Yesterdays Gone: SEASON TWO (THE POST-APOCALYPTIC SERIAL THRILLER) (Yesterday's Gone)

wanted to head to Virginia where he had an old friend, Harry, he wanted to check on. Ryan insisted that they first go to Alabama, where he believed his ex-wife and daughter were, thanks to the dreams he’d been having since the attack.
    “Yeah, but you’re going off a dream. We don’t even know if that’s where they are, assuming they didn’t vanish,” Gramps said. “At least with Harry, I know where Harry is, if he’s still here.”
    “Yeah, well I knew where Mary and Paola were, too,” Ryan argued. “They were at their house, but had to leave, remember? What are the odds that your friend Harry stayed in one spot? And if he’s still there now, then there’s a good chance he’ll still be there after we find Mary. Besides, I’m looking for two and you’re looking for one. And my two are family.”
    “Come on, Gramps,” Carmine had said, “He’s right. It’s his family . They’re more important than a friend, aren’t they?”
    Gramps apologized and agreed, and they began their trip. However, Ryan felt like the old man was rushing him at times, in a hurry to get to Alabama to either find Mary and Paola or not, so they could get on to Virginia. If it came to that, and Ryan’s family wasn’t in Alabama, Ryan was going to have to really upset Gramps. Because when it came right down to it, Ryan had no intention of going to Virginia, unless he found his family. If he didn’t find Mary and Paola, he would circle the state until he did. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that, as he didn’t want to pull rank, and didn’t want Gramps and Carmine going off on their own, since Carmine was just a kid, and still unable to take care of them both. They needed Ryan.  
    Besides, he’d come to like them.
    They listened for the sound of the chopper to come closer, but instead, it faded away.
    “Aw, hell,” Gramps said, “OK, let’s go inside. I need to whiz.”

    **

    Ryan took the first watch, at the upstairs bedroom window, watching the street for any sign of a threat. It was nearly 2 a.m. and Carmine, who had the next shift, lay sleeping in a bed just feet away from the chair Ryan was sitting in. Gramps slept in the room next door.
    From past experience, Ryan figured they were safe as the monsters generally only seemed to go into homes when they saw or heard something inside. As long as the three of them kept quiet, it wasn’t likely anything would come bursting through this house, of all houses on the street, hunting for people. At about 2:14 a.m., Ryan was finding it hard to keep his eyes open. He fought the urge to nod off by drinking warm cans of energy drinks. Unfortunately, that also made him have to pee — a lot.
    He went to the bathroom, then back to his spot in front of the window. The shades were drawn almost all the way, save for a sliver through which he spied the street below. Five minutes after he pissed, Ryan saw a pair of monsters at the other end of the block, where his street met the main connector road.
    Ryan hoped like hell they’d keep right on going. Instead, they stopped, staring down the cul de sac. Ryan’s heart began to accelerate as his breath froze. He reached down blindly behind himself, his fingers fumbling for the gun.
    The creatures turned their gaze in his direction, though he doubted they could see him a full block away. They must’ve heard, seen, or smelled something of interest, since they started to lope down his street, headed toward his house.
    Fuck!
    Ryan looked down at Carmine, wondering if he should wake the boy, or wait until the monsters drew closer. If he woke the boy, he risked startling him and shattering the silence of the house, which would put them in graver danger. So he waited, watching the street below.
    The pair of creatures were halfway down the block, eyes on one of the other houses on the left. They lifted their heads high, as if sniffing something through their slits for noses, then turned their attention back to the end of the street and seemingly on Ryan’s house.
    Fuck, they can sense me.
    Go away, go away, FUCKING GO!  
    The creatures stopped dead in their tracks, as if they’d heard his last command, turned around, and began to bound away, on all fours, like wild gazelle running from a lion.
    What the hell?
    Ryan’s head started to throb, and the buzzing sound hummed in his ears again. It grew louder, as if someone were cranking up the volume in his brain. His stomach churned as he grew dizzy and nauseous. He hurried out of the room