Companion

Companion

By Lawrence Mendel

Prologue
Someone, somewhere knew what happened and how it started. Maybe a lot of people knew. But it doesn't matter now. They couldn't stop it and everyone died. Well not everyone, just 75% of the human population worldwide. Rampant speculation concluded that it must have been and airborne virus to spread so quickly. Only a virus mixed with modern high speed transportation could spread a lethal contagion like a lightning sparked wild fire racing across a dry prairie. The last 25% still died, but they came back. No one was left to spout scripture stating that it was god's final judgement, or the wrath of some secluded cults deity wiping clean the unbelievers. The last 25% did come back, but they didn't come back alive. If any scientists were still alive they would mention things like "lack of higher brain function" and "no activity in the frontal lobe" but now even that doesn't matter because the 25% don't understand and don't care. All they care about hunting and eating. Horror writers would undoubtedly call them zombies. Mindless automata only reacting on a deeply buried instinct and that instinct drives them to feed. Feed in the literal sense. Their entire existence is devoted to finding sustenance to keep their bodies functioning. Search, kill, feed, and repeat. The term “sleep” is almost a part of that list, but the traditional definition no longer applies in the way homo sapiens applied it. This new species rests, but not for a desire to recharge and revitalize but solely for the purpose of not expending energy needlessly. They don't even understand why they rest, they just sit or lie down when a food source is not readily apparent and more searching would just waste energy. It is into this situation, with this new species of what was once called man that the third planet from the sun begins a new epoch in its history.

Or does it? For you see, homo sapiens weren't the only form of life on the planet, but they were the only one effected by the virus. Humans died, but the animals were just fine. Oh yes, once the Twenty-Five rose all life, all meat, was fair game, but that is just a pittance compared to the diversity of life that would survive and even thrive if man just up and left the planet. Even adding the livestock and all other life forms that require human care and feeding to that tally, life still goes on. Animals survived the virus just fine. Birds, dogs, cats, fish, coyote, whales, elephants and the endless scores of others are all doing just fine. Well, at least until a member of the Twenty-Five finds them.

Chapter One
Charlie hadn't heard his name in a long time and couldn't remember the last time he had eaten. He walked into the kitchen like he had dozens of times recently, hoping that something had changed and that he would find something to eat waiting for him. But just like the dozens of times before, nothing had changed and there was nothing to eat. He walked into the living room and looked out the window to see a gorgeous summer day shining back at him. Some kind of colored bird was sitting on a tree branch across the street, it's weight causing it to bend and bob a bit. The sky was clear and pretty and the temperature was a very pleasant warm on his face. The day was so nice that he wondered why his master wasn't sitting on the balcony like he usually did. For that matter, why he hadn't done that in several days?

Charlie is a golden retriever, a large adult dog with a well maintained, dark-golden colored coat that reflects quite well when exposed to direct sunlight. But more than that, he is a companion, and not just in the generic, pet term, but a licensed companion animal. He helps his blind master get through day to day life. He has a bright red, heavy canvas harness with many pouches that his master puts items in when he needs to and a sign on the harness that says "Please don't pet me, I'm working," but of course, most people ignore the sign and that suits Charlie just fine. Charlie has helped his master for many years and has done a good job. His master always treats Charlie very well and rewards him often with pets, treats and food. But several days ago, the master never got out of bed and is still in bed now. He did start to smell differently last night and has not stirred at all in quite a while.

It seemed to Charlie that the master was never going to go feed him, so just like how he helped the master he was going to help himself. Charlie walked to the door where the food was kept and looked at the flat lever that was there instead of a traditional round doorknob, and then just started pawing at it and it opened. There on the floor was his food, a big fifty pound bag of Meatybitz dog food, his favorite. A few nudges with his nose and the bag tipped over, spilling its contents to the floor, providing a feast for Charlie. Fortunately the bag was more than three-quarters empty, otherwise Charlie would have gorged and hurt himself in the process. As it was he just ate as much as was left and went to bed.

When he got up the next day nothing had changed. Well, that wasn't quite true, the home smelled really bad. So much so that Charlie wanted to get out of the house and smell fresh air. He hadn't been on a walk in a long time. Charlie began to suspect that the master was never going to get up again. For one thing, the master didn't even care about the messes Charlie was making in the corner since he couldn't get out, and Charlie knew that really pissed off the master.

Charlie knew he had to do something, so he got up, ate the last of the kibble scattered on the floor and went to the front door. There, for the first time, Charlie noticed that the door handle was the same type as the one on the food door. So once again he pawed at it and once again it opened, leading to the long hallway with lots of doors and the elevator at the end. Leaving his master behind forever, Charlie padded down the hall and stood in front of the elevator. When it didn't come, he walked over to the alcove next to the elevator and walked down the three flights of stairs to the lobby of the apartment building and out to the front doors leading out into the world. Charlie had done that routine hundreds of times, down the hall, wait for the elevator, down the stairs and out the front door. But this was the first time Charlie had ever done it alone; he was dressed like normal in his harness but having no master to lead behind him was odd.

Walking outside, the first thing that Charlie noticed was the quiet. This was the middle of the day and normally there are a lot of noises, smells and people about. Not today though. Today the street was quiet, but Charlie did as he was trained and walked down the sidewalk in a nice safe path to the corner. At the corner he stopped and waited until it was safe then crossed the street. Today that was right away, so on he went. He went, but he didn't know where too. Without his master telling him where to go, he could go where ever he wanted. Well, he knew he was hungry again and he knew the place where the master bought food, so that's where he was going.


