They agreed the best strategy would be to remain grouped at all times, to avoid getting picked off and killed one by one by whatever threat was out there. That’s what always happened in horror movies, they said - the thought was meant as a half-joke, but the truth was, in the face of so many unknowns, they were all too worried to be alone.

Uncharacteristically, Jacob took the initiative to roll over the counter to avoid the black oozy mass on the floor, reaching for the sharpest knife he could find in the cupboard. Unfortunately, it was a known fact that Matt wasn’t exactly a chef, and thus the weapon was much smaller than they would have liked. The three Katanas were proposed as blunt weapons, but a closer inspection revealed that any kind of force applied to them would be enough to break them. They would have to look further.

They spent the next two hours searching around for any goods that could be useful, looking through the nearby houses and commerces. Much to their sorrow, though, while the busted doors almost seemed like an open invitation, they quickly realized that it meant that the place had been picked off clean already. Their treasure hunt only yielded some secondary goods, finding a worn-out backpack, a lighter and some spices.

They were getting weak from starvation, but Isaac had the idea to head to the quay, find some fishing lines and attempt to get some bounty from the sea. None of them had really done it before, but it was something they could do anyway; every Magdaleener was born with the innate ability to feed off the ocean.

There were tools for two of them. Since reeling in the fish was rather physically demanding, they tasked Jacob, who was by far the most frail of their group, with finding wood so they could cook whatever fish they could catch. An hour later, Isaac was preparing five large mackerels. He put the skills he had acquired from his two years of culinary school to good use. Using the knife Jacob had found earlier, he chopped off the heads before cooking their meal to near-perfection. He then added some salt and spice, making it an overall enjoyable lunch. Jacob insisted he was fine with only one mackerel since he was considerably smaller than the other two. His companions didn’t argue.

It was close to noon. They sat by the campfire, ate in silence. It helped them relax and think, reflect and take in all that had happened so far. After a few minutes, Jacob started crying. Isaac looked at him.

“What’s wrong? You hurt or something?” he asked. Jacob shook his head to say “no”. Isaac then looked upset.

“Dude, we’re fine. We’re fine! Come on, don’t be a pussy now!”

“Isaac, leave him alone,” interfered Noah. “He’s been through a lot.”

“Oh come on!” protested Isaac, but Noah glared at him until the camp fell silent.

Noah was surprised at himself for not getting pissed at his friend’s rudeness. Which was just as well: they would have to remain together for the foreseeable future. Better get accustomed to him being an asshole once in a while, he thought.

After they were done with their meal and Jacob had calmed down, they decided to think about their strategy; it was still early in the afternoon, so they could afford to take the time to plan ahead before nightfall. The first order of business was their immediate survival. Actual weapons would be their main objective, they agreed.

There was only one specific place they knew they could find some: the Wild Duck store in Cape Grindstone. It was a hunting shop owned by one of Isaac’s relatives, who coincidentally happened to know where he could find the key to the firearms cage. They would be conservative and use them as a last resort, but since they didn’t know whether or not they would encounter more nightmarish creatures, or if more psychopaths would attempt to torture them, they chose to leave nothing to chance.

Along the way, they agreed to stop by and loot any large house, store or restaurant to stockpile on supplies. Food and water was the obvious priority, but Noah knew they would likely find a first-aid kit if they searched thoroughly. It was true that some of the stores in the Magdalen Islands play somewhat loose with the regulations, the enforcement inspectors being mostly lax. But some, hopefully, were responsible enough to have one on hand.

“But what happens if we’re wrong about everything and we get in trouble with the law?” asked Jacob.

“Does it matter, at this point?” asked Isaac.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Noah answered. “If we’re wrong and we get arrested - and that’s a very big if - we would be safer with law officers than with psychopaths,” he said, subtly referring to Jacob’s injuries.

“Yeah, okay. We also don’t know what’s going on, so it’s probably better to take the risk than getting killed by a monster,” concluded Jacob.

“You got it!” Isaac said, cheerfully. “But speaking of not knowing, we should keep looking for Matt… or his tapes. Seems like he knows stuff. Maybe we can learn what happened, and how we just missed all that.”

The other two nodded. They were especially concerned with Matthew’s warnings. They knew nothing about the Corrupted, but they agreed that the Taint was that viscous and opaque substance in their friend’s house, and inside of Noah while they were in the Jester’s mansion. But then, they wondered, was Noah in any danger? Was he supposed to vomit it all, as he did?

They felt it wise to monitor his health at all times since it was impossible to find an answer to their questions. One topic they all chose to avoid, though, was the other warning. Why would anyone specifically target Noah? He hadn’t been out there, in this world of doom and devastation. What reason could there be?

They kept quiet for another fifteen minutes, relaxing, waiting until the fire died down to nothing but embers. Isaac grabbed a plastic bucket from one of the warehouses nearby, filled it with saltwater and poured it on their improvised oven.

The time came to get moving. For better or worse, they would have to rely on each other.