“I’m insulted that you even asked me that,” Shay told her.
“I just don’t want something to happen to you because of me.”
“I’ll be fine Alix. Besides, we have five tough Warriors with us and Ben. We can’t get much safer than that.”
“You’re right,” Alix said with a yawn.
“Time to sleep Alix, good night.”
“Good night Shay.”
Chapter 23
The next morning everyone packed up their belongings and made their way back to the study with the secret bookcase door. Luckily, there wasn’t some crazy way to open it like at Fox Hollow, she simply had to pull on the side of the bookcase and it opened.
They went to the blue door and Alix thought about where they needed to be. She opened the door and went down the hallway. As soon as she opened the next door, she knew they were somewhere different.
The air smelled different and the room looked like a tropical hotel lobby. She guessed they were in the living room. When everyone was through the door and their luggage was set aside, they fanned out to explore the house. It was about the size of the one they’d just came from.
Alix didn’t know what they were supposed to do. James had told her she was going to be met by someone, but no one was there. She found a clock in the kitchen, it was 11:09 am. It had just been 7:00 am when they left California. It was strange to walk a few steps and have a four-hour time difference.
“Hello?” a voice said from the front door.
Alix went to see if it was who she was waiting for.
“Hi,” Alix said. “Did James send you?”
“Yes. Alix?”
“That’s me.”
“Oh good. I wasn’t sure when you would be here. Have you been waiting long?”
“No just a few minutes … um …?”
“Oh sorry, my name is Celia. It’s a pleasure to meet you. James called you Alix, is that okay?” she asked.
“Yes, I insisted that everyone use my name and not my title. So, what happens now?”
“I’m supposed to take you and your team to the lab that’s analyzing the virus. How many of you are there?”
“Ten including me. I hope you brought a van,” Alix said smiling.
“Not a van, but we have two large SUV’s outside. They should be able to accommodate everyone.”
“Great, should we leave now?”
“Yes. We need to get this under control as quickly as we can.” Celia told her.
“Okay, I’ll gather everyone and meet you outside.”
Celia nodded and headed back to the waiting vehicles.
Alix found everyone, and they divided themselves between the two SUV’s. Alix, Shay, Ben, Kris, and one of their Warrior guards went with Celia. Natalie, Rick, Sonya, and the two other Warriors went to the other waiting vehicle. They left the safe house and entered a heavily forested area.
“How far do we have to go?” Alix asked.
“We’re a little less than an hour from where the CDC has set up their headquarters.”
“All we know is that this virus seems to have been created by the Grynn,” Alix said. “What can you tell us about what exactly is happening here?”
“It’s like nothing we’ve seen before. We don’t know how it spreads but for the most part when someone contracts it, they only live for a few hours,” Celia told her.
“That’s terrible,” Shay said. “What happens to them?”
“Unfortunately, there’s not much warning. People just collapse and end up in a coma-like state. They get a fever that we can’t get under control and then their body gives up a few hours later. It’s the worst disease I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh my God. No wonder they aren’t giving details on the news,” Shay said.
“Has anyone survived?” Alix asked.
“No,” Celia answered.
“What has been done so far?” Ben asked.
“We’ve taken blood samples to analyze the disease, but we can’t narrow it down to any other virus. Viruses can evolve and change but it’s extremely rare for a new one to be created. We have no idea how the Grynn have done this.”
“Is everyone on your team Nykara?” Alix asked her.
“Yes, we don’t have to hide anything at the lab.”
“That will make things easier. How do you think I can help?”
“To be honest, I have no idea Alix,” Celia said. “I think we’re all praying for a miracle.”
The remainder of the ride to the CDC lab was relatively quiet. Alix took in the surrounding sights. It was nothing like Sunset Creek or even California. There were many different types of buildings, everything from little shacks to large modern skyscrapers. They stopped in front of an older, plain, two-story building.
“We’re here,” Celia announced and got out of the vehicle.
Alix waited until the Warriors out of the vehicles before she did. This had become standard in unprotected places. The inside of the building was in complete contrast to the outside. It looked brand new and modern.
The group followed Celia to a room that had a huge observation window. They could see about a dozen people working with microscopes and glass vials.
“Here’s where we’re studying the virus. It normally takes years to develop a vaccine, but we don’t have that kind of time. This virus kills more quickly than any previously known to us. We also know it was created by the Grynn so we believe that if they created it we can find a way to destroy it.”
Alix watched as the people in the lab made notes, measured fluids and looked in the microscopes. She may have just finished her final year of biology, but she knew she was in way over her head.
“Celia, did you have any kind of a plan for me?” Alix asked.
“No,” she replied. “To be honest I have no idea why you’re here. I don’t mean to sound rude but everyone in this lab is a scientist and has been working in this field for years and you’re still in high school.”
Celia said exactly what Alix had been thinking.
“I know,” Alix said. “I don’t know what I can do either but being the Chosen One allows me to be more than myself. So far I’ve been able to conquer every challenge I’ve faced.”
