Guilt slashed through her. If she hadn’t been sitting outside with her stupid coffee… If she had stayed closer… If she had just paid better attention. Every second of that morning replayed itself behind her closed eyes, cruel and relentless, a spiral of what-ifs she couldn’t escape.
The forest around her blurred as she broke down completely. The searchers left around her shifted awkwardly, not sure what to do. Samantha felt like she was drowning inside her own skin. Everything inside her screamed to stop—to go home, to give up, to finally let the darkness win.