The air tasted like autumn, even in this strange world, with the slightly sour taste of decomposing leaves, mixed with the earthy smell of rotting vegetation, the slightly sweet scent of the cool morning air and the dampness that always accompanied autumn weather. It wasn't exactly cold outside. Not cold like the snow. But there was a definite chill in the air and it made him wish he'd put on an extra layer of clothes.

And, for a second or two, Michael had a sudden wave of sadness that, just like the night before, the streets and world seemed deserted and lifeless. And, as Michael followed the woman who had intruded upon him in his own home and her friend or accomplice who had run in the direction she was headed in, he noticed how desolate the streets were, and that even the sound of the wind blowing seemed muted, almost like there was some sort of vacuum that was sucking the noise out of the world.

His thoughts drifted to his family and his friends. Were they in a similar position? In a new world? Alone?

No, Michael tried to snap himself out of the thought process. Don't think about them, just focus on what is right in front of you, right now. His eyes narrowed and he looked down the long street into town, scanning for any signs of either person who had just escaped him. It took just seconds, and then, at the far end, in the gloom of the street lights, Michael spotted something; a human shape. A moving figure in the distance. Michael immediately took off after the figure. It seemed that it wasn't looking around for anyone following it.

And then Michael thought; the person who broke in; why would they do that?

Michael's mind began to run wild with theories.

It was almost certainly the case that they were breaking and entering like he'd done with Mrs. O'Brien's house or Keith's. They were likely just looking for stuff they could use to survive. But Michael couldn't shake the idea that there might be more to it. Whatever their reason was for entering his home, Michael was going to get some answers, one way or another.

The figure didn't look around or back as they made their way through town, walking at a good pace but without the speed and haste that Michael might have thought, if they'd been aware that he was following them, then surely they'd have been making more of an attempt to cover their tracks.

Michael tried keeping his cool and put his best impression of a strategist to work; he reflected as he stayed a hundred yards or so away, that his attempts at thinking strategically hadn't gone great so far. Still, he looked at this second person and tried to figure them out.

He was pretty sure both of the figures he'd seen were three things, all of which brought him some comfort.

Firstly, they were human. When the alternative was giant tapeworms, dog-sized spider beasts, talking flames or a sexy-but-terrifying extra-terrestrial goddess, this was a good start.

Secondly, they were alive. When compared to Mrs. O'Brien and the creature that had taken over her corpse, well that was another good thing. It was nice to find live people.

And finally, he thought that, based on their size and stature, and the strength of the intruder he'd tussled with earlier, they were probably both females rather than males. Michael wasn't a misogynist, but if anything were to go wrong, he'd much prefer to be fighting off two women rather than a guy or two. Political correctness be damned.

The person ahead, still at some distance from Michael, suddenly veered to their left.

They had taken a left at a junction in the street, leading them away from the main street into a narrow lane that was little more than a gap between buildings. It led into the back of a small housing estate with some houses on the outskirts of the town centre. The figure disappeared down that lane. Michael ran after the person. His feet carried him quickly and he kept up with them as the lane turned and headed into an area that was more open than it had been before, an area with trees and bushes.

It was the local park. And it looked to Michael like a trap; the area around them was mostly dark. Trees blocked most of the light that the streetlights might have cast on them if they were still operational, leaving them almost completely invisible in the darkness. It made sense, he figured. She was going through the park because she thought no one was going to be following her, or if they did, that she would see them. She probably hadn't seen him, or if she had, she hadn't paid attention.

It wasn't long until the two of them emerged from the trees at the far end of the park, the road opening up to reveal an area of grass that stretched into a wide open space. There was nothing around here that was familiar. No buildings, no landmarks, no shops. Just an open space that seemed to be unending, stretching out into nothingness.

The figure slowed their pace. Michael slowed down, too. They seemed to know this area, he thought to himself, they were slowing down and walking through it as though it were a normal route for them, as though there weren't anything out of the ordinary about it.

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Michael puzzled over that as he continued following the woman.

It wasn't until she'd reached the other side of the park and slipped down another walkway which led towards the high school that Michael realised that was where she was headed.

Michael wondered what would make the person come all this way, why they would come to his home of all places? There were plenty of places to loot in between where he lived and the school.

This had to be where she was staying.

And that was the moment when Michael saw something else that confirmed it to him. A second figure. This second figure, also dressed in dark clothes and moving quietly and cautiously, moved into view and then embraced the figure he had followed.

