Surrender the Sun: A Post Apocalyptic Dystopian Thriller Read Free

for Ben. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “I didn’t mean to hurt you. Are you all right?” She waited for a response as she followed the tracks in the frost leading from the road into the evergreen forest. They became harder to detect the farther she went, as the canopy of the woods held back the frost and the evidence of footprints. Once, two feet in the dense brush, she looked back at Ben looking through the truck window after her. Her breath puffed out in little clouds in front of her face. Her nose was already numb, and her cheeks felt frozen solid. She crossed her arms and suddenly had the feeling someone was watching her, and though she was cold, there was something more making her shiver.
    “I’m sorry I hit you. Please let me help,” she yelled again, breaking the solitude of the forest. That’s when she finally saw him and had the feeling it was only because he’d let her see him. A man hidden in plain sight appeared before her. Wearing military camo much like Roger’s, he blended in well with the evergreen surroundings.
    His raspy voice startled her. It was as if he hadn’t used it in quite some time. “Don’t yell. You should watch where you’re going. Especially with a kid in the car,” he said, motioning toward the SUV.
    Her mouth agape, she finally said, “I…I’m sorry. Did I hurt you or your horse?”
    “You almost did. He’s fine. I think you murdered a few fallen branches on the road though. Go on. Just watch where you’re going,” he said gruffly, but his eyes were soft and unyielding as he held her attention.
    “Can I bring you anything?” she said, assuming he was the hermit Ben mentioned.
    “I have everything I need.”
    She took the hint that he wanted her to leave. “OK. OK then. I’m Maeve Tildon,” she said and held out her hand for him to shake.
    He stared at the offering.
    Her hand hanging in midair for longer than a comfortable time, she let it drop. “If you find out later that you, or your horse, are hurt…well, I live down Scenic Bay Road. There’s a sign on the mailbox that says Tildon. You can’t miss us. Just let me know. I’ll pay for any medical expenses or vet bills,” she said and turned her head toward her SUV, then suddenly turned back again. “I’m just very sorry.” As if she really wanted him to know she truly was.
    He nodded at her and diverted his vision to the side.
    She figured that was the end of their short conversation, and she turned to leave again.
    “Hey, you’re Maeve? Roger’s Maeve?”
    She turned. “Yeah. I mean, I…Roger…he died. Over…there.”
    The man stood there a moment, silent, maneuvering the news around in his head as if a puzzle piece he’d tried to fit into place had found home. She knew the feeling.
    “I hadn’t heard. I’m sorry. When?”
    Caught off guard, she said, “Almost a year now. Did you know him?”
    He took a step back. “Yeah. I knew Roger.”
    She responded the way she always did. With sad eyes, she smiled slightly because there was no way to respond appropriately to having someone ripped from you. If there was, she hadn’t figured it out yet. She turned, and when she did, she did it into herself. Set back a mile in grief in an instant, again.
    She walked back to the opening from the forest to her truck holding her son. Then she turned, and this time when she looked back, the man was gone. Vanished into the woods.
    She never did see the horse she’d nearly hit.
    Shaking her head as if his image had been a dream, she made her way back to the SUV and climbed inside, noticing it was nearly as cold inside now as it was outside. Ben was shivering in his car seat.
    “Did you find the Hermit?”
    “I found a man . It’s not nice to call someone a hermit, Ben.”
    She started the truck.
    “What’s his name then? That’s what they call him at school. He has a horse. Was the horse hurt?”
    “Far too many questions all at once, son. He didn’t mention his name, and it looks