“Isabelle, can you give Aaron’s jersey back? We need it to bandage his arm.”

“No.”

Isabelle was quick to refuse Dan’s request; she didn’t even bother to stick her head out from inside the jersey and look him in the eyes.

Dan let out a long sigh. After almost having his face ripped off by a dog, dealing with Isabelle’s attitude was the last thing he wanted to do. However, he didn't have a choice; he needed the jersey to treat both his and Aaron's wounds, and Isabelle had it.

“Listen, it’s not even yours. I don’t want to fight with you, so please, just give it back.”

“Nope. It’s mine now. He gave it to me.”

Dan was usually a patient man, but it got on his nerves when people acted this way, especially in an emergency. As an EMT, he had seen it more than he could count, situations where if a bystander hadn’t stood by and watched, then life might have been saved. He would never understand how some people can do nothing and watch as someone dies right in front of them. Doing his best to hold his frustration back, Dan tried to talk as calmly as he could to Isabelle.

“No… You stole it. Now, stop being difficult and hand it over. We have much bigger issues to worry about than wasting our time having this meaningless argument.”

“What are you talking about? He gave it to me in exchange for my help. How is that stealing?”

Dan ground his teeth. He wanted nothing more than to grab the jersey and tear it away from her, but he knew that wasn’t the correct choice.

“Yes, but you never helped him. All you did was sit here bundled up while we were risking our lives. It’s not yours.”

“Dan, it’s fine. I said I didn’t need it. I can just use my shirt instead.”

Dan wasn’t able to hold back his frustration any longer.

“Aaron, I know you’re a nice guy, but this is too much! She’s taking advantage of you!”

“I know that, but she’s just a kid. Plus, I did technically give it to her.”

As Dan was contemplating whether or not he should forcefully take the jersey, Claire was storming over to Isabelle. It had been no more than ten minutes since the fight ended, but she was already back to her usual self. Just by looking at her, no one would believe that she had been quivering in fear and crying moments ago.

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

Claire’s heavy footsteps came to a stop when she reached Isabelle. She glared down at her like she was looking at a pile of trash. Seeing her bundled up in Aaron’s jersey without an inch of skin showing made her blood boil. Just as she was about to open her mouth, Alexandra broke into the group holding a light blue zip-up sweater. Alexandra shoved the sweater into Aaron’s hands.

“Here, use this. It’s Erika’s sweater.”

Shaking his head, Aaron adamantly refused the sweater and pushed it back to Alexandra.

“No, I can’t take that. This isn’t your problem, and won’t Erika be cold?”

“It’s fine, Erika said you could take it. Both of us are grateful for everything you did. Without you, Dan and Liam, we would be trapped, and Claire would’ve been hurt too. It’s the least we can do, so please take it.”

Contemplating his decision, Aaron looked at Erika, who was attempting to hide behind Alexandra.

“Are you sure it’s okay if I have this?”

Erika nodded her head up and down repeatedly.

“And you won’t be cold?”

Erika shook her head side to side. Her cheeks were quickly turning a rosy red color as more eyes fell on her. It was an understatement call her shy or timid. Liam even wondered if she was capable of having a conversation; maybe she was mute.

“Well... Okay then. Thanks!”

With a warm smile on his face, he took the sweater from Alexandra. Dan quickly got to work wrapping Aaron’s arm. Due to the lack of tools available, he only tore the sweater along its seams. By the time he finished, both he and Aaron had makeshift bandages.

“All done, Aaron… It isn’t much, but it’ll have to do for now. The wound’s still open, so try not to move it too much, you don’t want to make it any worse.”

Dan placed his hand gently on Aaron's shoulder; he had finished bandaging Aaron’s arm and put it in a temporary sling. Although he wished that he could do more, sadly, that wasn’t possible; the only things available were either rotting or destroyed. They didn’t have water, let alone disinfectant or stitches to close the wound.

“Dan, are you sure this is necessary? I don’t need a sling. You should’ve used the extra fabric for yourself.”

“Don’t worry about me. I only got nipped on the shoulder; it's hard even to call it a wound compared to your arm… We need to get moving soon; if the kidnappers come back and find the dead dogs, it won’t be good for us. Is everyone ready?”

Immediately, everyone got up and began to move towards the exit. None of them wanted to stay here any longer than necessary; even Isabelle had gotten up and stretched before following the others. The room quickly emptied, leaving only Michael, who still had his broken foot propped up on a rock.

“Hang on! Don’t just leave me!”

Realizing that no one was going to offer him a helping hand, Michael pushed himself up, balancing on his unbroken foot. Using a long scrap of wood as a cane, he began hobbling after them.

