recall list I wish you well.

             
The Jacks are no longer human. You may see this as the zombie apocalypse come to life, but it is far worse as these are not the undead. Instead they are roid rage monsters. The last of my information tells me that the Jacks have become practically a whole new species.

             
The testosterone has taken over their bodies. They no longer feel pain, sympathy, happiness, or even mercy. Do not feel any regret for having to go to extreme measure to protect yourself. The Jacks can be killed in the same way a normal human being can, but the large amounts of hormones in their systems makes this harder to do.

             
I do not know what will happen to the world. If it’s possible the implants will fix themselves and everyone will go back to normal, or if they will kill themselves off, or is the human race now an endangered species. All I know is...”

             
That was it. The station went black and I started to become very aware of my surroundings.

Chapter 3

Color of Blood

              Why was there so much screaming outside? It was horrifying. I don’t know how I had ignored it.

             
I was frightened to pull back the curtains. Instead I decided to barricade myself in. I pulled a large dresser in front of the main door and quickly looked for a source of protection. I didn’t have much, some kitchen knives and softball bat. I had never felt the need to own a gun. Now that need was overpowering.

             
Feeling a little bit safer I tried to call my parents, but there was no service.

             
That is when real panic set in. Where my parents ok? And if I needed help who would come to my aid? What if I was the only sane person left on planet earth?

             
Ok that was getting a little out of hand. I knew a few people who had never got the implants. They saw it as an invasion of privacy like the government was spying on them. Some religions also saw it as an evil device and banded their members from getting it. Maybe they could find a way to fix this.

             
It was time to pull back the curtain.

             
I wanted to close it right away. There were fires in every building and people everywhere. They were turning over cars, breaking shop windows, and fighting each other. All were covered with blood. Dead bodies lied everywhere and some were even being eaten. They were working alone and in groups. Below my building a young girl maybe seven picked up a bike that was about her size and threw it farther then I ever could.

             
These were no longer humans they were the so called “Jacks” that the newscaster talked about. Suddenly a vehicle came into view that was moving. It crashed into a light post and the Jacks instantly started to beat at it. They pulled out a man and then he was covered by them. I could hear the screams intensify as he was being torn to pieces. Across on about the fourth floor of a business complex there was a woman hiding in a cubicle, it only took one Jack to end her life with one hit. One floor up a man jumped and landed in the chaos. These people must have been like me, a sane person in an insane world.

             
I didn’t want to look anymore. This was to be my fate, but I was distracted by a very old women. She was running to get to the man that had just fallen from above, but seemed to be slow from old age. She looked mad, like she was losing at bingo and wanted to strangle the announcer for not calling B3. However, when she approached a very large man stopped her and quickly ripped off her head in one fluid motion. 

             
I closed the curtain quickly just in time to vomit.

             
They killed each other and they killed humans. They used their strength to break down doors and pretty much everything else in sight. There were also the fires to look out for. No one and nothing was safe. Logic was out the window. I was now a gazelle surrounded by a pride of lions nearly ten billion in number. 

             
I had to reinforce the door. I added as much furniture as I could. Then I decided to take stock of my supplies and make myself up a bag in case I needed to make a quick getaway.

             
I filled my softball bag with food, water, basic medical supplies, a blanket, some hygiene products, a Zippo lighter, and some clothes. I had no idea what I would need and these seemed like the most useful. I should have watched more of the surviving the zombie apocalypse shows or read one of the survival books. I had always found them to be stupid and irrational. I was now kicking myself in the butt. Those doomsday prepers must be in their heyday.

             
It appeared after packing that I had enough food to last me a couple of weeks if the power stayed on and nothing happened to the water. That would be a miracle though. The screaming started to get louder and it became apparent I was not the only one occupying my apartment building. I felt safer being on the top floor, twelve stories up, but there were still four other tenants on my floor.

             
I couldn’t hear anyone on my floor, but it sounded like someone was wreaking havoc a few floors down. Maybe they would cause the whole building to come down and put me out of my misery.

             
Could I really survive this? I was only five foot four and weighed less than 110 pounds. I could run and swing a bat, because I had been playing softball my whole life, but this didn’t mean I was strong. I may even go crazy from all the screams outside.

             
While I was still sane I decided to leave a note for my family, if by some miracle they were alive and came looking for me. Their implants were working perfectly fine last I knew.

Mom and Dad,

             
I’m Ok. It wasn’t safe so I had to leave. Please know that I love you both. I don’t know where I have gone, as I am writing this before I make a plan. Be safe and don’t worry about me. Just keep yourselves alive.