The night was peaceful for Carl, thanks to his headphones, which blocked out the sounds of the fighting. He got up after 7 a.m., unlocked the door, and went to the bathroom. After taking care of his needs, he discovered that there was no electricity or water. But he was already prepared for that. He decided to make a simple breakfast—just some cereal—but he knew he couldn't survive long on such basic meals.
He glanced at the food supply list he had prepared before going to bed:
-5 cans of ham
-2 pack of pasta
-5 lbs of flour
-3 lbs of sugar
-2 packs of biscuits
-7 gallons of bottled watera
-jar of pickled tomatoes
-2 packs of candies
-half a bottle of oil
-half a pack of cereal
-3 cans of tomato soup
-6 bars (one of them a protein bar)
After reviewing the list, Carl was sure it would last for two days, as he definitely didn't plan to survive on sweets. Eating too many sweets always gave him stomachaches and nausea.
Carl returned to his room and prepared a map of King County. He decided to mark the most important areas. After locating his position on the map, he began planning to search the nearby buildings. However, his plans were interrupted by several infected individuals standing in front of the gate. If Carl wanted to leave the house and search for supplies, he had to either distract or kill them.
Carl began to think about what to do.
Ten minutes later, one of the infected was right by the gate, so Carl decided to open it, let him in, and quickly close it again. He did exactly that. Carl barely managed to close the gate before the next infected could get through, narrowly avoiding being grabbed by the one he had let in.
Carl distanced himself from the infected and prepared his baseball bat. The infected turned out to be slow, but Carl knew he was still dangerous. Within seconds, the infected was within range of the bat. Skillfully dodging the infected's hands, Carl struck with full force at his leg, specifically the knee. The infected immediately fell to the ground, and Carl didn't waste the opportunity—he struck the infected's head with the bat. After a few hits, the head burst apart in all directions.
"I thought he'd be tougher. This means the bones of the infected are weaker," Carl said to himself in his mind.
Outside the fence, most of the infected didn't notice the commotion, except for the one Carl had just locked out. He began pushing against the gate. Carl felt a twinge of fear that this could attract more infected. As soon as he opened the gate, the infected fell inside, tripping over himself. Carl immediately struck him in the head, shattering it. He quickly pulled the body inside and closed the gate. Luckily, the noise didn't attract any more infected.
Carl decided to rest for a bit before going outside. During his break, he noticed that one of the infected had been a soldier. He decided to check if the soldier had anything useful on him. Carl wasn't disappointed. The infected soldier had:
binocularsan empty pistol holster on his belta bulletproof vesta full magazine for an M16 rifle
Carl was pleased with the bulletproof vest, even though it was a bit too large for him. But the bigger treasure was the binoculars and the pistol holster.
After attaching the holster to his pants and adjusting the vest as much as possible, it was still a little too big, but it didn't limit his movement much.
He spent a few more minutes resting before looking beyond the fence. Most of the infected were about 50 yards away from the fence. Carl quietly left the house and headed in the opposite direction from where the infected were. After a few minutes of walking, some buildings appeared in front of him.
Carl observed the buildings through his binoculars, looking for signs of other people. After a moment, he could tell that someone was in one of the buildings. The rest of the buildings seemed abandoned. For now, he decided to observe the area, trying to figure out how many people were there and whether they posed a threat.
As Carl slowly crept closer, he was able to see that the occupied building was surrounded by at least 13 to 15 infected. Inside, there was a couple with a baby, whose crying had attracted the infected. The couple didn't seem to pose much of a threat, but Carl knew too little to be sure. He was certain there could be infected in the other buildings, so he needed to be cautious. He decided to search the building closest to his hideout first and gradually move forward, making sure not to be noticed by either the infected or the people. But that plan was for later.
The house Carl decided to search was small, seemingly consisting of four rooms with no second floor. As he approached, he saw that someone or something had forced the door open. Upon entering, a metallic smell hit him. The house consisted of a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The door, which Carl assumed led to the bathroom, was covered in blood, with a pool of it spreading from underneath, accompanied by someone's groaning.
He decided to search the kitchen and bedroom first, leaving the bathroom for last. In the kitchen, Carl found a lot of spoiled food, like bread, milk, and various fruits and vegetables. However, there was still some edible food left, though not much:
-a jar of pickles
-a bottle of vinegar
-3 packs of oatmeal
-a bottle of olive oil
-a pack of beef jerky
After searching the kitchen, Carl moved on to the bedroom. But there, he found nothing of interest except old clothes and medical documents, which he wasn't even interested in reading.
Carl then decided to check the bathroom, from which the growling was coming. He carefully grabbed the handle and opened the door, keeping his bat ready. The growling grew louder. Inside the bathroom was a wheelchair with an infected person sitting in it. Carl approached the infected, raised his bat, and struck the head. The infected fell to the floor, and Carl hit it again.
Taking a few breaths, Carl looked around, noticing a double-barreled shotgun and some scattered shells on the floor. Carl wasn't sure what had caused the elderly man's death, but he came up with two theories. Either the old man had been bitten and, realizing he was turning, decided to commit suicide but didn't make it in time. Or, the old man had been bitten but managed to hide in the bathroom, only to die of a heart attack brought on by fear and stress, which accelerated his transformation.
Carl spent a few minutes gathering the shotgun, ammunition, and some useful medicines and hygiene supplies from the bathroom and the bags on the wheelchair. After making sure he had collected everything, he left the building, carefully scanning the area to ensure it was safe.
When he reached the woods, he once again looked through his binoculars in the direction of the house where the people were staying, but he saw nothing new. Carl returned to the house, which he had started calling his base.
Since it was still afternoon, Carl decided to search one more building. This time, aside from a few packets of pudding and spices, he didn't find much. He noticed that the house with the people was becoming surrounded by more and more infected.
Carl decided to organize the supplies he had collected and store the shotgun and other valuable items in the safe. The safe was quite large, and the previous owner had barely put anything in it.
Carl spent the rest of the day listening to music on his MP3 player and playing on his portable console.