As I head toward the first bridge, I look up to scan the arch above, to make sure no one suspicious is watching me, waiting for me. I enter the tunnel, and I can feel eyes on me. I look at my phone screen, deciding whether or not I should send a reply, demand to know where Alex is right now.

Honestly, I should ditch my phone, but there’s still a chance Alex will contact me. The fact that he hasn’t yet isn’t good.

I continue on around the rock formation, the place where Alex and I spied on Ericson together. He can’t be too far away, if he’s in the park at all. I climb to the top and use the higher ground to search the nearby areas.

No bodies, no beaten, passed-out scientists in sight. I curse and start to head down when a snap catches my attention. I stop and wait to hear it again, my breath held. With slow and deliberate movements, I creep toward the foliage where a high wall of shrubbery separates the street from the park.

The noise never comes again, and there’s no Alex. I exhale, releasing my frustration with the fiery air in my lungs, as I once again start to leave.

It happens in a blink. In the time it takes my eyelids to close, I feel a sharp pain in my neck. A brief moment where I try to bat away an insect—then the stark and terrible realization of the needle piercing my skin.

For the first time since I can remember, my heart rate changes pace. I can feel it slowing, the beat becoming weaker. My pulse thuds in my ears as the sounds of the park fade into the distance.

My muscles go lax, and I’m guided down to the hard ground by strong arms.

My attacker stairs down at me as I lie helpless. Anger courses my blood right along with the drug he injected into my bloodstream. I try to move my lips, to form words, to demand to know why—but my mouth is just as immobile as the rest of my body.

“Not as delicate as your little cocktail,” Alex says, those blue eyes gleaming, “but ketamine more than gets the job done.”

14. Experiment

14

Experiment

Alex

In Greek Mythology, fate was decided by three goddesses. Every soul had a life thread, the course of a life woven within the twine. There is one goddess to spin the thread, the next to measure, and the third to cut the twine at the moment of death.

According to the myth, the Fates control every destiny, and no one escapes their doom.

The scientist in me rejects philosophy and mythology on merit. Yet, I can still appreciate the wisdom in the lesson. Because of course, the purpose of all religion is to teach a moral.