Patient 42
Chapter 2
– Caged Sympathy
Jack tightened the zip ties around her wrists, looping them with cloth from the first-aid kit. “Not regulation, but better than steel.”
Vesper flexed her fingers. “Restraints that don’t bruise? How considerate.”
“I’m not your enemy.”
“Yet.”
He slid behind the wheel. “Name. Age. Next of kin.”
“Vesper. Twenty-nine. Next of kin: incinerated.”
“Is that sarcasm or a confession?”
“Pick one.”
Jack sighed. “Subject Forty-Two, huh?”
“Catchy, isn’t it? Very lab rat chic.”
He tapped her ID band with his pen. “Who gave you this?”
“Dr. Victor Dreyfus. He liked symmetry. I was forty-two. He died last week.”
“How?”
“Internal bleeding. Caused by a fire extinguisher. Unfortunate accident.”
“You killed him.”
“I was chained to a cot,” she replied flatly. “Maybe I used telekinesis.”
“Are you always like this?”
“Only when detoxing.”
He glanced over. “Your pupils are uneven. Could be a concussion.”
“Or a Catecholamine storm. Caused by sudden trauma, adrenal overload, and a faulty drip line.”
Jack blinked. “What?”
“Google it. Later.”
He stared at her. “You’re not a victim, are you?”
“Depends on your definition.”
They passed a flashing road sign—TORNADO WARNING: SEEK SHELTER NOW.
Jack’s phone buzzed with an emergency alert. He frowned. “Perfect.”
Wind rattled the side of the cruiser. Leaves swirled like birds gone mad.
He pulled off the highway. “We’re not outrunning this. Hold tight.”
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere below ground.”
“Ironic,” she muttered. “Escaping captivity by returning to a hole.”
He found a rusted Civil Defense shelter behind an old church. “Pray later. Move now.”
He unbuckled her, grabbed her by the arm, and sprinted toward the metal hatch. Wind howled behind them like a living beast.
Inside, the shelter was musty, lit by buzzing generator bulbs. Wooden pews. Dust. A first-aid box older than his badge.
Jack latched the door. “We’re safe. For now.”
Vesper dropped onto a bench, shaking.
He knelt. “Vitals.”
She pushed his hand away. “It’s not sepsis.”
“You said storm. You’re burning up.”
She closed her eyes. “Estrous cascade.”
“…What?”
“Another experiment. Hormonal reprogramming. It wasn’t supposed to activate outside controlled environments.”
“You’re saying you’re—what, in heat?”
“I’m saying,” she panted, “my veins feel like they’re melting. And if this keeps going—my heart could arrest.”
Jack stood. “I’m calling Dr. Chen. She’s biotech-certified.”
“Don’t.”
“She’s qualified.”
“She’ll notify the university. They’ll send a retrieval team. I’d rather die here.”
“I’m not letting you die.”
“You already did,” she whispered. “When you handed me that badge.”
Jack paced. “I need ice, or sedatives—”
“No,” she said sharply. “Just help me breathe.”
“You want me to restrain you?”
Her eyes locked on his. “No. I want you to listen.”
He hesitated, then sat beside her. Her breathing came faster, skin glistening.
Jack swallowed. “Okay. Talk.”
“My body’s overriding logic. That’s what they made it do. Increase pheromone output. Heightened temperature. Compulsive desire.”
“And what are you asking me to do with that information?”
“Nothing,” she said. “Just don’t run.”
He stiffened. “You think I’d take advantage of you like that?”
“No,” she whispered. “I think you’re already wondering if you will.”
Lightning flashed. The shelter groaned.
Jack stood abruptly. “I’m going outside. I need air.”
“You’ll be shredded.”
“I’m not—” he stopped. Her hands trembled violently.
“Help me, or leave me,” she said. “But don’t pretend you’re neutral.”
The wind screamed above. Dust rained from the ceiling.
Jack stared at her. “This isn’t you. It’s chemical.”
She laughed weakly. “Isn’t everything?”
“Vesper—”
Her voice cracked. “If I don’t touch something—anything—I think I’ll burn alive.”
His instincts screamed protocol. Ethics. Distance.
But he saw past her calm—into the fear she couldn’t mask.
She wasn’t seducing him. She was unraveling.
“Just hold on,” he said softly.
He knelt, pressed his hand to her forehead. Her skin was fire.
“I’m right here.”
She curled into him. “You don’t understand.”
“No,” he murmured. “I really don’t.”
Outside, the storm howled like judgment. Inside, his conscience began to fracture.
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