Little Mouse

Meeting New People

Driving (more like waiting) on the highway, we turned on the radio.

"The local news advises that you stay indoors and lock your houses. Do not go outside. If you know anyone who has the following symptoms, quarantine them immediately. The symptoms are: coughing, fever, high temperatures, vomiting, and severe hallucinations. Atlanta is currently housing many people, however if you are not in the immediate area, please do not go outside. Stay indoors. Lock your doors and windows. The Army National Guard will take care of it."

I glanced at Melissa.

"Think we should, go to Atlanta?" I suggested.

"I guess. Not really much else to go." She pointed out, chewing her ring finger nail. I glanced out of Melissa's small, bright pink, Volkswagen Beetle. It was getting fairly late, and we were surrounded by cars, which were slowly inching forward.

Suddenly, out of pure irritation and impatience, Melissa slammed in the horn, honking. She got several returned. Behind me, Buddy was panting with nervousness. His doggy breath was filling the car with a rancid oder.

"Could you roll down the back windows?" I asked. "It'd make him feel better with fresh air." Melissa rolled down the back windows partially, letting in the cool, evening air. Buddy stuck his nose out of one of the windows, inhaling the scent of the outside world. "Thanks." I mumbled. I rested my head on the cool window, waiting for the line to slowly move forward.

...

After several hours, we were almost to Atlanta. We were still around two or three miles away. But traffic stopped moving. Irritated, Melissa honked, only to get honked at by several other people around us. Buddy started whining in the back, squirming in his seat.

"Hey, Buddy needs to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back." I muttered. Unbuckling my seatbelt. Melissa nodded, resting her head onto her hand as she waited for the line to move.

I got out of the car, stretching. I cracked my back and touched my toes, enjoying being free from the car. I opened the back door, grabbing Buddy's leash. He gladly hopped out, sniffing along the pavement.

"C'mon Buddy." I murmured, gently tugging his leash towards the grass. He eagerly sniffed around, looking for a spot to do his business. I glanced around, amazed by all the cars surrounding us. I could easily pick out Melissa's in the mix. Hers stood out like... well... like a bright pink car. Looking behind us at the woods, I got a bad feeling from the dark, gloomy forest.

When Buddy finished, I started to lead him back to the car, when I heard someone approaching me from behind. Turning, I saw two kids. A boy and girl. The girl looked slightly older, and had auburn hair with hundreds of freckles dotting her nose and cheeks. The boy had dark brown hair, and looked relatively young.

"Can we please pet your dog?" The girl asked.

"Sure." I said. "Hold out your hand like this." I instructed, holding my hand out with my palm to the sky. The boy and girl imitated me, and Buddy sniffed them, licking them as well.

"What's his name?" The boy asked.

"Buddy." I said, smiling.

"I've always wanted a dog. But Mom won't let me get one." He muttered, glancing behind him. That's when I noticed two women standing there, watching us. One of them had long dark brown hair. I'm assuming that was the boy's mother. The other one looked a little old to be having kids, with very short gray hair. They smiled at me as their kids pet Buddy. I smiled back. A man approached the pair. He had curly black hair and was pretty buff. He glanced at us, then walked over.