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Marcus regretfully burrowed back out of his cosy leaf tunnel. Today was going to be a productive one if he was going to find people. Today's breakfast wasn't anything fancy as Marcus chomped down on the last breakfast cereal bar. He washed it down with a few gulps or water and quickly relieved himself in a nearby bush. The system was surprisingly right: 'Moss is a good substitute for toilet paper.'

It didn't take too long for Marcus to collapse his campsite and leave an arrow made of sticks pointing in the direction he was going. He'd do this every time he broke camp from now on. Just in case someone found it. He'd left a little water to filter overnight which he collected and soon after, left the forest.

There were animal trails coming out of the forest but sometimes he'd have to walk on the plain ground. Some part of him cringed every time he crushed some heather. He had to watch his footing in case their was a bee gathering pollen.

Marcus checked his map as he hiked and found that he could place digital markers. He left one roughly where his old campsite was and named it 'spot 001'. The plan was to give more meaningful names to spots he planned on using again. He was sure he'd always remember his first spot.

He set markers on places he planned to go so he had goals to strive toward. Maybe if he went in one direction long enough he'd find the remnants of civilization or perhaps the coast. Either scenario sounded good because the handbook said there was plenty of food at the coast and abandoned cities could have survivor camps. 'There might not be much left if a nuclear war brought about the end though.'

How did he know what a nuclear war was again? Memories of general knowledge didn't come in flashes so instead Marcus strangely just knew ideas without remembering where he'd learned them from. It felt like déjà vu. Of course he didn't know how to describe that feeling either.

As he trudged along, a system notification came up in front of him: 'Solitary monster (class D) approaching from the west.'

"What? A monster! Where?" Marcus used knowledge he'd read from the handbook to locate west by observing the sun. It rose in the east and set in the west. Since the morning was still pretty early, meaning the sun had not yet begun to arc around, Marcus found west quite easily.

'New skill unlocked - finding direction level one.'

"Not now!" Marcus snapped, swiping it away. He squinted his eyes toward some trees trying to spot this so called monster. Marcus turned away for only a second to get his knife out and as soon as he raised his head, the silhouette of a humanoid figure was standing there in the shade of the trees.

Marcus gasped inward suddenly, 'A human? Or a monster that looks like one?'

"Hello? Are you a survivor like me?" Marcus was excited but was also wary of the monster alert he received. The silhouette made a guttural groaning noise in response. "Come out! I'm not afraid of you!" Marcus screamed whilst slicing the air a few times to intimidate them. Some part of him felt stupid. Maybe it was a human and they were just a bit grumpy or something.

They stepped out into the light. Marcus froze. Their lower jaw was missing and their cheeks were non existent. It didn't have a tongue either. No wonder the only noise it could make was a low gurgle. It was wearing torn clothes and although it had some flesh attached to it, the wretched thing appeared very skeletal. All the fat and muscle worn away. Sweat ran down Marcus' forehead.

The monster took a step forward, Marcus took a step back. The monster growled in return. It started walking faster now and Marcus took quick steps back but it was gaining ground. Instead, Marcus turned around and began to sprint away. Only, after clearing a good 100m, he turned around to find the Monster still homed in on his position. How was this possible? It was running much slower than the average person and Marcus knew he could run faster than the average person but if it didn't stop he was eventually going to be eaten either way!

"Leave me alone!" He shrieked.

"Mruuuurrgh!"

"Stop! Chasing! Me!"

"Uuurruuurrrghh!"

Fight was the only option left. Brandishing the survivor's knife, Marcus spun round and began sprinting at his enemy. He held it with his right hand in a tight grip to deliver as much strength as possible into his attack.

When he was only a few metres away from it, Marcus leaped into the air and came down on the enemy with his full body weight. His knife gouged its way into an eye socket but not much fluid came out. Was this thing even alive?

They grappled for a second or two but eventually Marcus twisted his knife further and the creature was still. It stopped trying to bite his face off and slumped to the ground. Marcus was silent for a while. He just stared at the body beside his feet until a status window broke his daze:

'Monster successfully killed. Distributing 5 survival coins.'

