The Cure: A Genetic Engineering Thriller

Chapter 9

A few days had passed, and James was starting to grow antsy.

No, it was more than that. He was beginning to feel like he was losing his mind. He had gone to town the next morning after getting off the phone with Melanie. When he called her, it went straight to voicemail. He figured she had taken his advice and switched off her phone for the day. But when he called again, and again, and again, that aching feeling in the pit of his stomach returned. It worsened when the answering machine said the line had been disconnected.

With no way to reach out to her and see if she were alright, all he could do was think about the worst possible reasons for why she hadn’t picked up. That Mr. Payne had broken into her house and kidn*pped her. That he was torturing her in an attempt to get any sort of information about the serum so he could bring it back to Big Pharma. Questioning about James’s whereabouts. While she didn’t know his exact location, he was certain that he’d be able to squeeze enough details to get a rough idea.

The country was big, but perhaps not as much as he had hoped for. The sand had run out on his great 84 escape, and now the people he cared about most were paying the price for his actions.

“James! Get down here, quick!” Irene screeched from the bottom of the stairs.

“No,” he muttered. It couldn’t be. Had he found him? Were the people who had been caring and gracious enough to invite them into his home going to perish because of his selfishness.

Fumbling down the stairs, he made a beeline for the front door and stopped dead in his tracks. Standing there, in all her grace and beauty was Melanie Hart.

Her eyes were a bit swollen, as if she had either been crying or hadn’t had a decent night sleep in some time. Her usual shiny blonde hair was dull, and a bit dirty, and she was wearing leggings and an oversized sweatshirt, nothing like her business attire that she seemingly lived in back home. On her shoulder was a large duffle bag and a small purse tucked underneath her armpit.

“How did you—”

She flung herself at him before he could get the fourth word out. Her lips were soft and sweet, and her body seemed to melt into him. He staggered backward until he found the wall, using it to prop them up as he lost himself in her kiss. For those few seconds, it was as if time had stood still. He forgot all about the fact that his best friend was murdered, that he was on the run from 85 said murderer, and that he was the host of a medical miracle.

All that mattered was that he and Melanie were together again. It wasn’t until Irene sniffled that he snapped out of his blissful fantasy. As much as he didn’t want that glorious kiss to end, he pulled back, glancing over his shoulder to find Reggie and Irene gawking at their unexpected reunion. His face flushed with embarrassment, but it quickly vanished when the old man winked and kissed his wife on the mouth.

Irene, giggling like a little kid, ushered them inside, and Reggie offered to take Melanie’s bag and she politely handed it over.

“You must be Melanie,” Irene said, forcing Melanie into one of her bear hugs. “We’ve heard so much about you.”

“The one and only,” James grinned.

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the doorway into the kitchen, watching Irene dash around the kitchen in search of teacups.

“How did you find me?”

“It was a bit of a challenge, I’ll admit, but you’d be surprised what a few quick searches on the internet could do. First, I looked up what city all this “miracle cure” stuff had started and traced it back to Custer. It’s a big city, but you had mentioned something about a ranch so that narrowed down my scope. I had hopped 86 on the first flight here and ended up at some farmer’s market, where I met a wonderful woman named Margaret.”

“No way!” Irene gasped. “What are the chances?”

“It’s easy to spot the ones who like to gossip. They have that sort of glow, don’t they?” Melanie smirked. “Anyway, we got to talking and she said I wasn’t the first outsider to come to town, that a man named James had recently moved in with a friend of hers. She was gracious enough to give me the address, and boom,” Melanie waved her arms in delight, “here I am.”

“Let’s hope that man doesn’t think the same way you do,” Reggie commented.

The room fell silent at his remark, as they were most likely thinking the same thing. If Melanie could track him down in the matter of days, what was to say Big Pharma hadn’t done it already? And if they had, what exactly were they waiting for?

“Why don’t we let you two catch up?” Irene suggested. “I was just about to turn in anyway. Melanie, you’re welcome to stay with us as long as you like. James can show you up to the loft. We get up early around here, I hope you don’t mind.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Melanie murmured.

“It’s up the second flight of stairs,” James instructed. “I’ll grab your bag and meet you up there.” She nodded, disappearing down the hallway and it wasn’t until James 87 couldn’t hear her footsteps that he spoke again. “We won’t stay for much longer,” he said quietly. “I reckon it won’t be safe.”

“What about you?” Irene asked. “It’s not safe out there.”

“It’s not safe anywhere. Not anymore.”

“We’ll help you the best that we can,” Reggie frowned. “And you’re welcome back anytime.”

“Goodnight. We’ll talk more about this tomorrow.”

He went up the two flights of stairs until he reached the loft, where he found Melanie seated on the edge of the bed. He thought for sure she would’ve taken the opportunity to jump in the shower to wash up, but instead, she just stared at him for a little while. He lingered awkwardly by the door, unsure of what to say now that they were alone.

“I thought something terrible had happened to you,” he said finally. “When you didn’t answer my calls, all I could picture was that man—”

“I smashed my phone minutes after I got off the phone with you,” she interjected. “I took the sim card out and burned it in my fireplace. No one knows where I am, not even Sofia. She thinks I’m back home, and my family thinks I’m on some spontaneous girl’s trip. Everything’s been taken care of at work.”

“You shouldn’t have come,” James sighed. “It’s not safe.”

“You don’t think you can protect me?” she said, leaning her weight on her hands.

Her lips curled into a smirk, and he knew she was teasing it. It stirred an unexpected feeling, one that had been suppressed for a long time. While he was tempted to pounce at the chance, he did not want to seem too eager.

“That’s not what I said.”

“So what are you saying?”

“That there is a man out there hunting me down, the same man who came into your office and taunted you without batting an eye. This is some serious stuff, Melanie. Someone could get hurt, and that someone could be you.”

“We’re stronger together. I can watch your back and you’ll watch mine; I know you will.”

He took a step towards her, and she perked up a little bit. He didn’t mean to frighten her, but he cursed himself for not knowing better. She had been through a traumatic experience less than a week ago.

“I’ll do whatever I can to keep you safe, even if it means putting myself in the line of fire.”

“You sound like a superhero,” she giggled. “Maybe we need to give you a new name.”

“I do have enhancements,” he bragged. “I’m practically one of the Avengers.”

“Oh please,” she scoffed. “You grew your kidney back, you’re not a super soldier or a god from another planet.”

“Fair point.”

Standing over her, Melanie looked up at him with pleading eyes. He knew it well; it was the same one Amelia had when she wanted something but was too afraid to ask.

“You’ve had a long flight, I’m sure right now you want to have a nice hot shower and wash all those germs off,” James suggested, hoping she’d take the bait.

“Will you be joining me?”

“If that’s something you want.”

Again, she flashed him that playful look. “I don’t ever want to be apart from you.”

Swooping her up in his arms, he headed straight for the bathroom. That was definitely something he could arrange.