Chapter 127: With one eye open

The smell of roasted rabbit hung in the air as Terri sat across from Hale, watching him turn the meat slowly over the fire.

The flames crackled between them, steady and quiet, the only real sound in the middle of the woods. Night had settled in fully, wrapping everything in darkness beyond the small circle of light the fire gave them.

They had been running for hours before this.

Running, hiding, doubling back.

Hale had not said much since they got away. He had just kept moving until he decided they were far enough. Then he hunted. Then he made a fire.

And Terri sat there.

Watching.

Waiting.

Doing nothing.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the piece of cooked rabbit in her hand. Her stomach was empty, aching, but something about eating felt…wrong.

Hale had done everything.

Again.

“Eat.”

His voice cut through her thoughts, flat and direct.

Terri blinked, looking down at the meat in her hands before bringing it to her mouth. She took a small bite, chewing slowly, barely tasting it.

They sat in silence for a while.

The fire popped.

Hale kept eating.

Terri stared into the flames.

Then she spoke.

“Hale…?”

He looked up at her, one eyebrow raised slightly, waiting.

She hesitated immediately.

“Well, I… I was just wondering if…”

Her voice trailed off. Her throat tightened, and her face warmed with embarrassment. The words felt stupid now that they were about to come out.

Hale frowned slightly, then looked back down at his food when she did not finish.

She swallowed.

“I was wondering if you could teach me how to be badass like you.”

The words came out more awkward than she intended.

Hale looked up again.

“Badass?” he repeated, like he was trying to figure out if she was serious.

Terri nodded quickly, even though part of her wanted to take it back.

“You know… you’re a sergeant. Well, you were. You’ve got experience. You know how to handle yourself.”

He did not respond right away. He just looked at her.

“So I thought maybe you could teach me a few things,” she added, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

“Teach you a few things,” Hale repeated, this time with a slight edge.

Terri’s grip tightened around the food in her hands.

“You can barely walk a mile without needing to stop,” he said. “You can’t keep food down half the time. And you panic every time you hold a gun.”

The words landed harder than she expected.

Her chest tightened.

“Well, if it wasn’t for me back there, we’d be dead!” she shot back before she could stop herself.

“I had that handled,” Hale said immediately.

There was a pause.

“I seriously doubt that,” she muttered.

“What was that?” he snapped.

Terri looked up at him, forcing herself not to shrink.

“I said I don’t think that’s true.”

Hale stared at her.

For a second, neither of them spoke.

Then Terri exhaled sharply.

“Look, I get it. I’ve been a pain, okay?” she said, her voice starting to shake despite her efforts to steady it.

“Back then, my whole life was about getting my medical degree and becoming a doctor. Getting out of that rat infested house in Englewood and being somebody.”

A pause.

“…Learning how to stop drop and roll wasn’t apart of my bucket list.”

Hale did not interrupt.

She kept going.

“But things changed,” she said. “And when things change, you adapt. That’s basic biology. That’s how survival works.”

Hale remained silent.

Terri tried to control her breathing.

“I don’t…” she started.

“I don’t want to die, Hale.” She finally said. It came out quieter than the other things she said.

“I know I’m not like the others. I’m not a good shot like Aubrey. I’m not a quick thinker like Adrian. I’m not some…bushcraft survivalist like Adira.” Her voice cracked slightly, but she pushed through it.

“But I can learn. I can at least try to not be useless.”

The fire crackled between them.

Hale said nothing.

Terri swallowed.

“So when it happens again,” she continued, her voice softer now, “when something comes at us… I don’t want to freeze. I don’t want to be the reason we don’t make it.”

She looked down at her hands.

“I don’t want to just stand there and wait to die.”

Silence settled over them again.

This time, it felt heavier.

Terri stared into the fire, waiting for him to shut her down again.

Or worse.

Agree with everything he had said before.

Anything but silence.

But Hale just sat there, looking at her.

Thinking.

—

A heavy weight dropped onto my chest and forced the air out of my lungs.

My eyes snapped open.

For a second, I could not process what I was looking at. My vision swam, my head pounding as if something inside it was trying to claw its way out.

Then it focused.

Lila was on top of me.

Her hair was messy, clumped together with something dark. Blood. It stuck to the sides of her face, damp and uneven. Her eyes looked wrong. Not just red from strain, but bright. Alive in a way that made my stomach twist.

