by Davis, J. Q.
“Will I ever die?” Eric came to mind. If Tristen didn’t stop him, could Eric have ended my life right then and there? Or would he have just continued choking me without any end results? I could almost see the confusion on Eric’s face when he realized after ten minutes that I was still alive. Another ten minutes would pass, and then he would become frustrated at the fact that I just wouldn’t die already.
Dr. Roberson cocked his head to the side and frowned. “You don’t like the idea of being immortal.”
I looked down at my hands again. Although his statement was true, I felt guilty for feeling this way. Obviously, he was very proud of his discovery of eternal life. Now here I was, allowing him to feed me and give me a place to stay and take care of me, and I wasn’t completely on board with his amazing discovery. I was sure he felt offended.
“Immortality is not for everyone. It is something that should be earned. An offering that should be given to people who deserve it. A person who has done wrong in their life, things that cannot be forgiven such as murder or acts of violence, should not be given a second opportunity to live. But a person like you…or Ian or Maddi, a person who deserves to have a future, should have the chance to live it out. You all were threatened to be taken out of this world much too young.”
“But what about Estelle? She was already so much older.”
“When I approached Estelle regarding Serum Z, I was taking my chances. I wanted to find someone who was nearing the end. And it just so happened that she wasn’t ready go.”
Well, she was now.
He came to sit next to me. “Living forever isn’t about living forever, Grace. It means that there is a prospect of doing every single thing we ever wanted do in life, and then some, without the threat of having it all taken away suddenly.”
I had a gnawing feeling that Dr. Roberson was trying to convince me. “But, what if that person doesn’t want to live forever? Is there a way to end it, or are we just stuck here?”
I didn’t know why I was so against a never-ending life. I wasn’t a very religious person. It wasn’t like I knew for sure or even truly believed that there was a heaven up there for my soul to fly up to. I didn’t know if there was a golden gate where you stood in line and waited to enter before you could meet the Creator of all things.
But it just didn’t seem like it was the natural order of things. It didn’t seem right. What could you possibly do with hundreds and hundreds of years under your belt? You would have seen and done everything you possibly could before it just got too boring. Or worse. What if you ended up alone because you were the only one out of your friends and family, the people that you truly cared about, to have Serum Z in your bloodstream?
He slid his glasses closer to his face. “A subject injected with Serum Z could live indefinitely, provided that the subject does not come into contact with flames or combustion, or machinery, tools, and anything that could cause decapitation.”
His answer was so textbook, but I understood exactly what he was saying. “So in other words, if I catch on fire or someone cuts my head off, then I’m done,” I confirmed.
“Yes.”
“So, I can get shot in the heart or choked without dying?” I could suddenly feel the grip of Eric’s hands around my neck.
“Essentially, yes. Your heart will stop from the bullet, or you could stop breathing from strangulation, but after a minute or two, your heart will start beating and you will start breathing again.”
I opened my mouth to ask another question, and then realized that I was fresh out. He stumped me. I didn’t know what to think. I was the alien in a science fiction film. The boogeyman in a horror movie. The jerk chasing after you that just wouldn’t die, no matter how many times you shoot him with a shotgun. I was freaking Jason from Friday the 13th!
“You should really go get some rest. It’s getting very late,” he said as he moved over to the door to open it.
I stood up, thoughts of my immortal future reeling in my mind. I began to walk out of the door back toward my room when I felt a slight tug behind me.
“Grace, don’t forget your IV stand.”
I turned and grabbed it without looking at him. I just needed some sleep.
~~~~
I took a deep breath in before opening my eyes. I stared up at the ceiling. I didn’t have dreams as much as I used to anymore. I guess that would be a good thing considering how morbid and real they felt just a couple of weeks ago.
I watched Tristen sleep for a bit last night before finally dozing off. Maybe that gave my mind some kind of peace.
Muffling sounds of people’s voices came from the other side of the closed door to my room.
I glanced over at the chair Tristen was sleeping in, only to find that he wasn’t in it. Hmm…maybe he got hungry and went to find something to eat.
Speaking of something to eat.
As if on cue, a knock came from the door before a plumply-built nurse walked in wheeling a tray of food.
“Good morning, Grace,” she smiled. “How did you sleep?”
I maneuvered myself into a sitting position. “I slept okay. Do you know where Tristen went off to?”
“I’ve got some delicious breakfast for you. You are really gonna love this,” she said enthusiastically, wheeling the tray closer to me and placing it just above my thighs. Did she even hear what I asked her?
“Um…thank you,” I mumbled.
She uncovered the tray, and it was as if I was suddenly in some kind of trance.
The plates were piled high; slabs of raw meat on one, links of slightly brown sausage on another, and a bowl of what looked like tomato soup with noodles sent my senses into overdrive.
The sight of what was before me was one thing, but the smell was something different altogether. It was without a doubt the same exact smell from the night I ended my beloved friend Phoebe’s life. It was sweet and bitter, smooth and rich.
