Both Mark and Nate jumped to their feet as Kenny fell across the floor. Mari rushed to his side, dropping to her knees to lay her hands on his shoulders. She was getting hysterical. Jerking her head up, she screamed at them. "We need to call someone!" Mark dropped to his knees by Kenny, asking Mari over her terrified pleading. "Mari. Mari! Did you get the EpiPens?" Mari nodded, settling down enough to remove her backpack. Unzipping the backpack, she dumped them out across the ground. Mark exhaled a jagged breath at the sight of them. Mari gestured to them all, nervously telling him. "The gnome was empty... So, I took all the EpiPens that I could find... Do any of them look familiar?" Mark ran his hand over them with a blank look. They all looked the same. Locking eyes with Mari, Mark swallowed nervously. Mari bit her lip, her hands shaking as she held Kenny's hand in hers. Nate kneeled between them to look at the EpiPens. Picking some up, Nate looked them over before asking Mark curiously. "What are you looking for?"

Kenny's body jerked as his breathing slowed to a stop, Mari grabbed an EpiPen at random and pulled the top off. Before she hit Kenny in the thigh with it, Mark stopped her wrist. Taking the EpiPen from her, he gestured her aside and did it himself. He didn't want the bad result to be on her. Nate held onto Mari to keep her clear. The EpiPen clicked softly and Kenny suddenly jerked on the floor as his body gasped for air. Rolling to his side, Kenny coughed loudly and took deep strained breaths until his breathing leveled out. Mari strained against Nate's hold on her, relief flooding her voice as she cried out. "Kenny! Oh my god!" Mark dropped the EpiPen, falling backward onto his ass as he took deep calming breaths himself. Slowly rising up onto all fours, Kenny breathlessly muttered out. "I hate bugs..." Mark let himself chuckle, watching Nate release Mari. Mari draped herself over Kenny, wrapping her arms around his neck to cry softly against his shoulder. Kenny put a hand on her head, stroking his fingers through her bangs. When he sat up, she snuggled into his chest and he hugged her tightly.

Gathering up all the EpiPens, Mark grumbled out bitterly. "I should have marked the fucking things... Damn it!" Nate got up to pick the gnome up off the table, looking it over now as said softly. "Why? What's going on?" Mark held up an EpiPen, informing him curtly. "I was told to bring in a bunch of EpiPens that would infect the colony... I had them in the gnome and never intended to use them... but things got complicated." Nate turned the gnome over, curiously saying. "What if we can't tell the difference... because the ones you brought in were taken somewhere else?" Mark stopped gathering the EpiPens, upon asking bluntly. "What do you mean?" Mari tore herself from Kenny, rushing in. "Doesn't matter. Mark, we have to save Sean!" Mark's thoughts drifted to Sean, before replying seriously. "Tell me what you know." Mari composed herself, regaling to him. "I saw them go into quarantine and snuck into the lab where we were held. I figured that I could talk to them. Warn them. I wasn't in there long when the alarms started to go off. Everything went into lockdown around the building. By the time Zero was shoved into the room, he only gave me basics before telling me to find him."

Mari bowed her head, adding in with a heavy sigh. "I rushed outside when the building opened back up... but by that point, I was told that my mother had 'Dealt with the problem.' People said they saw her and a team moving a container to the lab in the hospital..." Mark looked at Kenny, dryly questioning him. "What would she want with Sean? If she thought that he was infected... why capture him?" Kenny shrugged, honestly answering. "I'm just a soldier... I don't know anything that happens in the labs. You'd have to ask Spencer and Wyatt... They were always the smart ones." Nate cleared his throat awkwardly, interjecting softly. "I know..." All eyes turned to Nate. Nate licked his dry lips, brushing his bangs back off his face as he told them uneasily. "I think she is trying to find a way to control men through mutations. She infects them. Studying how the virus effects men in different ways. I think she plans to make a cure for women and simply lessen the virus on the men. Making them-" Nate didn't finish before Kenny slipped in to finish with concern. "Controllable... Oh my god... But that means that Dad..."

