"Well, look at you! Back so soon. What a surprise!” Bernard said cheerfully. Elliot had been worried sick, but being thrown into the air like that shocked the anxiety right out of him, leaving only sheer terror. "Elliot," Bernard asked, "how about Bernard takes you for a real flight?" Elliot''s face went pale, and he quickly shook his head. "No, that''s okay." Only Evan enjoyed Bernard''s ''flights,'' and only Evan could handle them. Both he and Emmett were terrified of them. The scarred man frowned, his gaze fixed on Bernard. "Why are you so thin?" Bernard just grinned. "Thin or not, I can still take you down. Wanna spar right now?" The scarred man fell silent. Seeing him act just as spirited as ever, Elliot and the scarred man felt a bit of their unease subside, even though it was clear he had more than just a cold. Bernard asked, "I heard from Evan that you two are here on a mission this time?" Elliot decided to address the virus first. "Great-Grandpa, Great-Grandma, let''s talk inside." Once inside, Elliot immediately took out the small box he had been carrying. "What''s this?" Bernard asked curiously. "Strain 8," Elliot said. At those words, the expressions on the three elders'' faces changed instantly. The great-grandmother''s brow furrowed deeply, her pupils dting in shock. It took her a moment to speak. "Where did you get this?" Elliot exined, “My grandparents got it from the bad guys when they were alive. My dad only found it a few days ago and had us bring it to you immediately." The great-grandmother''s face was grave as she picked up the virus sample and examined it closely. “Great-Grandma,” Elliot asked, “is this the legendary 8th generation virus?" She didn''t nod or shake her head, her expression deadly serious. “I need to go to theb. Don''t follow me. I''ll go alone." "Be careful, Great-Grandma!" Elliot urged. To confirm if it was truly Strain 8, she would have to open it. It was incredibly toxic; infection meant certain death. It was extremely dangerous. “I know. Don''t worry." The great-grandmother left with the virus. Quincy said, "Your great-grandmother has handled more poisons than you can imagine. She''s a professional. She''ll be fine opening it for testing, so don''t worry. You all chat for a bit, I''m going to check on the food in the pot." As soon as Quincy left, Bernard said, “Evan, let''s go y outside. The virus is the olddy''s business. We can''t help with that." "Are you well enough to go out and y?" Evan asked quickly. Bernard grinned. "Of course I am. I''m all better now. Let''s go, let''s go." Walter frowned slightly, looking as if he wanted to say something, but he held his tongue. The scarred man started to follow, but Bernard stopped him. "You stay here. When the olddy gets back, you take Elliot to thems outpost. Have him call Elysia to let her know they''re safe, and while you''re at it, have Tarquin arrange for some supplies to be brought in from the outside." Without giving the man a chance to reply, he picked up Evan and left. Elliot nced worriedly in the direction Bernard had gone, then asked Walter, "Is there still no news from Gerald and Howard?" Walter shook his head. "We lost contact after they went down the mountain. No idea what they''re up to. We''re running low on supplies here. Since we can''t reach Gerald, we''ll have to trouble Tarquin." Elliot frowned. Getting his dad to send supplies was a small matter. The bigger issue was that Gerald was in charge of supplies for the mountain. He would have known they were due for a restock, so why hadn''t he returned? Gerald was meticulous and highly responsible. Even if he was held up, he would have made sure the supplies were sent ahead. This was another thing that didn''t add up.