"There you all are!" Daryl exclaimed as Isaac, along with the others, entered the leader's tent. Aside from a few chairs and a table covered with the map of Galt, there was nothing special here—not even crates with supplies.

Isaac shrugged. "Tyler called for us, so we came."

"We all asked for you, but whatever—semantics." Daryl waved a hand dismissively, then gestured for them to come closer. "First, let me formally introduce you to Regina here. I don't think you or James have had the chance to meet her."

"They didn't," the short woman confirmed, stepping forward and extending her hand toward James. "Heard a lot about you from Tyler."

The man accepted it right away, grinning. "All good things, I hope."

Cooper huffed, throwing a glance at the British leader standing in the corner. To no one's surprise, he was also smiling widely, as if he had been waiting his entire life to see this interaction. And who knew, maybe he had.

"Among other things…" she admitted after a brief pause. "But you did a great job clearing the schools, so I will try to ignore the more questionable things I have heard about you."

"Ah! But that was mostly bossman here," James said, looking at Isaac. "If not for him, the Quarantine Sites would still be standing."

Cooper followed his gaze. "So I have heard," she muttered. Then she extended her hand again. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Walker."

Isaac nodded, accepting the handshake. "Likewise." Once they separated, he continued. "So why are we really here? We all know that what you told the public was nonsense."

"Straight to the business, hmm?" Cooper chuckled lightly. "I think we will get along just fine. Come, you two, let's take a seat. We will explain everything."

And so they did; soon, everyone claimed one of the chairs scattered around the table. Only Marie stayed back, who, after exchanging a few hushed words with Daryl, stepped out of the tent. Though not without shooting Isaac and James a quick smile.

Right, they already talked…

"All right then!" Tyler clapped his hands once everyone was settled. "As you already know, a small part of Regina's speech was a hoax. Not a full one, though! My group's mission will still be to make contact with other survivors, but that's not all."

"Correct," Cooper took over. "Overall, the situation is much more complicated. Unfortunately, we are working with incomplete information, thus the side mission of finding more survivors in Sacramento."

Isaac crossed his arms, and beside him, James mirrored the motion—except the man, as always, had no filter on his mouth.

"That much we already got from what Ari told us, lady," he said. "Get to the point… please."

On the other side of the table, Tyler snorted while Cooper pinched her nose.

"There are two of them now," she muttered, looking up. "Before communication and power went out, I was almost in constant contact with an old acquaintance of mine from Sacramento. The situation there was bad, much worse than here, but she still managed to get a small group going. Then, about an hour before dusk, I got my final call from her. "

Cooper's expression darkened. "She was panicking, screaming something about a crimson fog overtaking the city. I tried asking what she meant by that, but anything I said went ignored. A few seconds later, the call cut off, and no matter how many times I tried calling back, nobody answered."

Isaac hummed, even as his blood ignited, the drum of a familiar song beginning to echo in his veins. "You want us to check what's really going on there. And if possible, deal with it," he stated. "That's why you're asking us and not someone weaker."

Cooper nodded. "Yes to the first, maybe to the second... I didn't have the displeasure of experiencing a Quarantine Site, but Daryl did his best to describe it to me. There might be a connection between that and what's happening in Sacramento. Sending our strongest is the best way to find out."

And the most dangerous, he added internally, not even thinking of disagreeing. His curiosity was piqued, and now that he knew about this, nothing could stop him from going. Still, a certain memory stopped him from agreeing right away.

The first place in the ranking—the person who died yesterday. There was a good chance their death was connected to this crimson fog. Sure, it was quite the reach, but he couldn't discard that possibility. To do so would be stupid.

This is getting complicated…

"So what's the plan really?" James asked when the silence stretched for too long. "We just hop in a car and head out on our merry way?"

That earned a light grimace from Cooper. "Like I said, we don't have much to go off. Just the mention of the mist, the possible danger it brings, and a possible location of my acquaintance. Other than that, you would be going in almost blind. That's why finding other survivors might be essential."

James scoffed. "Still sounds like a suicide mission if we make one wrong decision."

"Oh, come on, mate!" Tyler rejoined the conversation. "It will be fine. At best, we deal with the problem. And at worst, we just turn around after scouting the area. What do you say?"

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"I'm in," Isaac cut in, and all eyes turned to him. "But I want all the details upfront. Who's going? How many of us? Where exactly are we headed? That kind of thing."

"Boss?"

Isaac glanced at James and shrugged. "Remember what we talked about before coming here?"

The man snorted. "Right…" He turned to the three leaders. "Fine, I will go too."

"Thank God." Tyler slumped in his chair. "For a moment there, I thought I would be going alone."

That can't be right. Isaac frowned. "You're saying you didn't ask anyone else aside from us and Marie? Come on now…"

"Oh, we asked. Over twenty people even. Only none of them agreed to come," Cooper explained. "And honestly, we can't even blame them. As James said, this mission could be one wrong step away from a certain death. Nobody really wants to risk that."

