Page 49 of Todd
By midafternoon, desperation drove him to reheat leftover pizza that tasted like cardboard. He forced himself to consume the meal, but it did nothing to allay his anxiety.
An hour of punishing exercise in the confined space helped burn off some of the nervous energy that threatened to drive him insane. Push-ups, sit-ups, burpees. Anything to keep his body sharp while his mind spiraled through increasingly dark scenarios. The cheap carpet abraded his palms, and sweat soaked his shirt in the over-air-conditioned room, but physical discomfort was preferable to the mental torture of waiting.
He’d tried to tell himself it was because he cared about her as a coworker. But the truth was, he was crazy about her. And maybe the others had known and accepted it long before he was ready to take that leap.
25
Sadie’s face felt like a porcelain mask as she forced her lips to curve upward, the artificial smile stretching muscles that protested every movement. The breakfast dining room’s golden lighting, once warm and welcoming, now seemed harsh as waves of nausea rolled through her stomach like storm swells threatening to breach a seawall.Just get through this. Just get through breakfast without vomiting on the pristine white tablecloth.
The simple act of sitting upright required tremendous effort, her spine fighting to maintain its position while her head swam with dizzy spells that made the elegant room tilt at odd angles. She forced herself to nibble on dry toast that tasted like sawdust, each bite being slowly chewed before her rebellious stomach would accept it. The herbal tea left an acrid aftertaste that made her gag reflex kick in with each tiny sip.
Her crystal-clear water glass sat before her like salvation, but even that simple beverage felt suspect now. Nothing at Serenity Dunes was what it appeared to be, and trust had become a luxury she couldn’t afford.
The morning’s supplement array sat in a small glass. There were different colors and sizes from previous days. Two morepills today, compared to the usual number. Dr. Selinski had clearly accelerated his timeline.
From across the dining room, Yelena Mirov’s icy gaze fixed on Sadie with the intensity of a hawk studying wounded prey. Her surveillance felt different today, as though she was more focused and predatory. It was as though she suspected Sadie’s facade was beginning to crack.She knows. Or she suspects. Either way, I’m running out of time to find out what’s going on.
With hands that trembled slightly from more than just caffeine withdrawal, Sadie palmed half the pills and executed the deception that had served her for the past few days. The motion was practiced now with a quick toss toward her mouth while simultaneously raising her water glass to obscure Yelena’s view. Her fist caught the pills instead of her open mouth, and the large gulp of water sold the illusion of swallowing.
The napkin beside her plate received the hidden pills with soft rustles that sounded deafening to her hypersensitive nerves. She repeated the performance with the remaining supplements, then deliberately fumbled with her teacup, causing it to rattle against its saucer with enough noise to distract from any other sounds. Sleight of hand and misdirection. The oldest trick in any magician’s handbook.
So far, it had worked every morning since arriving at this desert purgatory. But today, with her coordination compromised by whatever cocktail of drugs she’d absorbed through the massage oils, the water, and God knew what other delivery methods, even simple deception felt monumentally challenging.
The thought of enduring another massage, with the possibility of more unknown compounds seeping through her skin while she lay helpless on a treatment table, made her stomach clench with fresh waves of nausea. She needed exercise, needed to move her blood and attempt to flush whatever toxinswere accumulating in her system before they could render her completely incapacitated.Swimming. Fresh chlorinated water and physical exertion. Maybe that can help clear my head.She hadn’t been swimming since the previous evening, but knew she needed to rectify her schedule.
The decision felt simultaneously reasonable and desperately hopeful, but it was better than lying passively while Dr. Selinski’s experimental drugs systematically dismantled her cognitive function.Wasn’t the purpose to be more cognitively aware? To fight brain aging?But she knew that all drugs could have side effects, some working opposite to what their intended purpose was.
Rising from the table required more effort than it should have. Her legs wobbled slightly as she stood and offered a gracious nod to the other guests, making sure to smile at Yelena. The walk back to her room stretched endlessly, each step demanding conscious coordination between her brain and her rebellious limbs.
In the sanctuary of her quarters, she changed into her practical one-piece swimsuit. The simple act of pulling on shorts and a T-shirt left her breathing harder than it should have, and grabbing a towel from the bathroom felt like lifting weights.Focus. Just focus on one thing at a time.
The familiar sharp, clean chlorine scent that greeted her from the pool area cut through her muddled mind. For the first time in two days, she inhaled a scent that felt honest, uncomplicated by the spa’s overpowering scents of sage, eucalyptus, lavender, and whatever essential oils had been deemed appropriate.
She’d only used the pool once since her initial midnight reconnaissance, but now the cool water beckoned. She left her towel on a nearby chair, stripped down to her swimsuit, and approached the shallow end with careful steps.
The moment her body entered the water, relief flooded through her with almost overwhelming intensity. Weightlessness embraced her with the water supporting her body. But as she attempted to push off from the pool’s edge, her limbs responded with alarming sluggishness.This is worse than I thought.
Her arms felt like they were moving through thick honey rather than water, and the simple mechanics of swimming required enormous concentration to execute properly. She looked toward the deep end, measuring the distance that would normally present no challenge, and reality struck.I can’t make it that far. Not safely.
She modified her plan, restricting herself to the shallow end where her feet could maintain contact with the pool bottom. Even shortened laps across the width of the pool rather than its length felt ambitious, given her current condition.
After completing a single lap, she had to rest against the pool’s edge, her chest heaving as if she’d just completed a marathon rather than twenty yards of easy swimming. Her brain felt wrapped in cotton, thoughts forming slowly and requiring tremendous effort to maintain focus.The water. Or the tea. They’re accelerating the dosage.
Reviewing her meals in painful detail, she tried to identify the moment of compromise. The bottled water served to all guests should have been safe, but the herbal tea, which came in a small pot of hot water, offered countless opportunities for additional pharmaceutical enhancement. If she couldn’t trust the water, couldn’t trust any beverage or food, her options for survival were rapidly dwindling.
Fear crystallized in her chest as she realized how systematically they were drugging the guests.That’s why they had us sit alone at the same table each time… they could keep track of what drugs were given to what guests.Then, when theycompleted the blood and cognitive tests at the end of the stay, they could monitor each guest's short-term effects.We’re lab rats.
She attempted walking laps in the chest-deep water, hoping the gentle movement might help process whatever compounds were circulating through her bloodstream. But even this minimal exercise left her exhausted after two circuits, her legs trembling with the effort of simply maintaining forward momentum.
I need to get back to my room. Need to call Todd before this gets any worse.
The pool ladder felt impossibly tall as she climbed out. Her clothes clung to her damp skin as she dressed, then she wrapped the towel around her shoulders after running it through her hair. As she walked toward the exit, already planning her route back to her room to use the hidden secure phone, a familiar voice froze her in her tracks.
“I was just going to bring a group in, but I see you’ve already decided to get a jump on the pool today.”
Brock James stood silhouetted in the entrance, his usually bright smile dimmed as his gaze roved over her. He looked at her with suspicion, and she did the same to him.He knows. They all know.
“I wanted to enjoy having the pool to myself for a little bit,” she managed, grateful that her voice came out steady despite the way her stomach wanted to revolt. The statement was technically true, which made it easier to deliver convincingly.
