[b]David Zhang[/b]


	He could still hear it, cars zooming by, people screaming at one another to learn how to drive, and beggars pleading for change so they could eat, playing in his head over and over again, but regardless of how much he struggled to go back to the past, before the outbreak, he knew in his heart that he was stuck in this god forsaken world. Everything was going perfectly for him and he could finally start imaging a life where he would be living the ‘American’ dream that many people overseas talked about, and then, without any warning, everything began to crash around him.

It’s been around eight-months since Day Zero and David had finally just begun to understand basic survival techniques, but the need for food has started to become a more pressing event as his small supplies of canned food quickly diminished. Without any knowledge on how to hunt anything but the smallest of animals, squirrels and the like, he would eventually die out here and he knew it. 
	
David shivered, for a second, before tightening himself within the coat that he had found a few months back, a few holes and splotches of blood decorating the thick wool. Winter had started to kick in within the last few weeks and even though this was nothing in comparison to a Beijing winter, it was still cold none-the-less, especially without the luxuries that he previously was able to enjoy.
	
He pressed his gloved hands against the dirt, a few pieces of dirt sticking onto the wool, as he began to stand, his back against the base of a large oak. He began to gather all of his belongings and placed it within his bag, besides his butcher’s blade and handgun, and started to head out back further into the woods. 
	
“It’s probably mid-day right now..” he muttered to himself, in Chinese. The winter’s embrace had taken the canopy of the woods a few months and littered the ground with dead leaves, and while the leaves were still there, it was nowhere near as problematic as it was earlier in the fall. The constant crushing of leaves made lone shufflers start their course towards him.
	
The time seemed to constantly flow by, day-by-day, without any end or sight of the end going to be there. The only options that he had, at that point, was to continue trudging along this godforsaken world or end it all with a single bullet. He pondered if it was worth it anymore endlessly and if there could be any world worth rebuilding after this abhorrent event.
	
‘Pop, pop, pop!’ sounded out in the distance. He recognized it instantly, however, regardless of how faint the sound was. He knew that it had to be another survivor out there attempting to keep the yaoguai away, but the question was if it was worth trying to find them. Sure, it was still a constant struggle to live by himself and he had to devote all of his time to the survival necessities, but even if he started to group up with other survivors.. 

“Would it be an issue with communication, would they accept him into the group, and would they be instantly hostile towards a newcomer?”
	
Survival wasn’t just against the yaoguai, at this point. He was a part of a small group when the outbreak first occurred, but, at this point, it was just a memory that he never wanted to think about anymore. The day when that group finally crumbled was colored crimson and he wasn’t interesting in trying to relive such an event.
	
‘Pop, pop!’ it echoed out again into the woods. The scenarios of what was going on continued to cycle through his mind, faces of the past abruptly appearing throughout each scenario. 
	
“Five shots fired, possible that they are taking out yaoguai but he or she has to be inexperienced with their weapon since it’s doubtful that five yaoguai would be out here in these woods wandering around in a small group.” He thought to himself. He reached towards the makeshift holster to feel the grip of the pistol that he found. He only had to shoot it a few times until now, but he didn’t want to run into a situation where he could die.
	
Pulling the weapon out of the holster, his hands trembling, he started to move towards the sounds. His heart kept pounding away at his chest; he could hear it vibrating through his head. He hated these situations, every last one of them. He wasn’t born to hold a gun, let alone fire it at someone. 
	
It took fifteen minutes of shuffling through the woods in anxiety until a putrid breeze gusted through the trees. He recognized it immediately, his weapon starting to aim ahead of him. Gripping his weapon with both hands, fear continued to envelope the man. “You need to get out of here. What are you doing?” he thought to himself. “This is stupid. I don’t even know this person.” He tried to reason, but for whatever reason he continued forward.
	
“Stop! Stop right there!” a voice commanded, it was raspy and strained. The figure started to move forward with a pistol aimed right at David, the uncertainty of the situation was in the shaky grip of both parties.
	
“Wait! I do not want hurt you!” he called out, “Today, earlier, I hear a lot of gun shot. You killed them?” he continued, looking at the dead yaoguai before both of them.
	
“Yeah.. I killed them. Those fucking monsters.” The figure replied, a more curvy form appearing from the shadows. As the light began to embrace her form, David could see the wear and tear of this world taking a hold of her as well.
	
The two began to walk closer to one another, slowly letting their weapons down. She had long brown hair that cascaded down her back, deep jade eyes with dark bags underneath them, pale skin covered with dirt and grime, blood encrusted clothing, and a small pistol. He started to wonder how she was getting accustomed to this hell-hole of a world in this constant fight for life.
	
“Melissa.” She introduced herself, extending her hand to him. She wore a smile for a few seconds, genuinely happy that she found someone else here. Perhaps she wasn’t ready to survive out here too. Who could be?
	
“David.” He responded, although with a delayed response, “Nice to meet you.” He looked into her eyes to see if he could read her a little more. His mother always said that you could tell so much about a person through their eyes. It was the gateway to their inner self. 

-----  [i]A few weeks later[/i] -----

He could still hear it, cars zooming by, people screaming at one another to learn how to drive, and beggars pleading for change so they could eat. It never ended and now more than ever. The last four months was his saving grace. She knew a lot more than he could ever imagine about surviving this world without the things he once took for granted. He couldn’t have been any luckier to meet someone of her caliber, but it was short lived.

What seemed like hundreds of the yaoguai started to surround the small city that they were staying in. “It’s not worth getting those supplies if we die, David.” She argued with her brows furrowed.

“Yes, but benefit better us than we do not go.” He retorted, “We are able to get food, weapon, bullets, and maybe some new clothes. Winter is going to be here soon and if we do not die to yaoguai, we die to weather!” It took a few days of convincing, but they started towards the town and, at first, it seemed like paradise. Not fully stocked shelves but enough food to survive for a few more weeks without hunting, but as things were starting to get brighter the world had a funny way to bring it all tumbling down.

‘Pop! Pop!’ echoed through the small grocery store, but as he turned he realized that more of them were starting to come to the once thought haven. “Run! We need to get out of here!” she called out as she fired a few more from her pistol. David froze for a second before going into flight. He didn’t even dare try to kill any of the yaoguai; he might accidentally waste his precious time to escape. 

That was a few days ago and now David explored the woods again through Missouri. He wasn’t better off than he was before, not being able to grab any supplies from the store quick enough, but it didn’t matter at all if he couldn’t find his partner. The last few days he had been going through the woods looking for her but to no avail.

As hope seemed pointless, a figure shifted through the woods quickly, almost like it was an apparition. He wasn’t able to catch any glimpse of the figure, but a small logo ‘CPD’ on a hat. Whoever this person was, maybe he or she could be the one to help him.