The Shelter Read online

“Well it’s got great big towers where men can make a lot of money, you know enough to feed them family and all,” Jennifer explains.

  “Can girls work in steel mills too?”

  Jennifer shakes her head, “I don’t think so.”

  Sunni gives another sigh of disappointment.

  “Where’s your dad?”

  Sunni shrugs, “Don’t know.”

  “Lot of people like that now. Mama says we lucky.”

  “I guess you are lucky.”

  The girls are silent for a moment, watching the people on the street below.

  “Jennifer?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Will you take me to the steel mill with you?

  Jennifer’s face lights up with a warm smile, “Yeah I will…we’re pinky sisters right?”

  Sunni grins and extends her pinky finger, “Pinky sisters.”

  Jennifer also sticks out her pinky finger and they hook their pinkies together and give a gentle shake.

  Sunni turns towards the interior and stares at a large crowd of men and women sitting on a scatter of couches in the far corner of level four.

  “What’s that?” Sunni asks.

  “Smoking room,” Jennifer frowns. “Never noticed it before?”

  Sunni shakes her head, “Nah…” she notices someone who looks familiar so she moves closer.

  “Wait!”

  “What?”

  “Don’t go…”

  “Why?”

  Jennifer bites her lower lip and fidgets nervously, “You don’t want to go over there…”

  Sunni strains to see if she can recognize the face from a distance, “I thought I saw…”

  “Your mom?”

  Sunni spins around to face the girl, “My mom…”

  “Daddy says…”

  Sunni crosses her arms over her chest and looks away. She doesn’t want to hear what Jennifer’s daddy says. Jennifer’s relationship with Mr. Robinson makes Sunni long for own dad.

  “I’m sorry…maybe she’ll give it up,” Jennifer places a gentle hand on the Sunni’s shoulder.

  “We don’t have food.”

  “You got food if I got food.”

  “She forgets about the food when she smoking.”

  Jennifer slides her arms around Sunni’s back and gives her a tight squeeze, “Pinky sisters always share, right?”

  Sunni melts into the girl’s embrace, “Yeah…”

  A high pitched whistle interrupts their moment. Jennifer looks up to find Adam only a few feet away smiling at her.

  “Hey there pretty girl,” Adam grins as he moves closer, his weapon at ease by his side.

  Jennifer doesn’t look at him, her eyes remain averted as she grabs Sunni’s hand and pulls her away, “Just ignore him.”

  “A little out of your neighborhood ain’t it…I could evict you for that.”

  Jennifer and Sunni stop and slowly turn towards him; they can’t afford to be evicted.

  “But of course I could just ignore it too,” Adam steps a little closer. “That is…if you would go out with me.”

  Sunni suddenly has a giggle attack at the offer; but Jennifer looks repulsed.

  “You’re too old,” Sunni blurts out. Jennifer squeezes the girl’s hand; it’s dangerous to get flippant.

  Insulted by the comment Adam points his weapon at Sunni, “Why don’t you shut up.”

  Sunni stops laughing.

  Adam scowls at Jennifer, “I’m trying to be nice….give you a choice in things.”

  Jennifer keeps her eyes on the weapon, “Can we go now?” her voice shaky.

  Adam puts his weapon at ease, “For now.”

  Sunni and Jennifer turn and run towards the lower level.

  The Shelter - Day 21

  Sunni sits on her side of space #202, right next to her mom who is slumped over and high again. The Robinsons prepare their dinner, another can of beans.

  “Why don’t you come on over here and join us,” Margaret says to Sunni, although their food reserves are low.

  Sunni digs into her ballet slipper and pulls out a single dollar bill, “I can pay…” she says as she takes her place next to Jennifer.

  Sunni’s gesture disheartens Margaret, “There’s no need for that…hold on to that for later…get yourself something sweet,” she forces a smile.

  John doesn’t say anything. He worries constantly about the situation and that worrying has only intensified with Shannon’s worsening addiction.

  Margaret fills four spoons with a heap of beans, “We been thinking,” she begins.

  John’s jaw tightens as he takes his spoonful of food.

