He walked side by side with his brother Eric. They were a family of 3, him, his Mum, and his brother. Their father died from a disease and his corpse was burnt, according to the law of the land.
It had been hard for them but their mother did all she could to ensure that her children were well taken care off.
"Zhang, do you think that girl in the village really likes me?". Eric said while looking into his eyes earnestly.
"Yes, I'm positive" Zhang assured him. His brother had been infatuated lately with the daughter of the town head. Everyday he would talk about her and it was getting quite annoying to him.
Zhang was 16 years old, while Eric was 15 years old. Frankly, it was Zhang who was supposed to be talking about all this lovey stuff and Eric would be the one bored not the other way around.
After about a mile's walk, they reached their house. Their mother was busy cooking and on sighting her kids she beckoned to them.
"Come inside quickly, its getting late and it might rain soon".
They walked in and Eric put down his bag and axe. Zhang then walked into their small kitchen to greet his mum and check out what she was cooking.
"Mum" Zhang said frustratingly, "You need to do something about Eric's love situation, he's getting more and more annoying, today, only I chopped all the wood while he sat on a tree stump and started giving me reasons why he likes her soo much.
His mum chuckled lightly as she remarked"Don't worry, I'll talk to him".
Zhang sighed in relief as went to his room and shut the door. Going to his table, he took his journal and started scribbling away in it. He had made it a habit to write everything he had experienced every night so he could learn from it.
....
At exactly 12 midnight, during an intense thunderstorm, a human body raced through the bushes. It had caught whiff of humans in the forest and it was meaning to have a good meal of them.
It's eyes were dark and black veins decorated his face and limbs. It's claws were protruding like that of eagles and it's speed was swift.
As the shape of the wooden cottage came into its sight, the undead lips curved upward revealing an array of razor sharp teeth.
.....
Eric rolled on the bed uncomfortably and stood up drowsily. The rain outside was so loud and his bed was sooo uncomfortable today.
"I'll just have some warm milk" Eric thought as he stood up and adjusted the sliding door. Walking to the kitchen, he kept the kettle on their stove and searched for the liquid milk.
As he was searching for it, he heard clawing sounds outside. As it was raining hard, he wondered how he was still able to hear it.
At that moment too, their dog suddenly bolted up and was barking at the door furiously.
Zhang and his mum too woke up, due to the dog's barks, and they went to find out what it was barking at.
"Zhang, Eric, I want you two, to go to your rooms and stay there, don't come out until I tell you to". Their mum said quietly.
The both of them wanted to decline, before they could open their mouths
BANG!
the sliding door leading outside burst and wood and splinters flew from it. The dog barked ferociously and attacked the man in front of it.
His mum face turned pale and Zhang and Eric looked at the person in front of them in fear.
'No, that was no person. Which human could break a door in such a manner'
Craaack! Squish!
The sound of bone breaking brought Zhang out of his thoughts. He watched in horror as their dog's skull was cracked open and the person dug into his flesh and fed on its brain.
It was a gory sight and Zhang held the urge to vomit. Eric on the other hand could not control himself, and his dinner made it way out of his body.
"Zhang! Take your brother and run! Run far and don't stop!"
Their mother suddenly snapped out of her reverie and yelled to them with tear filled eyes. Grabbing a knife which laid on the table she stood protectively at the front of the two.
"No mum! we can't leave you" Zhang said and he reached for the closest sharp object close to him, Eric did the same, grabbing a hammer.
They had been through ordeals together. They had lost their father and were not letting their mum go too. She had to live a good and happy life. She had to die at a good old age and not at the hands of a monster.
Besides they could take it down with their numbers and the odds of them winning would be higher. If they left her and she died, it was like indirectly killing her, and that was something they could not live with.
After feasting and licking it's fingers, the creature stood up and looked at them menacingly. Without a second thought, it lunged at them and it landed on the mother, before embedding it's teeth in her shoulder.
She yelled in pain ,and stabbed frantically at the creatures head. It didn't stop before Zhang and Eric could retaliate, It had already ripped out a good piece of her shoulder out and was savouring the flesh within its teeth.