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Chapter One: The Encounter

The sun was beginning to go down and I knew I needed to find a place to sleep for the night. I had been run out of my last camp by a pack of wolves, there were too many for me to fight off myself, so I knew I had to leave. Quite a shame, considering I've been staying there for many months without any issues.

The autumn air was beginning to feel a bit crisp, but quite nice, if you ask me. I've always preferred cold weather over hot. The other zombies slow done a bit when it becomes cold; though, keep in mind, I'm an odd species. I'm a Zombie-human hybrid. My blood isn't like anyone else's on this planet; I feel hot and cold sensations, however it doesn't effect me in any way. I could walk around wearing nothing but my socks in the snow, and it wouldn't bother me one bit; besides maybe the humiliation. I've been a zombie hybrid for several years. I was changed into one when I was 15, but that's a story for another time.

The sun was going down fats and I know I need to find a place to sleep tonight, and quick. Zombies typically came out more at night, and I wasn't quite in the mood to face three or four at a time. I even would've been okay with finding a cave to sleep in for the night, just to rest. Nevertheless, all hope was lost when I glanced over to see the sun starting to fall beyond the horizon. The sky was gorgeous; the oranges and pinks were absolutely stunning, and the stars peppering the sky only added to the beauty.

An unsettling feeling began to rest in my stomach; something just felt off. I felt as if I was being watched and it bother me incredibly. Ultimately, I decided to quickly find a tall tree to rest in for the night to keep me off the ground in case something was watching, or following me. I found a tree that seemed to have thick branches for easy climbing, however as expected, my luck didn't seem to be all that great tonight. My knife fell from my opened sweater pocket, and the branch I was on snapped, sending me to the ground.

I laid on the ground for a moment, just trying to calm my spiked nerves and relax for a moment before finding another tree and trying again. My back arched and I began to wonder if I would be able to climb another tree tonight. I glanced down to see my knife had cut my arm; though, before I felt any pain in the cut, vines and little rosebuds began to grow from the wound. The bloody rose petals bloomed and cover the wet gash in my arm; it was always a little relaxing to watch a wound of mine heal. It was a beautiful sight and quite honestly I don't think I could ever get over the sight of it. I don't think I've ever seen a rose so beautiful, but maybe it's because it's the rose my body produces. Maybe that makes me sound like I have a huge ego, but I really believe the roses my body produces are absolutely, without a doubt, the most gorgeous roses anybody could ever lay their eyes on. I've never seen one with a flaw, and the day I do, I'll be worried for my health.

Upon standing, I felt a little dizzy due to blood loss, but it quickly died down as my body continued to regenerate. I kept walking deeper and deeper into the forest, desperately looking for a place to camp out. Just for the night; I was even starting to feel a little frantic. Suddenly I realized my knife wasn't on me; my mother had given me that knife before she was attacked, I needed to get it back as soon as possible. I turned around and sprinted back to the tree I had fallen out of, running strenuously back to the tree as if my life depended on it. Leaves crunching under my feet as I ran, and the cool wind blowing my hair back.

Once to the tree, it didn't take long to find my mother knife; it was quite a wonderful weapon. The handle was wrapped in leather, with a turquoise stone on the end of the handle. I stuffed the knife back into my pocket and let out a little sigh before a gasp came from my lips when I heard the sound of leaves crunching, when I hadn't moved.

I scanned the forest, hoping to identify what made that noise; I needed to figure out what had made that noise, whether it was an animal, another human, a zombie, whatever it was. I needed to know for my own safety. My hands started to tremble the longer I went without knowing what had made that noise.

Another crunch.

What the hell was making that noise? Was somebody watching me? This is really beginning to make me nervous, I haven't felt this anxious in years.

"Whose there?! Show yourself! Don't be a pussy!"

I was the one who sounded like a pussy, my voice trembled under the crushing fear of what that noise could be. I started to try and walk away, telling myself I was only yelling at nothing, and the noises were just in my imagination. Another crunch dragged my attention back towards the noise, however instead of the noise having nothing but empty forest behind it, there was an axe hurdling my way.

"Oh fuc—"

I was cut off by the large blade penetrating my forehead and eye socket; a blood curdling scream was forced from my throat as my entire head quickly became engulfed in excruciating pain. It didn't take long before I passed out from the pain before my healing roses would appear.

A figure approached my limp body, retrieving his axe roughly and spitting on me. He was a zombie hunter; there wasn't a single doubt in my mind about that.

"Good riddance.." he muttered coldly, shooting my a glare before slowly wiping off the blade with a scowl.

"Prick..." he added before turning and beginning to walk away.

My body regenerated quickly once the axe was removed from my head. At least quickly enough for me to sit up and smirk in the males direction, he was tall and dark.. and quite attractive. I couldn't see a lot of him, considering he was already wearing a lot of layers. It made me wonder how he was going to do in the colder months that were nearing quickly.

I couldn't see the roses, but I could definitely feel them beginning to bloom in and around my eye; it felt quite nice to feel the pain melting sway so quickly. I looked up at the man walking away from me, smirking a little before yelling out

"That wasn't very nice~!"

It was cute seeing him stop dead in his tracks.