The streets of Manhattan had been occupied with loud silence as everything had been coated with a melancholic grey hue from the murky and cloudy sky above. It was another lonely Monday morning, not even a slimmer of the sun dared to fight its way through the thick clouds that held a chilling vibe. Everything about this new city had been entirely stagnant due to what now borrows the streets. Every time a breeze had slipped through, the only thing that really broke the silence had been the debris on the streets, reimbursing the scent of smoke and gasoline.

A young black girl had remained perched on the edge of an old pharmacy roof. It's faded sign had read out: Family Aid in a expired blue text, barely below the girl's red sneakers. She contradicted this decaying environment and it's eerie silence. As the cold breeze embraced her, her long box braids coasted towards the right side of her, the accessories that were hidden along them had made sounds that anyone would claim had belonged to windchimes. She wore her signature red racer jacket that had bunched up around her wrists, a pair of navy blue dolphin shorts along with knee high white socks.

She gazed beyond the toppled buildings towards the Statue of Liberty. A smile had appeared on the young girl's face as she admired the statue's tarnished green look, after the invasion, Lady Liberty had been left slightly crooked, several parts of her chipped. The girl happily acknowledged the statue as she rose to her feet, unfazed by how close she was to falling off the building.

Hand on hip, she made a small wave. "You're as beautiful as ever Lady Liberty, I'll see you later." She said as she made a small exit by approaching the ladder that was rested alongside the building. With a giggle she had casually slid down the rustic ladder with her hands and feet, unbothered by its cold and rough texture.

Once she had landed on her feet, she had started towards the door that had a half-ripped "Employees Only" sticker plastered on it. She continued about her small journey and had pushed the door open, being enveloped in the darkness of the building.

The scent of musk and old books had filled her nose and she had reached towards her backpack for her trusted flashlight. With a flick, a dim light had shone a narrow path along the black-and-white checkered floor. As she continued in the store, the door had automatically slammed behind her. She glanced over at the desk that was on the right side of the room, papers had been scattered all over, files and sticky notes had been messily plastered over the surface with grim letters such as "God has forsaken us" and "We'll all meet on the other side".

The girl paid no mind to this and had continued towards the door before her, pushing it open casually to reveal the pharmacy. The pharmacy had actually been somewhat in tact, the aisles had stood tall, the items remaining untouched as the main desk had a giant gate, sealing the back room that had contained the prescription drugs. The store itself wasn't all that big so it was easy for the girl to start scoping out what she'd bring home.

Her footsteps echoed about as she journeyed further into the store, swiftly placing items inside her backpack as she went about, gazing around at the darkness that swallowed everything except the glow of her flashlight. Her footsteps made light audible clicks as she continued about, unbothered by the vacant and eerie atmosphere of the ancient pharmacy.

She raised the flashlight upwards, which revealed a set of aisles that had been half cleared. She continued on, with the first aisle as a starting point. She came to a squat to find several gauze packages.

"Ah, there we are!" She chirped to herself with a small grin, her voice only but so loud. Deep down she knew that she wasn't supposed to be here, out in the open, out here with these things.

With haste, she threw her backpack on the ground and had proceeded to burrow the packages of gauze. She thought of her fellow friend that also lived in the bunker that would always appreciate the extra medical equipment, Nikki.

Her footsteps came to a quick halt as she heard a light crinkle, she turned her flashlight down to find a set of chocolate bars carefully wrapped, as if they were yet to be stocked on the shelves. Her huge brown eyes widened with glee as she pumped her fist. "Hershey bars? Yes!" She exclaimed in barely a whisper. Though the girl was merry, even she was aware of the dangers of being too loud.

A low buzz had emerged from the left pocket of the girl's shorts as she knelt down to retrieve the packaged treat. She halted mid-grab and had revealed a walkie-talkie.

With her hand clasped over it, she whispered. "Hello?"

A muffled but angry, gruff masculine voice had responded through the small gadget. "Where the hell are you? I checked the rooms at the bunker and you weren't there!"

The girl shifted her eyes around the pharmacy, wary of whatever may be lurking around. "I left for a bit, wanted to go scavenging-"

A sigh had emerged from the walkie, cutting her off mid-sentence. "Tell me where you are."

"Family Aid. I didn't go far-"

"I'm coming over, stay put. Over." The voice commanded. His word was enforced with strict order. The girl frozen, gazing down at the walkie-talkie in slight disappointment that her venture would be cut short eventually.

