My eyes opened to a roar in the distance. For a moment I looked at the ceiling, feeling disorientated and slightly groggy before shaking the sleep off and sitting upright. The roar echoed through the walls again, a bit louder this time but not loud enough to be the cause of any worry or fear.

Still, it was enough to bring me on edge, especially as it reminded me of Eric's ridiculous plans What was he thinking, having a quarantine zone on one end to avoid risks while on the other end, he was bringing the infected in his base and risking everyone.

I scoffed, shaking my head as I shuffled through the hallway and flicked the lights on. The hum of the engine starting up broke the silence, the lights flashing on way too bright so early in the day.

Moving towards the table, I flicked on the video feeds and observed the screens closely. There was some movement in the forest around my base, as expected. A few deer jumping through the bushes, the occasional infected fumbling through the woods and tripping over branches.

However, there was something in the darkness that drew my attention. For a moment I was sure it was a survivor, hiding away from the infected that seemed to hone in on his spot. Yet he didn't seem all that worried though.

In fact, the infected lost interest when they found him; instead of screeching their lungs out and try and get their prey, they seemed to sigh and shamble away.

He must be infected...there's no other way.

Unconsciously, I crept closer to the screen, zooming in the view as best as I could. The graphics were horrible this close up, barely showing me a pixilated image of the man that was roaming through the woods without a care in the world.

Fear coursed through my body as I swallowed heavily, especially when the creature sped off. A new species? It's been years since the last new species had been spotted but then again, there was nobody out there actively categorizing these...monsters.

Pushing away from the security screens, I reached for the notebook besides me, grabbing the pen to start jutting down some notes. A deep, troubled sigh escaped me as I flicked through the pages and remembered a time where I believed I would only need a few pages.

Turns out, I'd need a few notebooks.

I might not be a researcher and wasn't interested in finding a cure but I did what I could to help myself survive. Any survivors I encountered, I'd share my knowledge with them, if they accepted it.

And that was very few indeed.

Moving through the notes and sketches of various infected, I was filled with memories of seeing such creatures myself, and actually surviving said encounters.

Walkers, too newly infected to function properly, the virus still settling in their minds and fighting for control. Dangerous when in close environments or when they managed to gang up on unsuspecting people.

They were dangerous indeed, even if they couldn't run. Often people ignored them, thinking they could easily outrun a Walker's slow shuffling gait. The truth was, Walkers are rarely alone, hunting in small groups as they crowd them together to a kill-zone.

A single spot where the survivor realizes his mistake, too late.

I quickly flicked over the pages, barely pausing at the Virals and Starved before I finally found an open spot. There wasn't much to write, except for the fact that infected didn't seem interested in the new species.

But still...any info was better than nothing at all.

Pushing all other thoughts aside, I cleaned up my books and got dressed, deciding against staying inside for a day. If Eric's plan failed like I'd suspect and one of those infected got out... I shivered at the realization that more than two hundred infected would be pouring out of that place.

The city would be inaccessible. Trying to enter the city at the state it was in now, was dangerous as it was. Buildings were slowly breaking apart, infected were scattered all over the place and rogue humans were scouting for an easy kill.

Add two hundred more infected bodies that needed a fresh kill to survive... That was insanity.

I quickly checked my food supplies, sighing as I spotted several vegetables that were going to be spoiled in a few days. Wasting resources wasn't something I did, so in this case, it forced me to actually go out and do something dangerous.

Hunting.

As I prepared myself for the hunt, silently cursing for using fragrant soaps the night before, I pumped myself up for what was to come. Hunting would give anyone a kick; that deep, primal satisfaction that you managed to catch something that could outrun you, that you managed to feed your family.

In my case, a family of one, but still...

Grabbing my bow and arrows, I dressed myself in darker clothing, wearing the camo jacket on top before I took a deep breath and let it out through my nose. Already my heart was drumming a wild beat against my chest, my fingers shaking slightly before I closed them in fists.

Because this wasn't just normal hunting. I had to be able to find an animal that wasn't infected, kill it without making a sound, gut it so the meat doesn't spoil and then bring it back to base. All while I was forced to sneak around any infected out there, who'd be drawn to the slightest sound I'd make.

And let's not forget the smell of blood that would draw them in like flies on a carcass. The instant I gutted the animal, I had minutes before they would swarm the area. But if I didn't gut it, the risk of spoiling the meat would be growing with each second.

