“You said you wanted to be mine. I thought—”
“I know. I’m sorry, but I’m not ready.”
“Will you ever be?”
“Yes,” I said with a feeling of uncertainty that made me hate myself.
“When?” He turned to face me. “When will you be ready to be my wife? I need to know.”
“Don’t pressure me for an answer I don’t have.”
He turned away from me again. “What is it that’s holding you back? A ceremony? A white dress? Tell me what you need, and you’ll have it.”
“There’s only one thing I need.”
“I’m prepared to give you anything.”
“Then give me time,” I said, knowing that wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
“Time?” David looked at me and gave a short laugh that ended too abruptly to be sincere. He nodded, looking off to one side, then rose. “Right. Three months ago you wouldn’t have given this so much thought. Now, you seem distant, and you don’t want to talk about commitment. What did I do to push you away?”
“You didn’t do anything. It’s just that—David, I had a lot of plans before I found out that I wasn’t like everyone else. I always thought that I would make something of myself. Go to college. Have a job.”
“No one’s keeping you from those things. There’s no rule that says that if you’re married you can’t attend university. I want you to.”
“Yes, but the thing is…” I paused.
“What? What’s the problem?”
“I’m only eighteen.”
David took in a deep breath. “Yes—yes, you are, aren’t you?” He rose to his feet, turned to the door, and walked out.
“Wait...”
I debated on whether to go after him. How could I tell him I was afraid that marrying him now would be a mistake because I was going to let myself be killed by the Council so that he wouldn’t turn into a monster? How could I tell him that I might have feelings for his best friend? I wanted to be fair to him. I wanted to know that there was no ounce of doubt when I agreed to marry him. On the other hand, I couldn’t risk losing him. I loved him. I knew that.
I tiptoed out of the room and ran down the stairs, where I heard his footsteps echoing. From the staircase, I saw David at the main entrance with his hand on the door. He pulled something out of his pajama pocket, looked at it, and hurled it into a vase.
“David…”
He turned to glace at me for a moment, before turning back to look at the door, but that was enough time for me to see the hurt in his eyes.
“I need time to think, Isis. I don’t know what to make of this anymore.” He walked out.
“Wait!”
I ran toward the door, but by the time I reached the driveway, David’s car was turning onto the street. Why was he leaving if he knew he was in no condition to step out of the house? I felt a knot in my stomach as I walked through the front door. All I could do was hope that I hadn’t lost him.
Halfway up the stairs, I caught sight of the vase. I hurried back down to the foyer and reached into the base of the porcelain container. I touched a small, solid object and pulled it out.
My heart felt like it had taken a nosedive into a dry pool when I saw what I was holding. I was an idiot. David was prepared to give me everything, but I, being the dense, immature child he probably saw me as, was not.
I placed the gold ring, encrusted with three oval rubies, on my finger. I didn’t deserve that ring. I didn’t deserve David, either.
After wiping my tears of frustration away, I removed the gold band and placed it back in the vase. I hated myself because I would never be his unless I was human, and that is one thing I had never been and never would be. I sat down at the bottom of the staircase. I was tired of everything. I didn’t know a damn thing about life or relationships. I was doing everything wrong. Crying, however, was something I could do well and had become a habit that I wasn’t attempting to break anytime soon. So, as I had done when I got lost at the mall when I was five years old, I cried, because that’s how I felt now at eighteen. I felt lost.
I’d been sitting on the staircase for a long time, when the front door opened and David walked in. He knelt next to me and placed his forehead on mine, his hands holding the curve of my jaw. His face was hot and his cheeks were covered in pink patches. His puffy eyes were red and glossy.
“Isis,” he whispered. “Time is something that we may not have anymore, and I don’t want to lose you to it. But I’ll give you all the time you need, my lovely.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ve been thinking, and I want to set a date.”
“A wedding date?”
I nodded. “But not till after the transformation. I don’t know how that’ll turn out.”
“We have to keep our hopes high. We’ll get through this. And you’ll have your happily ever after. I promise.”
I wanted his words to be comforting, but so far, I’d learned that hope was something that only existed in fairytales. I couldn’t live off hope anymore. I needed to take action before our transformation was complete.
“You’re right,” I said, with a smile I didn’t mean. “We’ll be okay.”
The pavement was wet as we walked uphill through an alley. A husky man wearing an apron stepped out of a gray door to deposit a bundle of plastic bags into a large trash bin. He kicked a cat out of his way as he returned to his building. I frowned at him as I heard the pained wails coming from the poor feline. We had walked for a block or two when Galen stopped in front of a pair of heavy steel doors.
“This is the place.” Galen knocked.
A tall guy with sunglasses—almost as tall as Galen—opened the door. He sized us up quickly.
“Doc’s busy,” he said. “Come back later.”
“We have an appointment,” Galen said.
“I said he’s busy.”
The palms of my hands started to sweat. I hated confrontations.
“That’s okay. We can come back,” I said.
“We’re not leaving.” David looked at the man behind the door. “We came to see the doctor, and we’re going to see him.”