Charlie knew the way and walked right into the store as the doors opened automatically for him as he approached. Charlie noted that this place smelled bad also, but not as bad as the master's house. Charlie started walking the aisles in the same pattern he had done dozens of times, completely oblivious to the fact that the store was devoid of any other living soul. In fact, he was slightly pleased that he did not have to be careful of people running into him or running over his tail with shopping carts. Charlie was very friendly and liked people overall, especially the children who ignore the writing on his harness and came and pet him. He liked to make people smile. It made him feel useful. But adults sometimes didn't see him and tended to run into him with shopping carts if they weren't paying attention. But not this time; he wandered his well-remembered path quite easily, up and down the aisles that were almost completely empty of anything remotely edible by human standards, until he got to what he was looking for, Meatybitz. There on the shelf were seven bags of his favorite brand of food, completely unmolested and just waiting to be eaten. Several claw enhanced scratches sent a cascade of kibble nuggets skittering across the floor. Savoring his victory, Charlie yipped a little in response to the kibble-fall and began lapping and munching up the food.

He ate to his heart's content and would have continued eating but a noise made him whip up his head and look down the aisle. Drawn by the noise and the smell of the freshly opened bag of dog food a zombie was shambling down the aisle toward Charlie. Charlie didn't see anything was wrong, but he could smell something was odd. This human's smell was off. He didn't know what or how, but he didn't smell normal and he wasn't walking quite right either. He didn't yell at Charlie, either, and that surprised him. His master always yelled at him when he did something he wasn't supposed to. That wasn't often, but often enough that Charlie was a good dog most of the time. But this human didn't yell, he just started to approach Charlie slowly, staring at the food scattered on the floor. Charlie slowly started to back, away thinking that this human might hit him, but instead he dropped to his hands and knees and started lapping up the dog food, just like Charlie had been a moment earlier. Charlie had never seen a human eating his food before, but it made him happy and he was glad to share. Charlie eased back up to the pile of food that continued to pour from the ripped bag and resumed eating. This simple act of human and Charlie sharing food together made Charlie happy for the first time in a long time. It was deeply rooted in Charlie's nature to want to help, and if this human needed his food, then so be it.

Everything was fine until the food on the floor was all eaten. Then the human stopped, stood, and looked at Charlie. It cocked its head like it was trying to access memories in a part of its brain that had long since shriveled like a piece of dried out fruit. They stood there staring at each other, dog and zombie. In another world and another time someone would have doubled over laughing at the sight, but as it was, the little vaudeville scene only lasted until the zombies instincts took over and Charlie went from friend to food in the blink of a dead eye. The zombie lurched forward and clumsily attempted to grab Charlie. Charlie, startled by this, yelped and jumped back. Suddenly assaulted by this human, Charlie snarled and started backing up even further. The exit was down the aisle and on the other side of the human, so he had to find another way out. The human came at Charlie again and this time grabbed onto one of the pockets on his harness. Charlie snarled and barked at his attacker, scared and confused. A human had never done this before; usually they cooed and tried to pet him. But this one was trying to hurt him and Charlie didn't know what to do, so he tried to run. The human clung to the pocket but was pulled off balance by Charlie's lunge and fell to the floor with a thud and a crack. Something started to ooze from the human's head as he quickly looked up at Charlie and raised his other arm, raking it across Charlie's midsection, but the heavy canvas of his shoulder-to-tailbone harness protected him from the assault. Charlie, unable to break free, started to back down the pet food aisle, dragging the zombie with him as the zombie struggled for purchase, causing the strange duo to spin and lurch more than moving in any particular direction. Not seeing any alternative, Charlie broke one of his biggest rules and reached out and clomped with all his might on to the arm of this strange human. But to Charlie's surprise, nothing happened. The human didn't react at all. No yelling, no screaming, but worst of all, he didn't release Charlie either. The zombie raised his arm again and this time slammed his closed fist into the side of Charlie's head, whipping his neck around, causing Charlie to yelp in pain. This sent Charlie into an angry rage, reacting faster than he ever had before; he reversed his motion and pounced on the zombie. With his full, not inconsiderable, strength he started to scratch and claw on the front of the zombie, ripping his clothes to shreds and not stopping there. Ribbons of cloth went flying and very shortly blood, or something similar, started flying as well. With flailing arms the zombie released his grip on Charlie, attempting to regroup and grab Charlie by the throat, but Charlie seized his freedom and vaulted from the fallen human's chest and raced to the front automatic doors, never looking back.

Once outside, Charlie turned left and just ran. He took advantage of the deserted streets and ran for several blocks in the middle of the road. He dodged a parked car and came to a stop on a street corner in unfamiliar territory. Breathing hard he looked around and did not recognize any landmarks. In his panic he had forgotten his training and gotten lost quickly and now had no idea how to get back home. Unsure what to do, Charlie just laid down and waited, for what he did not know, but his options were limited. Since coming to live with his master, Charlie had been alone so infrequently that "normal" was with his master helping him get around. But now he was lost, and even if he wanted to go back home he didn't know how. But Charlie was starting to think that his master didn't need him anymore, so he didn't need to go back there, wherever it was.

Time passed while Charlie continued to sit, and watch, and think. He didn't know why that strange human attacked him, but he was happy he got away. His head hurt from where he got hit, and his paws covered in blood, but overall he was unhurt and safe for now. After a short rest Charlie decided to just walk. He couldn't get any more lost, so he stood up and padded off.

