You know, for someone who was only nine years old and could've been killed by the forcefield around her head at any second, my daughter didn't seem to have the slightest care in the world for her current conditions. Actually, she was more concerned with my new appearance than anything regarding her or the man walking in front of me that threatened her life.

No. Concern wasn’t right. More like this nerdy fascination over me. Now that I think about it, Sunshine always seemed to be so interested in the world around us, even with how broken and desolate it all seemed. What was the zombie transformation like for a dying human, could zombies survive off a “no-people diet”, could we create another nuclear bomb…Geez, that one scared me. Doesn’t she see how withered down this forest already was!?

I guess if she was given the option to save the world, she’d immediately say no. One eyebrow raised and all.

She asked me tons of questions I was perfectly fine with answering like “How'd you survive being eaten alive?” or “How’d you use that attack to kill that giant bird?” and the one that scared me a bit…“How was it like being dead?”

Even though I was a zombie now, I never actually felt dead. I could think, move even better than when I was a human, and thankfully, talk. It didn't matter that I didn't have any of my human organs inside of me. As long as I could still be a father to my adorable little Sunshine, I was completely alive! Well, maybe not completely. I still didn’t have my down there…

Although, out of all the things she told me these past couple of days that we've traveled to wherever this “Underground” was, Sunshine never told me that she missed me. Or that she was worried I died. She didn't even cry when she saw me like this for the first time. I was the one who cried. I almost wanted to ask her if she was worried about me but I knew I shouldn’t.

It would be shitty of me to ask my kid a selfish question like that, especially right now. Besides, maybe this weird fascination she had for my form was her way of showing love. That’s good enough for me.

“So,” Sunshine started. “Just how much farther do we have to walk to this

‘Underground’? I'm tired of having this thing around my head. And I’m tired of walking, sleeping, eating, and peeing in this forest.”

“As long as your dad doesn't do anything stupid to delay our trip like yesterday, then we should be there in about an hour,” said Dante, speeding up as if he assumed I would try and attack his stupid forcefield again.

“I only did that ‘cause you provoked me. And let’s not forget-“

“Jerome!” my daughter interrupted. “You rolled his shield into a crater of radions and it took us hours to get him back up. We could’ve totally been there by now if it weren’t for you.”

“Hey, why are you taking that villain’s side over your own beloved father?” I said in a defeated tone. “Besides, if his forcefield wasn't just some big bubble around his body, then I wouldn't have been able to roll him like that. So if you put it that way, I didn't do anything wrong.”

It was a bad attempt at trying to convince myself out loud that I wasn't in the wrong at the time. Especially since the only thing he said to me was “So, how's it feel being dickless?” I know it wasn’t a serious question but seriously though…wasn't the answer obvious!? I'm sure that asshole was just trying to make fun of me.

Clearly, Sunshine didn't share the same belief as she gave me the same exaggerated raised eyebrow that she only did when she could tell I was being disingenuous. “And here I thought you were an experienced resource adventurer but there you were yesterday making stupid decisions! No wonder those guys kept laughing at you!”

I almost forgot Sunshine already knew the truth about me. It was a real kick to the gut when the thought that my daughter’s respect for me had dropped crossed my mind.

“But..”

I heard Dante chuckle which pissed me off even more.

“What’s so funny, Dante,” I said, raising my voice a little.

“It’s just that…it must be so hard being a daddy’s girl knowing your father is as childish and pathetic as you. You lied about being an actual adventurer, repeatedly embarrassed yourself at Woodhaven for cash and prioritized trying to beat me senseless instead of letting her out of that cage. So it’s no wonder she doesn’t call you ‘Dad’. She doesn’t see you as one.”

“Huh!?” He turned his head and showed off this really overconfident smile that nearly made me kick his forcefield one more time. The only thing that stopped me was Sunshine beginning to speak.

“That’s not entirely true. I mean, you’re right that I don’t see Jerome as a dad. But that’s not because I think he’s pathetic. He just feels more like…a big brother to me, I guess.”

…Big brother?

Dante stopped near what looked to be the entrance to a sewer embedded into the ground—dirt and leaves nearly obscuring it. “Don’t be so generous, kid. Even if that’s the case, you can’t deny how pathetic he is.”

“That’s stupid. Why would I think he’s pathetic when he risked life just to save me? It doesn't really matter to me how he gets his money. He's doing it to buy things for me. Even a simple Barbie doll. No matter what I think of him as, he's still my father.”

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“You don’t have to act so tough,” I added. “Don’t think I didn’t hear every time you were about to call me ‘dad’ that day. If I still had a heart, I’m sure it would’ve fluttered!”

“Wh-What!? You were just hearing things!” she shouted, covering her face with her hood.

I’m sure anyone else would be pretty offended at their own child calling them by their first name but not me. As long as she still thought of me as her really cool dad who’ll beat anyone up who causes her trouble, then that was all I needed to be satisfied.

However, there was only one person I needed to beat in order to further solidify that fact. It was too bad keeping him around for now was the only way of keeping Sunshine alive. Plus, while I didn’t exactly believe he knew anything about her disease, the fact he was so adamant on bringing us to this secret civilization piqued my interest a little.

So I was pretty confused when we just stopped in the middle of the forest, standing around this sewer-like entrance.

“Hey Dante, why did we stop here?” I asked, poking his forcefield. “You and Sunshine already stopped to eat so let’s keep moving!”

“Use your brain for once. Oh wait, I forgot you technically don’t have one anymore.”

“Once you turn off that bubble, you know I’m punching you immediately, right?” I quickly warned.

“Oh, so that’s why it’s called the Underground.” Me and Dante turned to my daughter. “It’s literally underground.”

