When Kofi said Sunshine wouldn’t like what she saw, a number of bad images flooded into her brain. The pouring rain made her worries even worse. The dreadhead had to carry the girl due to her injury, though not even riding between his awesome biceps could erase the fear. She half expected him to run over a pool of green ooze.

  The giant rose towering over the buildings ahead broke those expectations.

  They were running to a place that used to be called “Newport” — a smaller city within Hallowsville near the 78 bridge. However, Jason’s reach only went from a town called “Hudson’s Murder” to another one called “Nightmare on Greensville” — two names that would’ve been cool if the person behind them wasn’t Jason.

  It was the same place Sunshine got shot in, so she knew for a fact that flower wasn’t there before.

  “Pretty cool, right?” Electricity burst from Kofi’s feet, blasting the two into the sky, inching them closer to their destination. He landed in front of the rose. “According to my RA guys, a girl with green skin showed up right before they could pick up your daddy. Then, that big ass rose shot up from the ground and brought him and the girl with it.”

  “Sunflower…” Sunshine murmured. The pain in her hip doubled just from thinking about her.

  “Sunflower? Girl, that’s a rose.”

  “N-no, that’s the girl’s name — Sunflower. That rose is a part of her Radius Ability.” A small part of her thought Sunflower had gone full traitor again, but she sensed no malice in the plant’s aura. It only emitted a deep grief that smothered the anger Sunshine wanted to feel.

  Kofi raised his hand, electricity coating his skin like a glove. “What is she? Ally or foe? I mean, I’ll attack anyway ‘cause it sounds fun to do regardless, but I just need to know if killing will be an option.”

  She bit the inside of her mouth, debating on if she should sick the electrical dreadhead on the teen. It’d be satisfying, but… not right. “Sunflower’s not a foe, but she’s not my ally either. Just see if you can take it down.”

  He cackled, dropping the girl carelessly. Sunshine winced, gripping her bandaged wound. She wished he’d be more careful with her, but you couldn’t change someone’s nature.

  One blink, and a beam of crackling white had already shot from his hand. It enveloped the rose’s thick stem. Given the heat of electricity, the flower should've burned away quickly. It fought back, sending a shockwave through the area that dispersed Kofi’s ability.

  Sunshine flew, but Kofi caught her. He landed back-first, skidding until his head slammed into a concrete slab.

  “Wah kinda madness dat!?” he laughed, sitting up. “Let’s do that again.”

  The mischievous grin on his face was enough for her to shoot that idea down. “I’d rather you explain why that rose is still standing tall.”

  “She must be either really angry or really sad for her aura to blast me back.” He lifted the hair out of his face. His amber-like eyes made her blush. “Hey, let go of my jacket. You’re gonna wrinkle it.”

  It wasn’t until his request when she noticed how tight her grip on him was. “I-I can’t walk, so you’ll have to carry me. And you have bigger problems than me holding your jacket, like how we’re gonna save my dad.”

  “We’re not saving shit if even my power couldn’t destroy that thing. It’s strange. While emotions can ramp up the power of someone’s aura and Radius Ability to the max, it should only be temporary. I’ve only ever seen a semi-permanent growth in power in Jesus Hernandez… and Daemon.”

  He said Daemon’s name with so much disgust that it confused Sunshine. Weren’t they on the same side?

  “If you can’t destroy it, then how am I gonna see Dad again?” She glared up at the rose, her fists shaking. “That girl is soooo annoying. I wish I could just give her a piece of my mind.”

  “That sounds fun.” Kofi ripped her off of his jacket and prepared to throw her up. “If she’s still inside, then just go and talk to her.”

  “What!? No!” Sunshine exclaimed, flailing her limbs around. “If she knows we’re trying to break in, then it’ll make the situation worse. Heck, she might accidentally hurt Dad in the process. We’ll have to take a different approach, ok?”

  “Yeah… like approaching in a way where she doesn’t notice until she’s already caught.” He began twirling his finger through his hair. “I guess Strawberry could do it, but if we used her portals then that’d take all the fun away.”

