Free Earth: Population 2 (Paradise Lost Book 1) by Aubrie Dionne

wouldn’t give for a can of Mountain Dew. I’d packed up everything else in that grocery store except for caffeine.
    I started to hum, but my voice wasn’t enough to wake me up. I took a deep breath and remembered the lyrics to “Rush.” My fingers beat in rhythm on the steering wheel.
    “Like a skydive off a mountain
    Adrenaline courses through my veins
    There’s no substitute
    For when I’m with you….”
    As I took a deep breath to launch into the chorus, I noticed a red light blinking by the gas gauge. The arrow pointed to empty.
    Damn.
    I thought about the blue Chevrolet a few miles back, but there was no guarantee that vehicle had any gas at all. Besides, I didn’t want to move all those groceries into another car. I had no other choice. I had to get off the highway and find a gas station. I’d made it from Nowheresville in Maine to another Nowheresville in New Hampshire. But, at least I made progress. I only hoped the Sparkies hadn’t invaded this state as well.
    I pulled into an Irving station just off the highway, by a Dunkin Donuts. I considered breaking into the Dunkin Donuts, but all of the bakery items would be two days old and stale donuts were not appealing. It wasn’t worth the risk.
    Checking the parking lot for movement, I took the shotgun and got out of the car. After pointing the barrel in all directions, I checked the pump. Thank the God of Irving, the pumps still worked. Maybe they had some kind of backup generator or something.
    As the tank filled, I noticed a sound like a chain dragging on the ground, coming from out back. My first thought was a poor dog tied outside without food or water. It would be the first animal I’d seen since the mass disappearance.
    The pump clicked off, and I took it out, and closed the gas cover. My instincts told me to get back in the car, but my heart wouldn’t listen. What if it was a dog, or, even worse, a person in trouble?
    “Hello?” My voice trembled with fear in the deafening silence the world had become. I cleared my throat and tried again, this time louder. “Hello?”
    The scraping sound stopped, but no one answered. I should have jumped back in the car and left well enough alone. But curiosity and loneliness had eaten away at my logic. I raised the shotgun and rounded the station.
    Broken-down cars all in different states of disrepair filled the lot. A pile of used tires sat on the left, by the first trees of a forest hemming in the back lot. My fingers tightened on the trigger as my fingers shook. A Sparkie lay in the corner, its leg and tail caught in a jagged-toothed animal trap, probably meant for possums or skunks. The leg bent at a crooked angle, and the tail hung by a thread of tendon, almost completely severed by the rusty teeth. The phosphorescence on the dandelion-like end had died to a dull glow.
    Get back in the car.
    My feet wouldn’t move. I almost felt bad for the Sparkie before I reminded myself its kind might have wiped out all of humanity, except me. I needed answers, and anger hardened my resolve. Instead of going back, I pointed my gun at its head.
    “Why are you here?”
    The Sparkie hissed through its jagged, pointy teeth. Guess they didn’t have braces in outer space. Either it couldn’t understand me, or it refused to answer.
    I shot my gun into the air. The sound rang, blasphemously loud, echoing off the building beside us. It took all my restraint not to cringe. I knew it would bring more Sparkies, but I had to prove I was a threat. I gave the Sparkie my very best I-mean-business stare, raised an eyebrow suggestively, and pointed the barrel at its useful leg. “What are you doing on Earth?”
    The alien slithered like a snake on the prowl, sizing me up. It had long palms with three skinny fingers on each hand and no fingernails. The deep black eyes gave me the creeps. A cold, calculating menace with a hint of the intelligence lay beneath the dark gaze.
    I stepped toward it and wiggled the gun. “I’ll shoot you.