BDP39
The jogging trail wound up and down several hills. Just a few months ago all the trees that bordered the path were brilliant with their autumn leaves, but those had fallen to lie brown and dry. An occasional skirl of wind would pick several up and blow them across the track. The air was crisp with the warning of snow. My breathing plumed white in the cold, matching the fog that still clung to the low areas of the wood.
It really was ideal weather for running to me. My stride lengthened as I settled into a ground-eating lope. The miles fell away as my mind was freed to think. Away from the distractions and demands of both work and Ian, I began to play with the new pieces of information I had acquired.
Casca was a total bastard, but a very intelligent one. He had a plan, a plan I was beginning to see the shape of. It was audacious, but workable. If you didn't care what happened to the inevitable failures along the way. They would not be able to function in normal society. So many things could send them into murderous rages, like the one Nottingham had experienced. Several of the chimps had exhibited the same behavior, and worse, before the end. Magnify that by the increase in mass and intelligence for humans, and you had wholesale slaughter waiting to happen.
Containment would be prohibitively expensive as well as damn near impossible. They were too fast, too strong, and too cunning for anything less than a specially designed prison. Given enough time, they would figure a way out of their confinement. The failed experiments would probably have to be destroyed.
We had done the same with the chimps; every last one of them had been etherized and dissected. Even the ones who had been successful had been put down, so we could see why. But those were chimps, not human beings. I had not liked it, but it had been necessary.
It was hard to accept, but the only real difference between Casca and myself was where we drew the line. I couldn't think of children as lab mice, although it was pretty clear that Casca and Ian's father could.
Ian had been strangely silent about his mother, if he had even had one. Surely she would not have been part of it? One lip curled up as I remembered that there were ten women ready to give up their offspring for no better reason than profit. Ten more lives that would be treated with cold scientific interest instead of love. It was a wonder Ian had turned out as well as he had. Cian only knew what had been done to him, as his scars showed only the physical damage. There was no telling what mental anguish he had suffered.
The thought was an ugly one, bringing visions of an innocent child in torment. The child had dark hair and soulful brown eyes, brimming over with pain. The very idea broke my heart. Poor Ian. No one had been there for the child he had been, especially not his parents. The very ones he should have been able to turn to for support had deliberately placed him in harm's way. It was betrayal of the worst kind.
I put on a burst of speed, giving the fury a much needed outlet. It had been seething beneath the surface ever since Ian's confession in the bedroom. I wanted to show that bastard who called himself Ian's father just what science was capable of inflicting on a human being. I had cultures of flesh-eating bacteria that would take a very long time to kill an adult. I smiled at the image of his father trying to breathe through a face that was nothing more than a red ruin.
I would have loved to visit upon him the same torment he had lain upon an innocent child, but I knew there was no way to get to him and keep him that long. Hell, someone would probably save him, leaving the monster free to do further damage. No, a sniper from on high stood the best chance of taking the bastard out. I would celebrate the fact that he could never harm another child, and leave the vengeance to Arawn. I had faith in the gods to make the punishment fit the crime.
Maybe it was time to spend some of my retirement money. I would get the 'family discount' after all. It would be a while before I could get word to one of the cousins, as we were confined to base until the experiment was concluded.
In the meantime I would just have to content myself with doing my best to sabotage Casca's breeding program. After I showered I'd have to stop by the infirmary and get a case or two of condoms. It was in the regulations, so there was nothing that could be done to stop me from handing them out. I'd also have to get the abortive concocted.
I had called it a contraceptive when talking to Ian, but in truth it would cause them to menstruate within the next few days. The combination of hormones would tell the female's body that her cycle had ended. The women would slough off their uterine linings, averting any chance of conception. It was more efficient than any oral contraceptive that I could whip up, having a one hundred percent success rate.
My mind was still moving at full speed when the circular trail dumped back out at the beginning. Sometimes I'd do a second loop, it was only four miles, especially if I was still thinking hard about something. This morning I didn't have time to go around again, not with everything I needed to get done.
