Carriers

by Krissy Reynolds

  She didn't think. She just did it. Shay raised the gun and squeezed the trigger. The bullet struck the agent in the chest, despite her aim for his head, and he was knocked backwards. She didn't stop. Blinded by her anger she fired once, twice more, sending two more rounds into the man's torso. The other two did nothing but stare at her in shock, eyes round as eggs. She'd done something she never believed she had it in her to do- kill a man. The reality didn't sink in just yet. She'd blacked out her mind for the moment.

  One snapped his aim back to her, evoking her to fire at him once. She missed. Cursing, she fired again, the bullet tearing through his neck. Still wasn't the headshot she was aiming for, but it was getting closer. He fell to the ground with a gurgled scream as the remaining one tackled her, sending her slamming hard onto the asphalt. Her back took the impact, stunning her for a few moments. He wrestled the gun out of her hand, causing her to accidentally fire twice, her bullets zipping through nothing but empty air. For a moment she had a clear, close-range shot right between his eyes. She squeezed the trigger only to find, to her horror, she was out of ammunition.

  The surviving agent pressed his gun up under her chin, forcing it against the skin. She struggled against him but couldn't move, punching him with her arms lightly- he had her pinned by the elbows. Her arms were not of much use.

  The man coughed in her face, his mouth uncovered and spit flying against her skin. Wrinkling her features in disgust she managed to flip him off of her body as his coughing intensified, scrambling away from him as quickly as she could. Idiot should have known better than to tackle me.

  Knowing they had little time before he would be back on his feet she struggled to regain hers, taking two attempts before she could successfully do so. Her wounded leg almost buckled beneath her, healing wound crying out in protest.

  The mindset she was now a murderer had not yet sunk in, for her world was moving at ninety miles an hour and she knew they had little time to take advantage of their situation. The other Carriers stood scattered, all sets of eyes on her, equally as shocked as the next person.

  "Come on, get Jaycee out of that van and we need to run!" She ordered. Nobody moved. They continued to stare at her, some starting to doubt the judgment they'd had all faith in the days previous. A few even shifted their glances towards the two dead agents, both lying in puddles of their own blood. The scene was a shock for any human who had not witnessed what bullets left in their wake, only it seemed to make the gory aftermath all the worse knowing someone you knew had done it.

  "Are you going to just stand there?" She sneered, eyes ablaze. She was sure they now visualized her as an animal, although she didn't really care. If she hadn't taken action one of them, possibly more, would be dead right now. The costs of her actions had not yet registered.

  Marena was the first to take action, sprinting off in the direction of the van. Carson remained where he was, dark eyes still transfixed on his girlfriend. She ignored him and pursued Marena, who had already made her way to the van.

  Marena flung the doors open to reveal Jaycee, sitting with her knees pressed firmly to her chest in the back. She looked up at the two of them, features expressing massive relief as she crawled her way to the exit, slipping outside into fresh air. She nodded a silent thanks to the two of them before sprinting across the parking lot to join Laylia, her friend embracing her in a relieved hug.

  Following the quiet girl she and Marena rejoined the others, Shay still not expecting the incredulous stares. Her eyes found Carson, and he too refused to look her in the eye. That, however, was not what concerned her- it was the agent bracing to shoot him.

  Looking to her feet was one of the guns an agent had owned- she wasn't sure which one but didn't care. Moving as quick as her body would allow she reached down and snatched up the 9mm, snapping her aim towards the agent all in the span of a few seconds. No Carrier was dying today- she was making sure of that. She struggled to get a firm hold on the weapon, the handle of which was slick with enemy blood. Squeezing one eye tight she fired, successfully delivering a headshot. His head snapped back as the left side of his face disappeared. At least his death had been quick.

  Carson's head whipped back and around, large eyes even wider. She'd saved his life yet none of them acknowledged it, instead acting as if she had carried out her acts in cold blood. It was not the case. She didn't want to die, even if it meant she would have to kill them.

  "Take their weapons and make it fast. I'm not sticking around," she barked coolly. To her dismay not a single body moved. "Look, I am not going to kill you! I'm running out of bullets, I won't be able to save all your asses if you just keep standing there! Do you guys want to die?" Seven heads shook in response.

  "Then they," she said, motioning to the bodies sprawled across the asphalt. "Have to."

  Of course, when her fury and adrenaline finally ebbed away, she was going to think differently, but for now, her main focus was getting out alive, no matter what she had to do.

  Chapter 10

  Knowing people were afraid of what she was capable of didn't bother her- back in school people had been scared to do anything to her because of the power she'd held. This was a different story- these people were her friends yet they were all scared of her. Not because she could ruin their lives, but because she was capable of killing, and doing so without mercy.

  Although she showed no mercy, it had not been a coldblooded act, but an act of doing what was necessary to survive. She hadn't been able to feel when she did it, her mind a total blank, emotional switch flipped to off. She had been numb to the gore, numb to the death, numb to the shock and a bit of awe that was withheld in the gazes of her Carriers. Then was a different story than now, for she sat curled in the shotgun seat, head buried in her hands, silently distraught.

