Chapter 28: Spiderweb

My jaw locked as the blonde kept laughing.

Her head was thrown back, shoulders shaking like this was all some sick joke she’d paid admission to see.

The strangers went quiet. The woods seemed to lean in closer.

Hale dragged a thumb through his beard, eyes narrowed. Aubrey picked at the corner of her eye, the way she did when she was holding herself back from saying something violent.

“Whew—!” the blonde wheezed, finally sucking in a breath. “That was fucking great, man.”

No one responded.

She wiped under her eye with the heel of her palm, smearing dirt. “What?” she scoffed. “I’m fucking done. You guys can continue your bullshit…”

That did it.

I inhaled slowly, turned my back on all of them, and started moving— boots crunching into leaves as I pushed deeper into the greenery.

Behind me, the others followed without question.

“W—WAIT—!”

The stranger woman’s voice cracked as she rushed forward. She stumbled over a half-buried rock, barely catching herself before planting directly in my path.

I stopped.

Slowly lifted an eyebrow.

“You’re really just gonna take our stuff and leave—?” she demanded, breathless. “We’re your fellow man!!”

For half a second, guilt twisted low in my chest. A tight, ugly thing.

Then I stepped past her.

The line moved with me.

She spun around, frustration boiling over. “Are you serious—?!”

The woman’s relentlessness wasn’t making this any easier.

“CAN YOU JUST WAIT FOR ONE SECOND?! WE CAN BE OF USE TO YOU!!”

Silence fell once again as I turned towards her slowly.

Confusion crept onto my face as I studied them— really looked this time.

“How?” I asked flatly.

The man jumped in immediately, words tumbling out in desperation. “We—we have a camp—”

The woman nodded her head frantically.

“Food,” he added. “Supplies. Shelter. A place where you and your people can—” he swallowed, then finished quietly, “—rest your heads.”

Great. A place where they probably burnt sage and sang kumbaya while the world rotted around them.

Still… I paused. Just a beat too long.

Aubrey noticed.

She grabbed my arm and yanked me a few steps aside, fingers digging into muscle. Her voice dropped to a whisper sharp enough to cut.

“These people are freaky, Adrian.”

I didn’t argue.

“I don’t trust them,” she continued. “Neither should you. You follow these nut jobs, you’re putting everyone at risk.”

My muscles stayed tight as wire.

I looked back at the strangers. Their hopeful expressions were already starting to crack under the weight of waiting.

Then I looked behind me.

The people from the camp— some of them were already bent over, hands on knees, exhausted. Terri chewed her lip. I already knew she was hoping I’d say yes. I looked to Lila, watching me with quiet focus. Hale stood off to the side, unreadable. Ready for whatever I chose.

I dragged a hand down my face and exhaled slowly.

“…How far’s that camp?”

“I—it’s a fair distance…” the man said, rubbing his palms together. “Up the road-a-ways north from here.”

I let the silence stretch, feeling it pull tight.

“Well..?” the woman whispered, barely breathing the word.

“Fine.”

The word tasted like defeat.

Relief shattered across her face, a smile cracking through like sunlight after a storm.

I heard Aubrey scoff behind me. I ignored it.

I just hoped I wasn’t making the wrong decision.

Minutes passed as we followed them. My boots crunched against dirt and stone, my feet already aching. The rifle strap cut deeper into my shoulder with every step, the weight growing heavier by the minute.

“So…” the woman began beside me.

I suppressed a sigh.

“What’s your name, stranger?”

I didn’t answer at first. I saw her frown in my periphery.

“Adrian,” I finally muttered, almost feeling bad.

Her face softened immediately, smile spreading as her eyes creased. Something about it made my stomach knot.

“Adrian…” she repeated. “I can tell you’re a good man. You’re doing right by your people, letting us—”

Lila bumped into her— hard. Deliberate.

The woman stumbled, her smile faltering as Lila marched ahead without looking back.

I frowned, watching her retreating figure.

“And yourself?”

“Jane,” she said. “And that’s my husband, Peter.”

She gestured toward the man— sweat already beading on his forehead, dark patches spreading across his chest, his stance unsteady as if one wrong step could topple him.

I nodded, unsure what to say.

Her gaze lingered on me. I tried not to meet it, hoping she’d look away.

She didn’t.

A strange smile crept across her face, small, mischievous. I gulped.

“You know…Adrian…” she began, voice teasing, “…you’re quite the looker. Do you have a girlfriend?”

My eyes widened just a fraction. Before I could respond—

“Adrian…we got a problem.”

Aubrey’s voice cut through the forest. Jane frowned as I caught up to Aubrey in a light jog, leaving her behind. The tension snapped like a stretched wire.

What the fuck now—..?

Ahead, a man banged his forehead against the rough bark of a tree, again and again. Each thud echoed through the forest, harsh and sickening. Blood ran in rivulets down his face, soaking the mossy bark, the metallic scent thick in the air.

“Get out my head… get out of my head…”

His voice was a trembling whisper, raw and hollow. My stomach twisted violently, bile rising, and my hands went numb. I wanted to look away, to step back, but something in me was rooted to the spot. The rest of us froze, the forest around us suddenly unbearably loud— the creak of the tree, the crunch of leaves under our feet, our own ragged breathing.

“Poor soul…” Jane muttered, her boots whispering against the undergrowth as she moved forward, passing Aubrey and I. Her hands hovered inches from him, slow, careful, like she was approaching a wounded animal. The calm in her movements felt alien, almost hypnotic, and it made my pulse spike.

“What the hell is she doing??” Terri hissed, voice tight with barely contained panic.

Aubrey’s grip on my shoulder tightened, hard enough to make me flinch, sharp and protective.

I couldn’t tear my eyes from him. Despite the blood streaking his face, his eyes were horrifying— veins crawling across the whites like unfinished spiderwebs, pupils darting wildly. His lips quivered, his jaw tensing and releasing with each impact. Every muscle trembled under his skin as if something vicious writhed beneath it.

A shiver ran down my spine as my hands trembled.

What the fuck was she doing…?

Jane crouched. Her hands hovered, steady, reverent. Calm in the middle of chaos. She cupped his face, wiping the blood away—slow, gentle, deliberate.”

“Shhh… shhhh… it’s okay, sweetie. Everything’ll be just fine.”

We all watched, eyes wide. My pulse hammered.

This was wrong.

So wrong fucking wrong. I don’t know why was even entertaining it.

But then— her eyes seem to change as the redness in the man’s corneas increased.

The warmth vanished. Gone in an instant. A flash of silver pulled from her back pocket.

Before I could shout— before anyone could move— she drove the knife into his forehead.

The body went slack immediately, collapsing into the dirt with a dull, final sound.

There was silence.

My hands twitched toward my pockets, my instincts screaming as I checked for something I never had.

Aubrey’s eyes widened as reality hit her, before they darkened.

I told her to drop everything.

Didn’t I..?

Jane stood, wiping the blade clean. Her smile returned, serene as ever.

“Don’t fuss, everyone!” she chirped. “We’re super close.”

I suddenly felt like turning back.

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