"Look everyone, your precious leader has fallen!" Laylia sneered, gathering the attention of the others. She twisted her head again, allowing Shay a brief moment to suck in air before her face returned to being stuffed in dirt. It forced its way into her nostrils and mouth, caking her face and the blood that flowed from her mouth and nose.
At that moment her rage was indescribable. She knew what was coming next- Laylia was going to finish what she'd set out to do. Unable to speak she'd be helpless to dispute Laylia's claims. She'd turn them all against her.
"Come on, come see for yourself! In the end the person you so foolishly allowed to lead you is pinned, face smothered in dirt. I can hardly believe every last one of you trusted her with your lives! We've already witnessed Butterfingers at her best- two lives have already slipped out of her hands. It's good someone's here to take the reins now. Kind of sad it took her best friend dying and boyfriend being kidnapped for us to see what a crazy, sadistic bitch she really is!"
She could sense her Carriers gathering around, feel their gazes burning into her back- she could only imagine what they were thinking. What would they think now?
"Stop talking about yourself Laylia. Shay is nothing you've called her! Whatever she's done it was for the sake of all of us. You've never experienced the pressure of leading us while she has the entire time." Katrina spat. Her words brought hope to Shay's ears. I knew she wouldn't be able to convince them!
"Katrina, Katrina, Katrina, you know just as well as I do that if they'd taken Owen she wouldn't have given a shit. Hell, I'd be surprised if she was even so foolishly hellbent on saving you. You're not valuable." Laylia's words were brutal. Even though they weren't directed at her she still felt a sting. Katrina was valuable- she'd been stepping up when the time called for it. She couldn't ask for much more. "Well, at least you weren't before she faked her death."
Are you kidding me? I never faked my death! She thrashed beneath Laylia, a fresh dose of anger and rage boiling through her veins. Laylia took note of this and yanked her head up. She sucked in as much air as she could, preparing to speak. Unfortunately Laylia slammed her face right back down into the dirt, more dirt entering her mouth. She heard Katrina swallow loudly. No, she's falling for it!
"Stop Laylia. You're nothing but a freak wanting to get attention." She recognized Axel's voice. He sounded angry yet unsure, almost as if he was starting to get a sliver of doubt about her as well. The last people she had to turn to turned against her.
"I'm not even going waste my breath on you, Axel. You're so ignorant and stupid there's no point. She tried to kill me! Did you see the way the attacked me? She was willing to kill one of our group for no reason!" she seethed, twisting Shay's face in the dirt one final time. "Now, let's see your so called leader in all her glory."
She roughly flipped her over onto her back. Laylia's face hovered over her own, malicious smirk glowing in the firelight.
"Look. She's nothing without Marena and Carson. She's gone insane. I'm not sure she wasn't insane to begin with." Laylia hissed, bringing her face closer to Shay's. If her arms hadn't been pinned she could have punched the smirk right off her face.
Using her tongue she scrounged up all the dirt that had forced its way into her mouth. She spat out the accumulation all over Laylia's freckled face. "I'm not crazy, and everyone knows it. It was time someone shut you up for good."
"And looks like you failed at that, just like you failed at keeping my best friend and yours alive."
`"Is that what this is about? Getting back at me because Jaycee died? We avenged her death!" Laylia delivered another hard blow to her jaw, sending spit and blood flying out. The pain was refreshed instantly yet she kept her cries of pain in, refusing to show weakness. You already are showing it she told herself. You lost your cool in front of everyone.
"Look, everyone. She is nothing more than a school's mean girl who was assumed into leadership because you all already viewed her as a leader. She led the bullying, she led the gossip, she led the rumors and the social circle so it makes since she'd lead us, right? She's been leading us down a new path of destruction besides the one she walked back home. Old habits die hard, don't they Shay? You're not happy without making someone miserable, are you?" Laylia seethed, still smirking.
