"I think so. It's happened to me before too," Meche replied. "So are you going to look for more painkillers, or is there something else you're trying to find?" Meche had already been thinking about coming along if Soma was all right with it, but now she thought she'd better. For one thing, it would help to know what kinds of medicine the Institute had, and to have some on hand when--not if, Meche acknowledged grimly--they got into another fight. For another, she didn't want anyone overdosing or getting addicted to painkillers. She didn't think that was likely to be much of a danger with these girls, but it never hurt to keep an eye out.

Soma's secondhand explanation got a dismissive snort of laughter out of her. "They aren't even trying anymore, are they? That doesn't really fill me with confidence about their medical knowledge." They'd probably told the people who turned up with zombie bite marks that they'd just rolled out of bed during the night.