No matter how many times Yibo and Zhan looked up the shaft in the past 5 hours, the sight remained the same. They could still see the daylight through the narrow grooves of the lid. And they both knew that at this time of year, the days were longer than the nights. For them, that meant they would have to spend many more hours here before it finally got dark.

"Why do we even want to climb up this shaft and onto the road? Wouldn't it be smarter to wait until dark and then go to my car? It would definitely get us out of town faster, wouldn't it?" Said Zhan, who was finally fed up with the silence.

"Suppose we go back. What if those creatures are in the hospital and then we run right into them? They're so black we wouldn't see them. And using flashlights with all those windows is probably not very smart either, or doctor?" Yibo replied.

Yibo was just annoyed by this doctor. He was grateful to him for saving his life. But this constant talking and whining was getting on his nerves. And he didn't stay with him because he thought it would be better to survive together. But because Xiao Zhan is a doctor and he is worth much more than a small police officer at the moment.

Because they still don't know what happened and if it only affects the town where Yibo grew up, or maybe it happened worldwide, that these creatures came out of nowhere and destroyed everything. Did these creatures destroy everything? Or was there something they don't know yet?

"You're really getting on my nerves Yibo. I guess the glasses are always half empty with you. Guess what, last night I used a flashlight too. You walked the streets with your light from your cell phone and nothing happened. Maybe they don't see the light at all."

"Maybe Zhan. But what if they were just busy eating yesterday and that's why they weren't flying around? We don't know anything about these creatures, do we? Or have you ever seen such creatures before?"

"Mhm, in the Bible, in the section of demons and the devil, right next to a picture of you." Murmured Zhan.

"What did you just say?" Yibo asked angrily.

"Nothing at all! So you think it's smarter to wait here and then climb up there, not knowing if the creatures are lurking up there? And just by the way, we wouldn't be able to see them there any more than we would in the hospital!"

"But at least up there we could still run away."

"Yeah right, you're trained. You run and they bite me in the ass."

"What do you want me to do? Run behind you? Would you like it more if they bit my ass?"

"I'm sure they won't bite your ass, there's nothing to it."

"Um, how would you know that Mhm?"

"I have eyes in my head Yibo."

"You checked out my butt?"

"How could I? It's flat as a board."

"So you checked out my butt?"

"I'm a doctor, and I checked you for any other wounds. Don't worry, I didn't have any indecent thoughts. So what's it going to be? Stay here or go back to the hospital."

"Stay here, of course. You just said it yourself, I could walk the streets without being attacked and you could use a flashlight."

"Uh-huh, okay."

"What do you mean aha now?"

"Nothing at all. Don't bug me. I'm really not in the mood to argue with you right now."

"Who's bugging who here? Since I woke up, you've been talking and whining incessantly. Do you know how restful the last few hours have been when you were silent?"

"Oh wow, you're an even bigger asshole than I thought."

"Yeah I don't care. One thing is fact, we need to get out of here. And I don't plan on going back to the hospital to all those bodies."

"Why? Are you afraid they'll come back to life and then hunt us down as zombies?"

"What are you babbling about again? What do you think it smells like in the hospital now?"

"I don't know. Maybe the creatures have collected all the bodies and are having a huge feast over the Burning Roofs tonight."

"You know Zhan, I'd really like to try out my marksmanship with my service weapon on you right now."

"Oh God you're completely deranged!"

"Just be quietly clear? Who knows if they can't hear us with this echo down here." Yibo retorted, annoyed.

Zhan sat back down and turned away from Yibo. He took out an old MP3 player from his smock pocket, turned it on and listened quietly to the music of the group BTS. Yibo just shook his head.

How is he supposed to get this Zhan out of here alive when he would have preferred to kill him himself just now? Did Xiao Zhan still not understand the seriousness of the situation? Did he perhaps think that this was just a game?

However, after a few minutes, Yibo felt sorry again for arguing with the doctor and even threatening him with his service weapon. He still just feels overwhelmed and just wants to know if his parents are okay. Whether his friends are still alive. All the time he wondered if there could be survivors?

Yibo took out his cell phone, still 39% battery and still no service. If there was anyone alive outside of Beijing, they would try to restore the network, wouldn't they? They would send in the military and shoot these creatures from the sky. But nothing like that happened. It was silent, so incredibly silent.

In the hours that followed, Zhan didn't even turn to look at him. Was the doctor really so angry with him now that he wouldn't even look at him? And why was Yibo so sorry that he even wanted to apologize for his outburst of anger?

When finally no more daylight could be seen through the lid of the shaft, Yibo tapped the doctor on the shoulder and pointed upward toward the shaft exit. Zhan just nodded, took the first aid kit over his shoulder, and when Yibo tried to take it from him, Zhan pulled his shoulder aside and went to the ladder.