Charlie got four blocks away when fate threw another curveball at him. An unfamiliar sound hit Charlie and it brought him up short. He couldn't place the sound but it had a tone of urgency and helplessness to it that Charlie could not ignore. But he was torn; the last thing he wanted to do was find another human that would hit him and hurt him. But in the end, the need to help won out and Charlie started toward the sound. As it he got closer to the source, Charlie did not see anyone but he did start to smell the same odor that had come from his master after a few days and this began to scare Charlie. The cry came again in a very high pitch, urging him on. He rounded a corner into the entry alcove of an apartment building and bumped headfirst into a human sitting in the alcove. Charlie yipped and jumped back both scared and concerned, but the human didn't respond. Actually the human didn't do anything at all. She just sat there. It took Charlie a minute to realize that the human was missing parts; one arm was missing, most of her shirt was torn open and there was dried blood all over the alcove walls and floor. Confused because he did not think the sound he was looking for came from this master, Charlie walked closer, sniffing. It smelled disgusting, but there was something else there, not just the human.

As Charlie got closer he saw that on the other side of the human was a small cage that looked like it had been thrown around, because it was not sitting up right, but leaning against the building wall like it had fallen there. The cage looked familiar, and in a flash, Charlie saw that it was a cage like he had at his home. When he was younger, sometimes his master would shut him in it at night to go to sleep, or put him in it when he was bad, but he had not done either of those things in a long time. But this cage was much too small for him or most dogs he knew. As he got up next to the cage, a disheveled, scrawny fur ball of a head popped up to the cage bars and piteously meowed at him in a high pitched whine. It was a kitten! A small black, white, and beige, calico kitten looking cold, tired and scared peered out at him shivering in fear and terror. Who knows how long it had been here alone and confined? It was a miracle that its crying didn't draw the attention of any of the zombies.

But wether feline or human, Charlie recognized a cry for help, and looked at the cage determined to do something. He knew that his cage at home opened in the front, but this cage was not lying flat so he needed to move it. He moved his big nose next to the trembling kitten. It mewed in response and if Charlie had been able to read he would have noticed that the shiny tag hanging from the red polka-dotted collar read "Jasmine 862-274-1956 Cutler" on three separate lines. As it was, Charlie was just hoping that this cat didn't swat at his nose; it was already hurting from his earlier encounter. She didn't, however, and in fact all she did was extend a small paw through the shiny, metal bars and gently tap Charlie's large, black, wet nose. Charlie took this as a good sign and pushed his muzzle under the cage into the triangle of open air where the box leaned against the wall and pushed slowly. Within in a few seconds of nudging, the cage teetered up and now rested pointing straight up. With Jasmine now fully meowing, Charlie proceeded to bump the cage again, this time more forcefully. The cage skittered away a few feet and tumbled over that edge of the steps, falling the three short steps end over end until it reached the bottom with a clatter. Meowing and yelling, Jasmine's volume increased and began to echo down the deserted city's canyon-like walls.

Now that it was sitting properly on the sidewalk, Charlie could get at the door. He walked up to the shiny door and looked at the lock. It was made out of plastic so he pawed at it and nothing happened. He clawed and scratched but nothing worked. Finally Charlie put his front paws on the cage lid and pushed. Very unexpectedly the whole cage slid under his weight and a surprised Charlie had to walk a few steps to keep from falling on his snout. The cage slid right up to the wall of the building at a strange angle and when Charlie's full weight was once again applied to it, the frame of the cage torqued just enough that an audible pop was heard and the cage door hinges snapped and the front door popped off and clattered away a few feet.

Suddenly free, Jasmine wasted no time exiting her prison and leaped out on to the cold sidewalk. Still frightened and now without an owner, Jasmine turned to Charlie, walked up to him, and looked into his big eyes. Charlie lowered his head down to the kitten and she reached up with her head and began licking his cheek. After a minute of the thank you facial grooming, Jasmine started walking around Charlie, sizing him up and looking at her new companion. After a rotation and a half, Jasmine sniffed at the canvas harness that covered all of Charlie's back and stomach, then hopped up on to Charlie's back. Being a small kitten, Charlie barely even noticed her weight, but was surprised when she shifted her weight, slid and disappeared into one of the many pockets on his harness. Seconds later her head re-emerged and plopped itself over the rim of the pocket she was in, blinked and sighed. Charlie had just become a chauffeur and had made his first friend in this strange new world.

Chapter 2
Charlie heard a noise from around the corner and suddenly he did not want to be here anymore so he ran. Running straight down the middle of the street, not having to veer or dodge anyone or anything felt great. Being cooped up most of the time, Charlie rarely got the chance to run just for the fun of it. He had forgotten how free and exhilarating it was. He had run for probably ten minutes when his new furry friend decided that Charlie's exhilaration was a little too much for her to handle, as she was being bumped and jostled around. She meowed for him to stop or slow down. So Charlie slowed down and found himself in front of a huge building that was painted in bright blue and yellow. As he approached the building, once again automatic doors parted. Cocking his head Charlie peered inside and saw a small empty room leading to a large staircase, but more importantly, he did not smell anything. Well, nothing bad at any rate, so he decided to go in. Once inside he vaulted up the stairs and entered a wonderland that only further confused Charlie on a day that had been the most confusing of his life. As he started to walk around, all he saw were small bedrooms all set up and ready to use, with a central aisle in between them. He had no idea what they were for or where their owners were, but right now they looked comfortable and safe. He continued to walk down the central aisle, making several turns, passing many more strange small bedrooms, when the decor changed and he found himself now walking in a number of equally strange small kitchens, but still no humans so still safe.

Confused by this strange place,, but now curious Charlie kept walking. The decor changed yet again and his time a large open room yielded desks, chairs, cabinets, cases and all sorts of furniture similar to ones his master had in his office at work. But it was at this point while trying to puzzle out this new development that the smell of food wafted by, causing the ball of fur on his side to rustle, launch from his harness and scamper down the aisle in search of the source of the smell.

