Chapter 78

Betrayal in the Shadows

The van finally came to a shuddering halt, its engine coughing like a dying beast before falling silent. Darkness engulfed the night, the only sounds being the faint hum of the distant city and the occasional, lingering groans of the zombies that seemed to have lost their scent. The group sat still, hearts pounding in sync with the fading echoes of chaos, unable to relax even in their temporary reprieve.

"Here," Roman said hoarsely, his voice dry as he gestured toward the abandoned café just a few feet away. Its cracked windows and faded signage hinted at a time when it had been a lively spot, but now it was just another skeleton of the city's forgotten past.

Lara peered out cautiously, clutching the silver key in one hand and Elias's limp arm in the other. He was sprawled across the backseat, his once-imposing presence reduced to a fragile, unconscious shell. Blood seeped through the hastily wrapped bandages around his chest and arms, the faint moon-shaped mark just visible through the torn fabric of his shirt.

"Let's check it out," Lara said, her voice barely audible. Her throat felt raw from shouting earlier, and the lingering tension made her chest ache.

The group moved like ghosts, silently pushing open the café's creaking door. The smell of damp wood and mildew filled the air, and faint moonlight seeped through the grime-covered windows, casting eerie shadows across the room.

Broken chairs and tables lay scattered across the floor, some overturned, others split in two. A rusted coffee machine sat forgotten on the counter, and empty shelves lined the walls, their contents long plundered.

"It's clear," Jack muttered after a quick scan, his voice hollow.

The group set up camp in the corner farthest from the windows, their movements slow and deliberate. Roman dragged a broken table closer to the center, creating a makeshift surface for their supplies. Lara carefully laid Elias on the ground, using her jacket to cushion his head.

The flicker of their dull torches painted their exhausted faces in harsh light, making their injuries and fear all the more evident.

Lara knelt beside Elias, her trembling hands working to remove the blood-soaked bandages. The crescent-shaped mark on his chest caught her eye again, its strange, almost glowing appearance making her stomach twist.

A memory flickered in her mind—a fleeting image of the same mark, but where? She couldn't place it, and the harder she tried to focus, the more her head throbbed.

Shaking her head, she forced herself back to the present. Elias's breathing was shallow, his chest barely rising with each labored inhale. His face was pale, and his usually strong hands now hung limp by his sides.

"You're going to be okay," Lara whispered, more to herself than to him. She pressed fresh gauze against the wound, her hands trembling as she tied it in place. The blood didn't stop completely, but it slowed enough to give her some hope.

The group sat in silence, their expressions grim as they attended to their own wounds. Jack winced as Margot wrapped a makeshift bandage around his bruised arm, while Caleb sat slumped against the wall, his bitten leg elevated on a pile of debris. Roman stared at the door, his grip on his crowbar so tight his knuckles were white.

The room felt heavy, not just with exhaustion but with unspoken emotions: betrayal, anger, regret.

Margot, her face pale but resolute, broke the silence.

"I need to say something," she began, her voice soft but steady. "About Elene. About my mother."

No one replied, their eyes fixed on her but their expressions unreadable.

"I didn't know," Margot continued, her voice cracking slightly. "I didn't know what she was doing—what she had done to all of you. If I had known—"

"Would it have changed anything?" Caleb interrupted, his tone sharp and cutting.

Margot flinched, her composure faltering. "I—"

"Save it," Caleb spat, his gaze cold. "You act like you're just as much a victim, but you knew something. Don't tell me you didn't. Are you really that shocked about what she did?"

Margot's jaw tightened, and she straightened her back. "I didn't know the extent of it," she said firmly. "I didn't know she was—she was killing people, draining their memories. I didn't know she was working with the Anchor or that she…" She trailed off, her voice breaking.

"You didn't want to know," Caleb shot back. "That's the truth, isn't it? You ignored the signs because it was easier to pretend."

Margot's eyes flashed with anger. "Don't you dare accuse me of that," she snapped. "Do you think I wanted to be part of this? To find out my mother was a monster?"

"Monster or not, someone fed her what she needed," Jack interjected, his voice low but biting. "Lyn. She knew too much about us. How do you explain that?"

Margot turned to him sharply. "Because she was a reflection," she said, her voice rising. "She wasn't even real. She was the Architect's pawn, just like Andy."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "And how do we know you didn't feed her what she needed? You were tied to this place, weren't you?"

Margot's fists clenched. "That's enough," she snapped. "If you want to blame me for everything, fine. But don't forget who led us into that hospital in the first place. Don't forget who convinced us it was the right move."

Her gaze shifted to Lara, her words hanging heavily in the air.

Lara's head snapped up, her tired eyes blazing with defiance. "Don't you dare pin this on me," she said, her voice cold. "Lyn deceived all of us. She played on our desperation, on our need for answers."

"And what about Elias?" Roman said quietly, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "He knew something too, didn't he? He always does. Why didn't he stop this?"

Lara's grip on the silver key tightened, her knuckles white. "Because he believed in us," she said firmly. "He trusted us to make the right choices."

"Look where that trust got him," Caleb muttered, his voice bitter.

The room fell silent, the weight of their collective guilt and anger pressing down on them like a physical force. The only sound was the faint hum of the key in Lara's hand and Elias's labored breathing.

"We're falling apart," Margot said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. "If we don't pull ourselves together, we're not going to survive this."

"No," Lara said, her voice cold and resolute. "If we don't start trusting each other, we'll lose. And I'm not about to let that happen."

She turned to the group, her gaze hard and unyielding. "We need to focus. On the Hearts, on the Nexus, on the Anchor. We can't afford to keep pointing fingers."

Roman nodded slowly, his grip on the crowbar loosening. "She's right," he said. "But first, we need to get out of this city alive."