[Chapter 9] Youth is Wasted on the Young

Chapter 9: Reckoning

For the Halloween season, this is a story with some horror elements while also being science-fiction. A new chapter will be posted each week exclusively for paid subscribers. If you want to become a paid subscriber, I’m offering a 14-day free trial.

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Without further ado, here is Chapter 9: Reckoning

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The lab was chaotic. Several alarms shrieked and every light flashed erratically, overwhelming the senses.

Young grabbed Mia’s arm and wrapped his fingers around her skin. His grip was incredibly strong and she couldn’t free herself. He leaned down so he was just inches from her face. His breath tasted like rotting flesh.

“Finally I have the final solution,” he hissed.

“Get away from her,” Quincey lunged, but Young managed to shove him back with inhuman strength.

Jonny lay there on the table, witnessing this nightmare. He had freed his arm but it felt like a lead weight. His muscles had weakened so much he couldn’t do anything beyond that. He lacked the power to stand and certainly wouldn’t be able to fight. He could only watch the monster drag his girlfriend towards a fate worse than death. Despite all the drugs and torture, his helplessness in the face of adversity was so much worse.

His eyes shot back and forth, looking for any sort of weapon in the room he could use. He noticed the instrument tray on the floor and the shards of glass. It wouldn’t work. Then he looked a bit further to the small steel cart parked next to his gurney.

That was Young’s private reserve. It wasn’t just a single bag of IV fluid. The rack held a dozen small bags with a golden liquid. The raw plasma from donors had been purified, filtered, and enhanced with other compounds to grant Young a second youth. They were all connected to a central port through a web of tubes so that it could be cataloged and stored. The infusion pump was in standby mode, waiting to be turned on.

Young was now dragging Mia to the empty chair, giving her his full attention. The port on his arm was still open and drips of blood were trickling down to his fingers. Jonny got an idea.