Mari jumped to her feet, stammering out in shock. "Y-you think mom infected Dad on purpose to test it?!" Kenny slowly got to his feet, raising his hands to calmly say. "We don't know that for sure... Dad could have been an accident." Mark hefted the hem off his dress to stand up, telling Kenny bluntly. "What do you know about your brother Wyatt?" Kenny shrugged, truthfully saying. "He works in the lab with mom. We weren't close. Why?" Mark looked at Mari, not sure he should say it but reluctantly told them. "Spencer let slip that Wyatt was a Horsemen. What if the Horsemen belong to her...?" Mari shook her head, uttering out in horrified disbelief. "No! That... That would mean that she's been attacking the colonies... and Grandpa..." Kenny slumped back against the wall, saying aloud. "Grandpa knew. He was working on a cure... The colonies were a threat to the world order she's trying to build..." Mark clenched his jaw, growling out sternly. "Wyatt told her about Sean..." After thinking about it for a second, Mark gasped out in shock. "Oh fuck... I wasn't sent here to infect the colony... I was sent here to make a delivery!"

Mari hugged herself, asking Mark uneasily. "A delivery of what? A virus she already has?" Mark lowered his eyes to the ground, answering under his breath. "Or whatever they were trying to test out by mixing it with Sean's blood..." Kenny moved away from the wall to stand before Nate, asking a bit defensively. "How do you know about the lab? Why did my mother keep you so isolated... and don't tell me it was just because you were popular with the women here. She's isolated you from day one." Mark stepped back as realization hit him and he uttered out. "She was saving you to be her test subject... Like Sean was for the Horsemen." Nate reluctantly nodded, then moved to the small kitchen to pick up a steak knife. Holding it out over his hand, Nate took a deep breath and dragged the blade across his palm. Mari yelped, moving to stand by Kenny. Nate lifted his hand to drink the blood that dripped off his palm. Afterward, he turned his hand to show them his palm and they all watched it heal over. That wasn't all though. When Nate opened his eyes, they were glowing a bright neon purple.

Mark tensed up, asking Nate as calmly as he could. "Nate...? Are you... you?" Nate didn't open his mouth, but from all over the room he heard him answer in a cluster of echoing whispers. "I'm here." Mark looked around the room, then back at Nate. Jumping at how close Nate was now, Nate cupped his face and forced him to look into his glowing eyes. The second he looked directly into them; his vision went white before clearing to show the sight of someone in a clear container. The tube like container was on its side and scientists were rushing around it. He recognized Lexi as she kneeled by the container to write something on a clipboard. Mark gasped as he felt the wave of fear and confusion overwhelm him. A bloody hand touched the tube wall as a broken voice cried out. "What do you want?! Let me go!" The tube was shifted upright and the person screamed as electricity rippled across the cylinder floor and up the sides of the tube interior. A scream tore from both Nate and Mark as they both felt the heat of the electricity move up their legs and arms. The electricity stopped shortly after and Lexi gave the thumbs up to someone.

Nate jerked away from him, staggering down to a knee weakly. Mark felt tears roll down his cheeks as he uttered out in an emotionally compromised voice. "Sean..." Mari touched his shoulder, wearily asking. "What happened?" Mark looked at her with fragile eyes, answering shaken up. "I don't know... but it was like I was... connected to Sean. I could feel everything and I saw-" Mari's eyes suddenly widened as she inched backward and tugged on Mark's arm. Kenny reached for the gun on his belt, wrapping an arm around Mari's shoulder to pull her back against him. Mark ignored her tugging on his arm to follow their eyes and tensed. Nate was slowly standing back up but this time his eyes were completely black and black veins were spreading out from his eyes. Staring into Nate's shiny black eyes, he lost all feeling and thought. The echoing whispers around him returned, telling him to kneel. So, he did. Something dropped to the floor, but Mark had no desire to look. Nate grabbed Mark's throat, before Mari smacked Nate across the face. Nate stumbled away from him, breaking the strange power over him.

