by Eve Langlais
A real one. He never could forget that. This dream made it all too easy to pretend, though.
She touched him, just a light press of her fingers on his arm. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m bad for you, Flo. You’re right to shove me away.”
“I’m doing it because I’m your nurse. It wouldn’t be right for us to get involved.”
“Even if you weren’t my nurse, we couldn’t. I’m broken, Flo.”
“You don’t look broken. I see a man who is whole and healthy.”
“You’re not seeing everything.”
She moved to stand in front of him. “These feelings you have. The negativity. The anger. There are people you can talk to. Medicines you can take.”
Laughter snorted from him. “I don’t think there’s a pill to fix what ails me, Flo. I’m a monster.”
“Oh, Luke.” She lifted her hand to cup his cheek, and he couldn’t help but close his eyes and enjoy the touch. Even if imaginary, it was more kindness than he’d felt in a long time.
“I meant what I said before, Flo. You need to get out of here. Before it’s too late.”
“Too late how?” she asked. “You worried another one of those hybrid things will come after me? Because you shouldn’t. I won’t be going anywhere near those woods.”
“I don’t want them doing to you what they did to me. Don’t let them change you, Flo. Don’t trust them. Don’t trust the food. The water.”
“You’re letting the paranoia take over, Luke. You need to fight it.”
“I’m not paranoid,” he snapped. “It’s the truth.” Which, even in his own dream, no one believed.
“No, this is part of your illness. Part of what Dr. Chimera is trying to fix.”
Sharp laughter met her statement. “I’ll bet he is. He’s one of the reasons I’m so fucked.”
“What happened to you?” She slapped herself in the forehead. “What am I doing? Asking you for answers when this is only a dream.”
“You want to know my biggest mistake? I should have said no when Chimera offered me the deal, and yet instead, I let myself be tempted. I didn’t read the fine print. Hell, I didn’t care. I was so desperate for a miracle. What happened to me is my own fault. I am my own worst enemy. But it soon won’t matter.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to die.”
“No. Don’t say that.”
“I have to. It’s the only way out.”
“Stop it.” The slap took him by surprise, especially since the sharp crack of it stung.
“Ow. What the fuck, Flo? I’m really beginning to wonder about your bedside manner.”
“And I am tired of your pity party.”
She thought he was whining.
Okay, so maybe he was. But he had a right. “I’ll fucking bitch if I want to. You’ve seen my life. My prison.”
“Only because you keep fighting. Did it ever occur to you that maybe if you cooperated, that you’d be set free?”
Her words echoed those of Chimera and the others. However, he knew them for a lie. “They’ll never let me go. I’m too valuable to them.”
“Are you sure of that? Or are you afraid to try because they might free you and you’ll have to actually live life on your own?”
He blinked at her. The logic so off-base he couldn’t believe his subconscious even spewed it. “I am not afraid to live.”
“Then fight. Fight to get better. Show the doctors you can do it. Show me.”
“There’s only one thing I want to show you, Flo.”
Her lips quirked. “I’ve already seen it.”
“Ah, but you’ve yet to feel it.”
Funny how dream Flo could blush like the real thing. “I wish you wouldn’t say stuff like that.”
“You mean tell you how attractive I find you. How you’re the only thing I look forward to right now.”
“You’re just grateful for—”
“Oh, fucking shut it. I have the hots for you, Flo.” He dragged her near, close enough to capture her mouth before she could argue some more. Again, just like the real thing, just like kissing her felt real.
The mesh of their mouths electrifying. The soft yield of her lips groan-worthy.
Once he rid her of the nightshirt, their naked bodies fit so well together. So right.
In his dream, he didn’t have to worry about the monster he’d become. He could kiss a beautiful woman, cup her full ass, grind his cock against her belly.
Gasp in disappointment as she pushed away from him.
“I hear my alarm.” She cocked her head. “I’m going to wake up, and I’d rather not be horny again.”
Again? His lips quirked. “This dream only ends when I wake, Flo. Not you.”
The claim didn’t stop her from fading from sight, leaving him alone in a verdant green field with a massive erection.
And two free hands.
He fertilized the grass.
Twice.
Chapter Eleven
When she arrived on level six, her card didn’t work for the ward. Holding in a sigh, Margaret was about to press a button for help when the door for Ward C opened and the guard from the day before emerged.
“Hi. My card isn’t working,” she said, gesturing to the locked portal.
“Your card was probably reprogrammed.”
“Have I been reassigned?”
“No, but the patient has been moved,” the guard said.
“Moved? Where?” And why had no one had said anything to her?
“If you’ll follow me.” The soldier led the way through the door he’d emerged from, down a long hall. At the end, another locked door, which the guard opened, leading them into a large antechamber with another pair of guards. All armed.
She moved toward the next door, but the guard held up his hand. “A moment, please, ma’am.” The door they’d just passed through closed and locked before the man stepped aside.
“You may now proceed.”
How gracious of him—not. She found herself curious about the changes. “Since when does Luke require so many guards?”