  “Well, that maybe you could…you could come with us, just till your mom gets better,” Margaret continues.

  “You leaving?” Sunni’s voice drips with alarm.

  John remains quiet; but he’s oozing with disapproval.

  “Yes, it’s getting…well it’s time to go,” Margaret hands Sunni and Jennifer their spoonfuls of beans.

  “To the steel mills?” Sunni asks.

  “Maybe…” Margaret glances at Shannon who is oblivious to their conversation. “We would send for her when we get to where we going.”

  Comprehension and then fear hits Sunni, “But…”

  “It would be just like how we said, except we’d be real sisters then,” Jennifer interjects.

  John swallows his beans and then speaks up, “Don’t you see the girl don’t want to go? Leave it alone.”

  Margaret ignores John, “Why don’t you think it over, no rush…”

  Sunni nods slowly, “Okay…”

  The Shelter - Day 28

  Another electricity outage hits lower level two forcing Sunni and the Robinsons to sleep under a blanket of darkness. Shannon is gone again; like most nights she smokes away her troubles. Sunni lies on a makeshift pallet next to Jennifer while John and Margaret slumber on the other side. There is a noise, not the ambient hum of The Shelter; but something distinct, something nearby. Sunni opens her eyes but she can’t see much in the blackness, she can just barely make out Jennifer’s form next to her own. And just when Sunni is about to dismiss the noise as nothing, a beam of light washes over Jennifer, waking the teen. Shielding her eyes from the light, “Daddy?” Jennifer asks through a haze if exhaustion.

  Darkness again. Shuffling of feet and screams.

  “Daddy! Help…,” Jennifer wails.

  Sunni freezes in terror, her eyes wide against the darkness.

  “Daddy!” Jennifer screams.

  But daddy doesn’t respond.

  “Help me!” Jennifer reaches out for her father, who is lying by her side. He grasps her hand but makes no move to help her. Realizing that no help is coming, Jennifer wails even louder as the weight of the man presses down on her. Sunni can’t see the man, but she can smell him; a putrid mix of sweat and alcohol. Sunni slips her hand under her pillow and grips the handle of her mother’s butcher knife; but she’s too scared to use it. She presses her eyes closed and tries to black out the sobs and moans. She tells herself it’s all a bad dream. But the screams and grunts continue for what seems like forever, until there is nothing.

  Sunni opens her eyes again. It feels like only moments have passed; but the frenzy of activity in The Shelter let’s Sunni know that many hours have gone by. Sunni doesn’t move. Only her gaze roams over the other side of #202. The frightening figure is gone; but so are the Robinsons. Carefully laid across her torso is Jennifer’s flowered washcloth. Perhaps it is a parting gift from her pinky sister.

  The Shelter - Day 60

  Sunni sits on her side of parking space #202, her back pressed against the wall she watches the new roommates. With salt and pepper hair meticulously brushed back into a severe bun, Dorothy serves two young children a meal of boiled chicken and rice. The six-year-old boy and nine-year-old girl ignore Sunni as her tongue flicks across her lips and her eyes beg for just a taste. Sunni notices movement out the corner of her eye. She comes to her feet expectantly as Sha
nnon shuffles towards the space, “Mama?” But her mother only stares ahead still in the grips of her high. Sunni shoves her hands into her mother’s pockets searching for money or food.

  Shannon pushes the girl away, “Get off of me!” her eyes scared and paranoid.

  “I’m hungry…” Sunni whines.

  The little kids give Sunni a sympathetic look, but Dorothy doesn’t want to get involved.

  “Keep your eyes to your business and eat up,” Dorothy orders the kids.

  “Mama I’m hungry…” Sunni pleads.

  Shannon gives her daughter a frightful look, “You going to eat me?” she asks seriously.

  Tears well in Sunni’s eyes as she shakes her head, “No…mama please…”

  “They eating people now…” Shannon tilts her head from side to side. “I know you eat people…but I forgive you…”

  Sunni presses her hands against her ears, “Stop it…”

  Seeing that Shannon’s comment is scaring the younger children, Dorothy directs a stern look at Shannon, “Hush that madness!”

