Page 106 of After the Burn

“Good luck with that,” Beck murmured as he grabbed my hand and interlaced our fingers.

Seeing Harper hooked up to a heart monitor surprised me. “How is that working without electricity?”

“It’s an old battery-powered unit.” Adrian kept his voice low. “We hit the jackpot with this place.”

“You hit the jackpot when you became my brother-in-law,” Wren whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

Adrian didn’t even bother to argue. “Yes, I did.”

Finley cleared his throat. He made eye contact with Wren, then nodded toward Rory. The little girl had attached herself to Max the minute he came into the room.

“Come on, little lady.” Wren grabbed Rory’s hand. “Let’s see if we can find some toys for Max.”

The dog in question trotted behind them, not wanting to let the little girl out of his sight.

Max had been a blessing from the moment we found each other, and I loved the old, scarred dog with my whole heart.

Harper looked as if she had fallen into a restless sleep.

“This probably won’t work.” Finley looked up at us.

The words settled over the room like a funeral shroud.

“But…” he exhaled. “It’s the first theory I’ve had that hasn’t fallen apart.”

Adrian dropped his arms from around me and stepped closer. “You’ve figured something out?”

“I think so.” Finley adjusted the microscope, then turned to face us. “Do you remember Dr. Mason?”

Adrian frowned before nodding. “The CDC researcher.”

“The one with the blood theory,” Finley said.

I looked between them. “I’ve heard you mention him before.”

Adrian nodded. “Before the CDC disbanded, Dr. Mason put out a memo explaining how he believed that blood type influenced how the pathogen behaved.”

Finley gave a tired smile. “He wasn’t wrong.” He paused to gather his thoughts. “The data he had was insufficient to find a solution.” His hand rested on the notebook stacked beside the microscope. “Mine isn’t.”

We stood there for a few moments in silence, soaking in his words.

Wren appeared in the doorway without Rory. “Rory is in the room next door. She fell asleep curled up next to Max.”

Finley nodded, then ran a hand down his face. “I started collecting blood samples from every enhanced survivor who was willing.”

Wren raised her hand. “I got a sticker.”

Despite everything he was going through, the corner of Finley’s mouth twitched. “You did.”

Even Lucas smiled.

Then Finley’s expression hardened again. “I’ve studied over sixty enhanced samples.”

My stomach tightened.

“Every single one showed the same thing.” Finley slid a microscope slide under the lens. “The pathogen doesn’t replace your blood.” He looked at each of us. “It changes it.”

Silence.