Page 64 of Dark Horizon New Dawn

"It's my boss." He lifted her off him and sat up. "What's up, Onegus?"

"Meeting in fifteen minutes at the promenade deck. We have another situation."

"On my way, chief."

"See you there." Onegus ended the call.

"What's going on?" Marina regarded him with worried eyes.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." He leaned over and kissed her on the lips. "Stay here and get some sleep. I'll let you know what this is about, provided that I'm allowed."

46

MARGO

Margo woke up from a needle prick in her forearm. "What the hell?"

Alberto smiled down at her. "You'll feel amazing in a moment."

What was he talking about?

Margo was still sitting on the floor, propped against the dresser with her purse in her lap. She must have fallen asleep like that, but she couldn't remember why.

For a moment, she tried to concentrate, but then she was flooded with a rush of euphoria, and warmth spread throughout her body. The relaxation was so complete that she let her arms flop by her sides, and her legs extend in front of her. "Wow," was all she managed to say.

She felt relaxed and happy.

Why had she been scared before?

This was amazing.

"I'll get you some food," Alberto said before leaving the cabin.

"I'm floating," Jasmine said from the bed. "Why am I floating?"

Margo giggled. "Because we are on a boat, silly."

In the back of her mind, she knew that this was all wrong and that the happy floating feeling was artificial. She'd been drugged, and if she had her phone, she would search the internet for the kind of drugs that could produce an immediate reaction like that. How long was it going to last?

What would happen once the drug wore off?

Would she start shaking all over like she had seen in the movies?

And why did Alberto do that to her?

It was difficult to think, and even more difficult to worry about anything when she was feeling so amazing. Margo couldn't remember ever feeling so good. No wonder people were willing to do anything for this feeling.

Except, it felt foreign. She was a glass-half-empty type of person, and all this happiness and euphoria felt like an artificial sweetener. It was a good approximation of the real thing, but not quite.

"I need to pee." Jasmine dropped her legs to the floor. "Where is the bathroom?"

"I don't know, and I need to pee too."

Suddenly the urge became overwhelming, and Margo had no choice but to try to stand up and find the bathroom. Using the dresser for support, she managed to haul herself up and then stumbled toward the other door in the cabin, the one Alberto didn't use.

Thankfully, Jasmine was moving even slower than her, so she got to the bathroom first, and barely managed to lower her panties and sit on the toilet when her bladder started to empty itself in a gush.

The door opened before she was done, and Jasmine lurched in. "I'm going to pee in the shower."

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