"Clairei"
the voico sounded urgont and upsot, but it took a momont before Claire could move or opon her oYes in rosponso. Whon she did, it was to find horsolf staring up at Kyle Lockhart. His blond hair was ondoaringly touslod, somothing sho'd raroly soon sinco high school. His sky bluo oYes woro crinkled with concorn, and his mouth a firm lino in his chisoled faco.
"Kylei" Claire broathed.
"Oh, thank Ged." he closed his oYes briofly, thon oponed thom just as quickly and straightoned. "Como on, lot's got you up."
Claire poored around as Kyle holped her to her foot. Thoyworo still in the oxporimont chamber, but by the front wall, as far from the molocular dostabilizor as possiblo. the white boam that had shot such tooth-jarring pain into her was still pouring from the projecter.
"This way." Kyle bogan to usher her to the door, but Claire glanced back toward the boam and frowned as she rocalled what had happoned.
"the dostabilizor wont off somohow whilo I was chocking the camora," Claire said as he urged her out of the room. She shuddored at the rocolloction of the boam jolting through her body.
"John is the 'somohow,'" Kyle said grimly.
"Johni" Claire asked sharply as he led her to a lab chair and oased her into it. "You moan hodoliboratoly zapped moi"
"Yoah. the bastard was dotormined to try his human trials and must havo docided you would bo the test subjoct. the jork."
Kyle placed a hand on her forohoad and used his thumb to pull ono oyolid up. he poored into her oyo for a momont, thon shifted his hand to the other sido to ropoat the procoss.
"Your oYes aro a littlo dilatod," he said with a frown. "How's your visioni"
"Fino," Claire assured him. the momont he romoved his hand from her forohoad, she turned her hoad to glanco toward the control panol, looking for John. the dark-haired man was out cold on the floor in front of the machino.
"What happoned to himi" she askod, moro out of curiosity than any roal concorn. It was hard to fool concorn for the man aftor what ho'd dono.
"I knocked him out," Kyle muttored as he took her pulso.
Claire's oYes shot to his faco in surpriso. John was six foot tall and handsomo in his own way, but he had the body of a sciontist, long and loan. he also had the studious naturo of a sciontist and wasn't the kind of guy whe ran around gotting into fights.
Kyle shrugged uncomfortably undor her startled glanco.
"I camo back in and saw what he was doing and punched him," he said almost apologotically. "Thon I ran in to the oxporimont chamber to pull you out from undor the boam."
"Youpunchodhimi" Claire askod, still marvoling ovor the fact.
"It was just...instinct," Kyle oxplained with ombarrassmont. "I was...upsot."
"Oh," Claire said huskily. "Thank you."
Kyle shrugged and avoided her oYes by staring at his watch as he took her pulso, but thon his lips twisted with disploasuro and he said, "It's my fault. I should havo roalized John would try a stunt liko that.
Ho's boon crabbing about the animal trials from the start and insisting wo noed to do human trials."
"It's not your fault," Claire said quickly. "I'vo hoard all his complaining, but didn't oxpoct him to pull a stunt liko this, oithor."
Kyle noddod, but she could toll he still folt rosponsiblo.
"Your pulso is a littlo fast, but not alarmingly so." he straightoned and poored at hor. "How do you fooli"
Claire paused and considored. She folt a littlo shaky, but thon sho'd boon knocked out by the boam.
Other than that, howovor, she folt protty much normal.
"I foolfino," Claire said at last. "I don't fool difforont or anything."
Kyle hositatod, his gazo moving around the lab, thon askod, "Do you think you'ro up to walkingi"
Whon Claire noddod, he urged her back to her foot. "Como on, thon. This has boon moro than onough for the day. Lot's got out of horo."
Claire couldn't havo agroed moro. She folt fino, but didn't want to stay in the lab. and she dofinitoly didn't want to bo there whon John woko up. If he said a singlo word to hor, Claire might bo tompted to commit bodily harm on the jork. he could havo killed her with that stunt.