A small deli located at the end of the aisle turned out to be source, and by the time Charlie approached the locked security gate Jasmine had already slipped through the space between the slats and was busy sniffing around the kitchen area. Charlie pawed at the gate but knew there was no way that he would ever fit between the slats. He barked at Jasmine, and she froze and looked at him in alarm. Seeing no danger, just Charlie stuck at the gate, she continued to the counter where she saw things she knew she could eat. Hopping up on the pristinely clean counter, the first thing that crossed into her vision was a sealed loaf of bread. A completely empty belly, claws and teeth made short work of the plastic armor keeping her from her prize and a few seconds later she was gobbling and tearing chunks of white bread out of the package and wolfing them down. Two complete pieces of bread later a contented "fuffff" escaped Jasmine's tiny lips and she sat down to catch her breath from the day's events and clean herself off.

A loud bark reminded her that she was not alone, however, and she leaped off the counter and ran to Charlie at the gate. He "woofed" quietly and she reached up and licked him on the nose. She walked back to the counter, hopped up and gently grabbed the plastic wrapper of the bread in her mouth and pulled. It moved a little, she pulled harder, and it moved farther than she wanted. So much so that she and it slipped over the edge and tumbled down to the floor. Acting as cats always do, Jasmine got up as if that was exactly what she intended to happen and started walking toward the gate with her prize in tow. Charlie watched as Jasmine, with a loaf of bread twice as big as she rounded the counter corner and came into view. Like a lion with a prize kill, Jasmine was glowing with pride but at the same time struggling to move her heavy parcel. Halfway to the gate she stopped, reversed herself and began dragging the bread back toward the gate. This caused a few pieces to fall out and get left behind, leaving a short Hansel trail back in case Jasmine forgot the way. But eventually with great effort the package reached the slats of the security gate and to a grateful Charlie. Jasmine backed off a few steps, sat down and began to groom herself as if the world had not ended and this was just a normal Sunday back at her house. Charlie, meanwhile, stuck his paw through the slats and manhandled the loaf of bread back through the opening. By the time it was through it was barely recognizable as a loaf of bread, but it was edible just the same, and he also began to wolf it down.

With hunger sated and the outside world a safe distance away, the natural instincts of domesticated house pets took over and Charlie and Jasmine walked back down the center aisle to the row of little bedrooms, looking for a soft, warm place to take an afternoon nap. Coming across a large bed with a zebra print comforter on it, Charlie hopped up onto it as he was used to and curled himself up in a half moon shape to take a nap. Jasmine did not have such an easy time mounting the bed as Charlie did and had to rely on her claws and her natural climbing ability to reach the slumber area. But once atop the bed, she promptly marched right up to Charlie's exposed belly, stuck her front paws into him and began to kneed as if making bread to replace the loaf that the two had just eaten. Charlie lifted his head to see what this strange little kitten was doing and saw the most serene, contented and happy look on the cat's face the he just put his head back down and closed his eyes. After a few moments of massage, Jasmine snuggled right up against Charlie's warm soft fur and settled in for a nice nap. The last thing Charlie heard before drifting off was a loud, blissful purr coming from his little kitten.

A loud clatter awoke Charlie with a start some time later. The lights were still on so Charlie could not tell if it was day or night. Jasmine was still curled up sleeping next to him. The clatter came again. It sounded like it came from down the center aisle. Curious, Charlie got up gently and managed not to wake Jasmine as he climbed off the striped bed. Quietly he padded back toward the deli and noticed that next to its entryway, leading down, was a wide set of stairs. They doubled back on themselves so he could not see where they led. As he stood at the top of them looking down the clatter came again, much louder this time. The noise definitely came from downstairs. Hesitantly, Charlie started down; as he reached the switchback Charlie could see the source of the noise. Standing on the other side of a gate, much like the one in front of the deli, were four zombies all reaching through the gate attempting to get through. Occasionally, one would back up and ram, into it causing the clatter. Other than that they were fairly quiet in their futile attempt to squeeze through the slats. Once they saw Charlie, however, they became more active and noisily groaned at and grasping for Charlie. Perceiving himself to be safe on his side of the gate, Charlie took this opportunity to really look at these strange humans for the first time since all this craziness started. The first thing Charlie noticed was the smell. They didn't smell well. Charlie's master had been sick from time to time and he had always smelled different during those times. This smell was much worse, sour and rancid; Charlie did not want to have to taste that smell for long. Next he noticed how each of them looked pale and gaunt and how bloody their hands were. The looked like they hadn't bathed in days and one was missing most of her clothes.

Moaning and throwing spittle as they struggled against the barricade did little to further their progress and shortly the Twenty Five returned to their quieter attempts to get through it. Charlie cocked his head quizzically and stared for a minute more but then turned and headed back up the stairs and back to sleep.

The next time Charlie awoke, the kitten was nowhere to be found. He jumped up, barked in question and got an immediate mew in response. Charlie quickly walked to where the mew came from only to discover that Jasmine was nine feet in the air stuck on the top of a shelf that she had climbed up onto but could not get down from. As Charlie approached, the mews grew more insistent and plaintive. Not knowing what to do, Charlie did the only thing he saw he could do. He walked up to the wall, and climbed the wall with his front paws as far as he could stretch. He of course was nowhere near the height he needed to reach Jasmine, but he did his best, being the ever useful dog that he was. Jasmine, seizing the opportunity, launched herself from the shelf, landed on Charlie's back and using him like a ramp ran down his back onto the floor where she skidded to an abrupt halt with a thump as she slid into the base of a large chest of drawers. Surprised by her jump and rather ungainly landing, Charlie walked over to her and looked to see if she was all right. In answer to Charlie's concern, Jasmine jumped back onto Charlie's back and slid into her pocket.

