By the time it began to get dark, they’d covered about a hundred and fifty miles.  Better than Allistor had expected, actually.   They had planned to sleep inside the box truck if they needed to spend a night out on the road.  But Sam found a farmhouse with a storm cellar that looked promising.  They parked outside, and Sam and Allistor went up to the house.  After knocking several times, they let themselves in and explored the house.

Unsurprisingly, they found it in chaos.  Bloodstains on the floor with paw prints meandering all around the house.  They quietly closed the door behind them and moved around to the storm cellar.  Its heavy wooden doors were still intact.   Opening just one, they descended the short stairway to the cellar.   Allistor cast a light globe, and it illuminated the entire space.  Not very large, all four walls were lined with shelves that were in turn filled with jars of fruits and pickles and such.  Sam whistled.  “We should take some of this with us.  I’m sure those people could use it.

Back outside, they unloaded bedrolls and weapons and some food and water.  Retreating into the cellar, Allistor secured the doors from the inside with an iron bar.   The floor was stone and immaculately clean.  Whoever had lived here had obviously put a lot of care into the place.  They opened up their bedrolls, took some time to eat and drink quietly, and then settled in to get some sleep.

Allistor was awakened by Amanda in the very early hours of the morning.  She had curled up next to him, their bedrolls side by side.  Now she poked him a few times in the gut as she placed a hand over his mouth to silence him.  When he was fully awake, she pointed at the door, then touched his ear.

He quickly recognized the sound of canids snuffling around outside.  The storms doors creaked a bit as one of them must have walked across them.   A shuffling sound to his right told him that Sam and/or Meg was awake as well.  A moment later he heard the scrape of a gun barrel on stone as one of them lifted their weapon.

They sat there for almost an hour, not making a sound as the monsters roamed above.  A few times there were scratches at the doors, even some low growls of frustration.  But eventually, the night went silent again as they moved on.  Everyone lay back down and did their best to reclaim sleep.  It took Allistor another hour before his eyes drifted shut and stayed shut.

He was the first to awaken as the sounds of birdcalls began to increase in frequency and volume, signifying the arrival of daylight.  He nudged Amanda a few times, then bent down and kissed her.  She patted his face a few times and whispered, “Good morning.”