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game. Someone buries or hides a box with an object inside, then posts the coordinates online.”
    Shelton, skeptical. “How do you know a box is buried here?”
    Hi continued at his deliberate pace, slowly sweeping the detector back and forth in front of him. “Because my iPhone says we’re on the exact coordinates, and the clue told me to ‘be sure to scratch the surface.’”
    “All in all,” Shelton said, “this is a tremendously dumb game.”
    “You’re a dumb game,” Hi shot back.
    “Let me practice linking while Hi works,” I suggested, knowing they wouldn’t like the idea.
    Three groans. As expected.
    “We
have
to master our powers,” I insisted. “What’s the point of having special abilities if you can’t control them?”
    Hi grunted, eyes glued to the detector’s LCD screen.
    “It’s creepy.” Shelton shivered despite the warm October afternoon. “Invasive.”
    Ben nodded. “You should stay out of other people’s minds.”
    Exposure to the supervirus had one major . . . side effect. Benefit? Curse?
    We call it “flaring.” When the changes come, our minds warp and snap, then the powers break free. Our senses shift to impossible clarity. Sight. Smell. Hearing. Taste. Even touch.
    The wolf comes out, making us sharper and stronger.
    Viral.
    But evolution doesn’t follow a single set of rules. The virus affected each of us differently. Perhaps the mutations were unique to our individual genetic sequences. Whatever the reason, our strengths vary. Hiram has eyes like an eagle with Lasik. Shelton can hear feathers flutter as a sparrow flaps its wings. Ben becomes strongest and fastest, like a bull on steroids. My nose gets so sensitive I can sniff out emotion, deception, and fear. And other things you’d rather not consider.
    And, recently, our powers reached a whole new level.
    For me, anyway.
    The boys can’t do it. Don’t like it. But when our pack flares in close proximity, I can sometimes touch the other Virals’ minds. Hear their thoughts, and pass on mine. This talent has come in handy more than a few times. Has saved our lives.
    “Just one try, please.” Firmly. “I need to gauge what Coop adds to the mix.”
    More dramatic moans, but the boys stopped what they were doing.
    “Fine.” Hi.
    “Whatever.” Shelton.
    “One time.” Ben held up a single finger. “One.”
    I nodded, then closed my eyes and stilled my mind. A deep breath, then I
reached
in a way I can’t fully describe. My thoughts delved downward, backward, deep into the primordial center of my brain.
    I visualized a single strand of DNA. The bedrock of my genetic being.
    Honing my concentration, I imagined unzipping the double helix.
    SNAP.
    The flare burst through me like a river of molten lava. I gasped. Sweat exploded from my pores as the wolf came out.
    Though I’d become better at summoning the power, that first wallop still challenged my defenses. Like a wild beast set loose in my nervous system. Control was tenuous and fragile. At best.
    Focusing inward, I swam down into my subconscious. An image of each Viral appeared, sharpened. Hi first, then Shelton. Moments later Ben crystallized in my thoughts. I sensed Coop alert in the woods close by.
    Flaming ropes connected the group. A golden nimbus surrounded each member.
    Virals. Hear me.
    My message smacked an invisible barrier. I tried again, concentrating harder.
    VIRALS. HEAR ME.
    This time I forced the message outward, driving it along the fiery cords. The boys flinched as if struck. Their glowing eyes widened in surprise.
    I examined the mental barricade separating us. Probed for weaknesses. Suddenly, the roadblock weakened, then fragmented.
    The other Virals’ minds opened like a floodgate. Thoughts and feelings poured into me. Worries. Raw emotions. Random bits of foreign memories. The tide of information nearly scoured my brain clean.
    I fought to hold against the onslaught, sensing danger to my sanity.
    What shattered the barrier? How did I break