Just as Yibo and I were about to talk about how to proceed and what to do, we had power again and immediately turned on the TV. The news station was just reporting on the massive problems in the power supply since some important systems in the City Utilities had been destroyed. It was assumed that some of the creatures had done this, since many burned bodies of these creatures had also been found next to these systems.

For now, they said, they were working feverishly to restore the power supply and to do so in a way that would make it permanent. And while they were reporting on this, they showed aerial photos of the destroyed systems and the work being done on them, or on other systems, to rebuild the power supply.

They also reported, among other things, that there was massive fighting between the military, police and volunteers outside and inside the city. They said that hundreds of creatures crawled out of sinkholes and immediately and mercilessly pounced on people whose path they crossed. They spoke of the flying creatures, which the media referred to as monstrous, super dangerous, blood-sucking, bat-like things.

In addition, they said that the government has not taken a position on any of this so far, and no one could be reached at the government building. At least no one from the elected politicians, who actually should have given us citizens courage and comfort right now. These were the words of the presenter of the news program.

When asked by military experts, among others, whether it was still safe in the cities and what possibilities the citizens of this country had to protect themselves from these creatures, one of the experts shrugged his shoulders and asked: "How should we know? None of us has ever had to deal with such a threat before. These murderous creatures come crawling and flying out of these sinkholes, attacking everyone, killing and moving on. Our weapons have had little success in fighting these creatures, almost nothing. It is hard to hurt these creatures and even harder to kill them. Right now we are at a loss and still trying to figure out ourselves what to do now."

Another expert explained, "There are rumors of evacuations. But they are false. We don't even know right now where we should take the many people of our country. I can only advise all the citizens of this, our country, stay alert, try to stay inconspicuous. If you have basements, get down there. Avoid contact with these creatures. If you have to go outside, then only during the day, because these creatures mostly avoid the daylight. But then also avoid the dark alleys, stay on the open streets and always have a plan B ready."

The third and final expert said, "If you want to leave the city, do it. But only during the day, in an orderly fashion, and not all at once. It seems these creatures are rarely, if ever, sighted in the mountains or countryside. Apparently they prefer the cities where there are lots of people to feed on. Another option would be to take a ship to the sea, as the creatures cannot swim and the winged creatures can only fly a limited distance, probably due to their large heavy bodies. In addition, I advise against the use of loud weapons. Noise only attracts these creatures and as already mentioned, these creatures are very difficult to kill. And if you're not an expert with firearms, you should avoid them altogether anyway."

Afterwards, many pictures and short videos were shown, some of them from private individuals, which served as evidence of the massive fighting. But there were also shown pictures and videos of creatures that apparently settled in our city and also in other big cities. There you could see some of these winged creatures sitting on the roof of a church or on the roofs of skyscrapers, watching the area.

Or how these gray, hairless creatures entered houses and apparently never left them and were later seen at windows or on balconies. A few creatures were filmed by a cell phone camera breaking into a supermarket, destroying everything, throwing everything out, and then lying down in the entrance of the supermarket and sleeping there.

Then came the news that hospitals were at full capacity and could not accept any more patients. In addition to the many dead, there were also many injured who were now all fighting for their lives in the hospitals. A hospital spokesman said that one should only come to the hospital if a body part is threatening to fall off. Otherwise, he advised, it was enough to go to the pharmacies, where many volunteer doctors were now working and providing the sick with the most necessary.

Then the moderator reported that due to technical failures there could now also be short-term failures in the water supply. But then there was also a positive report, according to which the mobile network should now be stable again. Yibo and I immediately looked at our cell phones and yes, we had network again!

Yibo and I immediately called our parents and were amazed when they told us that they just drove on it, over country roads and through forests, until they reached a remote village, where at least for the time being there are no sinkholes or creatures far and wide. We were really horrified that they just took off like that. Yibo was even angry and scolded his parents.

He wanted to know from them what they would have done if the mobile network was not yet back and we had gone to them to pick them up? His dad just told him that they had already told us not to come to them and that they would be fine.

My mom, still the same despite all the things that happened, said to me, "Son! I know you usually don't listen to me and your dad because you think you're smarter. But I hope you will listen to me at least this time. Get Yibo and then see that you get out of the city!"

