Although Zhan and Yibo were really tired, they could not fall asleep in the evening. Too big was the worry about the soldiers and the survivors, because they still have not reported. And then there were also the total of 4 beacons, they had been seen at intervals of 30 minutes each.

Yibo had put together an emergency kit, as well as packed all the medicines, so that they, in case of emergency, can leave immediately. He even drove the small car away from the parking lot of the building and to the edge of the forest nearby. So if they suddenly had to flee, they would only need to make it through the woods and toward the car to escape their pursuers.

And fortunately, it had started to snow heavily again, so the tire tracks of the car had quickly disappeared under a new blanket of snow.

So while Yibo had prepared everything for a quick getaway, Zhan had taken care of the night vision equipment they would want to use if they had to escape. He replaced the batteries, checked their functionality, and then moved on to a portable radio that he also prepared.

Zhan had also made from a sweater, two hats, 4 gloves and two scarves. Which should protect them from the current extreme cold if they have to escape. There again his work as a surgeon came in handy. Because with needle and yarn he could handle very well.

Although both of course hoped and also wished that nothing would happen. They had a bad feeling because of the beacons and so they preferred to be perfectly prepared. Well, perfect insofar as it is possible in their framework.

After the snowstorm around 11 pm for a short time, somewhat weakened, Yibo tried once again to reach the soldiers. And this time he was lucky. But what they had to tell him and Zhan, they did not like at all.

The commander said, "You should get out of there. A large horde of vampires is heading your way. We have seen them! It is huge. Grab what you can and get out of there. Head back to the hotel and if possible don't try to stop anywhere within the next 100 miles. Once it's safer, we'll head to the building with the survivors, get the rest, and then head to the hotel as well."

Yibo replied, "I already realize that we should try to get as far as we can. But we only have a 5 liter canister of gasoline in the car. I don't know how far we'll get with that anyway. However, we may have a safe place where we could wait for you in case of emergency."

"And where is that?"

"There's a forest where there's an old factory. There is a ground hatch there that leads to a tunnel. We would be safe there for now. Not even a black creature could open the hatch. If you're nearby, radio us and we'll get to the road."

"Are you sure the tunnel is safe?"

"For the moment, we assume so. We've been down there before. It's a little scary there, but I think if we stay with the ladder and don't go into the other tunnels, we should be safe."

"All right. Then that's what we'll do. And now we should end the contact so you can leave right away. Try to cover your tracks if possible."

"Yes sir. I don't think the tracks will be a problem, I can just see it's starting to snow harder again."

"Alright..." Zhan and Yibo couldn't understand the rest as the connection broke again. So it was really the weather that was interfering with the radio.

Zhan stood at the window in the living room and looked out through the night vision device. He flinched briefly when Yibo touched him on the shoulder. "So, do you see anything?" Yibo asked.

"No, absolutely nothing. The snowfall is so heavy again that it's just impossible to see."

"Then we should really leave now, like the commander said. Because I don't feel like running into that horde of vampires."

"Neither do I. And I think we should take the window again, not the door. If we jump out the window, we'll be right by the forest and can run through there. If we take the door, until we reach the edge of the forest, we'll be visible to everyone."

"Hmmm. I know. Let's go then." Replied Yibo.

They got dressed, Yibo was glad that Zhan came up with the idea of making hats, scarves and gloves for them out of a sweater, and then took another look out the window. And both of them suddenly had the impression that they had seen something.

Yibo grabbed Zhan by the hand and dragged him with him into the bedroom. They threw their backpacks out the window before jumping out themselves. The landing had been less smooth than their first escape. For the gravel was by now frozen by the cold and thus hard as stone. But fortunately the two did not hurt themselves.

They grabbed their backpacks, put them on and ran straight into the forest. And even though they were getting farther and farther away from the building, they could hear the vampires approaching the building. They heard jumbles of voices and noises until they were about 100 yards from the building.

Without stopping, they walked on and on until they could finally see the parked car, which by now was neatly covered with snow again. They looked around several times before finally leaving the safety of the forest and getting into the car. Yibo had been glad that he had not locked the doors. After all, in this weather, the locks would surely have been iced over.

With a rumble and a groan, the engine came to life as Yibo started the car. Getting the first few feet through the snow was very difficult for the little car. "We're going to need a better car." Yibo grumbled as they were so slow that they would have been faster even on foot.

But as soon as they reached the main road, it was easier to drive. But also not really much better. The car was just too small and too low. Yibo wished that he could drive Zhan's car now. They certainly wouldn't have had any problems with that one. After all, jeeps aren't really built for the city.

