Ian and Amy - Meant To Be

Epilogue

Dan couldn't concentrate on what his Science teacher was saying. He glanced at the clock for the fifth time that minute. To his disappointment, the hands seemed to be stuck in place by super glue.

"Now, this in response with the cuprous oxide will produce . . . "

He'd lost interest an hour ago. Something about colored glass. He had no idea why their teacher found colored glass so wonderfully fascinating to prattle on about. Surely there was a more entertaining chemical formula to go on about for hours on end. Like, say, a magical potion to turn you into the Hulk. Give you superpowers. Make you be able to do anything. Like --

Gold. Bone. Wormwood. Zinc.

The words flashed up in his mind like a flare. He clamped down on his teeth, trying to clamp down his chatty brain as well. Bad track of thought. Bad, bad track of thought.

Silk. Honey. Sulfur. Tungsten.

Stop it, he told his head in what he hoped was a reasonable tone. Maybe his brain would respect his wishes if he gave it orders in a dignified way.

Mace. Lily. Copper. Rosemary.

Guess not.

Silver, phosphorus, water, myrrh, --

Oh, great. It was getting on a roll. There was no stopping The Mantra after it started rolling.

What mantra, you may ask?

The one and only.

It was a mantra that came to him unbidden in the dead of night, in the random instances when his mind was unoccupied and wandering. A mantra that he could not forget. A mantra that was etched into his brain, where it would stay carved into his consciousness, slowly taking his sanity apart, where it would remain for as long as he lived.

A burden for him and him only.

-- amber, mint, calcium, clover, --

His fingers were white as he clutched the edge of his desk. Stop, he growled at his brain. I don't want to remember. I don't want to know.

-- platinum, iodine, salt, blood, --

He clenched his eyes shut. Unwelcome memories clamored for attention beneath his eyelids, playing themselves out over and over again. Blood, lies, betrayal, death -- He saw the garish colors spray painted across his last several years, tainting it an ugly hue.

He saw the fancy glass in his hand again. He saw the cloudy amber liquid.

-- vinegar, lead, mercury, uranium, iron solute, --

He remembered drinking it down. He remembered the toast he had made. He remembered why he'd had to take it. He remembered waiting for it to take effect.

He remembered waiting for it to start the silent countdown to his death.

Dan shot up from his desk, muttered something about a bathroom, and practically ran out of the classroom. The deadly mantra -- the words that had hurt so many and killed so many more -- was still going in his head as he raced for the boy's room.

For Gideon Cahill's serum: One portion = One ounce

He crashed into the bathroom, fell to his knees in front of a toilet bowl, and threw up.

- - - -

Sinead awoke in cold sweat.

She lay in bed, gasping for breath, pulse racing. Her Ekaterina mind tried to grasp the signs of reality and break her away from the panic that now exerted full control over her.