Plus, I wouldn't know if the animal was infected or not until I had made the first cut. If the blood was red, sticky and liquid, it was healthy. But if the cut was made and the blood was oily, gooey and dark, I had to get the hell away and clean myself.

Which was why hunting was such a big risk. The chance of getting fresh meat was barely a rewards compared to the risks I had to take.

But I needed to be prepared for the worst.

-*-*-*-*-*-

Silence pierced the woods, almost as if the trees themselves knew I was hunting. I could hear birds chirping in the distance, the occasional snapping of branches echoing through the forest along with distant screeches of the infected.

I stalked through the forest while crouching, keeping as quiet as possible. Perspiration was slowly pearling on my forehead and trailing down to my throat, but I didn't dare swipe it away in fear of creating a stronger scent mark than I already had.

There should be some white tail deer around, which would provide me with plenty of meat in one kill. If I could find and take out one of them, I'd be able to take it home and sit safe and sound, knowing I didn't have to hunt for a very long while.

After several long moments of looking, hiking and ducking for cover, I finally found the trail I needed. It was freshly made and I could hear the deer as they walked over the bedrock near the river.

Excellent...the blood would drain away in the water, easily drowning the scent out for a while. If I can shoot it there...

Still, I had to pick out a target and find the perfect angle so I could kill it in one shot. I didn't have the time to wander through the woods in search for an injured deer. It had to be a perfect shot, one arrow that killed it.

The perfect shot on the deer would be hiding between the shoulder blade and the elbow. The arrow would be barely grazing the elbow, slide in between its ribs and straight into its heart. I glanced around the tree before letting out a quiet breath, drawing up the bow.

Here goes nothing.

For a moment, everything stood still. I heard nothing, except my heart drumming in my ears, the wobble of the string being released...and then the sharp thwack the arrow made as it pierced the deer a bit higher than I'd liked.

The rest of the herd ran off, spooked by the sound and chirping their alarm cries. I winced but rushed to the animal I'd hit, as it had taken a few stumbling hops before collapsing in the water. Luckily it landed in the shallows and it made my work that much easier.

But the alarm cries...

Focusing on the task at hand, I quickly dropped my bag and shoved my hands in the thick leather gloves I used for this occasion, making sure to grab the ties between my teeth and pull 'em tight. I didn't want any of the blood to leak inside the gloves and possibly infect me.

As I grabbed my knife and made the initial cut, I quietly thanked the small doe for her sacrifice and apologized to it. Looking over my shoulder and around the clearing to make sure there were no infected in sight, I quickly started making work of the skin, slicing through it and gently nicked the thin veil underneath.

A sigh of relief escaped me as bright red blood bubbled from the wounds I made. It was safe, healthy meat. I rushed to continue, ignoring the grime on my gloves as I had to lift the veil up and slice through it, avoiding the guts underneath.

Several precious minutes later, the intestines laid in a pile on the rocks as I quickly washed off the gloves as best as I could before wrapping the carcass up in a plastic sheet. That way I could throw it over my shoulders and quickly carry it home without blood leaking down my body and signaling the infected of a walking buffet.

Cries in the distance forced me to quickly snatch up my bow and knife, cursing as I dropped a few arrows in the process. Yet I couldn't pick them up again, not without dropping the carcass and having all my hard work wasted.

I could curse myself for my stupid mistake later, but now, I needed to start running and fast. So I did, I hiked the animal over my shoulders as best as I could and rushed through the forest after tossing a flare towards the intestines.

The sharp hissing would attract the infected to the scene and lure them away from my location as I tried to ignore the painful whips of the branches as best as I could. I still remained as quiet as possible, knowing that running back like an idiot would surely kill me as one too. But the idea of being spotted by infected with a deer on my shoulders was uncomfortable to say the least.

Still, I looked around as I went, making sure I wasn't being chased or tracked by infected or humans. The light of the flare was spluttering in the distance, warning me that my time was nearly up but I was in luck. I had already spotted my base.

By the time I closed the door behind me and dropped the wrapped body on the floor, I was shaking with exhaustion. I knew that come tomorrow, my muscles would be burning with each movement I made, much worse than what they were doing now.

Tomorrow would be a nice day to relax and I needed to dry, smoke and cook the deer anyways. Right now, I longed for a nice and long bath but I knew that it was going to be a long night before I was able to relax.

Because if I didn't start on the carcass now, it would still spoil and I'd be left with rotting flesh in my house.

Not something anyone wanted, especially with a horde of infected sniffing around the place.

Fuck, I miss pizza... I thought to myself sadly, already dreading all the work I had to do.