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"Ahh, no! No! Not again! Not now!"

The beam from the flashlight sputtered and died, and Alex smacked it firmly, as though it would help. It might -- the light had always been a little finicky. He'd never gotten around to replacing it because it had always worked well enough, and he'd sure paid enough for the stupid thing. But sometimes, it just liked to cut out, like it just had. It hadn't ever screwed him over like this before, though.

The death of the light left him with the after image of brightly-lit cypress trees fading from his vision. His ears flattened against his skull, and his tail tucked in tight to his thigh. The coyote panted softly as he tried to focus himself. Things weren't that bad: he hadn't gone far from the car; his eyes would recover soon, twenty minutes to full sensitivity, if he recalled correctly; he -

No, things were just that bad. He was lost in the middle of the bayou somewhere east of Houston and his car was almost out of gas.

He held his hands out in front of him and walked towards the last tree he remembered. It was barely visible, a darker pillar against the sky; the sun had set over an hour ago, but the sky held a lingering violet glow. He found the tree with his foot and tripped over one of the roots, tumbling into it head-first. He managed to catch himself, but not before knocking his head against the wood. Alex bit back a curse and just leaned against the stupid thing, resting his head against the rough bark.

The sounds of the bayou closed in around him: crickets, frogs, and God knows what else crying out, water rippling nearby. It was so noisy. Nothing like his mountains back home in Colorado. He turned around and slid down the trunk, just leaning against it heavily, glad he didn't have to hold himself up any more. He'd moved to Houston for a job. It had been... It had been a move. Stressful. Nothing was where he thought it was. He was still trying to find his way around.

It was good, really. And he had a weekend off! Six hours to New Orleans, he'd thought, why not go check it out? He'd always wanted to go. And here he was, maybe half way between them, not sure what state he was in, no light, trying to find some way to get more gas in his car, because he had just forgotten about refueling the car and by the time he'd finally pulled off somewhere, he missed a turn and he just --

He just couldn't find a gas station and got turned around and wandered off down a road and he'd just stopped the car and gotten out. Just a walk. And maybe a pit stop. He hadn't seen any place to stop for that, either. And now here he was, sitting in the dark against a tree with no light and his phone was dead, because of course he'd forgotten to take care of that, too, and he wasn't even sure where the car was anymore.

He was just screwed. Screwed.

He bit back a whine and knocked his head against the tree. "So stupid!"

"Y'know, I don't think beating your brains out on the tree is going to help with that."

Alex opened his eyes, his ears swiveling. A low rumble in the dark layered over the background sounds. Laughing? Really? He looked around, but saw nothing until a dark form squatted down next to him.

"Over here, pup. You don't see too well in the dark, do ya?"

He shook his head. "Um. Well, not right now. My light just died."

"Aye, I saw that. Most folk here get along just fine this time of the evening without a light. Figured you mighta been lost." He stuck out a paw. "Name's Ray."

Alex nodded and shook the offered paw. It was weathered and callused and caught at Alex's own, softer pads when he pulled his hand away. "Alex." His eyes were adjusting slowly, and he could just make out a big hound sort of dog in the dark next to him. He ran a paw between his ears. "Ugh, yeah, I'm lost. I needed gas real soon."

Ray sniffed. "Not all you needed, I wager." The dog chuckled. "So why'd you wander way out here, then? It's five miles to the nearest gas station. Has bathrooms, too, I hear."

"Well, I..." He paused, then tried again. "I'm just trying to get to New Orleans for the weekend, but I forgot to fuel up before I left and I must have misread the signs to the gas station off the Interstate and I just...." He sighed and knocked his head against the tree again. "I just moved down here. It's... I'm not settled in yet."

Another chuckle, then a big paw clapped him on the shoulder. "Yeah, didn't look like your folks came from these parts. Awful nice shoes for tromping around in the mud. Why don't we get you up off the ground first, eh?"

The dog offered him a hand and Alex pulled himself up.

"You leave your car out on the road, pup?" Ray grinned, and his tongue lolled out of his muzzle. He seemed to be finding the whole thing rather funnier than Alex did.

"Yeah. I mean, I pulled off to the side, but it's at the road."

"Well, that's more sense than some have. You run out?"

"No, I stopped first. But there's not much left, and I lost track of it in the dark."

Ray nodded. "Well, I know the way back to my place, and I should have a can or two to spare. You don't drive nothin' fancy, do you, sort that needs hi-test?"

Alex felt his ears relax, returning to their normal position -- each jutting out at its own angle from his head. His mother had always said they seemed to have a mind of their own. "Ah, no, thankfully. It's just a Liberty."

The dog nodded. "Well follow me, then, and we'll get you settled. Only one road through here, so I'm sure we'll find your car soon enough. You ain't been lost long, right?"

The coyote stretched his gait to catch up, stumbling in the unfamiliar undergrowth and having to pick his feet up more than he expected. "No, I don't think so. My watch is back in the car. And my phone, too, which is dead, of course, so I'm sorta guessing."

Ray shook his head. "Well, pup, I'll get you sorted with a map, too, then, and show you how to get out. Gas station might sell you a charger, if I recall correctly. It'll all be fine."

Alex let out a long sigh, feeling the tension draining away. Seemed to him like that might just be true, after all.