Chapter 1

The walking corpses aren't that smart. They are slow, loud and can barely see. Not to mention the dreadful stretch giving away their position whenever they are close by. They are lucky that only a few of us were immune to whatever caused this, or they would never have come to dominate our world. But despite how stupid these infected are, these guys are still a problem.

There are five of them on the street between that store and my position. Ordinarily, this wouldn't pose much of a problem, but I only have three arrows left for my bow. I do have a pistol tucked away, but I would prefer not to use it. The sound will only attract more of those things, and the bullets are more valuable than gold. I'll have to do this the hard way.

I have to deal with the closes one first. Stood right outside of the building I am hiding in. He is a big rotting guy and smells as bad as he looks. This infected man could have easily spotted me if the infection hadn't already destroyed his eyesight. I hate doing it this way, but I draw the small knife I keep hidden in my boot. I prefer to fight at a distance where they can't touch me, but if I am not careful, then the sound of his falling body could give away my position.

Moving in closer, I have to hold my breath so I don't gag and let him know I am here. He smells even worse the closer I get. I hate it, but I grit my teeth and endure the stench as I raise my knife. With one quick stab, it is over. I put my knife through the soft part of his skull, and after a bit of twitching, the infected man starts to fall. I manage to guild he gentle down, but I still hate it as his skin starts to fall from his body. One down four to go.

I have to take down the second one up close too. It's a shame that I have to do it this way when I have a clear shot on it and could easily take them down with my bow, but that glass by its feet could be trouble. Tiptoeing my way forward, I make sure to avoid the debris scattered around the street. A piece of glass here and a bit of rusty metal there will not only give away my position, but I don't want to think of how bad a cut from that rusty metal will be. With medication being so rare nowadays, I don't want to risk it.

The second infected is a schoolgirl who looks no older than I was when all this first started. It's a simple task of taking her out. Just like last time, I plunge my knife through the soft part of her skull and guild her down. Thankfully she is lighter than the previous guy, but she still falls apart in my hands. It was easy to do but not so easy to get used to. It never gets any easier, but I have to do it if I want to live. Two down, three to go.

The next to are easier to take down. With nothing for those two infected to land on that could make too much noise, I simply use my last two arrows to shoot them down. They fall dead with a soft thud that doesn't even bother the last remaining infected person, so it is safe to say none others nearby heard them die. Now I just have to deal with the last one, but this infected man will be more tricky to deal with.

The old man with flesh rotting from his body is currently trapped in some dangling wires. This only makes them more dangerous. When trapped, the infected only struggle more, waving their arms and legs about wildly and increasing the chances of you getting caught if you get in too close. I put my knife away. It is too dangerous to even consider using it against him. Plan B it is then.

I don't rely on this strategy too much because of the tendency for my arrows to break when I retrieve them, but I need to do it in this instance. Most of the time, my arrows would break when I try to retrieve them from the bodies, so I don't usually do this, and sure enough, the first arrow I try to get back does indeed break in half. I usually find it better to just make new ones, but I don't have time in this situation. I have already spent too long in this place, and if I leave, some other survivor might appear to claim my prize.

Fortunately, my second arrow comes out cleanly and may not be in perfect condition, but it looks good enough to shoot. Drawing my bow, I waste little time before putting an arrow between the old man's eyes. His rotting corpse hangs from the wires, lifeless and soundless. All five down with no signs that any other nearby infected were alerted.

Taking a deep breath, I sling my bow over my shoulder and redraw my knife. I can't let my guard down even with all these infected now laying dead around me. There are always more hiding around every corner. So moving slowly and carefully, I creep towards the store doing everything within my power to make as little noise as possible. I peek inside, making sure the coast is clear before entering but not through the door. I had no idea when the hinges were last oiled, so I don't want to risk the chances of a loud creak by opening the door.

Walking around the building, I quickly find a better alternative to the door in an open window I could squeeze through. I peek inside again, double-checking the coast is clear before climbing inside. You can never be too careful when entering a building. Especially when the place has been trashed like this giving the infected plenty of places to hide.

Just as you would expect from a store that has been left abandoned for over two years in a zombie apocalypse, the shelves have already been picked clean. Unlike in video games where you would find hidden items, there is nothing here apart from rotten food and useless junk. But my prize lays not that far from the front door. Unlike the store, I can see already that there is some useless stuff there. A body. Before, I would have felt sick seeing one buy now I feel nothing. I creep my way forward, keeping my eyes peeled and my knife ready just in case an infected person is hiding somewhere in this store. Thankfully none appear, but I still keep it out as I reach the body.

I don't think this body is that old, but it is hard to tell. Like every other deceased survivor I have come across, this one has been stripped down to the bone. There is nothing left of them apart from their clothes and a bloodstain around the poor person skeleton. The infected never leave much behind once they are finished feasting. I take no pleasuring in looting the dead, but they usually have better stuff than you can find from scavaging the remains of towns.

