The forest was quiet.
Not the camp's distant noise of voices and fire, but something heavier. Closed. Lori sat on a fallen log, pulling her jacket tighter around her shoulders. Her breathing still hadn't fully settled.
Shane stood a short distance away, his back to her, fastening his belt. He didn't rush to turn around.
"That was a mistake," Lori said first.
Her voice didn't shake. That somehow made it worse.
Shane didn't turn.
"No," he said.
"A mistake is when you don't think.
We thought."
Lori gave a short, humorless smile.
"You always say that."
He finally faced her. His expression was tight, angry—not at her, but at the world.
"You know why this happened," he said.
"Because someone had to take responsibility."
"Don't turn this into heroics," she said.
"I'm not," Shane snapped.
"I just didn't run."
She stood slowly.
"You almost killed someone today."
"I tested him," Shane shot back.
"What you don't test kills you later."
"You weren't testing the armor," Lori said.
"You were testing whether you still had control."
Shane's jaw clenched.
"Because it's slipping," he said quietly.
"You saw how they look at him."
"Because he protects them."
"Because he doesn't ask permission," Shane cut in.
"He just acts—
and people follow."
Lori looked away.
"Maybe because he doesn't lie."
Shane froze.
"You're not talking about him," he said slowly.
"You're talking about what you lost."
Lori pressed her lips together.
"Don't say it."
"He's gone," Shane said.
"And we don't know if he ever would've been here.
But I am."
He stepped closer.
"I stayed, Lori.
When everything fell apart—I stayed."
"And now you want that to mean something," she said.
"I want it to count," he answered harshly.
She shook her head.
"You're confusing care with control."
"Because control is the only thing that still works," Shane said.
"Look around."
Silence settled between them.
"We can't keep doing this," Lori said at last.
"We can," Shane replied immediately.
"You just don't want to."
"I don't want to survive like this," she said quietly.
Shane looked at her for a long moment.
"I don't know how else to do it."
He turned and walked back toward camp.
Lori stayed where she was for a few seconds longer.
Then she went the other way.
And the forest grew quiet again—
but now that quiet was full of the fear of being replaced.