visited that afternoon, then through a concealed panel into a much larger lab.
If only John had known what was going on. She had no doubt that he never would have left her if he thought she was in danger. But at least he was free and safe.
Dr. Renfrey was bent over a lab table when they entered but he jumped up and scurried over to them.
“This is your next candidate, Doctor,” Louisa announced.
“But I thought…”
“I told you it would be my decision. And an attractive woman is a much better advertisement that a doddering old man. Now, get started. I want to be ready to leave the planet as soon as possible.
The doctor seemed to wilt. “Yes, ma’am.”
“I’ll tie her down for you. I doubt you have the strength to restrain her.”
Those icy fingers clamped down on her again, and nothing she did made any difference. She was breathless and bruised by the time Louisa fastened her to a lab table, and the other woman didn’t have a hair out of place.
“Now get started,” Louisa ordered and swept out of the room.
Renfrey avoided her eyes as he bustled around setting up equipment before diffidently approaching her.
“I need to take a blood sample.”
“To which I do not consent,” she said coldly.
He made a distressed noise but he still took the sample. To her surprise, he was both quick and gentle.
“Why are you doing this? You have to know it’s wrong.”
For a moment, she thought he wasn’t going to answer her, then he sighed and tapped his skull. “Brain tumor. Inoperable. This is my only hope.”
“But how did you pass the physical for the trip to Mars? Oh, of course, Louisa.”
“Exactly. She made sure that our physicals looked perfect even while she made sure that every one of us had something to gain.” He twisted his hands together. “Either for ourselves or someone we… care about.”
“Which is why you’ve been experimenting on your own staff.”
He shrugged nervously. “They all volunteered.”
“What if they changed their mind?” she asked quietly.
“Most of them didn’t. You’d be surprised what kind of decisions you’re willing to make when you’re desperate.”
“What about the ones who did change their mind?”
“I said they volunteered!” His voice rose. “They signed an agreement. Backing out wasn’t an option.”
She shuddered. “How could you?”
“I didn’t have a choice! I’m desperate. I can feel the tumor eating away at me, feel it slowing my thoughts. If it had just been something physical, I could have taken it, but this is my mind. It’s what makes me who I am.”
She still thought he was crazy, but she understood.
He must have seen the momentary flash of sympathy on her face. “You’d do it too, wouldn’t you?” he asked eagerly. “You’d volunteer because you want to be fixed. Because it matters more than anything else.”
A month ago, even a week ago, she suspected she would have said yes. But now she found herself remembering John’s voice when he told her that he loved her, when he told her that she didn’t have to be alone.
“No,” she said softly. “I’m not going to volunteer.”
“I already told you that it is no longer your choice.” They both looked up to see Louisa standing in the doorway once more.
“Is that true?” Serena asked Renfrey. “Are you going to proceed even though you know I haven’t volunteered? When there isn’t any paperwork to show that I agreed, no matter how briefly?”
“Of course he is,” Louisa mocked.
She ignored the other woman and focused on the doctor. “Why haven’t you taken it yourself? Why are you still testing? You’ve proven that it works.”
“Because he’s a coward,” Louisa answered for him. “He’s afraid that something will go wrong with me the way it went wrong with all the others. So he’s going to wait until I give him permission.”
The sense of dread strengthened. “What went wrong?”
“The transfusion can have a… negative mental effect,” he said reluctantly.
She shuddered as she remembered the hybrids and the way each of them seemed to lose touch with their humanity. Was that what he meant?
“Nonsense,” Louisa snapped. “They were simply weak. I’m perfectly fine.”
Or had Louisa simply not had any humanity to lose?
“I’ve taken the blood sample,” Dr. Renfrey said softly. “It will take a few hours to prepare the transfusion.”
“I’ll be back then. In the meantime, perhaps I’ll amuse myself with the cyborg.” Louisa shot her a malicious glance.
“No,” she whispered. Not John.
“Oh, yes. I’m sure he’ll prove most amusing.” The other woman smiled as a tear slid down