"You're acting like I'm the only person who's killed, the only person who's injured another. Nobody is innocent here, we're all fucked. Now come on, pull her off me. Let's end this before it goes any further."
Nobody moved a muscle. Owen and Katrina both shot disapproving glares down at her. Kyleigh was shaking her head while whispering to Newbie. Axel seemed stunned but not disapproving. She still had him on her side.
"Someone do it!" She barked the order, expecting someone to come to her aid. They just stared.
"Face it Shay. You've been exposed. They don't trust you anymore. They need a leader who sees through everyone else's bullshit. You take the truck and get out of my sight before I decide to stoop to your level and kill you."
"Shut up Laylia, I kicked your ass and everyone knows it."
"She's right Shay, get out of here."
Stunned she looked up to see Katrina, her gaze disapproving and arms crossed. Owen was shaking his head. All her rage and adrenaline was suddenly drained from her being, leaving her with nothing but a resounding sense of defeat. Every wound seemed to throb with such an intensity she wanted to scream out, cry, or hit herself so she could wake up from this nightmare. She'd lost control of her life in just a matter of hours. First Marena, then Carson, and now this- her ultimate downfall.
It was the fall of the leader. Nobody warned her she was falling until she hit the ground.
Chapter 37
Thirty minutes later she was curled up in the passenger seat of the truck. They were without half of the supplies they'd had an hour ago-Laylia demanded they get half of the supplies and Shay didn't even bother putting up a fight. She was drained.
In the end the only person that ended up coming along with her to rescue Carson was Axel. He kept telling her the others were going to come around eventually and that Laylia was a freak, but she only halfheartedly listened. They wouldn't come around; she just knew it in her heart. The others were a lost cause.
A quick rap on the window startled her. She looked out to see Katrina on the other side of the glass, peering in. Her former friend's visage was expressionless, revealing no clue as to why she was there. At first she refused to roll the window down. The last person she expected to turn on her was Katrina and yet she did. She wanted to do anything but talk to her. For some reason she still pressed the button and lowered the window anyways.
"What do you want?" She spat bitterly.
"I'm here to tell you I won't let things go to hell. I'll let Laylia think I've turned against you but you'll know the truth. You'll know I haven't. I'm not that stupid. We'll come find you. Trust me, Owen and I are just acting, Kyleigh's gonna take some talking to, Newbie too. She lied and exaggerated almost everything, but damn… she should be a lawyer. If we don't find you take Axel and meet us in Carthage on Monday. We still know who our true leader is," Katrina said, her voice lowered in hopes Laylia wouldn't hear.
"Katrina, what are you doing over there? She's not worth your goodbyes!" Laylia shouted from her seat besides the campfire. Furious, Shay stuffed her finger out the window and flipped her the bird. "Oh real classy Shay! You're insane and trashy! Wonderful combination!"
"Oh go fuck yourself!" She shot back, ducking her head back inside the window. "Anyways, where were we?"
"You were about to respond to what I told you, about my plan."
She nodded in response. "Thank you. I honestly did think she'd convinced you and Owen too, I'm happy that's not the case. I just wish you were coming with me. I'd feel a lot better knowing I had someone who's experienced at my side," she replied warily, eyelids drooping. She had no doubt she'd slip into unconsciousness within the hour.
"I don't want to risk losing Owen and you have to respect t
hat," Katrina said back, her tone hard.
"Yeah, I guess I do." she sighed. She rolled up the window, leaving her and Katrina separated by glass once more.
Katrina slammed her hand down on the door, creating a hollow thud.
"You know I suck at goodbyes," she said through the glass. "I want it to be memorable, in case it's the last time I'll ever see you."
She swallowed hard. She didn't want to think she'd never any of them again- she'd come to care about most of them in some way or another. The idea of leaving them behind was still bitter in her throat.
"Don't say that Katrina. If you have faith in me you know I can do this. We'll find you and we'll have Carson with us. I promise."
"Stay gold, Ponyboy."
