"Catch!"

Isaac turned around at the shout, just in time to snag the bottle of water Marie had tossed his way. Across the tent, James cursed as his bottle slipped through his fingers and flew somewhere behind him.

"Thanks." He nodded, ignoring the older man's weird gymnastics as he searched for the fallen water. "Everything good outside? They are being pretty loud."

Marie shrugged as she dropped on her own mattress in the corner. "Still getting ready to move out. I'm honestly surprised they got so many volunteers to fight during nighttime. You would think they are at least a bit scared."

"They probably are," Isaac said, lying down and closing his eyes. "But fear can be a good motivator too."

"Speaking from experience?"

He shook his head lightly. "Not really. Just something someone I used to know said to me a few times."

"Ah…" Marie muttered. "I guess—"

"There you are!" James exclaimed for no reason.

Isaac's eyes snapped open to the sight of the older man holding the bottle of water up in triumph. He shared a look with Marie, and they both rolled their eyes. At this point, they were growing used to the antics of their third teammate.

"Anyway, what were we talking about?" James asked, looking between the two of them.

"Nothing really," Marie answered. "Just the group going out at night."

The man snapped his fingers. "Oh! You two think they will actually get anything done? I mean, we talked with Daryl, and their plan doesn't sound that bad, but still… feels a bit too risky if you ask me."

Isaac gave a thoughtful hum. While he doubted the about hundred or so people would achieve much in the next few hours, as long as they cleared out the few remaining streets, it should be enough. With the few cars they managed to get working, light also shouldn't be a problem, so there was always that. Besides, Tyler and Mrs. Cooper themselves planned to join this little expedition.

He said as much to the other two.

"Sounds reasonable," Marie agreed. "The rest can be dealt with in the morning. Maybe by noon, the city will be cleared for the most part."

"Not that there is much of it left," James noted.

They all grimaced.

Their journey back to the camp alone showed just how much Galt suffered from the short earthquake. At least every second building now lay in ruins, while the streets were either cracked beyond recognition or covered in enough debris that no car would be able to pass through. That was yet another challenge for the night operation…

"So…" James spoke, breaking the silence. "I don't want to bring down the mood even more, but we gotta talk about the remaining school. It's still standing, after all. Boss?"

Isaac sighed. "The plan stays the same. We rest and hit it first thing in the morning. Marie, you sure you can go in now?"

The woman nodded. "Either this Quarantine is weaker, or my new skill and the next phase of the Virus are enough to block it."

"Then there you have it," he said, looking back at James. "Quick in and out, and we're done. Afterward? We will see…"

James gave a halfhearted salute before flopping onto his mattress. "Hopefully, we move on to the next town and finish this damned task before the timer runs out. I need to get to LA no matter what."

"You will," Isaac tried to reassure.

"Yeah…" the other man muttered. "And what about you two? Boss, you said you have nothing holding you here. You sure? Really no one you want to find?"

For a brief moment, Elaine's face appeared in his mind, but he shook it out, both literally and figuratively.

"No," he said. "No one. I'm an orphan, and my last caretaker died a few months ago."

"Ah… Sorry to hear that… And you, Ari?"

A bit curious, Isaac glanced toward the only woman in their group. She rolled on her mattress, leaving only her back visible to them. For a moment, it seemed like this was it for the conversation, but just then, her soft whisper filled the tent.

"My parents live in Sacramento. But… but I haven't talked to them in over four years now. Ever since my grandma died, really. No idea if I even want to search for them once we're done here…"

For a moment, silence claimed the tent.

"Right… That's…" James trailed off like he had no idea what to say to that. However, it didn't take him long to recover. "Say! How's everyone's contribution ranking? I'm already fifty-fourth."

Isaac stifled a snort. Leave it to you to make the most awkward subject change ever.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Still, it must have worked, as Marie also answered. "Sixty-first."

James whistled. "I say we ain't doing half bad. If there are four or five thousand survivors in Galt alone, there must be way more in Sacramento and the surrounding areas. And yet, the three of us are still in the top hundred. Boss, you're second, right?"

Isaac nodded even as he pulled up the counter for the second task. He was about to comment when his gaze fell on his current rank.

"Huh…"

Current progress: 26% | Your contribution ranking: 1st | Time left: 50h:54m:11s

"I'm first," he muttered, still not believing what he was seeing.

That got the other two to sit up, their eyes opened wide. "Hold up a second." James waved his hands. "Weren't you still second the last you checked?" Isaac nodded again. "But you haven't killed anything since then…"

"The first place died," Marie stated, saying what everyone in the tent thought. "But how?! Even if they weren't a Pioneer, they still should be around level seven, maybe higher, with all those Wretched killed. That…" She shook her head. "Just what did they do?"

Silence.

"My best guess?" Isaac spoke up. "They pushed too hard and finally bit off more than they could chew. Refused to rest. Maybe ran out of Viron? The possibilities are almost endless."

