Caroline and Tyler stared at Denton like he had completely lost it. The entire room smelled like a sewer explosion, yet he stood there saying it no longer stink. After a bit of testing, they realized something awful. Denton's upgraded ability didn't ruin his sense of smell. It just made him immune to his stink. Great. He could gas everyone else, but not himself. So Caroline told him to try again and see if he could adjust the ability so no one smelled anything. After three or four tries, Caroline and Tyler couldn't take it anymore. And it wasn't just the two of them. Even Raven—still unconscious—frowned in his sleep. Snow, who had been silently enduring it, finally snapped and barked at Denton with the kind of rage that said she'd happily bite his head off. Jet was taking care of Silver while yelling nonstop, "Stinky! Stinky! Smells like poop—no, worse than poop!" Only Pinky and Biscuit, two sweet and gentle animals, sat there trembling, covering their noses. Yes—Biscuit did that. Have you ever seen a horse cover his nose with his front legs? That's how desperate he was. "Let Nelson figure something out," Caroline sighed. Denton trudged back with his head down, looking totally defeated. He mumbled, "Tyler, I don't like this ability anymore. What am I going to do? I feel like this is going to mess up my chances of finding a wife." Tyler flicked him on the forehead. "You're still a kid. You don't need to worry about getting a wife." Denton darted his eyes. "That's true! You're older than me, and you don't have a wife yet. Why should I be worried? If anyone should panic, it's you!" Tyler looked at him, speechless. Tyler's hand twitched. He wanted to reach for his stick again. Just as they were messing around, they heard something outside. They stopped instantly and grew alarmed. Those footsteps didn't sound like Nelson's.Speaking of which, Nelson still hadn't come upstairs. Caroline had checked earlier; he was downstairs studying Nathaniel's condition. She knew it would take a while. Nelson was surrounded by military officers who treated him with respect. He was busy checking Nathaniel's whole condition, and everyone else in their group was still unconscious. She didn't want to bother him. But now, Nelson still wasn't back. It had been too long. She heard movement outside the room. For a second, she thought Nelson had finally returned. Then she listened closer. Something was wrong. All of them wore the same sneakers they grabbed at the mall. When they walked, the soles always made a light tap-tap on the floor. But the sound outside was dull. Heavy. Like someone walking barefoot. The group shared a look and lowered their voices instantly. The room went still. No one breathed too loudly. No one dared talk. Tyler stepped to the door and slowly pushed it open just a crack. A wave of hot air rolled in from the empty hallway. No one stood there. But the temperature had climbed again. At least 110°F. Tyler glanced at Caroline. Their eyes said the same thing. Stay alert. Something's wrong. Because they were thinking of the same person. Shane. Nelson had been downstairs a long time. Who knew if the shot he gave Shane could last that long? If it didn't, Shane was probably awake. Tyler and Caroline were still peeking through the crack in the door when something suddenly appeared outside. Both of them jumped back at the exact same time, their hearts pounding like they were facing a deadly threat. A man—completely naked—had shown up right outside the door. His face, pale as chalk and drained of all color, was pressed so close to Tyler's that it was only a few millimeters away. Caroline, standing a little lower than Tyler, saw something else—Shane's bony, skeleton-thin shoulder. His skin was chalk white. But Caroline noticed one more thing. A scalpel. Shane was gripping the small blade in his fist, holding it up near his shoulder. The sharp edge was so close it almost brushed Caroline's eye through the narrow opening. The moment Tyler and Caroline jumped back, they both activated their abilities. Caroline's ice blade shot forward, stabbing straight into Shane's chest. It sank more than an inch deep, but Shane gave no reaction, like he couldn't feel a thing. At the same time, every one of Tyler's fingers shifted into sharp metal points. With a whip-like motion, he flung them outward. The blades flew across the air, each one connected back to Tyler's hand by a thin, metallic wire. His ability didn't just create weapons—he could control them with those threads. "Burst!" Caroline shouted. The ice blades stuck in Shane's body suddenly turned into burning steam. The heat spread across his skin, leaving streaks of fresh wounds everywhere the vapor touched.