Chapter 202: Breakthrough
Nina
I searched high and low through the cabins in the hopes of finding some sort of lead on where Luke was, but unfortunately there was nothing. It seemed that the Fullmoons cleaned up every scrap, every little thing that would have indicated that they were even living here to begin with, and now they were gone.
I just hoped that Luke was okay. Hopefully, Myra or one of the others who didn’t agree with Lewis managed to set him free. I had to let that hope be the thing to keep me going for now, because I had a lot to do.
As I made my way back to the campus, I decided to head over to the infirmary to try one last time to finish the antidote.
And, unexpectedly, my friends were already there. When I arrived, Lori, Jessica, and Matt were all standing outside, waiting for me.
“We were just looking for you,” Lori said as I approached. “Where were you?”
“I just walked out to the cabins,” I replied as I unlocked the door. “It looks
like the Fullmoons are already gone.”
My friends’ eyes all widened. “What?” Matt asked, his voice sounding disbelieving. “Seriously? They just up and left?”
I nodded as I walked into the infirmary and flicked on the lights. When I explained what Myra had told me the last time I talked to her, my friends were in an even greater state of disbelief. It really did seem as though Lewis fully planned on taking over as the Fullmoon Alpha, and there was no knowing exactly where they went.
But, on the bright side, the antidote was almost complete.
Matt, Lori, and Jessica all watched with bated breath a little while later as I dropped the last chemical into the solution. This was the final moment – the secret ingredient. I had found the name of the compound jotted down on a scrap of paper, shoved into the back of one of Tiffany’s drawers. There was no way of knowing whether it would work based on a single sticky note, but I had to try.
All four of us went silent as I dropped the compound into the solution.
It fizzed at first. My eyes widened as the solution began to turn black, and I took a step backwards, afraid of whatever I had just mixed.
But then, slowly… The solution turned a bright, glowing shade of blue.
“Holy shit,” Jessica whispered. “Nina… I think you did it.” I couldn’t help it. A wild, ecstatic yell escaped my mouth and I jumped up and down, grinning from ear to ear. My friends joined me, high-fiving me and congratulating me on my
breakthrough. Of course, there was still
the question of how we would test it,
but I was almost completely certain
that I had replicated the antidote.
After we tested it, we would only have to produce more, and then we could distribute it and save our neighbors from being stuck as rogues forever.
But that wasn’t the only thing on my mind. As I bottled up the antidote and put it away safely for testing, my smile eventually fell. I knew I needed to tell my friends about Selena and Enzo; I just hoped that they believed me and that they wouldn’t blame my headspace on the fumes from trying to
make the antidote.
“Guys,” I said, turning around to face them once the antidote was tucked away neatly in a cabinet, “I need to talk to you about something. You’re gonna think I’m just being crazy, but I really need you to listen to me.”
My friends’ brows furrowed. But then, suddenly, Matt spoke up.
“If it’s about the new students, I think I know what you’re gonna say,” he said, causing us all to turn and look at him. He paused then and cleared his throat before speaking again. “I think they’re werewolves. I picked up their scents at the dance and I’m pretty certain they’re not human.”
I swallowed, feeling at least somewhat relieved that one of my friends seemed to have some information on them. But that wasn’t everything.
“It’s not only that,” I said, looking at Lori and Jessica now. My two friends stared back at me with knowing looks on their faces; they knew what I was about to say next. “I think it’s Selena and Enzo in disguise. And before you call me crazy, just hear me out: every time I look at either of them for more than just a few moments, I swear they shift in appearance. I’ve seen it too many times now for it to just be a
coincidence. And furthermore, they’re staying in Enzo’s dorm and they were riding Enzo’s motorcycle today. Plenty of other students saw it; not just me.”
Lori and Jessica both furrowed their brows, as did Matt. “If Selena and Enzo were here in some sort of disguise or whatever, then why wouldn’t Enzo at least come and talk to us?” Jessica asked.
I shook my head. “I think she did something to Enzo to make him forget all of us. But I swear that if I can just get a few minutes alone with him, I can make him remember. Just last night, I ran into him and he said that I was familiar. Selena – Sadie saw us, however, and ended our interaction. But I was certain that he was already beginning to remember just by talking to me for a minute.”
My friends were all silent. I felt my heart race as I looked at all of them, expecting them to say that I was just seeing things again, or that I needed help.
But, much to my surprise, Matt suddenly spoke up again. And what he said blew my mind.
“I believe you,” he said quietly as he stared at the floor. “I… I’ve seen it, too. The night that they came to the hockey game, I looked up in the VIP box and I made eye contact with the new guy, and I really thought he looked just like Enzo for a moment. It was quick, but I haven’t gotten over it. I didn’t wanna say anything, though, because I thought you guys would think I’m crazy.”
I felt a sense of immense relief wash over me at Matt’s words. At least I had one person on my side. Now, I just needed to know that Lori and Jessica believe me, too.
Both of them were silent for a long time. I waited to see what they had to say, but my heart was in my throat the entire time, and I was certain that they wouldn’t believe me.
Finally, Jessica spoke.
“I don’t know…” she mumbled, shaking her head as she stared at the floor. “It sounds nuts, but… If both of you really think you saw it, then I’ll take your word for it.” She glanced up at Lori then, who was still silent. But, nonetheless, Lori quietly nodded in agreement.
“So… You believe me?” I whispered. All three of my friends nodded. I felt as though a huge weight was lifted off of my chest in that moment, and although I wanted to jump up and down in joy, I knew that there was still a lot of work to do.
Of course, we still needed to find Luke and find a volunteer to test out the antidote. But first, we needed Enzo back in his right state of mind… And we needed to come up with a plan to make him remember.
