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If eyes were lasers mine would be absolutely deadly. Scotty would be six feet under the ground right now. I’ve learned that he doesn’t know how to keep his big mouth shut.

“Come on, take them off,” Scotty says beside me. We made it as far as half an hour before Scotty began to beg me to take off my shades to see my eyes.

“What could possible go wrong if you show us your eyes?” Scotty tries to persuade me.

Ok NoName calm down, don’t strangle him out of annoyance. It won’t work well in your favor.

“Do your eyes have powers?”

Deep breath in NoName, and exhale calmly.

“I bet they do,” he says kicking a rock up the empty highway,” maybe they can work as lasers?”

Oh how I wish they did.

The deserted highway stretches on for miles ahead. The city is nowhere in sight. I think I may just throw myself to the corpses if I have to continue to listening to Scotty’s questions and unnecessary babbling.

“- really glow?” Scotty’s distant voice says suddenly pulling me out of my thoughts. He looks at me expectantly.

“What?” I ask, not turning to look at him but up at the road ahead. A lone corpse is stumbling up the highway toward us a few yards up.

“Do your eyes really glow?” he asks. I can feel his stare on my face as we continue to walk.

“Yes,” I say, “and enough questions.”

“I’ll shut up for the rest of the trip if you show us your eyes,” he says, trying to bargain with me.

Very tempting.

“No, just shut up,” I say rudely not regretting it.

“Ah, but I can’t if you don’t agree to my deal,” he says in a laughing tone.

Is this really funny to him? Won’t be funny when he gets punched.

My glare intensifies and Bunny seems to know this despite my shades blocking the view to my eyes.

“Scotty,” says the soft voice of Bunny,” just hush.”

She makes a silencing motion with her pointer finger to her lips to signal to Scotty to shut up in the polite way. But he’s Scotty, and I’m beginning to learn it takes a lot to shut him up.

“Oh Bunny, nice of you to join the conversation,” Scotty says beaming at her.

This is going to be a very long trip.

The sun has dropped completely behind the mountains, the sky colors make a colorful background for the raising full moon, and Scotty’s mouth is still moving at a million miles per hour.

“Are we there yet?” he says faking exhaustion in his voice. “It’s getting dark and I’m tired.”

“Yes we are almost there,” I say speaking the truth.” Before we go to the city we have to make a pit stop.”

“Pit stop?” Scotty says his voice suddenly guarded with suspicion.”

“I need to grab more arrows and get you guy’s weapons,” I say smirking at Scotty’s sudden change.

“Weapons?” Bunny asks unexpectedly.

My eyes are drawn down to behind me where she walks slowly and silently. She shyly looks at me with curiosity lighting her eyes with a bit of excitement showing on her face. She looks so innocent, but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe she doesn’t want to be so shy and innocent. Maybe she wants to be deadly like a weapon? I can feel my eyes soften behind my shades. I think I’m starting to grow a soft spot for her.

“Yes,” I say, trying not to let my voice soften like it wants to.” If we are going to head to the city you two have to be able to protect each other and yourselves.”

For the first time since we left the small town Scotty is quiet. He looks to be in deep thought. The corners of his mouth are turned down like he was just told something he dislikes. His eyebrows are drawn down slightly and his eyes are glaring at his feet. Something is wrong.

“Finally listening to me?” I ask trying to avoid asking him what’s really wrong.

“Huh?” he asks looking from his feet to me.

“You’ve finally shut up,” I say.

That may have been a bit rude, oh well.

“Oh no,” he says,” I was just wondering if we really have to learn how to use a weapon?”

My feet stop dead in their tracks.

He doesn’t want to learn how to defend himself?

“You don’t want to learn how to protect yourselves?” I ask, looking directly into his green orbs.

From the corner of my eye I can see Bunny clenching her fist.

Maybe it’s just him who doesn’t want to learn, little Bunny over there looks mad.

“We don’t need to learn how to,” Scotty says, his voice strong and certain.

“I’m sorry,” I say, sarcasm beginning to enter my voice,” but didn’t I just save you two from getting eaten to death by the corpses?”

“Yeah, but-” Scotty begins but I cut him off.

“If it weren’t for me you two would be zombie chow,” I say as my voice grows stronger and more final.” Besides if we are entering the city, you two won’t last a second  if you don’t know how to use a weapon.”

