Nigel woke up embraced by the warmth of the room. He found himself lying on the dusty ground and blinded by darkness. His throat and mouth were dry and his body ached. As his memories flooded in, he instantly got up and noticed he had a new set of clothes on. He searched the area until his eyes landed on the corner where a small candle was burning on a table, pushing aside the darkness with its pomegranate illumination. On the edge of the light, he saw someone—a lad sleeping on the floor. He stared at him for a few seconds, trying to figure out if he knew him. But the boy suddenly woke up, startling him. He quickly crawled away, trying to stay in the dark.

"Hey...Don't worry, we're safe here."

He fell silent for a second, "What happened? How did I get here?"

"I found you unconscious on the side of the river this morning. I dragged you all the way back here." The lad stood, heading to a corner where he took a bottle of water which he brought to him.

"Thank you." He opened the bottle. "How long was I out?" he asked, sipping water to quench his thirst.

"Probably twelve hours? I don't know. I lost track of time." He sat in front of him.

"I'm Nigel, by the way. Thank you for saving me." 

"I'm Joseph." He sat in front of him. "What's your story?"

He stared at him for a second and noticed he had this calm and gentle face. His thick brows complement his eyes and face shape. And he had these visible scars on the left side of his face.

He cleared his throat as he felt a tight knot on his chest. "I...I lost my mother." He let out a sigh, trying to lessen the heaviness. "Then I was attacked. It's either I let myself die right there or I'll take my odds on the river."

"You're lucky I found you." He smiled.

"Yeah...I guess so." He inhaled deeply and nodded with a small curve on his lips. "How about you? What's your story."

"I woke up and realized my world was ending. I lost everyone I love. And now I'm here, looking for a safe place away from all of these monsters."

"Do you think there's still a safe place where no zombies can reach us?"

"Maybe there's still a sanctuary...perhaps, there are cities out there who managed to keep their area safe and free from zombies."

"What if there's not?"

"What if there is?"

He admired his positivity. Despite all the worst things that happened to him, Joseph still managed to see the hope in everything. They were much alike. After losing everything, they still have the will to survive. Nigel just wished he was this much hopeful like him.

"Would you mind if I tag along with you?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. Why not? I would love to have company."

"So what's your plan?"

"We will travel every day, preferably, on foot, to make sure we would never catch any attention."

"Isn't it dangerous to travel when we don't even know where to go? We don't have any idea if this safe place even exists. What if we stay here and wait for rescue?"

"What do you have in your mind, Nigel?"

"Let's stay here. Gather supplies and find a radio. We can have a better chance at surviving if we can contact other survivors or rescuers."

He nodded. "You got a point. Alright..we're doing that."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"What about your plan?"

"Your plan is much better. I like it. Well, the truth is...I was eager to go because I was alone and I was looking for survivors. Now that I have a companion, I think sticking for a while here will not hurt us."

They spent the night talking, sharing almost anything about their lives. Although they had just met, Nigel felt at ease with him. It seemed like they had known each other for years. There was something in Joseph that made him so comforting. Perhaps it was his voice, the way he talks. Or maybe it was his smile that was infectious...or his laugh. They lost track of time knowing each other. A few hours went by, so they decided to sleep.

A GENTLE TAP on his cheeks woke Nigel up. He opened his eyes and the first thing that greeted him was Joseph's smile. He slowly got up from the cardboard he was sleeping on and rubbed his eyes. He yawned and looked around the well-lit room. He just found out that they were in a storage room. There were metal racks on his left side where canned goods, water, clothes, and other supplies were placed.

"We're in a grocery store. I secured this room just yesterday and filled it with supplies for my supposed trip."

"We could last for days with this food and water."

"Yeah...I guess so. We don't know how long we will stay here, so we better ration it."

"I agree."

They began their day by fixing and putting their cardboard beds on the side. Joseph presented to cook some eggs, while Nigel began checking out the map application on Joseph's phone. He was busy drawing the map on a piece of paper, plotting the grocery stores, malls, government buildings, and any establishment he thought could find a radio. After an hour, just as he finished making his sketch, Joseph invited him for breakfast and shared a meal, then they started their work.

"We should begin here," Joseph said, placing his finger on the nearest mall just northeast of their location.

"What about this department store? I think it's much closer." Nigel encircled the store with his pencil.

"Yes, but the probability of finding a radio is much higher in the mall. It's bigger. We could find other supplies in there.

"Yeah." He nodded. "You're right."

"Mall it is."

"When do we leave?"

"Right now."

"What? I don't think I am ready for this," he expressed his fear.

It seemed simple, going out and finding a radio, but for him, it is not. He knew what was out there waiting for them. He was attacked. This was his stupid idea, but then, this is better than Joseph's plan.

"It's okay if you don't want to go. I can manage. You should stay here and rest. You had rough days. You deserve to rest."

Not doing something is also the worst. It's hard to do nothing while Joseph's risking his neck out in the open with his plan. His guilt will eat him up for sure if something happens to him. 

"No...I'll go," he insisted. "I'm sorry. This is my plan. I should be on it too."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." He nodded and looked directly into his eyes. "I'm good."

"Okay. We need to bring supplies. We need to be ready in case we can't get back before sunset, then we'll find temporary shelter."