Twenty minutes later the Carriers found themselves in the parking lot, duffle bags filled with stolen weapons and ammunition. Axel had begrudgingly left Kyleigh's body where it lay; using his fingers to gingerly close her eyes for the final time. It had been painful to watch. He'd since fallen silent, his gaze trained on nothing, mind wandering in space. No one would try to disturb him.
The sun was sinking below the horizon, last glimmers of orange light setting the treetops ablaze. A cool breeze tugged at her hair, welcome to her sweaty, overheated body. The six of them had been joined by Laylia and Alexandria, their belated arrival scarcely acknowledged. Not one person bothered to speak to them. Alexandria at least, however, had managed to pick up on the fact Kyleigh was dead. It was obvious in the sympathetic glances she'd shoot towards Axel.
They'd lost another, and that fact was rather bitter in her mouth. Even though Kyleigh's loss was not a substantial blow she was still another person Shay had failed to protect, even if she'd never seen it coming. Before this the girl had never really experienced death- she'd seen loved ones grow sick and pass, but there had been warnings, time to accept their life was coming to an end. Now it was different. Death came in the echo of the gunshot and left with the light in their eyes. There was no warning anymore.
Peace would never last; the general nature of mankind had proved that. The government might back off for a while, scurrying to find someone to fill Yancey's shoes, but they would regroup, and they would come after the Carriers again. It would only be a matter of time before the blessing of peace came to pass.
"So it's over. It's really, finally over," Katrina murmured, her voice flat. Owen wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tight, nodding his head.
She, however, knew better. It was far from over. There might be some relief in the near future, but it in reality, it had only just begun.
"We did it." Owen said quietly. Katrina smiled at him and he pulled her tighter into his arm, kissing the top of her forehead.
She chuckled, humored by their words. Famously pessimistic or not, she knew they were far from the end of the tunnel. I'm not even being a pessimist, I'm being a realist. They'll just have to live with it. Katrina and Owen titled their heads to gaze at her, quizzical looks in their eyes. She raised an eyebrow at them in return.
"What's so funny?" Katrina uttered. The rudeness in her voice didn't bother Shay at all. She didn't waste her time in shooting them a look back, instead keeping her visage blank.
"That you actually think this is over. It's cute," she shot back. She remained blank and undaunted, continuing to stare forwards. "This was just the end of the beginning. We're only just getting started. We've proved we're a force to reckon with, which means it's only going to get harder from here."
Katrina inhaled sharply. Owen's smile instantly faded. Beside her, Carson tensed. Nobody seemed to have been expecting her words. Had they really, truly thought all the trouble, violence, and death was over? They were fools if they had truly believed it. It wouldn't be over until the last plague victim had died and the world could stop fearing imminent death, which had been chalked up in their image. She was prepared for whatever would be thrown at her next- she'd meet it head on, for she was Shay Claire, leader of the Carriers. If the world wished to see her dead, she would not be going down without a fight.
Neither would the rest of them.
Carriers Page 36