Chapter 6

The Beginning of the Pack:

“That’s it,” Dust said, pulling on the straps he had found in the auto parts store.

“Dust,” Sammy called out suddenly from the other side of the car from him.

“Yeah?” Dust said, jumping down from where he had been standing on the edge of the open door.

“Look,” she murmured, nodding her head. “It’s that one devil dog I stabbed with the arrow.”

Dust looked at Sammy before turning to see where she was staring. Further down the road, between two abandon vehicles, a dark shadow emerged. He stared at the black beast that stepped out into the road. He could see the broken shaft of the arrow sticking out of its front shoulder. It looked like it had bitten off the end in an attempt to get it out. Swallowing, he continued to stare at it as he slowly opened the front passenger door.

“Todd, get in the back seat. Sammy, do you know how to drive?” Dust asked, keeping the beast in his view.

“Yes. Well, sort of,” she admitted. “My dad used to let me drive the truck on the farm.”

“I think now would be a good time to use that skill,” Dust said, slamming the back door shut before sliding into the passenger seat. “Go!”

“Sammy, there’s more of them!” Todd cried out, looking around as more devil dogs suddenly began to appear.

Dust glanced at Sammy as she slid behind the wheel and slammed the driver’s door. Her hand shook as she reached for the key and turned it. He breathed out a sigh of relief when the car started.

Sammy slammed the gear shift down and pressed her foot on the gas. The car fishtailed as it slipped on the loose gravel in the road and the force of the acceleration. Dust glanced at her face. It was tense, but a focused determination showed that she was in control. She was leaning forward, staring at the gathering crowd of devil dogs. It would appear that the pack from her and Todd’s town had arrived.

“Todd, put your seat belt on,” Sammy ordered as the car picked up speed.

Dust braced his hand against the dashboard as Sammy struck the first several creatures. Their massive bodies flew up, shattering the windshield before rolling over the top of the car. He glanced behind them and grimaced when he saw one of the gas cans he had just secured rolling along the road.

“Todd, duck!” Dust ordered, throwing his palm up and sending a bolt of electricity out.

A tiny hole appeared in the back window as the bolt melted the glass. The silvery-white thread struck the gas can. A huge, fiery explosion erupted, sending a shower of burning gas over a number of the creatures that had turned to follow them.

Dust’s gaze locked on the lone figure that calmly stepped through the remaining group. It didn’t chase them, it just watched with red, glowing eyes. Another creature came up to it and bit down on the broken shaft embedded in its shoulder. With a savage pulled, the remains of the arrow tore from its body. Within seconds, the creature turned and attacked the one that had helped it.

Dust turned back around in his seat. He pulled the seat belt free and secured it around him. His gaze moved to Sammy. Her lips were pressed into a tight, straight line. He could see her gaze flickering to the rear view mirror before they moved back to the road.

After several long minutes, she finally relaxed a little. Dust watched as she pulled her seat belt over her shoulder and hooked it. He waited, knowing that she wouldn’t let go of what had happened.

“When we find a place where it is safe to stop, you have some explaining to do,” Sammy finally said.

Dust released a tired breath and nodded. “I figured you’d say that,” he mumbled.

Hungry, he reached for a can of peaches in the bag at his feet. Sitting back, he popped the lid and drank the syrup before using his fingers to pull them out. From the look on Sammy’s face there was going to be a lot of talking done, primarily by him. He turned when he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

“I thought that was pretty cool,” Todd said, glancing at Sammy. “I guess you can’t teach me that either, can you?”

Dust chuckled and shook his head. “Probably not,” he admitted.

“Ah, well,” Todd replied as he sat back in his seat. “It was still cool.”

“Thanks,” Dust responded with a crooked grin before he glanced at Sammy. “Where to now?”

Sammy frowned and shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know,” she said. “See if there are any maps in the glove box. We need to make a plan. Obviously we can’t go back the way we came.”

Dust licked his fingers and placed the empty can back in the bag before opening the glove box. There were tons of napkins from various fast food restaurants, the car registration, some plastic utensils that he could have used a minute ago, and three straws. Closing it, he sighed. He hadn’t thought to check to see if there were any maps in the grocery store or the auto parts place.

“Nothing,” he said.

Sammy sighed. “Hopefully the next town we come to won’t have those creatures in them and we can find a store that has a map,” she replied, glancing at him with unease when she said the word ‘creature’.

Dust nodded, trying to ignore the pain at her suspicion that he was anything like the devil dogs. Sure, they could do some of the same things, like dissolve. The only difference was he could dissolve all the way and they could only do it a little and for a lot less time. It took a lot of energy to fade, as he thought of the process. Frowning, the only other thing that he knew they could do as well was heal fast, but again, it took a lot of energy to do that which meant they needed food.

He reached for another can of peaches. Opening the can, he drank the juice again, but this time he used one of the plastic forks that he had found to eat it. Resting his head back against the headrest, he chewed the fruit and wondered what else would happen today.

*.*.*

The creature did not understand what was happening to it at first. It had woken with its litter mates under the remains of the house where its mother had given birth to ten puppies. It had staggered out when the rush of ash had fallen and the ground had shaken on trembling legs.

At barely eight weeks old, it was the runt of the litter, but also the most adventuresome. Its mother had tried more than once to keep it hidden from the large, two-legged creatures that walked the ground. That first day, it had fallen, shivering and confused, as strange, green flashes of light mixed with the glowing ash that coated its tiny body.

Its eyes had closed as a strange feeling swept over it. Pain burst through its small body as it grew, twisting and pulling on the bones and tissue until low, whimpering cries were ripped from its throat. When it finally woke several days later, it was hungry. Its mother had come out several times to check on it after the first day, but assumed that it was dead. She returned to the rest of her litter and waited for the world to stop shaking.

It had smelled its mother and siblings hiding under the house. The mother tried to protect her pups, but it had devoured each one before turning its attention to the larger female that it had wounded.

The creature had learned quickly that food gave it the energy it craved. It had learned over the next year how to stalk and kill its prey. There had been other creatures like it, but they had not been as smart.

It recognized that it was different. It was the alpha bitch. She would rule those under her. Only three others had recognized her power and submitted to her dominance. She had allowed them to live, to serve her.

Wiping the dripping black blood of the beast that had ripped out the arrow from her shoulder, she tilted her head and stared at the remaining creatures around her. There were ten of them counting her. Her gaze moved to the ones that were dead or dying. Her pack would need food.

With a low snarl, the others attacked the remains. She bent and ripped another section of black flesh from the beast she had killed. A strange consciousness emerged in her mind. She wanted the powers of the strange two-legged creature and she wanted to kill the female who had challenged her.

But first, first I need food, she thought.