  “Who’s Strawberry? And what do you mean portals?”

  He lowered her back down. “She’s the one who fucked your cheek up. The leader of the Death Riders with the colorful hair.”

  Her name is Strawberry? I expected something a lot more serious.

  “She shoots portals out of guns. But without guns, Strawberry’s pretty average. She still one mad gyal.”

  That explained why she wanted information on where to find any guns, and asking for various types of firearms meant anything in her hands with a trigger could create a portal. But knowing that meant nothing when Sunshine didn’t have any info in the first place.

  “Are guns a rarity nowadays?” Sunshine asked.

  “Well, obviously they are. Most survivors had them during the first years of the New Earth, but the more people started developing Radius Abilities and the more factions rose in power, the less weapons there were for the little guys. Now if you want legitimate guns, you either gotta pay, steal, or sell your soul.”

  “That sucks.”

  “Capitalist societies always suck. The bombs were supposed to erase that shit, granting the freedom for anyone to do what they want. But people are so determined to get back to the old ways that they fail to see the beauty in this New Earth.” He spat on the ground. “Disgusting.”

  What the heck is a capitalist society? He’s just making up terms now. “Wouldnt’t Resource Adventurers have a decent supply of guns? Let's just ask them.”

  “Death Riders don't know about our supply, and if they did, they'd want more than we're willing to give. We make sure not to use them in their territory, and that's why an arrow hit you instead of a bullet.”

  “But you’re strong. You don’t have to do what they want. In fact, you can make them do what you want. And you must have a higher rank since you’re, like, one of the main members of the Underground Radius.”

  Kofi’s face scrunched up a little. “Those fucks only need my power. Not me.”

  Isn’t that the same thing?, she thought, narrowing her eyes.

  “And no, the RAs can’t just make them do what we want. There are things we can’t do or don’t have that the Death Riders can do or have. Our Resource Adventurers are entirely made up of unpowered losers. Since the Riders have a couple of dudes with Radius Abilities, we employ them to our Adventurer teams and have them protect our guys. In exchange, I power up all the things they use that need electricity and they let us walk through their territory without any trouble.”

  So each side had their own problems, and both worked together in order to fix them in ways they were capable of.

  Just like Jerome told her.

  If Sunshine wanted to gain the gang’s respect and cross that bridge, then she needed to find enough firearms to have all those pricks jumping for joy. It was possible Kofi could just say she was affiliated with the Resource Adventurers, avoiding the need for a long search. But after the first impression she made, that plan would go down in flames.

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  Heck, they’d dislike her more once they caught the fat lie.

  “If we can’t use the supply the RAs have, then where can we get one large enough to satisfy the Riders?” She paused. “You mentioned other factions having guns, right? Like the Corleone Family?”

  “Oh, I love those guys, but I hate doing business with them. But they always overprice shit since they know you can’t get it anywhere else.”

  “We’re not gonna buy from them, silly. We’re gonna rob them blind!”

  A twinkle appeared in Kofi’s eyes as electricity spiraled through his hair. “Yes. I like that. We’re gonna steal their shit and make sure they know it! Wi ’bout fi cause bare madness!”

  Sunshine preferred that anyone in that family didn’t know their plans, though the dreadhead’s look of manic glee definitely boosted her confidence. “So how are we gonna do this? Do they got a store around here or something?”

  “I don’t even know,” he answered, shrugging. “Oooo, let’s go ask Garlic and the guys! I’m sure they’ll know something.”

  “Who’s Garlic?”

  “Lightning Tag!”

  Electricity emerged from Kofi’s palm, morphing into the shape of a diamond. It then descended down and floated inches above the concrete.

  “With this, we’ll be able to find our way back here easy peasy.”

  “What is that? And who’s Garlic?”

  Kofi ran off with Sunshine without answering her questions.

  ********

  Sunshine and Kofi watched a group of Resource Adventurers set camp from behind a carousel. They were currently in a place called “Newport Green Park” — a waterfront with a mini beach where families in the Old Earth used as a city escape. The dreadhead’s body was tingling with excitement, causing her braids to slowly unravel.

