"Row, row, row your boooaaat, gently down the streeeam…"

"...Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dreeeam!"

Calvin groaned once more as Evelyn and Hobbes cheerfully finished their 57th verse of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," now in much higher spirits. They had started singing it after getting bored of "Beat It", and then, "Any Man Of Mine."

"Row, row, row your boat, gently down the streeeam,"

"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a-"

"Okay, cut it out, guys!" Calvin exclaimed, prompting laughter from his two accomplices. "I am seriously having thoughts about throwing you both out of the car!"

"Alright, fine, fine!" Hobbes chuckled. "Do you know any road songs?"

"As a matter of fact I do," Calvin grumbled, still annoyed by the tiger and the girl's antics. "Ever heard of, "Yellow Submarine?"

At this, Hobbes groaned, causing an evil grin to pop up on Calvin's face. "Please don't. You know how that song gets stuck in my head!"

"'Welp," Calvin shrugged, "consider this your comeuppance!"

"How does the song go?" Evelyn asked curiously.

"Oh, no," Hobbes groaned. Calvin cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

"In the town where I was born,"

"Lived a maaan who sailed to sea,"

"And he told us of his life,"

"In the laaand of submarines,"

"So we sailed on to the sun,"

"'Til we fouuund a sea of green,"

"And we lived beneath the waves,"

"In our yellow submariiiine,"

"This is catchy!" Evelyn said, smiling.

"Oh, you just wait," Hobbes grumbled.

Grinning from ear to ear, Calvin continued. "We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submar-"

Suddenly, his singing was cut off by an inhuman screech not far away, making everyone jump and causing Calvin to instinctively slam his foot on the brake. The car stopped instantly, and everyone was yanked forward before their seat belts caught them.

After a few moments getting her bearings together, Evelyn spoke up first. "What was that?!"

Everyone listened in silence for another sound, but nothing else reached their ears, save for the rumbling of the jeep's motor.

After a few more seconds of quiet, Calvin said, "I don't know."

"A mutant, maybe?" Hobbes offered.

"Most likely," Calvin agreed. "Let's keep moving."

He put his foot on the gas and pressed down, causing the jeep to begin moving again, albeit slower. To combat the increasing darkness, he also turned on the headlights for added illumination. In a few hours, the sun would be too dim to be seen anymore.

"Are we in danger?" Evelyn asked nervously. "I mean, will that thing attack us?"

"No idea," Hobbes confided. "They usually attack if they find someone, so be on your guard."

"Should we get my shotgun?"

"No," Calvin said. "Let's put some distance between us and whatever that thing is first."

And, so, the trio drove on in silence, too anxious to say anything else. Everyone kept an eye on the dead trees and foliage bordering the old, unkempt road. Minutes passed, and still, everyone was on edge, ready to react against an attack or an ambush in an instant.

The car continued to roll along the road, avoiding fallen logs, holes, and ditches. In some places, dozens of dead, ash-covered branches scraped against the sides of the jeep without warning, startling the occupants and keeping them on their toes.

Finally, after a solid thirty minutes of driving, Calvin slowed the jeep and listened once more for a single sound that might reveal if whatever had caused that screech was still there.

Silence.

Finally, Calvin sighed and stopped his shallow breathing. Taking a look at the sky, he turned to his companions.

"Alright, guys," he began. "It's getting dark, so we should make camp soon."

"What about the mutant?" Evelyn asked. "It might still be out there."

"Well, we can't do anything about that," Calvin said. "The risk of crashing or the jeep getting ambushed is a lot more possible during the night."

"Well, so is getting ambushed while asleep," Evelyn pointed out.

"Not if we take turns standing guard," Calvin countered. "That way, one of us can watch over the other and we can still get some sleep."

"Don't worry, Evelyn," Hobbes assured her. "It's the safest option. And you don't have to stand guard; me and Calvin can rock-paper-scissor over it."

Evelyn closed her eyes, like she did at the house, and seemed to be thinking it over. After a few seconds she opened her eyes and nodded. "Okay. But can we drive a bit further first? And can I get my shotgun?"

Calvin was about to answer in the negative when Hobbes caught his attention. The tiger was looking at him with an eyebrow raised, and motioned toward Evelyn with his head. For a minute, the two friends stared at each other in silent argument.

Finally, Evelyn spoke up. "Uh… guys?"

