His exhaustion momentarily forgotten, Isaac rose from the couch and approached the nearest window. He pushed the curtain to the side and peered into the darkness beyond. All he could see were glowing yellow eyes on the street below and some vague shapes of the buildings around them.

  Damn…

  He wasn’t even sure why Carol’s words affected him so much. Before returning to Earth, he had already agreed that the trial was worth it, at least for him. Yet, now that he knew how many deaths it caused, he wasn’t so sure anymore. Then again, another part of him wondered what were ten thousand dead compared to the millions or maybe even billions that had already succumbed to the Broken Strain.

  The answer to that question wasn’t hard to find.

  All the Hosts who participated in the trials were fighters, people who didn’t wait around for someone to save them but instead went out to look for trouble themselves. Those were the people who, if given the chance and enough time, would be able to stand above the others and maybe even lead humanity in this new age.

  But now, there were only six of them left.

  Including Isaac.

  He grimaced.

  Hopefully, no one gets the idea to put me on some weird pedestal just because I survived. God knows people love to latch onto individuals who, in their opinion, achieved the impossible…

  Isaac definitely didn’t want that, not now, maybe not ever. Not even twenty-four hours had passed since, for the first time in his life, he was beginning to find himself. The last thing he needed was for people to project their weird expectations onto him. Not like he would be able to live up to them anyway.

  Maybe I’m just overreacting. Wouldn’t be a first...

  “Isaac? Mr. Walker?” Carol’s voice brought him back to reality.

  He exhaled, massaging his brow. “Sorry. Was just a bit surprised…” Turning around, he met the woman’s concerned gaze. “Did the notification say anything else? Anything beyond how many of us survived?”

  Carol shook her head. “No. I tried asking, just like the pamphlet taught us, but it didn’t answer.”

  So the Interface just decided to lower everyone’s morale and moved on?

  Isaac wasn’t even surprised about that. It pretty much fitted the entity’s usual behavior. Still, he simply couldn’t see the point. Why do this? Why break everyone’s spirit when they were already struggling? Was this just to mess with them?

  “No… that can’t be it,” he muttered under his breath as he returned to the couch.

  Unfortunately, Carol must have heard him. “What was that?” she asked. “I didn’t catch it.”

  Isaac waved her off and reached for another sandwich. “Nothing, ignore me.”

  The woman narrowed her eyes at him but nodded anyway after a moment. “In that case, did the Interface tell you what happened when the second phase started? Aside from the new task, that is.”

  “Not really,” he admitted. “Though it’s pretty obvious the power is out for some reason. That related?”

  “Unfortunately.” Carol grimaced. “After the five hundred of you left, not much happened for the rest of phase one. All we got was another alert from the government. Standard stuff. Stay inside, help is coming soon.”

  Isaac mirrored her expression.

  Right, like that will ever happen. At least not until the barriers are down.

  “Then, last evening, when there was only a minute left before phase two began, things went to hell,” the woman continued softly. “At first it was just some light shaking, but it quickly escalated to a minor earthquake. Our building survived, but I definitely heard something collapsing somewhere in the city.”

  “That explains the cracks in the walls,” he mumbled, looking up. “That’s when the power went out?”

  Carol nodded. “And I lost the signal on my phone. All in the span of that single minute. Afterward, it all stopped, and the notification about stage two arrived.”

  Isaac clicked his tongue. Here went the idea of borrowing a phone to call Daryl. He could only assume what the man imagined had happened to him after radio silence for the whole day.

  That’s if he wasn’t one of the five hundred, too.

  He ignored that stray thought and refocused on the woman in front of him. She was far from done speaking.

  “It announced that about a thousand more Contamination Zones had been created when phase two began. There was also something about ‘reinforcement and rearrangement.’ Not sure what it really means...”

  Once more, Isaac stopped mid-bite as his mind caught up with the words leaving Carol’s mouth.

  A thousand? How did it go from only thirteen to a four-digit number in the span of twelve hours? And the other thing? He had a weird inkling that he had read something similar before in some science fiction book.

  “What else did it say?” he prodded, hungry for more information.

  Carol sighed. “Not much. It mentioned the new task. But you already know about that. Oh! It also said that from now we only have to kill ten Wretched to unlock our Origin. That’s it.”

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  “Better than nothing…”

  “That’s what I thought too.” The woman smiled weakly. “I just hope Brandon can get here tomorrow safely. Maybe the new conditions will help.”

  Isaac perked up. “You two agreed to meet here?”

  She nodded. “He and the others in his group. I told him they could use this building as a temporary safe house and go from there. Not everyone lives so close to the bank. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t,” he answered right away. “Once I rest, I will be heading out anyway. A friend of mine also has…” He trailed off, considering his words. “Well, had a group in the suburbs. I want to check if anyone is still there.”

  Then there is Elaine but that’s another issue, he added in the safety of his mind.

  “You’re going alone?” Carol asked, incredulous. “You should wait a bit. Once Brandon and the others get here and settle in, I’m sure some would be willing to go with you.”

  As much as Isaac wanted to outright refuse, he settled for a milder response. There was no point in antagonizing her, and he had no interest in explaining himself.

  “We will see. For now, I really need to get some shut-eye. It’s been a long, long day...”

  Carol looked like she wanted to say something but just nodded instead. Without another word, they made their way to the exit. There, the woman handed him a flashlight.

