“Bandit,” I whispered, fear shooting through my veins like ice. “Bandit, come here.”
He ignored me, his ears perked up, alert and ready. He crouched lower, his haunches up, as he growled at whatever was on the other side of the door. He was always the most protective dog. The door continued to rattle, and I knew it was only moments before it was ripped from its hinges.
It went flying, smacking into Bandit. He whimpered but held his ground. He went sprinting to the three Awakened that had burst in the room. The first one grabbed Bandit like he weighed nothing and tossed him across the room. My dog’s body went slamming into the solid wall and fell to the floor with a thump. I screamed and screamed and screamed.
The three Awakened turned to me, and I realized with a jolt that they were the three I had killed in the woods. I scrambled backward, my back hitting my headboard with a smack. There was nowhere to go. There was one on each side of the bed, and the girl Cara at the foot.
“She smells so good,” she said, her hoarse voice only a whisper, echoing through the room. “She’s going to taste so good.”
They came closer, pressing themselves against me, tearing away my clothes to sink into flesh. I screamed and screamed, but there was no one left. There was nobody left to hear my screams.
I woke with a start, sweat dripping down my brow. I realized that there were arms wrapped around me and recognized them as my dad’s. I burrowed my face in his chest, inhaling his familiar scent. His arms tightened around me. I raised my head a little and saw Ash in the front seat. Our eyes met in the rearview mirror, and I nodded to the question in his eyes. I was fine. I would be fine. Eventually I would stop having nightmares like a five-year-old.
I sat up, rubbing my forehead, and yawned. I motioned my dad to keep sleeping, and he slid back into sleep in seconds. I stretched, feeling cramps throughout my sore and tired body. I felt a pain in my abdominal area and frowned. It came again, worse than the last and I felt a swell of recognition rush through me. I paused, wondering if I could possibly be right, and started counting days. I frowned again. I just couldn’t remember. Another wave of pain passed through me, and I nearly cried in frustration. This had to be the worst timing ever.
“Dad,” I whispered, nudging him. He shifted a bit, but didn’t wake. “Dad?”
He stirred and looked up at me, with sleep filled eyes. “What’s wrong, champ?”
“Um,” I started, looking up at the front seat of the car and hoping that Ash couldn’t hear me. “You wouldn’t happen to have any, um, female necessities with you? Like, you didn’t grab any when preparing for this?”
He stared at me confused for a moment, and then it dawned on him. “Shit. No. I didn’t think. I just didn’t even think of it. You didn’t grab anything before we left?”
I shook my head. “I wasn’t exactly thinking of,” I lowered my voice for a moment, “tampons when I was packing.”
“Shit,” he repeated. He sat, and peeked over the front seat. “Where are we, Ash?”
“Not too far from Iowa,” he answered, quickly. “Maybe an hour or so.”
Dad nodded. “All right. We need to make a pit stop.”
Ash looked startled. “Why? Don’t we have everything we need? We’ve only got about nine hours left.”
We were getting so close. I couldn’t wait nine hours though. I needed something. I wondered for an instant whether the Awakened could smell blood, like a shark or something, and had to bite down a frenzied laugh. “I can’t wait. We need to stop.”
Ash looked back at me confused before turning his attention back on the road. Thankfully he didn’t ask. “There was a sign for a gas station about five miles back. It should be coming up soon. Will that work?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, that should work.” My cheeks were flaming red. Who knew that such a trivial thing like a period would become such a hassle?
The gas station came up quickly, and Ash took the exit. It was lit up, and there were a few cars parked at the pumps pumping gas as if it were any normal day. I couldn’t even remember what day of the week it was. Tuesday? I had lost track completely and my phone had died ages ago, taking my only source of calendar away from me.
I reached for the door handle as soon as we pulled in, but Dad grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
“Give me your guns, both of you,” he said, holding his hands out for them. “Keep your knives, but hidden, tucked in your boots.” We both handed over our guns. My dad dug into his pockets and pulled a rumpled twenty-dollar bill from his wallet. “Go on in, together. Act natural, get what you need, and get out.”
“And you?” I asked, shoving the bill into the back pocket of my jeans.