There were noises somewhere near Isaak. He felt dizzy and didn't remember where he was. He couldn't recognize the voices that sounded in the distance. His eyes started opening slowly, it was dark and he thought he was trapped in a small place as his body felt restrained. But when Isaak opened his eyes, he noticed the stars in the sky. The only thing that his dizzy mind couldn't comprehend, was the feeling of being trapped. That was until his eyes darted down to see his hands and ankles tied up.  

"Look, the guy was all alone and I don't think he has eaten anything in some time. It would be so cruel to leave him there" Duncan said but it wasn't directed to Isaak, though. He was talking to a tall blonde woman that looked at him sternly. Isaak didn't have a really good sight of them from where he was, aka the back part of a van. But he also distinguished a man and a short teenager near the other two. He figured out that those were Duncan's friends, the ones he told him about at the roof.

"I don't want to bother or anything. But...Why am I tied up?" Isaak asked cautiously, If the blonde woman was the Sargent that Duncan told him about, he didn't want to piss her off. "You could be dangerous" the man with a dirty uniform stated. 

The blonde boy's eyes widened as he looked to the boy that had saved him earlier that day. Or maybe it wasn't the same day, he didn't know how much time he had been out, to be fair. Duncan sighed and walked towards him with a knife in his hand. It shone even with the soft light of the sky. Isaak backed away all he could until his back hit the vehicle.

"I'm not going to kill you, dude" The black-haired said cutting the ropes. Isaak let out an embarrassed "oh". You couldn't blame him, after seeing the way the guy had killed rottens you could expect lots of things. He rubbed his wrists and stood up too quickly. He felt too weak to stand on his own, one of his arms held his body up before he could fall. It was logical, he had passed out hours ago and he couldn't remember when was the last time he ate properly. Not to mention that he had always been anemic.

"Here, have some Reese's" The blonde woman said to Isaak, she was less alert now. "I'm Victoria Queens. These are Joshua, Maddison, and Duncan, but you already knew that one" The black-haired threw a peace sign before sitting down at the edge of the truck bed. 

Isaak introduced himself before starting eating the sweets under everyone's gaze. It wasn't difficult to know that the rest of the group didn't trust the blonde boy. They kept staring and judging the guy while he had the first bunch of calories after weeks. Victoria saw the blood-stained cloth on the boy's arm and shot a look towards Duncan before signaling him to follow her.

"He has a wound; it could be a bite" she was practically scolding Duncan, who shook his head at her comment. "I'm quite sure it isn't, just look at the kind of blood, it's normal. I know you think there's something off with him, but he can't even use a gun, Vic" Duncan said scoffing slightly. 

From not too far away they heard Maddison threatening the new guy. Victoria turned around and walked towards them, telling Mads that the blonde boy didn't seem to be that dangerous. Isaak sighed in relief when the red-haired put the knife down, away from his face. He thanked the older woman for the help.

"Duncan told us that you don't have anyone out here. Is that true?" Victoria asked and Isaak nodded "Well, I guess you can come with us. But the moment that you do something that we don't like, you'll be alone, rottens food."

Isaac raised his hands in a peace gesture. The blonde woman nodded and told the rest of her team to get some things to start a fire and cook the meat that they had found. They found food when the group parted because of the rottens. While Duncan was with the Russian boy, Maddison had spotted a shop that had its lights on. This meant that if there was food it could be well conserved in some freezers. Mads was in charge to get the food; Victoria decided to look for medical supplies and some ammunition; Josh was wandering around in case Duncan came back.

Everything was calm until the ex-fireman heard some shots. At first, he thought that it wouldn't be the black-haired guy, as he could perfectly kill a rotten with one single bullet, no need to waste. But when he saw a numerous group of rottens, he doubted his first thought. When the three of the group made their way between the rottens to get to the van circled by zombies, they found their friend inside. What surprised them all was that he wasn't alone.

"How long I had been passed out?" Isaak asked Duncan. They were all around the fire that Maddison had started a few minutes ago. Isaak had offered himself to cook the meat. He always liked to help with the cooking in summer camps. "About three hours, man" The black-haired said, " I thought I was gonna have to give you 'peace'."

The blonde looked at him confused at the use of the word. Joshua, who sat in front of them, explained to him that "giving peace to someone" meant to shoot them in the head. It was meant to stop them from turning into rottens or to kill a zombie. Isaak was glad that he hadn't got any peace that day.