Looking at the body, though, I doubt I will be able to use their clothes. Most of them are torn to pieces, and the shoes look as worn down as my own. It's a shame, I really need to replace my own footwear soon, or I will end up walking barefoot before long. But I do see a backpack that looks full, so hopefully, I will have better luck there. I wince, taking off the backpack, hearing the skeleton fall apart, but I feel relieved to find that the bag is heavy.

I smile when I open up the backpack. I have found more stuff before, better things in smaller quantities, but it has been a long time since then. Most of the stuff is useless. I could probably trade the things like screws and bolts with other survivors, then there is other stuff that I couldn't even give away. Still, despite the junk, I do find other things. There is a canteen, but it is empty that I could use, thread and needles that could repair clothing and even some antibiotics. Two things are priceless nowadays. Bullets and antibiotics. Both are hard to find and not being made anymore, so even a tiny amount of either can make you a wealthy person. There are only three antibiotic tablets left, but I am not disappointed. Apart from that, there is only one other thing I find that might be useful. A few batteries that I don't even know are charged, but I can still trade them for something. I am tempted to take the backpack too, but I don't need the extra baggage, so I leave it be and retrace my steps.

I take another peek out of the window before jumping out. Like I said, you can never be too careful when dealing with the infected. That person body I just looted probably died because they let their guard down. It is easy to do so since the infected are slow, dumb and almost blind, but if you underestimate them, then it will only get you killed. They may not look like it, but the infected are incredibly strong. I heard somewhere that people can only use a small fraction of their strength, but from what I have seen, the infected seem to have access to every last bit of their strength. Take that body, for example. Its bones were broken and crushed, and I could even see that several ribs were missing. That is why I never underestimate the infected and always check the coast is clear before exiting and entering a building.

I hit the road as soon as my feet touch the ground. This town is dead with nothing left to loot and only infected inhabiting the ruins. Besides, I have been in this place for too long anyway. It is time to move on. I don't like staying still. I have seen too many people die because they thought they could secure an area. But with the sun starting to set, it looks like I will have to spend one last night here.

My camp isn't that far from the town. It's close enough that I can easily travel back and forth to the town but still far enough away that any of the local infected are unlikely to wander in. It's nicely hidden, too, just in case any living person tries to rob me. As tempting as it is to head straight to my camp, I hold off instead. I move to check my markers. They are simple things made from junk I found in the area, such as string pieces of string tied in a small fence that's hard to see. A survivor might notice it, but an infected person won't, so if I find that string fence damaged is a good sign that something might be in my camp. I have a second marker in the form of sand I found in some toy store for survivors. It may not have been determined to be used in this way, but footprints are easy to spot in the soft sand.

I sigh in relief when I see no footprints in the sand and my string fence intact. I can finally let myself relax for the first time since I opened my eyes this morning. My camp isn't much. Like I said, I like to stay on the move, so my centre is only tiny. I have a small single-person green tent that blends into the landscape and two water collecting devices. The larger one is a rain collecter being made out of a plastic sheet and container, while the second is a smaller build I use to purify water from a nearby river. I don't like the second one very much, but I have come to rely more on it lately with how little rain has been falling recently.

I like this spot. It will be a shame to lose it, but I have to move on. Sitting down in my camp, I have a great view of the area around me, including the town and river. Still, the sight of infected roaming nearby only reinforces my drive to move on. I'm not sure where I will head next. I have been following that river for a while now, drinking its water and eating the fish, but I'm sure it will end soon. I can see the mountain in the direction I am heading, and I am sure that is where the river will end, so soon, I will have to find a different path to walk. I wish I still had a map, but I lost mine a while ago and haven't been able to find a replacement. Maybe I will find another soon and hopefully before this river ends so I can plot another path to walk.

I shake my head, deciding to worry about where I am going after the river ends tomorrow. For now, I should make sure I have everything ready, so I can leave at first light and get a fire going before it's too dark to see. Right fire first. I know serval ways of starting a fire ranging from rubbing sticks together to using a microphone glass, but I found a box of matches a few days ago, so I'll save myself the trouble and use one of them. I have a neat pile of twigs, so it doesn't take long at all for me to create a small fire.

Next, I should also get my dinner going. I have a couple of fish I already gutted and descaled ready to cook, so I put them on a makeshift rack to cook as I go about collecting my things so I can make an early start in the morning. I can pack my tent and sleeping bag in the morning, so I leave them be, and since it doesn't look like it will rain any time soon, I decide to start dismantling my rain catcher. The plastic sheet I stuff in my bag and the container is small enough to fit too. I only wish it wasn't so uncomfortable to carry around like this. I can leave the makeshift water purifier for now and take it apart in the morning since there is still water being treated.

One of the things I have come to like about our new world is the night sky. I was so used to living in the city that I didn't realise how beautiful the night sky truly was. It's getting darker now, and stars are already starting to appear. The stars are brighter, and I can spend hours just staring up at them without feeling bored. Laying down, I listen to the crackle of the fire and watch the stary sky start to form. Some wolf's howl in the distance, but they sound far enough away that I don't need to be worried. Although I have never seen it, I have heard rumours of wolf's attacking survivors and infected alike. Closing my eyes, I let myself relax as I wait for my dinner to be cooked.