He winced in pain as he gripped at his forearm with his hand. Clenching his teeth, eyes filled with hate, he glared at Isaac.

“What? I was fine!” he attempted to defend himself.

“Shut your yap right now or I’m gonna punch you in the face so hard that you won’t be alive to feel them eat you,” Xavier barked back.

“Okay. Okay, fine” Isaac said, looking away and pouting until the rest of the group caught up.

Gusts of cool wind and creaking noises had the group worried that the Corrupted still creeped about, ready to pounce at the slightest micro-error in the group’s collective movement. They had tasted flesh, and now, they craved for more. But it would not be that day they would claim a soul: a literal ray of hope shone on the group of survivors. In the doorway of the house they were headed to, the silhouette of a person directed an extremely powerful flashlight beam at them in an attempt to provide extra protection.

The additional light seemed to drive the shades away. Noah and his companions walked steadily and more easily than before, not feeling as constricted as they did. Once they reached a relative safety, about ten meters from the house, the silhouette quickly went inside, leaving the door open. Everyone headed inside. Kaycee closed the door behind them.

Karim grabbed Xavier’s arm and inspected his injury. The black ink-like liquid was still visible but appeared faded.

“How do you feel, Xavier?” Kaycee asked softly, her eyebrow arched in worry.

“I think he will be fine. But he will need medical attention when we are home,” Karim responded in his stead.

Karim turned towards her and nodded. She nodded back. Xavier kept quiet, still attempting to quell his boiling anger.

In the meantime, Noah ventured past the entrance, into the living room.

This two-story house was decently-lit with various candles, as well as a fireplace which also served to provide some much-needed warmth in this cold night. Someone had put a lot of care, time and effort into making the dwelling this homely, as it was surprisingly well cleaned and maintained.

The mahogany floor was comfortable to walk on, but what really caught his attention was the two garnet-colored sofas, facing one another while standing on a white and scarlet rug. Four tall windows allowed for a good view on the outside, while also being equipped with a curtain to prevent the gaze of any dark creature that might be lurking about.

The rest of the group soon followed, passing the door opening. They all looked around in silence. The moment of awkward disbelief had him smirk.

“Yeah, I had just about the same reaction,” Noah said with a smile.

He felt a bit of shame that they were making themselves at home without having met their savior, but he knew nobody could help it, not even himself. He sat on one of the couches. The feeling of sitting down comfortably, of his muscles relaxing, of having a soft surface on his back and under his ass was pure bliss.

He closed his eyes, lifting his head towards the wooden ceiling and sighed in relief. He then opened them and stared at the flames of the chandelier dancing above his head. It felt like a dream came true, one he didn’t know he had. This place was perfect.

But a thought crossed his mind. Maybe too perfect.

“Anyone see the owner?” Kaycee asked. Everyone shrugged or shook their heads, except for Isaac who didn’t seem to care: he happily jumped back first on the couch where Noah wasn’t. He yelled and stretched loudly, completely oblivious to the strangeness of the situation.

She leaned her head to her right and brought her thumb to her lips, then bit on it.

Jacob suggested that the owner of the house was hiding because he or she was shy. After the thought was promptly ignored by everyone, Kaycee took it upon her to attempt to address him directly.

“Hello? Sir? Or madam? Please come out, we’d like to thank you for your help!”

“Please don’t be shy!” added Jacob, which made Isaac roll his eyes and playfully call him an idiot.

“This is very strange,” said Karim. “Where could they be?”

Kaycee looked out the window, her pistol in her right hand, her flashlight in the other. She stood there for a few seconds then moved to the entrance, only to come back almost immediately. Her shoulders were tense, her eyes focused.

“I agree with Karim. Why would our host suddenly disappear like this?”

“Eh, he’ll come out when he wants to!” Isaac said. “Ever hear of ‘don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?’”

Kaycee shook her head.

“We can’t take any chances. They could be in trouble, or it could be a trap. ”

“Well, if you ask me, this is the most comfortable trap I’ve ever been in.”

He then cackled, obviously happy with the furniture he had chosen as his own.

She stood quiet for a moment, observing him with a judging expression on her face. She then slowly turned her head towards Noah, then beckoned for him to follow her. He grabbed the rifle and got up immediately. They moved to the entrance, away from the others.

“I’m going to search the place in a moment.”

“Okay. You want help?” he offered.

“No. Well, yes. But that’s not -- look, we need to talk. About Isaac.”