Pathogen - Chapter 9

His world was still enveloped in a thick fog when Scruffy emerged from the woods. The Carrion smell lingered far behind him, but he felt safe enough for the moment. He didn’t think the Lady who was chasing him would be making it through the bush anytime soon.

Scruffy tried to gather his bearings. It was difficult to see very far in the fog, and there weren’t any smells that were familiar to him. He knew he must be around the neighbourhood he had seen from the hill, but with all the twists and turns he’d been forced to take in his journey downhill it was hard not to lose his sense of direction. 

Instinct told Scruffy to keep moving, lest the Polka Dot Lady catch him, or one of the other Dead Things. Limping away, he set off directly ahead down a narrow street flanked by neat rows of  houses. His injured paw was still giving him trouble, but it didn’t hurt as badly as when he’d fallen out of the car. Still, he could only move at a somewhat halting pace.

While Scruffy hobbled along, he kept his nose open to any sign of danger. The suburban neighbourhood was a rich tapestry of aromas for the dog. Someone had been burning leaves recently, and another had baked cookies. But all the myriad smells were permeated by a thick, odorous blanket of Carrion.

Crushing crisp, dead leaves underfoot, Scruffy picked up his pace. He no longer felt safe. Fear told him that the Dead Things were everywhere, that there was no escaping him. The smell of Carrion was all around him.

Reaching the end of the block, Scruffy stopped. A four way intersection lay before him. The dog whimpered, unsure of which way to go. He couldn’t see far in the fog, but his other senses told him the danger was all around him, with the Polka Dot Lady somewhere behind him. Scruffy paced, nose to the ground and tail between his legs, while he pondered over what to do.

Suddenly, a familiar scent wafted to his nose. Almost impossibly faint, Scruffy wasn’t sure he’d smelled it at first. But there was no mistaking it: Master had been somewhere near here. With a renewed enthusiasm, Scruffy set about, trying to recover his Master’s spoor. It wasn’t easy, since Master hadn’t actually set foot at this spot, but Scruffy was downwind of the scent at the moment.

Turning left at the intersection, Scruffy trotted as fast as his wounded leg would allow. Tail wagging in excitement, the dog longed to be reunited with his Master. Scruffy was confident that Master would know what to do with the Dead Things.

Lights flashed in the fog ahead of Scruffy. Eagerly, the dog approached an abandoned police car. Master had been here, he was sure of it. The Carrion smell was also stronger here, Scruffy realised. Investigating the scene, Scruffy limped around the car. Both the doors were open on this side of the car, and a body was lying in the street.

Cautiously, Scruffy inched his nose towards the body. It smelled like a Dead Thing, but this one wasn’t trying to eat him like the Polka Dot Lady was. Scruffy wondered why that might be.

His musing was cut short as two new scents wafted towards him. A Man and a Woman he’d never smelled  before were approaching. Scruffy limped away, his claws clicking against the asphalt. With his injury he wasn’t comfortable meeting strangers just yet.

Scruffy had just wiggled under a nearby picket fence when the Man and Woman jogged into view. They looked haggard, as if they’d been on the run for hours. Scruffy sympathised, but still he warily watched from his hiding place.

“Hold up a sec,” the Man panted as he approached the abandoned car, “There  might be something here we can use.

The Woman looked nervous, “I don’t like this. We should keep going, they’re not going to stop chasing us.”

The Man wasn’t listening, and had approached the car. He kept an eye on the body lying in the street before ducking his head into the car. “Somebody’s been here before,” he announced.

Scruffy could smell Carrion again, stronger now and getting closer. Hackles raised, Scruffy curled his lips back and growled.

Whirling around, the Woman tried to pinpoint the sound. “Did you hear that?” she asked.

“You’re imagining things,” the Man answered. “Just a minute longer. Maybe there’s something those scavengers missed.”

A shambling outline appeared in the fog, approaching the Man and Woman unseen. Scruffy wanted to warn the two of them, even though it went against his Instincts. He sounded the alarm with a bark.

“That was definitely something,” the Woman announced as she approached the source of the noise. “Sounded like a dog,” she added.

“Leave the mangy mutt alone,” the man ordered from the front of the car, “You don’t want him calling all the freaking zombies here, do you?”

The Dead Thing was within spitting distance of the man now. Scruffy kept barking, trying to warn him, but it was too late. The Polka Dot Lady had followed Scruffy here, and now she was climbing into the police car. 

Screaming, the Man suddenly realised what was happening. The Woman covered her mouth, but couldn’t help screaming too. Still barking, Scruffy crawled out from under the fence and approached the couple.  The Man was done for, but he could still save the Woman.

Out of the corner of her eye, the Woman saw Scruffy for the first time. She paid him no mind at first, there was too much going on for her to deal with at the moment. Scruffy limped down the road, opposite the way the couple had arrived. He turned to face the Woman and barked again.

In a panic, the Woman fled the way she had come. Scruffy chased after her, still barking. He could smell Carrion from that direction. She almost didn’t even see the first zombie, it just sort of appeared out of the fog. Backpedalling, she skidded to a halt and started running back towards the police car. 

Scruffy ran down the road ahead of her. It pained him greatly, but he was back to using all four legs. The fog grew thicker around them, growing so close that although they were running almost side by side, Scruffy and the Woman could hardly see each other. 

Bounding a few paces ahead, Scruffy came to a sudden stop. He could smell the Dead Things ahead of them. He growled at the unseen monsters hidden in the fog.

The lady came to a halt beside him. “What is it?” she asked, as if Scruffy could answer her, “Are there more of them out there?”

Scruffy didn’t answer. He just set off in a different direction. The Woman followed him. Together the two of them wound their way through the neighbourhood. Scruffy could sniff out the Dead Things before they ran into them, but the suburbs were like a maze now. It would only be a matter of time before they ran into a dead end.