“Yeah, but it could have started out as people thinking it’s a good thing,” I say. “I mean, a virus started as medicine and medicine is used for all kinds of things. It can save lives, heal people. Make people better—stronger. I’ve seen Monarch do it a ton of times. But here’s the thing. Not all medicine affects everyone the same way.”

He leans over my shoulder, running his finger along one of the photos. “You think the virus might have started out as a good thing, but then turned some people into vampires and some into Highers?”

In the photos, their white skin and haunting eyes strike a resemblance to a Higher. “But I’ve never see the Highers feed like this,” I say.

His eyes flick in my direction. “You sure about that?”

Blood. Blood everywhere. Behind the blood red door. “I’m not sure about anything anymore.”

He lets out a sigh. “But if what you’re saying is true, then what was the virus originally meant to do?

I shrug. “I’m not even sure I’m right. I’m just telling you what I know about medicine.”

Aiden taps his finger on the book and then suddenly, he’s back in the game. He jumps to his feet. “We need to go to the city.”

“The city?” I look up from the book. “Why?”

“Because that’s where Xander is,” he explains. “He bailed out a little while ago. Before he left, he announced that he was leaving to try and find a cure. Everyone just assumed he was crazy, he’d always been a little off, but now, I’m starting to wonder if he might have known something all along.”

“Why?” I say, because I can tell he’s holding something back. “If you’ve known this all along, why believe he knows something now?”

“Because of what you said.” He’s cheerful, upbeat, his pulse a lively beat of colors. “And if all the Highers and vampires are part of the virus, then it can be fixed.”

“But earlier you said it didn’t matter if we could,” I say. “That even if we changed everything back to the way it was, it wouldn’t matter because everyone in The Colony thinks their lives are perfect.”