Universal Donor

Universal Donor

Written by Phoebe Rose Boswell

Max hates being brought on runs. Especially when they find someone, and judging by the noises coming through the walkie, they found someone.

“We’re at the corner of 1st Ave by the old pharmacy,” his voice is barely clear over the static and the screaming coming from his side. “Shut the hell up!” Now he’s the one yelling. “She’s got AB blood but she’s putting up a fight. Marcus is bleeding, we need to get him back soon.” Shouting starts again as the walkie clicks off.

“Heading your way,” Max’s partner responds. The only thing Max hates more than making runs is the people who go on them. It’s volunteer work, (unless you’re Max), so the cruelest people go. Half of them would be dead by now but Hearts don’t kill Hearts.

The pharmacy had already been in ruins but the puddle of blood surrounding one of them makes the sight more disturbing. Two years and Max still hates seeing everything decrepit.

“Why is she still breathing?” Max’s partner says looking at the man pinning the girl to the ground. He looks mostly okay except for a bump forming on his head.

“AB blood, cannot be harmed, bosses’ orders.”

“I hate that they get special treatment. What’s her name?” The pinned girl resumes thrashing in a desperate attempt to free herself.

“She still had her license, says she’s Jamie Rowan,” the bleeding man spits.

“Rowan?” Max’s partner asks. The bleeding man nods. “Let’s get her back quickly.” The sun was beginning to set, and no one likes being in the city after dark.

The man kneeling on her shifts to pick her up but, he’s not fast enough. She reaches up and slashes his throat. Clutching at it he drops to the ground. Max’s partner runs to him as the bleeding man moves to grab Jamie but again, they’re not fast enough. Max’s partner receives a matching wound and drops beside him.

“Max you moron do something!” Before either of them can move, her knife plunges into the already wounded man, blood loss becomes fatal. Jamie moves towards Max who backs up while raising his hands.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Her pace slows as she steps over the bodies, but she doesn’t stop.

“I don’t believe you,” She has her knife raised again.

“Jamie, right?” She nods but keeps coming closer. “Are you related to Margaret and Michael Rowan?” Her eyes flash with worry but it’s gone in an instance.

Jamie moves fast and pins him with the knife at his throat. “How do you know that?” Her jaw is tense, but her eyes are pained.

“I,” he cuts himself off, “How did you get that knife?”

“What does it matter? I asked you a question,” the blade presses tighter against his throat and a drop of blood spills.

“It matters because it’s my knife you killed them with, so if I don’t give them their capsules, I’m going to die in about twenty minutes.”

“What?” She lowers her knife half an inch. “What capsules? Why would you die?” Her anger remains visible, brows furrowing slightly.

“I will explain everything just let me do this and then you can put your knife at my throat again and I’ll answer all your questions.” He quickly moves to the floor kneeling in blood on his way.

Max starts opening the heart shaped locket the man wears, removing what looks like a pill capsule and shoving it into his mouth. Jamie watches intently as he does this to each of them.

“We need to move now,” his sense of urgency brings her out of her daze. “Don’t ask questions right now we need to put as much distance between us and them in the next fifteen minutes, otherwise we’re as good as dead.” He turns to leave, but she drops to the ground, grabbing one handgun to pocket and taking the clips out of the other two.

“Just in case,” Jamie says looking back at him, both now covered in blood that isn’t theirs.

Max nods and speaks again. “Stay close, I’ll get us out and then you can resume interrogation.”

They move in silence creeping carefully through the city as it plunges into darkness. They’re long past the city before they stop moving.

“What was that? That capsule you gave them. Why would you die because of what I did?” Jamie is quiet now, her voice barely above a whisper.

“The capsules contain chemically modified blood plasma. They reanimate someone if they take it within 20 minutes of dying.” Max pulls a cloth out of his back pocket and coughs into it. “It’s not so much what you did it’s that you used my weapon.”

“Why does that matter?”

“Hearts don’t kill hearts. It’s forbidden. If one of us dies from someone else’s weapon the owner dies. It took us a while to realize that everyone hates each other so we added it to keep loyalty.”

“Why did he have it?”

“I’m not allowed to carry my own weapons on runs,” he moves to subtly cough into the cloth again.

“We’re out of the city so tell me how you know my parents.” Jamie’s angry again but it doesn’t meet her eyes. The grip she’s kept on the gun tightens as she looks at him.

“It’s best to start with my mother, her family carries a genetic disease. It’s fatal, no one knows what it is or how it started but it kills you quickly after showing symptoms.” Panic flashes on Jamie’s face as she eye’s the cloth he’s holding. “My father was working with plasma because he thought he could cure it. He can’t. It can bring you back but only once.” He avoids her piercing stare as he continues.

