The hood of Isaac’s jacket was up. For as long as his skin was thick and leathery, he wore it that way. It had always been to protect the innocent bystanders, he told himself. He didn’t want his presence to make anyone else feel unsafe, or fearful. Of course, there was the added bonus that those who could not see his skin could not ridicule, but more often than not, ridicule of the unknown is born out of some type of fear, and so his hood was up for others – he reasoned. And yet here he was, sitting in the middle of a room with others just like him, no reason for any of them to fear him as he to fear them. They were all brothers and sisters, apparently, and amidst the few introductions already made, the show of powers, the witty talk of joining Ms. Blackburn’s cause, Isaac discovered a new trait in himself that perhaps he had always known.
He was selfish.
The word was naturally tainted with a bad flavor, but he meant no malice or self-contempt when he used it to describe part of his being. Every person alive had the right to selfishness – to put a few of their needs above the needs of others. Isaac’s need was the ability to walk alongside a fellow human and not feel like a freak. He had felt this need and had attempted to cover it up with noble intentions, but it is what it is. And now he had to also decide if he should be selfish in the case presented before him. He had set out on his journey from home to return to the Ark, possibly find others like him, but then what? He had no idea what he would do after, and now Sarah was handing him his options on a silver platter.
Go and hide, possibly risking death and putting those you love in danger – or, join her and maybe fight? Have a better chance at survival? But then leave behind the life you had. For a brief moment, Isaac considered possibly going back to his father and going into hiding with him and Ilene. The idea was the definition of the word selfish. Isaac entertained the idea for a moment; he had already made it this far by hiding outside of America, but how long before those who were committing these crimes would find him? The young man pursed his lips and looked around the room. Aside from those who had already signed on – and perhaps even in their faces – he saw others struggling with the same decision he was mulling over. Could they really all leave the life they had? Possibly forever?
Unlike some of the others, maybe even all, Isaac had months to think on this idea. Though he didn’t know he would make it this far, he had decided long ago that he had been made for something, so he might as well look into it. And yet, even then, in the back of his mind, he thought that he would be back in time for the next major holiday or his birthday or something. Isaac would have returned to his father and tell him all that he found or not found and then together they would come up with a plan. Maybe he would have even brought any new brothers or sisters he found with him, and they would set up a sort of base with his father to help them. Isaac sighed quietly, well aware that all of that had been nothing more than wishful thinking. He knew which answer was the right one, and he also knew that same answer would be safest for his father and Ilene as well.
Frowning slightly, Isaac dipped his head, making sure to keep most of his face covered by the hood, and raised a hand - much like the first of his brothers to speak. “I am Isaac,” he stated plainly, “And I would like to know what exactly we would be doing…”