The next day had begun. The cave had gotten cold overnight and I along with it, but the cold was not the only problem. The pains of an empty stomach had begun setting in. I checked my arrows and saw I had only five left. I must have lost the rest of them somewhere within the woods. - What now? – I thought to myself.

I didn't have my bow, so my arrows wouldn’t help me with hunting anything, but I still had my knife. I wasn't all that good at hunting animals, I never wanted to hurt one, but I was hungry, and I had to eat.

- The river near the waterfall should have some fish... - I hoped, even though I hated the taste of fish. I headed down from the cave to the river. Upon reaching the river’s edge, I shed my coat and boots, grabbed my knife and entered the water, wasting no time in procuring a potential meal. I stood still for several minutes until I noticed a few fish swimming by my legs. I adjusted my grip on the knife, I didn't want to miss. I focused on a fish that was wandering towards me and when it was close enough, I attacked. - Of course I had to miss... - I said with disappointment as the other fish darted away from me. I tried again, standing still for several more minutes, focused on one fish, attacked and... missed again. - Try again - I thought to myself. How incredibly stupid I must look right now. Maybe I was good with my bow but not with a knife. I remembered how good Shaun was with knifes, he always liked to do tricks with them and when I wanted to try, I always ended up cutting myself. I was drifting off into fond memories when I realized that there weren’t many fish left. It was my last chance. I focused on another fish and lashed out. This time I didn't miss. - YES! I GOTCHA! - I shouted with pride and joy. I pulled myself out from the water, took my coat and boots, and I went back up near the cave to build a fire for my quarry. Some time passed, and now sated and energized I was ready to keep going. However, the question still remained of “where to go?” Deciding to test my luck, I began heading out in a random direction. The forest seemed to continue forever, till all at once I stumbled onto what seemed to be an abandoned city. The buildings were tall, extending upward beyond the trees. There were wrecked cars still sitting on the crumbling streets, and yet, amid all the destruction, I heard beautiful bird songs echoing around me. I paused for a moment near one of the cars. Within, I saw two human skeletons, holding bony hands. It was clear, whoever they were, they cared for each other and had died together. At that moment, the same question as before resurfaced with renewed concern. What happened here? I wandered through the city for a few hours, and it began getting dark again. I tried to find a good place to stay, somewhere safe, but none of the buildings appeared stable. An intense feeling of aloneness started to creep up my spine, making me nervous. It became extremely quiet and being alone, and in the open, made me long to be back in the forest. My concerns proved valid as I spotted an approaching light in the distance. I hid behind debris from one of the building and spied the closing danger through holes in the concrete. I saw two men walking with flashlights and weapons. My last encounter with people from this world didn't go so well, so I didn't want to try saying "hello" to them.

-Hey look! - One shouted to the other. I did my best to close the distance, trying to get a glimpse of what the men had found, while remaining behind cover. - It's tire marks! - He said with excitement.

- Soldiers? What were they looking for in here again? - The taller man responded in a worried tone.

- I don't know... but maybe.... you know... – The other man stopped talking and crouched above the marks.

- What is it?

- Maybe they could take us to their city? The taller man took some steps back from his friend. They were quiet for a moment, until he struck back with an answer. - Are you stupid? How many times do I have to tell you?! – His tone became louder - They won't take anyone from the Wretched Zone!

- But!... But we are not sick! They started yelling at each other, becoming louder and louder with every sentence. I tried to understand what they were arguing about and who these "soldiers" were and the location of their city. Suddenly there was motion just beyond the street. It appeared that I was not the only thing listening in on the conversation, as a monster like the one before attacked the two men. It jumped from one of the buildings, landing near them. Before it got a chance to get any closer, they opened fire, gunning down the beast, but it had not come alone. More and more were pouring from the shadows, like a monstrous black river. - We need to run! - One of the men yelled. I was watching from a safe distance, noticed by neither man nor beast. Wanting to help, I instinctively reached for my bow, but I had forgotten I had only arrows and my knife left. My gaze fell back on the battle. Even while surrounded, they kept firing, trying desperately to keep the monsters at bay. When one of the men attempted to reload, a beast seized the opportunity to strike, as the man’s friend could not help him without sacrificing himself. I had to act. I pulled out my knife and I ran to them. I couldn’t tell how many monsters there were, so I attacked blindly. I knew how strong they could be, so I was light on my feet and careful with my blade. It would be bad news if I got it stuck again. I managed to finish five of them, and as their bodies fell to the ground, I made for the beast still attacking one of the men. It appeared to be the last of them. I threw myself upon it’s back, and tried wrestling it off the man, but it overpowered me, and I fell backwards. As soon as I hit the ground, the monster leapt after me, ready to sink its claws into fresh meat. I closed my eyes and thrust my knife upward to defend myself. I felt a heavy weight on my chest, and blood began dripping on my face. When I opened my eyes, I saw that it was dead. Unlucky for it, but lucky for me, it had landed on my knife. I pushed the monster off me and wiped the blood from my face. I made sure to pull my knife from its body before moving on. - Come on, you will be fine! - I heard a voice from behind me. I turned and saw the taller man kneeling next to the smaller, injured man. His neck was bleeding bad, likely it was the monster’s intention to eat him alive, beginning from the top down. - Can I help somehow? - I asked.

He looked up at me, and I could see tears in his eyes. - Yes! Please, help me take him to the house! I agreed to help. He gently tied a piece of cloth from his coat around his friend’s neck to stop the bleeding and helped him stand up. I put his arm around my shoulder, and we tried to keep him up as we walked to their "house".

We progressed slowly but surely forward. He was still losing blood and his skin was turning white. The other guy looked at me with a little smile.

- Thanks for helping us… I thought that we were gonna die there...

- No problem... I'm glad I could help. - I still didn't trust them, but at least they hadn’t tried to kill me yet.

- What's your name, if I may ask?

- I'm... Joker. - I wasn't sure if telling him my name was a good idea, but I did it anyway.

- Nice to meet you Joker! I'm Jim and he's Zack. – Jim smiled at me. Zack tried to do the same, but he cringed in pain.

- What were you doing there anyway Joker?

- I was looking for a place to stay.

- Oh! Maybe you could stay in our house! Well... so long as the boss is okay with it...

- Who is this boss? - I asked, intrigued.

- Her name is Emma. She’s the boss of the "Red Star" house. She is sometimes... grumpy… but - Suddenly, Zack began coughing up blood. He was getting worse, so we stopped talking and tried to move faster. Zack didn’t have much time left.