I couldn’t wait a minute longer to tear into the irresistible cuisine that stared back at me. It was calling to me, whispering an order for me to take my first bite. And when I finally did, when the first tepid piece rested on my tongue, I drifted off into that faraway place again. That land where nothing else mattered, where every single thing in my life seemed like a million miles away from my reach, and I didn’t care.
The fact that it was lukewarm did not bother me a bit. I felt the velvety texture in every chew, sliding down my throat before finding its home inside of my ravenous stomach.
The volume of the sounds around me slowly began to rise, allowing me to hear the drip of the IV splashing down in the bag, pages turning on the nurse’s desk outside my room, and footsteps crunching on the dry grass in the courtyard outside.
My eyes were closed, but I could see tiny, glowing foreign particles floating around as if it were being viewed through a microscope.
My skin started tingling with the mixture of the warmth from the light streaming in through the window and the cold of the air flowing out of the vents of the Z lab.
And before I knew it, I was reaching for food that wasn’t there anymore.
I opened my eyes to find Dr. Roberson standing at the foot of my bed, reading my chart.
“How was your breakfast?” he asked without looking up.
I gently pushed the tray to the side and adjusted myself. “It was…”
I couldn’t find the words.
“Filling?” he finished.
“Yes.”
“Good. We served you something different today. Something that your body really needed.”
“What was it?” I asked, hesitant to know the answer. When I first had the boar, I thought it definitely came from a human. I thought it tasted almost the same. But what I’d just eaten…it certainly wasn’t boar. It was better. A million times better.
So was it human?
I was still firm on my decision to have a human-free diet. And although I felt like there was something…off about this place and Dr. Roberson, I didn’t think h
e would be feeding us human meat. Number one confirmed that, and I trusted him more than anyone else here. Maybe what I’d just consumed was a different animal. A monkey or something (I wouldn’t have wanted to eat a cute little monkey, but whatever). Or maybe it was from the ocean.
“Oh, well it’s a special kind of meat only found here on the island. It provides a lot of nutrients and proteins, exactly what your unique circumstances require,” he explained.
He walked over to my IV stand and squeezed the bag. He ran a hand down the line that led to the needle inside the top of my hand. “I think you are about ready to get back to Laguna.”
I was relieved. The Z lab was not one of my favorite places so far. As a matter of fact, I would have liked to stay as far away as I could whenever it wasn’t testing time.
Besides, I wanted to get back to Tristen.
“Do you know where Tristen is?” I asked. He had to be waiting for me in my suite.
Dr. Roberson didn’t answer right away. Instead, he worked on getting the IV out of my hand.
Once he was done, he stood next to my bed and stared at me a moment. I was beginning to feel like he was going to tell me something horrible, like I only had a day to live. I was against immortality, but I wasn’t ready to go just yet.
“Grace,” he began. I held my breath. “Unfortunately, Tristen had to leave.”
He what?
“What? Why?” That didn’t make any sense. How could he just pick up and leave? It wasn’t like he lived on the next island over. It took days to get back home, and he wouldn’t just leave without telling me goodbye.
“It seems that his family no longer approved of his visit here. I had a lengthy conversation with his mother last night, which ended in our decision to get him on the next boat out as soon as we could.”
There was sincerity in Dr. Roberson’s expression. His tone was soft and almost at a whisper.
I stared down at my fidgeting fingers, trying to understand why his family would make him leave so suddenly. He was only here a day. If they didn’t want him here, why would they have let him come in the first place?
Dr. Roberson pulled a folded up piece of paper out of the pocket of his lab coat. “He wanted me to give you this.”
I stared at it as he handed it to me, hesitant to take it from him.
But that hesitation only lasted a minute.
I snatched the piece of paper out of his hands and opened it. I didn’t care if Dr. Roberson was standing beside me.
Grace,
I watched you sleep a little before I had to go. You looked so peaceful and I didn’t want to wake you. My parents are making me leave, but I’ll be back soon. I will text you when I get to the States.
Tristen
I didn’t know what to say.
I felt Dr. Roberson’s warm hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Grace. Maybe in the next few weeks, we can contact his family and ask if he could visit then.”
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know if I was pissed or hurt. Pissed that he would leave me a letter rather than waking me up to tell me goodbye…or hurt that he would leave me a letter rather than waking me up to tell me goodbye. It was all the same, and it all just didn’t make a lick of sense.
I fought back the tears that were stinging my eyes.
“Well, your clothes are in the bag on the chair. I will leave you to get dressed so that you can get out of here and back to your room. Nurse Irene will be in to go over your new food intake schedule. Now, it’s important for you to follow this schedule,” he said sternly as he looked down at me.
I nodded.
“And as for the food, we will have a special meal prepared specifically for you every day.”
Great. Not only was all the attention on me because I was “Patient Zero”, but now I get special treatment. I imagined this would only make me look like some kind of diva to my peers.
I nodded again, and he checked my vitals before leaving the room. I got out of my bed and headed toward the window.
