She reached a hand up and slid her fingers forward using the setae on the tips of her fingers to stick. Setae—single microscopic hairs split into hundreds of tiny bristles—were so tiny they were impossible to see, so tiny, Dr. Whitney hadn’t realized she actually had them, in spite of his enhancements. Pushing the setae to the surface and dragging them forward allowed her to stick to the surface easily. Each seta could hold enormous amounts of weight, so having them on the pads of her fingers and toes allowed her to easily climb or hang upside down on a ceiling. The larger the creature, the smaller the setae, and no seta had ever been recorded that was small enough to hold a human being—until Dr. Whitney had managed to make one.

Her plan was to climb into the water tank and wait until things settled down and then climb down the side of the building and get far away from Cheng. She was very aware of time ticking away, and of the virus beginning to take hold in her body. Already she knew her temperature was rising. The cold water in the tank would help. She cursed Whitney and his schemes for keeping the women in line.

The girls had been taken from orphanages. No one knew or cared about them. That allowed Whitney to conduct his experiments on the female children without fearing repercussions. He named them after flowers or seasons, and trained them as soldiers, assassins and spies. To keep them returning to him, he would inject a drug he called Zenith, a lethal drug that needed an antidote, or a virus that spread and eventually killed. Sometimes he used their friendships with one another, so they’d learned to be extremely careful not to show feelings for one another.

She started up the tank, allowing her body to change once again to blend in with the dirty background. The wind tore at her, trying to rip her from the tank. She was cold, although she could feel her internal temperature rising from the virus, her body beginning to go numb in the vicious wind. Still, she forced herself to go slow, all the while watching the guards moving around the roof, thoroughly inspecting every single place that someone could hide. That told her they would be looking in the water tanks as well.

A siren went off abruptly, a loud jarring blare that set one’s nerves on edge. It wasn’t the same sound as the first siren indicating to the workers to go immediately to the dorms. This was one of jangling outrage. A scream of fury. They had found her wig, mask and lab jacket. They would be combing the building for her. Every duct, every vent. Anywhere a human being could possibly hide.