Howlers

Chapter Two

Valleri drove along the roads of Louisiana, Tank resting in the back seat, and her headphones in her ears. The music calmed her and took her mind off of what happened and the pain in her left arm.

It was nighttime now, and Valleri was going to have to stop for gas soon. She had a gallon of gas in her trunk, and she'd have to pull over soon to pour it into her jeep's tank, taking the risk of getting caught by one of those....things.

Earlier she'd stopped by a small grocery store and had quickly taken what was left of the already raided food, when she'd come across one of those things. It was smaller, most likely once a child. Keyword, once. Valleri had shot it in the head, but that only slowed it down long enough for her to get the hell out.

Valleri didn't know where those things came from and to be honest she didn't care. Her main focus was survival. She couldn't find her family if she was dead. Valleri sighed and took out her headphones. Stuffing them into her bra where her phone was. She'd tried calling for help, but her service was down.

Valleri turned and looked at Tank as he whimpered and hopped into the passenger seat. 

"You hungry?" He perked up at that and Valleri gave a small smile and sighed. "Might as well pull over and eat and put some gas in the tank."

She looked around and when she saw nothing she slowly pulled over and immediately grabbed the gun. She grabbed her keys and got out the jeep, leaving Tank where he was.

Slowly she made her way to the trunk and opened it, quickly grabbing the red container filled with gas, her backpack, and the dog food she managed to grab before she was attacked at the store.

Valleri filled the tank, thankful she still had some gas left and put it back in the trunk, shutting it and quickly rushing back into the jeep and speeding off.

Her racing heart finally calmed and she set the shotgun back on the floor behind the passenger seat and opened the dog food. She set it on the floor before Tank, who greedily stuck his snout in the bag. Valiant chuckled and opened up the family sized bag of chips. 

"Don't eat it all okay?"

Tank looked at her, blinked, then resumed eating. Valleri sighed and focused on the rode, contemplating where she should go.

Should she just drive until she found a safe place to hide out?

Should she go in search of her family?

Should she just keep driving until the jeep gave out?

What does one do in this situation?

If she found a place to hide out who knew how long it would take for help to come help her and her town, she might be dead before then.

If she went on a blind search for her uncle and brother she may be attacked or run out of gas and then be attacked and killed.

If she kept driving until her jeep have out, then she'd be screwed.

None of her options seemed pleasing. Especially since she now has Tank to think about. Her decision had to insure both of their safety.

Valleri blinked back her tears as her grip on the steering wheel tightened. She winced as the pain in her arm worsened and immediately loose her grip on the wheel. Her forearm was badly bruised and she was sure the bones were bruised as well.

All this was just...bullshit.

Valleri wanted so badly for this to be just a bad dream. She wanted to close her eyes and wake up in her bed, her little brother whining about school as usual and her uncle nagging about how Valleri needed some normal friends.

She chuckled. She remembered how Danton would complain about how her best friends, Cole and Maggie, were too weird for Valleri, not realizing she was equally as weird.

She recalled once when she and Andre were hanging out with Danton at the mall Cole and Maggie came up to them and Danton yanked Andre away, complaining he didn't want them to contaminate young Andre with their weirdness.

Cole, Maggie, and Val still laugh about that even after two years.

Valleri wiped away a stray tear and shook her head.

"Don't cry Val. Stay strong. You'll see them again."

Be strong.