"And where should we go?" I asked her. And she then told me a region by the sea where there are many abandoned buildings, most of which are ruins. But only most of them and not all of them. But I know that these abandoned buildings consist of nothing but bricks. There are no doors or windows or any furnishings.

Nevertheless, Yibo and I thought that it would be at least a stopgap solution. Because then we would be by the sea and with the sea behind us, we might be able to defend ourselves better. But maybe we would also find a ship that we could take to sail out to sea. The best would be a sailboat, of course.

However, I must say that neither Yibo nor I have any knowledge about sailboats. But, what is not, can still become. Because it's nothing we can't learn.

The more Yibo and I thought about the sailboat idea, the better we thought it was. It was said that one was relatively safe on the sea. And if that was true, then we could escape to the sea and stay there at least for a while, waiting to see what would happen on the land.

Yibo and I talked about what we had to consider and what we needed to survive on the sea. But since we had little idea about it, we used the internet, which was finally working again. We read a lot of websites and also read a little bit about sailboats in general and then decided, we want to try it!

Without discussing or thinking much more about it, we took a route planner and picked out the best route to the region with the abandoned buildings. Once there, we wanted to get everything we would need for a longer time at sea.

We grabbed our packed backpacks, took one last look around the apartment and then left. Once downstairs at my car, we looked around one last time in all directions and then got in. I started the engine and drove off. But before we left the city, we had to make one more stop. We needed more supplies!

Just before the city limits, we stopped in the parking lot of a supermarket where many other cars were parked. There were also several stores there that would supply us with everything we would need. We went first to the supermarket where it seemed like this was a normal day and got water and durable food. 

Then we went into a store that sold equipment for all sorts of things. We got there a few things that you need for camping. A tent, sleeping bags, two axes, everything to make fire and several small gas stoves and the appropriate gas bottles. We also bought socks and underwear, as well as a few simple jogging suits and cardigans. But also chlorine tablets in case we run out of water and find water that is not clean. And we also bought two night vision devices and lots of batteries for them.

At a hardware store we got gas cans, some blinds and tools. And additionally a couple of solar charging stations for different purposes.

The last thing we did was to go to a pharmacy. There was a huge crowd, because many sick people were there to be examined and treated by one of the three doctors there. We bought some painkillers and antipyretics, but also bandages, ointments and some antibiotic ointments and pills for which we did not need a prescription.

With a full trunk, we drove to the next gas station, filled my tank and all the gas cans before continuing on our way. Ahead of us lay a long stretch of partly very rough road over many unpaved roads and through narrow forest paths.

We were amazed but also relieved at how easy it was to leave the city and get away from it. We even drove past two large sinkholes without anything happening. And by evening we reached our destination. We had just enough light to get our most important things like the sleeping bags, water and something to eat out of the trunk before it got dark around us.

Not knowing how safe we would be there, we decided to forgo artificial light from camping lamps and flashlights and limited ourselves to our new night vision devices. It took some time before our eyes got used to the green we saw through them. But at least we could see with them.

Around us it was quiet. Only the sea could be heard and a light wind blowing through the open door and windows. There was also nothing and no one to see. Only in the distance we could see scattered lights, but did not know what exactly was there. And we were also much too tired to think about it.

But before we went to sleep, we gathered some branches and other material to protect our car from the eyes of others. Especially, of course, from those of the winged creatures. Then we lay down in our sleeping bags in the corner of the small room and tried to fall asleep.

But the fear that we might fall asleep and then be attacked kept us awake for a long time. The last time I looked at the clock, it was already shortly after three o'clock in the night, until I was simply too tired to keep myself awake any longer. And also Yibo said that he had fallen asleep at about the same time.

In the morning, after a few restless hours of sleep, we got up, packed everything into the trunk and looked around the area. We saw a few buildings some distance away. But they were not so far away that we could not have reached them on foot. Nevertheless, we drove there by car to have a look around.

We saw that the houses were the summer homes of some stars from abroad. So no one had been there for months. And down on the beach that belonged to these houses, there was also a pier where there were two yachts. Big magnificent yachts like only the rich and beautiful can afford.

And one of these yachts we wanted to grab. But first we had to find the keys to this yacht. And to do that, we'd have to go into the houses and look around. Which would not be so easy, because of the burglar-proof windows and doors. But Yibo is confident and said that he would definitely find a way in there. And I believe him.