A high-pitched sound tore the air, echoed in several locations throughout the camp. A harsh light began to pulsate not far away, positioned next to the cage where the movement of the rodents had now come to an abrupt stop.

“Go! Go!” General Wolve yelled. “It’s coming! Get back now!”

William sidestepped the general, taking his grandmother by the arm while holding tight to Lily. In the chaos, one of the soldiers broke loose, jumping into one of the ATVs on the perimeter, calling for the general to follow. He fired it up, clearly hoping for a faster escape.

“Major, no!” the general cried out.

The man looked over and then reached up to his throat. A second later, he began to convulse, his skin changing to a yellow pall.

As they ran, William caught a glimpse of Lily’s face as she craned her neck to look back towards the mesas. He’d seen the girl look so frightened for so long, it was startling to see her calmness, her expression void of fear. For a moment, she looked at him, her eyes conveying a simple message.

William thrust Lily towards his grandmother. “Nanna! Take her!”

He practically dumped her into his grandmother’s arms, turning and bolting back towards the perimeter.

“No!” the general yelled.

“William!” he heard his grandmother cry out.

He choked back the bile rising to his throat, seeing the soldier’s body now slumped against the window.

It took only moments to reach the ATV. He stopped, bracing himself, his eyes clenched shut.

Nothing. He felt nothing. No pain, no convulsions. The waves of sickness that killed the soldier had no effect on him.

It’s how they’ve engineered us, Nanna had said.

Lily’s look explained it all. She hadn’t been afraid because she knew she was immune. A carrier of the disease couldn’t be killed by it.

As the conduit of it all, neither could he.

Swallowing his revulsion, he slid the body of the soldier, devastated by disease, out of the ATV. Its engine vibrated, stuck in neutral.

The fleeing crowds had stopped, all now positioned behind the first cage they’d passed. Even without being able to see inside, he knew the rats inside were alive. The wave hadn’t reached that far.

Of all of them, Lily would be the only one to survive the journey ahead, but he had no intention of taking her where he had to go.

He climbed in, positioning the gear to reverse.

No less than two minutes later, the phone inside the ATV began to ring.

“Send in your drones, General,” William said.

“You’re going to turn around and get your ass back here—”

“Send them throughout the area looking for a swarm. I’m driving blind here. I’ll need directions how to navigate the canyon as well.”