"You didn't know what peace was, and you don't know how to use a gun? How the fuck?" the redhaired girl asked as she took a rough bite of her dinner. Isaac blinked at her before answering. What a girl. "Well, I've spent these months of apocalypse underground and it isn't my fault that all Americans have something for shooting" the blonde said grabbing a piece of meat "I get that Victoria and Joshua know how to shoot but, you two?"

Maddison shrugged accepting the meat that the new guy gave her. Duncan started talking about how he used to hunt with his dad when they needed good food. Their house was in the mountains near the town, and they lived thanks to the small orchard that his father took care of. Along with the things they hunted and the really few supplies they bought at the nearest store.

"Tell us some more about you Isaac" Victoria requested, eating her food. Isaak swallowed his dinner before answering "I got to the town when Russia went on lockdown. My mother and I lived in one of the small houses near the river. My mom owned the boutique of the city. She was working when the rottens appeared. I haven't seen her since then"

The rest nodded understanding. Everyone had lost their families or friends when it all started. Some saw it happen, others weren't able to be there. And, to be honest, no one knew which situation was worse to face. Seeing your loved ones turning into monsters and having to kill them before they kill you. Or living with the doubt, were they alive? Were they dead? Would their presence change anything if they were there? It was hard to choose the best option.

After that there was silence. They ate their "dinner" slowly, enjoying the food. Something else that wasn't easy, having food. Yes, the group had found a good amount of snacks and chocolate. But the chances of losing it all in a fight against rottens or being robbed by other survivors were high. In this world, you had to be aware of everything and not trust easily. Isaak was lucky, he had come across a nice team. He may have been threatened by a fifteen years old, but that threat could have ended in death if he had found someone else instead.

"Okay, guys. We've got food, and I found some ammunition back in town. Tomorrow we'll gather for gasoline" Victoria said standing up. She gave the blonde boy a look and pointed at his arm,  covered with a bloody cloth "Isaak, you should get that checked"

 The blonde shook his head, reassuring her that he was okay and that he had gotten that from a fence. The woman gave him a stern look as she told Duncan to check it out while the rest prepared the van to sleep in it. Isaac sighed looking up to the sky. He didn't remember the last time he saw the stars glowing above his head, it was beautiful. The fresh breeze was comforting even if the situation wasn't really enthusiastic.

The black-haired boy signaled Isaac to sit at the edge of the trunk. Against his will, the blonde sat there while Duncan looked for the first aid kit that Victoria had found. When the shorter boy approached Isaac, this one looked to his side, not wanting to see his wounds. Duncan unwrapped the cloth and stopped to check what was it. He thought that he would find a large scratch along the Russian boy's forearm. But he saw small cuts all over it, they didn't look like they were made by a fence, not at all.

"You didn't get hurt with a fence" Duncan spoke up, looking at all the wounds scattered under the red blood. "I did it with a piece of one..." Isaac said unbothered. He hissed when the boy in front of him started cleaning up the cuts. It stung, it wasn't really painful but it was overly annoying. Duncan kept cleaning over the damaged arm without saying a word. It wasn't until he had wrapped up the other's arm when he sat next to him ready to talk.

"So...you tried to kill yourself, eh?" Duncan said, he wasn't surprised by that. Also, he wasn't the kind of guy that knew how to be gentle with words. He did the same as he did with his gun, shoot his shot without stopping to think. Isaac chuckled bitterly. He shook his head, bringing his hand to his forearm.

"If I wanted to die, I would have done it. I just wanted to feel something, I guess" Isaac explained like it wasn't a big deal, his voice was full of tiredness and Duncan listened carefully "But it actually almost got me killed."

"You have some bad shit, don't you?" Duncan asked raising an eyebrow with a chuckle, he intended to lighten up the mood. Isaak nodded before answering him properly.

"Don't we all?"

(In the apocalypse people don't judge why you don't want to live. In the apocalypse, it doesn't matter what were you in the past only what will you be tomorrow, human or zombie? I'd like to only be a dead normal human, but I guess I'm too coward to do that. So I'll just try to not be a burden for this group that I found. They are nice, maybe they don't fully trust me yet but I can't really blame them for that. You can't trust anyone these days)