When Yibo woke up, it had been almost 3 pm. He turned to Zhan, who was still asleep on his side of the sofa, and asked himself in his mind: Was Zhan this cute from the beginning? Confused at his own thoughts, Yibo shook his head and went into the bathroom.

Tired, Yibo looked at himself in the mirror above the sink. He shook his head vigorously once more as he had the same thought again, wondering if Zhan had been looking this cute all along. And then he felt ashamed.

Whenever Yibo was asked if he was in a relationship, he said that he didn't have time for relationships. But that was not the truth. Because actually he has been in a relationship with his girlfriend Lee for 8 months. He just hadn't told anyone about her before, because he wasn't sure if she might be the one. He was afraid that if he had told someone about her, his parents might have found out about it and immediately started talking about marriage.

But since Yibo was unsure of his future with Lee, he didn't say anything to anyone. He thought Lee was sweet and nice. He also liked spending time with her, but was never sure if it was love.

And he felt ashamed right now, thinking about her only now, for the first time since the attack. He now wondered if she was still alive, where she was right now, and how she was doing. He knew she was going on a trip with some friends from college and was certainly out of town when it was attacked. But since, when she told him where they were going, he was too tired and not really listening, he wouldn't even know where to look for her.

However, he wouldn't even know if he wanted to look for her at all. Not because she meant nothing to him, but because he would much rather be with Zhan and spend his time alone with him. Even if he himself doesn't understand why that is so. Maybe it welded the two of them together, though, what they had experienced so far.

Yibo has never been good at making friends. But with Zhan it seems to be different. True, they argued a lot in the beginning, and Yibo was annoyed by Zhan and his talkative nature. Now, however, he couldn't imagine not seeing Zhan for even one more day and not hearing his chatter.

With these thoughts and a confusingly warm feeling in his heart, Yibo returned to the living room where Zhan was already awake and standing by the window. Before Yibo could say anything, Zhan said, "I think these creatures are moving on. They're eating their way through the whole world piece by piece. That's how it seems to me, anyway. And you know, I have to wonder all the time now what my father was talking about when he spoke of the survivors who were bitten."

"Mhhh, I'd like to know that too. Maybe we should try and see if we can reach your father?"

"No, not yet. Let's eat something first. And then we'll radio him. We also need to make sure we get back to Hai Kuan and Alina."

"You don't have to worry about them, I told the soldiers yesterday that the two of them are hiding there."

"Oh, okay."

"Zhan? Is everything all right with you? You sound so down."

"No, I'm fine. I guess I'm just still a little tired. I'll go and wash myself and then we can have something to eat." Replied Zhan.

Zhan walked into the bathroom without looking at Yibo and with his head down. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub and wondered why he was so sad? When he woke up, he saw that Yibo's wallet had fallen on the floor. He picked it up and out fell a picture of Yibo and his girlfriend. When Zhan saw this, his heart suddenly felt very heavy.

He quickly put the picture back in the wallet and put the wallet on the table. But still, it was as if this picture had burned itself into his retinas. Why did it touch him so much that Yibo had a girlfriend? Did he perhaps feel sorry for Yibo because he might have lost his girlfriend? Or, does he not like that Yibo has a girlfriend?

For three days now, Zhan has been asking himself over and over again whether he might have developed feelings for Yibo that he shouldn't have? If so, Zhan thought, he should get rid of those feelings quickly. Not because Yibo is also a man and Zhan has never been with a man, but because Yibo has a girlfriend and that means Zhan would have feelings for someone that would never be returned. And that scared him more than the thought of falling in love with a man.

Zhan washed his face, looked in the mirror, smiled and left the bathroom. Yibo had already set the table and Zhan sat down with him. "Wow that looks very tasty." He said with a grin.

Yibo was confused. A moment ago Zhan seemed saddened and now he was smiling. He wondered what was wrong with Zhan and why he was pretending to be cheerful now? Yibo could see that he wasn't and was just pretending. But he didn't want to ask him either, since Zhan didn't seem to want to talk about it.

Both men ate a one-man ration in silence before Zhan took the radio and tried to reach his father. After the third attempt, it finally worked. "Zhan my boy, I'm glad you and your friend are okay. Last night the military base was attacked. By the infected humans!"

"What? Can you tell me more details now?"

"We don't know much yet. But apparently these creatures spread some kind of poison with their bites. That evokes mutations in the bitten person."

"What kind of mutations."

