instead. “It doesn’t matter. You’ll do worse things than eat. Just so you know, I have no idea how long one can function. I’ve never fed any of you until you were sated. I don’t know if there are enough animals in the state for that feat.” His attempt at humor fell into the room with a plop.
I didn’t laugh. And Heather was close enough to shock she could have passed out on her feet.
The silence stretched out magnified by discomfort with the company we had to keep. Heather’s hand wasn’t far from my own. I had the sudden urge to see if my senses had dulled with the return of the color. Gray was unattractive, but my nerves had been a hundred times more sensitive.
“ So who is Travis Duncan?” I’d never get all the answers I wanted, but I had to start somewhere.
Dominic scowled and he stepped toward me with a threat in his raised fist. “He’s a research scientist at the university. He’s an idiot who lacks imagination. His wife has more brains than he does.” Dominic’s face flushed and his breathing quickened. “How do you know him?”
“ I don’t.” I pointed at his boxes. “His name is all over the boxes you had to save.”
He looked behind him, shifting to hide the boxes from my view. “Duncan doesn’t matter.”
Dominic’s denial reassured me that Dr. Duncan was exactly the opposite. He was important to Dominic’s plan. I just didn’t know how.
Heather coughed behind me. She needed to get to safety. But was it safer in the city than where I was? And how had Dominic gotten the okay to experiment on humans? I focused on returning to the conversation. Answers would help Heather… and maybe me. The possibilities the fading gray in my skin represented were limitless and I needed to know more. “Don’t you have to perform some kind of testing and get government approval or something?”
Dominic laughed at me – again. “It’s not like I’m selling this crap in the pharmacies or over-the counter, Paully. And I haven’t had time to do a test study. Think of it this way,” he held out his hands, “you’re my test studies. You should be proud.”
Rage filled me. I clenched my fists at my side. I was what? A damn guinea pig? “You bastard. You don’t even care. That’s why you never infected yourself. You didn’t know exactly what it would do to you. Even your own dad got less effort or care than a lab rat.” I shook my head. I wanted to kill him. Eat him alive. Or worse – spread the virus to him. In fact… “So everyone we bite that doesn’t die becomes like us?”
“ I’m not sure, yet.” He pointed at Heather. “That’s why I use the girls. I give them to the men locked in confinement and test to see how long each one lasts. The girl in the locker room is the first one I’ve ever seen torn apart that bad and still functioning. Another test I’ve started involves how long the hormones last in the boys after they’ve been infected. At first you’re all about sex and food, but at some point you become focused only on food. It’s hard to pinpoint the time frame this occurs, so I use pretty girls and ask the guys if they’d like to screw them or eat them. So far, it’s been both.” He smiled. “Entertaining, but not very informative.” He tilted his head. “You, however, Paul, continue to defy the norm. Not once have you given in to either your hormones or your hunger. A locker room full of naked girls? And you haven’t eaten in days?” He shook his head. “I have no idea how you’re doing it.”
“ Have you tried it on dead girls before?” Heather startled me. Her pale face set, she peered around my arm at him and tried to move beside me, but I pushed her back. She glared at me, but stayed.
Professor-condescension plastered across Dominic’s face. He tilted his head to the side and folded his arms. “Of course I have. I knew what she was going to do.” He pointed his finger out the door. “I tried hypnotizing her, but the mind was already
I didn’t laugh. And Heather was close enough to shock she could have passed out on her feet.
The silence stretched out magnified by discomfort with the company we had to keep. Heather’s hand wasn’t far from my own. I had the sudden urge to see if my senses had dulled with the return of the color. Gray was unattractive, but my nerves had been a hundred times more sensitive.
“ So who is Travis Duncan?” I’d never get all the answers I wanted, but I had to start somewhere.
Dominic scowled and he stepped toward me with a threat in his raised fist. “He’s a research scientist at the university. He’s an idiot who lacks imagination. His wife has more brains than he does.” Dominic’s face flushed and his breathing quickened. “How do you know him?”
“ I don’t.” I pointed at his boxes. “His name is all over the boxes you had to save.”
He looked behind him, shifting to hide the boxes from my view. “Duncan doesn’t matter.”
Dominic’s denial reassured me that Dr. Duncan was exactly the opposite. He was important to Dominic’s plan. I just didn’t know how.
Heather coughed behind me. She needed to get to safety. But was it safer in the city than where I was? And how had Dominic gotten the okay to experiment on humans? I focused on returning to the conversation. Answers would help Heather… and maybe me. The possibilities the fading gray in my skin represented were limitless and I needed to know more. “Don’t you have to perform some kind of testing and get government approval or something?”
Dominic laughed at me – again. “It’s not like I’m selling this crap in the pharmacies or over-the counter, Paully. And I haven’t had time to do a test study. Think of it this way,” he held out his hands, “you’re my test studies. You should be proud.”
Rage filled me. I clenched my fists at my side. I was what? A damn guinea pig? “You bastard. You don’t even care. That’s why you never infected yourself. You didn’t know exactly what it would do to you. Even your own dad got less effort or care than a lab rat.” I shook my head. I wanted to kill him. Eat him alive. Or worse – spread the virus to him. In fact… “So everyone we bite that doesn’t die becomes like us?”
“ I’m not sure, yet.” He pointed at Heather. “That’s why I use the girls. I give them to the men locked in confinement and test to see how long each one lasts. The girl in the locker room is the first one I’ve ever seen torn apart that bad and still functioning. Another test I’ve started involves how long the hormones last in the boys after they’ve been infected. At first you’re all about sex and food, but at some point you become focused only on food. It’s hard to pinpoint the time frame this occurs, so I use pretty girls and ask the guys if they’d like to screw them or eat them. So far, it’s been both.” He smiled. “Entertaining, but not very informative.” He tilted his head. “You, however, Paul, continue to defy the norm. Not once have you given in to either your hormones or your hunger. A locker room full of naked girls? And you haven’t eaten in days?” He shook his head. “I have no idea how you’re doing it.”
“ Have you tried it on dead girls before?” Heather startled me. Her pale face set, she peered around my arm at him and tried to move beside me, but I pushed her back. She glared at me, but stayed.
Professor-condescension plastered across Dominic’s face. He tilted his head to the side and folded his arms. “Of course I have. I knew what she was going to do.” He pointed his finger out the door. “I tried hypnotizing her, but the mind was already
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