RowenaI watched in horror as Eric began to fall.“Eric!” His name tore itself from my throat as a ragged scream, my fingers digging gouges into the side of the car. He couldn’t fall here, not like this. I wouldn’t let it happen.Despite Emma’s protests, I shot to my feet, prepared to lea
EricI woke up with a start, my entire body tensing as my eyes snapped open. For a disoriented moment, all I could process was the dim light filtering in through the curtains—and burning my eyes.Sitting upright, I winced as a sharp twinge of pain worked its way through my shoulder—the events of the previous night rushing back. Those damn feral warriors.
RowenaI hurried down the hallway at camp, keeping my head down in the wake of everything that had happened with Heather and Dr. Reynolds—but apparently, it seemed that I didn’t need to.One apologetic glance turned into another, followed by the occasional sympathetic murmur, and soon, I was realizing that my classmates actually…
RowenaEric’s wide blue eyes stared down at me for a moment, his broad frame practically blotting out the light streaming into the hallway through the large windows before I managed to collect my bearings.“How’s your arm?” I blurted out, taking a step back and adjusting my satchel on my shoulder.
Rowena“Did you see the look on Liam’s face when you beat his high score on that zombie shooter game? He was so flustered!”Emma rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “Yeah, well, that’s what he gets when he assumes that girls don’t know how to play video games.” She paused for a moment before shooting me a sly grin. “You and Eric seemed to be having a pretty good time too, by the way.”I felt my cheeks flush slightly at her implication, and quickly looked away to hide it. Last night, Emma, Eric, Liam, and I had gone out to a local arcade; we had spent the night playing games, eating pizza, and… well, just acting like normal people for a change.It had been nice. But there was nothing more to it.“Yeah,” I finally managed, rubbing my hand along the back of my neck. “It was nice to spend some time with him.”“Mhm.” Emma drew out the sound, shooting me a coy look. “If you say so. But you two would make a pretty cute couple if, you know, you weren’t related.”My heart stuttered in my chest at
RowenaI hovered anxiously over the warrior’s bedside, my teeth gnawing at my bottom lip as I watched him strain against the thick leather restraints binding him to the cot. A thin sheen of sweat glistened across his brow, his eyes wild and glazed as he thrashed around—growls and snarls ripping from his throat like a feral animal.He had been sedated, which reduced his fury immensely. I wondered what it would be like if he hadn’t been.“God,” Eric muttered from somewhere behind me, low and full of worry. “He’s... he’s completely gone, isn’t he?”I swallowed hard, my grip tightening around the pen I held as I watched a thin line of white foam dribble from the corner of the warrior’s mouth. This was bad—so, so bad. The Wolf’s Fury virus had progressed so quickly, far more quickly than I could have imagined. Just minutes ago, he had seemed relatively coherent save for his unfocused gaze and jerky movements. Now…Now he was practically feral, utterly detached from his humanity.A shudder
RowenaI whirled around at the sound of Adrian’s voice cutting through the chaos, my heart leaping into my throat when I saw him storming toward us.Without a moment’s hesitation, Eric immediately stepped in front of me—his broad frame forming a protective barrier between me and Adrian.“What do you want?” Eric growled.Adrian didn’t so much as break his stride, his lips curling back in a sneer as he rapidly closed the distance between us. When he was just a few feet away, he jabbed an accusatory finger in Eric’s direction.“You’re infected,” he bit out. “I know you were bitten! I saw everything the other night!”Before I could open my mouth to protest, Adrian’s hand whipped out and seized Eric’s wrist in an iron grip. With a harsh tug, he yanked Eric’s arm forward—causing the sleeve of his jacket to ride up and reveal the stark white bandages I knew were concealing the bite mark hidden beneath.My stomach flipped as I watched Adrian rip the dressing away, exposing the angry red gashe
RowenaA soft sigh escaped my lips as I focused the microscope lens. Carefully arranged on the glass slide were thin smears of the warrior’s infected blood sample—the very sample I had secretly obtained right before…Well, everything.My jaw clenched, and I couldn’t keep myself from thinking about Eric’s pale, motionless form being hauled into that white van like a sack of bad potatoes. I squeezed my eyes shut against the memory, forcing myself to take a slow, steadying breath.He was still in there, I reminded myself firmly. Still fighting, still Eric. I just had to find a way to cure him of this virus before it consumed him completely.With renewed determination, I refocused my attention on the microscope, adjusting the knobs to increase the magnification. The warrior’s blood stared up at me in stark red detail—every single corrupted cell visible in high resolution.Tainted. Diseased. But beyond repair?No. I refused to accept that possibility—there simply had to be something, some