I stared out into the courtyard, scanning it thoroughly and hoping desperately to spot a sexy, wavy-haired Tristen anywhere. Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe this was a weird joke Tristen was playing. Maybe he jumped ship and swam his way back to me because he didn’t want to give into his family’s demands.
But there was no Tristen. Anywhere. Only my fellow Zombrids sitting at a picnic table, laughing and chatting as if nothing was even wrong.
Didn’t they know that the first guy I ever cared about just left me!
There was a knock at my door before Nurse Irene walked in holding a folder.
“Okay, Grace. Let’s get you back to your suite.”
She went over all of the discharge paperwork with me. Apparently, my food intake schedule consisted of five meals a day, including at least two snacks. If for some reason I missed a meal, I was to report to Number One and he would make sure I got what I needed. If I began to feel any symptoms, such as increased fatigue, fainting, nose bleeds, ear bleeds, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or migraines, I had to report to the Z lab for immediate attention and treatment.
My testing was now moved up from once every two weeks to twice every two weeks. Lovely.
When she was finished giving me my sentence, I quickly got dressed so that I could get the hell out of there to check my emails and my phone.
I stepped out into the courtyard, feeling the refreshing warm breeze flow through my hair.
Physically, I felt like a million bucks! All five of my senses were heightened at the highest they could go. My stomach was full and satisfied; the same exact way it felt after I…did what I did to Phoebe.
It was still hard to admit I’d eaten her at times.
But as I practically jogged across the compound, my mind was moving much faster. The tears were still threatening to surge out of my eyes. I just couldn’t believe that Tristen would leave a note instead of telling me goodbye face-to-face.
“Hey, Grace! Wanna come hang out with us?” I heard Destiny’s voice coming from my left, but I didn’t stop.
I shook my head no harshly and continued to be on my way. I didn’t have time to stop. I had to call Tristen.
Number One was standing at the door as I approached my room. Before I could twist the knob to enter, he gently grabbed my arm.
“Grace, is everything okay?” he asked. He was clearly concerned.
I nodded, afraid to look up at him because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to hold back the tears any longer.
I stared down at the knob, waiting for him to get the hint and just let go. I felt his heartfelt stare on my face. He wasn’t stupid. He knew something was wrong. And it bothered him.
He finally let go and I instantaneously pushed open my door and shut it behind me. I lunged over to my computer, holding back the profanity that nearly escaped my throat when it decided to take its sweet ass time to load up.
And when it finally did, there was nothing.
Damn it!
Now I was more pissed than anything. Where was my phone?
I rummaged through my purse, throwing everything that was not my phone out all over the bed.
Got it!
I unlocked the screen. No missed calls. No messages.
I dialed his number. Straight to voicemail.
Taking a deep breath in and exhaling a big breath out, I plopped down on the edge of my bed, allowing the crushing blow of defeat wash over me.
Chapter 8
The Italian
It just didn’t add up. He was here for barely a day. He said that his mom was okay with him being here. That his mom talked to my mo—
I interrupted my own thought and dialed my mother’s number. I wasn’t very happy about giving into speaking with her, but I needed to know if she’d heard anything.
“Gracie?” I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Mom, have you heard anything from Tristen or his parents?” I wasn’t beating around the bush.
“Is everything okay, honey?”
> “Yes. Just…have you heard anything from them?”
“Well, no. Last time I spoke to Mrs. Miles was the day Tristen left to be with you. Is he not there? What is going on?” She was concerned.
Shit!
“Nothing. He…he had to go. And I was just wondering if you’d spoken to his mom because apparently she didn’t want him here anymore.”
“I don’t know what to say, Gracie. Maybe she just decided against him being there. Would you like me to call her and find out more information?” She was being super nice. Overly nice, even. I could hear it in her tone…she missed me. But that didn’t matter right now. And I certainly wasn’t ready to make amends with someone who lied to me my whole life.
But my heart stung…because I missed her too.
“No. No, don’t worry about it. He just left this morning, so I’m sure he’ll call as soon as he can.”
“Okay, honey. How are you feeling? Is everything okay? I’m sorry that he left, Gracie. I know that it’s hard to be alone. When your father left me, he didn’t even say goodbye…”
My father? Oh, she was pulling out all the stops. He left us when I was little, and she never spoke about Jack. I would ask, but she would change the subject. She must be trying to give me what I want in exchange for forgiveness.
As much as I wanted to hear about my father, now was not the time.
“Mom,” I interrupted.
She paused for a moment before changing the subject. “I’m going to talk with Mark about maybe getting me over to you. You know, so you won’t be alone.”
“Mom, I’m fine. Everything is okay. And I’ve been busy doing things,” I lied. “I really don’t think now is a good time for you to come.” I lied some more. It would have been a perfect time for her to come.
Tristen just left, and I was alone. Again. I needed her more than I wanted to admit.
“Gracie, are you sure? I can be there right away.”
“It’s okay,” I took a deep breath and tried to fight back the emotions that were getting ready to spill over. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.”
