“This isn’t what I bargained for,” Bramford said.
“Can’t you appreciate the advantages?” Her father looked disappointed as the question hung in the air. “Well, the choice remains with you.”
Bramford walked to the doorway and stared out. A trio of chestnut-mandibled toucans, Ramphastos swainsonii, sat perched upon a long branch that slashed in front of a tangle of trees, like a restraining cordon. The birds turned their huge bills to one side and stared at him. Their croaking sounds seemed to echo Eden’s anxiousness.
Bramford began to present his argument to the feathered jury. “If even a slim possibility of reversion existed, then I assume the possibility of accelerating a transformation may also exist. Since I don’t wish to remain in this half-state, which reminds me…” His voice faltered and the toucans swung their bills to the other side. “But if I could fully adapt, perhaps I wouldn’t know the difference. Can you do it?”
“What? Speed up the adaptation?” Her father almost spilled off his stool. “Yes, of course, it is possible to optimize the procedure. However…”
Bramford pivoted to face him. “What?”
“I cannot guarantee that the subject will retain his analytical faculties. However, if we postulate acceleration, factoring in your current state of adaptation and, of course, your particular genome…”
Eden leaned forward as he hesitated. “What is it, Father?”
Bramford summed up the situation. “Either I risk death to regain my humanity or I lose it altogether and become a full-fledged animal. Is that it?”
“Very well put,” her father said proudly.
She winced at his lack of sensitivity. But if Bramford felt the sting of it, he didn’t react.
“Allow me to show you,” he added.
His fingers danced over the keyboard, trying to keep pace with his thoughts. Once more Bramford turned to study the landscape. The slump in his shoulders caused Eden a twinge of pity.
“There,” her father said, with a satisfied nod at the screen.
She edged beside him and gasped at the image of a super jaguar. Dark fur covered the large, muscular body that now walked on four legs. Mother Earth, it even had a tail. The only remnant of humanity showed in the creature’s discerning eyes.
The toucans’ piercing tumult increased. After all, she recalled, the jaguar was their most dangerous enemy.
Like a man to the gallows, Bramford took his time crossing the room. He viewed the formidable image without a word. Still, Eden saw his jaw clench. If he continued to adapt, he might not even know her. With a pang she realized how much she would miss him.
“What will it take?” Bramford said.
Her father’s voice climbed to an excited pitch. “Additional stem cells from our donor species, particularly the jaguar. I’ll also require samples from an anaconda and a harpy eagle, if we are to follow the exact pattern.”
Fear flashed across Bramford’s face. He might be superhuman, but she doubted he would survive a battle with born predators.
“I’ll get what you need,” he said, once more composed.
“Are you insane?” Eden said, jumping to her feet.
“What?”
Speechless, she watched Bramford glide up to her. Lovely, golden light fell on his muscled chest. Like a sleight of hand, the arrogant man she detested disappeared, leaving behind his primal self. Here was the one who had saved her from drowning. His touch thrilled her. His confidence inspired her.
He looked deep into her eyes. In that instant, Eden felt truly seen. The sultry sound of his breathing washed over her. Her chest grew soft and velvety. She felt herself sinking into the green, fathomless pools of his eyes.
His coarse voice filled the small room. “Did you want to say something, Eden?”
She struggled to form a sentence, to be logical. “It’s just that my father needs medical help. That should be the priority, not this ridiculous experiment. Or don’t you care?”
A lifetime seemed to pass before Bramford answered. “It must be nice to look at life so simply. But it’s more complicated than you realize.” His gaze never strayed from her, as he added, “Start making preparations, doctor.”
“You understand,” her father said. “Once the adaptation has accelerated beyond critical mass, the change will become permanent.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m never going back.”
Eden’s heart sank. Never?
AN EAR-SPLITTING din rose up around the laboratory like a hundred sirens. Eden froze. Had the FFP found them? She watched in amazement as Bramford’s body began to pulse. His eyes flared and the predator in him sprang to life. In a blur, he leapt outside.
