• The beast lunged at Tom and he closed his eyes tight as he pulled the trigger. He knew that the bullet would hit it in the head. He heard the shot and felt the recoil push into his shoulder. A moment later he heard the beast crashing and sliding a little on the asphalt. With the rifle shaking in his hands he lower the gun and looked over to what he just killed. He stood there and stared at it for a few minutes before moving over to it. He crouched down next to it and looked at what it was. Around the creature’s neck he noticed a collar and a tag. With shaking hands he reached out and pulled the tag free of the collar and looked at the lettering. It had his address and phone number claiming that it was his dog. He tightens his fist around the tag and closed his eyes. He was fighting the emotions that were threatening to overtake him.

    Slowly he took deep breaths and forced his hand to relax. He stood up slowly and pushed the tag into his pocket. With a mournful glance he moved on passed what was his dog. I won’t forget you. But I can’t stay with you. I only hope that I won’t see another one like you. His mind was now thinking about what had caused his dog to become the beast that he killed. It must be connected to the skies. I guess nuclear is the only answer as to what happened. Now the only question is who?

    He casted a glance up towards the sky, the sun was directly over him. Must be about noon. He figured that he could make it to the town before it got dark. He wasn’t inclined to stay outside during the night, he didn’t know if there were more beasts or not but he didn’t want to find out in the dark. Leaving the road he cut through the woods. He knew the area well and he heard some small birds and other wildlife. So not everything was affected, that’s good.

    He was working on climbing the last hill that would allow him a good view of the town below. After that it was a quick downhill hike into town. He didn’t know what to expect, but he had no other choice. The next city wasn’t for at least 20 miles or so. That wasn’t a distance he felt comfortable walking right then. He climbed the hill and stared down at the town that laid before him.