Outside, Liam took in the surrounding for a second time. It was strange. The city was decimated. Buildings had collapsed roofs, toppled walls, and some were completely flattened. Barrels and carts were scattered throughout the dirt streets, giving the impression the former residents had left in a hurry. Put simply, it looked like a hurricane had come through and wreaked havoc on the city.

However, what Liam found strangest was the architecture. It reminded him of Europe when kings ruled, and wars were fought with swords instead of guns.

‘Did I travel back in time? No… That’s impossible.’

As fast as the idea emerged, Liam tossed it out. Putting aside the absurdity of time travel, it still didn’t explain the irregularities. Liam’s head was spinning – nothing added up. With each new piece of information, he understood less and less about the current situation. Being kidnapped alone was strange enough, so when the other oddities were included, the situation became bizarre beyond belief. As Liam tried to narrow down the possibilities, his thoughts began to center around one idea.

‘Virtual reality?’

It was the only way to explain all the bizarre things around him. The digital screen fits the character status windows in video games, the scenery fits a fantasy world, and the two-headed dogs fit the image of fantasy monsters. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Perhaps if he played more video games or had been less focused on surviving, he would’ve reached this conclusion sooner. There was one problem.

‘Has virtual reality reached the point where it can incorporate all five senses flawlessly?’

Liam wasn’t an avid gamer or tech guru but found it hard to believe. As far as he knew, they were years if not decades away from reaching that point. When he killed the dog, it didn’t feel like he killed a cluster of pixels, it felt real.

‘Regardless, if this is or isn’t a game, I can’t treat it any different then real life.’

Liam didn’t know what would happen if he died. There was no guarantee that there was life after death, that he would wake up, or respawn, so he couldn’t act as if he would. He needed to treat it as reality. A different reality than the one he knew but a reality, nonetheless.

“Liam, are you okay with heading towards the castle too? Everyone else is on board with the plan.”

“Huh?”

Hearing Dan’s voice, Liam broke out of his thoughts.

“I asked if you’re okay with heading toward the castle.”

“Castle?”

Liam tilted his head in confusion. He was utterly lost; he had no idea what Dan was talking about. Having been so lost in thought, he had missed a vital conversation.

Dan let out a sigh of disappointment, realizing that Liam hadn’t been following their discussion at all. He pointed to a building off in the distance.

“The castle... Can’t you see it over there? We all thought it would be a good idea to use it as a landmark while we wandered around the city looking for supplies. Judging by the layout of this street, navigating the city is going to be difficult. Does that sound good to you?”

Liam looked at the building. It appeared untouched by the disaster that befell the rest of the city. Given the tall cylindrical watchtowers that surrounded it, "castle" was a fitting description.

“Yeah, that’s fine with me.”

Liam nodded his head. There wasn’t anything he could disagree with; Dan’s idea sounded good.

‘What the fuck was I doing!?’

Liam cursed at himself. No more than fifteen minutes had passed since he promised himself to be more involved in the group so that they didn’t make the same mistake again. Yet he failed immediately. It was hard to describe the disappointment he felt in himself.

“Alright, that settles it! Everyone, follow me!”

Aaron began marching in the direction of the castle. It was apparent that his injured arm hadn’t put a damper on his enthusiastic attitude. As the group passed by the corpses of the two dogs Aaron had killed, Liam’s footsteps came to a sudden stop.

‘Huh?’

One of the dead dogs had caught his attention. It was the dog that had a collar and chain, the same one that was guarding the door. The chain was tied tightly to a post in an alleyway.

‘Son of a bitch…’

Liam felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head after realizing the cold, hard truth – Dan had lied about the chain being unattached.

‘Why?’

It made no sense. Dan had the deciding vote. Regardless of if the chain was attached, he had final say. There was no reason for him to lie; he didn’t need to convince them of his choice. Dan could’ve made an honest mistake, but Liam found that unlikely. There was no way Dan could’ve seen down the alley from the doorway. At most, he could’ve seen the chain leading down the alleyway, that was it.

‘I don’t get it. What’s the benefit?’

Liam only saw demerits in falsely reporting the chain was unattached. Had Dan told the truth, it opened up the possibility of running away from the dog instead of fighting. They could’ve adjusted their plan and, as a result, suffered fewer injuries.

There was only one benefit Liam could think of – control. As soon as Dan lied, he gained control over the situation. Liam’s plan became unviable, and Aaron’s became their only option. They unified as a group and worked together, leaving behind any lingering tension from the vote. If this was Dan’s goal, then it worked, but Liam had a problem with it.

Liam didn’t doubt Dan had acted with good intentions. However, the fact remained that he had misled them. That was dangerous in Liam’s mind. This time it hadn’t resulted in any significant loss, but that wasn't guaranteed to happen next time. From now on, he needed to be careful of Dan. With that in mind, Liam resumed following the others.