  He sure is fired up, Sunshine thought, lifting her hair out her face. Or would electrified up be the better phrase here?

  She didn’t share the same emotions as him. Not only did they almost kill her, but since Kofi was allied with them, they probably knew about her disease.

  He sucked his teeth. “Why’re we still hiding? Are you scared?”

  “Do they know about me?” Sunshine asked, placing her hand on her wound.

  “They shot you. What do you think?”

  “No, I mean do they know about the Sunvirus?”

  “Everyone does — especially them.”

  She groaned, sliding her hand across her face. “No… do they know I’m the reason it exists?”

  He gave her a bored look. “And if they do? The fuck do you care for?”

  “The plan could be affected if they don’t like-”

  “The only one who’ll affect your plans is you if you keep overthinking everything.” He picked the girl up by her tank top. “And even if they did hate your guts, wouldn’t that make this more fun?”

  It really wouldn’t!

  Despite her internal panicking, Kofi dragged her right into the middle of the Adventurers’ tent. Sunshine covered her face, blocking her eyes from all the puzzled reactions directed toward them.

  “Why are you dragging that girl around like a toy, Kingston!? You were supposed to be watching her!”

  Sunshine peeked between her fingers and realized the person talking was the one who shot her.

  “Quiet, rookie! I’ll be doing the talking here!” And that was the scarface shouting orders at her. “Kingston, why are you dragging that girl around like a toy? You were supposed to be watching her.”

  “I literally just said th-”

  “Quiet, rookie!” Kofi cut him off. “Remember that story I told y’all about that talking zombie that invaded Underground City? Well, his name’s Jerome Hunter — the same zombie Sunshine was holding.” He pointed at Sunshine. “In other words, her daddy. Now she wants to get him out of that big ass rose.”

  “Two bombshells in one fucking day? Don’t ever change, man,” said a female Resource Adventurer, smoking a cigarette. Her hand was over it so that the rain wouldn’t put the cig out.

  “Can we discuss this inside our tents before the rain ruins our skin?” the rookie said, hovering his hands over his wet, brown hair.

  “Quiet, rookie!” shouted Garlic, opening up his tent. “Anyways, come inside before the rain ruins our skin.”

  The scarface, the rookie, Sunshine, and Kofi all rushed inside the tent, while the other Adventurers took shelter in the ones they made.

  Once the four were settled in the surprisingly spacious interior, the rookie decided to make his opinions very clear, to Sunshine’s dismay.

  “Ok, I’m just gonna say it. I do not feel comfortable with this kid here with us,” he said bluntly, keeping his distance from her. “And I don’t just mean inside our tent.”

  “Yeesss, here it comes,” Kofi whispered, smiling like a kid about to open presents. “The moment it all falls apart.”

  “Nothing’s falling apart, Kingston, so stop whispering,” Garlic growled. He flicked the dreadhead’s forehead, though that only got him a shock to his system.

  “Try not to touch my body without me knowing it,” Kofi snickered. “Or else you’ll get the zaps. Unless you’re into that shit.”

  “I am not…” Garlic pulled out a tiny plastic tube from his pants pocket and shoved one end between his lips, pressing the top. A sharp hiss escaped it as she sucked in something inside. Once Scarface finished, he continued. “Although, I don’t entirely disagree with Salty. It’s dangerous-”

  “Wait, hold up!” Kofi covered his mouth, holding back his laughter. “His name is… Salty!?”

  “Your name is Kofi,” Salty said.

  If that was an attempt at a comeback, then it didn’t really make any sense. Was “Kofi” supposed to be a bad name?

  “And?” Kofi asked, leaning his ear in.

  “And… never mind, that’s a perfectly normal name. At least, compared to Salty.”

  “I think Salty’s a good name,” Sunshine muttered. Saying his name made her stomach grumble.

  “Uh, thanks for the compliment. Doesn’t really change how I feel though. No offense.”