After that, the day unfurled much like the previous day had, with Jasmine finding more food in the deli and dragging it to the gate for them to share together. The afternoon was spent exploring their new home and finding rooms and rooms and even more rooms, along with multiple kitchens, many other beds lined up together, windows that opened to nowhere many other rooms filed with furniture of all kinds. The one thing that did strike Charlie in his wandering, this place didn't smell like other people's houses he had been to with his master, it was too clean and didn't smell “lived-in”. Charlie did not go down those steps by the deli, and if he could help it, would not ever again.

Several days passed like this, and in other circumstances this would have been the ideal, dream existence for the two house pets. However, all dreams must come to an end and reality became all too apparent when Jasmine could no longer find any food to drag to the gate. All in all, five days had passed peacefully for the two. Occasionally a rustle or a bang could be heard from the zombies down the stairs, but even those seemed to diminish as the days went on. On the sixth day both went without food and on the seventh day Jasmine wandered down the central aisle to see Charlie staring at the automatic front doors that they had entered through a week earlier. Charlie "wuffed" and then looked at Jasmine as she approached. She walked up to the doors and waited for Charlie. He approached the doors and they opened for him being much larger and heavier than Jasmine. The two began to walk across the parking lot and over to a small grass embankment. The embankment abutted a freeway onramp, and since Charlie's master did not own a car and had never been on the freeway, Charlie had no fear of it and decided to follow the on ramp and ultimately the freeway. Jasmine, seeing that Charlie was in a mood to cover some serious distance, crawled into her pocket, plopped her head on the pocket ridge and started looking at the scenery as it presented itself.

Chapter 3
The duo spent all day walking, passing cars that were burnt wrecks, cars that were just fine, cars that were crashed. But by far the most dangerous ones were the few that had Twenty-Fives still in them. A few hours into the walk, Charlie decided to rest up against the side of a large van and get out of the sun. He had not been there more than fifteen seconds when curtains in the side windows were vigorously ripped aside and a bloody and bruised arm reached through a small vent window under the curtains and grabbed Charlie by the neck. The creature inside wailed a high pitched wail as it clamped onto the dog. Charlie, completely surprised and terrified by the sudden attack, bolted up, startling Jasmine in the process, shrieking in pain and started to run. The zombie had gotten a pretty good grip on Charlie's neck, but Charlie's strength outmatched it and Charlie broke free, only to have the zombie's fingers rip fur and flesh as Charlie dashed away.

Unfortunately for the pair, though, that was not all the zombie would do to them. Luck was against them that day and as the zombie's grip loosened on Charlie as he was moving away, Jasmine's pocket was in the line of the zombie's retreating arm, and Jasmine's polka-dotted collar got snagged on its claw-like hands. Charlie's frantic fleeing was enough to lift Jasmine away from her pouch of safety and she found herself involuntarily suspended in mid-air outside a van by a bloody zombie. Sensing warmth in his hand, the zombie reeled in his arm quickly and brought his prize back into the van to examine and eat.

The inside of the van was something out of a horror film. When the road trip had started, this family of five had decided to drive from their home in Tacoma, Washington to San Diego, California to see the animals at Sea World. On the way, the father had gotten sick, then the mom, and pretty soon the kids followed suit. Attempting to deadhead to San Diego, the father actually died behind the wheel while the entire family slept. He had pulled over so as not to crash the car but made it no further, as the virus in its final stage caused massive organ failure in a matter of minutes. The wife, sleeping in the seat next to him, never even woke up. The kids, not knowing what to do, just stayed in the car, napped, and eventually all died as well. It was Thomas, the fifteen year-old-son that had the distinction of being one of the twenty-five percent that was reborn as one of the zombies in the new world. Thomas reanimated and immediately ate all the food that was in the car: road snacks, Slim Jims, AM/PM hamburgers, sodas, candy and trail mix. Quickly that ran out and it was not long before Thomas saw a food source in his former family members. Days passed for Thomas and he ate. The car, drenched in blood and other bodily fluids, reeked and stank, it was slimy and caked with junk, trash and who knows what else as Thomas thrashed about in his mindless and simple attempts to escape his prison. This was the hellish environment that Jasmine was pulled into.

Seeing that it was luck, not skill that snagged the cat onto his fingers, when Thomas turned his hand over to look at his next meal, it slipped off his fingers and fell onto his lap, turning it loose in the confines of the van's interior. Jasmine twisted in mid-air as cats are wont to do, landed on the zombie's lap and immediately vaulted away. She ran the length of the van in the blink of an eye and jumped to the top of the front passenger's captain's seat, but stopped short as she almost fell head first into what had once been Thomas's mother. Now a mutilated corpse, three-quarters eaten and rot setting in, it still occupied the front seat, so Jasmine just whirled around to look for another avenue to pursue. All she managed to do was turn and sink her claws into the seat as Thomas reached her, grabbed her with both hands around the belly and tried to pull her to his mouth.

He was confused when she did not move. He was not counting on the sheer determination and strength of this petrified little kitten, as her set-in claws gave her incredible purchase against Thomas's initial assault. He pulled again and again and eventually undead zombie strength won out over adrenaline-fueled kitten strength and Jasmine was ripped from the seat back, tearing nails as she went. Thomas again went to inspect his meal and lifted her closer to his face. This time, however, his grip was tighter, and he was able to turn Jasmine over and look at her from all angles despite her best efforts to wiggle free. Crying and yelling in protest Jasmine clawed and bit the best she could but to Thomas, the pain did not even register in his rotting brain, so the assault was futile. Assured that his catch was edible, by his standards, he raised Jasmine to his face, attempting to take a bite out of her neck, but in a moment of panic, Jasmine contorted her entire body causing Thomas to miss his mark and he chomped down on Jasmine's ear sending waves of pain through the little kitten. Gritting his teeth since they had found purchase in something, Thomas twisted his neck and ripped the top half of Jasmine's ear clean off and in one motion slurped it down.

