"Mister! C'mon! Mister! Can you hear me?"
Tom groggily stirred back to consciousness.
"Hey! Can you hear me? Are you okay?"
Tom opened his eyes, trying to see where he was, or what had happened. As things
came into focus, he could see that he was laying in the wreckage of his car. He tried
moving, he could move his body fine, though he was sore.
"I'm okay, I think." He said. "Help me out of here.."
"I'm coming, buddy."
The stranger reached in, grabbing Tom and pulling on him. He was snagging on
something.
"I'm stuck, hold on." Tom said, looking to his feet. His foot was stuck on the shotgun
that had gotten wedged between the seat and the dashboard. With a kick, it came out.
"Alright, pull."
Pulling Tom out, the stranger helped him sit up.
"Are you okay?"
Tom looked at the man. He looked young, probably in his mid-twenties, and scared out
of his mind.
"I'm okay. What happened?"
"Jesus Christ, man. I was trying to get away from that thing on the news."
"That creature?"
"Yea.. Me and my buddies, we were having a barbeque tonight. We stayed out to drink
and talk, and this thing ran through the fence.. It bit my leg real good, shook me up.. My
buddies, they tried to scare it off. One of them hit it with a 2x4, and it let go."
Tom looked at the man's leg. Indeed, he was bleeding.
"But then it got him, man. Fucking ripped his throat out. Oh shit, man!" Tears welled in
his eyes.
"It killed him, man! And I ran away. I fucking ran away.."
"What about the others?"
"I don't know. I just got in my truck and fucking drove."
Tom tried standing to his feet. Surprisingly, he was able to. He didn't feel anything at all,
in fact, the soreness seemed to be fading away. He looked across the highway. The
man's truck was still running, though one of the headlights was out.
"We need to get out of here, do you mind if I drive?" Tom asked the man.
"What? Uh.. No, no man." The man answered, wiping his eyes and standing on his feet
as well. He seemed to wince a little.
"Does it hurt?"
"What?"
"Your leg."
"I'll be okay, I think."
Tom ducked back into his wreck to retrieve the shotgun, then started off for the truck.
"Let's go. Do you have a cell phone?" Tom asked the man.
"No, I left it at the party."
Getting into the truck, Tom tried to tune into the radio.
"That is, to repeat myself again, that police are now ordering all citizens to stay indoors.
If you are out on the streets, you will be placed under arrest and taken into custody for
your own safety. Reports are in that there are several of these wild animals, possibly up to
a dozen or more. Witness reports are that they have the appearance of very large wolf-
like animals. They are very dangerous. Stay inside your homes, do not go outside for any
reason."
"What the hell, man?! What the fuck are these things?" The shaken man blurted.
"Stay calm, we're going to be alright." Tom tried to reassure him.
Putting the truck into drive, Tom gets back onto the highway and picks up speed.