“Okay,” Jon mutters the following morning, as he takes the old piece of paper from the door and pins a new one in its place, this time with a completely different set of squiggly lines. “Just in case Julie shows up while we're gone. Which she probably will. We'll only be a few hours, but...”
He pauses for a moment, clearly lost in thought. I can tell that he's really worried now, and he's not even trying to hide the fact that he thinks something is wrong. After a moment, he glances at me and forces a smile.
“Fancy a ride in the car, Harry?” he asks, leaning down and ruffling the fur on the side of my neck. “Remember that gas station we passed on the way up here last week? It can't be more than ten miles away. How about we go touch base with civilization and make sure the rest of the world didn't go up in flames, huh?”
***
As the car comes to a halt in the gas station's parking lot, I look out the window and immediately see that something seems different. I remember coming here a few times before, and there were always lots of other cars, and lots of other people too. This time, there are no other cars at all, and all the lights are off. The main road is empty, too, whereas usually there are always a few cars passing in either direction.
“Do you see any sign of anyone?” Jon asks as he switches the engine off. “Anyone at all?”
We sit in silence for a few minutes. Jon seems reluctant to get out of the car, maybe because he'd like to see at least some hint of movement first. He's much more cautious than usual, and it's clear he's starting to pick up on the fact that something is wrong. Maybe he's finally picking up on some of the signs that I first noticed a couple of days ago.
Finally he turns to me.
“I know I usually make you wait in the car, buddy, but do you want to come with me this time? It's not like there's any traffic to worry about.”
He pauses before getting out of the car and then, to my surprise, he opens the door next to me and claps for me to jump down. Cautiously, I hop out and make my way across the tarmac, while carefully sniffing the air. There are tall trees all around, so it's difficult to really pick up any proper scents from afar, but the first thing I notice is that no-one seems to have been to this place for at least a day, maybe longer. In fact, there's no sign of recent human activity at all.
“I don't mind admitting,” Jon mutters, stepping past me and heading toward the gas station's main building, “I don't like this too much. Stay close, buddy.”
Not wanting to let him get too far away, I hurry after him and then keep pace. The building up ahead looks completely dark and empty, and after a moment I realize I'm picking up the scent of blood from close by. I immediately stop and let out a low, rumbling growl, to warn Jon.
“Harry?”
He stops and looks down at me.
“What is it, buddy?”
Keeping my eyes fixed on the door ahead, I maintain my growl. There's definitely blood somewhere on the other side of that door. Not a lot, but enough to make me really, really not want to go any closer.
“You're freaking me out, Harry,” Jon says after a moment, leaning down and patting the back of my neck. “Come on, let's not overreact here, okay?”
He keeps walking, heading toward the door.
I bark to warn him, and he immediately stops and turns to me.
“Harry?”
I bark again, followed by another low growl. I don't know
exactly
what's wrong, but I know there's a strong scent of blood and I can tell it's coming from inside that building.
“What are you picking up?” Jon asks. He turns and looks toward the door. “Is someone in there?”
I bark again, before lowering my head a little and snarling to warn anyone who might be watching us from those dark windows. The scent is so strong, it's hard to believe that even Jon can't sense it now.
“Hell, Harry,” he continues, “you really know how to put me at ease, don't you?”
He stares at me for a moment, before looking toward the building again.
“Are you saying we shouldn't go in there? Is that what it is?”
I continue to growl at the door as Jon hesitates, but finally he takes a couple more steps forward.
I bark again, and then again, to make him stop.
“Calm down!” he says, holding up a hand. “Harry, quiet!”
Ignoring him, I bark at the door.
“Harry!” Jon says firmly. “Quiet! I'll be fine, okay? I'm just going to take a look! Quiet!”
I know what that word means, but I also know that the sense of blood is getting stronger. The wind has changed direction a little, and now I can tell that whatever happened on the other side of that door, it caused human blood to get spilled about a day ago. The blood has definitely had time to start drying, but its scent is rich and strong, and I think there's a lot of it.
“You can wait out here if you want,” Jon tells me, his voice tense with anticipation, “but I think I... I have to go take a look inside, okay?”
He pauses, before stepping closer to the door.
