I had my first true interaction with another survivor today. I had just awoken on the beach at the edge of a major city. I'm not sure how I got there or what is going on with the locals, but they look hungry so I stayed clear. I saw what appeared to be a firehouse and decided to see if there were any supplies to scavenge inside. I go inside and climb all the way up to the roof to no avail. It was picked clean. I was ready to get out of town when a man came up behind me and asked me what I was doing. I was startled and, having no weapons, just put my hands on my head and told him I was trying to find a weapon to defend myself with. He told me to calm down and assured me he wasn't going to kill me. He told me we were in Cherno and asked me to follow him. Seeing little else in the way of options, I complied. He led me to some military tents at the edge of the town and asked me if I could give him a transfusion. I told him I was no medic, but he walked me through the steps (it's way easier than they made it look on the T.V. shows I used to watch before...nevermind) and I successfully patched him up. I stocked up on medical supplies and as we were leaving he found a weapon I could have, but we would need to find some ammo for it elsewhere. I thanked him and we scrounged around a few more houses in town trying, in vein, to find some ammo and we somehow got split up and I couldn't find him again. I checked a few more houses and found one magazine of ammo for my AKM and a few other useful supplies like matches and an axe. I felt I had enough to survive for a few days in the woods without having to venture back into town and decided I should head out. It seems I decided a few minutes too late. As I was reaching the edge of town bullets rittled the ground at my feet. I sprinted to the nearest cover I could see and attemped to locate where the shots were coming from. My intention was to run, but I didn't know where to go. More rounds zipped past me. One found its mark, but I saw the attacker. I returned fire with my AKM and he retreated around the corner of a building. With 20 rounds left in my 30 round magazine and blood spurting from my chest, I charged. I wasn't going down without a fight. I strafed around the corner and saw my assailant in the prone. I don't think he was expecting me. I emptied my magazine firing at him; he did the same to me. We both stopped firing. I was out of ammo. He was unconscious. I bandaged myself and went to see if I could stop his bleeding. I didn't know his story and I didn't want to leave him to those things in the city. When I got to his body he was already dead. He had the look of a bandit though so I didn't feel as bad knowing that he couldn't kill the stranger in the city who found a rifle for me and essentially saved my life.