She flew after him but stopped in the doorway. A fierce, feline growl cut through the noise. She caught a flash of him bounding through the trees, the powerful body extended, muscles rippling. The Jaguar Man, she thought, weak in the knees.
Her father hobbled near on his crutch.
“Howler monkeys, Alouatta nigerrima,” he shouted in her ear. “The loudest land animals in the world.”
Eden pressed her throbbing temples. “It’s giving me a headache.”
“Excellent bush meat. I assume Bramford will catch dinner.”
Again, a big cat’s growl pierced the air, followed by a painful squeal. Eden quivered as she pictured Bramford, lusty for the kill, ripping into the howler.
“That’s my boy,” her father said.
The monkey riot stopped as suddenly as it had begun. In its wake, Eden felt a strained silence fall between her and her father.
When he spoke, he sounded irritated. “Why did you remove your coating, Daught? You know better.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” she said. “It washed off when I fell into the river.”
“You should have stayed with the group. Lucky for you, Bramford was there to save you.” He started to shuffle back to his desk.
Yeah, lucky me.
Eden stared blankly at the jungle while, unbidden, her five-year-old self handed over a forgotten memory. Snappy music had awoken her one afternoon. Something jazzy. She had tripped into the main room, stunned to find her parents dancing. The forbidden lyrics about a beautiful, blue-eyed woman still shocked Eden.
Her father had swung her mother in a circle and laughed.
—Look, Daught, your mother’s eyes are the color of bluebells.
—Oh, John.
—But Lily. The color is exact.
Something about the incident puzzled Eden. Then the clear recollection of her mother’s cheeks, flushed with pleasure, hit her. Mother wasn’t coated! And Father, too. It was the only time she had seen them natural.
—You mustn’t tell anyone about this, Daught.
—Secrets can be fun, Eden.
For once, her parents had agreed. Was that when Eden’s deep shame began?
She spun around and marched to her father’s desk. “Why did you do it?” she demanded.
“Hmmm?” he mumbled, once more absorbed in his calculations.
“Mother was right. Fooling with nature is dangerous. You’re not some infallible god. It was wrong to twist Bramford into this savage creature.” Who’s so exciting and yet, so infuriating.
His head jerked up. “Impossible. Lily believed in my work.”
“Mother believed in a ridiculous thing called love and some stupid gentle wind that supposedly brought it into your heart. She had her head in the clouds just like you. Dreamers ruining people’s lives, her with her crazy ideas and you with your crazy experiments.”
“I don’t understand, Daught.”
“Is that all you can say?” Not even my name!
At his blank look, Eden banged out the door. She careened down the pathway, past the towering birds of paradise that seemed to mock her with their regal beauty. Veering behind the main hut, she came upon a watering hole. She collapsed in the cool, wet sand, as tears threatened to spill.
How pathetic, she thought, fighting them back. For once she’d bee
n truly seen—by a beast. No doubt, she had imagined it, just as she’d imagined a connection between them at the lake. Bramford wasn’t capable of such feelings. Then, as the memory of lying beside his hard body filled her, Eden groaned.
She just couldn’t think about him anymore.
She quickly retreated to her catalog of labels for the natural world. Dipterids—a ghost of giddy gnats spun round the glossy surface of the water like dancers whirling on a polished floor. And there, among the reeds, a cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis, stood on one spindly leg, dotting the air with its beak.
A plain wren, Thryothorus modestus, fluttered past and lit on a branch. The small brown bird’s effervescent song seemed to sneak up and hit her with a punch. How could so much beauty come in such a drab wrapping?
Nor could Een resist an intoxicating whiff of jasmine that brought a smile to her lips. So different from her leaden response to Mood Scents. Slowly, she began to relax. She cupped the inviting water in her hands. Cool and silky, it dripped between her fingers and ran down her arms. She splashed her face with a little laugh.