Galen took a step forward, but instead of moving out of the way, the tall guy crossed his arms and tightened his jaw. David pushed me back and attempted to take a step forward. I grabbed his arm, pulling on it to keep him from joining Galen. I was thankful when the door opened wider and another man appeared. He looked us up and down, twice, and then placed a leather fedora over his black hair. The man pulled out a cigarette case from his linen coat.
“You’d make a good model.” He lit his cigarette. His head jerked in our direction. “Give ‘em my card,” he instructed the tall guy. “I got a job for you, if you’re interested.”
The tall guy stretched his arm, holding the card out to me. I reached for it, but he pulled the paper away and laughed. He gave the business card to David instead. For a second, I thought I heard my self-esteem whimper.
The man with the fedora and the cigarette puffed a ring of smoke and started walking. A car pulled up and another guy, just as tall as the first, stepped out of the car and opened the door for the two men. The fedora man lifted the hand that held the cigarette as a farewell gesture before he stepped into the car.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” a voice echoed from behind the steel doors. Out stepped a man with strands of long, greying hair and a goatee. His lightning bolt earring was a bit large for his earlobe. He wore a simple white t-shirt under a white, short-sleeve lab coat that was too small for him. His khaki pants were folded up to his ankles, exposing his bare and grimy feet. Was this the genius scientist that was going to fix me? I shot Galen a worried look, and he smiled in return.
“What business does…” David glanced at the name on the card, “Gío Carboné have with you?”
“None. He’s a collector,” the doctor said. “Let’s get started. This way to my lab.”
“What does he collect? Bodies?” I snorted, as we walked into the
building.
The doctor paused his step and looked at me in surprise. “Rarities, mostly.” He blinked several times. “I’m sorry. I just realized I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Doctor Tobias Gunn. I already know Mr. Galen Chios, so that would make you Mrs. Isis Chios,” he shifted his stare to David, “wife to Mr. David Chios, who I’ve only met over the phone. Am I right?”
I shook my head. “Oh, I’m not—”
“Yes,” Galen spoke over me. “That’s right.”
Gunn shook our hands. “I’d like to thank you for your generous donation, and be assured that, as you’ve asked, your anonymity will be kept.”
“About that, Dr. Gunn,” Galen said. “We’d like to contribute further funding to your research.”
The scientist clapped his hands. “Excellent!”
“To be clear, we’d like to become your exclusive and prime source of funding,” David added, detailing the condition of the deal.
“Exclusive?” The doctor blinked. I gathered it was a nervous tick. “That could be very costly. Are you sure?”
Galen slipped out a piece of paper from his back pocket and handed it to Dr. Gunn. “Will this cover one year’s worth of research?”
Gunn covered his mouth with his free hand and made a sound like a mouse that made me giggle. David elbowed me. The doctor folded the check and placed it in his shirt pocket.
“I’m at your family’s disposal twenty-four hours a day,” Gunn said. “And I’m not just saying that. I don’t sleep much, but even if I did sleep, which I wish I would, you could count on me, sir… err… sirs and madam.”
“Thank you,” the brothers said.
“Let’s get started then.” Gunn turned his back to us and walked in the direction of a wall of smooth steel.
I laughed softly when I saw the image on the back of the doctor’s lab coat. It was a picture of a dark human silhouette wrapped in a colorful human DNA chain. Above the picture, the doctor’s research lab’s name read T.G. Genetics Research Center & Laboratories. Below the picture was his slogan, “We’ll unzip your genes if you let us.”
When we reached the end of the hall, I saw that it was three panels that formed the wall. Gunn tapped a clear square plate that lit up in neon blue upon his touch. He withdrew a cotton swab from his lab coat pocket, wiped the inside of his cheek with it, and then dabbed saliva on the panel. The light on the small board turned green and the middle plate of the wall slid open with a whoosh, revealing the laboratory. Though it seemed like a pretty gross access key, I had to admire the doctor for his ingenious design.
“After you,” the doctor said, dropping the cotton swab back into his pocket.
The door slid shut behind us, creating a light wave of air. I cringed, thinking of how many times a day he used the same piece of cotton. Then a thought occurred to me, how had Gemini managed to break into the lab without smearing Gunn’s spit over the access panel?
I scanned the laboratory for windows, but found nothing. What I did see were microscopes, surgical tools, large machines, small medical equipment, two examination tables, and multitudes of steel tables. One of the larger machines was emitting an irritating beep.
The scientist led us to one of the many tables. I gawked at a tray full of sharp metal rods that lay side by side.
“Are you comfortable with needles, Mrs. Chios?” Gunn asked.
“Not anymore.”
David took one of the syringes from the tray that Gunn was holding. Gunn squealed like a mouse again.
“No touching,” Gunn said. “These are sterile.” He took the needle from David and flung it into a small trash bin displaying a biohazard warning.
“Dr. Gunn, there’s another issue to discuss before you begin any procedures with the lady,” David said.
“Of course.”
Dr. Gunn set the tray on a lab table and stood in front of David with his arms behind his back. Galen was preoccupied with the doctor’s microscopes.
