But where to hide it?
Bonny’s brow furrowed in thought.
Then the smile returned. Wider this time.
Perfect.
It would take patience, she knew, and luck. But she had plenty of both. And wouldn’t that just goose the others?
Bonny chuckled softly. God, she loved being a pirate.
Jack is a fool. I must speak with Mary. Tomorrow.
Amused by the daring of her plan, Bonny retraced her path along the narrow passage and up the ladder to the main deck. The raging storm nearly forced her back down the rungs.
Night had fallen. Revenge was running in total darkness.
Bonny staggered to a rail and grabbed hold. Around her, crewmen struggled with lines and sails. She gazed out at the roiling ocean, oddly calm. She’d made her decision. Nothing would go wrong.
Two phrases winged through her brain.
That chest is mine. God weep for anyone who tries to steal it from me.
Revenge sped over an endless parade of enormous, frothing whitecaps.
Speeding Anne Bonny on her way.
North.
SNAP.
THE RUSH WAS electric, like grabbing the third rail in a subway tunnel.
My blood raced, molten lead careening through scorched veins.
Pain.
Disorientation.
Then power. Limitless power. Visceral power.
Sweat exploded from every pore.
My irises sparked, flashed golden. Glowing yellow disks encircled bottomless, inky-black pupils. The world sharpened to a laser-fine crispness. My eyes pierced like daggers.
My ears buzzed, then honed to supersonic clarity. White noise filled my head. A beat. The dissonance coalesced into a symphony of distinguishable ocean sounds.
My nose awoke, whisked patterns from the summer breeze, deftly read the coastal scents. Salt. Sand. Sea. My nostrils sifted the delicate nuances.
My arms and legs quivered, smoldering with caged energy yearning for release. Unconsciously, I bared my teeth in animal delight.
The feeling was so incredible, so potent, that I panted with the pleasure of it. I wanted to live in that moment forever. Never stop. Never return.
I flared.
Beside me, Ben grimaced, dark eyes clamped shut. Muscles tense, his powerful frame trembling, he tried to flare by sheer force of will. Failed.
It doesn’t work that way.
I kept quiet. Who was I to give advice? In the end, I didn’t understand our powers any more than Ben. My control wasn’t much better than his.
Not once I freed the wolf.
I suppose you’re wondering what I’m talking about. Or you’ve already decided I’m nuts and are slowly backing away from this book. Can’t say I blame you. A few months ago, I’d have done the same thing.
But that was before I changed. Before a microscopic invader altered my biological software. Before I evolved, became something more. Something brand new. Something primal.
Here’s the short of it.
A few months back, a nasty supervirus infected my friends and me. The organism wasn’t natural. It came straight from a secret laboratory, created during an illegal experiment. And this bug had a taste for human carriers.
How did I get so lucky?
An unscrupulous scientist, Dr. Marcus Karsten, cooked up the germ. He was my father’s boss at Loggerhead Island Research Institute. In a mad dash for cash, Karsten crossed two types of parvovirus, accidentally creating a new strain that was contagious to people. Unfortunately, we caught it from a wolfdog named Cooper, Karsten’s test subject.
Don’t get me started.
Anyway, I was sick for days. We all were. Then things got weird.
My brain would snap like a rubber band. My senses would go berserk.
At times I’d lose control, unable to suppress sudden animal instincts. Scarfing raw hamburger meat. Stalking a caged gerbil. It was the same for the others.
When the dust settled, my friends and I were forever altered, down to the core. The vicious pathogen scrambled our cellular blueprint. Rewrote our genetic code. Canine DNA barged into my human chromosomes and made itself at home.
It’s not easy, living with wolf instincts buried inside your double helix.
But our condition is not without certain … benefits.
I’ll be blunt. My friends and I have special powers. Superhuman abilities. Hidden, but very real. You heard me right.
We’re kind of a big deal. Or would be, if we could tell anyone about it, which we can’t. Not unless we want to learn about human dissection. Up close.
We call the power “flaring.” That’s the best I can describe the sensation. I burn up inside, my mind warps and snaps, and then boom! My powers unleash.
I’m learning to control my abilities. At least, I think I am.
Okay, hope I am.
Heck, I’d settle for just knowing what they are.
I understand the basics. When I flare, my senses go into hyperdrive. Sight. Smell. Hearing. Taste. Even touch.
I become faster. Stronger.
More alive.
Viral.
That’s what we call ourselves. Virals. It seemed appropriate to have a group name after becoming a gang of genetic mutants. It’s good for morale.
There are five Virals total. Me. Ben. Hi. Shelton. And my wolfdog, Cooper, of course. After all, he was patient zero.
The upshot is we Virals can tap the physical powers of wolves. But not always when we want them. And sometimes the changes come unbidden.
To be honest, we have no idea exactly what happened to us, or what we can do to fix it. Or what will happen next.
But one thing is certain: we’re different. Freaks. Disambiguations.
And we’re on our own.
Ben’s frustration grew with each passing moment. Angry, he ripped off his black T-shirt and threw it to the sand, as if the garment alone was foiling his efforts. Perspiration covered his deeply tanned skin.
I turned away so he wouldn’t see my already glowing eyes. Didn’t want to increase his aggravation. Ben Blue in a mood is no fun for anyone.
Hi crouched just beyond Ben. A chubby kid with wavy brown hair, he wore a red Hawaiian shirt and green board shorts. Not exactly stylish—or even matching—but classic Hiram Stolowitski.
He stared down the shoreline, having long since lit his own flare. Of all the Virals, accessing the power came easiest to Hi.
“I see you, Mr. Rabbit,” he whispered to himself. “You can’t hide from Wolfman Hi.”
“Good work,” I deadpanned. With my powers unleashed, his every word was crystal clear. “Taunting a helpless bunny. That’s a worthwhile use of our flare time.”
“He taunted me first.” Hi’s gaze remained glued to his target. “By being so darn cute! Aren’t cha? Aren’t cha cute, you fuzzy wittle guy!”
My golden eyes rolled. “We’re supposed to be practicing.”
“Then practice your vision, Lady Buzzkill.” He pointed. “Fifty yards. Third dune from the tree line, the one with all the cattails. Typha latifolia. Brown fur, speckled. Black whiskers. It’s an eastern cottontail. Sylvilagus floridanus.”
Hi loved showing off his knowledge of natural history almost as much as he liked conducting scientific experiments. Both traits were inherited from his father, LIRI’s head mechanical engineer.