  “You can’t eat me! I won’t be eaten!” Shannon blurts out.

  “That’s it!” Dorothy grabs the baseball bat leaning against the wall. “You shut it up or I’ll shut it up for you!” she raises the bat.

  Terrified, Sunni places herself between Dorothy and Shannon, “Please don’t hurt my mama…”

  Seeing the fear in Sunni and the small children, Dorothy lowers her bat, “Get out of here till you sober up,” she demands of Shannon.

  “You ain’t the fucking landlord!” Shannon retorts.

  “I am as far as you concerned,” Dorothy raises the bat again and then lowers it.

  Shannon looks at the bat, “I ain’t going nowhere…I paid my rent.”

  Dorothy sighs in frustration. Unwilling to bash the woman’s head in front of Sunni and her grandkids, she backs down and returns to her side of #202.

  “Just focus on your food,” she tells the kids.

  Shannon frowns like a sullen child and wraps Sunni into a hug.

  Sunni just sobs; but her cries are more unnerving to Shannon than the threat of violence, so she once again pushes her daughter away.

  Crushed, Sunni buries her chin into her chest.

  “Going to get some air…” Shannon backs out of the space.

  “Air got crank in it?” Dorothy is unable to resist making the snarky comment.

  “Ain’t none of your goddamn business,” Shannon says as she shuffles into the hubbub of The Shelter.

  Sunni drops to her knees, not bothering to stifle her sobs as she watches her mother walk away.

  The family resumes eating and Sunni watches them.

  Dorothy points at her granddaughter’s plate, “Clean that bone.”

  The little girl chews the last remaining scraps of meat off the chicken bone.

  “Put the bones in here,” Dorothy sits a bowl in the middle of their tiny table.

  Once the bowl is filled with bare chicken bones, Dorothy sits it on the ground and kicks it to Sunni’s side of the space, “It’s all I can do for you now…sorry, I got to take care of my own.”

  On all fours Sunni scampers across the floor grabbing the bowl of bones. She carefully picks up a bone and gnaws on it, sucking out the marrow. It isn’t enough to keep starvation away but it is something, and something is better than nothing.

  The Shelter - Day 70

  Sturdy tents and paid-for vans fill levels five, six and seven. The area is known by most as the upper-end. The better off families can afford the high rent and added perks. Dorothy negotiates the price of rice with a group of merchants as Sunni wanders the upper-end begging for money and food. A small crowd of children gather around a figure at the end of the driveway. Lifting her chin to get a better look, Sunni eyes the landlord eating at a small table. Dorothy follows her gaze and then returns her attention to the merchants, “Excuse me for a second…” She follows Sunni who slowly approaches the crowd. Sunni strains to peer over the top of the kids’ heads watching the landlord eat a large turkey leg as Adam stands guard nearby. He eats a bit of meat off the bone and then throws it on the ground. Sunni is shocked. How could this be? She looks around and notices none of the kids going after the meat. Feeling the nudge of desperation, she grabs the castaway bone and shoves it into her mouth. Adam yanks her arm and slaps her across the face.

  The children laugh and Dorothy cringes.

  Adam slaps the girl again.

  Dorothy starts to walk away. It isn’t her problem; she has her own family to look after. She hesitates and then finally speaks up, “She ain’t causing nobody harm…she just a girl.”

  “What’s it business of yours?” Adam says gruffly.

  The landlord turns and frowns at Dorothy. She’s a perpetual thorn in his side.

  Dorothy fears drawing the attention of the landlord but she continues anyway, “Her mom’s looking for her.”

  “Her mom’s a crank head…she ain’t looking for nothing but another hit.” Adam shoves Sunni to the ground.

  Crank head? The landlord’s face lights up in recognition. “The ballerina!” he bellows, causing Sunni to flinch at the loud sound of his voice.

  The landlord slaps his lap, “Bring her here.”

  The guard picks Sunni up and places her on the landlord’s lap.

  “I remember you,” he tells her, his voice sweet now. He glances over her frail body.

  Dorothy watches nervously, “I’m watching her now,” she lies. It’s a lie that shocks Sunni.

