Neve just sat there, on her knees, for the longest time.
Her eyes remained on her lap, with her hands in front of her, motionless.
What the hell could she do? How was a person supposed to react to this?
There had only been one other moment in Neve's life that put her in the same stunned position. But this time, it wasn't her mother's lifeless eyes staring back at her, but John's and Stella's.
Could she have moved earlier? Should she have stood behind the high-level players as they were attacked? Maybe, but the moment Thomas held that sword to her throat, Neve had been powerless to do anything.
That coping thought didn't help with the shame, though.
The low crackling of the campfires they'd made before all of this was all Neve could hear for a while, paired up with her slow, steady breathing.
Until she heard a cough up ahead.
"Ack!"
"Huh?" Neve instantly raised her head.
[Someone's alive?]
Instinctively, she got up from where she was and ran toward the source of that sound.
