I felt the intensely cold air, the stench of the saliva of the infected beings that started to roam the Earth that once filled with life. Even though it was broad daylight, where the sun radiates energy towards the land, those beings rose, hunted us then took our land.

Awakened by the sunlight that pierced through the barricaded windows, I immediately composed myself. I promptly removed the hatch I made in my room to examine if any infected beings breached our home last night. As soon as it was all clear, I carefully made my way down.

Six months had passed since I last went out to traverse and feel things like I used to do. Most of the time, I was out around the area was to scavenge supplies, exterminate those rabid, infected beings, and fortify the house. Although I went outside of the perimeter once heading towards Anthea-Palar. After that, I didn't bother; there are too many of those rabid beings wandering around that area.

The time before meant something; it defined how everyone should live and what to do, it was a race against the desire and the time left for you to live. Still, now it means nothing; time doesn't matter anymore, just like everything nowadays.

I followed what was on the folder, the protocols that the PTC created to protect its people. You may call me a fool for doing so, but at the time, I don't know what to do. I never knew whom to trust; my instincts told me to follow the PTC files, for it would lead me to my father.

I managed to hold up in our home, a series of raids to our neighbor's houses allowed me to gather adequate supplies needed for me to stay inside of our home for six months. However, I managed to go out and search for nearby houses outside of our village for some rare supplies.

I was fortunate when Father wasn't able to finish installing the solar panels that he had planned to install. I managed to build a recharging station that I that linked to a service area. The lines were directed towards my parent's bedroom, it allowed me to set up a few cameras around the house. I took those cameras from the security office of our village, it took quite some time. It allowed me to have a better look around our house from time to time for a limited amount of time due to the battery issues. I was fortunate when those power inverters I ordered from LaShope arrived before the outbreak began, at least, I have a power supply. During the first days, I managed to barricade our service area and made a makeshift garage. It took me almost a month and a half to set things up here.

Birds chirped around the area, as I inspected every area of our home. Every window in the house was still barricaded. I was satisfied when our home managed to hold out last night. I made my way towards the kitchen area that leads towards the service area, I removed the barricaded hatch I made and went out.

The warmth of the sun delighted me; it reminded me of good moments, the memories of the past. I took a deep breath and sighed, I went towards my vehicle. I rearranged some items that were in disarray, Father would be terribly mad if he'd seen how I placed my things behind the car, I just smirked as I continued to fix my things.

As I grabbed the last box to clear out so I could place essential items there, I saw a galvanized trunk box that was hidden behind the backseat, it was my fault why I wasn't able to see it before. I reached for it, and upon lifting it, it was heavy, I placed it in front of me and observed the trunk box. It was galvanized. I guess it was supposedly used around where it is expected to be wet. Galvanization is usually done to ensure things won't be corroded with rust. It is protected by placing a layer of zinc over the iron, typically done on street lamps, construction steel, or roofs. A symbol of Pegasus was engraved at the center, with the letter and number "U.127". I ran my fingers on where the initials were, and it suddenly opened, the content was a true delight.

Inside was Winchester Model 1892, the supposed wooden parts were now replaced in carbon fiber, and the blackened steel was blued. There were boxes of .44 Magnum, an ammo belt and binoculars, there was a note attached between the cases of ammunition, it was from Old Mike.

Old Mike was our neighbor in Taguig, I never knew his full name, but we were friends, his son Albert was also my friend. They had a machine shop and a car repair station below their house. My father and Old Mike used to work together, helping to fix each other's vehicles before, until Father focused on his work for the telecommunications company. Old Mike started a shop, since then they were distant from each other yet remained good friends.

Three months ago, Father asked Old Mike to fix my vehicle. Although I cannot remember if it was doing something faulty or unusual, Old Mike nevertheless smiled like he always did and decided it. Old Mike took a full month to get the job done, but he never really told me what he did.

"Boy, you better take care of this car. Your father paid a sum of money for this one." Old Mike said as he gave me the keys of the car.

"What was the problem with the car, sir?" I replied

"Well, let's just say any problem shouldn't be a problem anymore," he replied as he grinned, looking at my car.

"Wait, what?" I asked, with a visible confusion on my face.

Before he could give me a definite answer, Old Mike just turned around and left. I just brushed it off, I've always wondered since then what he meant. Now, I wonder how Old Mike was doing, I pray that he's safe.

I took the gun and the remaining contents from the trunk box and went on with my task. I quickly packed everything necessary for the Big Day. It was almost afternoon when I finished. I promptly made my way up the hatch and took a bath after that tiresome task, the cold water from the shower refreshed my weary body. Perhaps, it was my mind playing tricks on me as I kept hearing groaning sounds afar, I decided to brush it off and went on to prepare my dinner.

I had 3 slices of bread, a can of tuna, and a coffee for dinner. As the day closed its doors, I remembered the little girl from Mr. Smith's house.

I can remember her beady eyes, her lips, and body covered in blood, her saliva drooling over the floor. I pointed my gun towards her, I decided if she lunged towards me, I would blow her head off. Sweat started to form around me as time went by, I didn't move because I thought if I moved, she would lunge at me, it seemed forever until she decided to make the first move.

She limp walked towards me and groaned.

