narrowed as Eli stalked toward me.
“I was going to ask you the same question,” Eli said crossing his arms over his chest. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“About what?” I shook my head in confusion.
“About what? Really?” He threw his hands up in frustration. He lowered his voice and jabbed a finger in my face. “It’s time to cut the crap, Liv. You know as well as I do that the kid should have died. The blood loss alone was enough to make his heart collapse. A few ounces of blood were not enough to change that.”
“Eli, I—.”
“Don’t you dare try to lie to me,” Eli ground out, then sighed, and took a step back. “Look, I’m sorry, okay, but please. This is too important. For crying out loud, just look at him.”
Eli pointed to Ty, who, aside from looking like a walking crime scene, seemed no worse for wear. Christa clung to him as if he would float away should she let go, and Riley and Falisha stood hugging and laughing at his side. Even Jake wore a reluctant smile, though he too looked confused by Ty’s miraculous recovery. If I hadn’t been the one who caught his body as it collapsed into a puddle of blood, I would never have believed he had been shot in the first place.
“Liv,” Eli pressed. “Your blood did that. It healed him. I’m sure of it. I just need to know how.”
“I’m…infected.” I sighed, my shoulders slumping in defeat. The word tasted bitter, and the truth of it stung.
“How is this possible?” Eli narrowed his gaze at me. “I’d guessed as much with your boyfriend, there, but you have no typical markings of the virus.”
“I’m not typical.” I tapped at my temple.
“It’s true,” Jake said as he made his way over to us.
“You knew about this?” Eli questioned him.
“I did,” Jake nodded solemnly and led us over to the benches. “Nothing personal, Eli, but that information was on a need to know basis. Until a few minutes ago, you didn’t need to know.”
“Explain,” Eli said, crossing his arms over his chest as he lowered himself onto the seat.
“From what we have observed, the virus tends to concentrate itself around the entry point or injury site,” Jake said. “In Zander’s case, it was a burn across his hand which explains his, umm… condition . We had no idea what we were up against at that point, so we threw everything at it. We treated him with IV fluids, antibiotics, and antifungals. Thankfully, the infection halted just below his elbow. For Liv, though, it was a bit more complicated.”
“How so?” Eli seemed intrigued more than angry, now.
“Because the virus has seeded itself in her brain,” Jake said. “At first, it was just the night vision thing.”
“Night vision thing?” Eli’s eyes widened. “You say that like it’s nothing.”
“It’s really not a big deal, Eli,” I shrugged, but he rolled his eyes and gestured for Jake to continue.
“Soon, though, it became obvious that there was more to it,” Jake said. “Liv, I think you can explain the rest better than I can.”
“Ugh,” I said, burying my head in my hands.
“Come on, Liv,” Jake said putting his hand on my shoulder. “Look, I know you don’t like talking about this but Eli’s right. This is important. If anyone can help us with this, it’s him.”
“It started as sort of a tingle, but pretty soon I had this weird feeling in my chest,” I said, resigned. “I tried to ignore it, but the closer we got to the source, the stronger it got. The more it hurt. It was like something was pulling at me, and I couldn’t stop myself from following.”
“Zander, too,” Jake said, “though it wasn’t nearly as strong for him.”
“And the source of this feeling?” Eli asked. “What was it that you were drawn to?”
“Gunther,” I said. “Or what was left of him, that is.”
“Holy hell,” Eli said sinking against the back of the bench. “And is he—?”
“Dead?” I raked my hair out of my face as the guilt settled
“I was going to ask you the same question,” Eli said crossing his arms over his chest. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“About what?” I shook my head in confusion.
“About what? Really?” He threw his hands up in frustration. He lowered his voice and jabbed a finger in my face. “It’s time to cut the crap, Liv. You know as well as I do that the kid should have died. The blood loss alone was enough to make his heart collapse. A few ounces of blood were not enough to change that.”
“Eli, I—.”
“Don’t you dare try to lie to me,” Eli ground out, then sighed, and took a step back. “Look, I’m sorry, okay, but please. This is too important. For crying out loud, just look at him.”
Eli pointed to Ty, who, aside from looking like a walking crime scene, seemed no worse for wear. Christa clung to him as if he would float away should she let go, and Riley and Falisha stood hugging and laughing at his side. Even Jake wore a reluctant smile, though he too looked confused by Ty’s miraculous recovery. If I hadn’t been the one who caught his body as it collapsed into a puddle of blood, I would never have believed he had been shot in the first place.
“Liv,” Eli pressed. “Your blood did that. It healed him. I’m sure of it. I just need to know how.”
“I’m…infected.” I sighed, my shoulders slumping in defeat. The word tasted bitter, and the truth of it stung.
“How is this possible?” Eli narrowed his gaze at me. “I’d guessed as much with your boyfriend, there, but you have no typical markings of the virus.”
“I’m not typical.” I tapped at my temple.
“It’s true,” Jake said as he made his way over to us.
“You knew about this?” Eli questioned him.
“I did,” Jake nodded solemnly and led us over to the benches. “Nothing personal, Eli, but that information was on a need to know basis. Until a few minutes ago, you didn’t need to know.”
“Explain,” Eli said, crossing his arms over his chest as he lowered himself onto the seat.
“From what we have observed, the virus tends to concentrate itself around the entry point or injury site,” Jake said. “In Zander’s case, it was a burn across his hand which explains his, umm… condition . We had no idea what we were up against at that point, so we threw everything at it. We treated him with IV fluids, antibiotics, and antifungals. Thankfully, the infection halted just below his elbow. For Liv, though, it was a bit more complicated.”
“How so?” Eli seemed intrigued more than angry, now.
“Because the virus has seeded itself in her brain,” Jake said. “At first, it was just the night vision thing.”
“Night vision thing?” Eli’s eyes widened. “You say that like it’s nothing.”
“It’s really not a big deal, Eli,” I shrugged, but he rolled his eyes and gestured for Jake to continue.
“Soon, though, it became obvious that there was more to it,” Jake said. “Liv, I think you can explain the rest better than I can.”
“Ugh,” I said, burying my head in my hands.
“Come on, Liv,” Jake said putting his hand on my shoulder. “Look, I know you don’t like talking about this but Eli’s right. This is important. If anyone can help us with this, it’s him.”
“It started as sort of a tingle, but pretty soon I had this weird feeling in my chest,” I said, resigned. “I tried to ignore it, but the closer we got to the source, the stronger it got. The more it hurt. It was like something was pulling at me, and I couldn’t stop myself from following.”
“Zander, too,” Jake said, “though it wasn’t nearly as strong for him.”
“And the source of this feeling?” Eli asked. “What was it that you were drawn to?”
“Gunther,” I said. “Or what was left of him, that is.”
“Holy hell,” Eli said sinking against the back of the bench. “And is he—?”
“Dead?” I raked my hair out of my face as the guilt settled
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