The Virus Within: Third Wave (Book 2)

Chapter 28

Nicky began swaying her hips as she continued caterwauling to whatever tune was running through her head. Much to our misfortune.

"That is so bad my eyes are watering," Jess mumbled, covering her ears.

I fully agreed and was about ready to plug my ears when Nina interrupted her, "That actually gives me a really good idea!"

I sent a startled glance at Nina – had she finally lost her mind? Daniel was also looking at her with an expression that questioned her judgment.

Even Nicky did a double-take and stopped singing. "You might need your head checked. No one has ever liked my singing."

This time, I agreed with Nicky. Her voice was something that made you cringe at the first few words before trying to plug your ears in a way that would block out every hint of sound. I failed to see how Nicky's singing could bring about any good idea other than duct tape.

Nina shook her head. "Sorry, Nicky. Your singing is terrible and completely off-key, but it gave me another idea to research!" With growing excitement, Nina said, "I've always used blood or saliva in my testing. They help in different areas, but I never considered tears. It opens up a completely new area we can look at!"

"The idea has its merits," Daniel replied, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. "Collecting tears will be harder than saliva or blood. I don't think I'd react well to anything near my eyes. I would likely lash out."

"What if we used a small test tube and placed it just beneath the eye?" Nina asked him.

"That might work," he replied dubiously, "but I don't recall shedding a tear since I turned. Even if I stick my head out of the truck window, my eyes don't water from the wind. My pain tolerance is also extremely high, so that won't work either."

Nicky regarded Daniel before mock-whispering to me. "I say we tickle him until he cries for mercy."

I snorted in amusement. "And just how do you intend to manage that?"

With a heavy sigh, Nicky shook her head as she dismissed the idea. "No clue. Besides, he might just kill me if I attempted that." She eyed me up instead. "I don't suppose you're ticklish..."

"Oh, she is," Jess added mischievously.

I shook my head and lied, "No, I lost that when I turned. Don't even bother coming after me. All it takes is a glimpse of light for my eyes to water."

The second the words left my mouth, I realized my error. My attempt to dissuade Nicky had leaked some rather unfortunate information that Nina clearly found very interesting. Crap. Me and my big mouth.

"Would you possibly consider doing it?" Nina asked tentatively. "It would make a huge contribution to our research."

"I don't think you realize just how much that would hurt," I replied with a frown. "As sensitive as my eyes are to light, they water with almost any exposure. I can carry a bowl or something in case my glasses get bumped and let the tears drip into that, but such accidents are rare, and I'm not the kind of person to inflict that sort of pain on myself intentionally."

"A bowl won't work," Nina said regretfully. "If the tears rolled even halfway down your cheek, the oils on your skin would contaminate the sample and render it basically useless. You'd have to wipe down your skin and collect it before it went too far. It'd be easier if someone helped you in such a scenario."

I growled at that idea. "If the light is bright enough to make my eyes water, then it's bright enough to partially blind me. Between the pain and inability to see, there's an extremely high chance of me striking out at anyone who so much as approaches me until my eyes recover. It wouldn't be safe for anyone in the area. You saw how that feral reacted to light."