  “Is that right?” the landlord feigns surprise. His voice hardens and his eyes narrow, “You ain’t doing too much of a good job now are you?”

  Dorothy falls silent and averts her gaze.

  Sunni’s eyes focus on the food; but she doesn’t dare grab at it for fear of being slapped again. The landlord’s smile returns, “Ballerinas should be skinny; but not too skinny,” he pinches the thin skin on Sunni’s ribs. “Think you can eat all that?”

  Sunni looks at him to see if he is serious. So many mock and tease her when she begging for food that she is often unsure when someone is truly being charitable.

  “Go on,” the landlord motions towards the food.

  “Sunni!” Dorothy calls out, “You should get back home now.”

  The landlord chuckles, “I’ll tell you what Sunni…you can go with Ms. Dorothy now and maybe she’ll feed you.” He knows the woman isn’t very generous with the kids in The Shelter. “Or…you can eat here with me and go home later nice and full.” He pinches her cheek.

  Sunni gives a small smile and grabs a turkey leg.

  “Well I guess she’s made her decision,” the landlord laughs.

  Dorothy sighs as Sunni stuffs her mouth with food. The other children watch with envy, many of them wishing they had been so bold.

  “We’re going to have to fatten you up.” The landlord gently rubs her back as she eats, “Don’t choke now.’

  Sunni chews slowly, careful to not choke on her food. Taking a pause, she smiles at the landlord and reaches for the food again.

  The landlord grabs her hand.

  Dorothy looks away, “Stupid girl…” she murmurs.

  “A little dance first?” The landlord motions for Adam to grab the girl.

  Adam pulls Sunni to her feet and turns her so she is facing the landlord. He begins to clap in a rhythmic fashion. The clapping beat is joined by the landlord’s clapping and the clapping of the children. Sunni dances. She prances about in the space like a limp rag doll. Too tired to continue, she stops after dancing for less than a minute.

  The landlord applauds, “Bravo!”

  Sunni gives a little bow and immediately goes for the food again.

  The landlord pushes the plate out of reach and taps his right cheek, “Give me some sugar…”

  Sunni gives him a peck on the right cheek.

  He taps his left cheek, “Give me some more sugar.”

  Sunni gives another peck on his left cheek.r />
  The landlord taps his lips, “Plant a big fat one right there.”

  Sunni hesitates, she searches for Dorothy’s face in the crowd; but only catches a glimpse of her walking away.

  She leans in to give the landlord a quick peck on the lips; but he grabs her head and forces his tongue into her mouth.

  Sunni yanks her head away in disgust. She immediately throws her hands up to protect herself from any blows. But the landlord only laughs and settles into his chair, “You’ll get use to it.”

  The Shelter - Day 90

  The hum of the shelter is all too familiar now. It’s as if Sunni has never lived anywhere else. Her face plumper and her clothes cleaner, she peers at the children who fight over scraps of food. She counts her list of things for which she is grateful and tries to forget the horrors. Someone brings her a platter of roasted chicken. The sight of food brings both relief and dread. While it’s better than bones, she knows that it’s only for the fattening before the slaughter.

  “Thank God for sleep,” she begins her gratitude list. Her eyes are sad and tired despite copious amounts of sleep.

  “Thank God for food.” While she knows its nefarious purpose, she also knows she needs food to live. And she has decided to live, despite it all.

  “Thank God for mom.” Part of Sunni blames her mother for everything; but she also makes excuses for her mother’s behavior. “At least she’s alive,” Sunni consoles herself as she tries to remember a happier time when her mother was a different person.

  She takes a deep breath and lets out a long sigh. Sunni wishes her list was longer, that there were more things for which to show gratitude, but there isn’t. She settles into the plastic lawn chair and carefully picks up a chicken breast. A wave of panic and grief sweeps over her, so she goes over her list again.

  Author’s Note

  If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review. This short story is a prequel to a novel scheduled for release by the Fall 2012. Please visit www.sunhimistwalker.com to find out more about the author and receive updates for the upcoming novel. We will also have free giveaways for those who sign-up for the newsletter.