10. Sam
10
SAM
K ara had gone out scouting with a small team of hunters, leaving Sam to help organize what little supplies they had left. Sam wanted to go on the expedition, but Kara thought it was better if she stayed back and continued to try to make acquaintances with the people of Fort Haven. There had been improvements, but there was still a long way to go. Kara had told her it was all in her imagination, that she was too sensitive, but Sam believed firmly that no matter how much she gave, it was never going to be enough.
Sam entered the main marquee, where a few of the captain’s right-hand people were gathered. Her stomach tightened at the sight of Riley and Marla whispering in the corner, their faces grim.
What are they muttering about? Me again? I thought Marla was my friend.
The familiar ache of being an outsider crept into her chest, but she squared her shoulders. She wasn’t about to back down. She had every right to be here and was working her ass off to help this community. Even if some days she felt like packing her bag and heading back to the tribe. Even if that had stopped feeling like home.
I wonder if they even miss me? I doubt it. Most of them didn’t like me in charge. I miss them, though. Well, I miss some of them.
But as she approached, the uneasy looks they exchanged immediately told her something was wrong.
“What’s up?” Sam asked. She realized that she was perhaps speaking a little too loudly when she heard her voice cutting through the murmurs and echoing around the room.
Riley turned to face her. She couldn’t read his expression. However, when she glanced at Marla, she immediately saw that her eyes were hard as they settled on her. There was no warmth there, no hint of empathy.
“Sam, do you have a minute?” Riley began, his tone clipped. “We need to talk.”
A prickle of dread ran down her spine. “Sure. What would you like to talk about?”
“The storeroom,” he said in a low grumble. Sam had the impression he was choosing his words carefully. “We’ve been through everything twice and it seems there’s some supplies missing. A lot of supplies, as a matter of fact.”
Sam’s stomach felt off as if a knot were forming in her intestines. “Really? That’s weird.”
“Weird? Yeah, it’s weird. We did a check this morning,” Marla said, stepping forward, her eyes locked on Sam. “The medical kits we assembled last week, quite a few canned goods—stuff we found out in Eastborough a few weeks ago. It’s all gone.”
“River brought all those medical supplies over for us. She made the journey all the way over here. She’s got better stuff to do, you know? They have a baby,” said Riley.
“I know. I’ve met her. It’s wonderful that you guys help each other out. But none of this sounds right to me,” Sam said, shaking her head. “I counted all the stuff River brought over. I was helping inventory everything yesterday. It took all day.”
“We know. And we’ve been told that you were the last one in the storeroom,” Marla snapped, her voice sharp with accusation. “Did you lock up properly?”
Sam’s mouth went dry. “Of course I did. And I gave the key to the captain. I didn’t take anything. Is that what you’re trying to get at? I was doing my job. Jesus!”
Riley exchanged a glance with Marla before turning back to Sam. “What are we supposed to think?”
Sam stared at them, heart pounding in her chest. “You’re supposed to trust me. Why would I steal from you? Why would I steal a load of bandages? Antiseptic creams? What are you even talking about?”
Marla crossed her arms over her chest, her face twisted in disgust. “It wasn’t just River’s medical supplies. There was a ton of food, as well. Maybe you’re wanting to steal all our gear and take it back to your nomads.”
“A ton of food? Really?” snapped Sam in a snarky tone. “I doubt it. There were about ten cans of soup, for God’s sake! You know that Kara was a friend of River’s, right? Before all this fucking mess? Why would I do something like that? I live with Kara. She’d know if I snuck in boxes of fucking medical supplies from her friend, wouldn’t she? Why would I do it?”
“Because you’re not one of us,” said Riley. “You never have been.”
The words hit Sam like a punch to the gut. “For fuck’s sake, Riley!”
“Less of the language, please. There are kids around,” said Marla as she looked toward the door.
“No, there aren’t. I’m not the swearing type, but fuck me ! You guys are a nightmare. I’ve done nothing but try to prove myself since I got here. I’ve risked my life for you fucking people. You can’t honestly think I’d steal from you.”
