The Sun had just crested the horizon, and had not yet taken the chill out of the air when the man awoke. Somewhere in the distance a lone Crow cawed in the trees. Longing to return to his dreams, the man attempted to drift back to sleep. It was then that the dog licked the man across his face as if to remind him that it was time to get up.
That dog was eternally loyal, and had been since the day the man saved it from becoming dinner. With a groan, the man threw off the blanket and reached for his jacket. He pulled a cigarette from the pack with his lips, and thumbed at his lighter.
“Ah,” he said “that’s better.” The man looked at the dog, and while gesturing at his cigarette he spoke, “You know, not so long ago, people worried smoking would kill them. ” He shook his head, and chuckled slightly. “Of course that was before the flu.”
The dog jumped down from the bed of the truck, and landed with a crunch on the snow.
Like most scavengers, the man operated alone and rarely saw another human. In the weeks following the virus, he was genuinely in awe at the speed of which humans turned on each other. The outbreak took his family, as it did most others.
No, the drifter was quite content with being alone.
He had survived the great death and countless encounters with highwaymen since. Chalk one up to the military training, he thought every time he walked away from a close encounter. Of course, he couldn’t take full credit. Since he had saved the dog, it had consistently warned him when danger was close.
“Where is that dog”, the man thought as he extinguished his cigarette on his boot.
The unmistakable boom of a gunshot punctuated the still air.
His head spun towards the sound. As he dove to the ground, another shot was fired. The bullet missed. The man scrambled around the old pickup to the cab, but before he could reach his rifle, the dog had proven itself once again.
The drifter quietly stripped the man of anything useful, a revolver, 4 bullets, one white sock, and one grey. Once again the air was still, and the crow cawed again.
Then he looked skyward and spoke, “Don’t worry Darlin‘, my luck will run out at some point. Be home soon.”