Page 90 of Blue Arrow Island
“Yes. She was a professor at the University of Washington.”
“You miss her.” It’s a statement, not a question.
I nod. “Especially since I got here. My mom would be blown away by”—I gesture around—“all of this. Aromium, genetically engineered crops that defy anything science has been able to do yet, controlled microclimates...all of it.”
“How are you feeling today?” A crease appears between her brows.
“Right. You’re wondering why I’m here.” I smile sheepishly.
“Not at all. I hope you know you can drop in to see me anytime, even if it’s just to talk. I’ve just been thinking of you and wanted to ask.”
Today her brown hair is in a loose braid, a few strands loose around her face. She’s wearing a lightweight, flowy blue dress and looks like she could be on a tropical vacation.
“I’m okay.” I meet her warm gaze. “Vance didn’t get very far with trying to assault me.”
“I’m proud of the way you fought him. Not that I judge women who don’t fight.” She sighs softly. “I did a rotation in the emergency department when I was in school and domestic abuse was one of the hardest things I saw. Abuse is far more nuanced than many people realize. It’s not just physical.”
“What did you do before the virus?”
“I was an oncology nurse practitioner.”
“That seems like a tough job. Was it rewarding?”
The corners of her eyes crinkle as she smiles. “Oftentimes. Also heartbreaking. Stressful. It helped that I’m an incurable optimist.”
I glance at a painting of a vase of flowers on her wall, taking a reassuring breath before looking back at her. “I need to ask you about aromium. How long will it take for it to be completely out of my system?”
Her brows drop down a notch. “What are you feeling that makes you think it’s still affecting you?”
My cheeks warm with embarrassment. “Just...I don’t know.”
She sits back in her chair, hands folded in her lap. “Aromium has two different components. There’s the physical side, which, as far as I’ve seen, affects every person the same way. You get stronger, faster, and need less sleep and food. These effects strengthen over time. Once the aromium is fully bound to your DNA, you hardly need any sleep or food at all. Just water. And I’m sure you saw how strong and fast the fours were.”
I nod, remembering the pregnant women who ran mile after mile in the hundred-degree heat, sprinting it all.
“Then there’s the other part of aromium, which was designed to amplify certain urges and emotions. That component proved...difficult.” She presses her lips into a thin line.
“What urges and emotions?”
“Well, we didn’t know which ones we’d get when we injected our first test group, but?—”
My chin drops and my heart speeds up. “Wait. You were part of that?”
There’s a pause before she responds. “Regretfully, I was.”
“Is this Whitman’s project to make super soldiers?”
Her smile is tinged with sadness. “Nearly everyone who was working on it didn’t know that was the purpose, but yes.”
“So you got out when you realized?”
She nods. “As soon as I could.” She leans forward. “Anyway, the aromium amplifies the desires to protect and procreate at any cost. So anger, jealousy, attraction, spite—those are all heightened. Knowing that, how are you feeling differently than you did before aromium?”
I don’t want to lie and say it’s anger. She might think I’m a danger to others. I swallow my embarrassment and tell her the truth.
“It’s, um...attraction.”
Her smile is half-amused, half-sympathetic. “And that’s the only thing?”