  Marena sat beside her, light eyes fixated on the highway before them. In the hour they had been driving there had been not a lick of conversation. Shay remained silent, her morale degrading her as she continued to replay her actions again and again in her mind. She wasn't a killer; at least she didn't believe she was. Killers wanted to kill. Killers lusted for blood, the barbaric sense of pleasure they received while watching the light fade from a victim's eyes. She didn't get that feeling. She felt nothing.

  She took in a deep, ragged breath. Marena's eyes darted over to her for a moment before returning to the road. Her best friend's hazel gaze had softened from an hour ago, looking as if she had been in a state of thought similar to her own. Shay slipped her hands down her face before they fell into her lap with a smack. A set of hazel eyes darted to look at her again, and she could sense someone was on the brink of breaking the silence, but who could not be determined- both of them seemed to want to speak as badly as the other, but the right words couldn't be found.

  "Are you okay?" Marena spoke suddenly, her voice quiet and unsure. She didn't look at Shay, her body language reading as she felt rather removed. She couldn't blame her. Maybe Marena feared she'd shoot her too. Even though she knew she'd never do such a thing, was it really that illogical? She never believed she would kill a man, yet an hour ago, she killed three. Marena was one of the last people she could possibly imagine ever killing, yet her removal made sense. It could easily just be shock.

  "N…no. I'm not." Was all she managed to stammer out, her tongue heavy as lead.

  "Of course you wouldn't be. It was a dumb question."

  "At least someone finally talked to me."

  "They're just in shock, hell, I am too. It's wrong, killing people, but they would have killed us. I'm not saying it's the morally right thing to do, but it was the right thing to do for the sake of our lives. They'll come around, they owe you a thank you- because of you all eight of us made it out alive."

  Shay didn't respond. She agreed one hundred percent with her, but felt like she didn't entirely understand the mental turmoil she was in. Marena didn't kill them- she'd never killed anyone. It was a difficult feeling to describe, knowing you had taken someone's life
, even if it was the thing that saved the lives of those she cared for. She knew shooting them in the foot wouldn't suffice that time- it had to be done, no matter what damage it did to her.

  Another hour passed without event. She couldn't sleep, for every time she shut her eyes the scenes of her acts replayed before her. She and Marena would occasionally joke, but they weren't really conversing as best friends should. Tension was still rigid in the air- she could sense their trust had been bruised, but bruises fade.

  "Do we have any plan on where we're going?" Marena asked. How am I supposed to know? She thought bitterly. Her mind had been on other things the entire time.

  "Nope." She replied. Marena sighed.

  "I thought so," she responded, her voice hard. Uncomfortable, Shay picked slivers of periwinkle polish off her nails. "But, I was thinking about something that has nothing to do with what I just asked. Why did they choose Kansas City to be the final stage, and ultimately release point of the virus?"

  "Because we're number four on the list for yearly amount of murders? I dunno," she muttered back.

  "I think it's because of the central location in the country. Missouri is surrounded by states on all sides, KC is on the border with another state, we have an airport that serves as a midway and flies to pretty much everywhere else in the country, and people drive through there to get to a destination all the time. It would spread out around there impossibly fast- it makes sense."

  She nodded in agreement. Although she wouldn't have agreed with the decision before giving it thought, Marena's points did make a lot of sense. It would spread easily and it would spread fast coming out of the city she'd lived in for eleven years- and that realization scared her. Two hundred and fifty people in two days. The number could be in the four hundred now.

  "So, if you think about it, we would have ended up as the first Carriers anyways," Shay replied, the idea feeling like a blow to the gut. There would have been no way for her to escape this life.

  "Probably, yeah."

  And that realization sucked.

  Chapter 11

  Emotionless? When the situation called for it. Heartless? Towards certain people. Name known by everyone? Yes. That was Shay Claire now, molded by the drastic turn of events her life had taken in the past three and a half days. She'd witnessed and done things no teenager should have to experience, and it was slowly changing her. Something was dying inside of her and making room for a warrior to be born.

  The afternoon breeze toyed with strands of her blonde hair as she sat on a bench of yet another rest stop, Carson sitting beside her. They'd been sharing words of light conversation, but he seemed as awkward as Marena did, likely still shocked about what she'd done. She knew it would take a little time for them to come around. They'd been avoiding mention of it entirely, but by the direction the conversation was taking she knew it would come up soon.

  "So, are you alright?" Carson asked, placing his hand softly on her shoulder.

  "I guess," she muttered blankly. She knew her lie was transparent. She wasn't trying to convince him otherwise, she just didn't want to admit it to him. She was not a girl who broke down often, and she'd already done so once in his arms. There wasn't room for a repeat.

  "Stop lying. You don't have to be scared to admit it. Just because everyone views you as our leader-"

  "Wait, what?" She cut him off, surprised by his words. "There's no way in hell they think I'm their leader. They're avoiding me like I'm the plague." The irony in her words stung.

  "Well, they may or may not be a little scared of you right now, but it's not a secret we see you as our leader. It was an obvious choice- nobody else would have done the things you did." Carson responded. She shook her head.

  "No. Leaders don't kill people."