Riley sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Sam, it’s not just this one incident. People have been talking. This has been going on since you arrived. And as far as I can see...it just confirms what people have feared.”
“Feared?” Sam’s voice cracked as her frustration caused her throat to tighten. “What have I actually done to make anyone fear me?”
“It’s not about what you’ve done,” Marla said, her voice laced with contempt. “Well, apart from killing that woman no questions asked. Everyone knows about that.”
“Jesus! That again? You’re still not over that? It’s the fucking zombie apocalypse. The idea is to kill zombies. Or is that not the plan here? Should we be inviting them in? Making them tea and iced buns? Just tell me what you want from me, and I’ll do it.”
“You’ve shown we can’t trust you,” concluded Riley.
So that’s it? It’s as simple as that? They never even wanted to try.
The room felt like it was closing in on Sam. Her pulse roared in her ears as she tried to process what they were saying. The accusation, the distrust, it all felt so suffocating.
“You’ve made a big mistake,” Sam whispered, barely capable of holding her voice steady. “I didn’t take anything.”
But she could see it in their eyes. The decision had already been made. It didn’t matter what she said. They had already condemned her.
Riley took a deep breath, his expression softening, but only slightly. “I wish there was another way, Sam. But we can’t afford to lose what little we have.”
“You can’t afford to lose me, either,” Sam shot back desperately. “I’ve been pulling my weight around here. I’ve been helping secure this place. I’ve been in meetings with the captain all week about trying to get a lab up and running. I’m not the enemy here.”
Riley hesitated, but Marla’s glare silenced whatever uncertainty might have flickered across his face. She stepped forward, her voice like ice. “I’ve tried to be nice to you. I can see how you and Kara feel about each other. But this just isn’t working for the rest of us.”
There it was. The truth. So blunt and absolute. Sam couldn’t believe what she was hearing. This is how they saw her. They wanted her out. It was obvious to her that this was where this confrontation was heading.
And then the door burst open. Kara rushed in, her face pale with confusion and her hair flying behind her. It looked like a dream sequence to Kara. Her knightess in shining armor. “What’s going on?”
“Kara! Thank God you’re here. You need to talk to these guys.” Sam’s heart leaped at the sight of her girlfriend. Kara’s eyes darted between the people gathered, her expression growing darker by the second. She looked as if she was about to explode.
“They’re saying I stole supplies.” Sam started crying. “Tell them. Tell them I’d never do that. They don’t believe me.”
Kara’s eyes widened in surprise. Sam started to panic when she realized Kara wasn’t going to say anything.
Speak up for me, Kara! What are you doing?
The silence seemed never-ending, but finally, Kara opened her mouth and sputtered. “What? That’s insane! Sam wouldn’t?—”
“Kara, please. Hold up,” Riley interrupted. “We found the storeroom more or less empty, and she was the last one there. What the hell are we supposed to think? You bring this newbie here and then shit starts going down. You’re getting taken for a mug. She doesn’t even really want to stay here.”
“You’re supposed to believe her,” Kara said, stepping closer, her voice rising with frustration. “Have you not been paying attention to this woman? Have you guys not witnessed what she’s been doing for us? She’s helping us.”
Marla scoffed and rolled her eyes as she took a few steps toward Karla. “Helping herself, more like, and helping you sleep better.”
Sam’s jaw clenched. She could feel her back teeth grinding against each other. These people were turning against her. Well, were they ever really with her? There was no way this was just about the supplies. This was about who she was, what she was doing here, andwhat she represented. The outsider. She was the nomad who didn’t belong.
“Riley, what are you doing? This is madness, right?” Kara said, almost shouting. Seeing her in such distress made Sam feel sick to her stomach. “You can’t just accuse her without proof.”
“She was the only one with access, the last one in,” Marla said, her voice cold and sharp. “That’s proof enough. Duh!”
Kara looked at Sam, her expression pleading. “Tell them you didn’t do this, babe.”
