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“It’s not working,” I muttered, staring down at Natalie.
Morning had come and although Libra and Aries seemed to be getting slightly better, Natalie was not in a good way. My own remedies were not strong enough to help her.
“If only we could find Nick.” I was talking to no one in particular. “I could find out what type of virus it is. I need...”
“What do you need?” Scorpio yawned as he replaced the wet towels again.
Sighing, I came away from the sick room, needing some space. Scorpio followed me. His eyes were red, but only from lack of sleep. So far, he wasn’t showing any signs of catching the virus. But, I would have to keep an eye on him.
Aquarius waved to me as he came into the living area. He held a big box in his hands, a picture of a white mask on the side. Good, they would be so much more comfortable than our shirts. Ripping the box open, he took one out and put the rest on the coffee table.
“How are they?” he asked as he placed it over his face.
Shaking my head, I held back the tears that wanted to erupt. The night had been long, with no end in sight. Just the looming fact that we had no clue as to what we were fighting. “Not much difference. I need a moment.”
Rushing up the stairs, I went into the bathroom. Ripping the shirt off my face, and the gloves off my hands, I splashed myself with cold water. I had to keep my head. If I let panic set in, I wouldn’t be able to help anyone.
Taurus still had Nick’s phone number, unless the man had been wise and changed it, of course. But, if I could try and get hold of him, I might be able to find out what the virus was.
Taking a deep breath, I leant over the sink as I looked in the mirror. My eyes were a little puffy from lack of sleep, but otherwise my cheeks were smooth and clear. My long straight hair was tied up, out of the way. No one would know that I’d been exposed to a virus.
Clearing my throat, I straightened my back. It was time to get back to work. I would ring Taurus and ask him for Nick’s number.
“Virgo? Are you okay?”
Placing the mask over my mouth and nose, I opened the door. Saggi stood on the other side, her forehead creased in worry.
“I’m fine. How’s everyone else doing?”
They’d had to squeeze into Aquarius and Scorpio’s room for the night. It had probably been unbearably uncomfortable.
“We’re fine.” Saggi looked over her shoulder. “You need to get some sleep.”
Moving out of the bathroom, I saw that they all hovered on the landing, a mask over each of their faces. They wanted to do more, I could see it in their eyes.
“I need to speak to Taurus. If I can get hold of Nick, I can try and find out what the virus is.”
They nodded, standing back when I walked to my bedroom. The room was spotless. The bedsheets had been stripped and my washing basket was gone. They had done a really good job.
Getting hold of my phone, I gulped when I saw that I had a missed call from work. I had been due in an hour ago. Great, that wouldn’t look good on me. Especially with the new boss.
Ringing Gary, I feigned illness, pretending that I had overslept. As long as the others stayed out of the room, I wouldn’t be caught out. He was pretty understanding considering I had never had a sick day the whole time I’d worked there.
As soon as I finished my excuse with Gary, I hung up and rang Taurus. He answered on the first ring.
“What’s going on? Apparently, I can’t come home. On your orders.”
His sharp tone hit me square in the chest. “Come home if you want, and I’ll make sure you get infected with the virus Nick threw over us.”
“Okay, no need to be so arsy.” His sentence was followed by a grunt. “Ouch, don’t hit me.”
He was obviously talking to his girlfriend, Kerry. They had been together for a while now, and they still spent a lot of time together.
“I’m sorry,” Taurus said, evidently persuaded by Kerry to apologise. “How long do we need to stay away for?”
“I don’t know, yet. Just...stay available in case I need you. Look, have you still got Nick’s number?”
Sitting on my bed, I leant my head against the wall and squeezed my eyes shut. If I wasn’t careful, I would fall asleep. The stress of the last twenty-four hours was starting to get to me.
“I do have Nick’s number. I’ve not tried it for a while though, so I have no idea if it still works.” Taurus read it out as I wrote it down.
“Thanks. It’s a long shot, I know, but...I’m not sure what else I can do.”
Hanging up the phone, I smiled at Aquarius when he brought his laptop into my room. Sitting at the end of the bed, he handed it to me.
I smiled when I saw the login page of my work’s database. My heart thumped in my chest as I realised how dangerous Aquarius could be. If he could hack into our hospital database, what else could he find out?