"Or someone killed them," James chimed in, raising an eyebrow at the look he got from Marie.

"What? Don't tell me I am the only one thinking about it. Have you ever seen any apocalypse movie? Sure, most people will work together to survive, but some will always try to use the end of the world to their advantage. First place person probably isn't even the only one to go out like that—just the only one we've noticed."

Marie grimaced. "Great. Now, every time I go up in rank, I will wonder if I climbed naturally or if someone took out the person above me."

James shrugged. "Sorry, Ari, but that's the truth. Can't deny it."

"It's a warning," Isaac said quietly. "Be careful around people you don't know, and even then, keep your eyes open. We got lucky in Galt, but that won't last. Bad apples are everywhere. At least as humans can't absorb the Viruses of the people we killed. It would be a bloodbath otherwise."

James' and Marie's attention instantly snapped to him.

"What?" the former asked. "What do you mean by that? Absorbing?"

Isaac let out a long breath. Until now, he had left out this little piece of information from every conversation. Even Daryl didn't know about the possibility of absorbing other Hosts. It seemed like it was time to change that.

And so, he quickly explained what the Interface told him after killing the Host inside the Pioneer Trial.

"You're right," Marie said once he finished. "It would be a bloodbath if not for those few conditions. Maybe it still will be, if killing others can earn you a level…"

"Damn," James muttered, looking at something only he could see. "And those sires again… I didn't ask anybody about this before, but what do you have listed there? I have an Overlord Conductor. It was mentioned in the pamphlet."

"Overlord Broadcast for me," Marie said.

"And I have Overlord Chaos," Issac finished up the count. "Hmm. I kinda expected every human to have the same sire. Weird…"

"I just want to know who or what these Overlords are." Marie crossed her arms. "We have them, the Interface, and this Overseer. How are they all related?"

"Doubt we will find out anytime soon, so don't worry about it too much," Isaac said, closing his eyes once more. "Get some sleep. We have another busy day ahead of us."

"Roger that, Captain," James exclaimed. "Lights out in ten."

Isaac chuckled as he turned on his side. With all the fighting that he did today, it didn't take long for sleep to take him.

"You good there, man?" James asked, bumping Isaac's shoulder as they stopped in front of the Middle School. "You look pretty bored."

Isaac frowned, averting his gaze from the large building. "You could say I'm not exactly thrilled about killing more monsters that can barely fight back, especially children. Honestly, I haven't really struggled all that much since the Pioneer trial ended."

James arched an eyebrow. "You sure you ain't suicidal? Most would be happy to be strong enough not to worry about the Wretched."

"It's not that." He sighed. "I just hoped for more of a challenge. You know what I mean?" Seeing the older man's confused expression, Isaac shook his head. "Never mind. Ignore me. Let's get this over with."

"Aye, aye!"

Just then, Marie joined them. "Can somebody tell me again why we brought those people with us?" she asked, subtly gesturing to the group of over thirty adults standing in the distance.

"Closure, Ari. Closure," James chided. "Honestly, how am I the only one here who gets that?"

"It's not that I don't understand the need for closure. I just don't get how they're finding it by being here," Marie muttered, her shoulders slumping. "They aren't going inside with us. They won't be fighting anything. And they won't even get to see their kids. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near this place if it were me."

Isaac hummed. "Maybe it's the opposite for them? Maybe they feel like being here is the only thing they can do at this point?"

"When you put it like that…" she muttered, trailing off. "Come on, guys. Let's finish this quick and get the hell out of here. I'm feeling sick again."

"As the lady wishes." James gave a dramatic bow. "Boss?"

Isaac summoned Root of Blood to his hand and drew from Bloodbank. Two long daggers, dripping with fresh crimson liquid, manifested at his side. With a flick of his wrist, they floated toward his teammates, who grasped them without hesitation.

"Damn, this feels weird," James commented as he flipped the dagger in his gray metallic hands. "It sits well but…"

"Feels like I'm trying to hold air," Marie finished.

Isaac shrugged. To him, all his daggers always felt like a normal weapon. Maybe not on the level of the Root, but quite close.

"Remember, it's only a test. Use them as an off-hand. Now, follow me."

With that, the three of them stepped into the second Quarantine Site of Galt. Distant screeches filled their ears the moment they pushed the entrance doors apart. Yet, just like in the elementary school, there were no Wretched in sight for now.

"James."

"On it."

The older man transformed his right hand into a blade and, without hesitation, plunged it into the small window of the classroom door next to him. Glass shattered, its falling pieces echoing through the entire hallway they found themselves in.

Before long, the hidden horde's wails intensified as the entire building trembled from the sudden movement all across it. Wretched spilled out of the classrooms and other nooks and crannies. Their yellow eyes fell on the trio, but unlike the last time, now the monsters acted right away.

They turned tail and bolted toward the stairs.

"That didn't happen last time, right?" Marie asked, her head tilted in confusion.

Isaac smiled wryly. "No. Let's go…"

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