“I have. But they’ve already made up their minds. I knew this was all a stupid fucking idea.”
Kara’s face twisted with frustration, her hands balling into fists at her sides. “This isn’t right. What are you going to do? Have you told the captain?”
“Not yet, but we will. I’m going to see her now. I don’t have a choice,” Riley said. “We can’t take the risk. She has to go. If we lose more supplies, people here will die.”
Sam’s stomach lurched. She’d seen it coming, but hearing it still made her breath catch. “You’re throwing me out for something I didn’t even do?”
“That’s the number one rule here. If someone threatens the safety of the rest of us, they’re out. And you’re a threat,” Marla spat. “We can’t keep you here. We don’t have room for people like you .”
Sam turned to Kara. She felt desperate. “Kara don’t let them do this. Will you go and talk to Laeticia? I’ve done everything I can to prove myself.”
“We call her the captain. A little respect, please,” barked Riley.
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.”
Riley’s expression was hard to read as he fidgeted with a loose bit of wool on his jacket. Sam would have liked to think he looked guilty, but she didn’t believe him capable of such an emotion. “You know how it is. We can’t take any risks. If something happened...”
“I would never steal from you,” Sam interrupted, her voice rising. “I was fighting for you. And you’re throwing me out as if I’m nothing.”
He stepped back, frustration flashing in his eyes. “It’s not personal, Sam. Maybe the captain will have other ideas?”
“Forget it. I’m out of here. I’m not being hauled in front of her. My fate doesn’t lie in your hands or her hands. Not even Kara’s. You’re low-key psychos, I swear.”
Sam turned away, exiting the cabin and heading towards the exit. The anger and hurt coiled in her stomach as she walked toward the main gated entrance. She screamed up to the guard in the watchtower.
“Open the gate. Let me out!”
He shouted back down to her, waving his arms about his head in a crisscross motion. “No! You can’t go out there right now. You need to wait a couple of hours. There’s a whole herd of the undead in the area.”
“Open it. Now!”
He did as he was told, shaking his head in disbelief as he lifted the barrier. Sam stepped onto the path that led away from Fort Haven. With each step, she felt another part of herself shatter. She was a broken woman.
A distant call came from behind. She turned to see Kara running down the track toward the gate.
“No, Sam! Just wait, please let’s talk to the Captain and sort this out. Please, wait!” Kara yelled as the gates closed her in.
Sam carried on moving forward, willfully ignoring her lover's plea.
As she walked into the woods, the trees closed in around her, the shadows growing longer and darker. Sam could hear her own breath, the thud of her heartbeat drowning in the quiet that surrounded her. The weight of loneliness pressed down on her like a heavy cloak, wrapping her in isolation.
Where will I go now? Where will they be? South. I’ve got to head south. A couple of days, maybe a week? I’ll find them. I’ll find them. Will they want me back? What have I done? Left the people who I trusted for love. A love that shat all over me.
The question echoed in her mind as she shuffled forward, her feet heavy. It had been some time since she’d felt this alone. She didn’t have a single soul to lean on. The thought of the journey back to her tribe on her own without Kara felt like standing on the edge of a void.
Sam’s shoulders were tight. Tension coiled deep inside her. Her steps were uneven, each one jarring through her body and causing cramps in her calf muscles. But she pushed forward. She was driven by anger. It fueled her every move. Her hands flexed and curled around a branch she was using as a walking stick. She was gripping hard, as if trying to wring out the betrayal that gnawed at her. The pain in her body was real, but it couldn’t touch the ache in her heart that came from leaving Kara behind. What she’d thought was love had been exposed as a lie. Had Kara been playing her all along? Had she meant nothing to that woman?
Suddenly, a low growl came from behind her, sending a jolt of adrenaline coursing through her veins. Sam spun around, her heart racing as she reached for the knife at her belt. The growl intensified, and she could see movement in the shadows—shuffling figures emerging from the underbrush.
Shit! Shit!
She was outnumbered, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight.