by Kathy Reichs
Ella looked at me askance. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t listen to her!” Speckman shouted.
“She means,” Chance interjected smoothly, “that you couldn’t have caught the supervirus accidentally. It’s not transmitted that way. The form Speckman and I created differs from the bug that infected Tory. It’s not contagious through the air, or even by physical contact. The virus must be injected or ingested.”
Ella looked from face to face. “What are you saying?”
Speckman began struggling with his zip ties, but there were too many to break. “Ignore them, Ella! They’re trying to divide us.”
I knelt before my teammate. Reached out and took her hand. “I’m saying, Speckman infected you on purpose. Both of you,” I added, glancing at Cole.
“Liar!” Speckman shouted.
Chance glared at his former employee. “Will wanted a pack of his own, and was angry at me after losing his job. So he preyed on you two. His not-too-bright roommate—”
“Hey,” Cole protested.
“—and a new friend from therapy, one who’d recently suffered a traumatic experience.”
“A vulnerable girl,” Hi added softly, “who could be manipulated into bearing a grudge.”
Ella’s eyes widened. “I . . . I never blamed Tory . . . not for anything . . . not until Will . . . The camping trip!” She shot a horrified look at Speckman. “The whole thing was a setup from the start! You bastard!” Tears spilled from her eyes.
My arms flew forward, wrapped Ella in a hug. I let her cry on my shoulder.
Cole half turned to face Speckman. “That true, man? You slip me that virus?”
Speckman looked away, didn’t answer.
Cole stared at his shoes, then his eyes widened. “The burrito. That was the only time you ever bought me lunch. Not cool, bro.”
Speckman seemed about to protest, then simply shrugged. “Fine. Yes. Do you regret it?”
“Not cool, bro,” Cole repeated, but the hurt look quickly faded. “Naw, no regrets. Being Viral is freaking sweet. Who’d want to be normal when you can jump over walls?”
“You son of a bitch!” Ella broke free of me. Three steps brought her to where Speckman slouched. She kicked him in the ribs. “I trusted you!”
Speckman winced. “But you’d never go out with me, would you, Ella?” His tone was toxic. “You knew how I felt, but you just wanted to be friends. Just wanted me to listen to your sad story, over and over!”
“We were in therapy!” Ella thundered. “We weren’t there to date.”
Speckman’s sneer returned. “Well, I made us close anyway, didn’t I? We’re a pack now. You can thank me later.”
Ella answered with another boot to his side. I pulled her back.
“I never wanted this,” Ella hissed. Then her voice broke. “I don’t want this.”
“Funny you should mention that.”
Eyes slid to Chance. He was holding the metal box.
“I have a cure for being Viral.” He opened the lid and removed a thin vial of green liquid. Five more doses were nestled inside. “Government agents are chasing us, and they want two things: Virals for experimentation, and this antidote.”
He approached Ella with a vial. “Do you want a way out?”
Ella stared at the lime-green solution in Chance’s fingers. Then her back straightened. “I do. My life has been crazy enough. I don’t need this. I’m tired of being chased.”
I nodded to Shelton, who removed a pocketknife from my bag and cut Ella’s zip ties.
She smoothed her hair. Gave my hand a thankful squeeze.
Chance handed Ella the vial. “I reverse-engineered the virus. Just take this and drink. The serum is odorless and tasteless, and was extremely fast acting in mice.”
“Mice. Wonderful.” Ella cleared her throat, then turned to me. “Can you forgive me?”
“Already have,” I replied, surprising myself.
It had taken me months to forgive Ben, and he’d been less culpable than Ella. But I now understood. Speckman had manipulated Ella during her darkest hours. She was a victim, too.
Plus, I wanted my friend back.
With shaky fingers, Ella took the vial from Chance. Removed the stopper. Tipped it back. Swallowed.
Nothing happened. No dramatic transformation, no violent reaction. Ella handed the empty vessel back to Chance. He swung to face the two boys tied up beside the bleachers.
