Page 26 of Her Shadow

Kara’s face softened. “I know you have.” Sam could see the pain in her eyes, though. Something was conflicting between her body language and what she was saying. “But I...”

Sam’s heart sank. “But what?”

Kara looked down at her feet, her hands trembling. “Fort Haven needs me. This place...it’s my home. I can’t go against the captain. That’s not what we do here. She…”

Sam felt as if the ground was crumbling beneath her. “So you’re choosing them…her…over me.”

“No! Please don’t make it sound like that. That’s not what I mean,” Kara said, her voice breaking. “I’m not against you, Sam. It’s just that this place needs me, and I need this place. I’ll try to sort this out.”

Sam shook her head, disbelief coursing through her veins. “You can’t be serious. So, if the captain says I have to go, that’s it? It’s over between us?”

“I don’t know. I’m just confused. I mean, fuck. This is a lot. I’ve lived here for a long time now and…”

Sam couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think straight. The room was spinning.

Am I about to pass out?

Kara’s betrayal was like a knife to the gut, twisting deeper with every second that passed.

“You don’t believe me,” Sam said, her voice hollow. “Do you? I thought you loved me. I thought you trusted me.”

“I do! But I?—”

“That’s all I need to hear to know the truth,” Sam interrupted, her anger boiling over. “If you believed me, you wouldn’t let them do this. You wouldn’t even care what the fucking captain has to say. But you’re just standing there. And you seem to think it’s fine that they’re about to throw me to the wolves. Or the zombies.”

Kara flinched. “I don’t want that but, I can’t live out there. The group comes first. These people have kept me alive.”

Sam let out a bitter laugh. All eyes in the room were on her, waiting for her reaction. She didn’t have the energy to fight her corner. She would go before they exiled her. She refused to give these people the satisfaction. “You always have a choice,” she concluded.

But Kara didn’t respond. She just stood there, her shoulders slumped and her back leaning against the wall.

It was over. Sam could see it now. The trust, the bond they had built—it was all slipping away, crumbling into dust. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Riley stepped forward, his expression grim. “It’s time.”

Sam turned away from Kara, her throat burning as she tried to hold back her tears. “Don’t bother taking me to see your captain. I’m going. Let me pack a bag, okay?”

“No, please, just talk to her. Let’s try and sort it out first?” Kara begged.

I’ll find my tribe. I’ll go back to them. My real home.

“It’s too late. Don’t follow me, Kara. I need some space,” Sam spat as she headed to the cabin.

As she was packing her few clothes and shoving them into a backpack, there was a loud bang at the door of the cabin.

“Sam, you’ll need this,” Riley said suddenly, handing her a small pack filled with basic supplies.

“What’s this?”

“Some supplies. A little food, a knife, some ointments…”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Look in my bag! Can’t you see the massive hoard I stole from your storage room? I don’t need any more.”

The sarcasm was clearly lost on Riley.

“Take it, Sam. You’ll want to keep yourself safe.”

“Safe from what? The infected? I’ll feel safer out there with them than I do here with you, I can tell you that,” she stated, unable to suppress her bitterness. “You’re a cruel man, Riley—a danger, in fact. And too many people around here listen to what you have to say. But you know what? You’re not too bright, kiddo. You’ll trip up somewhere along the line. I only wish I could be here to see it.”

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