Liam, with a faint but relieved smile, barely had time to react before Carrie threw herself at him. She collided with him so abruptly that both of them toppled to the ground. The impact tore a sharp, burning groan from Liam as his wound flared, but even through the pain he slipped an arm around her back, holding her as gently as he could.
He felt Carrie's whole body trembling against his. Her rapid breaths fanned against his neck, and she clung to him with desperate strength, as if letting go for even a second might make him vanish. Her hair fell over his face, soft and shaking, and he could feel how hard she was trying to hold back her tears.
"Tranquila… Carrie, estoy bien… de verdad," he murmured, voice low and soothing despite the fire in his shoulder. He lifted his free hand and stroked her hair slowly, grounding her, as if easing her back from the edge of something dark.
Carrie pressed her face harder into his chest.
"No… no estás bien… te dispararon…" she whispered, her voice cracking. Her small fingers fisted his shirt, clutching it as though sheer willpower could keep the blood from escaping his body.
Liam let out a rough, tired chuckle.
"Well… I've been worse."
Carrie's head snapped up. Her eyes were red, shining with tears and the remnants of that cold fury that had surged through her moments earlier.
"Don't say that…" she said, half scolding, half begging. She looked him over with frantic eyes, as if afraid he'd fade away like the vampires had."I thought he killed you," she added, barely audible.
Liam held her gaze, then reached up and brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb.
"I'm not going to die… not while I still have you."
Carrie swallowed, her breathing evening out little by little. She leaned forward again, but this time her embrace was gentler, cautious, almost afraid of hurting him. Liam let his weight rest against her for a moment, inhaling carefully so the dizziness from blood loss wouldn't overwhelm him.
"Carrie… I need your help," he said quietly."I need you to use that power you just used… to get the bullet out."
She nodded quickly, wiping her face with her sleeve. The blood on the ground, the lingering mist from the vanished bodies, the metallic smell—none of it mattered to her now. Only Liam did.
"How do I do it? I'm not sure how I used it before… I was just really angry and then everything happened so fast," Carrie admitted, uncertainty flickering across her expression.
"Carrie, you just need to focus and imagine pulling the bullet out," Liam said calmly."Trust yourself. I trust you."
"Hm… I'll try."Carrie took a breath and focused, picturing the bullet. For a moment nothing happened—but then, with a soft metallic flick, the bullet shot out of Liam's flesh and hovered steadily between them.
"It worked!" Carrie said, her face lighting up with genuine happiness as she stared at the bullet suspended in the air.
"I told you you could do it," Liam said, smiling back at her.
He had known from the beginning that Carrie had a talent for sensing and manipulating things around her—he'd seen it in the movie. He suspected her awareness extended farther than simple sight.
"Come on, let's go inside. I need to clean and bandage the wound."He pushed himself to his feet, and together they walked toward BlackSpot.
"Let's go," she said, unexpectedly firm for how shaken she had been."Now it's my turn to take care of you."
Inside, Liam retrieved a first-aid kit he'd stashed away. He cleaned his wound and, with Carrie's help, wrapped a bandage around his shoulder and the small cut on his forearm.
"There. Now we just need to hide the bodies for tonight, and we'll come back tomorrow to clean everything properly," Liam said, exhaling from exhaustion.
"Let me do it," Carrie said firmly, her eyes fixed on him.
"Alright. Just… cover them and leave them somewhere no one will see. People don't usually come here, but better not to risk it."
Carrie nodded and stepped outside.
She stared at the bodies for a moment, wondering how to move them. Then she took a breath and decided to try her new powers again.
"Concentrate… and imagine," she whispered.
She raised her hand toward the four corpses—and within seconds, they lifted off the ground, hovering in the air.
"Good… now let's move them."
Staying focused, Carrie guided the floating bodies into the forest. After finding a hidden spot, she gently lowered them and covered them with leaves.
"Done."She nodded with quiet pride, relieved her powers were responding when she wanted them to.
Carrie returned to BlackSpot, and a moment later she and Liam began walking home.