She stuffed her walkie in her backpack and had crouched down to retrieve the box of chocolate bars that she had found not too long ago. She rose up again, this time, she analyzed the entire room with her flashlight. There were four more aisles that had extended out to the other side of the store, the ceiling lights above her had been torn with several cords that hung loosely out in the open. There was a counter nearby the door to her right, and a spare room behind it, anyone would guess that was the spot that people got their prescriptions from. Momentarily, she stared at the posters and flyers that had been plastered over these dull navy blue walls.

She continued about, her hand had dragged along the empty shelves of the aisle that she was in as she peered over to the second one.

A few boxes of gloves had laid untouched on the second shelf, the girl proceeded to walk around the corner and pluck the boxed item.

As time passed, she continued to go about this pattern, collecting items and stuffing them in her backpack as she went on. She finally stopped nearby the counter. With one long and hard stare, she hopped over the counter.

Always check the most unpredictable spots. The girl thought to herself as she sauntered down into the backroom. The floor had been decked with prescription pills, some still cased in their tiny capsules.

The double doors swayed shut. The girl quickly dove down and set her back against the counter, wary of making any noise in the process. Her heart started to beat heavily against her chest as she snaked her hand in her backpack slowly.

The footsteps started to echo in the room, as if whoever...or whatever is there wanted to check the entire room. The sounds were dragged out. The girl tugged at her bottom lip with her two front teeth, her left hand wrapped around the handle of her 9mm pistol that's been burrowed in the bottom part of her backpack.

The footsteps had begun to grow louder, evidently growing closer as well. She rested her right hand in between her breasts, in efforts of calming herself down. The footsteps came even closer.

The girl quickly bounced up by the balls of her feet, whirled her body around with her gun in both hands and ready to fire. A hand shot out and smacked the gun clean out of her hands and landed onto the floor with a heavy clink.

At a lost for words, she gazed up to come eye to eye with a tall, angry man.

This was a fellow survivor that the girl lived with in the bunker, Jay Bailey. A pretty muscular built man in his mid-twenties, he had honey-colored skin, and his black hair was kept back in a bun, while the sides of his head were faded out and cut short. His thick eyebrows furrowed at the teen with complete annoyance. His brown eyes had a smolder to them. He was the complete embodiment of scary. His tribal tattoo trailed upon his neck underneath his vest and black shirt.

"What a late reflex." Jay snarled with an eye roll, his light brown eyes had nothing but anger spoken within them. "Looks like you should stay at the shelter a bit more to train...China."

A dash of red had filled China's cheeks. She quickly opened her mouth in defense. "I....you see...um..."

Jay rolled his eyes. "If it's another blank statement, don't waste your time giving it to me."

She tried again. "I'm sorry Jay-"

He cut her off. "Sorry? Half of the time you don't even know what you're apologizing for! We've been over this: no one leaves the shelter alone!" He huffed, climbing over the counter to face China directly.

"You're lucky I found you instead of Faith! Do you know how much trouble you could've been in?" Jay kept on, China as she stared at him with a blank face as he continued his heavy lecture.

Jay's glare softened. "China...what if you left and never came back?"

China's lips had then lifted into a reassuring grin as she tilted her head up to face him. "Jay, I always come back." She insisted, her eyebrows raised and her eyes glinted.

Jay shook his head and regained his no-nonsense composure. "China, believe it or not, I worry about you out here, I know you're eighteen but..."

"You can't always wander from the shelter like this." Jay insisted with a slight wounded look in his eyes.

China's smile never wavered. "You worry too much. Nikki was running low on supplies, we needed more tools so Tyrese can fix that generator, I just wanted some fresh air." She continued.

At the shelter, China found it very suffocating to be underground with six other people, who were either busy handling the normal bunker chores or training until they passed out covered in sweat, in China's terms.

However, China never fought, bickered, or even whined about this, even she knew it was better than being out on the surface on a daily basis and scrambling to survive, but she just wanted to breathe. She knew that Jay really did care about her, she saw him as the older brother she never had: overprotective, loving, and very stubborn.

Jay turned his head, jerking his thumb towards the door. "We should leave before the others notice we're gone."

China blankly stared at the rest of the pharmacy, a slightly disappointed smile appeared on her lips. "Yeah..."

"Let's go."