In the distance, the children’s high-pitched squeals mingled with deeper voices. A nauseating, burning smell floated on the air. Curious, Eden walked to the edge of the hut, hiding behind a guava tree. Several yards away, the women gathered vegetables while the children tumbled around two rows of logs that circled the fire. She spied Lorenzo adding wood to it and beside him, Bramford turning the dead howler on a spit. Her father pegged his way up the path from the lab. He was right. Bramford had caught dinner.
Eden studied him, intrigued by the startling changes. The lab pants, ripped short and split at the seams, were nothing more than a loincloth. Red scratches marked his naked torso, probably from the howler. His long hair was a knotted, wild mess. More than Bramford’s increasingly savage appearance, she detected a new, smug confidence. The big kill had increased his arrogance. As if he needed it.
Before Eden knew it, her feet propelled her towards him. She wanted to hurt him. And yet, her heart demanded something else. Look at me. See me like before.
Bramford ignored her, as she drew near. For Earth’s sake, why didn’t the beast look at her? Shaking, Eden raised a hand to slap him. He turned towards her with a lazy look. She was like a pesky gnat, buzzing around his head—nothing more. Her arm fell limp.
“It’s not ready,” he said, cocking his head towards the dead monkey.
Eden wrinkled her nose. “I won’t eat that,” she said, aiming to hurt him with her words. “I’m not an animal.”
Bramford shrugged. “Too bad. If you were, you wouldn’t be so much trouble.”
She swept past him with a frustrated huff. Pins and needles stabbed her chest. She could barely see through her anger. She slipped on a pile of Brazil nuts and fell onto a log. From the corner of her eye she caught Bramford smirking. What was wrong with her, anyway? She didn’t care about him.
Her father eased beside her and gave her an impatient look. Eden didn’t want to talk to him, either, and turned her back on both of them.
She saw Maria heading towards the fire, carrying a basket of vegetables. From the way she brushed against Lorenzo, Eden understood they were mates, although neither wore a white mark on their foreheads. Of course, with no pressure to mate, why bother marking one’s status?
Eden also noticed a peculiar glow that the couple shared. Could it possibly be evidence of love? Perhaps, she thought with growing excitement, remnants of it still existed in this untainted corner of the world.
The little girls flitted nearby but kept a wary distance from Eden. Maria called the older one Carmen. Bossy little thing. She pointed at the nuts Eden had scattered and the younger girl, named Etelvina, immediately fetched them. Her pretty, upturned mouth and soft eyes made her seem sweeter than her sister.
The girls appeared to anticipate each other’s intentions as they ran towards the pet macaw. It looked up from its perch in an avocado tree and squawked. They threw the nuts up in the air for the bird to catch. A game, Eden realized.
Lorenzo sat across from her and pointed at them.
“Mis hijas.” he said, explaining they were his daughters.
Eden nodded, surprised. The possibility of sisters hadn’t occurred to her. Of course, why limit the number of children when resources were plentiful? She saw the girls’ subtle communications with each other in a new light. Not unlike the way Austin had understood her, she recalled with a pang.
Soon, the portly tribe member joined the group. He smiled shyly at Eden.
Lorenzo introduced him as his brother. “Mi hermano Charlie.”
“Hola,” Eden said.
Like Lorenzo, he was naked except for the thin string around his hips. But no, Charlie also had red straps over his shoulders—her backpack! And the Life-Band, she hoped.
He sat down beside her, unaware he controlled Eden’s future. The little boy toddled over and draped himself on his father’s knee. Lucy scooped up her son and began to nurse him from her breast. The poor woman.
Eden couldn’t stand the swirl of emotions any longer. The soft looks between the couples, the nakedness, and the girls’ relentless laughter—it was all too much. Dizzy, she lurched towards the girls.
They began to shriek once again. “Rebecca! Rebecca!”
Maria immediately scolded them. They rattled back, something about Rebecca.
Bramford aimed his burning gaze at them. The distraught mother appealed to her brother-in-law Charlie, who shrugged off the backpack, waving it towards the children.
Her bag as bait. To distract them from the forbidden name, Eden realized.
