The Safe Zone - Reckoning (Book 2)

Chapter 3: Fissures in Trust

Lena:

Zara led us through the wreckage of the old city with the ease of someone who had walked these ruins a hundred times. Her movements were fluid and calculated. Every step, every glance over her shoulder told me she was someone who had survived more than her fair share of hell out here. And yet, there was something about her that didn't sit right with me. She moved too quietly, her eyes constantly scanning, her words clipped. She was cautious, and I didn't blame her, but she was also closed off. Too practiced.

The remnants of civilization loomed around us, casting long shadows in the fading light of the day. The buildings had been hollowed out by time and destruction, their skeletal frames crumbling into piles of debris. It felt like we were walking through a graveyard, not just of people but of everything that had once been. What bothered me the most was how eerily quiet it was—the silence that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end—too quiet for comfort.

Ethan walked beside me, his gaze fixed ahead, every muscle in his body tense. He hadn't said much since Zara had introduced herself, only giving short, cautious answers when she asked us questions. I knew him well enough to see the doubt forming behind his eyes, the hesitation tightening his jaw. And to be honest, I felt it, too. Trusting someone we had just met out here—it was risky. But what choice did we have?

Zara was our only lead, and she seemed to know where we could find shelter, regroup, and maybe—maybe—find allies. But the nagging voice in the back of my mind kept whispering that trusting her too easily could get us killed.

"This way," Zara said, her voice low as she motioned for us to follow her through a narrow alley between two collapsed buildings. "There's a camp nearby. We can't stay long, but we can rest and get you both cleaned up. You look like hell."

I snorted at that. "Yeah, well, we've had a rough few days."

Zara didn't smile. She wasn't the smiling type, I could tell. She just nodded, her eyes flicking between me and Ethan before continuing. I could feel the unspoken question hanging between us—*Can we trust her?*—but I didn't ask it out loud. Not yet.

Ethan's hand brushed against mine as we walked, and I glanced over at him, my stomach tightening. He looked straight ahead, his face set in that complex, unreadable expression he always wore while trying to keep it together. But there was something else there, too. Uncertainty. We hadn't talked about it yet, but I could feel the tension growing with every step away from the Safe Zone.

We had decided to leave together, but the cracks were starting to show out here in the wilds.

Ethan:

Zara moved with an efficiency I hadn't seen in a long time, making me uneasy. She knew these streets too well, where to step, how to avoid the dangerous spots. It wasn't the kind of knowledge you picked up just by surviving. It was something else—training, experience, something more deliberate. And I wouldn't say I liked it.

But I wasn't about to question her, not yet. We didn't have the luxury of being picky about who we trusted. We were as good as dead if we didn't find allies—and fast. Nora's Enforcers would be searching for us, and I had no doubt they'd come down hard if they caught up. The Safe Zone might have been a prison but had structure, walls, and order. Out here, all we had was the unknown.

Still, something about Zara gnawed at me. She was too quiet, too practiced. I'd learned to trust my instincts, and my gut told me to keep my guard around her.

"We're not far now," Zara said, glancing back at me. "You're lucky I found you when I did. The Enforcers have been moving through this area lately. They've been more aggressive, more organized."