Seconds to Live(106)

That wasn’t too far off.

“How are you feeling?”

Mac turned his head and shock numbed him for a few seconds.

Josh Randolph walked around a growing puddle to stand a few feet from the gurney, as if he was afraid to come closer.

Smart man.

Mac let anger kill his shock and fear. His rage roiled, wild and snapping as a caged beast. He was going to kill Josh. He didn’t know how, but it was going to happen. If necessary, he’d rip the man’s throat out with his teeth.

“I think we’d better work on your attitude.” Josh raised the Taser and fired.

The prongs hit Mac dead center in the chest. Electricity ripped through him and tore him apart. His body seized, the muscles simultaneously frozen and on fire. It eased off, and Mac’s muscles were left twitching.

He gritted his teeth and forced words through his shaking lips. “Fuck you.”

Josh’s frown was uncertain. “You are resilient.”

He squeezed the trigger again. The current made Mac’s body jump to artificial life, as if Dr. Frankenstein had thrown the switch. Mac’s body jolted on the gurney. When Josh lowered the Taser, Mac’s body convulsed with the remnants of its charge.

A minute passed before he unclenched his molars. “I’m going to kill you.”

Josh smiled. “I knew you were The One.”

What. The. Hell?

Mac swallowed. It felt like broken glass moved down the inside of his throat. “What are you talking about?”

“You are The One. Truly redeemed.” He set down the Taser and clasped his hands together. “We have a few more tests, but I knew you were special.”

“You’re crazy.”

Josh grabbed his tray and rolled it toward the gurney. Water splashed around the wheels. The puddle had grown, covering most of the floor several inches deep.

“Your basement is flooding.” Mac lifted his head. His neck muscles protested. “The lake is rising.”

But Josh’s eyes were glazed, as if he were lost in his own imagination.

He lifted a scalpel from the tray, his eyes hyper-focused on Mac. “We’ll start with the physical test. It’s redundant based on the fact that you’ve been walking around with a bullet wound, but I have to keep my experiments consistent. The physical pain test is first. I’ve designed each subject’s test for their specific background. Missy cut herself, so I used a knife on her. Dena let her husband break her bones, so breaking her fingers seemed appropriate. You are a bit more complicated. I’ll have to try both.”

Mac tried to slide away from the blade, but the restraints held him fast.

Josh drew the blade over the skin on Mac’s arm. With his adrenaline running on high, Mac barely felt the slice. A quick burn, then nothing. Blood flowed over his skin in a thin river.

“No screaming?” Josh all but clapped with glee as he picked up a hammer.

Knowing what was coming, Mac clenched his fist, but Josh hit him with another short Taser jolt. Mac’s hands tightened until his fingers dug into his palms. The electricity abandoned him, and his muscles went involuntarily lax.

Josh stretched out his fingers and brought the hammer down. This was no clean sharp blade, and pain exploded through Mac’s hand. His jaw clamped, his molars coming together with a brain-rattling snap of teeth that caught his tongue. Blood flooded his mouth.

Josh held up a syringe. “I can end all that pain right now.”

“What is that?”

“Heroin.” Josh said it like he was offering candy to a child. “No more pain, Mac.”

Real terror spread like a brushfire through Mac’s body. Injuries to his body would heal. But addiction never ended. He couldn’t go down that road again. He’d rather die.

“Fuck you.” Blood flew from his mouth as he spat out the words.

A crazy-ass grin spread across Josh’s face. “I knew it. I can’t believe it took me this long to figure out what I was doing wrong.”

“What are you talking about? Is this about your brother?”

“I’ve been studying addiction for years, and every single person I’ve treated has had a relapse at some point. Take Gary Simmons. We talked about him, remember?”

“The news anchor?”

Josh smiled as if he was a teacher and Mac his star pupil. “Yes. My brother only killed himself, but Gary killed a whole family of innocents. Addiction is a time bomb. Eventually every addict is going to blow up. I’ve been looking for The One person who has truly beaten addiction. So far, every subject I’ve tested has failed.”

He set the syringe on the tray. Relief spread through Mac at an embarrassing rate. His hand throbbed, every beat of his heart slamming him with a bolt of pain. Relaxing, he breathed and let the pain flow, accepting it. The heat spread up his arm and invaded his shoulder.