HAVEN ✓

Thirty-Two

I take a cautious sip of tea from the steaming mug between my palms. The scalding, fragrant liquid burns all the way down my throat, but I welcome it. I feel myself perk up, the last vestiges of sleep dissolving into the aether.

I breathe in the steam with an odd sense of calm determination. Today is the day I will get answers. When Rhett fetched me for breakfast, I had expected him to evade my questions. Yet in a stroke of luck, I only had to ask once. The second we finished our morning meal, four words took flight from my lips.

"Why am I here?"

So here we sit in the middle of the empty mess hall, long after the breakfast crowd left. It feels strangely like we are in a time warp, or some life-sized hourglass, for since I left Herald, all normal life had ceased. The time, measured in hours and minutes, days and nights spent getting here was all building up to this moment. This point of culmination. I am ready for the truth.

Two things are clear: I was brought here with purpose, and the reason for that is tied to the Skinwalkers.

"Let's start at the beginning." Rhett raises his cup to take a sip of his own breakfast tea before continuing. "Remember back to our lessons in school. Do you recall why the wall surrounding Herald was built?"

I nod, but the answer engraved in my brain has since been altered. "They taught us that the wall was built to protect citizens from the savagery of the Outlanders and the diseases they carried." I frown. Hearing the words come out of my mouth makes me feel ill. "But that isn't true, is it?"

My suspicions are confirmed when Rhett gives an affirming nod. "The Council likes to tell half-truths. Before the wall, our ancestors once lived in an epoch of scientific advancement. There existed no physical divide, but there certainly was a lack of balance in society."

"You mean like classism?" I venture. "You're saying we were all part of the same world, then? Outlander and Heraldites?" Something akin to hope springs from my chest.

"It wasn't some co-existence, Sophie. We are all human. But what drove the classes apart? That is anything but."

A sense of dread creeps over me. Skinwalkers.

"The Council didn't lie about disease—that much is true," Rhett continues. "But it affected everyone alike. The epidemic was dreadful—entire cities were wiped from the earth. Death held no prejudices."

I shiver, unable to suppress the chill that runs down my spine.

"They called it Neo-Plague."

Plague. I've heard the word, read stories of the ghastly events in my lessons. Bodies piled in the streets as the live population dwindled. The devastation associated with it is nauseating. To think that our distant relatives suffered such a terrible fate fuels my curiosity; how did they survive?

"Despite the technological headway, thousands of people got sick and died. Scientists worked around the clock in an attempt to find a cure. Countless tests and experiments were conducted in hopes of developing a vaccine." Rhett lifts his mug to his lips, the steam no longer billowing from the rim. "They almost found one."

Almost? My stomach drops, and I'm determined not to regret my next question. "What happened?"

Rhett tips back his cup until the last drop is gone before setting the ceramic down on the table with a clink. "I think we need to talk to Dr. Tabb. She can explain it in a more thorough manner, and I know you're a stickler for detail."

When we arrive at the Research and Development hall, Dr. Tabb welcomes us into the laboratory with a knowing grin.

"Praise dawn," she greets as she clears a copious amount of books and papers from the bench to make space for me to sit. I light gingerly on the edge of the bench, suddenly nervous. Dr. Tabb has been nothing but kind so far, but something about her sets me on edge; perhaps it is the way she was expecting my arrival yesterday, or the fact that she has plans unbeknownst to me.

Rhett slides in next to me and briefs Dr. Tabb, asking her to pick up where he left off.

"Yes, the vaccine!" Dr. Tabb exclaims, a vibrant passion emanating from her eyes. "They were so close to a cure, if not for the exogenous protein. Who knew the specimens would react—" A sigh, then Dr. Tabb meets my vacant eye. "I suppose I should explain."

Dr. Tabb steeples her fingers, tapping them together thrice before continuing. "Here is what we know about the Neo-Plague. The disease emerged in only a small group of people with similar symptoms: fever, nausea, tremors, and eventually, jaundice. At first, the CDC thought it was a resurgence of Leptospirosis, but when even the strongest antibiotics did nothing, the world turned on its head."

I fight off a shiver. I can imagine walking down the streets of old and passing the sick and dying, their pale and jaundiced skin marking them as infected. I sigh, the suffering our ancestors had experienced makes me terribly sad. "So what did they do next, after trying the antibiotics?"

"As it turns out, the true culprit was not a bacteria, like Leptospira, but a virus." Dr. Tabb's eyes are alight, clearly enjoying the suspense, and get the feeling that she doesn't get many visitors who are particularly interested in ancient plagues.

"The virus multiplied," she continues. "Rapidly. It spread faster than measures could be put into place to halt it. Most affected places were areas of high population, like big cities with many people in close quarters."

Dr. Tabb lowers her hands, smoothing them out over her white lab coat. "As the people of the nation died, more pressure was put on scientists and research personnel to develop a vaccine."

I suppose that makes sense. If you could not cure the illness, then preventing it was the next step.

"There was a catch, though," she continues, and I take a breath, preparing myself for more bad news. "In order to develop a viable vaccine, they had to obtain protein from the virus itself. But where did they draw it from?" She raises her eyebrows in mock question. "Infected human blood."

I shiver. Rhett places a hand on my shoulder, and I appreciate the support. "From the way it was explained to me, the way vaccines work is that the extracted virus is chemically treated," he explains. "When injected, the body develops antibodies to fight the antigens without the host developing symptoms of infection."

When Dr. Tabb brings over to a heavy-looking book and flips it open to a colorful page, I lean over to observe.

"The final test provided remarkable results," she tells me. "See, as far as experimental drugs go, they start small. Tests usually are commenced first on mice and rats. Then, larger mammals like rabbits are sometimes used, but for the final experiment, they used macaques."

I look up from the book. "What's a macaque?"

Dr. Tabb points to a large monkey on the page. "This is a pigtail macaque. They are primates, much like we humans are."

My mind is reeling. "They... they experimented on that? Tested the vaccine on a monkey?"

Dr. Tabb taps her chin. "Yes, that was back when experimenting on non-human primates was still legal. Today, that just wouldn't happen, for they are extremely rare to obtain."

I think back to mom's Placement as one of the scientists in Herald. Would she ever have to experiment on living things? Has she already? I shudder at the thought of causing another living being to suffer. I could never do it.

"Were the macaques okay?"

Dr. Tabb's lips press into a thin line. "When the experimental group was injected with the first vaccine trial, the subjects reacted in a way that was ultimately unexpected. No one predicted that the immune response would be so adverse."

I am now on the edge of my seat. "What happened?"

"Within twenty-four hours, all of their fur fell out. In addition to becoming jaundiced, they exhibited aggression so acute that it was impossible to obtain vitals." Dr. Tabb took a long breath. "The vaccine was a failure."

Something clicks in my head, and a feeling of unease sets over me. "I don't get it, that can't be all..." I ponder. "What does any of that have to do with finding a cure for the Skinwalkers?"

Rhett takes my hand, squeezing, and an alarm in my mind blares.

"It has everything to do with it, Soph. Those macaques?" He looks me in the eye, wordlessly urging me to understand. "They evolved into Skinwalkers."