"You could join us...if you want to," Ethan said to Jason.
Jason looked surprised by the invitation.
"Would that be okay?" he asked quietly.
"Of course," Ethan's father answered immediately.
He didn't see a warrior standing before him. He saw a young boy who was waiting for his parents to come home. A very frightened boy at that.
Jason lowered his head and softly said, "Thank you."
Ethan's father then turned toward the newlywed man.
"You can come too. We can look after each other."
The man looked down at the knife in his hand before looking back up.
He thought about his wife, who was waiting for him upstairs. He thought about the two boys standing in front of him and the father who had just invited him to join their group.
After a few moments, he nodded.
"Then let's have each other's backs from now on."
No one laughed at his words.
The end of the world had come far too suddenly. There was nothing strange about placing your trust in strangers anymore.
