Chapter 2

My head is screaming with worst-case scenarios until I finally open my eyes. A furry brown face is staring down at me with a wide tongue hanging out of its mouth. To my relief, it's just my boxer, Piper. Her ears perk up as she hears me sigh, and she wastes no time showing me how much she missed me in the form of slobbery dog kisses. Giggling, I hug her close, thankful for the little light of sunshine she has brought me. Her tail violently thwacks me as she squirms around, unable to contain her excitement. I push her off me so I can stand up.

"C' mon girl. Let's get inside."

At the sound of that, her tail starts wagging uncontrollably, and she bounds towards the door, tongue waving out the side of her mouth. I think I will postpone my departure now that some new circumstances have come up.

I take a moment to survey the area before heading back into the house. I look around at the woods near our house and out towards the field behind the house, making sure there is nothing suspicious before going back inside. Luckily, our house has no close neighbors, so I'm not worried about unexpected guests.

Since it hasn't been more than a month, a lot of our food is still good. I set my bug out bag down by the door and make my way into the kitchen. Piper rushes to her food and water bowls and digs in, even though the food is old and likely stale now. I hadn't thought to switch out the food, because Piper hadn't come back to the house after the first round of panic. I had honestly thought the worst had happened. That someone else had found her or she had gotten hurt. I do not know where she has been, but I am glad she came back to me unharmed. I toss some fresh food in her bowl and smile at her before turning to get myself a drink. Opening the fridge, I grab a root beer. At least the government hasn't taken the power grid down yet.

I pop open the soda can and greedily down its contents. It's my favorite soft drink. Before the bombing, I practically lived off the junk. Opening the cabinet next to the fridge, I grab a box of peanut butter protein bars. Taking one out, I pour the rest into my bag while I'm thinking about it. Before I forget I toss a few sodas in. They will make for a pleasant treat after a hard day. My backpack is getting heavy so I will have to be careful with it until I can find a car or some other way to get around besides walking.

Piper comes over and nudges my legs forcefully, wagging her tail violently as she sits back on her haunches waiting for me to get her some more to eat. I find some meat that's more than rotting in the fridge and barely avoid puking on the floor as I plop it out of its plastic and into her food bowl. It very well should have been Christmas with how excited she was. My stomach, on the other hand, was not excited about the stench now filling the room.

I sit back down and begin gnawing on the protein bar I left out. My nerves and the smell have killed my appetite, but I know I need to eat something if I want to keep myself functioning to survive. Just as I'm finishing my meager meal, a thud comes from upstairs. My eyes widen as I realize what that probably means. Shit. I need to be more careful. Piper's head darts up to look at me as rotten pork and drool drip from the sides of her mouth. The sight makes me cringe. Piper can sense my unease as she walks over to me and her body tenses. I grab the knife from my bag just in case and amble towards the stairs.

"Go lay down girl. Go to your kennel." I urge her quietly. She hesitates, but then she turns and slinks into the living room where her kennel waits in a corner. She lays down inside and I whisper for her to stay.

Then, I make my way across the kitchen to the stairs that lead up to the second floor where my bedroom is. I climb them slowly, feeling the fear creep up again as my heart thrums in my ears. I try to breathe slowly, to calm down as I make my way higher. Just as I'm reaching the top of the step, there is another loud thud. This time it's closer. It seems to come from the attic that's right by the stairs. My sister's bedroom door is across from the stairs and her door is open, showing an empty room. My parent's bedroom door is closed to the left of the stairs. I peek around to the right to check if I shut my door. I did.

I listen carefully for any more movement but can't hear anything. Knife at the ready, I pull the hatch to the attic down and throw myself back quickly in case of the worst. I nearly pass out from relief when my cat, Twitch, races out of the attic and heads downstairs.

Jesus. Not even a hello. Cats are assholes. But then again, he probably thinks I abandoned him. If he wasn't such a proficient hunter, he would probably be dead by now.

Climbing up the rickety ladder, I remain cautious. The stench of cat waste assaults my senses and my eyes water from the odor. I look around and see the culprit of the horrendous smell in the form of a pile on the floor in the far corner. There doesn't seem to be anything other than that different, so I move to climb back down. I'll clean up later, for now, I just want to be away from the smell.

Just as my foot hits the next step down the ladder creaks and I lose my balance. It's a shortfall to the floor below, but the impact still knocks the air out of my chest and turns my vision fuzzy. I lay still for a moment, trying to ease the thumping in my head from it smacking the hardwood floor. Finally, I get off the ground and shut the attic hatch. Just what I needed, a good knock on the head. The laugh that escapes my mouth is dry.

I sluggishly move downstairs and set my bag by the back door in the kitchen. I check all the doors and windows and make sure they are securely locked, and the curtains are drawn. Then I barely make it to the couch before my legs give out because of the absence of adrenaline from both finding Twitch and falling off the ladder. Piper climbs up onto the end of the couch by my feet and rests her head on my legs. I'm not sure where Twitch is, but he's probably doing his own thing.

My mind drifts to my family as my eyes close. The last thing I remember thinking before I fell asleep is that I hope they're okay. Tomorrow I will begin my journey for real.