  “None taken,” is what she ended up saying, but “some taken” was pretty damn close to coming out.

  “Look, Sunshine, we’re not worried about your character,” said Garlic. His breath smelled just like his name. “But after being told who you are, it’s hard to admit you’re not a danger to us. Not only are you against the faction who funds our country-wide operations, but your disease will be a real problem.”

  Salty nodded. “We had to smoke up all our grass just to increase our tolerance.”

  Smoke grass? What’s the point of making a fire in the rain? And I thought marijuana increased tolerance. It definitely increased mine after I ate it all.

  “But…” Scarface scratched his bald head. “Us Resource Adventurers deal with danger almost every day. Dealing with you, Sunshine, is just a part of the job, I guess.” He raised his hand to her. “If you need help for the time being, then we’ll lend it to you.”

  “Damn,” Kofi murmured, bowing his head.

  Unlike him, Sunshine wasn’t disappointed by the lack of conflict. Although, she couldn’t bring herself to shake the man’s hand.

  Garlic reeled his hand back. “Don’t worry about it. I understand.” He glanced at her wound. “If you had shook my hand, I would’ve been disturbed by how forgiving you were. Still, I apologize for that. We’ll work hard to gain your trust, ok?”

  His soothing voice didn’t match how intimidating he looked.

  “Ummm, who’s we?” the rookie asked, raising his hand. “Did we forget that this kid was eating zombies!? Like, straight zombie meat. That shit is melting in her stomach as we speak.”

  “Yeah, pretty metal, right?” Kofi chuckled.

  “What? No! She’s clearly not sick right now, so the other option is that she turns and then dines on meat that isn’t decayed. Why is she even here with us?”

  Sunshine caressed her bloody bandages. “I don’t like you,”

  “Bitch, I don’t give a fuck. I don’t like the fact that you’re gonna turn any minute now, and I’m gonna have to be the one to dispose of your headless body after we kill you because I’m the ‘rookie’.”

  “Quiet, rookie!” Garlic shoved the plastic tube back in his pocket. “It won’t be any minute now. It’s still the afternoon. If Sunshine shows signs by the evening, then we’ll do what must be done.”

  If it’s only the afternoon, then the day isn’t over yet. “Why until the evening?”

  “What? You wanna die now?”

  “I said quiet, rookie!” Scarface shouted one more time. He turned to Sunshine. “When we found you eating, it was seven in the morning, and now it’s currently four in the afternoon. If anyone sees that skin turn green or ooze spilling from your mouth, then you’ll be killed immediately. Do you understand that?”

  I guess that’s how long it takes for signs to show up for someone in my position. Sunshine nodded.

  “If? There’s no if in this situation,” Salty said, furrowing his brows. “The kid’s gonna turn. I’ll bet my left nutsack on that.”

  Electricity whirled around Kofi’s hand, his lips curling into a malicious smile. “I’ll take you up on that offer.”

  Beads of sweat dripped from the rookie’s face. “Uh… whatever. My confidence is all the way in the clouds for this.”

  “Can we not talk about nutsacks in front of a child, please?” Garlic sighed, shaking his head. “Anyways, explain what you intend to do to save your father, Sunshine.”

  After explaining the situation with the Death Riders and the guns they needed, Salty’s face turned paler than Sunshine on her worst days with the Sunvirus. Garlic could maintain the stern expression for as much as he wanted, but that didn’t stop everyone from noticing the flinch from the mere mention of the Corleone Family. Everyone besides Kofi didn’t find the situation amusing.

  Sunshine thought of a few things to say that wouldn’t hurt Garlic’s pride — words that would preserve the respect that a man with his work and in his position deserved to have. “Me and Kofi were already planning on going ourselves. It’s not your job as Resource Adventurers to handle guys like the Co-”

  “What do you plan on doing once you reach Manhattan?” Garlic questioned, rubbing the reddish-pink scars on his chin. “There’s nothing there of worth unless you’re looking to cause trouble with the many people and creatures fighting to make that city their home.”

