12. Sam
12
SAM
T he sky had darkened. As she looked up, Sam thought the colors were fading from the world itself. Sam crouched low behind an overturned truck and spent a couple of minutes trying to catch her breath. Blood caked her hands, and her thighs burned from running. She’d been in a fight — a desperate one — with more zombies than she could count, and the heavy sensation of dread weighed on her like a boulder in her gut.
She wasn’t sure if the gnawing pain in her side was from the deep gash she’d gotten from falling on a jagged rock as she exited the woods and made her way onto the road or from something worse. From the fight. Her mind raced as she felt the muscles twitch beneath her skin, and her thoughts whirled in dizzying loops of paranoia.
Had I been bitten?
The fear of having been infected itched inside her like a poison spreading through her veins. She scanned the ground around her, looking for any sign of movement. She knew one of them was still following her, one of those pale, relatively fast-moving beasts that haunted her footsteps. She was terrified. But more than that, it felt as if something was changing in her body. Was it panic? Or something much, much worse?
I can’t die. Not like this.
The growl came from just a short distance behind her. It was a weird, wet sound spilling through the air. The creature’s footsteps seemed more sluggish now but still persistent. She could hear it sniffing the air. It was in hunting mode, and she was trapped.
Sam’s hands tightened around the knife in her grip, but even as she held it, her body felt weak. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She gritted her teeth, sweat stinging her eyes. If she were infected, she couldn’t wait to find out. She had to end things on her own terms.
She heard a noise from the undergrowth yards away. She imagined the creature getting closer, its gaunt body making its way over to finish her off. Was she imagining it, or could she smell rotting flesh?
“Fuck,” she hissed, her throat tight.
She was in over her head. She’d only just made it out, but it looked like the battle wasn’t over.
She was ready to fight like an animal— no holds barred. She's done it in the past—heck, she’d done it just a few minutes ago. Her knife had found its targets, slicing into rotting flesh and severing heads. But they’d just kept coming. She'd felt their hands on her, cold and decayed, dragging her down. She fought through them, slicing and thrashing until she could escape. But she'd obviously taken a hit — a deep one. And there was still one zombie left.
Sam glanced down at her side, pulling back the torn fabric. The cut was terrible. Deep enough to bleed through her fingers… but it wasn’t the bite she’d been dreading. The skin was torn from a sharp edge, not teeth.
It’s not a bite.
But this realization didn't stop the gnawing uncertainty. She still felt sick. Burning up. If she changed—if she turned into one of those things—she wouldn’t have long.
Footsteps.
This time, they were closer and heavier. The groaning was louder and more distinct. The creature had found her.
Sam held her breath and crouched lower. She could see it in the shadows, its silhouette emerging through the gloom. It staggered toward her, its hands still outstretched, the hollow remnants of what used to be a face twisted in a permanent, agonized scream.
She stood up slowly, her knife gleaming in the faint light as she prepared herself. This was the last one, the last thing standing between her and…well, she didn’t know. Between her and whatever came next.
It lunged at her faster than she expected, and Sam barely managed to sidestep the attack, slashing her knife across its arm. The creature jerked.
She spun and drove the blade deep into its skull, feeling the sickening crunch of bone as it collapsed in front of her. The thing twitched once, then went still.
Sam stood there panting, blood running down her arm. She felt the world tilt beneath her feet.
As she wiped the blood from her hands, a new sound startled her. This time, the noise was human. Deliberate. But this didn’t make her feel any less anxious. Humans were as dangerous as the infected these days.
A figure approached across the tarmac. It was slow and cautious. Sam’s heart leaped into her throat, instinctively raising her knife. But the shape didn’t move erratically. There didn’t seem to be an immediate threat. Or was that just wishful thinking?
“Kara?” she whispered, blinking against the blur of exhaustion. “No, it can’t be you. I’m dying, aren’t I? You’re not real.”
Kara emerged from the trees, her eyes locking onto Sam. Her face was streaked with dirt, her clothes soaked, but her eyes were just as clear, determined, and beautiful as ever.
“You…” Sam's voice faltered with emotion. “You came to find me? Is that you, Kara?”
But before Kara could answer, Sam’s knees buckled beneath her, and she collapsed onto the rough, hard ground.
“Sam!” Kara ran over to her. “Hold on, baby. I’m here. I followed a trail of blood. I knew it was you.”
Sam flinched, her mind reeling. “Get away! Don’t…don’t touch me,” she gasped, shoving Kara back with what little strength she had left.
“Listen to me,” Kara said, grabbing Sam by the shoulders and shaking her slightly. “I’m not leaving you. Not ever again.”
Sam wasn’t sure if she could trust what was happening. Was Kara even real, or was this some hallucination? She grabbed her knife. “I’m dangerous, Kara,” Sam warned in a frantic voice. “Keep your distance.”
Kara leaned back slightly and raised both hands in a nonthreatening gesture. “I’m not afraid of you. You’re delirious. You’re going to be okay now.”
Sam’s grip on the knife loosened as she met Kara’s gaze. But she couldn’t let go of the fear that she could turn any minute and kill Kara. She would have no control of herself once the infection reached her brain. “You don’t understand. I don’t know if I’m…if I’m still me.”
