Falling Apart (Barely Alive #2) Read Online Free Page A

Dominic comes.”
    I didn’t have a response, just questions. “You have something to try? Why didn’t you say anything? I don’t understand. What do you have?”
    She let go, dropping her hands to her sides. “I have something. I think.” And she stopped. Why the hell did she stop? The graying hadn’t begun in her yet, she was still too new to the virus, plus she’d eaten only a short time ago. But her skin had developed luminescence and her hair seemed thicker. Feedings must make our bodies stronger, at least for a short time.
    “Is Travis working on it upstairs?” Suspicious, I didn’t dare release her gaze. Something was off and I didn’t have the balls to ask outright what the hell was going on.
    But apparently Heather did. “What do we need to do, Connie? Can you tell us anything more?”
    “I don’t know a lot more. I created a prototype-model for how I’d manufacture the vaccine, but I only have James’s blood. I need saliva and we need to decide who we are going to test it on. We can’t use Heather, James, or Paul, right? That leaves Travis, Nancy, and Grandma Jean. But the difference here is we don’t know if age plays a part in the virus sustainability. Paul and James are young. It would seem like all of Dominic’s recruits are adolescent aged.” A sigh escaped her. “I’m not as old as Travis, nor am I as young as the boys. So, I’m not a good case to go off of.”
    Picking up the thread, I pointed out, “But not all the people who’ve been infected have been teenage boys. The ten-year-old girl in the warehouse was like us and if the majority of the police force was turning sides, none of them could’ve been in my age range. So we know it can infect them. Plus, Dominic – that dick is old.” I blushed. “Sorry, language.”
    The look my mom shot at me intended to strangle me – it had to, because I couldn’t swallow all of a sudden.
    Connie continued as if I hadn’t added that last part. “True, but we aren’t sure how they are doing. Are they existing alive or dead? Are they having problems manifesting a mental form of stability? Plus, if I do successfully create a vaccine, there are too many variables between the correct application and the correct result.”
    Grandma Jean hmm’d. “I’ve heard of that. Some recipients of vaccines don’t respond well to the strains. How many strains do we have to worry about?”
    “One.” Connie paused and then tilted her head. “Unless, of course, the virus evolves and fractionates into a different strain with varied modes of transportation.”
    “What? Like the bird flu?” Mom stepped forward into the enlarging circle. Somehow our conversation had engaged everyone. Concern riddled their faces. As it should. Hell, each one of us had more than one thing at stake riding on the possibility of a vaccine… or better yet a cure.
    Connie nodded. “Kind of. Except this one has to evolve from fluid transfer to touch to air. The first jump is the hardest and it’s still relatively new in its design.” Essentially, we had time before the zombie virus flew around on the wind when someone sneezed.
    I reduced the complexity of the situation to a single question. “Who do we use?”
    Those infected eyed the clean ones in the room. Travis was lucky to be upstairs. Heather and Mom squirmed under our scrutiny. I might have lingered over Heather a bit longer than I should have, but the girl’s curves needed me. I’m sure they did. Crap, Heather wasn’t even an option. No one else studied her, just me. Add creepiness to my drama-tude.
    “I’d rather not know.” Grandma Jean patted her short curls. “I have syringes in the medicine cabinet. Can you create the test vial and fill two others with saline solution and stick us all?”
    Connie hesitated. “I could, but the only way to test the efficacy of the vaccine is to introduce the virus as well. I have to create a solution to inject after I vaccinate.”
    Essentially, one of the humans may or