“Come on, sit down,” Daryl said with a grin, motioning to the couches. “We got a lot to talk about. But first, where’s your team?”

  Isaac shrugged as he dropped onto the soft cushions. “Somewhere in the camp. Went to clean up and find something to eat.”

  “Could have done that here, ya know? I got a bathroom and a kitchen in my house,” Daryl countered. “I think they just didn’t want to talk to the little old me and dumped all the responsibility on you, kid.”

  “Maybe. Not like I particularly care.”

  “Of course you don’t,” the older man muttered. “But whatever. I’m sure they will show sooner or later. Or, like the good leader you apparently are, you can pass along everything I tell you to them.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Daryl narrowed his eyes at him before sighing. “Right… I would thank you again for clearing out the school, but I’m pretty sure you don’t want that, so let’s move on to another subject. Besides, once Mia gets here, you will have your hands full anyway.”

  Isaac’s eyes widened a bit. Even if Mrs. West was the less emotional one of the couple, she was also quite unpredictable. He could expect another hug, that was certain, but he wouldn’t put it past the woman to come up with something more to thank all three of them. If she didn’t cause a scene, it would be a miracle.

  We better hurry up. He cleared his throat. “What do you have for me?”

  Daryl chuckled. “Less than you probably expect. You three were only gone for an hour, after all… That said, Tyler and I are putting our plans into motion. I’m sure you have noticed that a lot of people are missing from the camp.”

  Isaac nodded. “Yeah. We even passed a few smaller groups.”

  “Their task is to clean up the rest of this part of the city,” Daryl explained, pointing to the large green circle on the map. It encompassed the entire northern suburbs—which made up about a third of the entire city.

  “Not much is left from what I see,” Isaac commented, noting all the crossed-out houses in that area. “If they hurry, it should be done in an hour.”

  Daryl nodded. “That’s the plan, though two hours is a more realistic timeline. We want everyone to stay safe. Besides, most of the teams you saw are heading here,” he said, pointing to the middle of the city. “They will meet up with Tyler’s growing group and go from there.”

  Isaac hummed as he located his own home on the map. His gaze then flicked to another building already crossed with a red mark. “The gun store’s already looted?”

  “Among others. Tyler might have fewer people with him, but they sure as hell ain’t lacking weapons at this point. I would even say they have more than us. That’s why those willing to fight are going there in the first place.”

  Not bad for a bit over an hour, he thought. Maybe we can really clean up Galt before tomorrow.

  Then again, it was already four in the evening. They had maybe another four or five hours before it got completely dark. Some might be willing to fight even then, but most would have to rest after a long day like this.

  Isaac included.

  He took a deep breath. “Where do you need me and the others? Marie and James might not be on my level, but they can easily take on over a dozen Wretched on their own. Put them in a team, and that number doubles.”

  Daryl raised his hands. “Not so fast, kid. There’s other stuff we have to talk about first. Remember what I promised?”

  Isaac’s eyebrows rose a bit. “You found her already?”

  “Not a hard task when she was here even before you. I just had to ask a few people, and that’s it,” the man explained as he stood up from the couch. “Give me a second.” With that, he walked to the entrance to the corridor and leaned out. “Carl! Can you please ask Ms. Blake to join us?”

  A muffled shout answered that call, and Daryl nodded before returning to his seat. “Here we go,” he said, grinning at Isaac. “One Miss Elaine Blake will be here in a moment. You must be thrilled to have a friend like me, eh?”

  “I guess. Thanks,” Isaac muttered. “Though, you could have just told me where to find her. I bet she will be delighted to find out you called her just to see me…”

  Daryl chuckled. “It will be fine. I swear you must be exaggerating how bad things are between you two.”

  “I wish…”

  “Well!” The man clapped his hands. “No better time than now to start fresh. The world is ending, and monsters are walking on the streets. What’s the point of holding onto old grudges?”

  Isaac subtly rolled his eyes. If it were that simple, every conflict would be solved in hours—if not minutes. Unfortunately, that wasn’t how the real world worked. Or how people worked.

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  “Anyway…” Daryl said, probably noticing Isaac’s reluctance. “Before Ms. Blake arrives, tell me how is your rank looking? With how many Wretched you three took down, you all should be somewhat high.”

  Huh.

  Isaac blinked. He had forgotten about the ranking system, thanks to everything that had been going on.

  Let’s see.

  Current progress: 21% | Your contribution ranking: 2nd | Time left: 55h:35m:17s

  “Oh…” he muttered, looking up. “I’m second.”

  Daryl’s eyebrows shot up. “Well… I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. To be honest, I’m more curious about what the person in the first place had to do to still stay higher than you. How many did you kill alone already? Half a thousand? More?”

  “Doubt it’s that many already.” Isaac shook his head. “At best, maybe around three hundred. And I’m really not surprised that someone's ahead of me. Assuming they aren’t another Pioneer, they had a head start. The Interface counts all Wretched killed from Phase One, too. I was gone for most of that.”

