Nick sat in the lecture hall listening as the instructor spoke about safety outside the walls saying" Now we know it's a risk everytime you go outside but we do need people to help keep our walls up so we are going to give you guys the tools you need to survive out there."

I turn to the person next to me saying "I can't believe we're finally going to leave the walls'' he looks over "exactly i've been thinking about it for a few days now, im mark by the way." I smile and say "I'm nick."

The instructor gets our attention saying "one of the important ways to stay alive is to stay quiet lest you want to be ripped apart by a tulk*."

As the instructor finishes the class I stand up and put my stuff away and then go to meet Mark and get our weapons at the transport.

Once we arrive at the transportation zone Mark says "this is amazing, so many different weapons!" I smile and say "I know it's pretty awesome." We walk around looking at the different weapons when I notice a weapon that seems perfect for me, an axe.

After we get our weapons we get sent to jeeps. Mark and I get put in different groups and driven to separate military camps. Upon arrival, I get out and stretch. I look around the camp and see a few other recruits arriving.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

I walk up to the top of the camp walls following the sound of rapid firing and screeching and see a field of corpses with a faint mist of blood, tulk* constantly swarming the walls, their mouths frothing as they try to get to us. I hear the sound of a whistle being blown and turn around.

A soldier walks up and says, "All right, gatherers. This is your new home for the next week. your jobs are to enter the ruins and find supplies from the old world, also try not to die the first week."

I get put in a group with two other gatherers and we're sent out to find shriki plates in their dens.

After 3 days we manage to find a shriki den and enter it

The air is thick with the stench of decay and rotting flesh. We step lightly as we make our way deeper into the den. It's so dark and cold here. I can feel the walls closing in on me.

As we round the corner a shriki falls from the ceiling and lands on top of me. I can feel its skin fall off in clumps and its plated limbs and chest scratching at my skin. I scream as it tries to bite my neck. I struggle under its weight and finally get a chance to shove it off of me. It lands on its back and starts flailing around. Its sharp nails cutting my flesh, it suddenly twists its body biting my arm.

I manage to pull out my axe and chop at its head a few times until it stops moving. I stand there gasping for breath. My whole body is shaking and covered in blood and dirt. I start spitting out the blood that got in my mouth and drink the water in my canteen trying to forget the taste of the blood I swallowed.

I hear rapid movement and look up to see the other gatherers running out of the den towards the camp. I look at my wound after I feel a shock of pain and see my flesh start rotting at the place of the bite and spreading outwards to the rest of my body.