“No chance, holmes.” Cole began struggling with his makeshift bonds. “I’m not drinking that stuff. Viral till I die.”
Speckman watched Chance like a rabid dog. “Don’t come near me with that.” Then he squeezed his eyelids shut. When they reopened, his irises glowed like volcanos.
Speckman ripped at his bonds, straining to tear through ten layers of plastic. But even Virals have limits. After a few moments, he collapsed in exhaustion.
But he wasn’t done. Speckman fixed his sizzling red glare on me.
I felt a sharp pressure in my skull, as if my brain had been placed in a vise.
Beside me, Shelton reached for his temple.
Noticing his roommate, Cole closed his eyes as well. They popped open leaking fire. He squinted at Chance, who staggered and nearly dropped the box. A moment later, Ben grimaced in pain.
This was different from before. Without subtlety. A brute force assault.
The Trinity boys weren’t trying to pick locks. They were trying to burn down our houses.
“It’s an attack!” Chance spat through gritted teeth. “They’re not trying to read our thoughts, they’re trying to erase them!”
I felt a stab of existential panic. My instincts screamed in warning.
If I dropped my guard, my entire identity would be gone.
Speckman leered, enjoying himself. “You’ve never understood. Never accepted your inferiority. Even tied up, I’m too much for you. You brats share minds? Well, I can break them!”
The pressure increased. I felt my walls crumbling.
A growl cut the air.
The pain abruptly ceased.
I looked up.
Coop stood over Speckman, his jaws wrapped around the boy’s throat.
Pure terror filled Speckman’s scarlet eyes. He stiffened, not daring to move an inch. Cole was squirming away from Coop like an earthworm, the red light already gone from his gaze.
“Help . . . me . . .” Barely a whisper.
“Release your flare,” I commanded, voice hard, though I was as nervous as he was. Coop’s incisors were pressing into Speckman’s flesh. A twitch of the wolfdog’s mouth, and he’d be dead.
The scarlet glow vanished.
“Coop, heel.”
To my infinite relief, Coop released Speckman and took a step back.
Then he barked loudly into his face.
A dark patch spread across Speckman’s pants.
“Here, boy.” I tapped my side. Coop trotted over and rubbed against my leg.
I rubbed his back, thankful beyond words.
Hi and Shelton grabbed Cole, who was attempting to wriggle across the gym. Setting him back against the bleachers, the two boys shared a flustered glance. Everyone knew how close we’d come to bloodshed.
I faced Speckman, who was struggling to control his breathing. “You might like being Viral, but you’re not responsible enough for it. You’re a menace. We’d hoped to somehow make peace, but it’s clear that’ll never happen.”
I waved Chance forward. “That means you have to go.”
“What are you saying?” Cole squawked. “You’re gonna . . . kill us?” He watched Coop with terrified eyes.
“Shut up, you moron.” Speckman had tensed like a cornered wolverine. “They don’t have the guts to murder us in cold blood. Can’t you see that?”
“You have a choice.” Chance removed two more vials from the box. “Take the cure, now, or we leave you here for the agents.”
“But I don’t wanna be cured,” Cole whimpered. “My life sucked before this. I’ll be good now, I promise!”
“Sorry,” I said, crossing my arms. “That ship sailed with the mind attack.”
Speckman glared at me with contempt. “I won’t drink.”
My voice bubbled with irritation. “Fine! Enjoy the cages.”
He laughed. “Cheer up, Cole. Haven’t you been paying attention? This little girl doesn’t have the stomach to play dirty.”
“I’ll do it. Watch me.”
In response, Speckman dug his trussed hands into his pocket. A cell phone fell out, and he kicked it across the floor to me. “Go ahead. The top saved number. Those spooks came to interview Ella about you, even gave her a card. I don’t know who they are, but they monitor that line.”
He’s so damn arrogant.
I picked up the phone. “Last chance, dirtbags.”
Speckman rolled his eyes. “You’re bluffing. Badly.”