They were loitering around the side gate to the school, and it was clear the two figures were conferring about something. Michael tried to remember back ten years to how the school was laid out as he snuck towards their position, not wanting to be seen.

As dawn broke over the horizon line, he felt unsure of every step onto crunching autumn leaves, not to mention his constant awareness that he was surrounded on all sides by a darkness that could hide any manner of beasts, and he cursed his inability to be able to walk more quietly.

Eventually though, he found his way behind a bush that gave him some coverage. From behind the foliage of a holly tree, Michael saw the figures and strained his ears to listen.

"She got in. I think it was his home."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. Something though. I saw her bolting away and figured she'd come back here. Is she OK?"

"Fine, just scared. And empty-handed. He almost got her, I think. Never seen her so shaken!"

Michael, listening, frowned at the sound of their conversation and its meaning. So it was a group. At least three of them. Maybe more, who knows how many more? The group, if it were just these three girls or women or whatever, wasn't so bad.

Michael continued listening to the conversation.

"Do you think he's a threat?"

"Doesn't look it. Not strong or big. No weapons, nothing."

"And the house?"

"Just a house, not a store, nothing of significance. Not enough food or anything."

"What do we do then?"

"We leave, we get away, go elsewhere."

Michael sighed. The three women didn't want trouble, that much was clear. He thought that there must be something else to all of this. What was their aim? Why did they break in and risk getting caught by someone like him?

As they moved off towards a back gate to the school field and a way around to the front of the school building, he made a split second decision to confront them. There was something off about these people, but he couldn't put his finger on what.

And that's what made him follow them. It wasn't a desire for vengeance, nor was he interested in their reasons for being there, whatever those reasons may be; rather, it was the desire for answers to his many questions about what exactly happened on the day that the world ended and the things that happened afterward.

The school itself wasn't exactly huge. There were only three buildings, arranged in a horseshoe shape. The one the two girls entered was only the leftmost school building that used to hold the canteen, the locker rooms, a squash court, and a small library, as well as the offices, administration area and staffroom. But the whole complex had an aura of eeriness around it now it was post-apocalyptic. It wasn't a very modern building by any stretch of the imagination; in fact, it was the exact opposite. It was built in the Post-War era, with old, concrete bricks that were rough to touch, the walls a dull shade of greyish-brown. It had that same, neglected feel about it that it always had when he was a student, so in that sense that time had stopped inside its walls long before he'd ever stepped inside of them. But the girls had entered it without any hesitation. They must have been inside the school before, probably more recently than him.

And, now he was thinking about it, there were three things about that particular building which made it stand out as the sort of building a small group of people could hole-up inside for a time.

First, and most importantly, there were plenty of exits, such as a fire escape which Michael was heading towards now, a large metal door at the top that led up to a staircase. This was where the two girls had gone into.

The fire escape led into a stairwell. If you wanted to lock a door, that door would be a pretty good one. If they wanted to barricade it with furniture or other materials from the school, that would also be pretty good. The staircase led to the roof. The girls were clearly intending on hiding on the second floor of the building, maybe getting to higher ground, to somewhere that anyone curious wouldn't follow.

The second reason that building was good to stay in for a group of people was because of the space it provided, as well as its labyrinthine nature. It'd be easy to hide in the corridors should trouble arise.

Thirdly, and to Michael's surprise, as he entered the fire-exist door at the top of the stairs, he realised that the florescent lights were on. The school had its own power supply.

He followed the two girls, both still unaware of his presence. Michael's eyes were glued to the ground as he followed the women as they went through the school, taking care not to trip or step on something noisy, like glass. They were heading for the girls' locker room door, and Michael saw it as they approached; it was unlocked, the heavy door propped open by a fire extinguisher.

As the women reached the door and went inside, he got an uneasy feeling that he was doing something dangerous and foolish.

He waited for a few minutes, something in his head telling him not to go into the girls' locker room, listening intently to the sounds of hushed speech between the two girls which were too far away for him to make out.

Then from behind him, he heard the slightest sound of a boot on the hard tile surface of the corridor floor, and as he turned to face whoever it was that was there, a powerful strike caught him in the face. He fell backward onto the ground, his vision blurry from the impact and pain.

"Wait..." he said, to whoever it was, lifting his hands up in a sign of surrender. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"I know you're not..." said an angry voice before he felt a second blow of a long metal object hit him in the jaw.

Then as the world went black, he heard the attitude-laden end of the sentence from his assailant.

"...Asshole."