sunshine // joel miller

THIRTEEN

It seemed to knock Sam's confidence as he went back to Henry and Fran. Fran sending him a little wink that seemed to lift his spirits.

Joel opened the door a little, scoping it out; before opening it all the way and walking in. It was safe to say they weren't expecting to see what was inside.

Fran held Sam back by the shoulders when he tried running inside, excited by the bright colours.

There was a whole area dedicated to kids toys and kids tables, the walls covered in drawings and a drawn out goal on the far wall. Sunlight could also be seen through the small fans on the ceiling; illuminating the room.

"I heard about places like this," Joel said to them all as he scoped out the area, "People went underground after Outbreak Day. Built settlements."

"What happened to them?" Ellie asked as Fran moved forward, the place harrowing now completely empty. There was a whiteboard on the wall with a list of rules.

MAKE SURE DOORS ARE LOCKED.

ASK FOR THE PASSWORD IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE VISITOR.

NO SHOUTING OR NOISY PLAY.

RUN TO HIDING SPOT WHEN YOU HEAR THE ALARM.

"Maybe they didn't follow the rules and they all got infected," Joel said, the small jab aimed right for Ellie.

"Mm," Ellie hummed, deciding to ignore the jab.

Sam was quick to pull Fran along to a small table where an assortment of kids toys lay, Ellie joining them quickly as Sam passed Fran a plastic ring.

She laughed at it; sliding it on her pinky as Sam clapped his hands.

However, Fran might as well have been dead to both the kids when a comic was found on the floor; wandering back to the adults as they began to read it.

"Sam likes you," Henry says to her upon her return, pointing to the plastic ring.

"He's alright," Fran shrugs, sending Henry a cheeky smile as she bumps his side; Henry shaking his head.

Ellie starts to yell about something out of excitement, and Joel is quick to shut it down.

"Hey, keep it down. We're not out yet."

"Ah, c'mon. Can we just rest here for a while?" Ellie begs him, motioning around with her arms; "There's, like, actually sh¡t to do here."

"Wouldn't be so bad to wait the light out a bit. Safer in shadows when we pop back out on the other side." Henry agreed with her; much to Joel's distain.

Fran took it upon herself then to have a little look around herself, spotting a bookshelf near the back of the area.

She walked over, sitting herself down on the floor as she started to look through them, most of them were kids books and nursery rhymes, a little nostalgia pumping through her as she looked through.

Joel, not wanting to be near Henry, had followed slowly after her, watching the woman grab a small book in joy.

He went to speak up, but just watching her in the moment be so excited over a small book she recognised was enough to keep him quiet for a minute longer.