Jason struggled with the girl. She was pulling her skirt down from around her waist and trying to stand up. He put his knee on her chest, pinning her to the pavement. She slapped at his knee, flinging her bleached hair, but otherwise she was silent.

"Get off her!" Patrick yelled, his voice cracking. He struggled as the corporal pinned him against the car's trunk.

Then the corporal took something that looked like a home pregnancy test from his flak jacket and jabbed it into Patrick's lower abdomen.

Patrick screamed out in what looked like intense pain, and collapsed onto the ground.

Jason held back the girl's hands and jabbed a similar white plastic applicator into her stomach, just above her pubic bone. She writhed in agony, but still without making a sound.

"What's yours?" Jason stood, shaking his applicator. "Stage one? Bet it's stage one."

I had no idea what just happened or what Jason was talking about. The whole time Shawn kept quiet. He just pointed his gun back and forth between Patrick and the girl.

The corporal looked closely at his applicator. "Stage one!" He smiled. "Bingo! What's yours? Stage two, I bet. Look at her. Gotta be stage two."

"Hold on, it's coming." Jason shook his applicator and looked at it again. "Stage two!" He yelled. "Corporal, we got ourselves a couple of officially confirmed sickos!"

Jason held up his white plastic applicator and tapped it against the corporal's like they were clinking glasses for a toast.

"We're already almost out of these." The corporal tossed his applicator into the bushes beside the Burger Shack.

"Next shipment's supposed to be in soon." Jason shrugged. "Not like we really need these things anyway. Waste of time, if you ask me. I mean, big surprise these two are sick, right?"

He drew a handgun.

"Are you ready?"

Patrick was trying to stand, clutching his abdomen. They girl was still writhing on the ground.

The corporal drew his own handgun. "Ready." He took a deep breath.

Jason nodded. He placed the tip of his gun against the girl's head. The corporal placed the tip of his against Patrick's head. . .