"I don't know how to explain this, because it sounds absolutely ridiculous. But, they behave like vampires. They suddenly can't tolerate bright light. They can't tolerate any food anymore either. We caught one of them sucking the blood out of a soldier."

"What, vampirism?"

"Yes. These creatures give off some kind of secretion when they bite and it infects people and turns them into vampires within 24 hours, sometimes more sometimes less."

"Oh come on dad. It sounds like something out of a novel or a movie."

"But it really is. Maybe these creatures are to blame for the saga of the vampires."

"I honestly don't know what to say about that."

"Son, my advice to you and your friend is don't stop for anyone at night. Drive past everyone."

"Dad..."

"Zhan, listen to me at least once okay?"

"I always listened to you."

"Yes, and then you did what you wanted. Just this time, do what I tell you and don't stop at night."

"Yes good Okay."

"Best thing is you two head straight to your great uncle's hotel. We are moving out tonight. Most of the civilians were already taken out of here last night. What do you mean most, almost all."

"Mmm, okay. I'll discuss it with Yibo and then I'll see you at the hotel at the latest." Replied Zhan and said goodbye to his father.

Yibo who had been listening the whole time said, "Your dad is right, we can't stop for anyone. If what he said is true, then we now have another big danger to watch out for. There are these creatures during the day and vampires at night. I feel like I'm in a bad story."

"Who are you telling this Yibo. Yeah, we should definitely pay attention. But what do we do about school now? Do we still want to go there? Besides, we don't have the equipment now. Or do you think Hai Kuan and Alina left it there?"

"Well, the only way to find out is to go to the dam and check. And as for the school. The soldiers said they had already been to the various schools, but found no other survivors. And those who survived, they found outside the town. Among them, several students."

"Ah I see. So the first thing we'll do tonight is drive to the dam and see if our things are still there."

"Mhm. If they're gone, we'll have to get new ones. But I am in favor of us going to the next town for that. Not back to the city. I heard them say that almost everything there was destroyed by the attacks against the creatures."

"But then we also have to go to a pharmacy and get some more medicine. We should do that anyway. Who knows how many survivors will come together and what kind of medicines we will need then. Even more, there may be many eradicated diseases again."

"You're the doctor, if you say it's necessary, then we'll do it that way."

"Yibo, is there anything else you want to go or check?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"I mean, maybe you had friends in town or around here and you want to know what happened to them."

"No Zhan. It's all good." Replied Yibo. He wondered why Zhan was asking him that now of all times when they had far different problems. Then he looked at the table and saw his wallet. He didn't even notice it before. But at that moment he realized that he hadn't put it on the table and he also realized why Zhan was asking.

Yibo knew that Zhan had seen the picture of him and his girlfriend Lee. He wondered why it bothered him that Zhan saw the picture. Now that they were living in a new apocalyptic world, he wouldn't have to lie and could stand by it. But why did it hurt him that Zhan, of all people, saw the picture?

Not knowing what else to say, Yibo said, "Um, you must have seen the picture of me and Lee. Well, she was out of town when we were attacked. She was traveling with her friends from college. But I don't know where. So there's no point in looking for her."

"I see." Replied Zhan shortly.

As Zhan stood up and walked back to the window, Yibo followed him and they both saw a creature dragging itself across the ground. Its wings were dragging across the ground as it walked and its black skin, had turned a dark gray. "The creature is dying." Whispered Zhan.

"Where from..." Began Yibo, but then he saw for himself that the creature was weak.

Only very slowly and laboriously the creature dragged itself forward. Again and again it fell to the ground and had great problems to get up again. "I don't know why, but this creature seems to be sick."

"Maybe they are not made for this world?" Yibo asked.

"Maybe they are just a host. They spread their poison and then die. Anything is possible now, like it seems. Creatures, vampires so why not creatures that are just a host and die once they deliver their poison."

"Well, then we can soon go out again during the day, but no more at night."

"Yeah, seems like everything has its pros and cons. Unfortunately, we haven't seen a vampire yet, so we don't even know if they still look human or not. That's what scares me the most."

"Really? Maybe we should get flashlights with UV light. Then we shine them on everyone we're unsure about."

"Mmm, or we could just stay away from everyone."

"That would work, too. But Zhan. Then we might overlook those who need our help." Replied Yibo. Zhan nodded and continued to watch the creature.

He could see it struggling. And if this creature wasn't a dangerous, human-eating, poison-secreting monstrosity, he would have even felt pity for it. But as it was, he was just happy to see how this thing was agonizingly dying.