"Well, we could go to a car dealership. There's a car dealership outside of town. We should stop there and see if we can find a good car. We've certainly the time. And it would be better if we change cars." Said Zhan as he remembered seeing the car dealership on the way to the apartment building.

"Yeah, maybe we can find some cans of gasoline then too. They often have something like that in storage in case a customer wants to test drive a car." Replied Yibo.

In some parts they made faster progress thanks to the snowdrifts. But not fast enough, because of the icy roads. Yet another reason for a new car. Because their tires surely have even more profile than the tires of their current car. Besides, they might find snow chains at the dealership.

It took them a little more than an hour to get to the dealership because they were making such poor progress. That annoyed them, of course. But at the same time, it made them realize that the vampire horde would also make very slow progress and even slower without cars. So Zhan and Yibo got a good head start.

Yibo didn't want to waste their precious time with the lock of the door to the car dealership and simply threw in the window. They immediately ran inside the dealership and found a jeep right away. Zhan rushed into the office to find the keys for the jeep and Yibo ran into the warehouse to look for gas cans.

After a few minutes, Yibo had found seven full gas cans, each containing 10 liters of diesel, and Zhan had the keys to the jeep. They loaded the canisters into the trunk and everything from the small car, they packed into the back seat of the jeep.

They put snow chains on the jeep's tires and swept the glass on the ground to the side a bit before sitting down in their new car, Yibo started the engine and it purred to life.

Yibo drove through the glass window outside and back onto the road. Finally he could really step on the gas thanks to the snow chains.

When they arrived at the dam, they briefly ran inside to see if Hai Kuan and Alina had really taken everything back then. They only found a few empty water bottles there, that was all.

Back on the road, they just drove as far as they could until they got too tired to go any further. But instead of looking for a safe place in some house to spend the night, they pulled behind a building and stayed in the car, where they planned to rest for two hours. That was all the rest they would allow themselves, not knowing if there were any other groups of vampires around.

They became more and more aware of how great the danger from the vampires is now. They are even more dangerous at the moment than the black creatures were. Because of the persistent bad weather, the vampires could move freely even during the day without fearing the sun. And they apparently do not need rest or sleep. They also do not fear the cold. Through which they could run on and on without any problems.

When the alarm clock rang after 2 hours, both looked around tiredly. They had still been alone. But something about the building behind which they were standing was different. At least at one of the windows. Because when they had arrived here, all windows had been visible. But now there was a curtain on one of the windows on the second floor. Does anyone still live there?

Without proper weapons and without lamps that have UV light, Zhan and Yibo did not want to take the risk to search for survivors in the building. If there was still a living person there, they would have to lure them out in a different way. But, should they really do that?

Both thought about what they should do. Finally Yibo tried it, in which he honked twice. But there was no reaction. Then Zhan lowered the window on his side and called out to the building, "Hello? Is anyone there?" But again, no response.

And just when they thought they had imagined that the curtain wasn't there before, the curtain was pushed aside and two elderly people were visible. A man and a woman.

The man opened the window and asked: "Why are you still here? You should be moving on. Don't you know what dangers lurk here?"

Yibo and Zhan looked at each other, puzzled, and Yibo replied, "We know about the dangers. But why are you still here?"

The man shrugged his shoulders at first and finally said. "Because we are one of them. We haven't completely transformed, which is why we don't roam with them, nor do we have a thirst for blood. They leave us alone and we leave them alone."

Zhan jumped out of the car and asked, "You haven't fully transformed? Do you know why?"

"Because we were saved by those other creatures, those gray ones. They ran something into our mouths and stopped the transformation with it." Explained the woman, who was now also standing next to her husband at the window.

"I'm a doctor and I work with scientists. We are looking for a cure or something that can stop the transformation. Could I take a sample of your blood?" Asked Zhan.

"Oh, you don't want to take us with you?" The man asked.

"We'd love to. But, if I may be so honest. We don't know if you guys aren't contagious anyway. There are a lot of other people where we live, including children. I don't want to take any risks. But if we could take a blood sample from you, and maybe a saliva sample, and that shows us that you could not infect others, we would send someone to pick you up." Explained Zhan.

"I understand, and I appreciate your honesty. But we don't want to leave here at all. You can have your samples and then you should be on your way again." Said the man.

Zhan nodded and thanked him. Shortly after, the two old ones had come downstairs, where Zhan took a blood and a saliva sample from both of them. Thanks to the cold, at least they don't have to worry about the shelf life of the samples.

After Zhan took the samples, he and Yibo got some walnuts from the old ones and then went on their way again. Their next destination will be the tunnel!