Speckman sneered, but held out his wrists. One by one, Ben sliced through the plastic cuffs we’d used to secure the Trinity’s leader. As the last strip parted, both boys sprang to their feet.
Towering over the rest of us, Speckman clenched his fists.
Chance stepped forward to stand beside Ben. “Not a good idea.”
In response, Speckman snapped his eyes shut. His whole body trembled. When his eyelids popped back open, red fire leaked from his irises.
Speckman laughed in triumph. My heart dropped. Coop crouched beside me, teeth bared.
The cure hadn’t worked! We’d have to—
Speckman’s smile vanished. He grabbed his temples. “No. No! NO!”
The scarlet radiance flickered, then died. Speckman dropped to a knee, straining with every muscle he possessed. Then he collapsed in a heap. One fist pounded the floor.
I took a breath.
“You took everything from me,” Speckman moaned. “How could you?”
My voice was pitiless. “You gave us no choice, Will. You’re not fit to be Viral.”
“Come on, man.” Cole tugged his friend’s arm. “Let’s bail.”
Speckman allowed himself to be led toward the exit. But at the threshold he swung back to face us, malevolence twisting his features.
“You’ll pay for this!” Speckman spat on the floor. “Somehow. I promise.”
Then he shoved Cole through the doorway and was gone.
“I’m gonna miss that guy,” Hi deadpanned. “He’s got a lot of great qualities.”
Ella tugged my sleeve. “I should go, too.” Against all odds, she smiled. “Don’t forget, we have a game on Tuesday.”
I gave her one more bear hug. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
Ella waved to the others and, with a last glance at Chance, headed out the door.
I caught him watching her go.
Well, well.
Shelton’s voice drew me back. “So now we need to decide.”
“Decide what?” Ben asked, scuffing the floor with his shoe.
Shelton gave him a surprised look, then pointed to the metal box in Chance’s pocket. “Whether we should take that serum ourselves.”
His words sent a shockwave through my system.
The question was out there now, in the open. No more avoiding it.
“What!?” Ben’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. “No way!”
“He’s right.” Ignoring Ben’s incredulous stare, Hi pawed at his scalp. “Those agents are still hunting us. Last night, they stormed Chance’s freaking mega-castle to bag a Viral. They’re not gonna let up. We have to decide what we’re willing to risk.”
“I won’t give up being Viral,” Ben vowed stubbornly. “Not ever.”
“Even if it means your freedom?” Hi countered. “Or your life?”
Ben was about to fire back, but Chance cut him off. “What about her life?” He snapped a nod at me. “Would you risk that?”
Ben paled, mouth working but words failing.
“How many vials do we have left?” Shelton asked. “After dosing the Trinity, I mean.”
“Plenty.” Chance flipped open the box and tossed the rightmost two vials aside. Those were fake—their original contents had been dumped into the water bottles. “I have two more full vials in here, and it doesn’t take much to work.”
My brow furrowed. “How can you know that?”
“I don’t know,” Chance answered peevishly. “Not for certain. But our clinical trials indicated that a small amount should be sufficient.”
For a moment, no one spoke.
I stared at the green liquid. Torn.
Normally, I’d never have considered giving up my powers. But those storm troopers had changed the equation. Our secret was out, and the very worst ears had heard it.
We’d barely escaped them last time. Who knew what would happen next?
Is being Viral worth my life?
“Things have gotten too dangerous,” Shelton said quietly. “I don’t think we can wiggle out of this one.”
Hi ran a hand down his face, then spoke through his fingers. “They’ll put us in cages. Slice us and dice us.”
Ben punched his thigh. Again. Then again, muttering and cursing. When he finally spoke, he was looking directly at me. “I don’t want to risk . . . anyone.”
Chance removed the last two vials. “Are we decided, then?”
My eyes found Ben’s. He crossed his arms, fingers digging into his flesh. But he nodded.