With a fury born of eminent demise Jasmine turned into a multi-bladed tornado as claws, front and back, fangs and teeth, young sinewy muscle all worked in concert to launch an attack that was primal in nature and dredged up from the hidden recesses of the feline DNA that coursed through this little furry domesticated cat. The attack didn't so much hurt Thomas as it just made Jasmine impossible to control and hold. His flesh was being scratched and stripped as Jasmine twisted and turned in ways no living thing should be able to do. The end result was inevitable, but before that, one front paw scored a hit on Thomas's left eyeball and three gashes rendered the eye useless for the rest of Thomas' undead life, and he dropped Jasmine and prepared to smash her head in with his fist. That was all the opening she needed and as before, she landed on her feet, sprung the length of the van in one jump onto the back seat and hurled herself through the open vent window and promptly slammed into Charlie's nose as he was preparing to shove his head in the window. Thomas, disoriented and now missing half his vision, threw a furious fit in the van such that it rocked back and forth, but being unable to remember simple operations like opening doors, all his sound and bluster was just impotent fury, and Jasmine and Charlie were safe from this poor, undead, trapped creature.

Jasmine never stopped running; she bounced off Charlie and ran straight in whatever direction she was headed and Charlie quickly followed. That direction took them off the freeway, and into a small wooded area with trees, bushes and shrubs. Jasmine darted for the protective cover of the bushes and disappeared behind the thick brush. Charlie was much too large and came to a skidding halt just in time to save himself being skewered on hundreds of sticker burrs. He quickly turned and looked for way to go around the bush. He went around and still did see Jasmine. He swiveled his head and looked, but there was no cat in sight. He peered deep in to the brush and saw that she had not emerged out this side at all and stood trembling in a small clearing inside the bush. Seeing no alternative but to go get her, Charlie let out a small bark and stuck his head in. He saw that he was able to part the branches and force his way through to the refuge and did so with only a minimal of burrs sticking to his matted fur. He crawled up next to Jasmine and put his lowered head next to her. Charlie noticed that her heart was pounding, her mouth was open and her tongue was hanging out as she panted wildly.

Charlie smelled blood, and it wasn't his. He looked at Jasmine and noticed that her face was lopsided. He blinked, then blinked again, trying to comprehend why Jasmine looked wrong. He looked closer and then saw that it was her left ear that was odd and that half of it was missing. The human in the van had hurt her! She was still panting as Charlie half stood and started to clean her wound by licking it clean as best as he could. Surprisingly, Jasmine did not struggle as she was nursed by the dog easily four times her size. Apparently deep trust can develop quickly between two different species when times are very dark. Charlie noticed that Jasmine was still quivering, so he started to settle down with her between his front paws, to guard her and shield her from the outside world. She took the cue and laid down herself content, to be protected by her dog. As the adrenaline wore off, Jasmine went into shock and pretty much collapsed. Charlie, thinking that she was asleep, just sat there over her; watching her, keeping her warm, and most of all, protecting her.

Some time passed, probably several hours, when a large explosion filled the air. Both Charlie and Jasmine were instantly put on alert. Charlie stood up tall, forgetting the tight confines, and instantly got dozens of burrs shoved deep into his fur, causing immediate itching that he ignored, while Jasmine’s ears, such as the were, shot straight up as she lifted her head and started swivelling it around. From their position in the middle of the thicket, neither could see the source, but as the minutes passed, it became apparent that wherever the activity was, it was not near them. After a few more minutes of quiet, Charlie backed out of his position, as Jasmine jumped aboard, and looked around. Still not able to see anything because of the trees where they were, Charlie headed back toward the freeway, making sure to veer away from the van of horror so as not to scare Jasmine. He crossed six lanes of the highway, a dirt median with a fence with many holes, and another six lanes to come to a position where he had a view of the city that they were apparently leaving. There in the distance was a plume of smoke rapidly growing higher and higher in the sky. It appeared to come from a building deep in the heart of the city, but Charlie could not see anything specific from this distance.

Charlie watched the smoke for a few minutes; it looked pretty to him, flowing up into the sky making a large black billowy cloud against the white ones that were already there. He looked down to see Jasmine lying on the asphalt, bathing and cleaning her cleaved ear and blood-covered head as best as she could with tongue and paw. Charlie began to wonder what they were going to do next. Blindly wandering kept getting him into trouble, but he no longer knew where he was so he didn't know where to go from here. The two of them needed a safe place to live. He was fairly certain that he could find a place like that somewhere. Food seemed to be the biggest problem; he didn't know how or where to find a place that had food for them both to eat. They had been lucky so far stumbling upon places that had food left over, but now he wanted to find a place on purpose and he had no idea how to do that.

Charlie wanted to get away from this place, so he turned to start walking away, but stopped when he saw that Jasmine had once again fallen asleep in the warm, peaceful afternoon sun. Charlie quietly woofed and Jasmine did not stir, so he decided to let her be and silently walked away to examine his immediate area.

