Cicadas sing a tune, only for the sound to drowned out by the crackle of what's left of our fire. The workers from Humble gas up the cars. Their employer shouts at the governor, "We should have helped them!" "You think we could!? You saw how they blindsided us!" A man that managed to escape Lufkin walks up, "You were supposed to help us!" The man pulls a gun and the governor's guards shoot him, I jump as screams and whimpers are heard throughout the camp. Penny's face on the floor. I shake my head.
Jon huffs and puffs while watching him get off scott-free. Dave side-talks, "Jon." I cross my arms, "God'll handle it."
Dave smirks, "Don't tell me the Anointed got through to you?" Jean walks over, "Hey, the racist dispatcher says we're headed out." Jon growls, "Any longer and I-" Dave smiles and covers his mouth. Jean smiles as Jon tries to swears about the governor out loud. I smile, "One day, Jon." My smile fades as the governor looks our way, disgust in his eyes.
All our convoy's cars beep, everyone settles in and all of us jump in our damaged car. Norbert hops in, "The damn satellites are still down." Dave tilts his head, "That's normal though. A disaster like this-" "They should focus on communication!"
Jean yawns, "Is this about-" Norbert leers at her and she shuts up. He then catches me with a glare. I guess I'll ask him later. "Anyway, what's the plan?" Jean sighs, "Shreveport, a little demon activity." Dave tilts his head, "Doubt it."
I smile at Jack, "You're awful quiet." He uncrosses his arms, "Are we the monsters?" Everyone suddenly goes quiet. After a while, he pops open the hatch and I wince. I follow him up, his legs lodged under a bar so he won't fall.
"It's hard to say." He looks back at me, "We're killing people who want to survive." I frown, "Jack-" My rough hand scrapes at my beard, "Remember when I handed you that gun? What I said?" He grabs at his knees, "I couldn't fight. They ambushed us. All I could see was a thousand blurry pictures." Before I could open my mouth, he holds the gun by the barrel. "I don't think I'm cut out for this."
As we reach the city's limits, an idea comes in. "Kid-" A series of gunshots come from ahead. He jerks the gun into his jacket pocket, rushes into my arms and I lower him back in. Jack shouts from below, "Normal people running!" I shout, "Clock!" "Clock!?" I shake my head, "Twelve is in front of us!"
I look down, Norbert shouts, "He's pointing at 2!" I bend over and squint, they're running towards us. I hop off the car and pound against the concrete. They open up the armored slots and Dave smiles. I shout, "Slow down so we can pick em' up!" Dave nods as Norbert gets on the flame turret.
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I rush towards them. A man points at me and a woman shoots. A wolf comes from behind them as bricks smack against me to block the bullets. She fights off the wolf and the man shoots it, but it won't stop, likely because of it's abnormally thick skull. I run up and grip it's head and it jumps in it's skin. My heart booms and the wolf stiffs up at the pressure on it's skull. I drag him and swing him away. I huff and grab my back, "Damn it."
The man hugs the woman, his nose wrinkles at the sight of me, "Thanks." The wolf growls at me as I stare it down, "Let's get y'all outta here." The car rolls up and I walk up, watching the rooftops. I walk up to the man as his wife gets in the car, "What are y'all doing here?" "We were trying to get gas, get out of here." Dave hops out, "You guys got a car?" "We did."
Jon sighs, "What happened?" The man's nose wrinkles while answering Jon. "You've seen em. The wolves bashed through the garage we were at." I squint, "So there aren't-" There's that nose wrinkling again. "People like you? Luckily they all got up and left. Hopefully back to hell or wherever they came from." Jon looks at me with pressed lips, then at the man.
How odd, not any demons here? Just animals? Where'd they all go? "Take us there" "Fine" Dave takes the guy under his arm, "Can you tell me where gas stations are too?" "Sure!"
We get to where this garage is. Jon, Dave and I stack up on the garage door as the others roll off. "Ready?" Jon nods, "Let's do it." My heart surges and I walk in. I check the car as noises come from the other room. Dave whispers, "Clear." I try to tiptoe, but the office's boards creak loud. I forget how heavy I get when I'm in this state.
A wolf comes growling to me. I force my heart to boom and I stomp into the hallway. The wolf leaps back and puts it's tail between it's legs. Another wolf's head peaks around the corner. My heart skips a beat as it comes around the corner, it's big, like person sized. "Did one of y'all find the keys?!" Dave makes them rattle, "Where he said they'd be." "Good, because we need to leave."
Jon peeks around and jerks away, "Is that thing even gonna let us leave?" It growls as fire falls from it's mouth. It marches through the hallway slow, "You two- Car. Now." They both pat my shoulders and run to the car. The engine kicks on and I can hear Dave whoop. The car squeals out the garage and I start backing out the way I came in. It opens it's mouth and her throat starts to glow. It snorts repeatedly and lowers it's head.
I jump back into the garage and a yellow flame passes the doorway, then an explosion, that of a molotov. It then leaps, stamping out the flames under it's weight before looking at me, snarling those flames out it's mouth. "Mean little momma." I wince and turn my back to it. To my surprise, nothing happens. I glance back, it sits and the stops dripping those flames. "My guess was right then." It lifts a paw and I turn. I shake it and it pokes me with it's teeth.
I laugh as it lets go, then tries to leap up on me, but I back away. "Good luck with your pups." I walk out and take a deep breath. Just like that spider. God, that was as sketchy, if not more. "Now where'd they go?" The rumbling, the convoy's moving through. I should get back towards where we came through.