Rabid Read Online Free Page B

did. Maybe it’s like emerging from a cocoon. I just wish I had a feral blood sample to test my theory.”
    â€œI guess you’re right,” Abby said. “I studied a bit about genetics and blood types back at the library. I’m just worried that I might lose my mind like Pippa and try to kill you all, no offense, Pippa.”
    â€œNone taken.”
    â€œLet me grab a bag, gather some medical supplies, and save these samples,” the doctor said. “I’ll also take the microscope. Maybe we’ll find a feral specimen along the way.”
    Pippa sniffed the air. “It’s time to get out of here.”
    â€œDo we have time to scavenge for food and supplies?” Jack asked.
    â€œNo,” Pippa said. “Pick up whatever you want from the lab, and then we need to get as far away from this place as possible.”
    The doctor nodded and quickly gathered some supplies. Then they left the hospital and went to their vehicle. Outside, the rain was slackening, and a glimmer of sunlight shone through the clouds. Aiden, Pippa, Abby, and Salvatore sniffed the air.
    â€œGet in the vehicle!” Aiden yelled.
    Jack felt his stomach lurch when he saw the raw fear in the faces of his friends.
    â€œFerals,” Pippa said. “And they’re close.”

The entrance ramp to the highway was blocked, littered with cars and trucks and buses. A two-lane road ran alongside the highway, and Salvatore took it, hoping to find another on ramp. The scent of ferals was intensifying.
    As they drove, the road became increasingly strewn with overturned cars and trucks. Salvatore had to drive off the road and around the obstructions, and the mud from the recent rain made the going difficult.
    â€œSomeone did this,” Jack said.
    Abby nodded. “Maybe humans did it to create a protective—”
    Up ahead, a disk flipped up from the road and a hole appeared. Ferals began to emerge, and then more holes and more ferals appeared. Salvatore swerved as four of the creatures ran toward the vehicle.
    â€œThey’ve been hiding in the sewers,” Abby said.
    The front of the vehicle clipped a feral and sent it flying. It hit the ground with a thud, rolled into a tree, and began convulsing. The other ferals kept coming. Salvatore continued to maneuver between the overturned vehicles, swerving in and out as if he were running an obstacle course, hitting more ferals as he went. But the armored car was heading deeper into the city, away from the highway. Soon they were back in the heart of the city, and hundreds of ferals were chasing them down the city streets.
    â€œThere!” Jack yelled, pointing to a small facility that was protected by a twenty-foot wall topped with coils of barbed wire. “The gate is open. Get us in there and we can shut it.”
    Salvatore floored the accelerator and smashed his way through a dozen ferals. He cleared the gate and hit the brakes just inside the wall. The vehicle spun sideways, and Jack, Pippa, Abby, and Salvatore leaped out. The three werecats morphed and began pushing on the end of the rolling gate. The rusted wheels moved a few inches, and the werecats redoubled their efforts. A feral came through the gate, and Jack cut it down with Excalibur before it could attack the others. Six more ferals appeared and surrounded Jack. He raised Excalibur and prepared to fight.
    A high-pitched howl rent the air, and a beast—half cat, half alligator, and seven feet tall—sprang toward the ferals, ripping through them with six-inch-long teeth and razor-sharp reptilian fingers. Aiden had become a one-of-a-kind hybrid of fearsome brutality. Hideous screams arose from the ferals, and soon a dozen of them lay dead on the ground. The rest retreated from this new and terrible threat. Aiden went to the massive gate and pushed it closed, locking out the rest of the screaming horde.
    Aiden and the werecats returned to human form. Jack looked on, awestruck by