"Zhan wait. Let me take this one, it's heavy." Zhan, however, did not respond and started climbing up the ladder.

Yibo stood at the bottom of the ladder and said, "Okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that about the gun."

But Zhan continued to be silent and that now annoyed Yibo even more than the babbling from before. He climbed up the ladder behind Zhan, hoping that they wouldn't get a bad surprise now once they reached the top.

With a little effort, Zhan was able to push the heavy lid aside and climbed out of the shaft. Yibo hurried to follow him quickly. When he reached the top, he looked around in astonishment. They were maybe 100 meters from the hospital. "What the hell? The tunnel was so long, how can we still be at the hospital?"

"I don't know, I don't care either. I'm going to get my car now." Replied Zhan and went for it.

Yibo followed Zhan, keeping an eye on the area around them. He had his gun ready in his hand, though he didn't think it would do any good against these creatures.

When they reached the parking garage, they didn't have to go far to get to Zhan's black SUV, since it was parked near the exit. Zhan put the suitcase in the trunk and sat in the driver's seat. Yibo sat down next to him. "Before we leave, I wanted to apologize for earlier." He said quietly to Zhan.

Zhan, however, said only one word: " Quiet." Then Zhan pointed to something he saw in the rearview mirror.

Something was moving. Slowly and hugely it passed between the cars. Yibo's heart began to beat violently. He almost cried out in shock as the creature spread its wings. Zhan, however, covered Yibo's mouth and gestured for him to get very small.

They crawled down as far as they could in their seats. The hearts of both of them beat so strongly and so loudly that they were afraid the creature would be able to hear them.

Suddenly, a bang sounded. The creature hit one of the cars, then they heard a man's shrill scream and then silence again. The creature held its lifeless victim in its claws and left the parking garage.

Zhan started the engine but left the lights off and drove out of the parking garage. He was glad he had the SUV and that it was so quiet. Straining, Zhan looked out at the road. Thanks to the moonlight, he could make out at least a little bit and was able to drive around the cars that were parked on the streets. Most of the bodies had disappeared.

"Where to?" Zhan asked.

"I live nearby, let's go there first."

"Why? We should see about finding more food, tents, sleeping bags, anything we need to survive."

"I know. That's why we should go to my place. I have a 2 week supply of food and equipment for camping in the wilderness."

"Alright. Tell me the way." Replied Zhan. Yibo described the way to him and when they arrived at the apartment building, Yibo's heart nearly sank into his pants. The house was nothing but rubble.

"What now?" Zhan asked, suddenly flinching as he heard something brushing the roof of the car.

"Drive off, somewhere safe. We need to get off the road." Yibo almost shouted as the sound was heard one more time.

Zhan turned on the lights of his car and in front of them on the road appeared one of those creatures. Black as night, it stood there on two legs. It bared its sharp teeth as it caught sight of them. Zhan shook his head, "You're not getting me." He muttered and stepped on the gas.

Yibo thought the creature would avoid it, but instead Zhan hit it full force with his car. Screeching, the thing went down and lay there. Zhan shifted gears, hit the gas again, and drove over the creature. It crunched and cracked under them as they drove over it.

Zhan turned off the lights again and drove off. There was only one place he could think of at the moment, the old shelter in his apartment building. He drove on and on until they arrived at Zhan's home. Fortunately, it seemed to be still intact. Zhan got out of the car, Yibo got the suitcase out of the trunk, and then followed Zhan into the house and down into the shelter.

"What the hell are those creatures?" Yibo asked after he calmed down.

"They look like demons." Replied Zhan as he fired up the generator and it became bright in the shelter.

"Where are we?"

"I live here. Well, actually on the first floor. This is already a very old house and we are here in the shelter of the house. The landlord had been taking care of the generator on a regular basis. He always said you never know if it might be needed again. And, there's a crawl space here."

"A crawl space? And what good is that going to do us?"

"Well, it leads into a tunnel and it ends a little ways out of town. After what we just experienced, I think we should forget the car and just make sure we get out of town."

"But we need supplies and equipment."

"I know. We'll go to my apartment later and get everything we need from there."

"Do you have any equipment there at all?"

"Yes. My father was a general in the Army until last year and always made sure I was perfectly equipped for emergencies. He was always convinced that I would need it someday. I also have a box full of one-man rations. Plus a tent for two, two sleeping bags, an axe for camping. Oh you'll see."

"Mhhh, all right. When do we go up?"

"In an hour or two. For now, we should wait here and see if we've been followed."

Yibo agreed with Zhan. At the moment, the two are sitting in the shelter, silent and listening.