Ben took that moment to take one of Alix’s hands in his. He gave her an encouraging smile. She knew that two months ago she wouldn’t have felt any confidence in this situation, but with the support of Ben and everyone else, she knew she was able to do more than she thought.
“I apologize Alix. I’ve heard the rumors about what you can do but until you see something in person it can be hard to believe everything you hear.”
“I understand. I’ve been surprising myself since I woke up on my seventeenth birthday, so I can’t expect people to believe everything they hear,” Alix told her.
“Just give her a chance,” Kris said, “I’ve watched her grow over the last three months. I’m in awe of what she can do, and I know there’s so much we haven’t seen yet.”
Alix smiled at him and nodded her head in acknowledgment. “At least you didn’t say amazing,” she said teasing him.
Kris let out a small laugh. “Oh, and don’t forget amazing.”
That made Shay, Ben, Natalie, and Rick all laugh.
“Sorry Celia, inside joke,” Alix said. “Now back to what’s happening here. Maybe we can start with how the virus is infecting people. Who is getting sick? Is it scattered around the city or only in one spot? Have you noticed a pattern?”
Celia looked at her with astonishment. “Those are excellent questions.”
“She may still be in high school but she’s the Chosen One for a reason,” Ben said.
It took a minute for Celia to recover but she finally answered Alix.
“Come with me,” she told them.
Celia took them to a room next to the lab. It looked like a break room but had a huge map of the city on the wall. There were little-colored pins stuck in it.
“What do the different colors represent?” Ali
x asked.
“The blue pins are where the virus first started to show in the victim, so basically where they collapsed. The yellow ones are where we tracked the person to have been earlier in the day.”
Alix got closer to the map and could see tiny numbers on the pins. “What are the numbers for?”
“Each number represents one person. The blue and yellow will each have a matching number.”
Alix looked closer and started finding matches. A lot of the numbers were close together.
“So, from what I’m seeing this means that once people contract the virus it doesn’t take very long for it to take effect and they pass out.”
“Yes, from what we’ve been able to gather that’s correct.”
“What’s different about this virus from other ones?” she asked as she continued to study the map.
“As I mentioned it seems to be a brand-new disease and not one that’s evolved from another one. It’s also the most fast acting one we’ve ever encountered,” Celia told her.
“Are the symptoms exactly the same in everyone?” Ben asked.
“Yes,” Celia said. “They pass out, get a high fever and die five to six hours later.”
“Wow,” he whispered.
Alix listened as she stared at the map. She felt like she should be seeing something more. She moved farther back to look at it from a different angle. She didn’t know why this was important to her, but it was. She moved until she was as far from the map as she could get. She let her eyes focus on the whole thing, not just the pins. She let out a small gasp when she finally knew what she was looking at.
“What is it, Alix?” Ben asked her.
“I’ve figured out the pattern. If you just look at the yellow pins they loosely form an A.”
“An A?” Celia asked and stepped back to where Alix was standing.
“Yes, does anyone have some string or something?” Alix asked.
They rummaged around the room and found some dental floss. She went back to the map and connected the yellow pins. When she was done it was definitely the letter A.
“What does that mean?” Celia asked.
“I’d say it’s a warning,” Alix said. “Probably for me.”
“The Grynn know who you are?” Celia asked her.
“Yes and no. They know what I look like, but they think my name is Ashley. We saw a press conference on the news that featured François, the leader of the Grynn. He vowed to get revenge on the person responsible for attacking their headquarters. Since that was me, I believe this is meant for me to see.”
“Okay,” Shay said, “So now that we know the pattern of the virus how does that help us?”
The room was silent. It seemed no one knew the answer to that question.
It was Alix who finally spoke. “How fast is the virus spreading? Is it increasing or staying about the same?”
Celia was about to answer her when Alix had a bad feeling.
“Alix …” Shay said and then started to fall to the floor.
Ben caught her just in time to stop her from hitting her head. Alix ran over to her.
“Shay …Shay … can you hear me?” she said in a panicked voice. “Shay, wake up. What’s wrong with her?”
“Has she been sick at all in the last week?” Celia asked.
“No, she’s been perfectly healthy.”
“Has she ever fainted before?”
“No.”
“Let me check something, I’ll be right back,” Celia said leaving the room.
She was back a minute later. She knelt down beside Shay and checked her temperature on her forehead. Celia closed her eyes and hung her head down.
“What is it?” Alix asked but was afraid she already knew.
“She’s been infected by the virus. I’m sorry Alix.”
Chapter 24
Alix sat there for a minute in shock.
“No, I’m not going to let her die,” Alix said with determination. “I’m going to find a way to fix this.
“We only have a few hours and we’ve been working at this for days already,” Celia said. “I’m very sorry Alix but there’s nothing we can do.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. Shay’s life is at stake and I’m not going to lose her. I will find a cure. How long before her fever starts getting worse?”
