Wednesday, June 23, 2010

March 21, 2012

I woke up this morning to a horrendous noise. It was still dark, and I half asleep. Looked out the window and saw an enormous pack of dogs, must have been a hundred of them. They were barking, growling, and snarling, apparently fighting over a carcass they'd brought down during the night. That was all well and good, until they discovered me.

I suppose the smell from the grill, which I stupidly left out last night, had attracted them. From there they could smell the food I have here in the camper, and the Blazer. I guess they smell me too. They started scratching on the camper, jumping up to the windows, teeth bared and snarling. I grabbed the nearest gun, my Marlin .22, then I cracked a window open and started shooting. Several dogs went down before the rest ran off. But they didn't run too far.

It seems that their hunting instincts are taking a while to kick back in. Many of the dogs I see are emaciated after several weeks now of being on their own. They've scavenged what they could, but most of the bodies are pretty far gone now. The only good meat left now is in cans, or on the hoof. They can't open cans...

After a few minutes, the dogs returned to consume their former companions. I had no choice but to open fire again, because I really needed to get out of there, and I'd be stuck if I didn't kill those dogs. After going through about 100 rounds of .22, I was finally able to get to the Blazer. There are still some dogs around, but they've retreated to the tree line, or behind/under buildings. Anyways, I can make my escape from here.

10:20 AM. Stopped in the middle of nowhere due to a blowout on the trailer. Got the spare tire on now. I grabbed a can of beef stew from my stash, and I'll eat it as I travel. For some reason I just feel the need to put some distance between me and... Well I don't know what. I just need to move.

4:00 PM. I know the time only because I came across a Wal Mart. My watch died early this afternoon. For some reason I felt lost without it, so I pulled in here, grabbed my shotgun, a flashlight, and went inside. What a wreck. The place had been destroyed by looters. There were bodies in there, but whether they died from the disease or were killed in the mayhem I couldn't tell. I snagged a pack of watch batteries, some flashlight batteries and bulbs, and got the hell out of there. My watch is back on track now and I feel better. For some reason I feel the need to keep time. To keep the date. It's like the guy marooned on an island I guess, they always show them keeping track of the days.

6:30 PM. I've been seeing a huge black cloud creeping over the horizon this afternoon. I am approaching Beaumont, Texas, and I can only assume that it's coming from the refineries near there. I've stopped for the night, because I'm not in line with the plume, which I can imagine isn't too good for one's health. I'll rest up tonight, and try like hell for the Louisiana border tomorrow. It might be interesting getting through the Beaumont area, I can only imagine the wreckage blocking the roads there. It will be the first (formerly) heavily populated area I've had to go through. Tomorrow is likely to be a very long day.

1 comment:

  1. I like it. Good writing, good plot development. Keep 'em coming!

    ReplyDelete