The girls seemed to agree with a quick glance at each other. And yet, they scampered off and climbed over the fence that separated the lone hut. They disappeared around the back, confirming Eden’s suspicion that the entrance must face the jungle. But where were they going?
Bramford’s worried gaze fixed upon the hut. For once, he looked threatened.
The bag sat unguarded. Now was her chance. Get it, Eden!
She lunged, her heart firing. Just as she reached down, however, Carmen ran past and snatched it. Her sister offered Charlie a wooden carving, maybe a small bird.
He took it and thanked his nieces. “Gracias, sobrinas.”
The girls skipped off and threw the bag to the macaw. Playing catch with salvation, Eden thought. After several tries, the bird nipped it in his beak and tossed it onto a branch where it lodged.
Now what?
“A Huaorani custom,” her father explained. “A gift is always returned with a gift.”
“But who gave them the carving?” Eden said, looking towards the gated hut. “Is someone there? Is it Rebecca?”
“Forget it,” Bramford said, the threat clear.
Now Eden was sure someone or something hid there. If she discovered the truth, she might gain leverage over him. Her legs worked like pistons as she hurried towards it.
“Stop!” Bramford said.
She began to run, calling out. “Hello! Rebecca?”
Behind her, she heard Bramford’s pounding feet. His furious growl ripped into her. She screamed as he grabbed hold of her. The blood seemed to drain out of her, and she fell limp.
“Eden!”
But why did Bramford sound anguished? He didn’t care.
Then a dark curtain dropped over her world.
EDEN’S EYES flickered open. She wondered why Bramford cradled her in his arms. A wave of relief seemed to pass through him. She must have fainted, she realized. She drew her arms round his neck and cuddled close. His tender purr lit a flame in her. How could such an ornery animal sound so tame?
Maria approached, insisting he bring Eden inside the main hut. There, she pointed. “Ahí.”
“No,” Bramford said, carrying Eden towards the jungle.
Maria blocked his path and said that Eden was sick. “Ella está enferma.”
His confused gaze fell on Eden, then cut over to the hut. To her surprise, she glimps
ed something in his expression that she knew all too well—suffering. What ghosts lay hidden in that place, she wondered.
She thought Maria said, “It’s time.”
A hard edge returned to Bramford’s face.
“You’ve done everything in your power to destroy our mission,” he told Eden. “If it weren’t for your father, I would have farmed you out long ago. You’re a blind and selfish girl who cannot see the greater good.”
“And you do?” she said, jerking her arms away. “With your power-hungry plans for domination?”
“I’m warning you.”
He began to shake with a deep, angry rumbling. His chest heaved against her. Eden felt torn by rage and desire. What strange phenomenon held her in its grip and obliterated all reason?
“Please, stop,” her father called, hobbling near.
Bramford put her on the ground. “This is your last chance. I’ve got better things to do than look after you.”
“Then let me go,” Eden said.
“No one’s stopping you. Leave if you want.”
His offer cut her deep. She silently watched him slip like a shadow through the trees. Moody bastard.
She laid her hand on her chest, aware of an awful ache. Had she caught The Heat? Did that explain this madness?
Maria took Eden’s arm and helped her across the clearing to the main hut. Behind her, Eden heard the slow thump of her father’s crutch on the porch steps. Inside, the one-room hut had the lonely air of a long vacancy. Thick dusk layered the wooden floor, though there were recent tracks. Cobwebs hung from the rafters like lace curtains. A protective mesh of woven reeds, unlike any in the other huts, covered a window in the back wall. Overgrown brush nearly blocked a view of the watering hole.
Eden took in a family-like grouping of hammocks—two adult sizes, one much smaller. There were even three small stools around a low table that had fallen on its side. Clearly, this once had belonged to a family. So it couldn’t be Bramford’s residence.
Her father came up beside her and pointed the tip of his crutch at a hammock. “They’re made from hemp,” he said. “Quite comfortable, I discovered last night.”