  He wasn’t wrong. According to her dad, Manhattan was the first victim of the bombs ten years ago, and while it wasn’t totally destroyed, its reputation as the heart of New York certainly was. No one was gonna go to a city that served as a hub for the horrifying and the terrifying.

  Although, Sunshine wasn’t looking for a fight. “Someone told me about a doctor that was in the Central Islands who could fix what happened to my dad. I want to go over there and ask them for help.”

  Scarface gave an approving nod. “Good answer. It’s rare to find people willing to risk their life for someone else — let alone children. Who am I to be frightened if a child is more determined than I am?”

  “You’d be a very sane man,” said Salty. “What kind of idiots go against the Corleone Family and steal their stuff? You’d be better off buying it.”

  “I don’t wanna increase their financial power,” said Sunshine. “I just wanna know if there’s any place close to here where they sell firearms.”

  “A mall, I’m pretty sure.” Garlic pulled out a folded piece of paper from his chest pocket. He then unfolded it, revealing a large hand drawn map that depicted Hallowsville and all the towns surrounding it. He pointed at a box traced with green marker. “Yep, Newport Centre.”

  Sunshine’s mouth opened in awe at the amount of detail implemented into the map. From towns, to attractions, to all the stores in those towns — it was even better the map in the Status Board. “Wow, this is cool. Did you draw this yourself or was this a team effort?”

  “Did it myself. I used to draw a lot in my youth. Wanted to be a rich artist. Nowadays, I just do it for fun.”

  Kofi leaned in to get a closer look. “Your idea of fun is spending days drawing a map?”

  “Two hours on this one.” Surprisingly, he took out two more maps from his other pockets and handed them to Sunshine and the dreadhead. “Two hours on those too. Six hours in total.”

  “Six hours for all these heavy details!?” Sunshine exclaimed, her eyes shifting to every section of the paper.

  “If you’re gonna navigate through this area, then you’ll need my help,” Garlic said confidently. “Salty, it’s ok if you don’t want to come with us. I don’t intend to put anyone else in our team in danger if they’re not ready for it.”

  Salty gulped, and then slapped his cheeks as though that would erase his fears. “A-Are you kidding? I’m gonna go, but only to see the look on her face when she starts turning.”

  “Hold up. What about Jason?” With all the problems Sunshine was already facing today, she didn’t want to add the fact that a murderer could’ve added them to their kill list at any point today.

  “What about him?” Kofi asked, lacking the care for the situation she wished he had.

  She purposely hadn’t told the electricity user everything that happened in Hallowsville, including what Jason told her. ‘Cause once that conversation starts, it would only lead to more questions — questions Sunshine didn’t want to answer. “I, uh… heard from the Death Riders that he’s been going on daily killing sprees. We should be more careful, right?”

  Kofi’s eyes narrowed. “Daily killing spree? While I guess the Jason situation is becoming more known, only the Underground Radius and the RAs know he’s been doing it daily so far. The only way you’d know about that is if Jason told the Riders about his plans, or he told you.”

  Sunshine hesitated to speak, but she decided lying wouldn’t get her anywhere. “He… told me in Hallowsville… before letting me leave with Dad.”

  “He let you leave? And not as a corpse?” Kofi paused, pondering her words. “Eh, whatever. Thinking about the whys is tiring. You’re only bringing him up ‘cause you’re worried, right? Well, don’t be.”

  “Why?”

  “Remember that Lightning Tag I used before? I put one on him weeks ago. Before you got captured. At first, it was just to play a prank on him, but now it looks like I’ll have some real fun with it.”

  “So where is he now?”

  Kofi closed his eyes. “According to my tag…” He opened them. “Florida. Orlando, Florida. Taking a nap on the beach. Gosh, that sounds fun. I always wanted to visit that place.”

  Relief washed over her as she exhaled. “Ok, good.”

  “Alright, men.” Garlic glanced at Sunshine. “And girl. We’ll head out the moment it stops raining. Let’s pray for a successful adventure.”