Chapter 12

Diana knew that something was up. Sure; maybe Astrid was just crazy from spending days on her own in the wilderness, but it was more than that. She knew that it was something to do with the Darkness.

Astrid had been acting the same way that Caine had when he was being influenced; more subdued, mysterious. As if she had a plan but didn't quite know what for.

She was going to tell Sam - but what could he do? He had no direct experience with the Darkness.

So she went to Lana instead. "I think Astrid went to the mineshaft." She told her, trying to be subtle about it. Diana had heard about how Lana could snap at the mention of the Darkness.

Lana looked defeated. "I know." She said quietly. She looked helpless.

"You know? What do you mean, you know?" Diana asked, almost accusingly.

"I could feel it." Lana said quietly.

"But...can't you do anything? Talk to her?" Diana asked. She paused. "I think she's up to something."

Lana shook her head. "It's up to her to end it. I can't end it for her." Diana looked slightly annoyed. Lana sighed. "Look, when Caine was being influenced by the Darkness, and you tried to reason with him, what did he do?" She asked.

"He ignored me." Diana replied, understanding.

"We can't reason with her." Lana said. "She won't listen to us. All we can do is try to find out what she's planning."

Diana nodded. Lana was right.

And Diana was the best at finding out what people were up to.

Sam couldn't stop smiling. It had all felt like a dream.

She was back. She was finally back. He had barely lasted three weeks without her.

Edilio noticed him smiling. "I guess you're relieved, right?" He asked, smiling back at him.

Sam sighed. "Man, I don't know how I feel. I can't describe it. Relief, happiness, love-"

"Jeez, Sam." Dekka laughed; she had overheard him. "Keep going like this and Astrid won't want you anymore. You're turning into a girl." She teased. Sam laughed with her. He was overwhelmingly happy.

They didn't catch many fish, but then they had less mouths to feed at the lake and they didn't want to over-fish it. So they sailed back to the marina and stored the fish in a little hut which used to be the office of the dock and campsite manager.

Sam walked quickly back to his boat, leaving Edilio and Dekka trailing behind. He saw that Astrid was already awake. She was helping herself to a few crackers in the kitchen area.

"This is much nicer than what we used to have back in town." She said.

Sam smiled and sat down next to her. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

She sighed. "I'm OK." She paused. "I'm sorry for freaking out on you and leaving, Sam. I shouldn't have done that." She said.

He put his arm around her. "S'OK. I've just missed you."

Diana had walked onto the boat. "Yeah, you can say that again." She said.

Sam looked at her. "Where did you go?"

She shrugged. "I went for a walk." She half-smiled at Astrid and went to her room.

Astrid turned to Sam. "She was lying."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?" He asked.

Astrid scoffed. "Diana doesn't really seem like someone who would just go for a walk."

"I guess." He replied. "But we can't expect her to tell us everything. It's not like we're all best friends or anything."

Astrid nodded. "Yes, I suppose. But I think it's a bit more than that. It was just something she said..." She trailed off, and then looked at Sam as if she had said too much.

"What?" Sam prompted.

"I talked to her earlier. She just...she kept saying that this place was a hell-hole. That I shouldn't have come back."

Sam was confused. "She said you shouldn't have come back? And I thought she liked it here." He said.

Astrid looked at him. "I think she likes you, Sam. The way she was talking...she sounded kind of jealous." She looked down at her hands. "I think she more than likes you." She said.

Sam laughed softly at first, but then he saw that she was serious. "Wait - you think she's in love with me or something? Because I highly doubt that." He said.

"Sam, I know what I'm talking about. I'm good at reading people like that. And I don't know whether it's because you're a nicer version of Caine or something, but I think she loves you." She said, looking troubled.

Sam didn't like the way she said that. 'A nicer version of Caine'. He didn't like being associated with Caine, even though they were brothers.

Sam held her hand. "Look, it doesn't matter what Diana feels, because I would never be with her. I love you. And you can trust me." He said, trying not to remember when Diana kissed him.

Astrid looked up at him. "But Diana's the type of girl who can persuade anyone to like her." She said quietly. "Can't she just go back to her old boat? Just for my peace of mind?" She pleaded. Sam sighed.

"But it's safer if she's here. We can support and protect her." He paused. "You can trust me, I swear. I would never do anything with her." He said, feeling guilty.

Astrid looked upset. "Please, Sam? We can still support her. She'd still be safe. Please? For me?" Sam was going to say 'no', but she was looking up at him with her wide blue eyes and he found her hard to refuse.

So he nodded. "OK, fine. I'll go talk to her."

Astrid kissed him. "Thank you." She said.

Diana was shocked. "Oh." Was all she said.

Sam tried not to be awkward, but he couldn't stop asking himself; did Diana really love him? He found it so hard to believe. "Sorry." He replied.

She smiled. "I guess Astrid really doesn't like me."

"No, it's not that..." he started, but then dropped the lie. "Yeah, I guess. But, who knows? It might be temporary. She might have a change of heart." He tried to reassure her.

She shrugged. "It's OK, Sam. It's not that big a deal." She said. She had already started putting her few clothes into her bag.

"You'll still be safe." He replied.

"I know." She said. She looked up at him. "Did you mean it? When you said that you wanted to be like a father to my kid?"

"Yeah," Sam said, "of course I did. And I still will be. I just - maybe..." He trailed off. "I don't know." He sighed.

She smiled at him. It hadn't taken long to pack her belongings. She picked up her bag and headed back to her old, lonely boat, passing Astrid on the way out.

Astrid looked satisfied.