M A N O

I sincerely wish I was the last human on Earth. Not the last non-Infected, or the last of the Unwalking.

Manolo Leandro, the Anti-Adam.

When the three of them turned to me, I wanted to laugh — uproariously, spewing mirth all up in their goddamn faces. It was like a joke.

A human, a Curado, and a Carrier walked into the forest... and didn't kill each other.

Hilarious!

"I'll say this again," Headscarf snarled. Her voice sounded thicker than I recalled. "Who's Rudy?"

I wave her off, fighting a grin. "No one. Just the guy that owns the territory."

"NODE owns the territory," growled Iron Head. "And wipe that smirk off your face before I rip it off myself."

My face fell. "Fine, then. I'll take you to him."

Headscarf's eyes narrowed. "And why would I walk into a Carrier's den?"

"You afraid?"

"Don't even try me."

"Shut up," grumbled Iron Head. "Let's just go, Ala. We can sell the other Carrier's heart and trek to Brazil."

The Carrier's expression was obscured by the calavera mask. He scratched his ear. "Did you forget I was here or..."

"I'm here too," I said. "And I heard that."

Iron Head pointed at me. "You don't matter." She pointed at the Carrier. "And you're coming with us. Our chances are better if we have more Side Effects on our side."

"Look, I don't want any trouble. I just want to get back to—"

"What's that?" Iron Head cupped her ear. "You want to fight all of us?"

The Carrier blinked. He turned to me, the whites of his eyes visible through the holes in his mask.

"Well." I coughed into my fist. "I wouldn't say all of us. It's quite complicated, you see. And because I also don't want any trouble, I'll gladly forget what you just—"

Iron Head leveled her shotgun at my head. My mechanical arm came up at the same time, disengaging the rifle application.

"Quit the act," she growled.

"What if I don't want to?"

"So you admit you're acting?"

I let the grin creep up my face. "How did you know?"

"The Carrier wasn't with you before. And you wouldn't have mentioned Rudy to us at all if you cared about his safety. But you don't. You want us to go after him."

"What a smart little girl."

"Shut your facehole before I shoot you another one."

I shut my facehole with a snap. Then I scowled. When did I become so used to taking orders from children?

"Look, I don't want to hurt anyone," insisted the Carrier. "Or sell their organs. Can we all just think about this? We're not animals. We're more than hairless monkeys. Fucked up as we are, we're human beings."

"Humans are apes," said Headscarf. "Actually."

"They are?"

"Both of you be quiet." Iron Head scowled at the Carrier. "You can come willingly or with a gun at your head. Did you forget that he Infected an innocent family?"

"Kind of," he admitted. "And now that I remember, I kind of want to rough him up a little. But I'm not in the mood. Maybe sometime during the weekend. If I have time."

Iron Head pointed the shotgun at his head, her eyes deadpan.

The Carrier blinked. "Or, uh, I can make some time today. If we're doing it so quickly. Can't we have a planning session first? We can even see what dogs they have at the Market if you're hungry. First meal on me. Really."

"Is your mouth even attached to your brain?" Iron head sighed. "Whatever. Like it or not, we need a Carrier to fight a Carrier."

"What? Fight?" The Carrier tugged at one of his greasy black curls. "Like... physically, you mean?"

"How else would I mean it?!"

"Well... the thing is..." The Carrier ducked his head, shuffling his feet. "I, well. I'm not into, like... I don't really ever fight up close."

"Wait." Iron Head shook her iron head in disbelief. "You have military training, enhanced strength, and superhuman senses. What the actual Hell are you talking about?"

"I'm not a foot soldier. Never was. I have a basic sense of hand-to-hand, but that's about it."

"Then you're useless."

I shook my head at the Carrier. "What a waste."

Headscarf raised a brow. "What did you do, then?"

"I'm a sniper."

The Thieving Scum Sisters glanced at each other.

Iron Head shrugged. "I can work with that."

Headscarf leaned forward. "What's your range?"

"Depends on the gun. My range used to be around fourteen hundred meters. A lot better than before I was Infected..."

Iron Head's eyes narrowed. "Used to be?"

"My M-16's out of rounds. I can't reload because they don't have those types of bullets in the Market."

"Oh?" I flicked my wrist. A full magazine flashed in my hand. "Would they happen to be these kinds?"

The Carrier squinted at them for a long moment. "No. Those are too small."

I frowned. Then I snapped my fingers. "Sorry, wrong ones." I slapped my mechanical arm, and a compartment popped out. I raised the magazine to the light. "What about these?"

"Those are—" The Carrier blinked. "Those could work."

Iron Head lowered her shotgun. "We're doing it, then. Oldie, lead the way. For now, we'll scope the area for openings. Carrier, be on the lookout for a good shooting spot or whatever you call it."

"Uh... a position?"

"Yeah, that. And—"

"Wait. Wait wait wait." I raised my hands, shaking my head. What the Hell is going on? This was my ride. My idea. Like Hell you're taking this away from me. "We're seriously letting the kid lead?"

Iron Head scowled, but I pressed on.

"You have to see how ridiculous this is. Headscarf, she's your younger sister. You need to lead her, not the other way around. And Carrier, she may be strong but you're bigger and stronger. I know you want to use your strength responsibly, but she doesn't even care. If you let yourself get pushed around by people like her, you'll just get taken advantage of."

Headscarf and Carrier glanced at each other uneasily. Then they returned their eyes to me.

"My name's not Headscarf," said Headscarf.

"Can people stop calling me 'Carrier'?" the Carrier sighed. "It kind of hurts my feelings."

"And who even are you?" She turned to the Carrier. "Do you know him?"

"He tried to mug me with his arm gun."

"Fine, fine." I raised my hands in mock surrender, disengaging the rifle arm. "You can call me Mano—"

Headscarf and Carrier ignored me, linking hands.

"I'm Ala."

"Teddy."

"... That suits you really well."

"I know."

Iron Head shot me a smug glance. She turned her back on me, leaving me stranded in the silence.

"My name's Sancha. Let's get moving, punks."