“It’s because of the new room.”
“Is there something wrong with it?” Wrong enough it required extra security?
“The chamber itself is secure enough. We’re here as a precaution given Dr. Chimera left orders that you could remove his restraints if you feel it’s appropriate.”
“I get to decide?” It seemed a no-brainer. Free him. Until she reminded herself that the dream Luke she kept kissing wasn’t the real one. The real Luke was dangerous. She just had to look at the guards dispatched for one man to realize it.
“If you’re ready to enter?” The guard inclined his head.
Ready and not ready, if that made any sense. It didn’t. Just like the sense of anticipation confused. Her vivid dreams were bleeding into her reality, making her feel things that weren’t real.
She focused on the here and now. “Why does Dr. Chimera want me to release him?”
The guard shrugged. “He doesn’t explain his decisions. I am just the messenger.”
A messenger that advised her that she held Luke’s freedom in her hands. For a moment, she debated turning on her heel and marching to Chimera’s office to ask more questions. Such as, why her? Why not Luke’s doctors or the guards themselves? Why leave her with the choice to release him or not? She didn’t want that power.
Margaret approached the door and frowned as she noted it took two guards, each with a hand on opposite scanners, to unlock it. The third stood behind her, and while she didn’t peek, she would wager he had his hand on his gun again.
A glance to either side showed the guards with fingers resting on the grips of their weapons.
Ridiculous precaution, given the fact, when she entered, she noticed Luke strapped to a new bed, one made of concrete that molded into the floor. He was immobile, and yet they were all so scared.
Again, why? She wished someone would tell her what to expect.
>
Luke didn’t say anything as she entered. Did he sleep? More like he faked it again.
“Morning, Luke.”
“At least you didn’t add the usual ‘good’ to it.” He opened his eyes, and she only met his gaze for a brief second before turning away.
“Are you having a bad day?” she asked, checking out his new room, frowning at the starkness of it.
“No worse than usual. But I hear you had a shit night.”
The reminder brought a shiver. “Just a few scratches from a wild animal attack.”
“Let me see,” he insisted, craning his head, this bed not lifting him to a seated position like the previous one.
“It’s nothing.” She lifted a hand, self-conscious of the bandage on her cheek.
“Did you need stiches?”
She shook her head. “Doctor Cerberus says it should heal without a scar. He put cream on it.”
“Nothing else? No shots? No special drinks?”
She frowned. “No. Should I have had a shot? Do you think it had rabies?”
“You can’t catch it. We’re not contagious.”
“We? You’re not a wild animal,” she remarked as she washed her hands and checked out his new quarters. Unlike the last room, this one was bare. No machinery. Not a single trolley with tools.
“I’m dangerous, Flo. More animal than man.”
“Don’t be silly. You might have impulse control issues, but there’s nothing bestial about you.” The walls appeared seamless except for one handle. A yank on it showed a compartment with a tray of food. A cardboard tray, she might add, no utensils. She pulled it out and placed it on the tall, rectangular concrete table, again molded into the floor, as were the stools.
Nothing he could grab and throw. It still didn’t mean she’d decided to untie him.
“Which shows how little you know. Don’t untie me.”
“Excuse me? Are we trying reverse psychology now?”
“I know Chimera told you to do it. Don’t deny it. I see how you keep looking at my cuffs and biting your lip. You’re not sure you should. Listen to your gut instinct. Leave me tied.”
“Why? I thought you wanted your freedom.”
“I do.”
“Are you worried you’ll hurt me?”
He snorted. “I’d never harm you. But I can’t guarantee I won’t touch you. It’s harder than I thought, separating dream from reality.”
The fact he said the thing that mirrored her own issues gave her pause. “Have you been dreaming of me?”
He didn’t reply.
“Luke?” She took in a deep breath, calling herself all kinds of crazy but still said, “Filet mignon.”
He sucked in a breath. “What did you say?”
“Nothing.” She felt stupid for thinking it even possible. She was rummaging around the wicker basket, noticing the towel and cloths when he said it. Barely a whisper.
“Octopus.”
She froze. “I hate octopus.”
“Only because you’ve yet to try it breaded and deep fried.”
She whirled, her eyes wide with shock. “So it was—”
He shook his head. It didn’t take a genius to realize he didn’t want her to say anything. Electronic eyes watched, and someone surely listened. What would they think if she and Luke were to discuss their shared dreams?
It was nuts.
Yet it had happened. There was no other explanation.
The fact there existed a bond between them, even a strange one, was what decided her. She put her hands on the restraint for his left wrist.
He growled. “What are you doing?”
“Letting you go so you can eat. You’ll choke if I try to feed you lying down.”
“I can do a great many things on my back, Flo. Climb on top and you’ll see.” He leered in conjunction with his blatant proposal.
But she finally grasped it for what it was. A way to alienate her. She finished undoing the buckle.
He grimaced. “Stop it. I said no.”
