Prologue: A World Of Dead Hope

As I made my way through the collapsed building, I felt that smell. The smell of decaying corpses, and also the scent of blood. For that's a fact, I'm already used with this smell anyway, so I just kept going. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any food or anywhere that I could find it. My hunger was growing every step I made, and for the first time in my life, I felt miserable. Now, I'm hungry and cold, in sort of desperate attempt to look for food and shelter, but to no avail. There was nothing but dust and smoke in the air, making it difficult to breathe.

Finally, I found a store, which had some food inside. Hopefully, they weren't expired, so I could take something. The front door was barricaded, by some fallen shelves, forcing me into making my way through the window. With a single punch, glass' pieces fell on the ground, creating a large hole, which I could use to get inside. But I held my breath after hearing something growl. Carefully, I got my sword out of its sheet, and got prepared to face whoever was growling.

''Come out'', my tone of voice was cold, as I looked into the direction that the noise came from

The figure revealed itself, and it was just a doggy. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that it wasn't one of these beasts again. Yes, beasts. Strong creatures, with variate forms. Wolves, humanoids beings... Any kind of form. Creatures that don't follow any sort of reason, instead, they are only killing machines. As I put my sword away, I approached the dog carefully.

''Are you okay, buddy?'', trying to comfort it, I made an attempt into getting closer to it, but to no avail, ''Don't worry, I am not here to hurt you''

My dedication was to try and help that doggy, but I noticed some yellow liquid coming out from its belly. A corrosive one, to put it simple. Beasts use this weird liquid to attack their targets with ease. It was when I noticed that it wasn't a doggy after all. I stepped back, and took my sword once again.

''I know you're fake'', this time, I was determined to exterminate that doggy, to make sure no one would fall a victim for that mimic, ''You can come out now''

At the same moment I said that, the doggy came closer, and it opened its back, showing all of its insides. The beast got out through that hole, revealing itself to be a big wolf, that could barely fit inside the store. Yet again, I was facing a mimic. The roof was already unstable, but just a few moves of that beast, and it started to fall down. Quickly, I reached the exit, and I got prepared to fight, after making a stance. Knowing these beasts, some bricks falling on their heads wouldn't be enough to stop them.

My predictions turned out to be correct, since he got out of the collapsed store with ease, while still growling. It had about 118 inches, while walking just like a wolf would. A gigantic being, and yet, it's a pitiful mimic.

''It has been a while since I had a fight against a beast like you'', I was feeling eager to fight now, indicating that with a smile on my face, ''Prepare yourself, for my blade is bringing your demise!''

The beast's large claws were huge, so its paws were. Since mimics mostly try to attack when the hunt is with its guard low, they aren't that powerful for a head-on fight. I was hearing even more growls, indicating that more beasts were coming. Now, it was a point of no return. I had to fight and go away quickly, if I didn't want to become beasts' food.

The wolf tried to bite me, but I managed to dodge, and kick its face with a roundhouse kick. Fortunately, it was effective, forcing the beast to retreat and attack with one of its paws. This attack was slower than the biting one, making it easier to dodge. With a fast movement, I sliced that paw hard. The beast's balance is lost, and it falls to the left side. Taking the opportunity, I slide under the wolf, cutting him all over his belly. Now, it fell on the ground, so I jumped on its back, and made a circular move with my sword, cutting the head of its body, ending that fight for once.

''I wish mimics could put more of a fight...'', my despondent tone was interrupted when the noises came closer

There was another store next to the one which collapsed, and I decided to go through the back door, since that was the best way to avoid contact. That store wasn't as destroyed as the other, and I was surprised to find a backpack, full of some electronic materials inside. That could be useful for later, so I took it right away.

The back door was locked, and finding the key would take too long. These beasts can track people by their smell from kilometers of distance. It was just a matter of time before they found me. After looking around a while, I found a rusty pipe, that could be used to break the door's lock. I took it, and started to hit on the door, hoping that it would break it. The beasts were almost reaching the store, that's when the lock was broken. I dashed through the door, finally jumping a high fence, that would separate the beasts from me, at least for a while.

''No food or water...'', I felt frustrated knowing that I couldn't get what I had to, so I was feeling miserable once again, ''Never mind, it's starting to get late. I should look for some shelter and go after food tomorrow''

Hoping for the best, I was humming some random tune as I walked down the dirt road. These creatures are most aggressive during the night, and that was the reason why to find some shelter for now. But I stopped humming when I noticed bright lights in the distance. They could be only some burnings, probably caused due to electrical malfunctioning, which happened before the beasts took complete control over the streets. Since I had to find shelter anyway, I decided to follow the light, and I was taken aback when I noticed it was some sort of camp. It came to light that it wasn't an ordinary camp, it was a military base. However, there were some humans guarding it, notable with their machine guns and control towers.

There was little hope for me, and it could be a good idea to approach them. Maybe they could help me and give some shelter? For most of the time, I have been wandering on my own, with no companion. Careless, and unaware of what could happen, I casually approached the base. When I managed to get close enough, they spotted me. My hopes were that they'd help me out, but I was wrong. Some of the soldiers got down of their towers, and they pointed their guns towards me.

''Identify yourself!'', one of them shouted while looking at me

They had some gas masks on their faces, which was odd. I don't remember seeing anyone with those masks. Was there some sort of contamination that I am unaware of? But to sum it up, I was slightly surprised by the reaction of these soldiers. Of course, they would probably find it weird that a random guy just showed up, still, all that hostility wasn't expected.

''I am not an enemy'', I kept my tone calm, as I attempted to approach the soldiers, but they took a step back, while still aiming at me, ''I was just looking for some shelter, and I saw these bright lights''

Their aggression didn't seem to lower a bit, and I could notice that when one of them was coming towards me, to attack me from behind. Sadly, this is not a scenario where I could take any advantage of, since dealing with them would be a pain. Some modern rifles can shoot at up to 1200 meters per second. Considering that we were face to face, I wouldn't have a chance to fight back, so I decided just to allow them to capture me. One way or another, I'd find a way out. I pretended to be unconscious as they got into the base. It would be too dangerous to try and escape there, so I had to wait for another opportunity.