  "Katniss Everdeen killed people," he responded with a chuckle. She grinned. "I know what we have to do isn't right, but you were right earlier. If we don't want to die, they have to." His humor from moments ago was gone, replaced by a seriousness she seldom saw out of him. I'm not the only one who's changing.

  "I actually just got that from a song, but alright," she joked. He smiled in response. She was appreciative of him not making the conversation heavy- for a few minutes; she was able to forget about what she'd done. The moment it left her mind her mood lifted.

  Sensing the conversation was over she stood up and made her way over to the restrooms, keeping her head low. There were a lot of people here this time, and she dreaded being recognized by any of them. Just in case the situation went south, however, her gun was tucked beneath the hem of her shorts, pressing against the small of her back, hopefully concealed.

  Only after she'd used the restroom and washed her hands did she realize several other women in the restroom were staring at her. Shit, they recognize us. She made eye contact with Marena, whom was standing against the wall farthest from the exit. She nodded, and then they bolted.

  Someone, she wasn't sure who, stuck out their foot and tripped her. Shay stumbled into the tiled wall, face smacking against it before she managed to catch herself. Pain blossomed through her face as she turned around to see two girls, looking to be around twenty, had cornered her. One swung at her, scarcely missing as she ducked and lunged at the other. She was built stronger than the girl, who she easily slammed into the wall behind her. Hands reached for her shoulders, grasping at her as she managed to get away.

  She rushed to the other side of the bathroom before she drew her gun and pointed it towards the girls. The one who she'd slammed against a wall was now coughing brutally into her elbow, her black-haired counterpart looking on in shock. With the adrenaline of the moment she didn't even have time to distress over the fact she'd just infected another human.

  "Don't move," Shay ordered. "I don't want to hurt any of you, but I will if I have to."

  "Shay," Marena warned, taking a step towards her. "Violence isn't the answer to everything."

  "People are dying because of you, do you know that?" The black haired girl spat. Shay swallowed hard, for she tried her best not to think about it whenever possible. "Now my best friend's going to die because of you, too!" She shouted, voice cracking. Besides the girl's shouts, silence cloaked the restroom, the other patrons looking on with terrified stares.

  "Well she touched me, nothing I can do about," she responded flatly. With a battle cry the girl flung herself across the bathroom directly towards Shay, who fired her gun in instinct. The bullet pinged off the tiles just shy of the girl's feet. As she cursed and aimed again the girl brought her fist slamming into her mouth, knocking her head to the left as her fist passed over her jaw. She stumbled backwards, mouth throbbing. Her eyes locked with the girl's soft blue ones as she smeared away the blood oozing from her busted lip, anger bubbling within.

  She took a step forward, testing the girl to see if she'd react again. She wasn't going to touch her, for that would mean infecting another person. It was an urge she was struggling to resist to just reach out and sock the girl as payback for her own injury, but by doing so she'd also create another victim of the virus. The situation didn't call for it, and she was not inhumane enough to do so anyways.

  "Hurts, doesn't it?" The girl sneered, her cocky grin only pissing her off more. She was struggling to keep her short temper in rein. The girl's smile faded from her lips as her hands flew to her neck, eyes suddenly bulging. Her first cough rang out loud and clear, echoing through the bathroom as she stuffed her mouth against her elbow. Shay closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the scene unfolded before her eyes yet again. She punched you. It's not your fault. It's just like the guy back in the city. It's their fault, not yours. Her thoughts would only keep her together for so long.

  "Marena, let's go," she barked quickly, locking eyes with her best friend. The other blonde bobbed her head quickly and darted towards the exit, weaving her way through the shocked women who made no haste in scattering out of her way. She followed close behind, not turning back to check the two girls' fates. For all she knew th
ey could have been Carriers.

  Spilling outside into the humid air they continued to sprint towards the U-Haul, not looking back. Someone in there was bound to call the police, hell, someone might already have. They didn't have much time to get out of here.

  The girls rushed by Carson on their way towards the parking lot. "Hey, what's going on?" He shouted as he stood up abruptly, pursuing them.

  "Shay got whacked in the face!" Marena responded in a sing-song voice, her grin stretching from ear to ear.

  "Yeah I did get punched but it's not important! What is is that a few people tried to attack us in there. They recognized us, and I guarantee you one of the onlookers is calling the cops right now."

  "Great," Carson muttered as he caught up with them easily. "I'm riding shotgun this time." Marena shrugged her shoulders.

  "Have fun in the suicide seat." She said back with a smirk. Shay sighed, shaking her head. Those two couldn't seem to go ten words without getting aggressive.

  "Is everyone back in the back?" she asked as she yanked the driver's side door open, plopping herself down inside. A single drop of crimson was staining the pink collar of her shirt, splattered from her lip after the blow was delivered. Her whole lower face was throbbing, her head still slightly woozy. Whoever that girl was, she could hit hard.

  "Yup," Carson answered as he sat down in the passenger seat beside her, slamming the door hard behind him. That was all the confirmation she needed to rev up the engine, shift gears and pull out of the parking lot. Speeding out onto the highway yet again she increased the speed rapidly, fleeing the rest stop with the wail of sirens in the distance.