A few days later, Sam walked through the forest, her hood pulled up against the cold, enjoying the serenity and the familiar crunch of leaves underfoot. The wilderness had always been a place of refuge for her, especially in the chaotic world that had emerged since the zombie apocalypse. As she neared the pond, her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden voice.

"Hi, Josie," a man called out from behind her. Startled, Sam spun around to see a man charging towards her with a knife. Instinctively, she reached for her butterfly knife, her body tensing for the confrontation.

Without a moment's hesitation, Sam lunged at him with the branch she had grabbed, missing his head by mere inches. The man was quick, but Sam was quicker. Her years of surviving in a zombie-infested world had honed her reflexes and fighting skills. She was a seasoned survivor, her every move driven by the instinct to endure.

The man attacked again, his knife glinting menacingly in the sunlight. Sam dodged his thrust, using her agility to her advantage. She swung the branch with all her might, striking his arm and disarming him. The man yelped in pain, collapsing to the ground.

"Who are you?" Sam demanded, her voice quivering with a mix of anger and adrenaline. "Why did you attack me?"

The man's response was unsettling. He seemed almost thrilled by the fight, his eyes burning with an inexplicable fury. "Where's Josie?" he spat.

Sam's mind raced. Did this man know Josie? What connection did they have? And why had he mistaken her for Josie?

Before she could process these thoughts, the man lunged at her again. Sam dropped the branch and pulled out her baseball bat. She knocked the knife from his hand and, with a swift, decisive blow, knocked him unconscious.

Sam grabbed the man's wrists and began to pull him through the forest, gritting her teeth as she tried to ignore the fatigue setting in. "Who is this man? Why did he want Josie? How did he know Josie? What did Josie not tell her?". Thoughts constantly ran through her head as she dragged the man over sticks and mud, unsure whether he was dead or just unconscious. She didn't care. She just needed to know who he was.

She finally arrived back at the warehouse. She opened the door, breathing heavily, almost panting like an animal in the wild.

Sam marched the man straight into the main room, where Tom, Josie, and Elijah were sitting around a table playing cards. The three of them looked up in surprise as Sam stormed in, fixed on the bloody man that Sam had dragged in. "What the fuck is going on?" Tom asked, standing up and eyeing the stranger warily.

"This man attacked me in the forest," Sam said, her voice tight with anger. "Do you know him?". Josie stuttered, looking back and forth between Sam and the man. "I… I don't know him". "Who is he?" Sam repeated herself, giving Josie another chance to answer her truthfully. "I don't know," Josie repeated. Josie was scared, looking back and forth between Elijah and Tom. She was clearly lying. She was avoiding eye contact with Sam. Tom and Elijah exchanged a knowing look, but neither of them spoke. Josie was visibly shaking, her hands wringing together."I'm not lying," she said, but her voice was barely above a whisper.

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Sam could feel the anger and frustration boiling inside her. She had always trusted Josie, but now she wasn't sure if she could trust her anymore. "What are you hiding?" she demanded.

Tom and Elijah looked at each other again, and then Tom stepped forward. "It's not your business Sam," he said, his voice filled with regret. "Why not?" Sam demanded. They all stood in silence. "Fine, I will find out for myself". She grabbed the man by his wrists again, dragging him into the storage room. She dumped him next to a shelf and quickly locked the door. She tied him using some zip ties found on top of some boxes and searched him, checking each pocket. She didn't find anything, so she just sat in front of him, waiting for him to wake up. She ignored the knocking at the door. She could hear the group begging her not to speak to him.

Eventually, his eyes started to widen slowly. Sam asked him questions. He just smiled at her and taunted her. Saying things like, "how well do you know them?" "Are they really your friends?". The man continued to taunt and threaten Sam as the hours passed, but she refused to back down. She was determined to get the truth, no matter how difficult it was. Eventually, he grew tired of trying to intimidate her and started speaking. He revealed that Josie, Tom and Elijah were wanted for the murder of a child in their town and had fled to avoid punishment. People had been sent out to find them for years, hoping to bring them back to face justice.

As the man spoke, Sam's anger turned to shock and disbelief. She couldn't believe that the people she had grown close to over the past few weeks were capable of such a heinous act. She didn't want to believe it, but the man's words rang with the truth. She knew she had to confront Josie, Tom and Elijah and demand the truth from them. She needed to know the reason why they had done this. The man started to speak again, this time about what he would do to Josie when she finally got caught. Sam told him to stop. He carried on. Sam was filled with anger, anger at Josie, anger at Tom, anger at Elijah and anger at the man. She could no longer control it. The man fell silent.

Sam had taken her knife out and slit his throat. It happened so quick, too quick as if she hadn't even realised what she had done. Blood squirted out of his neck, and Sam was covered, with her knife at her side, dripping with blood. A red tear ran down her face as she watched the man slowly slump. She knew she had to kill his brain. Otherwise, he would turn. She reached behind, grabbing her bat. She raised it up slowly before quickly swinging it, making direct contact with his head. She hit him again and again. She was out of control. She was screaming. Josie yelled from outside the door. "Sam!" she sounded panicked. The sound of Josie's voice clicked her back into reality.

She looked down at the man, who was no longer recognisable. His eyes popped out of their sockets, teeth spread out on the ground around him, and his jaw was completely dislocated. She was horrified. "What have I done?" she whispered quietly to herself. The pounding and yelling at the door stopped. Sam slowly sat down, facing the wall. Her mind was completely empty. It felt as if she was in a nightmare. She had killed before, but she had always been in control. She looked at her blood-covered hands. They were shaking. She tried to stand but couldn't. She needed to ask him more questions. She needed to know who the child was. She needed to know where the town was. Sam was in a panic. Eventually, she blacked out.