The murmurs of the Resistance are a lull that I’ve grown used to. So, when I hear the cough, it yanks me out of my thoughts immediately.
Mia coughs again, a dry, heaving sound. I turn my head and stare at her. She’s got red flags on her cheeks, and she’s sweating. I lower my forkful of food to the plate and glance around.
Alarm skitters up my spine, and I jump up, my bowl falling to the floor as I really look around the room.
I spot five more sick people. A chill of ice rips all thoughts but one. The Ravage Virus has found the Resistance. I’d heard rumours that the illness was still in the city, lingering in the dust and soil. I’d speculated that’s what I had upon entering.
“Keres?” Jarek says quietly. “What’s going on?”
I turn and note his flushed face. I grab his arm and hoist him up. “Cadel, bring Mordecai and follow me.”
If he’s annoyed with my tone, he doesn’t say anything, just hoists the alpha up and follows me. Each step takes forever, and time seems to speed up. My urgency grows with each moment.
Mordecai has passed out by the time we get there, and Jarek is stumbling, but I get them in and lay them down.
“Stay with them,” I say to Cadel.
“No, I—”
“Please,” I say in a strained voice. “Look after them. I willbe back.”
He growls but dips his head in agreement. I need to go back for supplies. It takes me an hour to get everything we need, then I track down Legion. He’s sitting on the roof, doing his shift on watch.
“Legion!” I hiss, trying to catch his attention.
“Hey, Keres, have you come to shout at the world with me?”
“No, but you're going to want to.”
He turns his whole attention to me. “What now?”
“I think the virus, the Ravage Virus, is now running rampant through the Resistance.”
Legion stands up and jogs to the hole in the roof. He drops, landing in a crouch before turning to grab my hips and help me down.
An alpha stumbles past, coughing, and passes out in front of us.
“What do we do?” he hisses.
“Hide them,” I say. “While they are sick, they are vulnerable. We need to get as many people hidden as we can,” I say urgently. “This is precisely the moment they will have waited for. How they get you,” I say to Legion.
We grab the alpha and drag him into a room, shoving him in a corner behind drywall.
“Don’t give up, Alpha. Just stay quiet,” I murmur.
“We need to find the council, Mia, Bear,” Legion hisses.
I follow him but split off when I see Mia. She’s collapsed on the ground.
“Go. I’ve got her.”
Legion hesitates, but then he disappears. I get her to the room and lay her down beside Mordecai, then I go back, doing another sweep, moving who I can, directing others to hide. I douse the fire and start moving thesupplies into a section of the roof. All the time, I’m searching, but the Resistance leaders aren’t easily found.
Legion appears and looks up at me in exhaustion. His cheeks are red, and his eyes are glazed.
“I couldn’t find Taryn, Marshall, or Bear.”
I catch him as he falls; we both go down in a pile. I drag him down to the room and lay him down beside Mordecai. Cadel is passed out, breathing in harsh rasps. My arms are screaming in pain, and my back hurts.
