Chapter 17

The Change:

“Thank you again for everything,” Maria murmured in a quiet voice.

“If you see any of the others again, you won’t tell them anything,will you?” Josie asked, moving from one foot to the other and staring intently at Alex more than she was Maria.

“No, we won’t,” Alex said with a grimace. “I doubt that they survived. That one creature….” He shook his head and looked uneasily at Josie before glancing at Dust. “I doubt we’ll ever see any of them again.”

Dust glanced at Maria and Alex with a frown. “Are you sure you want to split up? You could travel with us,” he said in a quiet voice. “What do you plan to do?”

Alex glanced at Maria before he spoke. “We are going to head east. I had some family in North Carolina. I’m hoping some of them may have survived. I… I owe you an apology, Dust. Maria, the kids, and I would all be dead now if not for you. Beau said….”

“Dad said a lot of crap,” Josie interrupted in a hard voice. 

Dust glanced at Josie. She had the flames glowing in her eyes again. She tended to do that whenever Alex opened his mouth. It had been a battle the last three days to keep her from torching Alex. If the other man owed anyone an apology, it was Josie.

Alex and Maria had decided it was better for them to go off on their own. Neither one of them felt comfortable around him or Josie. While Dust was concerned about their safety, he also knew it was their choice. It was the three small children with Alex and Maria that he was concerned about. Still, they were all probably better off as far away from him as possible. The haunting threat of the female devil dog were burned into his memory.

“Stay together,” Dust said, nodding to Alex. “I wish I could give you some advice on how to know if there are any more of those creatures around, but I can’t. Just keep your eyes open and try not to move around too much at night if you are out in the open.”

“We won’t,” Alex replied with a stiff nod. “We’ve got to get going before it gets too much later.”

Dust’s eyes widened in surprise when Maria stepped forward and gave him a hug. He stood stiffly, not sure of what to do. She quickly released him and stepped back again with a murmur of thanks before she turned and walked to the waiting truck that he had taken from the silo. Several minutes later, only the faint outline of it could be seen as it headed away from them.

Dust turned and looked around the small town that they had taken refuge in several days ago. He didn’t remember much of the first day. It had taken every ounce of his strength to get to the culvert. His chest had been ripped open by the she-devil’s claws. 

“How are you feeling?” Sammy asked, staring at him in concern. “You still look pale.”

“I’m good,” Dust replied with a crooked grin. “Although, I wouldn’t object to another bag of marshmallows if we have any.”

Sammy shook her head. “We don’t,” she said with a sigh of regret. “I do have some soda and chips.”

Dust nodded. “I’ll take the soda,” he said, taking a step closer to Sammy when she turned to walk back to the car where Todd was waiting for them. “Did you, Josie, or any of the others find anything worth salvaging?”

Sammy shook her head. “No,” she replied.

“This was one of the towns my dad and brother hit,” Josie said with a shrug. “I was with them when they came the first couple of times. They must have come back for more. I don’t remember it being this empty when I was here before.”

“I think it would be best to head out,” Dust suggested. “There were several more towns and we might find some houses along the way that they missed.”

“Good luck with that,” Josie replied with a snort. “My dad was pretty good about finding stuff.”

“How far out did they go, Josie?” Sammy asked, frowning.

Josie shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “Not far at first, but I was locked up the last six months, so who knows. I just know that I am NEVER going underground again!”

Dust watched as Josie raised her face to the sky. Since the fragments of the comet hit the earth, there were never any really sunny days. A layer of clouds covered the sky. The weather was cooler than it had been before. What should be the hottest part of the summer felt more like the beginnings of winter. 

“Here you go, Dust,” Sammy said, holding out a can of soda. 

“Thanks,” Dust replied, taking the soda from her. He looked at her when she didn’t let go of the can at first. She was studying him with a worried expression. He reached up with his other hand, smoothing back a strand of her dark hair when it blew across her face. “I’m glad you and Todd made it out safely,” he said in a husky voice.

“Are you okay? I mean, really,” Sammy murmured in a soft voice. “The few times I’ve seen you hurt, you seemed to heal faster after you ate something. This time it took longer.”

Dust glanced down at the soda in his hand. She was right, it had taken longer. Of course, some of the wounds to his chest had been deeper than the other wounds he had suffered. He had also lost a lot of blood.

“I’m fine,” he finally said, looking up at her again with a slight smile. 

“Can we leave, already?” Josie snapped, glaring back and forth between Sammy and Dust. “I’ll drive.”

Dust didn’t miss the way Sammy’s lips tightened into a straight line or the flash of annoyance in her eyes. He heard Todd mumble that it was about time as he crawled across the back seat. Deciding that it would probably best if he sat next to Todd, he climbed in the back seat and pulled the door close.

“So, which way do we head?” Josie asked as she climbed into the driver’s seat.

“North,” Sammy and Dust said at the same time.

“Can I ask why? It seems like it will only be colder up there,” Josie asked, glancing over her shoulder at Dust.