Calvin sighed, and turned back to face the windshield, rolling his eyes. "Alright, fine. C'mon, let's get your gun." He reached over to open his door. Evelyn did the same, and both of them exited the car.

Outside was dark and gloomy. The headlights illuminated the gray, dead trees, their branches creaking and swaying softly in the slight breeze. Thousands of ashen twigs and withered leaves crunched under the two humans' feet and soot particles swam eerily in the glare of their flashlights. The whole scene signaled "Creepy," to them.

Calvin and Evelyn reached the back of the jeep and opened it. Evelyn, with some effort, climbed into the jeep's flatbed and slowly stepped over the supplies stowed there. Hobbes had tied the shotgun securely to the side of the truck, and now Evelyn knelt down to untie it.

"What's wrong?" Calvin asked, impatient.

"I just gotta untie it," Evelyn called back. "I need a minute."

"Well, hurry up," he grumbled, and turned to look at the dead forest.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a flicker of movement. His head snapped around to investigate further and he felt his heartbeat increase. His left hand reached inside his jacket for his gun. Nothing else moved.

Had he imagined it?

No. No he had not. His sixth sense was going crazy. Something was out there, stalking them.

Several seconds passed. But nothing showed itself. Still, he stood with baited breath, his thumb brushing softly against the weapon's handle.

"Calvin?" he heard Evelyn ask. "What's wrong?"

Calvin turned to answer. But just as he was about to explain what he saw, he noticed the girl's eyes widen. Deducing that it was already too late to turn around, he desperately flung himself to one side to avoid the attack.

And not a millisecond too soon. A rush of air met his ears, a large form brushed past him, teeth snapping together, and something clipped his shoulder. He felt himself flung to the ground, hard. The flashlight rolled out of his hand. Somewhere nearby, the attacker skidded to a stop.

Evelyn screamed.

Not missing a second, Calvin looked up, drawing his revolver out of his jacket. In front of him, the growling form of a wolf-like mutant whirled, and leaped toward him.

With cat-like reflexes, Calvin lifted and extended his pistol, pulled back the hammer, took a fraction of a second to aim, and squeezed the trigger.

"Blam!"

A slug ripped through the mutant's shoulder, half-illuminated by the flashlight laying on the ground. The irradiated being jerked to one side, its charge momentarily halted. For a second, hope trickled into Calvin before being extinguished as the monster turned back toward him. Then, with surprising speed, it bounded the rest of the way and slammed into him as he fired another shot that missed.

Suddenly, he was on the ground, the monster on top of him. Claws raked his arms, eliciting a yelp of pain from him as he desperately tried to claw at his knife. He could see the mutant's jaws about to close in around his neck…

An ear-splitting boom rang out across the forest, and Calvin's face was splattered with bits of black blood and green-white brain tissue. The mutant's weight went limp.

A second passed. Two, then five. Slowly and tentatively, he opened his eyes.

On top of him lay the unmoving body of the mutant that had attacked him. It's black, unnerving eyes were still open, staring at him. Still filled with rage. His heart was pounding like a jackhammer, and he realized that the monster's teeth were mere inches away from slicing into his neck.

As the shock began to wear off, a new wave of pain emerged from his cut and bleeding arms. He gritted his teeth in agony and tried to move the carcass off of him.

What had killed it?

"Calvin!" came the voice of Hobbes. Calvin heard footsteps, and a few seconds later, the mutant's deceased body was lifted off of him. A new rush of air filled his lungs as he took a deep breath. The next second, the tiger's face appeared over him. "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah…" Calvin groaned, and tried to prop himself up. "I'll be alright."

"Here," Hobbes said, kneeling down to help him up. "Let me help you." With the mutant tiger's help, Calvin got unsteadily onto his feet.

"Oh, jeez…" Hobbes muttered. "Your arms."

Calvin looked down at them. They were still bleeding and covered with bits of ash and dead leaves, but the pain was tolerable. Hobbes sighed and began to help him to the back of the jeep. "We gotta get those cuts bandaged," he warned, "or it might get infected… or worse."

"Wait," Calvin said. "Who killed it?"

"What?" Hobbes asked.

Calvin took a second to steady himself, then asked, "The mutant… did you kill it?"

