Exposure
Authors: Kathy Reichs
Also by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs
VIRALS
SEIZURE
CODE
and the Penguin eSpecials
SHIFT
SWIPE
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
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Copyright © 2014 by Brennan NextGen LLC.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Reichs, Kathy, author.
Exposure : a Virals novel / Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs.
pages cm
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Tory and her “viral” friends, who contracted heightened, wolflike senses during an experiment gone wrong, investigate an abduction case and make some troubling new discoveries about their powers.
[1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Virus diseases—Fiction. 3. Kidnapping—Fiction. 4. South Carolina—Fiction. 5. Mystery and detective stories. 6. Science fiction.] I. Reichs, Brendan, author. II. Title.
PZ7.R26447Ex 2014 [Fic]—dc23 2013025519
ISBN 978-0-698-14962-5
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
Version_1
Brendan Reichs would like to dedicate this book to his mind-blowingly wonderful new daughter, Alice. You are the cutest baby in the world, and that’s a fact.
Kathy Reichs would like to dedicate this book to her fantabulous agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. This one makes twenty!
Contents
ALSO BY KATHY REICHS AND BRENDAN REICHS
c
B
eads of water tumbled from the darkness above.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The girl shifted, angling her pale face away from the cascade. Sodden blond hair hung lank to her shoulders, filthy with grime and debris.
The boy rose from where he crouched. Ushered the girl across the narrow stone chamber. Silently took her place. Dirty rivulets began rolling down his cheeks, gathering at the chin before dropping to the earthen floor. He took no notice. There were no dry places.
Outside the dim, moldy cell, beyond a line of rusty steel bars, a red light glowed. Steady. Unblinking. Their sole companion.
Shivers racked the girl’s body. She began to whimper.
The boy reached without looking and squeezed her shoulder. The crying ceased, replaced by a smattering of snotty hiccups.
The red light watched. Fixed. Indifferent.
Time passed, unmarked by any further movement.
The whimpers soon returned. This time, the boy didn’t bother to reach.
Suddenly, a loud bang broke the stillness.
Two pairs of eyes darted, nervously probing the impenetrable gloom.
The noise repeated, followed by a shriek of metal.
Instinctually, the boy and girl drew closer together.
The rasping clatter grew, echoing off the ancient stone walls.
A shadow, blacker than the surrounding dark, materialized overhead. Descended.
The boy and girl watched, breathless, their fingers interlocked.
The shadow took form—a bucket. Wooden, bound with frayed rope, and splintered along its sides. It lowered steadily on a thick metal chain.
The bucket lurched to a stop. Dangled five feet from the floor.
The boy stood. Cautiously peered over the rim.
Inside was a hunk of stale bread, already wilting in the damp, fetid air.
The prisoners attacked the loaf ravenously. Devoured the paltry meal in seconds.
“I’m still hungry,” the girl whispered.
The boy shook his head.
With a squeal, the pail began to ascend. Angrily, the boy lashed out with both fists, sending the bucket arcing and spinning as it rose.
“What do you want with us!?” the boy bellowed. “Let us out of here!”
A chuckle echoed from somewhere high above.
The girl began to weep.
The bucket swung its way skyward. Disappeared into the gloom.
Water fell.
The red light gleamed.
In moments, all was dark and silent once more.
Monday
W
hat I’d like from you is the truth, Miss Brennan.”
The defense attorney’s gravelly voice boomed inside the courtroom.
A jolt of adrenaline tore through me.
My mind had wandered. Impossible, I know, given the circumstances. But a second hour of questioning was taking its toll.
And this pompous toolbag showed no signs of winding down.
I cleared my throat. Shifted on the witness stand.
“Could you repeat the question, sir?” Stalling for time.
Parrish sighed dramatically. “Again?”
I nodded.
Parrish sneered, doubling his already abundant collection of chins. No doubt he thought me rattled.