Regretfully, I left the packed dirt trail for the asphalt road back to my apartment. I slowed to a walk, using the final distance for my cool down. The stairs going up to my quarters were great for stretching the calves and thighs one last time. I was stiffer than usual and in some strange places, probably because of last night. I nodded good morning to the other tenants as they left to do their P.T. or begin their shifts. I tried to make it seem like every other morning, as if my world wasn't brimming over with chaos and conspiracies.
Sufficiently cooled down and stretched, I unlocked my door and watched for the small hair to fall. If someone had been in my apartment after I left, they would never notice the black strand dropping. The hair drifted lazily toward the floor and I entered, heading straight for the shower. I stripped on the way, leaving a trail of clothes from the door to the bedroom. By the time I hit the bathroom I was naked.
My reflection stared back at me from the mirror. I froze in shock. There was a bruise, although calling it a bruise was something of an understatement, on the side of my neck. Hell, taking up most of the side of the neck. I hadn't seen that kind of hickey since Jessica Plexer showed up with one in the eighth grade. We'd teased her that her boyfriend was a vampire.
It wasn't funny now. I reached up to touch the mark. A matching stain spread over my wrists. I remembered him pinning me to the shower wall, but it hadn't hurt at the time. I flexed my hands in surprise, feeling a slight soreness but nothing too severe. I guess being so pale just made the damage appear worse than it really was. I looked down, since the mirror cut off at mid-chest, checking for more marks.
My hips and inner thighs had light bruising. I had expected that, given the events of last night. Fortunately there were no more surprises. The wrists and throat were more than enough to remind me that last night, while very exciting, had been far from normal. I had shied away from thinking about Ian's behavior last night, and Casca's plans had made the perfect distraction.
I didn't have any excuses left. I was going to have to face the fact that Ian had changed a great deal since the last time we had been together. He was now intensely aggressive, territorial, and possessive. On a primal level it was very appealing. On a rational level it was disturbing.
I did my best to shut down the personal feelings and think only about what it meant the drugs were doing to Ian. It also made me worry about the other Dragons. How would they respond tonight?
The jogging trail wound up and down several hills. Just a few months ago all the trees that bordered the path were brilliant with their autumn leaves, but those had fallen to lie brown and dry. An occasional skirl of wind would pick several up and blow them across the track. The air was crisp with the warning of snow. My breathing plumed white in the cold, matching the fog that still clung to the low areas of the wood.
It really was ideal weather for running to me. My stride lengthened as I settled into a ground-eating lope. The miles fell away as my mind was freed to think. Away from the distractions and demands of both work and Ian, I began to play with the new pieces of information I had acquired.
Casca was a total bastard, but a very intelligent one. He had a plan, a plan I was beginning to see the shape of. It was audacious, but workable. If you didn't care what happened to the inevitable failures along the way. They would not be able to function in normal society. So many things could send them into murderous rages, like the one Nottingham had experienced. Several of the chimps had exhibited the same behavior, and worse, before the end. Magnify that by the increase in mass and intelligence for humans, and you had wholesale slaughter waiting to happen.
Containment would be prohibitively expensive as well as damn near impossible. They were too fast, too strong, and too cunning for anything less than a specially designed prison. Given enough time, they would figure a way out of their confinement. The failed experiments would probably have to be destroyed.
We had done the same with the chimps; every last one of them had been etherized and dissected. Even the ones who had been successful had been put down, so we could see why. But those were chimps, not human beings. I had not liked it, but it had been necessary.
It was hard to accept, but the only real difference between Casca and myself was where we drew the line. I couldn't think of children as lab mice, although it was pretty clear that Casca and Ian's father could.
Ian had been strangely silent about his mother, if he had even had one. Surely she would not have been part of it? One lip curled up as I remembered that there were ten women ready to give up their offspring for no better reason than profit. Ten more lives that would be treated with cold scientific interest instead of love. It was a wonder Ian had turned out as well as he had. Cian only knew what had been done to him, as his scars showed only the physical damage. There was no telling what mental anguish he had suffered.
