Transmissions || Dustin Bates

Let It Die

After unlocking myself from my dark, windowless office, I realized that it was around noon, meaning that I hadn't left that area for a couple of days. Nothing really out of the ordinary for me.

I had a bad habit of getting lost in a project. I wouldn't talk to people for days, wouldn't shower or eat. I would use the bathroom, but I still didn't have to interact with the team because I had a half-bath connected to my office, meaning I could go between the two with little break from reading. I hadn't seen people in days. It wasn't like I saw anyone outside of the team regularly anyways.

I stumbled my way through the compound, searching for the team, Shaylee in particular. I couldn't believe the reports I had found on her Carnivore status, how she had broken free from her program at a young age, but how she still was a killing machine, but in a more human way. She still possessed some qualities when she chose, but she held herself on a tight leash. It was incredible.

I found the team sparring in the open area below the walkway and my office.

"Shaylee!" I called down, leaning over the rails. She stopped sparring with Adam, looking up to me. She paled, stepping back. I turned and started running to the stairs, going down quickly.

I sprinted to her, not stopping as I reached her. I grabbed her, wrapping my arms around her tightly in a hug. She fought me, pushing and shoving, but I continued to hold her close to my chest, my momentum finally slowing to a stop. I still held her protectively. Ron stood nearby, in fight position in case I proved myself to be hostile.

"Get off me!" She demanded, trying to hurt me, but I endured it, still hugging her.

"No. No, I won't. You need to know that I'm okay. I'm not afriad. I'm fine with it." I tried to explain, still hugging her tightly. She groaned, snapping.

Adam and Ron grabbed my arms, yanking them away from Shay. She ducked under the two as they walked me a few steps back from her. She stood, arms crossed. Her hair was different, straight. She still looked the same other than that. The same power still radiated off of her, and the same beauty still brought her to the edge of my thoughts again, ready to tumble out of my mouth if it took another inch toward the forefront of my mind.

"So, I take it you finished, since we didn't see you for three days." She walked closer, standing a foot in front of me.

"All of it. I can't believe everything that happened. And, you, you were a-"

"I am a." She corrected, her gaze not wavering. She had accepted it as part of herself. She didn't embrace it, but she accepted it. "I am a Carnivore. The first Carnivore." She spat out, seeming almost disgusted, but not with herself- with the people who turned her into the monster she hid.

"The F-"

"Don't say it out loud. Never say it out loud, Dustin." Brock said softly, standing behind her a few feet.

Shay sighed, moving closer to me. She slowly slid my glasses off of my face, our eyes meeting without a barrier in between them. But, I didn't need my glasses to see her with how close she stood. I could see every part of her exquisite face: the soft slant of her nose, her arched eyebrows, soft, pink lips, long lashes framing eyes with so many shades of blue that I could sit for days staring at them and still never find the correct way to describe their truest color.

"C'mon. You need to sleep," she said, motioning for the guys to back off of me. She was at my side then, putting an arm around my waist and a hand on my chest before leading me up the stairs to take me to my room. She moved the covers back and made me lay down, standing over me. "Get some rest, Bates." Her voice was as soft as velvet, coursing over me.