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“Asshole,” I growl as he frees me.
“I know you don’t believe me,” he says, still so damn calm. “And I know you are going to hate me after this. I just want to make sure that there is an after this. We’re going to wait three days. If that call doesn’t bring the military down on our heads, I’ll take you back to the car and this time you better make sure you leave.”
“Don’t worry,” I bite out. “I’ll get as far away from you as I can. This is fucked up. You’re fucking…” I don’t even know what to say, and in spite of my anger, I don’t actually want to be swearing at him like this. There’s just something about him, the way he looks at me, something that lets me see to the core of him. He believes this. With everything he has.
“Daniel, please.” I change tack. “We have to go back together. They’re not looking for you. Just because someone at your work made some noise about a patent doesn’t mean there are tanks scouring the countryside for you. If the military had the patent, they’d be using it on their own people.”
“They have the patent for the previous version. Which doesn’t work. Mine does.”
* * *
Daniel
I can’t give into the frustration at knowing she doesn’t believe me. She doesn’t know enough about Regenermax to understand, though really it should be obvious. A treatment that can regenerate damaged nerve, bone, and muscle is essentially a panacea for all humankind. It has applications across the spectrum of illnesses, and of course the military are going to be interested in it. More than interested. This is a weapon in its own right. A battalion of soldiers on Regenermax would be far stronger, go far harder, be able to sustain many more injuries than even the most elite soldiers today. They would be nearly unstoppable. In a world where most warfare is conducted at a distance, it’s not as useful as it once was, but they’ll have dozens of applications for it.
It was a mistake to bring Briarlee on this. She’s never been dedicated to anything. She’s never sacrificed anything. Her comfortable, sheltered world has left her incapable of understanding that very bad things really do happen. Even the crash we were in together left her mostly unscathed. She has sailed through life, never really feeling the possibility of true failure or real pain.
The truth is, I am the worst thing to ever happen to her. Maybe I should have left her behind, but now that I’ve taken her, she has to stay, at least for a while. Some consequences can’t be avoided. Even for Briarlee.
She sits there, pouting and pretty as I prepare food. It doesn’t occur to her to offer to do any of the work. She’s a passenger in this now, not an ally, not a companion, not even a lover. A woman who has scorned me over and over again in every form and who now, in my hour of need, has decided I am a madman.
My next dose is due soon. I’m almost reluctant to take it, because I know what will happen when I do. The lust fog will rise and I won’t be able to contain my desire for her. The Regenermax doesn’t put me into a fugue state anymore, but it sure as heck messes with my consciousness.
After thinking about it for a few minutes, I realize there’s only one thing to do. I pick up the dose and a handful of rope, sit with my back against a small but sturdy tree, and begin wrapping the rope around my body.
“What are you doing?”
She gives me a skeptical look as I wrap the rope around myself.
“I thought I was the one you were keeping captive.”
“I don’t want to fuck you in the mood I’m in,” I say. I don’t know how she’ll take those words, but it’s not for lack of desire for her. It’s out of concern for how badly I might ravage and punish her if I lose myself. She was a very, very bad girl. She had her reasons, but I know those reasons will matter a lot less after the next dose. “I’m pretty sure you don’t want me to fuck you either. So I’ll take this dose and you can let me out after a few hours, when the lust passes.”
“I could just leave you here in the woods,” she points out. She could, but I know she won’t, and I say as much as I form a knot and then slide it around so it’s at the back of the tree.
“You won’t. You’d never find your way out of here without me, and you wouldn’t leave me tied up at the mercy of the wild things.”
