already raining in the foothills, and it will be upon us shortly. Our first line of defense is most likely drenched by now.â
âThe rains will dampen their sense of smell,â Pippa said. âThey might not sense the ferals until theyâre on them.â
âIâll send more men with firearms to the first line with the hyenas,â Rebecka said. She departed to dispatch more men.
Jack returned to his work, knowing time was short. With the aid of Olympiaâs doctors and scientists, and dozens of city workers delivering gas canisters to the small hospital lab, they worked together to clone the cure, then convert it to a gas. By morning, they had successfully made fifty gas grenades, each capable of affecting two hundred ferals.
âThis isnât nearly enough for the swarm thatâs coming,â Jack said. âWeâll need more canisters. I believe I can inject teargas bottles with the cure as well. Your lines of defense can use the teargas for both controlling and curing the ferals.â
âWhat about our own men?â Rebecka asked. âWill they be affected? Will a werecat return to a human? Might humans become sick?â
âNo,â the doctor responded.
âHow do you know?â Timothy Adel asked. âWe havenât tested any subjects other than the ferals we injected.â
âBecause I know,â the doctor said.
The prophetess Mariana entered the room. âWe are close, I can feel it,â she said. âIâve heard that there will be thousands of ferals upon us soon. The prophecy is being fulfilled.â
âWe should have enough of the cure to slow them down,â Jack said.
âThatâs good news,â Mariana said. With that, she left the room.
âShe claims sheâs psychic,â Piper said. âI have my doubts.â
âWhy is that?â Jack asked.
âBecause the original prophecy said the time was still another year away. When I requested leave of absence to search for my children, she seemed agitated but then supported my request before the council. Before I left, she told me she had another dream that the prophecy would happen sooner, so Iâd better hurry.â
âSheâs not a prophet,â Jack said. âShe wanted you to hurry to get you killed. She conceals lies behind her eyes. I can sense it. I sense that sheâs the cause of the feral infestation, but I canât probe her mind to prove it. Itâs as if sheâs blocking me from entering her thoughts. But I know sheâs upset that weâve created the cure.â
A humanly inaudible frequency swept across the air, bringing Jack, Aiden, Pippa, and Abby to their knees. Excruciating pain filled their minds, driving them toward rabidity.
âWhatâs wrong,â Salvatore yelled as Rebecka ran to lift Jack from the floor. Unlike the hybrids, he couldnât hear the sound.
âSome sort of frequency,â Jack rasped. âThe prophetessâfind her.â
Salvatore, Piper, and Rebecka darted from the door, the two werecats morphing as they ran. Piper and Salvatore sniffed the air and found Marianaâs scent. It led them to a small, heavily guarded prayer room.
âThe prophetess Mariana wishes not to be disturbed,â a guard said. Rebecka kicked the man, and the others backed away as Piper and Salvatore bared their teeth. They swept into the room and found it empty. The werecats sniffed out a set of stairs hidden behind an altar. Mariana was at the bottom of the stairs, twisting a dial on a large electronic machine.
The prophetess turned and hissed. Rebecka smashed her face and dropped her to the ground. âDestroy the machine,â she shouted to the two werecats beside her. Piper gave her a look of uncertainty. âJust do it!â
In seconds, they reduced the machine to a pile of rubble.
âWhat was it?â Salvatore asked.
âIt produced frequencies to keep ferals
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley