Chapter 1328: Chapter 1328

I told myself I'd never hesitate again.

Not after I buried his journal in ash and tears.

But when her teeth sank into my arm, I didn't pull away.

Her name was Jenna. She'd been part of a splinter group we crossed paths with—refugees from the Southern Collapse. Quiet, clever, her dark curls always tucked behind her ears, her laugh rare but real.

She made traps with Tess. She played cards with Milo. She stitched Ryder's wounds and shared a jar of honey she'd saved since before the outbreak.

And somewhere in the smoke of survival, she made me feel something again.

We took shelter that night in a collapsed courthouse. Rain leaked through the marble ceiling. We huddled around a lantern, heatless and humming.

Her hand brushed mine.

"I'm not made for this world," she whispered.

"You're still here," I replied. "That's enough."

"No," she said. "It's not."

Later, we split up to scavenge.

She and I checked the judge's chambers.

That's when we heard it—a crash. A screech.

Three roamers had gotten in.

I shot two. She handled the last—until it lunged and knocked her to the ground.

Its teeth had already found her shoulder.

She stared at me, eyes wide. "Did it break skin?"

Silence fell like judgment.

I should've done it then.

I should've ended it.

But she didn't look like the others.

She sat against the wall, panting.

"I don't want to turn," she said. "You know that, right?"

"Will you stop me before I do?"

I opened my mouth, but the words didn't come.

Instead, I sat beside her.

She grew colder. Paler.

She rested her head on my shoulder and whispered, "Lara... I'm scared."

That's when she twitched.

Her hand curled like a claw.

And before I could even raise my pistol—

The pain wasn't sharp.

Like a bell tolling in my bones.

Shot her through the heart.

She collapsed—eyes wide, mouth red.

Now I sit alone in the judge's chair.

Bandaged arm. Loaded gun.

The others don't know yet.

I told them I needed to scout.

But really... I just needed space to decide.

Or was this my chance to forgive myself?

Her bite was not what doomed me.

Because I loved her after the bite.

And in this world, love is the most lethal delay.