Page 51 of Lagoon

Better not to think about it.

“He can get into Nancy’s phone,” said Angela, pointing at him. “We’ve got the texts from Anderson Scott, and we can just text him right back if we want.”

Riley let out a breath. “Oh, we can, can we?”

“No,” said Jonathan.

“I’m with you,” said Luther. “Except, um, I guess it doesn’t work forever, does it? Eventually, he’s going to want to check in.”

“You said that they talk every day about their daughter,” said Angela.

“Wait, what?” said Jonathan.

Luther began to explain. He told them everything he’d told her, even the part about how Anderson Scott made threats and how he seemed as if he might be a real dick, and Riley and Jonathan only listened and didn’t speak, nodding here and there.

Finally, Luther trailed off with a shrug.

“How long has it been since she texted him?” said Angela.

Luther got out the phone and looked. “I mean, yeah, I get what you’re saying. He hasn’t checked in with her yet, so either he hasn’t noticed that he hasn’t heard from Nancy in a while or she doesn’t register as important to him. It’s been nearly two days, which isn’t typical for them. Her phone gets pics of her daughter, and those came through, and she hasn’t reacted to them, which she usually would do.”

Jonathan raised a finger. “Okay, here’s the thing. I’ve been down here since the beginning of this project.Years. I’ve had exactly two real-time conversations with Anderson Scott in all that time. And everything is mostly self-sufficient down here.”

“I was thinking this,” said Riley.

“Can we pretend to be Nancy and text him?” said Jonathan.

“You mean, continue this ruse so that he doesn’t know what’s happened?” said Luther.

No one said anything.

“Angela?” Luther finally prompted. “That’s not what you want, is it?”

Angela held up her webbed fingers. “I don’t know what I want right now.”

Riley sighed heavily. “I think we all need to consider the distinct possibility that we’re not thinking clearly right now, possibly due to hypersensitivity to certain pheromones.”

“What?” said Luther.

Angela grimaced. “I think she’s saying that whatever’s happened to us is making us too horny to think straight.”

“That’s a way to put it,” said Riley. She spread her hands. “Jonathan and I are scientists. We’re willing to take risks, right?”

“Experimentally?” said Jonathan, his lips tugging upwards. “Yeah, we’re more than willing. You’re saying you and I try it out and report back if it’s safe, Riley?”

“Exactly,” she said with a curt nod. She turned to Angela. “You go and lock yourself up somewhere, and Luther should, too, somewhere separately, and if it’s not dangerous, then I don’t see why we all can’t… indulge.”

“Indulge,” said Angela, her voice shaking.

“I don’t know,” said Riley. “If you’re definitely against it, Angela—”

“I didn’t say that,” said Angela. “Are your fingers webbed, too, Riley?”

Riley examined her hands. “Oh, look at that. Wonder when that happened?”

“Hmm,” said Jonathan, taking her hand in his and comparing them.

She looked at him with a little smile playing on her lips. “I think we need to get this out of our systems before we can think about the Anderson Scott question, or whether to expose this to the outside world at all.”

---