Deeply in his thoughts, Noah discreetly shook his head. They were fine for the time being. Kaycee trusted them, at least enough to let him take the rifle off the guy she had shot earlier. The dead guy was part of a gang established on the Sandy Hook beach, she explained. Their faction and Basin had always been on less-than-friendly terms, but attacks like this had never happened before.

All their troubles, she explained, had started a few weeks ago when all kinds of paranormal phenomena and creatures, including the overwhelming number of Corrupted, suddenly manifested themselves. A large congregation of them occupied a few major choke points for some time, leaving most of the residents of Amherst isolated from the rest of the Islands. When the beasts finally cleared out, the folks from Basin extended an invitation to all; to join them behind the fortifications they had built, the same ones that had kept them relatively safe so far. The Amherists aggressively declined: they had rallied under a man they called Boss Laurent. The man had been a successful drug lord and, thanks to his no-nonsense type of charisma, had become very influential with his peers. Contact between the two villages became tense, fueled by generations of jealousy, snobbism and distrust. Those left behind gathered on the Sandy Hook beach, which had greatly expanded in size after the sea level dramatically dropped when the cataclysms first surged.

While they opted to remain separate and distinct, leaders of both communities understood (or so it was thought) that some degree of cooperation between the two was necessary for their continued survival. Since the Islands had a very low amount of natural resources or industry to begin with, there was no way for the ferry ships to transport the critical supplies the inhabitants of the Islands needed. Basin’s area was larger and had access to agriculture and wood for heating, as well as the occasional wild game. Amherst had very little resources but took the initiative and managed to take a decent amount of fuel before Basin could secure it. They also had far more boats and access to seafood, and rumor was that someone had been either brave or foolish enough to risk their lives to trade with the mainland twice, despite the dangers that would unequivocally be suicide to any but the most experienced sailor.

The two villages had an equal number of armaments but with some differences: Basin had significantly more ammunition and raw firepower, but Amherst was much more creative and inventive, having a pair of skilled engineers. They had managed to restore old siege weapons, namely a trebuchet and renaissance cannons, that had been used as decoration at the local museum. With some technical ingenuity and access to an impressive arsenal of tools, they were now restored and fully functional, albeit only moderately useful against the Corrupted.

What worried Kaycee, however, was how they would be very effective against fortifications. Specifically, Basin’s fortifications. The fight that had claimed Brett's life was unexpected. It was supposed to be another trade run, where she and her group would trade some fuel for fish, as they had been doing every five days for the past weeks. This time, however, no trader was waiting for them: they walked straight into an ambush. It was thanks to Xavier’s keen sense of observation that they had spotted them before they opened fire, which gave them the chance to take down two out of the three Amherists. The attack, she conjectured, meant that either they had run out of resources and became desperate enough to become enemies with Basin, or they had found something to give them the upper hand.

Whatever it was, they would try to rush back to Basin as soon as they had completed a quick run to La Grave, where Xavier had something to do there. What, though, he wouldn’t say.