Shay stared at Katrina for a few moments, eyebrows raised. She smiled, chuckling softly and her friend on the other side of the glass did the same.
"Katrina!" Laylia's shout was loud enough to be heard through the glass. She watched as her friend's light brown eyes shifted back to the campfire, the humor in her eyes fading. She looked back at her and she nodded, understanding. Katrina dipped her head one last time and she was gone.
"Alright, go." She told Axel, her voice scarcely more than a whisper.
Axel stepped on the pedal and drove back onto the road, the campgrounds eventually fading into a background of Ozark woods. She stared out the window for the longest time watching the trees blur by. Sleep took hold of her gradually, eventually lulling her into its oblivion. The last thing that was on her mind was if she'd ever see any of them again. She couldn't be sure she would.
Chapter 38
On the first night of sleeping without her best friend in the world it seemed sensible Marena would torment her dreams. At first it was just her final moments replaying in Shay's sleep, helpless to change anything. It went on like this for some time, an endless horror story written in the world of dreams.
It gradually changed to Cassie, Jaycee and Marena, all looking exactly as they had when they died. Why was Cassie there? She wasn't a Carrier. She still died by my side. That's probably why. The three girls looked horrifying, each covered with blood from the wounds that killed them accompanied by malicious smiles that seemed much wider than usual. They were standing in front of something, she could tell, yet they wouldn't move to show her what was behind them.
Gradually they did, each parting to give her a view of what was behind them. It was Carson, unconscious and handcuffed to a chair, a little bit of blood trickling from his temple. She tried to run to him only she found her legs wouldn't work.
Marena, Jaycee and Cassie began to circle him, their horrifying smiles only growing wider.
"He's next, he's next, he's next!" The three chanted in unison, never tearing their eyes away from Shay. She tried to look away yet found she could not- she was totally helpless.
Marena inched closer to Carson, her faces inches from him. "Come on Carson, join us," she taunted, flashing her lifeless eyes to his girlfriend and snickering. "Shay will probably follow you. We'll have us a little party."
The three then rushed over to her with inhuman speed, almost as if their feet were not touching the ground. The image of Carson faded before her eyes and she wanted to cry out, beg the ghosts of her friends to bring him back- it might be the last time she'd ever see his face, but no, the ghostly girls had something much darker in plan for her.
They began to circle her exactly like they'd done to Carson. "You're next, you're next, you're next!" They began to chant again, voices shrill. They began to close in, blocking off all escape routes. Terror rushed over her like a wave, her only thought that they were going to kill her.
She woke up in a cold sweat, momentarily forgetting where she was. The sunlight seemed so alien. The brightness made her want to recoil and hide- it wasn't a time for a bright happy day. If the weather had the curtsy to match her mood a thunderstorm would be roaring away outside.
It didn't take long for where she was and how she got there to come back to her. The discussion, the fight, her displacing as leader and Katrina's promise. After they'd left she fell asleep shortly afterwards- it had been three forty three am then. It was now almost eleven in the afternoon.
She turned her head to the side, expecting to find Axel dozing off in the seat beside her. The seat was empty. She pressed her hand against the seat to check for warmth- if there was any he hadn't been gone long. The leather seat was cold.
Wariness slowly began to creep into her veins. She scanned her eyes around the scenery outside, searching for anything that warranted immediate action. Outside seemed fairly quite- the truck stop was for a majority empty, a handful of cars scattered across the parking lot. There were no troopers or ominous black vehicles to create any sense of danger. It appeared to be a normal summer afternoon outside.
Reassured she was in no danger she began to search for Axel, assuming he'd just gone to the bathroom or something. Instead she discovered him sitting on a bench, face buried in a newspaper. She raised her eyebrows, instantly amused. She'd always had a love for reading Axel didn't share- it was a struggle to get him to read a book assigned as classwork.