“Your parents were friends with my mother. They both had,” Jamie flinches at the past tense. “AB blood. The universal donor for plasma. Our parents were working together to find a cure but, it went wrong. My father -,” Max’s hands form tight fists, and his face hardens. “He’s cruel and impatient. The project wasn’t moving fast enough, my mother’s health got worse by the second, he bled them both dry to finish faster. But there still wasn’t enough time.”

Jamie jumps to her feet, gun now aimed at his head. “They died to help your family. My parents died for someone else’s family while leaving me at a shelter as the world ended?” Her face is bright red, but nothing can hide the silent tears cascading her skin. “And they died for nothing? What the hell do you need my blood for? It seems like all of you are in no need of more” she motions at his locket with her gun.

“Please listen to me,” he says as desperation shines on his face.

“I don’t want to hear any more. I should shoot you right here, but they’d be able to bring you right back,” She gives an empty laugh. “Unless they don’t find you. What was it you said? Twenty minutes?”

“I wouldn’t come back,” he says in a resigned tone, eyes cast down. “The disease already took me; I’ve used my one chance.”

“Well, that’s great news for me,” She steps forward so her gun connects with his forehead, her eyes gleam, and his faces fall further into ruin.

“Wait please. They’re trying to make capsules that work more than once. My father got worse when my mother died, and he was awful before that.

“They’re bringing in anyone they find. People with your blood are being drained immediately, anyone else is being used as a test subject.” The desperation is eating at his throat, and he coughs again.

Jamie’s arm shake and her face grows pale. “You’re murderers all of you. What is wrong with you?” More tears fall and she doesn’t bother to wipe them bringing up both hands to stabilize the gun instead.

“I want to stop them, I want to stop it all,” Max pleads with her his voice harsh and strained, tears well in his eyes but he blinks them away.

“Why haven’t you?” Tears continue to slide down her face but, this time her voice is softer.

“The power we have is restricted and controlled.”

“You have power? As in electricity? It’s been two years but of course you psychos have power. How is that even possible?” Her voice raises an octave as her whole-body shakes.

“I don’t have power. It’s only available in the labs. Plasma has more uses then we thought it would, but it only goes so far. And I don’t have access to what I need.”

Jamie’s stance wobbles but the guns still pointed at his forehead “What exactly do you need?”

“I need to blow it up. I can’t get anything I need for it because it’s all in the labs and I’m not allowed in them.”

“Aren’t you the bosses’ son? Shouldn’t you get special privileges or something?”

“Not after we lost 10 gallons of plasma and power for three days when I was in the lab unattended. It’s obvious I hate this project. This isn’t- “he chokes on his words as tears finally wet his face. “She didn’t want this, she never-,” he shakes as resignation falls through his body. “I just need it to end.” Max’s head droops into the gun while his body sags and more tears fall.

“So, let’s blow it up.”

Max gives a hollow laugh and shakes his head.

“I have one condition, everyone dies,” she gives a humorless laugh. “Even this messed up world would be better without them.”

“I agree besides, I’m not going to live much longer,” Jamie’s arms finally drop, and another look of worry dances across her face as she finds the cloth on the ground stained with blood. She nods at him, and they get started.

They gather supplies along the way back through the city. When they reach the compound, the plan has already begun.

“Stop!” a man’s voice shouts while shining a flashlight on them.

“It’s Max,” he yells back.

“The commander’s looking for you, the others came back hours ago with no memory of what happened,” the same man shouts eyes narrowing at him.

“Tell my father that I come with a gift,” Max shoves Jamie in front of him, her arms and mouth bound as she falls to the ground, her entire body has gone pale, just like she said it would. “I found the Rowan girl, seems to me like the perfect subject to make the new capsules with.” Max’s face lights up with a vicious grin.

They walk to the lab and hook her into the aphaeresis machine wasting no time draining her.

“Maxwell, you know you’re not permitted in the labs,” Max’s father enters the room and everyone in it lowers their head except Max.

“Special circumstance father, I want to watch this one,” Max smiles in a mocking manner and the pair start arguing as Jamie loses consciousness.

“Once the gunpowder enters my blood stream, I won’t have much time. Get me strapped in as quickly as possible and then shoot.”

Jamie’s words from earlier ring in his ears as he catches sight of her limp body. Within seconds his gun is in his hand. His father goes red in the face as Max fires one shot into the aphaeresis machine and sparks turn into flames that fill the entire room.

“You need to be dropping gun powder every step through the building, be very generous, and use it all.”

No one has a chance to do anything but watch in horror before the fire spread through the entire building, taking everyone with it, Max smiling the entire time.