The Virus Within: The Unranked (Book 4)

Ch. 2: When Handcuffs Walk

We weren't even halfway down the stairs before Daniel appeared in the hallway at the bottom.

He took a breath, likely to reprimand me for releasing Nicky, but he paused and furrowed his eyebrows as something occurred to him. "Since when do you let her out this quickly?"

"I didn't," I replied coolly. "I was giving Jess a hard time for not locking her door."

His gaze moved to Nicky, becoming calculating since neither humans nor Runners had sufficient strength to untwist the rebar. "How did you get out?"

"I'll leave that answer up to your imagination," she replied cheerfully.

"I really should have stayed in the mountains another day," I grumbled as I reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Eh, that's just proof you missed us," Nicky said. "You should be happy we didn't organize a homecoming party."

"If you do that again, I'll be the one locking you in that cage," I warned her.

"Once was enough," she admitted. "No wonder Luke refused to help set that party up. You Nightstalkers sure don't like surprises or being the center of attention, let alone both at the same time."

"Make sure you remember that," I said firmly. I turned my attention to my biological sister. "What did you want to do down here, Jess?"

Most of her stuff was in her workshop, although she had some specialized equipment in her two lab rooms.

"I wanted to ask Nina if there was anything she needed, but I think she's still trying to perfect those insulin cultures. One of them crashed the other day."

"She'll be in one of those rooms," Daniel confirmed, "and I think she wanted you to find her something."

"Thanks, Daniel!" Jess said as she quickly led the way down a side hallway.

The tile walls in the newer section were a different color, although the layout was similar to the original hallway with doors on each side. Nina's scent lingered in the air, evidence of how much time she spent down here. Luke's and Logan's scents were almost as strong, although they spent more time in the third hallway.

"Hey, Nina!" Jess called. "Which room are you in?"

"N5," the scientist replied from somewhere ahead.

I lagged behind as we passed rooms where various medicines were produced and experimental ones were being worked on. Most of them were formulated using plants, hence the need for Jess and Logan to keep her supplied with ingredients as she created recipes and instructions to circulate to other labs.

My footsteps slowed even more; if I showed up too quickly, I'd be the first one nominated for such a plant hunt. Not that I minded such a task since it gave me an excuse to wander around the forest and fields, but keeping up appearances was important.

Jess disappeared into the room ahead. "How is the new culture coming?"

"I just set up a yeast-style one. The bacteria cultures are a bit too high maintenance for most Strongholds to manage, and as soon as they hear the name E. coli, they panic. They have no such aversion to something called saccharomyces cerevisiae."

"Duh, that's the same stuff they use to make beer," Nicky said, also entering the room. "Who wouldn't want a light buzz compared to a night on the toilet?"

There was a moment of silence before Nina replied, "The insulin gets purified, so it doesn't quite work like that, but the fact that you know it's the same yeast is rather startling."