I bark again, desperately hoping that he'll stop.
“Harry -”
And again, louder this time.
“Harry, seriously...”
Realizing that he doesn't seem to understand, I hurry toward him and paw at his leg.
“Harry -”
I bark again, and then I growl as I stare at the door. A moment later, Jon reaches down and runs a hand across the back of my neck.
“Jesus, the hairs are standing up,” he mutters. “Harry, are you picking up on something?”
Stepping past him, so that I can protect him if something comes out through the door, I snarl a little louder. The scent of blood is even stronger now, and although I can't hear anything moving inside, I still don't want to let Jon go any further.
“Hello?” he calls out. “Is anyone home?”
Still snarling, I watch the door, poised in case there's any hint of movement.
“I don't think there's anyone here, buddy,” Jon continues. “Listen, I'm just gonna take a look inside, okay? You can stay out here, but I have to go in. I'll be careful, I promise. I mean, come on, it's just a gas station, right?”
He steps around me and onto the step outside the door.
I bark again.
“Harry!” he says firmly. “Quiet!”
I let out a whimper as Jon opens the door, and I immediately see that the area inside is dark and gloomy, with no lights at all. The scent of blood is so much stronger now that the door is open.
“Is anyone in here?” Jon calls out, leaning through the open doorway. “Hello? Anyone?”
He pauses, before turning to me with a faint smile.
“See, Harry? I get that you're worried, but I really don't think there's any need to freak out, okay? Obviously someone just headed out of here.” He turns and looks back inside. “And left the door unlocked,” he adds, with a little more uncertainty in his voice. “Which seems a little... odd.”
I bark again, but he ignores me and steps inside.
Suddenly realizing that the door is starting to swing shut, I panic and hurry forward, slipping through the gap just in time. I hate the idea of getting close to the blood, but I have to stay with Jon.
As soon as I'm inside the building, the smell of stale blood hits me much harder. There's something else, too. Old meat, not quite rotten but still not good. My nose is quivering now, as I look along the aisle and see that Jon has made his way almost to the counter at the far end.
“Hello?” he calls out. “Is anyone here?”
Although I just want to get out of here, I cautiously make my way along the aisle. When I get to the far end, I see a cabinet high up on the counter, with a glass pane and some kind of meat on the other side, hanging from a metal pole. I've seen Jon eat meat like that before, and I know it's usually warm and cooked, but this time it seems to have been abandoned and left to go bad. Still, at least I know what was causing the smell of old meat, although the scent of blood seems to be coming from further back in the building, past the counter and through a door that has been left propped open.
Jon still seems not to have noticed the blood. Sometimes I wonder how he survives with such a terrible sense of smell. Maybe that's one of the reasons so many humans seem to like keeping dogs in their pack. They need us.
I watch as Jon steps around the counter, and suddenly I realize he's making his way toward the open door at the back.
I bark to warn him, and he turns to me.
“What?” he asks.
I bark again, and now my whole body is trembling with fear.
“What the...” Jon stops and puts his hand on the door, running his fingers against a series of marks in the wood. “Are these bullet-holes?”
I step closer, while staring through the door and seeing the dark room ahead. I can't make out very much, but I can see a patch on the floor now and I'm certain we've found the blood.
“Maybe this place got robbed,” Jon says cautiously, before peering through into the next room. “Hello? Is anyone here? Is anyone hurt?”
He pulls the black device from his pocket and glances at it, before putting it away again. Turning, he heads over to a white device on the wall and he pulls part of it away, listening to it for a moment before putting it back.
“Landlines are down too,” he mutters, stepping back over toward the door.
I bark again.
“Easy, boy,” he continues, “it's okay. There's no-one here now. I think something might have happened, though. Something bad.”
He taps at the black device, and suddenly the front becomes very bright. Turning it toward the door, he lights the way as he steps forward into the darkness. I can tell his heart is pounding, and he seems scared, so I hurry after him and peer through into the next room, ready to fight in case anything tries to attack us.
“I was right,” he says after a moment. “There's definitely no-one here now.”
Reaching the patch of blood on the ground, I lean closer and take a sniff. It's human blood, that's for sure, and although it's not completely fresh, it's not old either. Just a day at most.