I felt tremendous despair as I pulled the trigger. The loud gunfire resonated around the empty halls of the house, her lifeless body slumped over the ground as I lowered my gun. Reality sank through me after realizing what has occurred, I killed another person.

It was truly heartbreaking. I never expected that everything would fall like this, I never expected anything to happen. This outbreak, this mutated or infected beings cannibalizing others, and so on. For all I know, things will return to normal, but after putting a bullet between the little girl's eye, I know, this world is a new kind of world, that the Old World I've known is gone. Nothing will be the same.

After reminiscing about that incident, I decided to fix up and prepare to take a rest. It was going to be a big day, I peered over the barricaded windows and discovered that the sun has fallen to slumber. I laid over the bed and tried to sleep, but unfortunately, I cannot. My mind went off to reminisce about the memories of the past.

Time passed slowly, and rain started to fall, I closed my eyes, kept them shut as the rain poured over the roof, without realizing it. I fell asleep.

A nightmare awakened me earlier than I expected. I can vaguely remember what it was about, but all I can remember is blood everywhere. Nevertheless, The rain stopped falling, and I prepared the map to plot out where I am about to head.

The objective was to head to the PTC Calamba. The documents I saw from my father's files indicated that I should go there. Yet, it means that I should take the Pan-Philippine Highway and pass through Real Road. However, six months ago, some of the roads that led there were barricaded with improvised material.

After a deliberate analysis, I came to realize that I was in is a clear disadvantage. There was no alternate route, the Calamba-Tagaytay Road was clearly out of option since it would throw me away from my destination. Second, I was able to encounter a horde of infected at Anthea-Palar Village. It was a genuinely terrifying encounter, hordes kept coming, the loud gunshots attracted more of them as I shot everyone who came after me. I wasted a considerable amount of ammunition during that raid. Possibly, the Real Road would be the fastest route towards the city proper. I am wary of using this route because of the lack of data or information around the area, I still managed to make a backup plan. I plotted a contingency route using the Barandal Road, heading towards Prinza Drive and Lawa Road, the only road connecting AH26 or the Old National Highway. I just hope no one blew the bridge crossing the San Juan River.

It was sunrise when I finished up plotting the routes I should take. The primary destination is the PTC office in Calamba, I dressed up in all black clothes. A black hiking boots, a pistol holster, and a bandolier. I strapped the rifle on my shoulder and pulled my pistol as I scanned for any dead beings around.

I wasn't able to see anything, so I went down and closed the hatch. As I went towards the backdoor, I noticed the broken knob of the front door. I carefully approached the door and clearly heard a groaning sound as I stealthily moved back. I placed my pistol back at my holster and switched for my rifle. I aimed towards the front door as I slowly moved towards the backdoor. I felt the cold doors behind me, I carefully reached the doorknob. However, before I could open it, an infected female suddenly burst towards the door. Instinctively, I fired my rifle, blowing her head off, I never bothered to check on her as I knew it was a sure kill, however. I gazed outside and saw two more rabid beings outside, I hastily opened the backdoor and slammed it shut as I went towards the car. The infected beings repeatedly banged and tried to destroy the back door. I quickly opened the garage doors, but one of the infected appeared to see me. It started to head towards me through the front door, however, as soon as I started the car, I floored the accelerator it and drove away quickly.

I was able to ride past the empty streets of the village and stopped near the guardhouse. The streets remained empty and dead as I slowly approached Barandal Road. I reached the intersection that connected the road heading to Calamba Industrial Park and Barandal Road. It was a relief when I found the road towards the industrial complex empty. I immediately took yaw heading towards the area; it would make things much easier as I would pass through Real Road. However, before I could reach the roundabout, I saw a horde from a distance blocking the path. Their numbers are much more compared to the ones I encountered back at Anthea-Palar Village.

The hairs around my neck stood, I felt the cold sweat start to form around my forehead. I immediately struck the reverse gear and slowly reversed. However, as I was about to finish doing a U-Turn maneuver, there was loud gunfire. The shot echoed amongst the undead, triggering their rabid nature, it was split into two groups, one headed towards where the gunfire was and the other towards me. I immediately stepped on the accelerator and drove hastily towards the contingency plan. I kept moving fast, ignoring the bumpy roads,

As I was reaching Prinza Road, I wasn't able to see any infected hordes following me. I decided to take it easy and carefully drive over the bumpy Prinza Road in order not to strain the suspension of the vehicle. God knows if I could still find some spare parts of this vehicle. After passing through the bumpy roads of Prinza Road, I was approaching the Lawa Road, where the AH26 connects. There are significant amounts of villages around here, which means a high concentration of civilians who may have already been infected. I kept my eyes on the road at the same time paying attention to my surroundings, considering there are a lot of blind spots. As I approached the Tsentryna Homes, there was a gray dump truck parked near the entrance, I wasn't able to see if there was any driver or passengers, so I moved along.

However, it was a huge mistake ignoring it. As I approached the gates of Tsentryna Homes, a blue dump truck just appeared and tried to T-bone me. Luckily, I was able to stop my car immediately using both the pedal and hand brakes. Now, I shifted back to reverse and tried to do a U-Turn maneuver, but the gray dump truck was blocking my path.

I was trapped.