Chapter 5

A Way Out:

Dust listened to Todd as he ran around the car. Glancing at the boy, he made sure that he couldn’t see what he was about to do. The battery was dead and there was no way to jump it.

Checking on Todd once more, he held his hands above the battery where the cables connected. A burst of energy shot out from the palm of his hand. He kept it that way for a moment before he pulled his hand back.

He wiped his hands on the cloth he had found in the store and walked around to the driver’s side. Sliding in, he turned the key. The engine tried to turn over, but couldn’t quite make it. Fortunately, the gauges were now working and he could see that the car had an almost full tank of gas. Turning the key off, he slid back out of the car and looked for Todd.

“Todd, I need your help, dude,” Dust called.

Todd’s head whipped around and a huge smile lit his face. He dropped the stick he was playing with and ran over to Dust. Dust couldn’t help but grin at the boy’s enthusiasm.

“What’cha need help with?” Todd asked excitedly.

Dust nodded to the driver’s seat. “I need you to turn the key when I tell you to,” he said. “Do you know how?”

“Sure, my dad would let me start the truck if it was cold out so it could warm up,” Todd replied, sliding into the seat. “Do you need me to give it gas?”

“Not unless I tell you,” Dust replied. “I don’t want to take a chance of flooding it. I’m not sure how good the gas is, hopefully it isn’t too bad.”

“Okay, just tell me when,” Todd answered with a grin.

Dust walked back around to the front and bent over the battery again. This time, he sent a stronger charge into it at the same time as he yelled for Todd to try to start it. It took three tries before the car started. It idled roughly at first, but soon smoothed out.

“Just let it idle for a while to give the battery a chance to charge,” Dust instructed, turning when he heard the sound of wheels on concrete.

“Wow! That’s a great idea, Sammy,” Todd said, watching as his sister pushed one shopping cart full of food and items they had salvaged and pulled another one. “Do you want some help?”

Sammy nodded, pushing her hair back from her flushed cheeks. “If you can start packing this in the car, I’ll go back for more. There isn’t much, but maybe we can find more in another town,” she said, turning to look at Dust with delight. “You got it running!”

Dust grinned and polished his fingernails on the front of his shirt. “Of course,” he replied with a grin. “I’d like to see if I can find extra gas to take with us, just in case.”

“Okay, but that means less for us to pack in the car,” Sammy said, looking at the shopping carts.

“No, I’ll tie them to the luggage rack,” Dust said with a shake of his head. “We can’t put the gas in the car. It wouldn’t be safe.”

“Oh, right,” Sammy said with a slight blush. “I knew that.”

“I helped Dust start the car, Sammy,” Todd boasted. “I’ll take care of this stuff while you and Dust get the other stuff.”

“Thanks, Todd,” Sammy said with an affectionate smile. “One more trip should do it.”

“I saw some gas cans in the Auto Supply store. I’ll grab them and anything else I think we could use and meet you back

here. Todd, will you be alright?” Dust asked in concern.

“Sure! If anything comes at me, I’ll jump in the car and close the doors,” Todd said. “I’ve done that before.”

Dust paused and stared at Todd. “When?” He asked in a tight voice.

“Once on the way here,” she said, looking to stare down the road. “There were some other creatures, not as big as the devil dogs, but just like them.”

“We saw them attack a stray cow,” Todd said in a somber voice. “Sammy and I hid in the car until they were gone. When we finally got out, there wasn’t nothing left of the cow, but a few bones.”

“They were toward the town where we used to live,” Sammy said, looking back at Dust. “That’s why we came north. We were hoping that they wouldn’t be here.”

“But they were, just not as many,” Todd added.

“How many were there where you were at?” Dust asked, looking at Sammy.

She shrugged and looked down was silent for a minute before she looked up at him. “I don’t know, a dozen or more,” she finally said. “It was hard to look and count. They were everywhere and I was afraid they would see Todd and me.”

Dust’s eyes narrowed and he pressed his lips together. A dozen were more than he’d seen at anyone one time. Four, maybe five, but more than a dozen wasn’t good. He had noticed back in his home town that they worked together as a pack. It had been difficult, but he had eventually killed the last one. Unfortunately, like him, they needed food, a lot of it to survive and had cleaned out the town fairly quickly. He was surprised that they hadn’t done that here. The only reason he could think of was because they hadn’t been here for long.

“We’ll keep an eye out,” he said with a sharp nod. “Todd, pack the car. Sammy, get all the food and supplies that you can. I’ll find more gas and anything else I think we might need. How far away is your town from here?”

“Twenty, maybe twenty-five miles or so,” Sammy said, pushing her hair behind her ear.

“We need to get out of here,” Dust said, turning away. “Something tells me with that many, they are going to be looking for food and traveling fast.”