“What have you got there?” Jon asks, coming over to me and crouching down. “Hell, is that blood?”
I look up at him, hoping against hope that now he'll finally realize that we need to get out of here. There's no need for us to be here, or for us to start poking about in darkened rooms. We should simply go back to the cabin and wait for everything to go back to normal. When he doesn't say anything, and simply continues to stare in shock at the blood, I use my paw to nudge his knee, and I let out a faint whimper.
“It's okay,” he replies, rubbing my head as he gets up. “Something definitely happened here, though. I think the place got robbed, and then...”
He steps back through into the first room, and I quickly follow.
“And then someone got hurt,” he continues, “and ran. Maybe that's what caused those gunshots we heard the other night. This gas station is open all-night, so obviously there was a robbery, but why has no-one been back since? Unless...”
He pauses, before glancing down at me again.
“Unless whoever got shot... Maybe they didn't make it very far, but still...”
I follow as he heads back over to the main door and pulls it open. Relieved to be back outside again, I hurry across the parking lot until we reach the edge of the main road, where Jon stops and looks both ways.
“Why are there no cars?” he asks, turning to look down at me. “We've been here at least ten minutes now, and this is usually a busy highway. So where the hell did everybody go?”
With the car's engine still running, Jon continues to turn the little round dials next to the steering wheel, but the only noise that comes from the speakers is a kind of whirling static that hurts my ears.
“There's no radio,” he mutters, finally cutting the engine and stopping the horrible noise. “Nobody's broadcasting anything. That seems weird. Hell, it's more than weird. This must be the first time the airwaves have been silent since... Hell, since radio was invented.”
I'm sitting on the seat next to him, and after a moment he looks back over toward the gas station's main building. I can tell that he's worried, but I don't understand why we're still here. We should go back up to the cabin and make sure that we're safe. Everything will be okay if we just go back up there and wait. Whatever's going on here is none of our business.
“This isn't right,” he says suddenly, climbing back out of the car. “I don't like it.”
Although I don't want to follow, I jump down and head around to join him. I don't understand why we haven't left yet, but I trust Jon and I'm sure he's got his reasons. And while we're here, I have to stay close and be ready to defend him in case anything tries to attack us. After all, there's blood in the building, and blood means danger.
“We've been here for a while now,” he says, stepping over toward the edge of the road again. “It's Saturday afternoon, we're not that far from the city. This road should be...”
His voice trails off as he stands in silence for a moment.
“Someone should have gone past by now,” he continues. “I don't know what's going on, but whatever it is, someone should have driven past.” He turns to me. “Unless there's something seriously,
seriously
wrong.”
He turns and looks along the road again, but suddenly I realize I'm starting to pick up a new scent. Sniffing the air, I can tell that there's another person not that far from here. Jon doesn't seem to have noticed, but I turn and make my way back around the car, only to find myself staring at the vast pine forest that spreads away from the edge of the parking lot. I can't
see
anyone, and the scent is clearly coming from at least a mile off, but I swear someone is coming this way. Still sniffing, I realize the scent also seems slightly wrong somehow, although I can't quite work out what it is that I don't like.
I can't help letting out a faint snarl, however, followed by a bark to alert Jon.
“What is it?” he asks, coming over to join me. “There's nothing there, Harry.”
I bark again. He must trust me enough to know that I wouldn't be doing this if I hadn't picked up some kind of scent.
“I don't see anything,” he continues. “Is that the direction the guy from the gas station went? Or have you just found the scent of another rabbit?”
Hurrying forward, I start sniffing the ground as I realize I'm starting to pick up a faint trace of blood. By the time I get to the edge of the forest, I can see a couple of dark patches ahead, and I'm certain it's the same blood that we found inside. Whoever got hurt, they seem to have headed off in this direction.
“Is that blood?” Jon asks, as I stop and sniff another patch.
Looking at the forest again, I realize I can
definitely
smell someone. I might be wrong, the wind might be tricking me, but I feel as if whoever's out there, they're less than a mile away and they're coming this way.
