Nick

Times of the apocalypse. Nick never thought he'd live this long. After the world collapsed under the onslaught of monsters that looked like a living nightmare, he got used to being alone. People either died or became worse than the monsters. He learned not to trust anyone. The days passed in search of food, weapons, safe places to spend the night. The city became a burial ground, overgrown and rotting. The boy got used to the silence. He thought that nothing would change. But one day he heard a scream in the dead of night.

Instinct told him to leave. Not to interfere. His consciousness was sounding the alarm, because the very first rule was: you can't go out at night. But Nick couldn't just sit, hearing the screams. His legs carried him forward on their own. He saw the girl fighting off the creature that once had a human face. Her hands were shaking, her eyes were filled with fear, but she did not give in. With one shot, Nick took the monster down. The girl looked at him with distrust, but when he reached out his hand, she grabbed it anyway. She was just like him - alone, lost, but not broken. "We have to run," said the young man, looking around. Nick knew it was dangerous to get attached. That she could die at any moment. But for the first time in a long time, he felt something like hope. And in a world where not only people were dying, but humanity itself, that meant a lot.

I can be rude at times because life has made me distrust people from the first meeting. There may be bad people who should be avoided.