Hobbes shook his head and motioned to the bed of the jeep. Calvin looked up. There, breathing heavily with eyes still wide with terror, stood Evelyn, clutching her shotgun with pale hands. As Hobbes shined his flashlight in her direction, Calvin saw a small trail of smoke rising up from the tip of the barrel.

"Hey, Evelyn," Hobbes called out. "It's okay. The mutant is dead."

Evelyn's only reaction was the clunk of the shotgun dropping out of her hands. Then, after a few more seconds, she dropped to her knees and covered her face with her hands. A few small sobs escaped her.

Hobbes helped Calvin up onto the jeep and walked over to Evelyn to comfort her.

"Hey, Evelyn…" he said. The girl looked up at him and unexpectedly wrapped her arms around him. Hobbes, surprised, hugged her back after a few seconds. For a little while, Hobbes comforted her as she sobbed into his fur.

Then, Evelyn detached herself from him and noticed Calvin. Gasping, she rushed over to him, Hobbes right behind her.

"Are you alright?" she asked. "Your arms!"

"Here," Hobbes said, grabbing the med kit out from under a bag of supplies. He opened it and pulled out a roll of bandages, a pack of cotton swabs, and a flask of disinfectant. He went to work, swabbing off the excess blood and dirt and pouring half the flask onto the cuts. With irradiated mutants involved, one could never be careful enough when cleaning wounds.

"I'm sorry we left you over here," he said. "I should have taken care of your wounds first."

"Naw, it's alright," Calvin assured, and winced at the burn the rubbing alcohol caused. "Evelyn needed you more at the moment."

He looked over at her. "You okay?"

Evelyn nodded, her face downcast. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Calvin winced as Hobbes poured more of the disinfectant onto his arms. Finally, he took the bandages and wrapped the cuts securely with them.

"There," he said. "That should keep you going."

"Let's get back into the jeep and get out of here," Calvin said, cautiously moving his arms around. "I am not sticking around for more mutants to find this guy's carcass."

He motioned to the corpse of the being that Evelyn had killed, its head sporting a new, gaping hole.

Hobbes nodded and the two slipped off the jeep's back, with the tiger turning around and helping Evelyn off, too. Then, as an afterthought, he reached over and grabbed the shotgun. The three silently walked back to the jeep, getting in and slamming the doors shut.

Hobbes took the wheel, so that Calvin could let his arms and hands rest, and the jeep began rolling down the road again. After a few minutes of silence, another sob came from the back of the jeep.

Calvin sighed, turned and said, "Hey."

Evelyn looked up, her face red and her eyes glistening. "What?" she asked.

Calvin nodded. "Thanks for saving me. I would have been dead if you hadn't shot it."

Evelyn fell silent. Then she nodded back. "Yeah. No problem."

"First time?" he asked.

"...Yeah."

Calvin nodded again and turned back to look out the windshield. "I'd say we should drive for another while, find a nice, high-ground spot and make camp."

"Sounds good," Hobbes agreed. "I'll take the first shift again."

"Thanks, buddy."

And so, the trio drove on, again in complete silence. The last of the sun's faint light disappeared, prompting Hobbes to slow the jeep down. After another thirty minutes of driving, he stopped the car and pointed. "There."

Calvin followed to where he was pointing, and saw a small hill near the side of the road. At the top was a barren spot, perfect for setting camp.

"Alright," he said. "Let's get up there and unload."


A while later, Calvin lay under his sleeping bag, waiting to fall asleep, when Evelyn's voice said, "Calvin?"

Calvin sighed. "What?" he asked, his tone clipped.

"I'm sorry I didn't shoot the mutant sooner," she said, surprising him. "I just- I froze up and I didn't know what to do and-"

"Kid," Calvin interrupted, "If you hadn't shot the thing when you did, I would have been mutant chow."

"But-" Evelyn tried to say.

"It doesn't matter if you shot it a little late," he assured her. "I'm still alive, right?"

"Yeah," Evelyn said.

"No harm done," he promised. "Everyone freezes up at one point or another, the trick is to get your courage together and bounce back, which you did."

"...Okay," Evelyn said after a few moments. "Thanks."

"Yup," he said as nonchalantly as he could, and wiggled further into his sleeping bag. "G'night."

"Goodnight," he heard Evelyn say, and then he dropped into a deep sleep.

A few yards away, keeping watch, Hobbes smiled at hearing the conversation.


:D