Dean breathed slowly as his hands gripped the wheel of an [url=http://images.allcarsincanada.com/nlarge/1980_ford_f-150_4x4_lariat_pickup_truck_348933.jpg]old pickup truck[/url] he had managed to acquire a few months ago. About 30 yards from the trucks position was an old convenient store with two gas pumps in the front. The truck had about a quarter of gas left in the tank. Dean knew he had to fill the tank now if he was going to make it to Chicago, but he had been sitting in the drivers seat for about half an hour, pondering how to go about this. When Dean parked near the convenient store earlier he had seen movement inside the building, and waited, hoping whatever was inside would come out, but so far nothing has left or entered. He felt so anxious and tense, and checked his watch. It was 11:30 am. He wanted to just close his eyes and sleep until everything was back to normal. It was a childish wish but a wish he hoped for everyday.

Dean crossed his arms on the steering wheel and lay his chin on top, gazing at the convenient store, and wondered what was keeping him from going in. He had faced the monsters plenty of times in the past, but it's difficult to get used to seeing those type of things. Especially since they aren't always the same. Dean's eyes grew weary, it had been at least 26 hours since he last slept, and who knows how longer since he had a full nights rest. He sat up straight, rubbing his eyes, and began to set a timer on his watch. [b]"Ten minutes"[/b] He whispered to himself before glancing at the convenient store once more. Since this dreadful lifestyle began, Dean followed a certain rule, and that was to never take more than you need when ransacking a place. Not only was it unethical to grab everything but it also wasn't wise to carry a lot with you considering the burden of carrying so much stuff and the time it takes to grab it all. Ten minutes should be more than enough. With the push of a button on his watch the timer began to count down.

Dean quickly jumped out of the vehicle and hopped onto the bed of the truck where his gear lay. He grabbed an angled flashlight that could clip to his belt, an empty backpack, a baseball bat, and two empty gas cans before jumping out of the truck. He slung the empty backpack over his shoulder and began walking towards the convenient store, gently placing the empty gas cans beside one of the pumps. Dean slowly approached the double doors of the convenient store plastered with outdated advertisements. The lights were off in the store so it was too dark, and he couldn't see anything inside, but he could certainty here shuffling and movement. Dean had been in this situation numerous times and found it best to make your presence known immediately, as to avoid anything sneaking up from behind, it was easier to deal with the threat right away rather than trying to sneak by it. Dean kicked open one of the doors and placed two of his fingers in his mouth, then let out a very loud whistle that echoed throughout the surrounding area.

 He heard the shuffling come to a stop and braced himself, gripping the baseball bat. As he stared into the darkness of the store his heart began beating at a much faster rate. Dean couldn't shake the feeling something was staring right back at him from the darkness. He could hear items falling off of the shelves as something began to move inside of the store and towards the entrance. Dean planted his feet and prepared to swing the baseball bat with all of his strength, but he stopped himself, and only let out a sigh of relief as a deer emerged from the darkness. He locked eyes with the animal for a moment before it sped off with great speed past him and outside, into the forest. Dean turned on the flashlight clipped to his belt and stepped inside of the convenient store, cautiously walking around, double checking to make sure that the deer was the only thing inside the store, and it seemed it was. Dean decided the building was clear and walked at a much faster rate through all of the aisles, shoving various foods into his backpack as well as other misc. items such as batteries, duct tape, and junk food. Afterwards he hopped over the counter and grabbed matches, band-aids, candy and a few cartons of cigarettes. Dean didn't smoke but in the past traded them for food and shelter. He never really got into cigarettes, but wondered if they would ease his stress in a time like this. It wouldn't really matter what they did to his body at this point, it wasn't very likely his cause of death would be due to cigarettes.

He looked for a device that controlled the gas pump and found two buttons labeled one and two. Dean hit the second and checked his watch. [b]"5 minutes"[/b] He said to himself silently, and hopped over the counter and towards the gas pump labeled 2. He turned off the flashlight and dropped all his stuff, then kneeled down and opened the empty gas can. As Dean pumped gas into the cans he looked around and couldn't help but feel nervous. Being surrounded by a forest on all sides made him feel very uneasy. He felt like numerous monsters were watching him from behind the trees, it was an awful position to be sitting in. As the second gas can seemed to be full Dean placed the nozzle back into the pump and grabbed his baseball bat, placing it in his backpack and slinging the bag over his shoulder. He walked towards the truck, carrying a gas can in each hand. The weight of the two cans along with the bag hanging on one shoulder caused Dean to walk somewhat awkwardly to the truck. As he arrived, he practically shoved everything into the bed of the truck and immediately entered the drivers seat.

 Dean lay his head back onto the seat, and let out another sigh of relief. He couldn't help but close his eyes and probably would've fallen asleep if the timer on his watch hadn't gone off. Dean pushed a button on his watch, ceasing the repetitive noise, and breathed heavily. He reached for the glovebox and pulled out a standard travelers map of the United States, placing it on the steering wheel and marking an X on his position with a red marker. As Dean analyzed the map, he decided it would be easier to cut through the forest and onto a freeway which would take him directly to Chicago's suburbs. Dean tossed the map onto the passengers seat and gazed at the convenient store one last time as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small and seemingly old photograph of a mother and her son. [b]"Almost home"[/b] Dean thought to himself, and started the engine, driving back onto the road before turning onto another road that led through the forest and eventually to the freeway.