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Authors: Kathy Reichs

Exposure

BOOK: Exposure
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Also by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs

VIRALS

SEIZURE

CODE

and the Penguin eSpecials

SHIFT

SWIPE

G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

An Imprint of Penguin Group (USA)

G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014

 

 

 

USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia

New Zealand | India | South Africa | China

penguin.com

A Penguin Random House Company

 

Copyright © 2014 by Brennan NextGen LLC.

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Reichs, Kathy, author.

Exposure : a Virals novel / Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs.

pages cm

Summary: Fifteen-year-old Tory and her “viral” friends, who contracted heightened, wolflike senses during an experiment gone wrong, investigate an abduction case and make some troubling new discoveries about their powers.

[1. Supernatural—Fiction. 2. Virus diseases—Fiction. 3. Kidnapping—Fiction. 4. South Carolina—Fiction. 5. Mystery and detective stories. 6. Science fiction.] I. Reichs, Brendan, author. II. Title.

PZ7.R26447Ex 2014 [Fic]—dc23 2013025519

 

ISBN 978-0-698-14962-5

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.

Version_1

Brendan Reichs would like to dedicate this book to his mind-blowingly wonderful new daughter, Alice. You are the cutest baby in the world, and that’s a fact.
Kathy Reichs would like to dedicate this book to her fantabulous agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. This one makes twenty!

Contents

ALSO BY KATHY REICHS AND BRENDAN REICHS

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

DEDICATION

MAPS

 

PROLOGUE

PART 1

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

PART 2

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

PART 3

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

CHAPTER 31

CHAPTER 32

CHAPTER 33

CHAPTER 34

CHAPTER 35

CHAPTER 36

CHAPTER 37

CHAPTER 38

CHAPTER 39

CHAPTER 40

CHAPTER 41

CHAPTER 42

PART 4

CHAPTER 43

CHAPTER 44

CHAPTER 45

CHAPTER 46

CHAPTER 47

CHAPTER 48

CHAPTER 49

CHAPTER 50

EPILOGUE

c

B
eads of water tumbled from the darkness above.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The girl shifted, angling her pale face away from the cascade. Sodden blond hair hung lank to her shoulders, filthy with grime and debris.

The boy rose from where he crouched. Ushered the girl across the narrow stone chamber. Silently took her place. Dirty rivulets began rolling down his cheeks, gathering at the chin before dropping to the earthen floor. He took no notice. There were no dry places.

Outside the dim, moldy cell, beyond a line of rusty steel bars, a red light glowed. Steady. Unblinking. Their sole companion.

Shivers racked the girl’s body. She began to whimper.

The boy reached without looking and squeezed her shoulder. The crying ceased, replaced by a smattering of snotty hiccups.

The red light watched. Fixed. Indifferent.

Time passed, unmarked by any further movement.

The whimpers soon returned. This time, the boy didn’t bother to reach.

Suddenly, a loud bang broke the stillness.

Two pairs of eyes darted, nervously probing the impenetrable gloom.

The noise repeated, followed by a shriek of metal.

Instinctually, the boy and girl drew closer together.

The rasping clatter grew, echoing off the ancient stone walls.

A shadow, blacker than the surrounding dark, materialized overhead. Descended.

The boy and girl watched, breathless, their fingers interlocked.

The shadow took form—a bucket. Wooden, bound with frayed rope, and splintered along its sides. It lowered steadily on a thick metal chain.

The bucket lurched to a stop. Dangled five feet from the floor.

The boy stood. Cautiously peered over the rim.

Inside was a hunk of stale bread, already wilting in the damp, fetid air.

The prisoners attacked the loaf ravenously. Devoured the paltry meal in seconds.

“I’m still hungry,” the girl whispered.

The boy shook his head.

With a squeal, the pail began to ascend. Angrily, the boy lashed out with both fists, sending the bucket arcing and spinning as it rose.

“What do you want with us!?” the boy bellowed. “Let us out of here!”

A chuckle echoed from somewhere high above.

The girl began to weep.

The bucket swung its way skyward. Disappeared into the gloom.

Water fell.

The red light gleamed.

In moments, all was dark and silent once more.

 

Monday

W
hat I’d like from you is the truth, Miss Brennan.”

The defense attorney’s gravelly voice boomed inside the courtroom.

A jolt of adrenaline tore through me.

My mind had wandered. Impossible, I know, given the circumstances. But a second hour of questioning was taking its toll.

And this pompous toolbag showed no signs of winding down.

I cleared my throat. Shifted on the witness stand.

“Could you repeat the question, sir?” Stalling for time.

Parrish sighed dramatically. “Again?”

I nodded.

Parrish sneered, doubling his already abundant collection of chins. No doubt he thought me rattled.

BOOK: Exposure
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