Maybe that's for the best. Less people equals less to worry about, he reasoned in his mind.

Then there was Elaine. With what he learned here, he had mixed feelings about vouching for her. Level four was pretty decent for a normal Host, but depending on how dangerous this 'crimson fog' was, that might not be enough.

He shook his head and asked instead, "When do we move out?"

"Two hours, give or take," Tyler answered, making a so-so gesture. "We still want to ask a couple more people, and then there are the preparations to take care of. Can't go on a trip like that half-arsed. We do have something for you two to do in the meantime if you don't mind."

Isaac raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"The Contamination barrier, kid," Daryl said. "With no news from the outside world, we wanted to send someone to the border. You know, to check things out. Maybe we will be lucky, and someone is waiting there."

James shrugged. "I'm down for a quick ride. Isaac?"

"Sure, why not." Isaac turned his eyes back to Daryl. "We will get a car, right? I know it should be only a few miles south, but still…"

The older man nodded. "Not a problem. We got enough working yesterday."

"That's what I like to hear!" James grinned. "Just so you know, I'm driving."

Isaac waved him off. "Yeah, whatever. Be my guest. I can take care of the stragglers along the way."

"Great!" Tyler exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "Come on then, lads. I will get you the keys and lead you there."

Cooper cleared her throat. "You and Mr. Harmon can go. Daryl and I would like a word with Mr. Walker before that."

Tyler snapped his fingers. "Right! Now I remember. Just tell him where to find us later."

"We will. Now go," Cooper said, shooing the two men out.

Meanwhile, Isaac watched it all from his seat. Once only the three of them were left in the tent, he crossed his arms and glanced at Daryl.

"What's this about?"

The older man grimaced. "Elaine Blake."

Oh… He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "She already asked you?"

Cooper snorted. "Girl practically barged into our tent the moment the meeting outside ended. She's got fire in her, but what she asked for…" The woman shook her head. "With her level and Tyler's, it might be one weak link too many."

"But she told us you would vouch for her," Daryl added. "So here we are. As the strongest here, your word matters, Isaac. What do you think?"

"Did she tell you why she wants to go?" he asked, trying to buy himself some time.

Cooper nodded. "Something about finding her family in Sacramento. Ring any bells?"

Isaac shook his head. As far as he knew, the last of Elaine's family died with the old man. He could be wrong, though. Maybe she had some distant relatives.

What to do… What to do…

Even if he had promised Elaine to vouch for her, that was before he knew the details of their trip to Sacramento. Bringing her might end up in a disaster—or not. It really depended.

Damn it. He looked up. "Did you refuse her right away?"

"Tyler didn't. Which isn't a surprise. For him, her drive matters more than her level," Daryl answered. "Regina is mostly against it while I'm still on the fence. Thus why we are asking you. Are you vouching for her or not? Just so you know, kid, if anything happens to her, you will have to live with it."

Isaac squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled. "Let her go."

There was a chance—not a small one—that he would regret this decision. But in the end, this was a better alternative to Elaine just running off on her own. Besides, she owed him now. Maybe that would be enough to keep her in check once they were out there, fighting the Wretched.

Either way, he had to make sure that she understood what coming with them meant.

And if she stepped out of the line and put all their lives at risk? Well, then any remaining goodwill he had left for her would be gone.

"Very well," Daryl said, pulling him back to reality. "Come on then. I will take you to the car."

Isaac nodded, standing up and following the man toward the tent's exit. Yet before he could step out, Cooper's voice stopped him.

"Walker! I hope you know what you're doing."

"Me too," he muttered and left the tent.

Blood Dagger has advanced a tier.

Isaac furrowed his brow, tearing his gaze away from the passing scenery outside the car window.

Huh… Right, I forgot it advanced to the next grade during my last level-up. I'm stupid.

He had been throwing Blood Dagger after dagger as he and James drove down south, and despite their increased efficiency and faster summoning, he had forgotten all about that. The whole unlocking of his Legacy had overshadowed everything else.

Speaking of… there was another skill that advanced, if I'm not wrong. Pain Tolerance?

Just like that, the skill's description appeared before him.

[Pain Resistance | Grade: Normal | Tier I] Passive ability that increases your resistance and tolerance to pain.

So, I should feel less pain now, right? Isaac mused and pinched his arm. Doesn't feel any different. Maybe I need to cut myself to check that properly?

He shook his head. Just as he had decided in the past, self-harm was not the way to test his skills. His curiosity could wait until he got injured again—which he definitely would. Staying in one piece for too long just wasn't like him nowadays.

I should probably work on that. He stifled a snort, dismissing the skill's description. Just in time, too, as right then, James reached out and shook his shoulder.

"Hey, look."

Isaac hummed and looked up, sweeping past the cracked road and the wrecked cars lining its sides. Finally, the edge of the Contamination Zone came into view, and with it, all that was beyond it.

"Shit…"

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