“TO FAST TO FAST TO FAST,” Walter screamed repeatedly. His head down as he gripped the dashboard of the truck.

Stephanie laughed hysterically while listening to Walter scream. Dale pounding on the roof of the truck like an adrenaline junkie.

“Oh, I never told you, did I,” Stephanie started to say. “My dad is… was a rally car driver. He used to take me the tracks and let me drive his car. I loved it you know,” as Stephanie slammed on her brakes to take a turn. “This makes it feel like he is alive,” she said with a sniffle.

“TO FAST TO FAST TO FAST,” Walter continued to yell. His head suddenly smashing into the dashboard as Stephanie slammed on the brakes.

“Were here,” Stephanie said smiling as Walter fumbled with his seatbelt.

Walter understood the idea that one day he would be able to travel fast. He had even seen his instructors demonstrate their speed, it put him in awe. But moving that fast while not being in control was unnatural, and not something Walter ever wanted to experience again.

Dale jumped out of the back of the truck with a shit-eating grin to help Walter with the door.

“Buck up, Bucko,” Dale said slapping Walter on the back. “A little over a block that way is Saveday, and this big mother of a dog in front,” he said pointing while holding an unlit cigarette.

“And we hacked The System,” Stephanie said still smiling, eyes glittering. “We shoot the monster until it can’t move, then we gank it,” she said as if that answered it all.

“What,” Walter said looking at Stephanie. Something was off like she was repressing all her fear and sadness from a day ago.

“Ok, you said that killing the monsters with guns wouldn’t give us experience, but,” Stephanie said while giving little jazz hands. “We only incapacitate the monsters and then go in for the kill with weapons?”

“That could work,” Walter said thinking about it.

“So I will go stealth and circle it, while Dale focus fires on its back legs,” she said laying out the plan before Walter could say anything else. “When Dale needs to reload, Walter will rush it attacking its face, while I hit its neck with this,” she finished while grabbing a pickax out of the back of the truck.

Walter found nothing wrong with the plan but he still had questions, “What type of surveillance did you perform on the beast? Did you make sure it was alone?”

Dale lit his cigarette and looked at Walter, “Did you do any of that when you rescued us?”

“Yeah, or how about that building you burned down? Did you think that through? Or how about when you left me alone, while I was ASLEEP” Stephanie piled on.

Walter didn’t have a good answer to any of their questions. Everything they said made sense, he hadn’t really thought anything through this whole time. Knowing he was wrong, he still wanted to exercise caution.

“We should practice caution though, we don’t know what type of mutations these beasts will have,” Walter tried to reason with them.

“It's fine, you don’t need to come,” Stephanie said. “Dale and I already did this twice,” she said in a pissed voice.

“Yeah man, we just thought you would want to come with this one,” Dale said. “It will be the biggest one, and we thought you could help with it.”

Stephanie walked away angrily before more could be said. Dale watched for a second before following, his gun lifted up on to his shoulder. Walter just stood there watching them, unsure if he should follow them or not.

Following them, he could make sure they stay safe, as safe as they could be in a fight with a beast. Doing that would just reinforce the idea of going in guns blazing with no thought. Not going with them their death would be on his hands. Grabbing his spear he chased after them.

Catching up to them, he caught the tail end of their plan.

“I will check the store to make sure there is food and then signal you,” Stephanie said ignoring Walter.

“Gotcha,” Dale said back.

The pressure was palpable as they walked. Stephanie said they had already done this twice, but Walter didn’t believe it. Both of them were way to tense for this.

“Wait, we shouldn’t do this,” Walter said stopping. “At least let’s wait, and bring more people.”

Stephanie turned to look at him, then disappeared.

“Wait up,” Dale called out as he started to jog. “Let me post up first!”

Walter chased after Dale trying to figure out where Stephanie went.

“How are we supposed to know where she is when she is invisible,” Walter hissed at Dale.

Pointing with his “She’s right there,” Dale said as he started checked his ammo.

“I can’t see her,” Walter said as he looked to where Dale motioned to.

“Yeah figured that,” he said. “You really pissed her off when you ditched her to save us.”

“What am I supposed to do to fix it?” Walter ask.

Dale braced his gun on the trunk of the car, looking down the iron sights, “Don’t let her die,” he said. “Now buck up bucko, you got a job to do.”

Dale tracked Stephanie as she sneaked to the store’s entrance invisible to the beast and Walter. Walter studied the beast, as it laid there unmoving. The flaps in it skip moving with every exhale of its breath, the sound it made like thunder. Walter counting the time between every puff of breath when it suddenly snorted. Every pebble on the ground bouncing off the ground.

“Get down,” Walter screamed, as he ducked down covering his ears and loosening his jaw.

The beast let out a bark of thunder the gods would be proud of. The car knocked over onto two wheels briefly. Walter felt it like a punch of pressure enveloping his body from all directions. He saw Dale blown away from the car by the pressure of that roar. His body bouncing limply across the ground blood coming from his ears.

Grabbing his spear, Walter vaulted the car thinking of Stephanie. Throwing it like a javelin he used skitter to keep up with it as it flew through the air.