Kara shook her head and smiled. Sam could see the kindness in her eyes. Instead of comforting her, it only increased the sensation of panic in her chest. “You’re Sam. You’re here. And I’m not losing you.”
There was a brief pause, a tense silence hanging between them. To Sam, it felt as if it was the calm before the storm—the eye of the storm. But before Sam could react, Kara grabbed Sam’s arm and pulled her up into a tight embrace. The knife slipped out of her hand.
“I’m sorry,” Kara whispered against Sam’s hair. “I should never have doubted you. I should never have left. What the hell was I even thinking? I won’t blame you if you don’t, but please forgive me. I should’ve fought harder for you. I was scared.”
Sam’s heart pounded in her chest, and for a moment, she couldn’t breathe. The weight of everything she’d been carrying was too much—the fear, the loneliness, the heartbreak.
“You let me leave,” she choked out.
Kara pulled back just enough to look into Sam’s eyes. “You’ll never lose me again,” she said, her voice firm. “I’m here. I’m so sorry.”
For a moment, they stood there holding each other, the danger, the fear, the uncertainty—all of it forgotten.
Eventually, Kara pulled back, wiping the dirt and sweat from Sam’s face. “You’re not infected,” she said quietly. “Do you understand? You’re going to be just fine. Well, you may need stitching up, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. We need to get you to safety.”
Sam’s eyes flickered with relief, though she still felt the weight of everything that had happened. “I think you’re right. But can we be sure? I fought so many of them. I want to say fifty, but I’m prone to exaggeration, right? I reckon probably between five and ten,” she whispered.
“Listen, I know you,” Kara replied softly. “And I trust you. Do you hear me, Sam? I trust you.”
Sam’s chest tightened with emotion. She didn’t feel like she really had Kara’s trust, not after everything that had happened, but here she was, standing in front of her, offering it freely. “So, what comes next?” Sam asked. “I’m on my way to find my people. I don’t know where they are, exactly, but they were headed south on this road. I’ll catch up with them. But I don’t want to do it alone. Are you going to come with me?”
Kara smiled, brushing a stray lock of hair from Sam’s face. “I have to go back, Sam. You know that. But we can go back together. We’ll be safer there. And they’re taking on board what you’ve been saying.”
“They think I stole from them.”
“Well, they know you didn’t do it now. It was a couple of kids. I found the stash, and I exposed the little fuckers! They’re all sorry.”
“But will that even make any difference? I mean, so what? They accused me with zero evidence. What’s to stop it happening again? They don’t want me there.”
“We’ll go and see the captain together. I can explain everything.”
“I don’t think too much of your captain, Kara. I really don’t. And I don’t care anymore. About her. About them. I tried my hardest. Fuck them.”
“Please don’t say that. You care about me, Sam. Maybe we can go and join your people at some point, but I can’t manage it right now. I can’t. I’m not ready to stay out here in the wild. Not full time. Maybe later, down the line. What do you think?”
“I think I can’t go back. That place isn’t for me.”
But I’m for you, aren’t I?” Kara said with a faint smile on her face.
“You are. Yes. Or at least I thought you were.”
“Please,” Kara pleaded. “Please come back with me. I’ll take care of you,just like you took care of me. I can’t lose what we have. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, I’ve ever loved. You’re everything to me, Sam.”
As the two stood there, there was tension between them, but Sam couldn’t deny her feelings towards Kara.
“Yes, what we have is sacred, Kara. You’re right. But the first sign of trouble, and I’m out of there. I want to make it perfectly clear. We’ll try it your way, and if they fuck up again, we'll do it my way. That’s my condition. I want to love you unconditionally, but that’s my condition.”
Kara’s hand lingered on Sam’s cheek, and Sam allowed herself to lean into it. The rough calluses on Kara’s fingers felt strangely comforting.
“I was so scared,” Sam admitted, her voice trembling with the weight of emotions she had kept buried. “Not just of turning into one of them, but of losing you, too.”
“You’re not going to lose me. I’m here, Sam. I’ll always be here.”
Sam closed her eyes. She felt as if she’d been pulled back from the edge she had been teetering on since she’d left Fort Haven.
For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of their breathing. The world had quieted.
Sam opened her eyes, her gaze meeting Kara’s. “I’m glad we’re not fighting,” she mumbled. “Look at the state of me. I’m covered in blood and guts. In your shoes, I’d have turned around and run back to the settlement as soon as I laid eyes on me.”
“I know,” Kara giggled. “I thought about it.”
Sam realized just how close she had come to losing the one person who mattered.
“If we get back to the settlement, at least I can keep away from the infected for a while,” Sam said, her voice cracking. “I didn’t know what to do. I panicked. Jesus, it’s awful out here. I need to rest up. This wound is fucking stinging like crazy.”
“Things are going to be different. I promise you that,” Kara reached out to Sam’s hand, leading the way back.
“You know, the whole time I’ve been away from you, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Meeting you changed everything, and I was truly heartbroken when I thought I’d lost you.” Sam wiped her eyes.
“I understand, because I love you so much, Sam. I always will, and I promise from now on, I won’t let anything, or anyone, tear us apart.”
Sam smiled, squeezing her hand before pulling her closer to kiss Kara.
“I love you, too. Please don’t ever break that promise.”
And with that, they made their way back to Fort Haven, ready to fight their way back to happiness one step at a time.
The End.