Cole seemed close to bursting, but he shook his head. “Willie’s right. You won’t call.”
I unlocked the screen. Pulled up the caller list. Held my finger above the number.
My gaze locked on to my adversary’s. Speckman didn’t bat an eyelash.
He knows me. Damn it, but he does.
I slammed the phone to the ground with a shriek, breaking it to pieces. Cole released a pent-up breath. Speckman just laughed.
I waved my companions into a huddle. Hi and Shelton trudged over, throwing angry glances over their shoulders. Chance began earnestly debating what to do next. Ben didn’t say a word.
“Hey, jailors,” Cole called in a singsong cadence. “Can I get a Mountain Dew?”
I shot him a baleful look. “Ella, can you give those jerks some water? There are bottles in my bag.”
Ella nodded and rose. I returned to a whispered conversation with my pack.
“What are we going to do now?” Ben hissed.
“What else can we?” I whispered back. “We made our play.”
Ella knelt beside Cole, whose arms were tied to his sides. She shoved a water bottle into his mouth. “You’re such an idiot.”
Cole looked hurt as he gulped half of it down. Ella threw the other bottle at Speckman, naked hatred in her eyes. He caught it deftly, even with his hands tied together.
“Thanks, sweetheart.” Speckman winked.
I thought she’d go for his throat.
“Ella?” I called.
“Yes?” Without turning.
“Don’t do anything rash, okay?”
“Fine.” Ella poured more water down Cole’s throat. “I hope you both choke.”
“Love you, too.” Speckman twisted open his bottle and knocked it back.
Ella stood, carefully smoothed her clothing, then reached over and slapped his face.
Oh, well.
Speckman tried to throw his bottle at her. It missed, rolled harmlessly across the gym floor. Hi raced to snag it, then tipped the container over. Empty.
I took my first breath in minutes.
A hand squeezed my shoulder. Ben, smiling from ear to ear.
Impulsively, I hugged him as Hi walked over and slapped fives with Shelton and Chance. Then Hi knelt and presented the bottle to me like a championship trophy. I ruffled his sweaty hair.
Ella’s brow furrowed as she watched us. “What’s going on? Have you decided . . . what to do with them?”
“It’s all good!” Shelton crowed, breaking out the robot dance. “Game over!” Then he and Hiram started into an impromptu square-dance number. Ben even counted off the steps.
“Hey!” Ella stamped a foot, some of her old fire returning. “Explain.”
“The naughty kids just needed a little help taking their medicine.” Chance tapped the empty water bottle in my fingers. “All gone!”
Cole squinted at Chance, totally lost. “What? You’ve got meds?”
But I was watching Speckman. Saw his eyes nearly pop from his skull.
“No!” Chest heaving, he struggled with his bonds. “That’s not fair!”
I laughed out loud. “Oh, we’re discussing fairness now, Willie?”
Cole’s face was still blank with incomprehension. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”
“The water, you jackass.” Speckman gave up the fight, utter defeat etched on his face. “They spiked it with the antidote.” His voice broke. “We just drank away our powers.”
“Oh.” Ella gaped at the container she still held, then actually giggled. “Oh, that’s good.”
Cole stared at me, openmouthed. “Not cool, bro.”
I flashed my biggest smile. Didn’t feel a moment’s sympathy for the lying, manipulating, bullying, terrorizing jerks.
Instead I dropped the bottle and wiped my hands.
“Gotcha.”
Speckman’s sniffles carried across the empty gym.
We’d held the Trinity boys there for over an hour. Morbidly, I wondered what Headmaster Paugh might say if he popped in to work, and found Bolton Prep students and alumni holding one another hostage on school grounds. A wolfdog prowling his basketball court.
The ceaseless whimpering was grating on my nerves. After discovering he’d been duped into taking the cure, Speckman had morphed from a hard-ass to a quivering mound of Jell-O.
“How much longer do we wait?” I asked.
