performance art.
I lunge for him but someone else catches me in their arms.
“Logan!” Daphne tries to catch me, but I’m too heavy, and we both topple to the ground.
No! The only possible thing that could have made this worse is having her witness it. But I’m wrong, so wrong. There is something worse.
Because when I finally managed to pull myself off of Daphne, I see her looking at her own hands in confusion. Seconds before they too begin to redden and then start to disintegrate before my very eyes.
Her ear splitting scream of terror and confusion is the last thing I hear before—
My eyes shoot open and I bolt upright. Or at least I try to.
I barely make it an inch before the restraints strapped around my body on all sides keep me in place.
Because I’m strapped down to a fucking hospital bed. And this isn’t a kinky game of power exchange with my Daphne.
I don’t know where I am but I know I don’t want to be here.
Especially when the door opens and an orderly pops his head in. Then I hear a whispered exchange.
“It’s your turn. I don’t want to have to deal with that crazy fucker again today. Did you see what they’re giving him in his drug cocktail? They should be sedating him but instead they are giving him—” he mentions some drug I’m not familiar with. I guess the other nurse isn’t either, because then he clarifies, “It’s basically LSD. I don’t know what the hell they’re thinking. That shit’s just going to wind him up and make him twice as crazy while he’s all strapped up like that.”
“But we get hazard pay and a half,” says another male voice. “And I got bills to pay.”
“Yeah, I guess,” the other guy mutters, though he doesn’t sound happy about it. “Don’t know what good that’s going to do me if I got a broken neck. You see Nick? That guy’s a giant, right? But even Nick got two of his teeth knocked out bringing this guy in.”
My own teeth grate as I strain against the restraints, looking for any weakness I might exploit. But there’s so many damn straps up and down my arms and legs, even if I got one free, how the hell am I going to get out of the rest?
Because I have to get back to Daphne. Fuck. Daphne. She can’t handle this kind of stress right now. It’s literally one of the worst things for someone in her condition. How long have I been here? How long since the…the wedding?
My hands fist. I am going to fucking kill Adam Archer for ruining that moment for Daphne. The memory of him clapping while I disintegrate from flesh-eating bacteria in front of him… Bile burns up my throat.
Of course, that’s not exactly how that day went down. I went to the bathroom, saw the redness and swelling, and a couple hours later when the stinging continued, I went to the doctor. And after some tests came back, was immediately admitted to the ICU.
I could never prove it, but I don’t doubt it was Adam who ordered the infectious sample from the CDC. Adam who put it on my goggles. Adam who tried to murder me in one of the most horrific ways possible.
And now I’m here for the exact same reason. Adam fucking Archer, taking another swing at me.
As my fury builds, my vision begins to blur. There’s a high, slim horizontal window at the top of the wall, and the light begins to shimmer and twist. I blink hard, but the light still dances. I glance around and for the first time notice that the walls aren’t that steady either. Everything is swaying slightly.
Fuck, what drugs are they shoving into me without my consent?
Which is when I look down my body and notice the IV stuck in my arm. Shit, they’re still actively pumping poison into me.
Get it out. Get it the hell out!
As I watch, the line of the IV starts to undulate like a snake, burrowing into my skin. I twist and scratch, but I’m bound too tightly. I can’t get to it to yank it out.
“Help!” I scream as the poison spreads. “Get it out!”
But no one comes. No one ever comes to help.
And then there are a thousand snakes, all skittering through my veins, poison, poison. They’ll burn me. They’ll chew on me and burn me, eating me alive from the inside out.
I scream and scream, until my