Sunny Days

Chapter 18

A loud banging reverberated in Sunny's brain, jolting her awake. She  had tossed and turned all night, haunted by harems that harassed her  nightmares. Dwight's yell told her breakfast was waiting in the office,  the sound of retreating boots and the slam of a door were welcome as she  sat up and wondered what she should do. Her stomach growled making her  first decision easy.

She brought the pancakes into her room, setting the tray on the  table. She picked at the fluffy circle, pulling it apart, before popping  a piece in her mouth.

   How am I going to ask him without him knowing I snuck out? Do I  just up and ask, "Hey, Negan, ever had a harem? How do you feel about  concubines? I'm asking for a friend." Ugh. No. "So, Negan, ever been a  polygamist?" Oh my god. I just can't. "Hey, Negan, are you an old school  Mormon?" Do I even want to know? Do I even care? What if he wants more  wives again in the future?

Her stomach lurched, the pancakes threatening to come back up. He  would be back tonight. Instead of excitement, dread created a fine mist  of anxiety in her palms. She stood from the table and grabbed her  working clothes determined not to sit and make herself sick with worry  the rest of the day. She knew she needed some distraction and  distraction was not to be found within the confines of these walls.

It took her longer than she thought to get to the gardens trying to  avoid as many Saviors as possible. When she finally made it out of the  former factory, the sunlight seemed to sizzle off the concrete even  though the weather was mild. She strained her eyes trying to adjust to  the brightness of the sun, wishing she had sunglasses in addition to her  baseball cap. She really needed to get out more.

Not bothering to find the person in charge today, she found an empty  space next to a raised bed. Kneeling next to a stranger, she mimicked  their movements and began pulling weeds from the garden. Looking around  her, she could see some people harvesting vegetables.

"Give that one a few more days," she said before she could stop herself.

The man's hand on the tomato stopped. He eyed her suspiciously. "Really?"

"Yes, a few more days on the vine and then it will be perfect." She  spoke in hushed tones without really realizing it. This whole place felt  like a funeral home. No one was talking. No one was interacting. Maybe  it was the Saviors who frequently walked by with guns. Maybe the stress  of providing food was too much. Either way, Sunny felt anxious and  really fearful for the first time. 

"If I wait a few days and it rots, who do I blame then? Because I'm not taking the dock in points."

"Darcy. My name is Darcy." Dock in points? Do they really get  punished for such simple mistakes? Gardening was not an exact science by  any means, especially for beginners. How could they expect them to know  everything?

She watched the man move on to other tomatoes, examining them,  pulling a few free, and adding them to his basket before returning to  her own work. She had a small stack of weeds she had pulled, dirt under  her nails, and sheen of sweat on the back of her after another hour or  so. A Savior with a gun stood by a water cooler and announced a break.  Everyone around her stood and waited in line for a cup of water. Sunny  joined them waiting for anyone to speak, but no one did.

Finally, she leaned into woman close to her and whispered, "What's with the scary men with the guns?"

She seemed startled at being spoken to. "They're here to make sure no one steals."

"Has that been a problem?" Sunny took a sip of cool water, hoping the woman would open up.

"Not recently. But a while back some people were caught. And they were punished. They were sent to work on the wall."