“What is it?” Ava asked.
Alex’s stomach twisted into a tight knot as he waited to hear what Kyle said.
Kyle shuffled through the papers again, his expression turning grim. “Project Reaper is a virus modification protocol.”
“Speak English, Doc,” Ava said.
“They’ve basically modified and weaponized the flu, making it more contagious and deadly.”
“How deadly?” Sebastian asked.
“Very,” Kyle answered. “Like seventy to eighty percent lethal.”
Alex’s forehead creased as he shook his head. “Wait, wait. So, that means…”
“It means seventy to eighty percent of people who get infected, die. So, if a group of one hundred people gets the Reaper virus, only thirty of them are left alive at the end of it, max.”
Alex winced, shifting uncomfortably on the bed. “Yikes, that’s not good. Do we have enough proof to go public? Nail them for doing something like this?”
“Yes, but we have a much bigger problem,” Kyle said, worry etched into every line of his face.
“What is that?” Sebastian asked.
“They’ve already let this thing loose in a small town. This could wipe out massive parts of the population if they don’t quarantine fast enough.”
“And they probably won’t. They’ll assume it’s the flu,” Ava said with a shake of her head.
“Which means…The Board will profit from yet another catastrophe, and we’ll lose a big swath of people.”
Alex stared at the comforter in front of him, blood draining from his face. His mind calculated the spread of the virus across the globe, the desperate efforts that would be made to try to save lives, but they would all be too late. The Board would win at destroying the world.
And they were powerless to do anything about it.
CHAPTER 8
AVA
Ava zipped up her hoodie over her tank top, her heart thudding hard against her ribs before she grabbed a few other articles of clothing and stuffed them into an overnight bag. The hasty decision to travel to the small Vermont town where the virus had been unleashed had twisted her gut into a knot that hadn’t yet released.
But something had to be done. They had to warn those people about what they were dealing with before this spread well beyond the town limits.
Kyle had offered to go on his own, but she wasn’t going to let anyone face this alone. They needed firsthand information about what was going on–and hopefully a method to stop it before this virus ebbed beyond the initial hot zone.
Alex stepped into the closet as she shoved another pair of pants into her bag. Worry was etched into every line of his face.
In the blind panic of preventing a world catastrophe, her own health crisis had been thrown by the wayside, but clearly not forgotten entirely.
“Avs–”
She held up a hand, not wanting to hear the lecture about what a bad idea it was to go to a flu-ridden town while it was still uncertain about whether or not she could blackout and become another version of herself. “I know.”
Alex rushed to close the distance between them, pulling her into his arms. “Are you sure you want to go? Maybe you should stay here. Grant and Julia will be here with you.”
Ava pressed her cheek against his chest, holding him closer. “I know you mean well, Ace, but I’m a part of this. And I can’t keep living in fear of these blackouts. I have to trust Doc’s treatment.”
“I want to trust Doc’s treatment, too, but it’s still early. Maybe give it a few weeks in case you have side effects, or the dosage isn’t right and you…” His words trailed off, worry etched into his features.
“Blackout and go all crazy again?” She tilted her head to glance up at him.
