Alone

Chapter 2

This morning did not start out the greatest for Dane. But waking up to find out that everyone you know is gone kind of does that to a person. At least now he knows that he wasn't the only one left on earth.

Too bad that everyone was half-way across the country.

Sighing, he signed off his computer and started moving around his room, collecting things for the long trip he was going to take. Stuffing everything into a duffle, the raven-haired teen throws it by the door before grabbing a box and filling it with cans, water, some utensils, and a pot. The whole situation was a little bit easier to handle when he started to pretend he was packing for a long camping trip. Like the one he was supposed to take next week with his dad.

The silence was starting to get to him. Usually he didn't mind the silence; he was used to it when he was waiting for a piece of game to get in exactly the right position to shoot and he wasn't one to hang out with his classmates, but this silence was different. It was deafening and it felt like it was going to suffocate him at any moment. Not wanting to stay in the house any longer, Dane grabbed the box and his bag and dragged himself outside.

The stifling heat greeted him as he walked to the wrangler parked in the driveway. Fishing the keys out of his pocket, he unlocks the car and pushes the stuff that he's carrying into the back. He was about to hop into the car when he remembered Alice's post: 'protect yourself'.

Protect himself against what? There was nothing out there, that was the whole reason why they were in this mess. But there could be. The thought drifted into his head and, despite the heat, Dane felt a chill up his spine. Deciding that it would be better to be prepared for nothing then to not have anything to use if there was something, he hesitantly heads back into the house.

Going to the safe where his father locked up all their weapons and ammo, he enters the combination and uses the key to open it. His gray eyes scan the safe's content for a few seconds before he pulls out his usual hunting rifle and the ammo for it. He was about to leave with that but rethinks and grabs a few hunting knives and his father's hunting bow. Wrapping everything up in a blanket, he lays it down on the backseat and gets into the driver's seat.

When he turns on the ignition, static from the radio greets him. Frowning, he slams the off button. He did not need another reminder that he was alone. He takes a deep breath and hooks up his phone and pulls up directions to St. Louis. Eighteen hours, not bad, probably better than anyone else.

Pulling out of the driveway, Dane couldn't stop the sinking feeling he felt in his chest as he watched his childhood home grow smaller in the review mirror.

**

Even though the world was strangely empty of humans, to Dane's pleasure, it was not totally empty. Birds still flew overhead and there were a couple times where he had to suddenly break or swerve to avoid hitting a deer. Despite the minor inconveniences, they were pleasant distractions from the scenery that was on the road.

Since everyone apparently disappeared at night, there wasn't a lot of cars on the road but the cars that were made Dane's stomach roll and eyes widen. Cars were wrapped around trees, rolled over in ditches, crushed up against each other, and the rare hole smashed into the side of a bridge made him almost pull over multiple times.