Page 71 of A Lab Rat's Guide to Fated Love
“Hey!” Nori laughed. “Put me down or you’ll sprain something!”
“You really underestimate me sometimes.” Vir grinned, jogging towards the small wrought iron gate visible in the distance.
He crossed the garden in a few quick strides, leapt up the porch steps, and set Nori down on her feet.
“You were saying?” He smirked, arching a brow at her. The short run hadn’t even rendered him out of breath. Honestly, he hadn’t felt that fit in years.
Still smirking, he turned towards the door, and the alerts on both their phones went off simultaneously.
Nori had perfected the data sync a while ago, allowing them to see all of his stats in real-time with zero lag. That was before she’d mapped a simplified version of the algorithm on his phone, too. And now it beeped together with hers while his chest exploded with pain.
Years ago, during his residency, Vir had come across quite a few cases of accidental stabbing at the emergency room. And a few electrocution ones too. But never someone withboth. Until now. Because what in the fresh hell—
“Vir! NO!”
The ringing in his ears muffled Nori’s frantic pleas as he stumbled to his knees. His hands clawed at his chest while he gasped like a fish, struggling to suck air into his lungs. They didn’t seem to recognize what air was anymore.
He blinked, trying to clear his vision, but it kept getting hazier. Till finally, everything went dark. His time was up.
Ironically enough, only days ago, they’d been celebrating the mites hitting a whooping ninety-seven percent redundancy. Success had nearly been within reach. Almost.
Or so he’d assumed.
Wronglyassumed.
It had been a waste, after all.
No, not all of it.
Even if it failed, ultimately, the experiment was still the reason he got to meet Nori.
Vir knew he’d make the same choice a million times over. His only regret was not holding her more. Stroking her hair more, too. She seemed to love that. And as his remaining wisps of consciousness began to dissipate, he wished he could tell her he loved her one last time.
“Vir,” her voice echoed in his head.
Maybe his brain was hallucinating after his body was gone. He vaguely recalled reading about the phenomenon somewhere. How there were seven minutes of electrical impulses left over in the neurons after death. He couldn’t remember what it was called.
“Wake up.”
Something didn’t fit, though. He should be watching a sped-up version of the highlight reels of his life flash by in these last seven minutes. Not the blank nothingness with Nori’s disembodied voice calling out to him. Like an angel, there to take him away. Or maybe he was already there.
“Am I in heaven? Norrrrrreee?”
A soft laugh vibrated in his ear. His actual, physical ear, not just inside his head. And he could still feel her emotions. Vividly.
She felt… ecstatic. She was happy he was dead?
“Of course you’d think that, won’t you? You’re not dead. Open your eyes.” The warmth of her lips appeared briefly at his temple, then at the tip of his nose.
“Umm.” That felt nice.
“Wake up, sleeping beauty.”
Lower, her lips pressed lightly to his, and his eyes flew open. As she started retreating with a chuckle, he pulled her face back to his. This sleeping beauty needed a proper kiss to wake up.
Moments later, breathless and rosy-cheeked, Nori helped him sit upright.
They were still on the porch, and judging from the light, the sun hadn’t fully set. Not a lot of time had passed.