  Daryl pursed his lips. “Fair enough. I’m sure you will pass them soon anyway. Unless you plan to procrastinate a bit?”

  Isaac snorted. “Nah. Once we are done he—“

  “Sir,” a young voice cut him off as a young man appeared in the doorway. “I brought Ms. Blake.”

  Daryl stood up and approached the newcomer. “Thanks, Carl. Come on, let’s allow the lady inside while we search for my wife.” The older man then cast a glance over his shoulder and shot a wink at Isaac. “Good luck, kid.”

  In turn, Isaac slumped in his seat and waited for the inevitable to happen. Not that he had any right to complain. He asked for this.

  “You!”

  He looked up at the accusing hiss, and here she was, Elaine Blake in all her glory.

  Sure, she didn’t look as well put together as she always did, but it still didn’t take away much from her natural appearance. Long, wavy black hair framed her delicate features, and even now, disheveled and irritated, she was still a beautiful woman only a few years older than him.

  Now, if only she could get rid of that permanent scowl…

  Isaac sighed. “Elaine. I would say it’s good to see you, but you look as bitter as ever. Maybe try smiling once in a while, hmm?”

  The woman crossed her arms. “Apparently, you’re the one who wanted me here, so don’t expect me to be nice all of the sudden. What do you want, Isaac?”

  He exhaled, pushing back his already growing irritation. “To check up on you? Like it or not, the old man would have wanted us to at least help each other in times like these.”

  Elaine scoffed. “Oh, come on! You expect me to believe that crap? Grandpa is gone, Isaac. You don’t need to pretend we mean anything to each other. So get to it already. Laugh at me! Tell me that you finally won, Mr. Pioneer.”

  Isaac jumped to his feet, his eyes narrowing. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Why would I do that?!”

  “Please! Like you don’t know.” Her voice was sharp, biting. “You were nothing before this entire Breakout! Just drifting, like some drone without a purpose.” She shook her head. “But now? Now I’ve lost everything while you’re one of the six. The Pioneer. Galt’s strongest. How?! Is this what Grandpa somehow saw in you? Why did he choose to take you in?”

  By the end of her rant, Elaine dropped on the couch next to her, burying her face in her hands. “It’s not fair,” she muttered. “It’s just so un-fucking fair…”

  Isaac also sank back into his seat, shutting his eyes for a moment and counting to ten in his head. She wasn’t wrong. He was almost nothing before all this. And yet, the old man still had taken him in—despite already having a granddaughter who had lost her parents not that long before.

  That had always been the root of the issue, hadn’t it? Why they could never get along.

  Elaine wanted the only family she had left in Galt to be by her side. Isaac, meanwhile, didn’t want to give up on one of the only adults who ever cared for him. The old man had done his best to mediate, but not even he had the power to control two stubborn children.

  He rubbed his brow and looked at Elaine again. “Feeling better now?”

  She shrugged.

  “Then I don’t know what you want me to say. If you expect an apology for ‘taking the old man away from you,’ you’re not getting one. But… maybe it’s finally time to move on. Go our separate ways. I stop bothering you. You stop bothering me.”

  Elaine raised her head, wiping the few stray tears from her eyes. “Is that what you want? Really? After all the shit we gave each other?”

  Isaac shrugged weakly. “Got any better ideas? Because I don’t. And to be honest, I’m so done with this shit. We have more important things to focus on now. The world is ending, if you haven’t noticed.”

  She let out a short, bitter laugh. “Right…”

  Nobody spoke after that for quite some time. For the first time in a while, they managed to exist in the same room without jumping at each other’s throats. That was more progress than they had made since they first met. A miracle, or maybe a sign that things really were changing.

  “I…” Elaine broke the silence as she stood up. “You are right. Grandpa would hate it if we just abandoned each other during the end of the world. But I… I don’t know what I want to do yet. I need some time to think. Until then, I will stay away.”

  Isaac nodded. “So be it. And Elaine… despite everything, I’m glad you are alive.”

  The woman paused just next to the entrance to the corridor, her voice quiet but firm. “Likewise, Isaac. Likewise…”

  And just like that, she was gone.

  He groaned.

  What a mess…

  Isaac cut sideways, cleaving through two Wretched blocking his path. A salvo of five Blood Daggers followed, bringing down the ones coming at him from the sides. Once they fell, he scanned the area.

  Left. Right.

  Nothing.

  Another street cleaned up. He had lost count which one it was at this point. It was definitely in double digits now, probably above twenty. Maybe someone else in his group was keeping track.

  He turned to the only person in his new team that he recognized. “James, tell the others to take a break or start on the houses. I need at least a five.”

  The older man, who had also just finished his final Wretched, threw him a mock salute. “You got it, boss!”

  Just like that, James turned on his heel and walked to the group of over twenty trailing behind them. They weren’t the strongest bunch, but they did their part—picking off stragglers and helping clear buildings. Without them, they wouldn’t have accomplished half as much as they did in the last hour and a half.

  Now, though, it’s time for you.

  Virus advancement. Time to completion: 2 minutes, 23 seconds.

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