Annihilate (Hive Trilogy #3)(8)

Becca was silent then, her eyes darting between me and Jayden. She had not flinched at our news, and something told me that this wasn’t the worst thing she’d seen happen in the Hives. She focused all of her attention on me.

“I’m guessing you’re here because you want to know if I can turn your blood into a weapon to use against them?” Smart people were the best. No need to explain shit, they already knew.

I nodded and waited for her to continue.

A smile spread across her surprisingly full lips. Girl was actually quite stunning, she just needed a little help with showcasing herself. And judging by the look on Jayden’s face, he was already mentally tweezing her brows and changing her lab coats out for an outfit that probably required Spanx and nipple pasties. Poor girl. I should probably warn her, but it was fun to not be his only ash girlie to play designer on.

I forced myself to focus as she started rattling off the science stuff again. “I haven’t had much time with your blood yet, Charlie, but I can already tell that it’s fascinatingly different to mine. You seem to have a special type of white blood cell, one which is more elongated than any I’ve ever seen before. It is dominating your blood, and the other cells seem to use it to move rapidly through the body. They’re working as a team to fight off any antigens.”

So she was saying … English please.

Instead of acting like I was an idiot, Becca’s eyes lit up. I could tell she loved science and teaching. She crossed over to a white board and started to draw and write across it.

“Okay, so in blood you have a whole bunch of components. The red blood cells or platelets binds to oxygen and transports it around the body.” She drew a bunch of little concave looking discs and wrote 45% beside it. “This is where vampires and ash need some help. Our cells regenerate far quicker than humans, and our platelets require some help with the level of oxygen needed in our bodies. Therefore, we need to feed. The faster you regenerate, the more blood you require. Which is why vampires need more than us, and are stronger.”

Jayden and I exchanged a look, before crossing to take a seat close to her whiteboard. Something told me this was going to be a long lecture, and despite the fact that I wasn’t the best at school, this was one subject I wanted to know everything about.

Becca didn’t even seem to notice; she was in her element as she continued. “The other 55% of your blood is plasma, and it is here which your blood is unique. Plasma is generally made up of mostly water, proteins, hormones, and antibodies. There are other vitamins and minerals, but we don’t need to worry about that right now. The part which is the most fascinating in your blood are the antibodies.”

“Yours are unlike any I’ve ever seen before. I introduced some of the virus to them and they attacked in a way which I could only liken to sharks in a feeding frenzy. They obliterated the foreign vampire blood in seconds.”

Becca abandoned her marker and turned to face us fully. “I then introduced another vampire sample, this time from a blood type the same as yours, and again the same response. It seems to be programmed to attack the Anima Mortis virus no matter what form it enters as.”

I found myself leaning forward. “Why am I an ashpire then? Surely the cure would be attacking me, like an autoimmune response?”

Becca was almost giddy now. “That’s where it’s so incredible. You are literally a product of the Anima virus, and yet your antibodies are evolved enough to be able to tell self from non-self, even within the same virus set. There’s no evidence it has ever tried to attack your own cells. Which is something human antibodies would not be able to do. They attack foreign antigens, which is how they know something does not belong in the body. The virus is not foreign to you, it formed your very blood and organs and everything else, so there should be no antibodies to it. It should see the virus as self and not attack, and yet … somehow it knows.”

“Would it attack the virus in an ash?” Jayden asked, and I wondered for a second if he would choose to be cured if it were possible.

Becca blinked a few times, thinking before she answered. “I was just starting to experiment with that, introducing Charlie’s blood to vampires and ash to see what happens. I expect that in vampire blood her antibodies will destroy the virus, clean the blood, organs, and body from the effects. A full and total cure. Her antibodies hold the components which are missing from my blood. And I have my theories on what will happen with ash blood, but I need to experiment more before I confirm or deny the hypothesis.”

Footsteps echoed down the hall then, and I knew the rest of the enforcers were on their way. Becca must have heard them too, because she hurried on. “To answer you from before, Charlie, yes, I think if I have enough time, and some more of your blood, I can manufacture a synthetic version of your cure. Something we could use as a large-scale attack against the vampires.”

My body tensed as I jumped to my feet and strode over to her. I thrust my arm forward. “Take as much as you need and get me that cure. I have a plan, and I am going to need an ass-ton of the cure to make it happen.”

Becca smiled. “Vampire vaccine, here we come.” The determination in her eyes gave me hope.

The boys entered the room then and the look on Ryder’s face tore me open. He was trying to hide it but I could see he was in agony. I was one of those people who didn’t mind going through hell myself but it killed me to see those I loved in pain. I would rather save them from it all. I wanted to take him in my arms and tell him we would avenge them, every single one. But I wouldn’t do that in front of his boys. He needed to be strong for them. They all looked to their leader for guidance in situations like this.