I flinched.

“Lila… what— what’s going on?” My voice came out rough, barely steady.

I tried to move.

Nothing.

My arms would not budge. My legs would not shift. Panic hit me all at once as I realized what was wrong.

I was tied down.

Ropes dug into my wrists, pulled tight against the bed frame. My chest rose and fell faster as I tested them again, harder this time, but they did not give.

The pounding in my head got worse.

A cold sweat rolled down my temple.

“Lila— what is this?” I tried again, louder now.

She placed a finger over my lips.

“Shhh,” she whispered softly. “You’re okay.”

Her voice sounded calm. Too calm.

Her weight shifted slightly as she leaned closer, pressing me deeper into the mattress.

“You know I would never hurt you, right?” she said near my ear.

Her hand moved across my face slowly, almost gentle.

Then she paused.

“Well… not willingly,” she added.

Those words kicked my nerves into overdrive. In that moment, I wanted to ask why I was tied up. Why there was a knife gleaming in her right hand. Why she had been so bloody.

She only smiled at me.

“But when I saw your eyes move to that sick slut Adira’s body that moment, what did you expect me to do?

My throat tightened.

Her eyes searched mine, waiting.

“What should I have done?” she asked.

I shook my head quickly. “I wasn’t— I didn’t—”

“Do you like big breasts, Adrian?” she asked suddenly.

The question hit me so far out of nowhere that I froze.

“I— what?” I stammered.

She tilted her head, watching me.

I shook my head quickly, not even thinking about the answer. “No. No, I don’t.”

“Oh?” she said, her voice almost curious.

Then she grabbed at herself, squeezing slightly. “So you like these instead?”

I nodded immediately. “Yes. Yeah.”

I did not even know what I was saying. I just needed her to stay calm.

Her expression changed.

It darkened.

“Well too bad,” she said.

The words came out flat.

“That’s just way too bad, really,” she went on, repeating her words. “I would have let you have some fun if you just behaved.”

My chest tightened.

“You know how it goes,” she added. “Spare the rod and spoil the boyfriend.”

That was not how the saying went.

My eyes dropped to the knife in her hand.

The metal caught the light.

Cold.

Sharp.

She lifted it slowly.

My breath caught as the blade came close to my face. I felt the edge brush against my cheek, just enough to make me flinch.

She laughed softly at that.

“I really didn’t want to do this,” she said.

Then she leaned back slightly, raising the knife above me.

“But how else are you going to learn?”

My heart slammed against my chest as her arm came down.

—

I woke up gasping.

My whole body jerked forward as if I had been pulled out of something deep. My chest heaved, each breath sharp and uneven. Sweat clung to my skin, soaking through my shirt.

For a second, I did not move.

I just sat there, trying to figure out where I was.

Then it hit me.

The room. The walls. The quiet.

I was back.

My hands moved immediately, pressing against my face, my eyes. I checked for cuts, for anything that should have been there.

There was nothing.

I only felt my skin, hot and damp.

I blinked hard, forcing my breathing to slow.

It was a dream.

Just a dream.

I swung my legs off the bed and sat there for a moment, rubbing my face with both hands. My head still throbbed faintly, like the echo of something that had not fully left.

We barely made it out of Annie’s place alive.

And somehow, that was not the part sticking with me.

I stood up slowly.

My eyes drifted toward the bed behind me.

Lila was still there.

Sleeping.

Her face looked calm. Peaceful, even. Her breathing was steady, and there was a faint sound coming from her. A soft snore.

I watched her for a moment.

I knew the difference.

When she faked sleep, she stayed too still. Too quiet.

This was real.

I let out a breath I did not realize I had been holding.

A small smile tugged at my face despite everything.

She had changed.

There was no way she would ever do something like that.

No way.

I turned away, grabbing my jacket.

Still, the feeling did not leave.

That tightness in my chest.

That lingering fear.

I needed air.

I walked to the door and stepped outside, closing it quietly behind me.

The night was cold.

Silent.

I stood there for a moment, letting it settle over me.

—

Lila had her arms rested under her face as she rested soundly. She felt the vibration everything. The way Adrian’s body trembled when he slept. Of him getting out of bed and walking towards the doorway.

The door creaked open, then closed.

Only then did she open her eyes.

She had been awake the entire time.

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