Annihilation (The Fringe Book 5) by Tarah Benner

Author:Tarah Benner [Benner, Tarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blue Sky Studio, LLC
Published: 2016-06-17T22:00:00+00:00

nineteen

Sawyer

It’s impossible to tell if the immunotherapy is working the way it should. Angela hasn’t returned since Caleb and I started treatment, and none of the nurses will let me read our charts.

One thing is for certain: Our symptoms have definitely gotten worse.

In less than twenty-four hours, the lookalike virus raging through my system has sapped my energy and left me feeling weak and dizzy. I can’t walk to the bathroom without wheezing, and even my sleep is hijacked by powerful coughing fits. All the hacking leaves my throat achy and raw, but whenever I look over at Caleb, my inner whining stops.

Caleb is terrifyingly pale. He sleeps most of the day, and yet the purplish circles under his eyes grow more and more pronounced.

We hardly talk at all now. Even a few words can trigger a horrendous coughing fit, and those steal away energy when there’s already none to spare.

After hours of begging, I persuade the nurse on duty to bring in a portable monitor and an interface so we can watch the news.

A look of relief spreads across Caleb’s face when she reappears with the borrowed equipment. Even though the news is sure to be grim, it will at least provide a temporary distraction from our misery.

I don’t bother asking the nurse about the tier-two workers who were infected in the commissary. They weren’t given the experimental treatment, which means that they’ll all soon be dead.

I glance over at Caleb and tap the news icon to turn on the feeds. Instantly, the screen is overtaken by an enormous picture of Celdon — probably his ID photo — along with a caption giving his name.

My mouth falls open in shock, and I hoist myself into an upright position to get a better look.

“My sources tell me that Control has confirmed the whistle-blower’s identity,” says the reporter. “The leak broadcasted earlier this evening came from twenty-two-year-old Celdon Reynolds. Reynolds has worked in Systems for less than a year as a penetration tester, whose job it is to identify network vulnerabilities and secure compound computer systems.

“According to Chief Operating Officer Tobias Brown, Systems will convene a panel later this week to determine if Mr. Reynolds’s actions could be grounds for dismissal.

“‘Whatever Mr. Reynolds’s motives may have been, the release of the private VocAps data is in direct violation of Systems’s confidentiality agreement,’ Brown said. ‘Systems does not condone these extreme breaches of privacy — no matter what the reason — and we’re working around the clock to ensure that all compound data is secure.’”

“What did he do?” I hiss, staring at Celdon’s picture in disbelief.

The reporter continues. “Reynolds may be standing on shaky legal ground with Systems, but allegations that the bid system could be rigged has led to a storm of public outcry. A cursory examination of the leaked data confirms Reynolds’s accusations, and our analysts say that all VocAps scores evaluated so far were weighed heavily to favor those with good health history and exceptional genes.”

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