“You’re not my boss.” She moved to the other side and removed the other cuff. He lay prone, his arms still in the confines of the leather straps.
“Put those back on.”
Instead, she took care of his torso strap then his ankles.
He said nothing. Didn’t have to. The tautness of his body said it all.
“This is a bad idea, Flo.”
“Yeah, well, it wouldn’t be the first one. So do me a favor and don’t make me regret this.”
He sighed. “This won’t end well.”
“Only if you’re an ass. Are you coming to eat?”
She perched herself on the round seat of the stool, the hard concrete not the most comfortable thing. It took him a moment before he joined her, wearing bottoms she noticed. Someone must have dressed him before moving him to this room.
She gestured to the offerings. “Orange juice.” In a box, no straw. “Fruit.” Banana, apple, and strawberries. “Bacon.” She snatched a piece and chewed, saying in between nibbles, “Blueberry toaster waffles.”
“Would it kill someone to give me a goddamned coffee?” he grumbled, but that didn’t stop him from poking a hole in the juice and drinking it then pretty much eating everything in sight.
Not that she minded. She’d had a light breakfast before showing up, and it pleased her to see him eating. Hopefully the bosses watching noticed.
“So I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do next. They didn’t leave me any instructions or tools,” she remarked when they finished. She snared the remnants of their meal from the table and disposed of them in a narrow chute for garbage
“I believe the intent is for me to seduce you and impregnate you with my mutated sperm to see what kind of child we might create.”
At his preposterous claim, she blinked. “You have a vivid imagination.”
“Not really.” A smile hovered on his lips. “I simply know how their minds work.”
“If you’re so good at reading them, then how come you’re stuck down here?”
“Because I didn’t feel like playing their game.” He shrugged. “Their version of freedom and mine didn’t jibe.”
“Who’s paying for your treatment? Are they the ones insisting you stay here?”
“No one is paying. Not specifically for me at any rate. This is an institute run entirely on donations. There are people with money expecting great things from Chimera and his cronies.”
“So is this a research institute or a healing clinic?” Because she’d yet to figure that part out. She asked even as she knew she shouldn’t. Chances were someone watched and listened. Still…she’d finally reached a point where she felt a need to know.
“Both. It’s an experimental research clinic.”
“A secret one. Which means we shouldn’t be talking about it.”
He snorted. “What else should we discuss? The fucking weather?”
“It’s overcast again today.”
“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen daylight in a long fucking time.”
“Would you like me to ask if we can take a trip to the surface?”
“Contingent on my good behavior?” He offered her a crooked smile. “What if I don’t want to behave?”
For some reason she blushed. Glancing away from him, she busied herself wiping the crumbs from the table.
With breakfast and cleanup done, she didn’t know what to do with herself. “I don’t see any of my usual tools for taking blood and stuff.”
“Because you’re not supposed to be my nurse. I told you, they’re hoping we’ll do the horizontal tango.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Really? Ask Chimera. Or Sphinx.”
“You’re being foolish.” Said with a shake of her head. “No one is trying to make you breed. You can’t let your delusions control you.”
“Delusion?” He arched a brow and mouthed, octopus.
The reminder of the shared dream almost swayed her.
Al
most.
Then she remembered where she was. With a patient. In a clinic. “Yes, delusion. Adrian isn’t—”
“Adrian, is it?” Luke interrupted with a snarl. “I didn’t realize the pair of you were so cozy.”
If Margaret didn’t know better, she would have said he sounded jealous. Then again, it was possible. Nurses often became an object of affection for patients. It was up to her to ensure it didn’t go any further. “We are coworkers, and as such, the use of first names is permissible. But we are not involved as you’re implying.”
“You’d better not be.”
“I don’t think that’s something you have a say in.”
“He’s bad for you.”
“So is a box of donuts. But whether I indulge or not is still my choice.”
Luke rolled his eyes. “Oh, for fucks sake, Flo. Don’t be an idiot just to spite me. Stay away from Chimera. Stay away from everyone here.”
“Everyone, except you?” she replied.
“Even me,” he snapped. “I still meant what I said. You should get out of here. Before it’s too late.”
“Too late for what?”
“I can’t say.”
“Because your paranoia is part of your illness.“ Never mind she wasn’t sure what he was sick with. Surely his strange ranting was part of it. “No one is out to get you. No one wants you to make mini Luke babies.”
“Did it ever occur to you that maybe I’m not bullshitting? What if I could prove it?”
“The very fact you’re willing to talk about it shows me it’s fake. Don’t you think if the clinic were involved in something nefarious, they would stop you from telling me?” She’d seen enough movies to know what happened when someone talked. The nurse died.
Yet here she was alive and well.
“What do you know?” he asked. “What could you tell?”
She could tell someone of the pink barrette. She shuttered that thought. More than likely the creature had found it and, like a magpie, collected it.
“There’s nothing to tell.”
“There is; you just haven’t connected all the dots. And in a sense, it’s probably better you don’t. Then you’ll lose even the semblance you have of freedom.”
“You’re rambling.”