I don’t believe a word he’s saying. If “all he wanted” was to help guys like himself, then why hasn’t he taken it?
I hear an alarm sound inside the building. I know the police are coming. “Make your lawyers send the formula to this lab.” I hand him a piece of paper. “With luck, it’ll keep people like your sister alive while they figure out how to get them off this stuff.”
“My sister? Keni took it?”
“Didn’t you know?”
“No! Fuck! I told her to never touch the stuff! We just needed to raise money so I could start my company, build my own lab, and fix the formula.”
“If you want to save her, you know what to do. Share the formula. There’s a lab that says they’ll make it, quietly, but you have to hurry.”
Morris slams his fists on the bars. “Dammit, Keni!”
“Morris, what’s it gonna be? They’re almost here.” I look over my shoulder at the police in riot gear coming through the heavy steel door.
“Fine. I’ll have my lawyers send it.”
“Awesome. Nice talking to you.” I turn to leave.
“Huff, you’re lucky to be alive. I don’t know how it’s possible.”
I look over my shoulder.
He adds, “That pool was filled with concentrated, rejected, tainted batches. Mixed with the final formula. No one could’ve survived drinking in that much.”
“I guess I’m lucky.”
“I don’t know. But if all the stuff they’re saying you can do is true, it’s nothing I’ve ever seen in any of the experiments. The formula gives people muscles and reduces inhibitions. It even gives them a sense of euphoria for a few hours. But that’s it. Okay, and it boosts your pheromones secretions, which is why you might be experiencing a sudden popularity with women, but there is no scientific reason you were able to lift a one-ton steel beam. If what I saw was real?”
I stare at the wall in front of me. I don’t understand what this means. If it wasn’t that poison that made me this way, then what?
“I gotta go.”
“If you live, come see me again when you want to figure out the answers!” he belts out.
Not likely. I pull back my fist and slam it into the wall. “Ouch!” The darn thing is made of solid brick. I shake off the pain and hit it again. The wall crumbles, and I climb out.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
I’m now a wanted man.
And I’m glad River liked the cape because half the world is laughing at me. Assholes. The other half is going to the other extreme, saying that I’m some sort of miracle the world’s been waiting for. If I had a penny for every meme with my photo, I’d be a trillionaire.
They’re calling me Ultra Mega Nerd Boy because some idiot reporter caught my parents in the hospital garage and asked who my favorite superhero was. Mom said I was into that big chicken, and Dad said something about “that video game with the cape all the nerds love.”
Bingo. Ultra Mega Nerd Boy is born. Seriously? Do I look like a boy? If only I could show them my massive dick. Then who’ll be laughing?
Fine. Not me. Because River said she won’t go near it until she knows my sperm isn’t some uterus tornado that will bring down the roof of her baby barn.
At least she’s thinking about the future.
Or, she was before she found out I’m going to die any second now.
How is this happening? It’s like winning a Golden Ticket and then discovering the candy bar you just ate is a ticking time bomb. Hey, Huff! Your wildest dreams just came true! Congrats. Now, enjoy the last ten hours of your life.
“Can you please hurry up already!” I bark at the door from the waiting room of an undisclosed location—fine, it’s in Mexico. The company that agreed to help us demanded complete confidentiality in exchange for the formula—worth a lot of money, I’m sure. It’s a huge gamble because I don’t know what they’ll do with it, but eighteen of River’s sisters and twelve guys from the football team will have their hearts explode if we don’t do this. Oh, and we just discovered nine other dudes from the live-action role-playing group on campus all took the drug. Why? I’m guessing Keni was marketing to people who wanted to bulk up and could afford to pay.
As for me, my position remains unchanged. I would rather die than lift a hand toward River when the rage kicks in. And it will. I’ve already experienced it.
“Done! Here!” A woman in blue scrubs with a mask pops out the door and holds out a largish insulated tote.
“What do I do with it?”
“Don’t let it get too cold. The enzymes will break down. And make sure they all know to take the minimum dosage. One drop. Per day. By mouth. If they take more, they could die. It’s very strong.”
“Awesome. So tell a bunch of addicts to take less.”
“Just tell them. They have a three-month supply here, and we can’t make more after this. Not for a very long time.”
Oh no. “Why?”
“A key ingredient comes from the pituitary gland of the northern white rhino.”
“Oh. Come on! There are only, what, like a thousand of those left?”
“Two. Just two. Our sample came from a genetics lab in Brazil. We had to pull a lot of strings to get it.”
“Then how did that pencil-neck chemist sell his formula to college students?”
“He must’ve come up with a synthetic version, which wasn’t part of the formula he gave us.”
“Of course it wasn’t.” Why did I believe Morris would just hand over the entire formula for someone else to exploit?
“Thank you.” I grab the bag and go. I’d pay a visit to Morris, but the pain in my chest is getting worse. I know I’m almost out of time.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
River
When Huff shows up at the hospital, he has me meet him in the stairwell outside by the garage. I have to sneak out because there are news crews everywhere. The police are here, too, just hoping to nab Huff for breaking into the jail. I can’t believe this is happening.
I meet him in the designated spot, finding him leaning against a wall, looking calm and cool and sexy as ever. My heart lights up when I see those crisp blue eyes filled with so much love for me.
Then I notice his mouth. The corners are turned down. His shoulders are hunched forward a little. He’s in pain.
Oh no. Oh no. It’s happening. I rush to him, and he folds me into his arms.
I don’t know what to say. If he’d just take the damned formula, he’d have more time. Then we could figure this out together. “You can’t die on me, Huff.”
He holds me tighter.
I want him to say something, like he’s got a solution. He’s found a way to fix everything.
“Even if I wanted to change my mind,” he says, “the lab was only able to make enough for forty people. Three-month supply. Morris made sure one of the ingredients is impossible to get. They’ll need his help to find a work-around if they want more, and I doubt he’s going to cooperate.”
I pull away from Huff and rest my hand on his big arm. He feels so strong. How is he dying?