When the Sun Goes Down

Noah leaned back into his seat and let out a loud groan. He gently pushed his hand into his breast pocket and retrieved one of his large cigars. He pushed it in between his bearded lips and held a light closely to the tip. He puffed rythmically on the cigar until small puffs of smoke emerged from it. He clicked his zippo shut before shoving it back into place. Connor, Murphy and Sean sat back in front of the dead fire and tried their best to relax.

It had been a few days since the burial of Mama and everyone was on the edge. She was the only mother figure of the group, but they started to see some changes. Murphy, especially, noticed that Adrienne was quickly becoming the super woman of the group. Despite losing her mother, she had begun to take his advice and follow through with Abby. Murphy ran a hand over his chin and watched as Connor lit himself a cigarette.

With an annoyed glare, Murphy said, "Oh, thanks. I'd love me a cigarette."

Connor looked over and gave him a toothy grin. He pushed the pack in Murphy's direction and offered him a cigarette as well. He pushed one in between his lips and shoved his hand into his front pocket. He ran his zippo smoothly down his arm and held the small flame to the tip. He inhaled lightly on the first drag, knowing it was always the best one of the day. Whenever he woke up he loved to savour the taste of the first drag of his first cigarette.

"Sean?"Connor held the pack out to Sean, who easily declined.

"No way."He laughed quietly."I'm no smoker."

"That's a good thing."Murphy smirked.

"Ya could prolly out run us."Connor smiled.

"Or at least Da."Murphy cackled.

"Ya boys' are funny."Noah snickered."Ya may be faster, but I'm wiser."

"The fucks that got to do with any of it?"Connor asked.

"'Cause I can find a way to trip ya."Noah joked."So in the end, I win."

"Yer cruel, Da."Murphy laughed.

"Oh, no."Noah shook his head quickly and pulled his cigar from his lips."Yer Ma was always a hell of a woman."

"Ma."Connor and Murphy whispered her name.

"Wonder how she's doin'."Connor frowned slightly.

"I wonder how Ireland is doin'."Murphy sighed.

"The both of ya boys ain't got to worry about her."Noah assured them.

"Aye."Connor nodded."She's prolly a queen over there now."

"Prolly has one of them bastards as a pet!"Murphy cackled.

The boys' errupted into a fit of laughter at the thought of their own Ma keeping one of the infected as a pet. Sean leaned back into his seat and let his eyes graze down at the dirt. Noah continued to laugh loudly as Connor nudged Murphy's side. He followed his point and looked over at the young man beside them.

"A fuckin' pet."Noah smiled."I don't doubt it. Yer Ma's a tough woman."

"Ey, Sean."Connor plucked the cigarette in between his lips to continue on."What about yerself?"

"What about me?"He shoved his glasses further up his nose.

"Yer life."Murphy shrugged."Anythin' interestin'?"

"Not really."Sean frowned."Just a college boy trying to make it big. All I wanted was a nice house and some money in the bank."

"Aye."Murphy pulled at his half lit cigarette."Us to."

The group slowly grew quiet and allowed their thoughts to wonder. Every person in the group wanted one thing and one thing only; to live a carefree life. No one wanted to worry about bills or how they're going to eat for the night. It only took the flip of a switch to make man kind forget about everything important. The boys' missed sitting in their apartment, watching tv or drinking the night away. They didn't have to worry about someone breaking into their home in search for food at that time.

Murphy dropped his cigarette into the dirt and stepped out the head. He ran a heavy hand down his face when he remembered the good times. It was the sound of static that forced everyone to become alert. Sean turned toward the group and asked, "What the hell is that?"

"Shh, quiet."Connor growled lowly.

The static noise errupted once again, forcing Connor and Murphy to their feet.

"Comin' from the van!"Murphy pointed out.

The boys' scampered their way over toward the hunk of metal and pulled open the doors. The static noise had stopped, leaving them in a cold trail. They pulled open the driver and passenger doors and waited to hear it again. They jumped when the noise came on, but they finally realized what it was. Both of the brother's reached into the center console in search for their Walky Talky. They had no need for it for a long while and didn't realize they had kept it on.

They were surprised in general that it had lasted as long as it had. Connor smacked at Murphy's hands when he reached in for it. Both of the brothers' faught over the Walky, pulling back and forth, until a shakey, incoherent voice came from it. Connor pulled the Walky from Murphy's hands and pressed it up to his ear. Murphy watched, in pure anticipation on what would happen next. Someone must have either been at their old camp site, or the batteries had been going all along.

"What is it?"Sean's voice scared both of the brothers', but they stayed quiet.

Connor pressed the button on the Walky and said, "Hello. Hello, is anyone there?"

The first thought that had run through their minds were that it could be Adrienne and Abby. The brothers' were unsure on whether or not they had managed to grab the walky from Adrienne's car. Things had been so hectic that no one knew what they had in the van. Connor released the button and tried to listen once more for the person on the other end. The group fell silent once a staticy, shakey voice errupted from the Walky. Connor's eyes met Murphy's and they froze at the sound.

Hel. . . .Highway 20. . .broken down. . .have kids. . .everywhere!

The Walky fell silent once more and Connor abrubtly began to speak into the Walky. The voice of a man had come over it and what scared Murphy the most was that he mentioned he had kids. Murphy ran a hand over his chin and choked slighly on his breath. They weren't the only ones anymore; there were other survivors.