Once Gara had safely stored the pills and double-checked so Rea and the kids wouldn't sneak any away, he stepped out of his lab.
The quiet he'd grown used to inside the soundproofed barrier shattered at once, replaced by a loud commotion from outside.
"What's all that noise? Are the Liners causing trouble again?"
Gara stepped out of his house, only to find villagers gathered instead of Liners. They seemed to be crowding around the village chief's home, something clearly having happened there.
Not far from the doorway, he spotted Wina. Gara hurried over to his mother, asking what was going on.
Before she could finish explaining, one of the villagers came out of the chief's house, his face heavy with sorrow.
"Rima can't be saved anymore. Miss Healer said the poison has already spread throughout her body. There's nothing she can do."
The announcement struck the crowd like a hammer. Shock and grief rippled through them, Wina included.