I turn around and continue to walk again. For once he falls silent and doesn’t speak a word till we reach our destination a while later when the night has turned cold and dark. The air echo’s with the sound of corpse’s dead groans and an occupational sneeze from Bunny. In the woods a little ways off of the side of the abandoned highway lays my cabin. The brown wood has begun to erode away and the cold rain has made mold sprout, but none the less it’s still as close as it gets to being home. I walk ahead of the kids up a path as familiar as the back of my hand. The wood of the steps groan painfully as I walk up them to the cabin’s front door. The sound of their footsteps stop suddenly. I look behind me to see Scotty and Bunny have stopped. Bunny hides behind Scotty.

She only hides behind him when she’s scared of something, or someone it seems, duly noted.  

“What’s the hold up?”   

“How do we know this isn’t a trick?” Ah he’s finally using his common sense, his danger radar has kicked on.” How do we know that there isn’t another person in there ready to kill us while you take your book back.”

“That would be a smart plan, but I don’t know anyone but you two, so I guess we are out of luck,” I say on an eye roll they can’t see. I glance at them and tilt my head in a motion that says,’ you coming?’ They still hesitate and I shrug at the untrusting vibe they are giving off.

Geez, they sure do have quick mood swings. Trusting and carefree one moment, serious and deep in thought the next, now untrusting and cold.

There is no warmth in the cabin when I enter it. A small smile graces my lips. I’ve learned that I like the cold, it doesn’t really bother me. In fact, I really enjoy the cold. I immediately get to work. Over the years I have already boarded up the windows with some ply-wood I found at a dump a few miles from here. It took about a week to get all the ply-wood I needed for the cabin. Not an easy task, having to lug big pieces of ply wood for a couple miles and avoid the corpses is harder than I thought it would have been. The boards covering the windows help keep the light from seeping into the dark night and attracting the corpses to my cabin. I learned that corpses like light the hard way. I can feel myself slipping off into my thoughts, which is why I barely missed the kids slowly creeping into the cabin in a careful manner. Scotty’s eyes dart to every corner of the small living room. He’s probably looking for my partner in crime. A snicker leaves my mouth before I can stop it.

“What’s funny?” Scotty asks still looking for my partner in crime. I shake my head at him and his actions while leaning down toward the fire place. A rusted iron bucket sits to the left of the fire place with small wood logs filling it. I reach down and grab five pieces quickly throwing them into the fire place. Above the fire place on its mantle are old fashion strike matches. My hand reaches above my head and grabs them. I pull the square box down and pluck a single match out of the box.

“So there really isn’t anyone else here?” Scotty questions from behind me.

“No kid,” I say lighting the logs in the fire place,” it’s just me.”

I can hear Scotty let out a relived breathe. Getting to my feet I can feel the warmth from the fire by my feet. To my surprise when I turn around Scotty is laying Bunny down on the couch. Her eyes are closed and her mouth in a frown. Scotty takes off the hoodie he was wearing and lays it over Bunny. Now he just wears a plain black T-shirt. At this rate he’ll freeze to death. Without saying a word I exit the room and enter into the back hall. The hall is narrow and dim, nearly dark. The room lays at the end of the hall. The room’s small, cramped, and bitter cold considering it’s the farthest room from the fire. A bed with too many lumps in it sits back against the back wall with a small boarded up window above it. It takes me three steps to reach the bed and rip the old black comforter off of the mattress. The closet at the side of the room holds an extra set of blankets that just happen to be pink and purple. In a moment’s time I am walking back into the living room. Scotty has moved to sitting in front of the fire pit with his back turned to me. I quietly walk over to where Bunny lays sleeping and replace Scotty’s hoodie for the blanket. Slowly her frown relaxes as warmth begins to surround her. Turning, I throw the other blanket at Scotty.

“Here.”

The blanket hits him and he jolts in surprise. A chair in the corner of the room calls my name as exhaustion washes over me in a wave. I plop down in the chair and instantly a chill rolls through my body. I forgot how cold wood can get when the cold falls over it.

“What about you?” Scotty asks signaling to the blanket I just gave him.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“But won’t you freeze to death?”

No, I won’t, but he doesn’t need to know that.

“I’ll be fine,” I say closing my eyes behind my shades.” Just go to sleep.”

The room falls silent for several moments. I was sure he was asleep till he said something that shocked my eyes wide open.

“Learning how to use weapons caused our father and mother to die, and it made us lose our brother,” he says in such a low whisper I almost didn’t hear it.” I can’t afford to lose her too. She’s all I have left.”