Chapter 1328: Story 1328: Her Bite, My Regret
I told myself I’d never hesitate again.
Not after Daniel.
Not after I buried his journal in ash and tears.
But when her teeth sank into my arm, I didn’t pull away.
I let her.
Her na 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 sowhere in the smoke of survival, she made feel sothing again.
Sothing fragile.
Sothing dangerous.
We took shelter that night in a collapsed courthouse. Rain leaked through the marble ceiling. We huddled around a lantern, heatless and humming.
Jenna sat beside .
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 roars had gotten in.
I shot two. She handled the last—until it lunged and knocked her to the ground.
I pulled it off.
But I was too late.
Its teeth had already found her shoulder.
She stared at , eyes wide. “Did it break skin?”
I nodded.
Silence fell like judgnt.
I should’ve done it then.
I should’ve ended it.
But she didn’t look like the others.
Not yet.
Not sick.
Not dead.
Just Jenna.
Alive.
Still breathing.
She sat against the wall, panting.
“I don’t want to turn,” she said. “You know that, right?”
“I know.”
“Will you stop before I do?”
I opened my mouth, but the words didn’t co.
Instead, I sat beside her.
An hour passed.
Two.
She grew colder. Paler.
She rested her head on my shoulder and whispered, “Lara… I’m scared.”
That’s when she twitched.
Just once.
Her hand curled like a claw.
And before I could even raise my pistol—
She bit .
The pain wasn’t sharp.
It was final.
Like a bell tolling in my bones.
I shoved her back.
Shot her through the heart.
She collapsed—eyes wide, mouth red.
Still beautiful.
Still hers.
Now I sit alone in the judge’s chair.
Bandaged arm. Loaded gun.
One bullet left.
The others don’t know yet.
I told them I needed to scout.
But really… I just needed space to decide.
Was this the end?
Or was this my chance to forgive myself?
Her bite was not what dood .
My regret was.
Because I waited.
Because I hoped.
Because I loved her after the bite.
And in this world, love is the most lethal delay.
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