“You really know how to freak me out,” Jon says, reaching down and rubbing the fur on the back of my neck. “You know that, right?” He pauses. “Then again, I'm already pretty freaked out as things stand. Maybe we should head into the city, just to make sure that everything's okay. I don't want to cut our cabin week short, but we can come back up here as soon as we know there's nothing wrong.”
He heads back over to the car and starts the engine, and suddenly I hear the tires starting to turn. Filled with a sense of panic, I turn and see that he's starting to drive away. I start barking as I rush after him, but he stops again just a few meters ahead, next to one of the tall metal machines in the parking lot.
“Relax,” he says as he switches the engine off and climbs out, taking a moment to pat the top of my head. “I just need to fill up the gas tank. You didn't think I was going anywhere without you, did you? Hell, if this really
is
the end of the world, I need my trust little Jack Russell more than ever.”
I watch as he unhooks a piece from the nearest machine, and then he pulls out a long hose and attaches the section to the side of the car. He fiddles with the machine for a moment, muttering something under his breath, and then finally he steps back.
“Of course, electricity would be useful,” he says with a sigh. “No electricity, no pump. No pump, no gas.”
He pulls the hose out of the car and turns to me.
“Confession time, Harry. I was planning to fill her up on the way back to the city. I know I should have done it on the way to the cabin, but I didn't think it'd be a big deal. Still...”
He turns and looks back toward the main building.
“There's a load of gas right beneath our feet,” he continues, “and I'm sure I'm smart enough to figure out a way to get some of it. Or maybe they even have some pre-filled gas cans kicking around somewhere. Don't worry, I'll figure something out.”
With that, he turns and makes his way toward the building.
I bark a couple of times, warning him to stay close.
“I'll be fine,” he calls back to me. “Seriously, Harry, just stay calm. We need a little more gas before we set off again. So just don't go anywhere, okay? Stay, boy. Stay!”
That's one of the words I know, and it means he wants me to not move from where I am. Still, I can't help taking a few steps after him, hoping to follow him back into the building so I can make absolutely certain that he's safe.
“No, stay!” he says firmly, turning back to me. He holds a finger up, which is his way of reinforcing the order. “Harry, stay!”
I let out a faint whimper, hoping he'll realize that this is a mistake.
“Harry, sit!”
I sit, but at the same time I whimper again.
“Harry, stay!”
He stares at me for a moment longer, as if he's waiting to make sure that I obey.
“Okay, good,” he adds, turning and heading over to the door. He takes out the black rectangle and taps at the front again, and he's muttering something under his breath.
I whimper once more, but I'm powerless to stop Jon as he goes inside.
Now that I can't see him, I'm filled with panic. The blood scent is still inside, and it's clear that something really bad happened here at some point in the past few days. Jon's smart, and I know he's in charge, but at the same time I think he really doesn't understand all the warning signs. Finally, after a couple of minutes have passed, I start wondering whether it's okay to stand up again. I almost lift my butt, before figuring I should stay a little longer. The last thing I want is for Jon to come out and see me disobeying his orders.
After a few more minutes, however, I get to my feet and take a few cautious steps toward the building while letting out a series of low grumbles. I desperately want to bark, to get his attention and draw him out, but I doubt he'd be very happy about that.
Suddenly I hear a cracking sound nearby, and I turn to look over at the trees.
The wind keeps changing direction, so it's difficult to be certain, but I think there's still someone out there. I picked up their scent earlier, when they were further away, but – whoever they are – they're getting much closer now. I raise my nose slightly, hoping to get a better idea of the scent, and after a moment I realize that something definitely doesn't seem right.
I glance at the building again, hoping against hope that Jon is on his way out. There's no sign of him, however, so I turn and make my way cautiously past the car and over to the edge of the forest.
Stopping, I stare ahead at the trees.
The scent is stronger now, and easier to make out.
It's a human.
Sweaty and unwashed, but there's something else, something that's making the fur on the back of my neck stand up.
Death.
I lick my nose, hoping that a little extra moisture might help me to get a clearer idea of the scent.
I definitely smell death, but at the same time it seems different this time. The death scent seems somehow mixed with the human's sweat. I've picked up on the scent of death before, of course, but only when I've come across dead birds or rabbits in the forest. One thing I know for certain is that any creature that smells of death should actually
be
dead. In fact, it seems completely impossible that someone could smell this way and yet keep coming closer.