The thought was an ugly one, bringing visions of an innocent child in torment. The child had dark hair and soulful brown eyes, brimming over with pain. The very idea broke my heart. Poor Ian. No one had been there for the child he had been, especially not his parents. The very ones he should have been able to turn to for support had deliberately placed him in harm's way. It was betrayal of the worst kind.
I put on a burst of speed, giving the fury a much needed outlet. It had been seething beneath the surface ever since Ian's confession in the bedroom. I wanted to show that bastard who called himself Ian's father just what science was capable of inflicting on a human being. I had cultures of flesh-eating bacteria that would take a very long time to kill an adult. I smiled at the image of his father trying to breathe through a face that was nothing more than a red ruin.
I would have loved to visit upon him the same torment he had lain upon an innocent child, but I knew there was no way to get to him and keep him that long. Hell, someone would probably save him, leaving the monster free to do further damage. No, a sniper from on high stood the best chance of taking the bastard out. I would celebrate the fact that he could never harm another child, and leave the vengeance to Arawn. I had faith in the gods to make the punishment fit the crime.
Maybe it was time to spend some of my retirement money. I would get the 'family discount' after all. It would be a while before I could get word to one of the cousins, as we were confined to base until the experiment was concluded.
In the meantime I would just have to content myself with doing my best to sabotage Casca's breeding program. After I showered I'd have to stop by the infirmary and get a case or two of condoms. It was in the regulations, so there was nothing that could be done to stop me from handing them out. I'd also have to get the abortive concocted.
I had called it a contraceptive when talking to Ian, but in truth it would cause them to menstruate within the next few days. The combination of hormones would tell the female's body that her cycle had ended. The women would slough off their uterine linings, averting any chance of conception. It was more efficient than any oral contraceptive that I could whip up, having a one hundred percent success rate.
My mind was still moving at full speed when the circular trail dumped back out at the beginning. Sometimes I'd do a second loop, it was only four miles, especially if I was still thinking hard about something. This morning I didn't have time to go around again, not with everything I needed to get done.
Regretfully, I left the packed dirt trail for the asphalt road back to my apartment. I slowed to a walk, using the final distance for my cool down. The stairs going up to my quarters were great for stretching the calves and thighs one last time. I was stiffer than usual and in some strange places, probably because of last night. I nodded good morning to the other tenants as they left to do their P.T. or begin their shifts. I tried to make it seem like every other morning, as if my world wasn't brimming over with chaos and conspiracies.
Sufficiently cooled down and stretched, I unlocked my door and watched for the small hair to fall. If someone had been in my apartment after I left, they would never notice the black strand dropping. The hair drifted lazily toward the floor and I entered, heading straight for the shower. I stripped on the way, leaving a trail of clothes from the door to the bedroom. By the time I hit the bathroom I was naked.
My reflection stared back at me from the mirror. I froze in shock. There was a bruise, although calling it a bruise was something of an understatement, on the side of my neck. Hell, taking up most of the side of the neck. I hadn't seen that kind of hickey since Jessica Plexer showed up with one in the eighth grade. We'd teased her that her boyfriend was a vampire.
It wasn't funny now. I reached up to touch the mark. A matching stain spread over my wrists. I remembered him pinning me to the shower wall, but it hadn't hurt at the time. I flexed my hands in surprise, feeling a slight soreness but nothing too severe. I guess being so pale just made the damage appear worse than it really was. I looked down, since the mirror cut off at mid-chest, checking for more marks.
My hips and inner thighs had light bruising. I had expected that, given the events of last night. Fortunately there were no more surprises. The wrists and throat were more than enough to remind me that last night, while very exciting, had been far from normal. I had shied away from thinking about Ian's behavior last night, and Casca's plans had made the perfect distraction.
I didn't have any excuses left. I was going to have to face the fact that Ian had changed a great deal since the last time we had been together. He was now intensely aggressive, territorial, and possessive. On a primal level it was very appealing. On a rational level it was disturbing.
I did my best to shut down the personal feelings and think only about what it meant the drugs were doing to Ian. It also made me worry about the other Dragons. How would they respond tonight?