by Dane Bagley
***
As he looked on at the two women, he stared directly at Aspiria. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Tammy flinch once she had looked over and saw Steve there. Then he saw Aspiria’s smile fade and her eyes roll up in her head. She began to fall forward, and in an instant she had slumped forward onto the counter hitting her forehead hard against the counter top. She lay motionless.
“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” came out of him like the fierce roar of a lion; his eyes now burning with fire.
Tammy had backed away a little from the counter, still in her chair. Her face began to look frightened. “I didn’t want to. I was obeying my command. They told me that you knew. They said that you had already agreed. They said to not wait, but to do it immediately. I didn’t have a choice. They said that you already knew.” The frightened expression on her face had now magnified as she saw that her words were having no affect in squelching Steve’s reaction. He had walked up closer now, and was on the other side of the counter from Tammy and Aspiria’s limp body.
At that moment every feeling of love or tenderness that Steve had ever felt for Tammy was now putrefied. He looked away from Aspiria and looked directly at Tammy. What he saw was the vilest creature that he had ever looked upon in his life. He glared at her with utter disgust and hatred. His menacing glare was not lost upon Tammy. She felt his judgment, and every ounce of his indignation, betrayal, and scorn. She was a strong woman and had never been in a position such as this. Her natural reaction would be to fight back, to counter, and to take control. But so strong was his presence that she cowered under it. She felt crushed under the weight of his glare. When she could take no more, and was completely broken, she dropped her eyes; she hid, as it were, her face from the judgment that she could no longer bare.
“Can she be revived?” The words came out calmly, but there was no question as to the emotion behind them. Tammy shook her head slowly, still looking down and away from his eyes; though they penetrated just as deeply and had not let up. “Is there any way? Can she be revived?” This time he spoke more loudly and with a greater urgency. She, still unable to withstand his glare, looked away and shook her head.
“She is dead; there is no antidote.” She spoke quietly, and felt as though all was lost in her world.
Steve made his way around the counter. Tammy was startled and stood up quickly. She looked at Steve with the look of a small animal, who cowered, knowing that a beating was coming, and could only beg for pity. Steve did not make it around to Tammy. He picked up Aspiria’s body into his strong arms. He had held her like this, once before. With no further hesitation or even a glimpse at Tammy, he made his way quickly out of the lab.
“What…are…you…doing?” were Tammy’s last words to him. Each word coming out softer and more quietly, with the last word hardly more than a whisper. She stood there looking at the door for a moment, and then feeling so weak, that she could not stand, she sat back down and leaned forward on the counter with her arms stretched out, providing a pillow for her head. It would be quite some time before she would move from that position.