Nevertheless, the scent of death is coming closer. It's moving toward us through the forest.
Glancing over my shoulder, I see that Jon still isn't out of the building. I let out another whimper as I turn and look back toward the forest. I can't let it show, but I'm scared now.
I watch the gaps between the trees for a few more minutes, with the scent getting closer and closer, and finally I spot a hint of movement in the distance. It's not much, but I'm more and more certain that someone is coming this way. I let out a low snarl, and a moment later I hear a couple more cracking sounds, as if the person is stepping on old twigs. I can see the figure a little more clearly now, and from the scent I can tell it's a man. He's coming closer with each passing second, but he's not walking very fast. In fact, he seems to be stumbling slightly.
And his blood...
I can smell his blood, and it's the same as the blood in the gas station's back room.
I snarl again.
He doesn't stop.
I look back toward the building again, but there's still no sign of Jon. Feeling as if I need to get him out here, I bark a couple of times and then I wait, but it's almost as if he's completely disappeared. I turn back and look into the forest, and now the staggering figure is even closer. He's coming straight toward me, and above the sound of his feet stomping through the undergrowth I can also hear a persistent, faint gurgling sound coming from his mouth. Humans don't usually growl, not like this, but something seems to be wrong with this man and finally I take a few steps back, keen to make sure I can get away if he comes too close.
I bark a couple of times, hoping to make him stop.
He doesn't even slow his pace. Instead he keeps stumbling this way, while steadying himself against the trees. Now I can see that he's hurt, with torn and bloodied clothes, and it's hard to believe that someone could still be walking when they're clearly so badly injured. Taking another cautious step back, I see something dark glistening around the man's stomach area, and I realize that there's a fresh scent in the air. I take a couple of deep sniffs, and it's almost as if part of the man's gut has burst through and is hanging outside, although I know that's not possible. Blood and meat and bone seem all mixed together, and I can even see a faint gap in the center of his chest, as if something blasted straight through.
And his unblinking eyes are fixed on me.
I hold my ground as he gets closer, and I start growling. The man stumbles a little, almost falling, but so far he's showing no sign of fear at all. He's still letting out that faint gurgle, and now he's close enough for me to see that his flesh seems much paler than it should, almost gray. I'd usually not be scared at all, not facing a human, but the stench of death and dried blood is almost overwhelming, and nothing seems to be slowing him down. I can't run, though. Even those this man's scent is terrifying, I refuse to show weakness. I have to make him fear me.
I bark as he reaches the edge of the parking lot, but he simply reaches out toward me.
I bark again and again, but he -
“Harry! Get out of the way!”
Turning, I see Jon running from the main building.
“Harry! Move!”
I turn back to the strange man and see that he's about to grab my collar. I don't want him to touch me, but at the same time I can't let him think that I'm weak, so I bark louder than ever, warning him away. He doesn't flinch, doesn't even seem to notice, so I bare my teeth, preparing to bite as he leans down. Scraps of loose, rotten flesh and meat are hanging down from his bones, fluttering in the breeze.
Suddenly a hand grabs my collar from behind and pulls me back.
“Get away from him!” Jon says firmly, leading me back toward the car.
I turn and look toward the man, and I start barking again.
“What the fuck is that thing?” Jon stammers, his voice filled with fear.
I bark again, but the man doesn't seem scared of anything. He's just lumbering slowly toward us and, as I continue to bark, I realize I'm not sensing any fear coming from him at all. It's almost as if he's somehow empty, as if he has no reaction to anything. I can even sense his heart beating in his chest.
“Stay back!” Jon shouts. “Don't come any closer!”
The man's gurgle gets louder as he lumbers toward us, and now I can see his chest more clearly. He looks hurt, as if something tore his ribs open and punched a hole just below his neck, and his intestines are partially hanging out. I've never seen anything – human or animal – keep moving when it's so bad injured, or when it reeks so strongly of death. I thought I understood what happens to living creatures when they're hurt, but this man seems to be defying all the usual rules. Something dead shouldn't be able to walk like this.