Honesty (Mark of Nexus) by Butler Carrie

Author:Butler, Carrie [Butler, Carrie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-03-15T03:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

Pain is a funny thing. Your first brush with it, however minor, seems like the end of the world. Then you get some miles behind you, suffer a tragedy or two, and suddenly you’ve got a high threshold for the stuff. You take in a scene with distant eyes, while everyone around you runs screaming. God only knows which of you is worse off.

Needless to say, I had a tendency to keep a cool head in emergencies. Since Rena’s scream had erupted from the other side of the Student Union, I started there. Nothing. I made a sweep of the perimeter, edging around uprooted trees and a transformer fire—still nothing. I slipped inside.

The tornado sirens had died out, replaced by wailing ambulances. With the outside threat eliminated, I figured now was as good a time as any to prompt a mass evacuation. What was one more ear-piercing sound, anyway?

I pulled the fire alarm.

Students in formalwear rushed past me, panicked and disoriented. As if the trauma here wasn’t bad enough, most of the poor bastards would be sick in a matter of days—and they didn’t even know it. Something I could only assume to be guilt churned in my stomach.

If we’d caught on to this shit sooner, they’d be fine. Hell, if I’d spent more time on the virus instead of the roster, maybe we’d know how to help them. I should’ve tracked down the New England cases. I should’ve raided ERA’s headquarters. I should’ve—

No. There was no use dwelling on it now.

I stretched to survey the area. For whatever reason, people were always dumber in numbers. They bottlenecked at the main lobby doors instead of finding alternative exits. It was probably posted on the damn wall, for cryin’ out loud. But whatever, they were away from most of the viral pixie dust now.

No one I recognized surfaced in the next thirty seconds, so I made my way to the emergency tent being set up outside. Wallace and Rena must’ve got into something elsewhere. Or maybe they had to flee. This night was all kinds of screwed up. Anything could’ve happened to them.

A flash of orange caught my eye amidst the crowd, and I reached out to grab Rena’s roommate. “Hey, hold on a second.”

Her panicked gaze flicked between my face and the nearest escape route. “I, uh…”

“Gabby, right?” I winced at the open gash across her palm. “Have you seen Rena or my brother? Maybe Aiden Ross?”

She shook her head. “N-Not for a while.”

“That’s okay,” I said, snatching some bandages and a Mylar packet from a box that had just been unloaded. “You up for finding ‘em with me?”

That earned me a meek little nod.

Great. Now she clammed up. Maybe I just had to get the ball rolling. “So, Maverick told you about us, huh?”

Her back went rigid.

“It's okay,” I repeated, tearing the wrappers open. “You’re a smart girl. I know you value your life. I just wanted to get it out in the open before we take off.”

She bristled.

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