I looked to Shelton, who removed his glasses to wipe his eyes. “Yes,” he said weakly.
Hi next. He nodded, then looked away.
Chance was watching me. “I’m in if you are.”
I swallowed. Thought of all the crazy things we’d done with our powers.
Scaling the Morris Island lighthouse. Roughhousing on Turtle Beach. Stalking through dark forests and swamps. Breaking into the Charleston Public Library. Running from the cops. Raiding tombs. Tunneling under the city. Swimming the harbor in the dead of the night.
So many wild nights. Dangerous situations.
All because we were Viral. Unique. A breed apart.
But it’s not worth our freedom.
“We don’t have a choice.” Unshed tears stung my eyes. “We have to protect ourselves.”
I extended my hand. Chance passed me a vial.
Fingers shaking, I pulled the stopper and held it to my lips.
Said good-bye.
Something bumped my leg. I looked down.
Coop was staring at me intently, eyes bright.
Other memories fired through my brain.
Cooper and me, trotting down the coastline. Wrestling on my bed. Hiking across Loggerhead Island. The two of us sitting alone, watching the sun set into Schooner Creek, our minds linked, our souls in harmony.
The wolfdog and I shared a special bond, unique to this world.
A strange, wonderful way to communicate. The unrivaled closeness of being pack.
I lowered the vial.
No way I was giving that up.
“I won’t do it.” I handed the serum back to Chance, then knelt and scratched Coop’s ears. “I won’t judge anyone else’s decision, but I can’t sacrifice part of myself. I couldn’t live with it.”
Ben smacked his hands together. “Thank God!”
“You’re serious?” Shelton gaped. “This isn’t like the other times. Men are hunting us!”
“Sorry, Shelton.” Hi blew out a breath, looked relieved. “But I feel the same. This body’s too sexy to go normal. I’m wolfman all the way. Pack for life, and all that.”
Chance gripped Hi’s shoulder, grinning sardonically. “Hopefully you’ll let me in now. My original pack no longer exists.”
“Lunatics.” Shelton slowly shook his head. “You people are straight-up crazy.”
I squeezed his skinny arm. “You need to decide for yourself, Shelton. We’ll respect whatever you choose.”
He took a step back. Visibly resisted grabbing an earlobe. “Why won’t y’all see reason?”
“It’s your call.” Chance handed over one of the vials. “Do what you feel is right.”
I caught and held Shelton’s eye. “Trust your instincts.”
Shelton looked from face to face, expression pained, before settling on the vial between his fingers. Several beats passed, then he rolled his eyes. “Oh, forget this. Like I’m gonna ditch my family.”
Everyone cheered as he thrust the vial into my hand.
I looked at Chance.
He nodded. “If we’re not going to use them . . .”
The whole group counted together.
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three!”
Chance and I dropped the vials and crushe
d them with our heels.
“We’re the dumbest collection of dummies ever to be dumb.”
Shelton stared ruefully at the green puddles on the hardwood. “So how do we outsmart these government thugs?”
The million-dollar question.
“I don’t know.” It was time for total honesty, even if the truth was scary. “It feels like things are escalating. Before last night, they’d only tried to grab us in remote places.”
“Places the Trinity had lured us.” Ben shot Chance a black look. “Red-eye schemes, working against the golden.”
Chance met him glare for glare. “Those soldiers came for me, too, you know. In my ancestral home, which I can’t go back to now.”
“My point is,” I continued, “something changed. The agents lost patience, tried to kidnap us right from South of Broad. From freaking Claybourne Manor.”
Hi held up an index finger. “Which brings us to the point—will they strike again? Are these jerks about to stop being polite . . . and start getting real?”
Coop bumped my leg again.
I glanced down, found him staring at me with an expression I couldn’t place.
“We should go to my office,” Chance suggested, pacing as he thought. “The Candela building has airtight physical security. You can’t possibly drag someone out of there without witnesses.”