"Axel, reading?" She said aloud, chuckling. Curious she slipped out of the truck, slamming the door loudly behind her. She'd clearly gathered his attention as he looked up. She made her way over to the dusky haired boy, rubbing her temple a few times as she did. The pain had lessened since last night yet it was still there, little more than a highly-noticeable throbbing. She was bruised in several places on her back and arms, each hurting in their own ways. Her body was sore and worn. She felt broken yet now was time for anything except to give up. She had Carson to save and a group to reunite.
Axel dropped the newspaper by his side, putting his hands over it as if trying to cover it up. He didn't have anything to be ashamed of- she wasn't going to make fun of him for reading. Sure, give him a little bit of a hard time as she'd never even seen him with a book in his arms at school but it was all in good manner. She wouldn't do anything more than be overly sarcastic anyways.
"Out of all the things I never expected to see was you reading." she remarked sarcastically, snatching the paper up from the bench and plopping down to read it. The thin paper crinkled in her hands and stirred with the breeze, making it a struggle to even read the headline.
"Well I'll read when it's about us," he replied, voice distant. Her eyes flickered over to him. A solemn look was pressed upon his features, making her heart sink. What could possibly have been said about them now? Her eyes drifted back down to the paper and the letters in larger, bold font. TWO CONFIRMED CARRIERS DEATHS, POSSIBILITY OF ANOTHER. She swallowed hard. The last thing she wanted to do was read an article about Marena's death. She took a deep breath, daring herself to read on.
"Shay, you don't have to read it."
She looked up at him, pursing her lips. "I'd still like to know what they said."
"Alright, no promises you'll like it." He told her, grim expression on his face. He reached out as if to touch her on the shoulder but she slid away, unsure if it was a friendly or romantic gesture. Either way she didn't want to be touched by anyone, even an old friend. She picked up the paper again, bracing for whatever she found in the article.
Ten days ago reports of the death of a Carrier were circulating near Sedalia, Missouri. The report was later confirmed to be true, as survivors of the encounter report one was indeed shot twice. It was nearing three a.m, making it difficult to get a good look at who it was. They could tell it was a female with brown hair, narrowing it down to a certain few. All witnesses confirmed the Carrier took a bullet to the abdomen and another to the head.
Then yesterday a new report came up at about ten last night that another Carrier was dead. The report was from two water patrol officers from the Niangua River. They had both sustained drastic head injuries believed to be inflicted by the Carriers. They claimed to have hit a girl on the head, sending her into the river. Tom Farrows was knocked unconscious prior to his par
tner, Steve Lenn allegedly knocking the girl into the water. Lenn was later overpowered as well, forced to steer is boat to shore.
"One of them kept hitting the engine of my boat with an oar until they finally did some damage. I had to drift to shore and watched them for a good five minutes. I never saw that girl come back up." Lenn said, remembering his attack. "I didn't get a good look at the one I hit, but I do remember she was blonde."
Despite the head trauma Lenn received he's still being taken as a valid witness. If his claims are true the Carrier he hit could be Shay Claire, Marena McGrew or Kyleigh Abercrombie. If it's later found he successfully eliminated Claire he would be viewed as a hero and gain large sums of money. Killing Claire would be a huge blow to the Carriers- they would be stripped of their leader, giving the efforts to find and kill them a fresh wind.
She dropped the paper into her lap and ran her fingers through her hair, exhaling slowly. Axel stared at her, pondering whether or not he should say something. She waited for a few moments, no sound but the crinkling of the paper in the breeze. Might as well keep reading. There's still another half page to go.
However, Lenn and Farrows's report continues to after they got off the river. They drove to a campsite, hoping to find first aid supplies for Farrows's head wound before they drove him to the hospital. There, according to the two, they were ambushed yet again by the Carriers.
"The other blonde went after me. I'm almost one hundred percent sure it was Shay Claire- I got a good look at her but it's difficult to remember now, all the details seem blurry. I just remember hitting her with the same broken bottle she used to hit me- there was blood everywhere. I think more of it was hers than mine."
Carriers Page 29