'Achievement unlocked - Kill a monster. Distributing reward of 20 survival coins.'

'Quest progress - kill five zombies 1/5 complete.'

'Shop level 2 unlocked.'

The last notification caught his eye. Marcus was still silent after experiencing something so horrific. He could barely breathe. His chest was pounding and his skin grew pale. He'd just killed someon- No... something. Did they used to be human? Quietly, Marcus rose his trembling hand, forcing himself to open up the menu and see what was new in the shop.

*SHOP*

New items unlocked:

Coil of wire - 5 coins.

Para chord - 20 coins.

pea plant seeds (x10) - 10 coins.

Marcus took a deep breath before reading the new additions. He dismissed the window soon afterwards before deciding to lie on his back for a while. Eventually, Marcus had to accept that what he'd done was natural and only necessary to survive.

It bothered him so much because although the thing was obviously NOT human, in the shadows of the trees, Marcus had hoped it was a person.

People tend to neglect the thought of things going wrong. It's a comfort to imagine the best case scenario. To reach a certain normality. When things don't go our way, we feel bothered by it and when you're truly desperate but receive nothing but disappointment, it crushes their soul.

If you crush someone's soul enough, it becomes their normality so it's easier to cope with. Marcus prayed that didn't happen to him. He didn't want to stop feeling anymore. That's why he decided to suck it up and continue his survival. It was another challenge to his mentality like when he first awoke. His only choice was to overcome it once more. That didn't mean it wasn't sitting in the back of his mind however.

His trek went on a bit further until he stopped for a quick lunch. He decided to forage for plants this time as it was less time consuming when compared to hunting and he used his botanist skill to see what was on the menu.

Garlic mustard - Straight, hairy stems at base with heart shaped, green leaves. Cross shaped, white flowers. Leaves, stems and flowers are edible and can be used in salads. The roots have a wasabi flavour which can range in spiciness. Leaves can be used as a diuretic.

Marcus cringed yet again at the system making another vulgar statement. Not that the information wasn't useful.

Sorrel - The common sorrel has been cultivated for centuries and is known to have a sour taste because it contains oxalic acid. The leaves are edible but toughen with age. Use the leaves in salads.

Dandelion - They are comprised of a yellow flower head, leaves that range from 5-25cm in length and can be used in salads. The leaves contain vitamins C, K and A as well as other vital minerals like potassium, calcium, iron and manganese. They are 86% water and 100g provides 45 calories.

Marcus gathered leaves from all three plants plus some flower petals from some gorse and the garlic mustard. He rinsed them all by a clear, fast-flowing stream and ate them together as a salad. His mouth was not accustomed to the taste of wild plants and the system was right about the wasabi taste in garlic mustard roots which he added to spice things up a bit. His stomach felt a little queazy from the sourness of the sorrel but he was sure he'd get used to it.

Well rested, Marcus continued on until he arrived at a strange cherry blossom tree on top of a green, wave shaped slope. There were many others atop of similar rolling hills. Further on, there were mountains in the distance. 'Maybe there's a valley with a wide river acting as the source for the streams running through the forests... Valleys are a great place to live so maybe there are humans there!'

Marcus still couldn't see other dots to mark people other than himself. However, the map might not show people anyway in which case Marcus' hope would not die yet.

The sun was starting to set now so Marcus made camp by the pink cherry blossom tree. It was curved like a bow and the blossom hung low like a bow string. There was no need to build a shelter as a hollow in the tree provided one so Marcus slept there. He had accumulated many survival coins in recent events as well so he purchased a piece of meat to cook over a fire.

'Thank you for your purchase. You now have 44 coins remaining.'

When the meat arrived, it appeared to be a medallion steak. He used a rock as a hot plate to fry it. The texture was tender and juicy so he ravaged it completely. Marcus slept cosily after that whilst watching the fire die down. Today had been a successful venture and it was nice to afford the luxury of real meat without having to spend too much time hunting for it.