“Roughly a couple of hours.”
“Okay, I need to think for a minute,” Alix said standing up.
Ben took her place at Shay’s side while Alix paced the room. She stopped and closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry, that wouldn’t help Shay.
“Think, Alix, think,” she mumbled to herself.
A minute or so later she had an idea. She went back to Shay and kneeled next to her. She put one hand over Shay’s heart and the other one on her forehead. Then Alix did something she never thought she’d do, she put Shay in the Sleep of Death. She hoped that it acted like suspended animation and would stop the virus from growing in Shay’s body.
“What did you do to her?” Celia asked.
“I put her in the Grynn Sleep of Death. It basically stops the body’s functions but keeps them alive.”
“Will that save her?”
“No, but I’m hoping it’ll give us enough time to come up with a cure. Sonya, I need you to go back to the safe house and return to Sunset Creek. I need you to get Tami and bring her back here. She needs to be with Shay.”
“As you wish,” Sonya said.
“Thank you. Please tell her what’s happened so she’s not shocked when she gets here.”
“I will.”
“Darren, please take this young lady back to the safe house. Wait for her and bring them back here.” Celia told the man who’d driven the other SUV.
“Of course, Celia,” he said and they left.
Alix hoped that Tami was going to have a reason to celebrate and not mourn.
“Is there somewhere we can put her that’s more comfortable than the floor?” Alix asked.
“Yes, we have a room with cots in it for when we need to rest.”
Two of the Warriors picked up Shay and took her to the room Celia indicated. Alix covered her with a blanket then spoke to her so no one else could hear her.
“I’m so sorry Shay. This is all my fault for making François so angry. I will find a way to fix this. Just please hang in there and don’t die on me.”
Alix took a deep breath and went back to the break room.
“Celia,” Alix said as she entered the room, “if Shay was exposed, we have to assume it’s airborne. We haven’t been here long enough to eat, drink or really touch anything. And if Shay is infected how come the rest of us seem to be okay? I mean we all got here at the same time and breathed the same air. What’s different?”
“She’s not Nykara,” Ben said from across the room.
Everyone looked at him.
“You’re right,” Alix said. “Celia, have the people that died all been human?”
“It’s been so crazy that I don’t know. Let me see what I can find out.”
Celia went to an office and started making phone calls. There wasn’t much to do at the moment but wait. Ben came over to Alix and put his arms around her. She did the same and hugged him like her life depended on it. When he let go of her, she had a few tears that had escaped her eyes. Ben wiped them away with his thumbs.
“She’s going to make it Alix,” he told her in a quiet voice.
“You don’t know that,” she said.
“Yes, I do. If there’s one person in this world that can save Shay, it’s you.”
“You sure have a lot of confidence in my abilities.”
“Of course, I do. I know you, Alix, you’d give your life in order to save her, so I know you’re going to find a solution. It might not be in the next few minutes, but I know you will.”
Ben smiled at her. She put her head on his chest and he pulled her into another hug. They stayed that way until Celia came back into the room.
“They were
all human,” she said. “We can’t find a single case of this happening to a Nykara.”
“Okay, at least that’s something,” Alix said. “But why target humans? It would make more sense for the Grynn to take out the Nykara.”
“Maybe it only works on humans,” Natalie said. “In the plant world, there are certain plants that attract certain insects. Maybe the virus is only attracted to humans.”
“But Shay has the ring to protect her from the Grynn. If that’s the case it shouldn’t affect her.”
“Alix, think about it,” Natalie said, “a virus is something that attacks the body from the inside. Technically the Grynn aren’t harming her, her own body is.”
Alix was quiet for a while thinking about what had been said. Natalie was right. So, what could she do with that information? While she was thinking someone came into the room and handed Celia a note.
“There’s been forty-six more confirmed deaths in the last two hours. That brings the total to two hundred and fifty-eight,” Celia told them. “It looks like it’s spreading.”
She went to the map and started sticking pins in it to mark the locations. She was right, the contaminated area was growing.
“Where are we right now on this map?” Alix asked.
Celia took a red pen and stuck it in the map. “Right here.”
They were in the area where the infection was spreading. Alix took the dental floss and tied a piece to a pin on each side of the map that was the farthest apart. Then she did the same top to bottom. She pointed to where the two pieces met.
“Right here is where I need to be.”
“Why? What are you going to do?” Ben asked.
“I’m going to stop it from spreading even further.”
“How can you possibly do that?” Celia asked.
“I’m going to create a barrier that doesn’t allow anything Grynn to leave. Since this virus was created by the Grynn it should fall under that category.”
“But you’re talking about an area that’s at least ten miles wide. Something like that isn’t possible,” Celia said.
“Nothing is impossible,” Alix said. “Celia, can you take me there?”
“Of course,” she replied.
“Natalie, I need you to stay here with Shay. I want someone here in case Tami arrives before we get back.”
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