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“You are all that remains, Jacques and Inka. Pari and Emil. Kait, Tobais, Pal and Mera. D’vid, Maurick, Eduardo, Julia, Nathan and Diana. Ami and Li’zel, Seti, Suzan, and Curtan. Ricardus, Julius and Antonio. Ana and Raymone are last. Twenty-four in all.”

“Twenty-four remaining out of one hundred!” Eduardo exclaimed in astonishment.

“That few?” Julia gasped. “Where is Kierran?” she asked after her husband. Their marriage was only three weeks old when the experiment started.

“Kierran didn’t make it. Julia, I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Kierran’s dead because of you,” Julia screamed, rushing at Marel and pummelling him with her fists.

Marel grabbed them and held Julia against him as she bawled into his chest. He stared stone-faced over her shoulder and refused to look at anyone.

“I’ll take her,” Curtan said, stepping forward and taking Julia from him. “She’s one ofusnow.”

Julia collapsed into a heap on the floor, and Curtan sat with her as she sobbed out her anguish. Curtan held her tight and rubbed her back as she mourned Kierran’s plans for them.

“I wasn’t aware. If I had, I would have stopped the experiment,” Marel insisted.

“You claim that, Marel, but two of you knew,” I snapped in anger.

“Who!” Marel exclaimed.

“Maurick and Claudias,” D’vid spoke, as I did not trust myself to answer.

“Youknew?” spluttered Marel in shock as he turned to his colleagues.

Maurick just stared white-faced, while Claudias smirked.

“We suspected but weren’t sure,” Claudias said smugly.

I longed to smash his face in, but for D’vid’s sake, I didn’t. But that did not stop D’vid.

“Get out of my sight, or you’ll find I’ll drink your blood right now,” D’vid warned.

That stopped Claudias as he faced his sibling. With a bow, he turned and left.

D’vid smashed his fist against the wall. “How can I apologise for him? My own brother.”

“Claudias used you, D’vid,” Ana said, touching his shoulder.

“I understand the concept of jealousy too well,” I replied, looking D’vid in the eyes. In misery, I tried to convey my great sorrow that his brother used him so badly.

Inka, facing Marel, inquired, “What further information do we require?”

“You cannot withstand the daylight or the sun. Indeed, you do not wake until it is dark. Your strength has doubled, and you might even grow stronger. If you are cut and injured, you heal straight away or if it’s a serious injury, usually within a week.

“None of you will ever age, and you’ll live forever. You’ll never die because you already have. Currently, only sunlight or fire poses a lethal threat. We’re unaware of what other abilities you have. They’ll be discovered as we proceed.” Marel paused and then, with a deep breath, carried on.

“You need nightly transfusions of blood. Several of the staff have been attacked and drained. The thirst for blood is overwhelming and uncontrollable. Likam didn’t drink for three nights, and on the fourth, he was a raving lunatic. He killed another of the nurses and was on his second when we intercepted him with donated blood.

“Likam was tortured with remorse and walked into the sun the following morning. Just before we woke all of you, we gave everyone blood to quench your thirst. You drink enough to fill a normal human. Enough to drain a single person.”

I paled at the implications as I grasped what Marel was saying.

Horrifically, we were the walking dead.

The others also understood, and I turned to face them, searching for support. It was there on everyone’s faces. We were isolated, with only one another to rely on.

None of us realised it, but eventually, we would be the only ones there for each other. We would never judge or criticise each other at first—unless the code we developed was broken.