[h3]Isaac & Luke Martello[/h3][hr][hr][h3]Day 301 (6 days ago.)
06:50 a.m.
Woodlands near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[/h3][hr][hr]Isaac staggered forward. Dry blood coated his face, a long cut on his forehead being the source. He was malnourished. Thirsty. Tired. He'd didn't know how long he'd been walking for. It had started off as a run, and, as the hours passed, and the sun came up, he had weakened, and weakened, until he could barely sustain his own weight. He wasn't avoiding walkers any more. He was just moving forward. Hoping for something. Anything.

Finding his brother. That's what he had been focused on. That's what kept him moving. But it wasn't enough. Not anymore. He was dying. He knew he wouldn't make it to the army base that Luke had been stationed in. He didn't even know if Luke was still alive. He had always been sceptical. Now, he didn't have enough energy left to fight that scepticism. It was time to give up.

He fell. He was on his knees. He was ready. He was ready to die.

"There's one," a voice called out. The voice said something else, but Isaac couldn't make it out. His vision was fading. He was going faint.

Everything went black.
[hr][hr][h3]Day 307 (Present Day)
11:02 a.m.
Mess Hall, The Army Base, Pennsylvania[/h3][hr][hr] "How you holding up?" Luke asked, sitting down across from Isaac. They were in the Mess Hall. It was used as a communal area now, where people gathered and socialised. Every other part of the military base was taken as a place for someone to sleep.

It'd been almost a week since Isaac had been found by a couple of the members of the community who were out hunting in the woods. It'd been the first time that the two brothers had talked in well over two years. They'd left eachother on bad terms, but, of course, they had still had a very emotional reunion. Luke had to let go of his disappointment with Isaac's choices, and Isaac had to let go of some of his bitterness. Luke had given Isaac one of the last spare rooms in the base. It was filling up fast. But Luke saw that as a good thing. They were strong in number.

"Better." Isaac nodded quietly. He was eating some rations and reading a book, half looking up at Luke to reply.

"That's good." Luke replied quickly, trying to stop the conversation from going stale. He struggled to talk to Isaac. They had talked here and there since Isaac had arrived, but they hadn't had a real conversation yet, as he had been bedridden for the most part due to his injuries on the road. Their relationship had been - strained, in the past. He wanted to make that better. "You..." Luke hesitated. "You wanna' talk about Mom and Dad? And Laura?"

Isaac shook his head firmly.

"They could still be out there." Luke continued. "They could still be alive."

"No," Isaac responded in a deadpan manner. "I've been to New York," he said, not looking up at his brother, continuing to half-read his book. "It's gone."

Luke furrowed his brow, looking a little disgruntled and letting out a little laugh - more of a bemused exhale than a laugh, really. "What do you mean [i]gone[/i]?"

Isaac looked up calmly, focusing directly at his brother. "They're dead, Luke."

"You don't know that."

Shrugging, Isaac let out a sigh. "Believe what you want."

"You know, you're being a real asshole, Ike."

"Don't call me that," Isaac replied, sighing and resting his book down. "What do you want, man?"

Luke gritted his teeth and exhaled. "I want my brother. I haven't seen you in [i]two years[/i]. Can't we leave the past in the past?" Luke looked away, thinking for a moment. "Come on, Isaac. We need to work together here. I've got a good thing going. A community. I could use your help to keep it running."

Isaac smirked. "Wouldn't've thought you'd come to me for that."

"You've been through a lot of shit." Luke replied bluntly. "You know how to look after yourself. Not everyone here does."

"Yeah, about that," Isaac took on a more serious expression and leant forward. "Your people have no fucking clue what they're doing. They're playing house here. They've got no clue about the outside. Half these people aren't even willing to pick up a gun. You know, you have to be prepared for the worst. What happens when a herd tears through here? Everything goes to shit, that's what."

"We've got good people on regular patrols," Luke stressed. "This place is tougher than you think."

"Listen. I was at a place a few months ago, just outside New York. Housing estate. Locked up real nice and tight. There were a few cops there, good with guns. I was out on the walls with them. We got [i]fucked over[/i]. Few of the walkers slipped through the cracks. Killed the women and children." Isaac continued. "You need to teach everyone how to defend themselves. People don't want their kids to have weapons? They need to wake the fuck up. I don't want to see another massacre."

For a few moments, Luke mulled Isaac's words over, before slowly begging to nod. "All right. I'll take your word for it. I'll have a word with the families, see what I can do."

Isaac simply nodded.

"You know I missed you, right?" Luke frowned, leaning over and putting his hand on Isaac's sholder.

"I missed you too. Wouldn't have come looking for you if I didn't. I'm just... tired."

"I get it." Luke said, standing up. "I'll let you get settled in a bit more. Meet some of the people. If you need me, I'll be in the office down the hall." He waited a moment, as if he was expecting a response from Isaac. When he didn't get one, he just gave his brother a small nod before leaving the room.