“That’s insane,” I whispered, my guilty conscience prickling.
Ducking his head, my brother tried to hide that same look of guilt. “I don’t use my skills very often, and I never use them for bad things, only good.”
Waving away his explanation, I shrugged off the feeling of doing wrong. At the end of the day, I was saving my siblings. And, making sure the virus was contained. Hopefully.
Signing into my account, I swore when the encrypted files were not available to me. The security for viruses was hot. It had to be. If a terrorist retrieved the information on our database, they might be able to create a virus that we couldn’t find an antidote for.
Taking the laptop back, Aquarius shook his head. “Hmmm... I don’t think I’m going to be able to crack this. It’s set up by a secret key code. They’re really trying to make sure the virus information doesn’t get out, which isn’t a surprise.”
“Virgo?!” Someone shouted from outside.
Rushing from the room, I went to the top of the stairs. Scorpio was standing in the confines of the tape that Aquarius had wrapped around stools to keep Aries’ bedroom contained.
“What’s wrong?”
His hands were shaking as he lifted them and pointed to his arm. “They’re getting sores on their mouth and complaining of stomach ache.”
His words were muffled by the mask, but his panic was evident. That wasn’t good. They were getting worse, not better.
“Okay, I’m coming.” Taking my phone out of my pocket, I dialled the number Taurus had given me for Nick.
He picked up on the third ring. “Now I wonder who this is... Let me guess...”
“Nick!” I blurted as I went down the stairs.
“Oh, you ruined my fun, I was going to guess you, Virgo.” His voice was amused, which really grated on my nerves.
“What did you spray over us, you-?”
“Careful now, you don’t want to make me angry when I could be holding the key to the recovery of your people. Who’s gone down with it? I hope it’s Taurus, he betrayed me.” His tone changed, sounding slightly demented.
“No, it’s not Taurus. Tell me what was in the can.”
He cleared his throat, clearly enjoying my unease. If I didn’t get the information on the virus, I would have wasted an opportunity.
“Well, you sound fine, so you must be immune to it. Anthrax, lovely, ever hear of that?”
My eyes widened as Scorpio watched me from Aries’ bedroom door. I had come to a stop in the middle of the living area. My breath inhaled sharply at Nick’s words. No, it couldn’t be.
“You wouldn’t do that,” I whispered, my palms breaking out in a sweat.
It would be respiratory anthrax, which was deadly if not treated as soon as possible. My limbs started to shake as I realised that Natalie was at high risk, especially because she was pregnant.
“Now, I very much doubt any zodiacs will die from it, considering I can’t kill them, but those partners...they’d better be careful.”
Nick knew full well who would be infected. The sick man had targeted a heavily pregnant woman to make a point. To try and scare the rest of us into giving up our mission. It wouldn’t work. In fact, his viciousness made me more determined to defeat him. If we didn’t achieve our mission this lifetime, love would probably cease to exist.
“Goodbye, Nick.” Without saying another word, I ended the call.
My number was protected, so he wouldn’t know it, but I now had his. My heart lifted ever so slightly. Anthrax wasn’t transferable from human to human. Well, not usually, anyway. I still wouldn’t take any risks with the others, but my mind was slightly more at ease.
“Aries must have hugged Natalie as soon as we got home from the bridal shop,” I said to myself as I went into their room with Scorpio. “The molecules were probably still on her clothes and when she took them off, it might have sent them airborne in their room, which is how he has it.”
I had done a little research on Anthrax, but not enough to remember the exact treatment. It was a bacteria, not a virus. Everything would be in my notes at the lab. And, so would the medication.
“Virgo, what’s wrong with us?” Natalie asked from the bed, her voice only just audible.
Looking at Scorpio, I gestured for him to shut the door. I didn’t want the others to hear just yet. It might lower their guard.
“I need to get a blood sample from each of you, I don’t have much time.” Going to my bag, I dug out three syringes and needles.
“What did Nick say?” Scorpio took my arms, forcing me to stop rushing around.
Blinking, I tried to swallow the lump that came to my throat. “It’s Anthrax. I need to go to my lab straight away. If I don’t go...they’ll all die.”