“I have family in Portland,” Dust said. “I don’t know if they are still alive, but I want to find out.”

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Josie raised an eyebrow before she turned and looked at Sammy. “What about you?” She asked.

Sammy started and half turned in her seat so she could look back at him. Dust could feel her surprise at his admission. He had never told her about his aunt and uncle that lived in Portland. His mom’s brother lived there. They had actually visited him and his aunt just the Christmas before the comet struck. 

“It’s just Todd and me,” Sammy finally replied, turning back in her seat. “We have a little over half a tank of gas and two gas cans that are filled. We’ll need to keep an eye out for any gas stations we can find. We’ll also need more food. At the rate you and Dust are eating, we won’t last very long if we don’t.”

Josie flashed a grin. “I won’t need quite as much as I was eating. I’m feeling the energy inside me. Still, you’ll appreciate my appetite if we meet any more of those devil dog creatures. I’ll be able to roast the lot of them!”

“I just hope we find more marshmallows. They were good the way you toasted them, Josie,” Todd commented from the back seat. 

“Thanks, Todd,” Josie chuckled. “I love being free!”

Dust laughed and tiredly laid his head back against the seat. Lifting the can to his lips, he sipped on the sugary mixture. He could feel the energy slowly coursing through him. 

Turning his head, he watched as the landscape flashed by them. His mind played back over the battle with the devil dog. Worry tugged at him. Deep down, he knew that he had not seen the last of the creature.

His gaze turned to the back of Sammy’s head. He hadn’t told her about the strange sensations that had been running through his body since the day of the fight. At first, he had thought it was because of his injuries, but now he wasn’t so sure. It felt like his skin was crawling. 

There was also the uncontrollable hunger. He had eaten through a third of what had been stored in the car over the last three days. Sammy hadn’t tried to stop him, but she had watched him with growing alarm. Josie on the other hand, had been rather blunt when she told him that he needed to slow down until they had a chance to find another town. 

The last thing he noticed was it felt like he was still running a fever. By the time he reached Sammy, Todd, and Josie the other night, his skin had felt like he was on fire. He had fallen into the back of the car while Josie drove. Todd had sat in the front seat while Sammy had stayed in the back with him, constantly running a damp cloth over his fevered skin. Alex, Maria, and the kids had followed in the large truck Dust had taken. His fever finally broke late yesterday afternoon. When it did, that was when his appetite had gone crazy.

Now, he was just tired. All he wanted to do was sleep. Turning his head, he rested his forehead against the cool glass and closed his eyes. It felt so good, both the cool against his skin and the closing of his eyes. They had a long road ahead of them before they would stop for the night. He would sleep until then, or at least for just a little while, he thought as Sammy and Josie’s soft voices washed over him.

*.*.*

Kill one, the female devil dog ordered, glaring up at her Beta with eyes glazed with pain and rage.

The Beta didn’t question her order. She would have killed him if he had. Instead, she watched the large male trot over to where the remainder of her pack lay resting. This would be the second one that he would kill for her in the past day. Her hunger was eating at her with an intensity that she was amazed that she hadn’t killed the rest of the pack.

The sound of fighting drew her attention back to the group. The Beta had picked the weakest the survivors, but it was still strong. The fight to live was strong inside the devil dog, but it was no match for the larger Beta. Several minutes later, the Beta returned, dragging a limp body clutched between its thick, powerful jaws.

Yes, the She-devil groaned, rising up with difficulty. 

She stumbled toward the warm remains of the devil dog. With a ferociousness that belied her feelings of weakness, she fell to the ground and ripped into the flesh of the dead beast. As she ate, she thought of the human who had almost killed her. The pain of the knife wound in her side still throbbed. It had been deep, barely missing her heart. 

She snarled when the Beta stepped too close. Snapping her jaws, her eyes blazed a dark, blood-red. She could feel the power coursing through her, as well as something else. Her body felt stiff and achy. 

Rising to her feet, she stumbled for a moment before an intense pain swept through her. This was far worse than when she woke that first time. A loud, piercing howl shattered the night air. Twisting, she fell to the ground. Her back and shoulders felt like they were on fire. 

The Beta jerked back as she jerked in uncontrollable spasms. In the back of her mind, she could feel his fear. She watched helplessly as he turned and disappeared into the darkness, the remaining devil dogs following him. Her jaws opened and she fought to snarl an order for him to return, but her throat was suddenly paralyzed. 

Hot pants escaped her as the skin along her shoulders split open. Her paws curled into the dirt as she desperately tried to hold onto consciousness as waves of pain exploded through her. A low, moan finally broke through the agonizing pain when the pressure inside her finally spilled out onto the ground. 

Lifting her head several long minutes later, she tiredly glanced over her shoulder. A sense of triumph and a momentary flash of power swept through her before she laid her head back down. Unable to resist, she wiggled her shoulders. The unfamiliar weight pulled at her.

I am changed, she thought with contentment. I am stronger. The human cannot escape me now.