Rising

Greetings

 Aaron groans as he wakes up several hours later. He slowly sits up, rubbing his face, trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes. It's dark out, the clock on his nightstand stating 4am. Crickets chirp outside on his lawn, a comforting sound. Smiling softly, he undresses, tossing his clothing into a pile. He stretches out, standing up and walking towards the bathroom.

Flicking on the light, he looks at himself in the mirror. He looked absolutely disgusting, but nothing a little soap could fix. He was covered in dirt, mud, and soot. He shuts and locks the bathroom door behind him before stepping into the shower, staring at the knobs, confused as can be, never having used a shower. His tail flicks softly as he turns one to the left, immediately getting shot in the face with water. He yelps and spits out the water, turning his face away. He slowly adjusts the water, burning and freezing himself.

He eventually gets it perfect, wagging his tail softly as hot water runs over him. He pants softly, pressing his head against the shower wall. The water runs down his fur, without soap with the water turning black. He turns around, letting the water hit his neck and back as he begins washing himself. He steps out, looking at himself in the mirror, a new wolf.

He grabs a comb from the drawer, brushing out his fur with great difficulty. He smiles at himself in the mirror, blow drying himself and chuckling as his fur puffs out. Stepping out of the bathroom he stops at his wardrobe. He opens it and looks through, deciding on some jeans, a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up his forearm, and his trusty boots.

He heads to the kitchen, tossing a skillet on the stove and tossing some bacon into it. Flipping the bacon, he wags his tail as the smell fills the air, the best meal he's had in years. He sets out a plate, dumping the finished bacon onto it and leaving the grease in the pan. Cracking a couple eggs into it, he whistles softly as the eggs sizzle in the pan. He scrambles them around, mixing in some butter and a little seasoning. He dumps the eggs onto the plate with the bacon, smiling and putting the pan in the sink. He quickly grabs a fork, wolfing down the food while it's still burning hot, not caring. It was the best food he's ever had.

Someone knocks on his door as he begins washing the dishes.

He looks over and groans, "I'll be there in a second."

Quickly shutting off the water, he walks over and opens the door, being greeted by the three canines who had met up with me the day before.

"Uhh..hey. Do you guys need anything?" he asks, seeing that all of them are kitted up.

"Yeah. We were wondering if you were willing to come along with us on a supply run?" the wolf asks, looking him in the eye.

"I mean, yeah. Will I get my gear back for it?"

"Are you fucking dumb? 'Course you will. Not just gonna send you out without any weapons," the chihuahua remarks.

"Alright alright, Jesus. Where am I getting my stuff?"

"...the armory."

"..."

The canines lead Aaron to the armory, handing him his stuff and allowing him to put everything back on. Once he steps back out, full gear and locked and loaded, the others nod approvingly and toss him a rucksack.

"Get it adjusted before we head out, you're gonna need that thing situated 'n comfy," the chihuahua says nodding his head as Aaron puts on the bag, adjusting it.

"What's the plan? Map?" Aaron asks, adjusting as he walks over to them.

The wolf leads the group over to a table, laying out a map on it and pulling out a flashlight. Seemed like a map of the city, at least the area nearby. We were out in East Germantown, in the general Memphis Metro Area.

"So, we've got a lot of the loot nearby cleared out. Means we gotta hike a long ass way to get to anything worthwhile, of which there isn't much left...more just to get our asses out of the camp and feel like we're doing something. Got all the food we could ever need, just gotta look for some car parts right now. Doesn't matter if the car is rusty, there should be something good enough to take from it. Head gasket, spark plug, window, anything," the wolf says, making sure everyone heard him.

"You guys are trying to start driving again? What about most of the oil expiring?" Aaron asks.

"We'll find a way, don't worry. There's still a fuckton of stuff down at the Memphis airport. No one really looted there, cause just loads of shit fucked up. Most of the entrances got fucked by meteors," the wolf responds, nodding at Aaron, "Good thinking, though."

"So we head down towards the airport slash military base, grabbing whatever we can on the way, and check for weapons n oil n shit?"

"Yep, pretty much," he nods.

"What kind of threats should we expect?"

"Nothing we can't handle, wolf," the chihuahua says, seeming annoyed with Aaron's constant questions.

The wolf stares the chihuahua down, before answering Aaron's question, "Nothing too bad. Standard infected, hopefully no screechers, and hopefully none of them big fuckers," the wolf says, pausing for a second before continuing, "I know your next question, so don't ask. We'll be going along routes we've cleared out as much as possible. Buckingham Farms to Hickory Hill, Parkway Village, Oakhaven, and then we'll arrive. We just take any route necessary to make our way back. Alright?"

Aaron nods, "All good. We all ready to head out, or?"

"I'd say so," the coyote says, his tail wagging as he grins.

The wolf nods and leads the team out, waving at the guards as they walk through the gate.

"So...probably shoulda asked you a while back. What's your name, new guy?" the coyote asks, glancing back at the wolf, tail flicking.

"Aaron. Yourself?"

"Clyde. Redneck name, but I'll say it suits me," he chuckles.

"What about you, mutt?" Aaron asks, hiding a smirk.

"Emile. And don't you fuckin call me mutt, wolf," Emile spits out, grumbling to himself.

"Cut it out, Emile. You don't get to be pissed off if someone who you piss off gets pissed off," the wolf says before turning back to Aaron, "I'm Josh, by the way. Not as interesting, but still a name."

"Nice name, I'd say," Aaron replies as they continue walking.

"Yeah?" Josh chuckles.

"Yeah."