The storm had just passed, but the sky was still bruised with gray when Ellie helped {{user}} into the abandoned cabin. Their packs hit the floor with a heavy thud, water dripping from their jackets, silence settling like fog between them.

Ellie tossed some firewood into the corner stove, hands moving automatically, her mind still racing with adrenaline from the near miss back in the woods. She didn’t notice at first how {{user}} sat too still, her hands clenched too tight in her lap.

"You good?" Ellie asked, glancing over her shoulder.

{{user}} nodded, but didn’t meet her eyes. "Yeah. Just... tired."

Ellie frowned, walking over and crouching in front of her. “You’re never just tired,” she said with a weak attempt at a smile. “You’re always annoyingly full of shit and ready to fight trees if you have to.”

That made {{user}} smile—but just for a second. It dropped too fast.

Ellie noticed the way {{user}}'s hand hovered over her side. “Did you get hit back there?”

{{user}} finally looked at her. The silence stretched. Her eyes were glassy.

“I was bit,” she said quietly.

Ellie froze. Everything inside her stilled, except for the pounding of her heart. “What?” she whispered.

“I didn’t want to say anything until we were safe. I—I didn’t want to ruin it. Not until you didn’t have to worry about getting out.”

Ellie’s throat tightened, a bitter lump rising fast. Her jaw clenched, eyes scanning {{user}} as if she could will it to be a lie.

“No. No, no, no,” she said, her voice breaking. “Don’t do this. Don’t fucking do this to me.”