After a few minutes of silence, curiosity finally got the better of her.
"Liam… what were those things we killed?" she asked.
"Hm… from what I was told, they're a kind of psychic vampire. They've lived for hundreds of years feeding on what they call 'steam'—from kids with psychic abilities."Liam stretched the truth slightly, trying to ease her into the idea that the world wasn't as normal as she thought. Those two hadn't told him anything—but he already knew enough.
Carrie walked quietly, processing.Then her eyes widened.
"They were coming for me."
Liam saw her gaze drop, her voice trembling between understanding and rising fear.
"Yes…" he said softly."They were."
She tugged absentmindedly at the sleeve of her coat, her fingers trembling.
"Because… because I have that too, right?"Her voice was barely a whisper."That power…"
Liam drew in a controlled breath, careful not to strain his wound.
"Yes. Something like that."He looked at her seriously."And today it woke up. And you controlled it… you controlled it, Carrie."
She walked silently for a few moments, biting her lip. Leaves crunched under their feet, and the cool night air rustled through the trees lining the road.
Finally, she spoke:
"I was scared… when I used it."Her voice wavered."But also… I don't know… it felt like I had to. Like something inside me was screaming."
Liam nodded.
"That's normal. That power… it's like a muscle you never used before. It came out when you needed it most."
Carrie glanced at him from the corner of her eye, her expression slowly hardening with resolve.
"So… if more of those things come…"She swallowed."…they'll come for me, won't they?"
"Probably. But I doubt it," Liam said."You're too dangerous for them now. Most of them only have mental abilities—telepathy, astral projection, mind-reading… things like that."
He remembered the movie.
"None of them have telekinesis like yours. Maybe they have weapons, but that won't be enough anymore. And even if they did come… they'll never touch you while I'm with you."
Carrie suddenly stopped walking, making Liam stop too.She looked up at him with an intensity that stole his breath for a moment.
"But they shot you…" she whispered, guilt flooding her face."Because of me."
Liam exhaled and shook his head.
"Carrie, no. Not because of you. Those people were dangerous long before you were even born."
She still looked unsure.
Liam stepped closer, placing his hand gently on her cheek and guiding her eyes to his.
"I'm alive because you were there."His voice was steady, certain."If you hadn't come out… I'd be dead. So if someone saved someone today… it was you."
Carrie trembled—but not from fear this time.Slowly, she raised her hand and placed it over his.
"…Then I won't let anything happen to you."Her voice was soft, but the promise in it was sharp and unbreakable."If they come back, I'll crush them."
Liam smiled—softly, not mockingly.
"Just… try not to explode them that hard next time."
A faint blush warmed Carrie's cheeks as she looked away.
"I didn't mean to…" she mumbled.
Liam let out a short laugh that immediately turned into a pained grunt.
Carrie stepped closer at once, worry flickering back.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah… still just have a hole the size of that vampire's ego."
Carrie couldn't help but laugh—a brief, bright sound that seemed to soften the night around them.
They continued walking, this time closer together.Almost without thinking, Carrie slipped her hand into Liam's.
He looked at her, surprised for a heartbeat, but said nothing.He simply intertwined his fingers with hers.
After several quiet steps, she spoke again.
"Liam… do you think… I'm a monster?"
The question hit him like a weight dropped onto the path.
Liam stopped in his tracks.
"No. No, Carrie."He stepped in front of her, bending slightly to meet her eyes."You're not a monster. You're a girl with a huge power… and an even bigger heart."
She breathed a little easier.
"Then… what am I?"
Liam smiled.
"You're Carrie. And with me… that's enough."
"Besides," he added with a small smirk,"you're not the only one with powers. I just learned that killing supernatural beings makes me stronger."
He lifted his left hand and revealed his dagger to her, the runes etched into its blade faintly glowing.
"You're not the only special one here. We both are."
Carrie looked down, a shy smile tugging at her lips, and squeezed his hand a little tighter as they continued walking toward home.