The first thing he noticed was that there weren't that many cars and trucks on this highway, so he could easily look in many that were around him and still keep Jasmine in sight. He approached the car closest to him, a dark blue one that appeared to be empty. Wary of one of the Twenty-five, Charlie walked around to the front and hopped up on to the hood and looked in through the front window. There was no one inside. The next car he saw was low and sleek looking; peering into its front window showed that the human that drove this car was still in it but not moving. Charlie decided not to pursue that particular car because it only had one other seat in it and did not smell like there was anything interesting in it anyway.

A large black truck caught Charlie's attention next. It looked like it had hit a smaller car and its human got out, because the door was open. Charlie walked over to it and smelled "the smell" before he got there. It smelled like his master had and Charlie was starting to realize that that meant something bad. Sure enough, as Charlie reached the front of the truck he saw a human lying in the ground. His head had been hit by something and he had fallen to the ground and bled all over the ground. That must have happened a while ago, because all the blood had dried and stained the ground for several feet all around. Charlie also saw that there were bloody footprints leaving the area. Maybe the car human attacked the truck human and walked off or maybe it was one of the strange humans. Charlie didn't know, but it didn't matter, so he went back to searching.

He walked back around to the open door of the truck and hopped up onto the seat, and rooted around for anything. He found an open, half-eaten bag of pretzels on the floor of the second seat. He crunched those few morsels down in a heartbeat and moved on. He wanted to get a better view of the area so he decided to get on to the roof of the truck. Walking around to the back he jumped into the bed of the truck, then on to the roof. From there he could see a long way in both directions. He had seen what was in the direction from where there came, so it was ahead that caught his attention.

Up ahead looked like more of the same, cars and road. But as he looked harder he did see details that caught his eyes. He saw more humans lying in the road up ahead, unmoving. Also he saw a long, white truck up ahead that had tipped over and crashed onto its side. He could see that whatever was inside had broken free and had come spilling out all over the highway.

Charlie hopped off the truck and re-joined the slumbering kitten. She had not moved an inch, so, like last time, Charlie settled in around her to watch and protect her from whatever life would throw at them next.

Chapter Four
Charlie awoke early the next morning just as the sun was breaching the horizon and filling the area with light. He stood up; shook out his legs and paws to get ready for the day. Jasmine stirred as well and mirrored his movements exactly, making them look like an old married couple that has grown used to each others mannerisms. Surprisingly it was Jasmine that started walking this morning and it took a minute for Charlie to notice, so he had to trot to catch up to her.

It took about ten minutes for the two to reach the white truck Charlie had seen the day before. It was a grocery delivery semi that had swerved to miss something, gone up the embankment and flipped over onto its side, spilling its contents all over the freeway. There were boxes of cereal, bags of candy, cartons of eggs, cans of all kinds, heads of lettuce, crates of fruit all littering the road. it looked like brightly colored confetti against the contrast of the dark asphalt of the highway. There was also evidence that someone had been here and taken some of the food.

Charlie looked around but did not see anyone around, so he marched right up to food and started munching on the first thing he saw. Being a cat with a more discerning palette by nature, Jasmine examined the food available to her and chose some of the best smelling vittles lying before her.

There was enough food here to last them for weeks, while the truck provided shelter when they wanted it, and if trouble found them, there were plenty of places to either hide or run. So, that’s exactly what guide-dog and young cat did. They enjoyed life together, being happy with each other’s company, eating whatever they wanted to, and all around living a good life in the aftermath of the devastation of the human population.

It took 20 days, this time, for something to happen to get Charlie and Jasmine to get moving again. The day had unravelled just like the preceding 19. Charlie and Jasmine got up, ate breakfast, played together, ate some more, napped, watched the city, watched the clouds, but as the sun was going down, Jasmine's uneven, but healing, ear stood straight up and she looked straight up the road with her piercing hazel eyes. Noting her tension, Charlie quickly walked up to her and started looking. Almost immediately he heard it as well, noises coming toward them. Charlie listened and was sure that it wasn’t the kind of noises humans make, but he didn't know what it was either, but it was coming closer, that's for sure. Charlie and Jasmine watched the road for several minutes as the noise got closer, but eventually, nerves got the better of Jasmine and she ran into the truck and hid. A minute later, Charlie saw a big, black, scruffy, dirty, dog come walking quickly around a car; two more dogs, even mangier and dishevelled, followed and then two more. The pack stopped and stared at Charlie, halting their advance for a moment. Happy at the sight of more friends, Charlie barked in hello and the lead dog returned the greeting warily. Charlie, with his tail wagging, walked towards the big dog, happy to learn that other dogs like himself had survived and he was not alone. The meeting continued seemingly well for a few minutes, with much sniffing of each other, then lead dog pronounced his dominance as the alpha dog. This did not bother Charlie in the least, but it was when Jasmine came out from hiding to see what was going on that the meeting went down hill.

Jasmine stuck her little head out of a tear in the roof of the semi and one of the pack dogs saw her. Instantly fangs were bared and growling and snarling ensued. Charlie could not figure out why the other dogs were reacting this way to Jasmine and started towards her. As he approached, one of the smaller dogs, but still twice the size of Jasmine, charged. The speed and ferocity of his snarl left no mistake as to what he was going to do when he reached the cat. Charlie barely had time to react to save his friend, but he managed to lunge and tackle the smaller dog, giving Jasmine time to plunge back into the truck and find safe sanctuary. This of course ended the friendship between Charlie and the pack, and he was now faced with five snarling dogs, all slowly approaching him with anger in their eyes.

Charlie turned around and backed up into the same hole that Jasmine had darted in to. He completely entered the truck and saw Jasmine standing on the top of several crates. She was several feet up in the air, but nowhere near safe if she were to get trapped by the pack. Charlie quickly walked up to her and she lunged for her pocket, landing on his back and sliding into it with considerable grace and dexterity. The snarls were almost to the hole when Charlie bolted out the back of the truck through the door that had fallen open during the crash.