“And do what?” Shelton’s hands rose, his voice sharp with irritation. “Live there forever? We have to go home eventually. You might have problems at your gigantic fancy mansion, but Morris Island is as remote as America gets. If these psychos really wanna bag us, they could burn down our whole damn neighborhood and nobody would notice!”
Goose bumps rose on my arms. Shelton was right. The agents missed at Claybourne Manor, but Morris Island was the next best thing. If they decided to capture us at all costs, nothing would stand in their way.
I went cold, imagining an attack on our sleepy little community. Our families as “collateral damage.” In today’s top story, a freak gas explosion on Morris Island claimed the lives of . . .
“Tory?”
I blinked. Found Hi watching me closely.
“You okay?” he asked. “You’ve got a strange expression on your face.”
I didn’t know how to respond. All of a sudden, I realized how hopeless our situation was.
We could never stop the men chasing us.
And they’d never leave us alone.
“We should split up,” Chance said suddenly.
All heads whipped to him.
“Of course!” Chance grew animated as he spoke. “The spooks have only moved in when we’re all together. They must be afraid of missing someone. One of us getting away, maybe feeling desperate enough, and . . . and . . . talking to the police. Or the FBI. Or the media, I guess.”
“They already did miss,” Hi pointed out. “Last night. And who could we talk to?”
“They know we can’t tell anyone,” Shelton said glumly. “We’re trapped by our own secret. If we tell our parents we’re being stalked by secret government agents, they’ll laugh their asses off. Or have our heads checked. And if we prove it by showing them our powers . . .”
I tensed.
Was that the answer?
Was it time to come clean at home?
I imagined Kit’s face, watching my irises ignite. Felt sick at the prospect. Would he flip out? Run screaming from his golden-eyed freak of a daughter? I didn’t want to find out, but our options were nearly nonexistent.
Ben’s acid tone crashed my train of thought. “Split up, eh Chance?” His neck flushed red, a sure sign he was losing his temper. “And let me guess, you and Tory would sneak off together, leaving us three losers to fend for ourselves?”
“Ben!” I barked. Sneak off?
“My office is the safest place!” Chance argued. “Shouldn’t that be where Tory is?”
Ben got up in Chance’s face. “Not if you’re there, Claybourne. And we all know what you’re really up to.”
“You do?” Chance gave Ben a nasty smile. “You think you’re up to speed, Ben?”
Ben’s face blanched. “What’s that supposed to mean?” His troubled gaze darted to me. “What’s he saying, Tor? You can’t want to go away with him again, right? It’s not safe.”
Chance scoffed. “Who appointed you her protector?”
My temper exploded.
“Enough!”
Both boys started in surprise. Coop inched closer to my side, eyeing them.
“Ben! Chance!” Biting off their names, I pointed to center court. “A private word.”
Hi and Shelton began slowly backing away. “Yeah, um. No problem.” Hi scratched his head, looking everywhere but at me. “You guys go and . . . like . . . chat. We’ll, like—”
“We’ll be over there.” Shelton pushed Hi toward the far baseline. “You guys talk. Take your time.” He snagged Coop’s collar as they retreated across the gym. “Come on, boy.” The wolfdog reluctantly went along.
I couldn’t hold back any longer. “I have had enough of this crap!”
Both spoke at once.
“You can’t trust this creep any farther—”
“I’m only trying—”
I actually stamped a foot.
“What makes you think I’m interested in either of you?” I practically shouted, too furious to mince words. “You bicker and fight like toddlers. And now, of all times! It’s ridiculous!”
Twin sullen expressions soured their faces. I might’ve laughed, had the situation not been so deadly serious. So I kept blasting away. “I’m sick and tired of you constantly attacking each other. It’s exhausting.” My breath came hot and fast, the words spilling out in a torrent. “So let me say this one time, out loud, so neither of you can miss it: I’m not selecting a boyfriend this week. And if I was, right now it sure as hell wouldn’t be either one of you!”