“I might’ve contracted the illness that’s attacking my wife.”
“If it’s viral, it’s not uncommon since you’re in close contact with each other as a couple.” The doctor walked to a drawer next to me and pulled out two hospital gowns. “You’ll have to remove all articles of clothing and accessories you may be wearing. Follow me, please.” Gunn led us to a door in the corner of the laboratory that I hadn’t noticed before. “Go ahead. There’s room in there for both of you.”
I glanced at Galen, and then at David. David opened his mouth to speak, but the doctor opened the door and pushed us both into the room. It was a small bathroom.
“No time to waste,” Gunn said and closed the door behind us.
It was large enough to fit two people in the small room, but not spacious enough for two people to move around. The showerhead was only three feet away from the toilet bowl and there was a white sink and wall mirror adjacent to it.
“Can you face the other way?”
“Why? Are you embarrassed?” David asked, and I shrugged. “Fine.”
We turned in opposite directions. I faced the shower and hung the gown from a silver hook on the wall. As we undressed, I found the space we had was much tighter than I anticipated, and we elbowed each other a few times in the process. I kicked my garments to the corner of the shower and grabbed the gown off the hook. I wrapped the gown’s strings around me and overlapped the back opening, making sure that I wasn’t exposed.
“I’m done,” I said.
“So am I.”
We turned to look at each other, wearing the white and light blue print bed dresses. I whistled, seeing how the hem of David’s gown was high up on his thigh.
“Sexy legs you got there.”
David shrugged. “I work out.”
“That’s trendy of you.”
I lifted my clothes from the floor, rolled them into a ball and turned to look at David whose hand was already gripping the knob. I waited for him to open the door, but he just stood there with the silver handle in his grip.
“Are you nervous?” I asked, placing my hand on his over the doorknob.
“Yes.”
“Me, too.” I looked up at him. “I’m sorry you have to go through this.”
“I’m not regretting my decision, if that’s what you think.”
“I know,” I said. “But what’s keeping you from opening the door?”
“As much as I try not to worry,” David tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, “I’m afraid that this doctor may tell me something that I don’t want to hear.”
“Like what?”
“That I may lose you. That I won’t be able to give you the things I promised. I can’t compete with this transformation.”
My heart plummeted to my bare feet. I knew that what David had said would happen with or without the doctor’s diagnosis. In the end, he would lose me, and I would lose him. The determination to turn myself over to the Council had only grown stronger the previous night, seeing him bleed and convulse. It was the start of his transformation. David might not have had the power to control the change, but I held the key to save him from turning into the bloodthirsty Creatura from my dreams. And it would be over my dead body that I’d let that bitch have him.
“Don’t worry.” I forced out one of my fake smiles. “Everything will fall into place, and we’ll be fine. Well take it one day at a time. As for today, let’s finish this.”
***
Dr. Gunn extracted several vials of blood from my arm, and then directed me to an MRI machine. The loud humming noise that it produced made the claustrophobia almost intolerable inside the tube. I kept my eyes closed during the scan and focused on breathing, trying to block out the sound. At last, the device ejected the sliding table, and I was freed from the cylinder. I opened my eyes and found Galen smirking at me, standing next to the machine.
He put his finger over his lips and jerked his head in the direction of the doctor who was gawking at a curved syringe in front of his nose.
“The docto
r is having problems trying to draw blood from your husband.”
“Oh no.” I panicked. “He’ll know he’s not mortal.”
“Like a bent needle hasn’t raised his suspicions already?”
“Well, don’t just stand there. Do something about it.”
“In a minute,” Galen said, looking at David and the doctor. “Let’s see what Gunn does next. Look, there he goes again. Nope, that needle isn’t working either. Uh oh… He broke it this time. I can’t believe he’s reaching for a third. What a moron! I don’t know about you, but if he keeps this up, I’m going to laugh.”
“It’s not funny.” I sat up.
“Galen.” David shot his brother a bothered look. “Give the doctor a hand, would you?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Galen took an object out of his pocket and walked to the scientist. I slipped off the bed and followed him.
“What’s this?” Gunn held a small glass tube with a silver rectangular sheet in it that ended in the shape of an isosceles triangle.
“A blade,” David told him. “Your needles aren’t even capable of breaking the top layer of my skin.” David took the tube from Gunn’s hand and opened it, sliding the sliver of metal onto his open palm. “This is the only way you can have the blood cultures that you need.”
“Mr. Chios and… other Mr. Chios,” Gunn began, “I have a feeling you’ve left out a lot of information that I’ll need in order to continue this study.” Gunn reached for the blade.
“No,” David pulled his hand away. “You mustn’t touch it with your bare hands. The blade will slice right through you. It needs an attachment.”
“Allow me,” Galen took the blade and mounted it onto a small metal rod, transforming it into a scalpel. Then he took David’s wrist and pressed the point of the triangle into the middle of his brother’s limb.
“That’s deep enough.” David winced. A thin, red stream of blood slid over the side of David’s arm and down to his elbow.
“Finish your procedure,” Galen said. “And make it quick. It won’t be long before the lesion closes. ”