Bursting out at full speed, Charlie had a 20 foot head start before the pack saw him and gave chase. With paws slamming the ground as hard as they could, Charlie ran harder than he ever had before. All thoughts in his mind were focused on out running this wild dog-pack and getting Jasmine and himself to safety as quickly as he could. It may have been a short chase, but to Charlie it seemed like an eternity. In the end, the pack felt like they had won by driving Charlie off, so they abandoned the chase and returned to the truck to reap the benefits of the victorious fight. Charlie slowed down once he was sure that he was no longer being followed and tried to catch his breath. He was exhausted and panting so hard he thought his tongue might fall out. Jasmine, for her part, had kept as still as possible and only now began to stir. Seeing Charlie panting heavily, she hopped out of her pocket to lighten his load a tad and started walking next to him.

The direction Charlie ended up running was back the way they had come, so it wasn't all that long before they recognized that they were heading back into the city. It was well into the pitch-black night when Jasmine led them back to the blue and yellow building with all the funny bedrooms. Nothing had changed since they left it so Charlie promptly walked up to his striped bed, jumped on it and practically passed out from fatigue. It was Jasmine's turn to keep guard apparently, and she took to the job with great pride, at least as much pride as a young kitten can muster. She too clawed her way up onto the bed and sat on the front corner with her paws extended a bit as she started to watch and protect her protector for a change. It was in this sphinx-like position that Jasmine promptly fell asleep exactly seven minutes later.

Both Charlie and Jasmine had gotten used to a lazy routine in the month they stayed in the truck, so they both slept in quite late the next morning. The sun was high in the sky when Jasmine walked to the deli and looked out the window. She had some trouble squeezing through the slats this time, but managed to make it with some extra pushing. Nothing seemed to have changed since the last time she was here so she began looking a little harder for any food she might have missed the last time. She managed to paw and scrabble open a drawer that she couldn't before and found a box of crackers. Happy to have found something for them she pulled them out and dragged them to the grate for the two of them to share.

The box quickly devoured, Charlie was curious as to the strange humans downstairs, so he "wuffed" for Jasmine to head back to the bedrooms and he quietly walked down the switchback stairs. From the moment he stood at the top of the stairs he could tell something was different. One, it was completely silent and two, the smell was much worse. As he reached the switchback landing he could see the closed gate and was surprised to see that the strange humans were still there exactly in the same place as he had seen them a month ago. But this time they weren't moving. There were two there with their arms still reaching through the gate trying to get through, but they were not moving or struggling. They seemed to be stuck against the bars and slats and then Charlie realized that they weren't moving....at all. They were dead. Charlie didn't know why or how, but they were stuck in the gate and dead. He thought that was very odd, but was not going to look any further, so he headed back to the bedroom they stayed in.

They stayed one more day in their bedroom but the next day headed out, once again in search of more food. Not wanting to get back on the highway, Charlie headed out across the enormous, empty, parking lot and onto the city streets. Charlie and Jasmine saw many things on this day’s walk that they had not seen before. The true horror of what the human race had devolved into in its final days. On one of the main streets, leading out of the city, a barricade had been set up and at some point, humans either normal and terrified or already dead and walking had stormed the barricade and a battle took place the likes of which would rival any special-effects laden summer-blockbuster. There were holes in the ground from explosions of some kind, street lights were knocked down, buildings had caught fire and burned to the ground. But the worst of all were the bodies. Hundreds of bodies lay on both sides of the barricade slaughtered by either bullet or mindlessly driven claw-like hands. It was unclear who won the battle, if anyone did, but it was clear the bodies were rotting and causing a horrible stench that smelled for miles. Charlie wanted to be far away from here, so he turned left and started running down the city street.

Sometime later Charlie and Jasmine got lost in a residential neighborhood. Not used to the turning and dead end streets, Charlie got disoriented and forced them to backtrack quite a few times. It was during one of these times that Charlie decided to take a break and laid down on one of the immaculately manicured green lawns. Jasmine hopped out of her pocket and wandered off on her own. Charlie was hoping that she would stay close but pretty soon she had disappeared between two homes. A few moments passed and then Charlie heard a wail and a cry and then saw a quickly running Jasmine coming back from the house. Quickly following on her tail was a large dog with big, floppy ears and trailing a long leash like a streamer. This big brown and white dog came loping after Jasmine looking almost funny as his ears bounced up and down in time to his cheeks and jowls. Pretty soon, Jasmine made it back to Charlie and hid behind him as best as she could.

The big dog spotted Charlie finally and slowed his pace. He happily trotted up to Charlie like they were life-long friends and Charlie, in turn, returned the greetings and sniffing, but was a little wary because of the last time a strange dog approached him. Pretty soon though, Charlie was won over and was convinced that they had made a new friend. What happened next over the course of the next few hours was something Charlie could have never predicted. The big dog woofed and howled a cry into the late afternoon sun and in response, three dogs and four cats ran over in response. These animals, like Charlie and Jasmine, had all been left alone when their owners died. But the main difference between these animals and the others were their contact with humans; they were taught companionship, they were given love, but most importantly they were shown compassion to other pets. So in the end, when the human world ended, these animals, these pets, banded together to form a new type of pack and this was who Charlie and Jasmine had just stumbled into. They were taken in by the pack. In total seven dogs, ten cats and two birds made up this strange group and they were happy to accept two more. Now still together but part of a new family, Charlie and Jasmine begin a new adventure not quite as bleak and scary as the one they just finished, and hopeful for their futures now with the help of their new companions.

End