Just as I was thinking one of us would have to get out and push the car free, the car moved forward with a sudden jolt.

I let out a quick exclamation of joy, but my feeling of victory was cut short when I saw a group of things standing around us, their eyes glowing in the growing darkness.

All around us, there was about a dozen of the "dogs" and all of them were staring directly at us, eyeing us like they were ready to pounce at any moment. With but a moment's hesitation due to the shock, I didn't relent on the gas, driving forward in between two of them and onto the road. They just watched us as we drove between them; they were all just staring, none of them had even moved from the position they were in.

As we drove off into the rain, all three of us breathed a sigh of relief.

"Damn, they were creepy bastards," Jared said with a chuckle, "But I guess we don't have to worry about them, huh?"

I was glad they weren't following us, but I wondered how long it would last, "Yeah... I hope. I have to wonder what they were doing. They didn't seem to be in any particular hurry to come after us... and that one I first saw had plenty of opportunities to attack me if that was its goal..."

The sound of the engine and the rain pattering on the car filled the silence. It felt weird to be driving and hearing those noises again after all this time.

The fact that it was nightfall was worrying, especially since we had absolutely no idea what we were getting ourselves into after being shut in that basement for a month.

Just how much had the world changed in that span of time? Was The Storm stationary now? Is that why it was still raining here? Or was the storm growing and spreading across the continent, or maybe even the world? How many people were even left alive? Was there even a semblance of a society left?

I remembered how Mike had told me that there was strange and unnatural weather all around the world before the storm hit.

How was that connected to The Storm? Did it all come from the same source, or was there others? Was there some central piece to all of this?

Why was any of this even happening at all?

A million questions and apprehensions flooded my mind, swirling around like a tempest. Would I ever find any answers?

Thinking about Mike made me wonder if he was still alive. If he was, I wondered how he was holding up or if I'd ever see him again. I sighed. Chances are, he was still in Arborline when they dropped the bomb...

"Uhhhhhhhm...." Aaron uttered from the backseat.

"What? What's wrong Aaron?" I asked.

"Did either of you see that?" he asked.

"See what?" Jared looked back at him.

"...I don't know." Aaron responded, shuddering. "I saw something run across the road in the rear-view mirror."

"Something?" I asked, "What do you mean, something?"

He didn't respond.

Jared clutched the gun. I pushed hard on the gas, keeping a watchful eye on the rear-view mirror.

A loud thump almost sent the car spinning out as I panicked and nearly lost control.

"What the-", I started as my eyes widened at the source of the noise, on the windshield and I unconsciously took my foot off the gas in shock as I fully became aware of what lay on the other side of the glass.

The windshield had been smashed. Though it didn't shatter there were cracks all through it... and a pair of predatory eyes were staring directly into my own. The car slowed to the point where it nearly stopped as we locked eyes, both of us unmoving; for me it was out of shock, while I could only imagine what reason the creature had to only stare at me in this situation.

It was one of the "dogs", sprawled across the windshield with its arms wrapped around the front of the car as if it were a man.

Aaron screamed in the backseat, rousing me out of my stupor. I slammed on the gas pedal again, bringing it all the way down to the floor and we sped forward.

"Shoot it!" I screamed to Jared as the car bolted forward.

"No, it's too risky this close with the windshield! Shake it off!" he screamed back, but kept the gun aimed on the creature.

A tongue in the shape of a human's but with the length of a dog's came out of the creature's mouth and it started to lick the window.

What the fuck is this thing's problem?

Not knowing what else I could do, I swerved a bit with the car, trying to knock it off. Its claws made scraping noises on the metal as it tried to keep its hold, but it was soon thrown off the car and sent flying into the nearby bushes, its eyes still locked with mine until it disappeared.

"What the hell! What is it trying to do?!" Jared shouted.

I shook my head. The cracks on the windshield had made it much harder to see now, we'd have to get a new car; if we could even find one, let alone one that works.

But for now we'd have to keep speeding ahead, unless we wanted those things catching up with us... which we definitely didn't want to happen...

A glance in the rear-view mirror caused me to shudder. Oh God... they were behind us. At least a dozen of the things were about forty feet behind us on the road, running towards us with all of their might. Some of them ran after us like hounds, while the others ran on two feet in an unnatural way that made it seem like there was some glitch going on with reality.