"It's all about blood, Ivy. It always has been." I've known something was wrong. I've sensed but avoided the truth that I was slipping. You'd think if you recognized that you were dying that you'd hurry to stop it, to heal whatever is sick. It's innately human to struggle for life. But for some reason, though it makes no sense, it's also innately human to lean away from eternal life. Six years ago, when millions of people disappeared from the face of the earth in a silent instant, all hell broke loose. People did what you'd expect: they panicked. We've been programmed with the will to survive—to care for our loved ones at any cost. Husbands became murderers. Children became thieves. The world turned upside-down and survival was all anyone could think about. That was before we knew about the disease...

"I see three things. First, all the masked faces that have turned to focus on me. Second, Tim is backing slowly away from me—abandoning me. Desperation pounds in my ears. Then, I see Rosa's small form laying still—too still—on the ground behind the spandex-suited men. A sob tears from my throat. If she is dead, I'm going to kill them. Every last one of them." On the run, Ivy faces humanity's dark side. Her bubble wasn't just popped, it was doused with gasoline and burned to the ground. Aunty is gone; and, though Ivy's friends are still with her, she's never been more on her own. Pravda thinks Ivy's blood can heal the world. Can Ivy count on anyone to stay the same, or will Pravda's relentless misconceptions strip away everything she has always believed?

Dressed in elegance, my hair arrayed in flawless ringlets, my makeup so fancy that I can't even find me in the mirror, I stand at the door with my heart hammering in my ears. The whole thing is ludicrous. It's the most ridiculous misunderstanding in the history of misunderstandings. It will be a weird ending to the weirdest day of my life. To be made up like a princess in a palace and then executed naked in the street, I'm so overwhelmed I can't even process it all. My stomach is flip-flopping like its on a trampoline. The baby is twisting and kicking my bladder, making me feel like I might pee my princess underpants. I keep trying to pray, to prepare myself. I'm about to stand in the presence of the Antichrist, and I feel empty, dry, and unprepared. God, help me. The sands of time are almost spent, and Ivy has never been more vulnerable. Though suffering and great danger lie in store, The Sovereign One has ordered her steps and planned her course, and He has never failed her. Heights of love and depths of peace are comforts on the road to loss and unfulfilled dreams. Getting everyone home safely is all that matters now. "But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days." Matthew 24:19 The final book in the INFECtIOUS trilogy.