Kathy Reichs: Code

“All in all,” Shelton said, “this is a tremendously dumb game.”

“You’re a dumb game,” Hi shot back.

“Let me practice linking while Hi works,” I suggested, knowing they wouldn’t like the idea.

Three groans. As expected.

“We have to master our powers,” I insisted. “What’s the point of having special abilities if you can’t control them?”

Hi grunted, eyes glued to the detector’s LCD screen.

“It’s creepy.” Shelton shivered despite the warm October afternoon. “Invasive.”

Ben nodded. “You should stay out of other people’s minds.”

Exposure to the supervirus had one major … side effect. Benefit? Curse?

We call it “flaring.” When the changes come, our minds warp and snap, then the powers break free. Our senses shift to impossible clarity. Sight. Smell. Hearing. Taste. Even touch.

The wolf comes out, making us sharper and stronger.

Viral.

But evolution doesn’t follow a single set of rules. The virus affected each of us differently. Perhaps the mutations were unique to our individual genetic sequences. Whatever the reason, our strengths vary. Hiram has eyes like an eagle with Lasik. Shelton can hear feathers flutter as a sparrow flaps its wings. Ben becomes strongest and fastest, like a bull on steroids. My nose gets so sensitive I can sniff out emotion, deception, and fear. And other things you’d rather not consider.

And, recently, our powers reached a whole new level.

For me, anyway.

The boys can’t do it. Don’t like it. But when our pack flares in close proximity, I can sometimes touch the other Virals’ minds. Hear their thoughts, and pass on mine. This talent has come in handy more than a few times. Has saved our lives.

“Just one try, please.” Firmly. “I need to gauge what Coop adds to the mix.”

More dramatic moans, but the boys stopped what they were doing.

“Fine.” Hi.

“Whatever.” Shelton.

“One time.” Ben held up a single finger. “One.”

I nodded, then closed my eyes and stilled my mind. A deep breath, then I reached in a way I can’t fully describe. My thoughts delved downward, backward, deep into the primordial center of my brain.

I visualized a single strand of DNA. The bedrock of my genetic being.

Honing my concentration, I imagined unzipping the double helix.

SNAP.

The flare burst through me like a river of molten lava. I gasped. Sweat exploded from my pores as the wolf came out.

Though I’d become better at summoning the power, that first wallop still challenged my defenses. Like a wild beast set loose in my nervous system. Control was tenuous and fragile. At best.

Focusing inward, I swam down into my subconscious. An image of each Viral appeared, sharpened. Hi first, then Shelton. Moments later Ben crystallized in my thoughts. I sensed Coop alert in the woods close by.

Flaming ropes connected the group. A golden nimbus surrounded each member.

Virals. Hear me .

My message smacked an invisible barrier. I tried again, concentrating harder.

VIRALS. HEAR ME .

This time I forced the message outward, driving it along the fiery cords. The boys flinched as if struck. Their glowing eyes widened in surprise.

I examined the mental barricade separating us. Probed for weaknesses. Suddenly, the roadblock weakened, then fragmented.

The other Virals’ minds opened like a floodgate. Thoughts and feelings poured into me. Worries. Raw emotions. Random bits of foreign memories. The tide of information nearly scoured my brain clean.

I fought to hold against the onslaught, sensing danger to my sanity.

What shattered the barrier? How did I break through?

“What barrier?” Hi sputtered. “Why are you screaming?”

“Tory!” Shelton’s hands flew to his head. “It hurts! Make it stop.”

Ben stood rock still, grimacing, eyes focused on nothing. “Get out!” he sputtered.

My eyes darted, frantic, unable to comprehend. My mind gibbered, desperate to block the deluge of thoughts pouring into my brain.

I saw trees. Sky. The metal detector. Coop, edging into the clearing, eyes locked on to mine.

As if sensing my peril, Coop bowled into Shelton, who went down with a puff of surprise. The golden light abruptly vanished from his eyes.

The cerebral onslaught lessened.

Coop then bounded to Hi and barked full in his face. Startled, Hi backpedaled wildly, dropped the detector, and fell. His flare disappeared as he struck the ground.

Another wave winked out.

Suddenly on firmer ground, I stilled my mind and extinguished the flare.

SNUP.

The sensory bombardment ceased. I dropped to a knee and saw Ben do the same.

“Damn it, Tory!” Ben spat through gritted teeth. “You’re playing with fire!”

“It’s Coop,” I panted, heart pounding. “When he’s close, my ability skyrockets. But I couldn’t control it.”

“Then don’t do it!” Shelton shirt-wiped his glasses with shaky hands. “You were yelling inside my head. I’m officially freaked out!”

Hi studied me with worried eyes. “You were in trouble, Tory, I could tell. You’ve got to be more careful. This mind stuff is dangerous.”

“I will.” But I’m going to unlock this secret .

I kept that to myself, though the thought wouldn’t have surprised them.

Dangerous or not, I was determined to discover the full extent of our flare abilities. I needed to know what had happened to our bodies. What we were capable of. What could happen next.

Our mishmashed genetics gave us skills no one else possessed. Astonishing sensory abilities. But the changes went deeper than that. The cellular cross between man and beast had opened doors in our minds. I felt compelled to learn where they led.

Though, I had to admit, the idea of straight-up mind reading gave me the willies. I wouldn’t want someone poking around in my head. Everyone has secrets, and the right to keep them. Finding the line between communication and mental invasion was proving to be tricky.

My hard drive finally came back online. Head clearing, I noticed a pulsating tone coming from Hi’s metal detector, discarded in the grass.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Hi collected his precious toy, then waved it over a rough patch of dirt close by.

DING DING DING!

“Bingo!” Hi shouted. “The bloody thing works!”

CHAPTER 2

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Hi’s shovel thunked something solid.

“Finally!” Dropping to a knee, he used his fingers to trace an object at the bottom of the hole we’d dug. “Why bury it so freaking deep?”

“About time.” Shelton tossed his spade aside. “How many of these—” his hand rose, “— things have you found, anyway?”

“They’re called geocaches, and this is my third.” Hi was carefully prying a grime-covered mass from the earth. “The other two weren’t buried, just hidden. The first was on Morris, near the bridge. The second was jammed in a hedge next to the Folly Beach post office.”

“The post office?” I peered over Hi’s shoulder, trying to get a look. “That’s so random. Why put something there?”

“That’s how it works.” Working methodically, Hi teased our find from the soil. “You hide a cache somewhere, anywhere, and post the GPS coordinates online. Then other players download the info and try to find it.”

“This game is popular?” Ben was sitting on his tackle box in the shade of a large elm. “Sounds pretty nerdtastic to me.”

“We can’t all practice birdscalls like you.” Hi brushed dirt from what appeared to be a plastic container. “There are millions of geocaches hidden worldwide, and dozens of websites listing where to find them. So, yeah, the game’s kind of a hit.”