Snapping from the trance, Mark looked around to get his bearings again. Behind him, Kenny was doing the same. Mari stood panting for a minute her eyes wide. Nate rubbed his cheek and when he looked back at them, his eyes were back to normal and the veins were gone. Wincing from the blow, he asked them all a little confused. "What happened?" Mari huffed lightly, retorting. "You don't remember?" Nate blushed, mumbling out. "I remember showing Mark what I could do... and then when we came out... That's it. Do you have any food around here? I'm starving..." Kenny picked up his dropped gun, putting it back in the holster on his leg wearily. He then gestured to the cabinets of the small kitchen and Nate rushed over to savage for food. Mark moved to sit on the bed, rubbing his neck cautiously. Nate cheered when he found a box of Oreos, while Mari told both Kenny and Mark in a shaky voice. "Guys... I'm going to say this again. I HATE my mother. I'm not going to let her do this."

Mari removed her katana from the sheath on her back, telling Kenny darkly. "I'll make her pay for the deaths of both of my dads." Kenny walked over to her, pushing her blade down as he said coolly. "Mari, put that away before you hurt someone. We need to think rationally about this." Mari reluctantly sheathed her sword but stated out bitterly. "We can't wait! She has Zero and Sean!" Kenny gestured to everyone, replying seriously. "Mari, we are just four people. Mom has dozens of guards and cameras. Not counting any other crazed zombie mutations that she might have at her disposal." Mark straightened up a little, asking Nate casually. "Are those blackouts normal for you? Or is this the first time that has happened?" Nate finished chewing an Oreo, before answering guiltily. "It's happened before... I once heard Lexi say that my gift is limited. Seems to revolve around how much blood I take in. If I use my own blood, I barely have enough to last a minute. If the blood comes from something else, the effect lasts longer. Hours. I can get into people's heads and project feelings or thoughts. The farther the distance, the more it takes out of me."

Nate leaned his hips against the small counter, adding in slightly bitter. "I barely remember the first time I used it to escape. It was just so sudden. Part of me just knew I could do it. I didn't get far before the tracker gave me away. After that, they put me in that gazebo with plexiglass. Plexiglass seems to block out the effect. Doesn't allow my gift expand beyond it and boy have I tried..." Kenny was about to ask Mark something, but Mark raised a finger to stop him. Keeping his eyes on Nate, he curiously asked him. "Why do they let you play your music?" Nate shrugged, saying perplexed. "Not sure. I was told that it tends to keep some of the zombies away. But sometimes it attracts them. Those are usually killed or captured. Why?" Mark leaned forward on his knees, asking him softly. "Do you think you could use that gift to our advantage?" Mari stepped around Kenny, snapping out. "Are you crazy? Didn't you see what happened after he used it?" Mark locked eyes with her, answering seriously. "I did. But do you have a better plan?"

Mari's shoulders fell and she shuffled her feet with disappointment. Mark climbed to his feet, telling them seriously. "Alright. We'll start by getting Zero out. We'll need his skill with a bow and whatever he knows about Sean..." Nate set the Oreos down, standing up straight as he asked them dryly. "How do we plan to do that?" Mark gestured to their clothing, saying openly. "We're already dressed for the part. That should be enough to get us in." Mari laughed loudly, then reined it in to say casually. "Oh... you were serious. Guys... You can't go looking like that. You... You barely look like girls." Mari pointed to the cuffs on Mark's ankle and wrist, adding out. "I mean, look at you..." Kenny removed his lockpicking kit, taking Mark's wrist to start working on it. Mark shrugged, casually saying. "Easy fixes. Doesn't have to be perfect." Mari crossed her arms, sarcastically saying. "It will have to be if you want to get to Sean." Dropping her arms, she growled out to herself. "Damn it... Wait here. I'll be back." Mark started to ask where she was going, but she raised a finger and stated back grimly. "If we're going to do this. Then we need to do it right. I'm sure with all the girls here that I can find the shit you'll need..." To Be Continued...