  “Take it,” she said. “I have another one.”

  Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Isaac accepted the device and flipped the switch. A small beam of light cut through the darkness. Carol then opened the door, allowing him to step outside.

  “Before I go,” he paused in the doorway, “I just have one more question if you don’t mind.”

  The woman gestured for him to go on.

  “Your kids… do they have access to the Interface too?”

  Carol hesitated only for a moment before shaking her head. “Not really. Only a timer, a very long one. Ella wrote it down for me, and after I checked, it will reach zero in about five years. And considering she is five…”

  “Then it means all children are defenseless until they turn ten…” Isaac sighed and stepped onto the staircase. “Thank you again, Carol, for the food and information. If anything happens, just knock on my door. I’m usually a light sleeper.”

  “I will remember that. Rest well.”

  With that, the door closed, leaving him alone in the darkened staircase. He shrugged and aimed the flashlight at the path ahead. His apartment was waiting, and with a proper source of light, it didn’t take him long to reach it.

  Opening the unlocked door, he stepped into the all-familiar space. Aside from a few new cracks in the walls here and there, nothing changed.

  “Clean up first,” he muttered, stripping off his clothes piece by piece on the way to the bathroom.

  Left only in his underwear, he stopped in front of the sink and the mirror above it. The sight that greeted him nearly made him flinch.

  Wow… Suddenly I have way more respect for Carol than before. I would have run if someone showed up at my door looking like this…

  To put it simply, his entire face was covered in filth—a mix of dirt, dried blood, and who knew what else. His hair was even a bigger mess than usual, sticky and clumped together in multiple spots.

  The rest of his body wasn’t fairing much better. Although…

  I don’t remember having this many muscles…

  Before the Virus, he hadn’t been particularly fit—just an average guy who had never worked out a day in his life. Now though, there was some noticeable definition to his muscles. Lean, nothing extreme, but still something no one should gain overnight.

  Weird as hell, but I guess my attributes have to go somewhere. Just don’t make me into some kind of massive bodybuilder, okay Virus?

  Obviously, nobody replied, so Isaac just turned the faucet control and relaxed when cool water splashed onto his hands. The power might be out, but at least he could still enjoy a small comfort like this.

  Let’s wash up.

  Some time later, Isaac left the bathroom, his hair still damp from the thorough scrubbing. He got most of the filth off his body, but it wasn’t an easy or short task without any hot water. Still worth it. He had forgotten how good it felt not to be covered in layers of dried blood.

  My bed. Oh, how I’ve missed you, he thought as he sank into the soft mattress. He threw the blanket over his body and closed his eyes. Sleep came to him within seconds.

  “Mr. Walker! Isaac!”

  Isaac’s eyes snapped open as the loud shouting and banging on the door jolted him awake. Despite the lingering fog of exhaustion, his body moved on instinct. He jumped out of bed and threw on a fresh change of clothes suitable for another day of fighting.

  Once his mind finally caught up with his body, it noticed the sunlight coming through the gaps in the curtains. Still, he ignored that fact for now and settled for opening his front door.

  “Carol,” he greeted with a yawn. “What’s going on?”

  The woman stared at him like he had grown a second head. “You haven’t heard?”

  Isaac frowned. “Heard wha—“

  Gunfire. Screams. Pained, inhuman screeches. The sounds erupted from beyond the building’s walls, close—maybe a street or two away. Nothing like what he usually heard before his disappearance.

  “This,” Carol said, crossing her arms. “You mentioned you were a light sleeper. I thought you would be up by now.”

  He stifled another yawn, rubbing his face. “Apparently, I was tired. Very tired. Still really am, but that can wait. What’s going on? Have you seen anything, or is it just those noises?”

  Carol grimaced. “I think you should look out of your window first.”

  His frown deepening, Isaac allowed the woman to step inside while he headed for the nearest window. What waited for him on the other side definitely wasn’t on his bingo card for today.

  Wretched, easily over a hundred of them filled the street below. There was barely any space left for them to move, yet he had already spotted more and more coming from parallel streets. He also noticed the countless cracks running along the building walls and roads, but in the face of the horde right at his doorstep, this was nothing.

  Isaac glanced at the woman next to him. “Were there this many here yesterday?”

  Carol shook her head. “No! And that’s the problem. The fighting we are hearing? That’s coming from the direction of the bank. If that’s Brandon and his group…”

  “They have no chance getting past those things,” he finished for her.

  Carol nodded grimly.

  “Right,” he muttered. “I will see what I can do. Just give me a five to get ready.”

  The woman had no problem recognizing what his words were and, after giving him a grateful nod, left his apartment.

  Meanwhile, Isaac headed for his kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and a box of cereal. It wasn’t much, but it would have to do.

  There is no way they are all here by coincidence. He reasoned, leaning against the counter as he chewed on the dry food. Either the Interface somehow guided them to my position, or they felt my arrival despite my stealth skill.

  Once more, Isaac couldn’t decide which option sounded worse.

  Though, in the end, he wasn’t even worried. Despite the abrupt wake-up call, the Symphony of Blood was already awake, humming a low tune. Just like him, it couldn’t wait to deal with the annoyances waiting on the streets.

  The tattoo on his arm also thrummed.

  Soon. Have patience.

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