Chance glanced at his watch. “I don’t really know. In trials, the antidote worked almost immediately, but that was on mice. I’ve no idea how long the process might take with humans.” A guilty look crossed his face. “Obviously, I’ve never tested this serum on an actual person before. I just got the vials yesterday. They were manufactured by a black-market pharma outfit based in Singapore.”
Hi slapped Chance on the back. “Well here’s hoping it doesn’t kill them!”
“Not funny,” I scolded. We were playing with fire, but there’d been no other options. Speckman and Cole were dangerous. They’d forfeited the right to be Viral.
Assuming this works.
I snapped my fingers as a thought occurred to me. “Ella!”
Motioning Coop to sit, I hurried across the gym.
Her head rose as I approached. I’d simply asked her to stay, hoping she wouldn’t force a confrontation. But Ella had just nodded wearily and found a corner to huddle in. She hadn’t moved or said a word since.
“Ella?” I knelt and took her hand. She tensed, but didn’t pull away.
“Come to tell me you’re quitting soccer?” A weak joke, but I was glad Ella made the attempt. I was worried about her state of mind.
“We have to be sure the cure worked. Before we release Cole and Speckman, I mean.”
Ella smiled wryly. “I’m not a prisoner, too?”
I shook my head. “Not at all. We trust you now. All of us. I . . . we understand how you were misled. How Speckman mistreated you. You can go whenever you want.”
She sighed. “But you need to me try flaring, first.”
I nodded. “You took the serum before the boys. If it worked on you, we’ll know.”
Ella rubbed a hand over her mouth, then slowly got to her feet. “I feel kinda funny. Light-headed. Chance’s magic potion did something to me, but I haven’t tried to touch my powers.”
I offered my arm, but she waved it off.
Ella took a deep breath. Closed her eyes.
Ella’s facial muscles tensed. For long seconds she stood, motionless, her forehead scrunched like a washboard. Then her whole body relaxed. When her eyes reopened, they were their normal, stunning green. “It’s gone.” Her voice broke. “For the best, I guess, but I feel like I’ve lost a part of me.”
I wrapped her in my arms. She sobbed once, twice.
“I’m so sorry, Ella. Really.” Inadequate, but there was nothing else to say.
“It’s not your fault.” Ella cleared her throat, wiping tears from her cheeks. “None of this was. I see that now. I hope we can be friends again. I don’t expect you to—”
I crushed her with a second hug. “It’s already okay. I promise.”
This time, Ella squeezed back.
When we’d gathered ourselves—Ella mocking our “special moment” with her usual sarcasm—the two of us walked back over to the boys, who were studiously pretending they hadn’t witnessed any of it.
“You’re in luck, fellas.” Ella pointed to her eyes. “No glow. I’m officially out of the mutant club. Can’t say I miss it.”
A lie, I suspected. But a healthy one.
Chance edged forward. Ella’s back straightened at his undivided attention.
“We’ll run tests later,” he promised. “Dozens of them. I’ll monitor your health for as long as necessary, and make sure there are no side effects. I won’t abandon you. You’re with us now.”
Ella blushed to the roots of her glossy black hair. “Thank you, Chance.”
Hmmm.
“Can we cut them loose?” Hi jabbed a thumb at Cole and Speckman.
“I guess we have to,” I replied. “Not that they deserve it.”
“Let me.” Ben took the pocketknife from Shelton. “I almost hope they try something.”
We approached our prisoners, who were slouched against the bleachers. Hi and Shelton tried to unwind the jump-rope straitjacket they’d tied around Cole, but in the end Ben had to saw through the lines. Coop watched, wary and ready.
Cole rose and backed up a few steps. “Like, thanks. You guys seem all right. Sorry about all the kicking and fighting.”
Hi rolled his eyes. “Stay in school, Cole. Seriously. For a long time.”
Confused, the scruffy boy simply nodded.
Ben knelt before Speckman, who’d finally stopped sniveling. He glowered at my friend with palpable loathing. “This isn’t over, Blue. Not by a long shot.”
Ben rocked back and crossed his arms. “You want free, or not?”