“No. Doc, what is it? You have to tell me.”
He set his hand on his hips, pressing his lips together. “Alex is…okay.”
“Why did you hesitate?” she asked. “Have there been some changes?”
He swallowed hard, his nostrils flaring. “Yes.”
“What?” Her voice broke as she asked the question, her lower lip trembling as she waited for the answer.
“He’s…he’s still breathing on his own but…he’s in a coma.”
Her heart plummeted. If he’d fallen into a coma, how much longer did they have to save him.
“Don’t panic,” Kyle began.
“Don’t panic?” she shot back, her voice incredulous. “Are you kidding? Doc, how much longer does he have?”
“I can’t comment–”
She poked a finger into his face. “You can so. You know how this went. You have seen other people with these symptoms, you know how they’re progressing. What stage is he at?”
Kyle glanced into the jungle, avoiding her gaze. He fluttered his eyelashes before he answered. “It’s not good.”
“How long?” she asked, her voice thick with emotion.
“A day, maybe two.”
Her lower lip trembled as tears filled her eyes. “Oh.”
“Okay, we have time,” Kyle said as he shoved his phone into his pocket. “Let’s keep going. We can get this cure.”
She wiped at her tears, nodding. “All right. Yeah, let’s keep going. We’re nearly there.”
They pushed through the jungle, Ava’s stomach upset from Alex’s condition. If he was in a coma, they’d need to fight their way into that lab by swiping someone’s credentials since he’d no longer be able to open the doors for them.
Ahead of them, the trees thinned, and the sprawling building emerged. Ava swallowed hard as she stared at the fencing surrounding it.
“Looks like a fortress,” Kyle said.
“And we have no tech support to get in.”
“Oh, uh, Shadow said he may be able to help. Let me get him on the line. He said Alex was into the system, and he thought he could unlock the doors for us.”
“Well, that’ll make things faster,” Ava said. “Get him on the line.”
Kyle nodded as he pressed the call button.
“Tell me you’re there,” Sebastian answered.
“We are. We need to get inside. Can you help?”
“She knows?”
Kyle huffed. “She got it out of me. There was nothing I can do.”
Sebastian groaned before he spoke again. “All right, well, I do have access to the security system. I can unlock anything you need.”
“Perfect. We’re at the gate—we need that unlocked.”