“Exactly. Jerome, you must be pretty happy having a daughter in the apocalypse who’s so smart. Especially with how stupid you are.”

“I’m stupid!? You want us to believe a human civilization can survive down there? You do know that radioactive energy would be abundant underground, right? The only things that could live down there are radioactive infected animals and zombies like me.”

“Which must be why you’re taking us down there. To meet people like Jerome. And people that could…fix my problem.”

Dante pointed his fingers at Sunshine. “Bingo! Another point for the smart one in the family.”

“But will your forcefield be able to protect her body down there? It’s just some tool you bought at Woodhaven, right!? From those tech guys.” I asked.

“Huh? Where’d you get that from? I assure you, this power is all mine. And she’ll be fine. Promise.”

Like that was true.

“I’m not too sure about that,” denied Sunshine, rubbing her hand on her forcefield. “Even though this power could protect you from my dad’s punch, my head can still feel things like the wind, heat and cold. Why are those three excluded? And since those things don’t have a physical form, why should we believe it should protect me from something also non-physical like radioactive energy?”

Dante’s eyes widened once he heard all these questions. “Kid…I’ve been confused about something ever since we went on this journey and that was with you. Your intelligence, your demeanor, and even your personality is way too inconsistent to be considered normal. One day you’re complaining about losing that dumb doll and the next you’re analyzing my ability like some seasoned fighter. It’s like your brain can’t decide whether you're nine or nineteen.”

I gently grabbed Sunshine’s shoulder and asked “What are you trying to say, honey?”

“I’m saying that all of this is just too fishy. A forcefield should block out anything from touching your body, right? So then why am I able to breathe or feel cold on my face?”

“If you didn’t already notice, I’m breathing too.” His tone was suspicious, like he was worried about something. “So whatever ideas you got in your head, shut it down, now!”

“I also noticed something pretty weird,” I added. “This forcefield was kept on your head this entire time and yet, every time we stopped to eat, the food and your hand went straight through it. Like it wasn’t even there in the first place.”

“Hey! Father-daughter duo, I said shut it the hell down!”

“Yeah, I noticed that too. My guess is that he can control whatever enters the forcefie-Ah!”

My daughter’s sudden pained scream made me flinch, but I immediately regained my composure to assess the situation. Warm, dreaded flows of crimson trickled down each side of her neck from the edges of the forcefield, staining my finger as I cautiously touched it. Blood—the blood of my daughter, though minimal, was being spilled.

And I knew exactly who caused it. My hands curled into tight fists, the ooze on me bubbling ferociously—like soda shaken a little too hard. I wanted so badly to release the strongest punch I could ever throw at that man’s face but I knew that he’d hurt Sunshine even more. I definitely couldn’t charge at him like last time when I first saw his power. I had to put up with this shit for now.

“You and your stupid daughter talk way too much!” I calmly turned my head to Dante and he had his hand up toward Sunshine, his fingers curled. “I was trying to be nice and respectful this entire time but now you two are really pissing me off!”

“Dante, when we go down there, what’s going to happen to her!? Is that radioactive energy gonna infect her or what!?” I could barely contain the rage in my voice or my body and I knew Dante noticed that given that confident smile on his face.

“Don’t be stupid! I already told you it won’t. Is it really that hard to believe!? I’m going in there with you for Christ’s sake!”

“But what about the things she said about air and the cold-”

“Your daughter’s smart, figuring out parts of my ability and all that…but don’t you think since I can control whatever enters the force fields that I can just not let that radioactive shit inside?”

“All you said just proved my point!” my daughter cut in, holding her neck in pain. ”Don’t believe this guy, Jerome! He can choose to let all of that energy enter my forcefield while he’s perfectly safe in his! There’s no cure! He has other plans in mind.”

“Dante! Answer my earlier question! What the hell are you trying to do with my daughter!?”

Even behind all the green covering his body, I could still see the sweat dripping down that asshole’s face.

“Fine! Believe whatever you want. But like I said before…you try and absorb my shield or hers, she’s dead!”

“Don’t listen to him and absorb my shield! It’s so obvious he’s bluffing. Why else do you think he wants me to go underground so badly? He or someone else down there needs me alive!”

Even though Sunshine’s safety was my biggest priority, I had to believe my clever daughter at that moment. All her points made perfect sense!

With that settled, I clenched her forcefield, the energy slowly entering my palms. But like Dante said a couple days ago, my power was just too slow to do it instantly and I could only watch as Dante expanded her bubble—now shielding her entire body.

“Damn it! Dante, let her go! Do it or I’ll-”

Before I could get my strongly worded threat off, Sunshine was lifted into the air and hovered to the loan shark’s side. I made a desperate attempt to charge at the man but I felt this sudden strong pain in my torso.

It was a third forcefield, knocking me back a couple meters away. No…not a third one. In the second I was hit with it, Dante was completely shield free and he used that moment to open the entrance to the Underground.

This was my chance! Or else it would’ve been if it weren’t for this damn shield pressing me to the ground! He was right there and so was my daughter, terrified by what was about to happen.

I clawed at the shield, absorbing it once more. But I was too late.

Dante kicked open the entrance and dropped in, momentarily disabling his ability so that Sunshine could enter too.

“Jerome, don’t worry!” she screamed out, a look of determination and strength on her face. “I promise I won’t die! So don’t waste any time beating yourself up about any of this. Just hurry up and save-”

I didn’t need to hear the rest of her encouraging words. With my body glowing with all this radioactive energy I’ve absorbed, I already knew what I needed to do.

I’m gonna save you, Sunshine! And kill that piece of shit while I’m at it!