Neither spoke.
I paused my tirade, nostrils flaring, my pulse firing a mile a minute.
Did I really mean that?
Chance was staring at his shoes, his expression that of a man falsely accused of crime.
Ben’s face was wooden. He’d retreated into his shell, letting nothing show.
Worried I’d gone too far, I softened my tone. Held up a thumb and forefinger, only a millimeter apart. “We’re this close to becoming a medical experiment. That’s what matters right now. Nothing else. Don’t you get that?”
They never got a chance to respond.
Two men in black suits stepped through the double doors.
Buzz Cut. Mustache.
Mustache smiled, exposing two rows of brown, crooked teeth. Buzz Cut’s face was granite, except for an angry red scar puckering his cheek.
“Look out!” I shouted, but it was far too late.
In each corner of the gym, the emergency doors swung wide. Pairs of black-uniformed agents took up position at each exit, one man unarmed, the other holding the same odd, blunt-nosed weapon we’d seen the night before.
Shelton and Hi raced to join us at center court.
Ben squeezed his eyes shut.
“Ben, no!” I hissed, but my friend ignored me, straining silently as agents surrounded us.
Finally, he let out a ragged breath. “My flare won’t come. Chance, it’s up to you.”
Chance looked at me. I could tell he was calculating in his mind.
Before I could react, Cooper fired from the shadow of the bleachers, charging Buzz Cut and Mustache with bared teeth. Growling viscously, he lunged at the startled agents.
Time slowed.
Mustache yelled something.
An agent ran forward and dropped to a knee, aiming his weapon at Coop’s back.
“No!” I lurched forward, but Chance grabbed me and held me back.
&nbs
p; There was an odd popping sound. The air seemed to warp in a straight line toward my wolfdog.
Coop’s back arched. He let out a piteous whine, then crumpled to the ground.
“Let me go!” I pounded Chance’s arm, trying to break free.
He held fast, squeezing me tighter. “You can’t do anything for him!”
“Coop!” I blubbered, tears streaming. “You bastards!”
Mustache’s gravelly voice cut across the gym. “You plan on coming quietly? Or do my boys get to use their fancy stun guns again?”
Stun gun.
I stared at Coop. Saw his chest rise and fall.
My knees nearly buckled with relief. I pulled away, meeting Chance’s eye. “I’m okay.”
As he relented, Ben stepped between me and the agents. “What do you want?”
“You know,” Mustache said flatly, eyes hard beneath a spiky cap of thinning gray hair. He was doing all the talking; Buzz Cut had barely moved a muscle since entering the building. “And you have no choice.”
Ben tensed. I could tell he was ready to fight, with fists alone, if need be.
So was I.
I straightened. Wiped away my tears.
Flaring or not, I wasn’t going meekly into a cage.
But Chance grabbed my arm and spoke under his breath. “Do as they say.”
Ben’s head whipped. “Claybourne, you—”
“There’s no time!” Chance hissed. “You have to trust me!”
I met Chance’s gaze. His eyes pleaded silently.
“I have a plan,” Chance whispered. “But we have to be awake to do it.”
I nodded slowly.
I’d trust Chance. One last time.
Against every instinct, I stepped around Ben. Lightly pushed him back. Hi and Shelton watched with terrified eyes as I faced the agents and raised my hands.
“We surrender.”
The next minutes were a blur.
Agents closed in from all sides. Not a hand was laid on me, but it was clear resistance was futile. We were outnumbered two to one. They were armed. Our flares were spent.
Buzz Cut’s face was an iron mask behind his reflective shades. Mustache simply pointed to a corner of the gym. His black-clad minions marched us toward the indicated exit.
Twenty yards to the doorway—its glowing rectangle of sunlight felt like a mouth set to swallow us whole. Afternoon beams blinded me as we were herded outside like cattle.