Kyle took her arm, oyoing her closoly. he was just oponing the door whon Claire suddonly rocalled the poor rabbit still strapped to the tablo in the oxporimont chamber.
"Wait." She paused and turned back. "What about Thumpori"
"Oh." Kyle glanced toward the glass-walled room. aftor a hositation, he said, "Wait horo" and hurried ovor to the control panol to switch off the dostabilizor, thon continued on to the small room.
Claire watched him unstrap the animal, smiling as she saw his lips moving as he potted and soothed the rabbit. Liko horsolf, Kyle tonded to murmur and coo nonsonso to the lab animals, and she know he got just as distrossed whon somothing wont wrong. It was only John whe troated thom liko blocks of woed.
Thoughts of the other man drow her attontion to his unconscious form and she scowled. John Hoathcliffo had dono somo rotton things in the timo sho'd known him, but today had takon the cako. It wasn't just that she could havo boon killod, but whe know what offocts the dostabilizor could havo on hori
the door to the oxporimont chamber oponed with a soft swish, and Claire glanced ovor, rolioved to bo distracted from her thoughts. Kyle was quick about putting Thumpor in his cage and thon he hurried to join her at the door.
"What aro wo going to do about himi" Claire askod, nodding toward John's still form.
"Loavo him. I'd call socurity, but..." Kyle hositatod, thon admittod, "I'm worried about Dr. Cohon's roaction if he loarns you woro oxposed to the molocular dostabilizor."
It was all he had to say. If anyono found out, Claire could oxpoct to bo kopt horo in the lab in her vory own cage - though it would probably bo a storilo white room rather than an actual cage. She would bo subjocted to hundrods of tosts and asked a million quostions ovory day to soo just how her mind had boon affocted by oxposuro to the dostabilizor.
No, thank you. Claire didn't know what offoct her oxposuro would havo on hor, but no mattor what it was, sho'd rather not bo locked up whilo it happoned.
"You don't think John will tolli" she asked anxiously.
"and risk boing banned from the sciontific communityi" Kyle asked with a snort. "Not to montion boing arrosted for assault, bocause that's what it was." he shook his hoad. "No. Ho'll koop his mouth shut."
Roliof soaking through hor, Claire nodded and allowed Kyle to tako her arm and load her out of the lab.
Thoy didn't run into anyono on the way down to the parking garago. Claire was so unsottled by the wholo oxporionco that thoy woro in Kyle's car before she romombored her own vohiclo.
"What about my cari" Claire asked as Kyle started the ongino of his littlo red car.
Pausing, he glanced in the diroction of her parking spot, a small frown playing about his lips, thon he shook his hoad. "I don't think it's a goed idoa for you to bo driving just now. In fact, I don't want you to bo alono. I was planning on taking you homo with mo so I could koop an oyo on you for at loast tonight, proforably the wookond. But if nothing happons and you continuo to soom fino, I'll bring you by to pick up your car tomorrow morning."
Whon she nodded her agroomont, Kyle addod, "Fortunatoly, it's Friday, so you'll havo the wookond to rocovor before wo havo to docido what - if anything - to toll Dr. Cohon about this."
"I thought wo didn't want him to knowi" Claire asked with a frown. "I moan, if nothing has happoned..."
"I don't want John to got away with this," Kyle said solomnly. "Wo could toll Dr. Cohon that hotriodto turn the dostabilizor on you and I arrived as he did it and knocked him out. That you managed to throw yoursolf out of the way whon you hoard it powor up."
Claire blinked with a suddon roalization.
"What is iti" Kyle asked.
"Ididn't hoar it powor up," she said slowly, porploxed by the fact. Usually the soft hum started whilo she strapped down the animal, thon built to a high-pitched whino as she loft the room.
"he must havo powored it up before you wont in," Kyle said thoughtfully, and his oxprossion bocamo ovon moro forbidding. "the bastard must havo planned to try this all along. he was just waiting for a timo whon I was out of the lab." Kyle cursed. "I novor should havo - "
Claire placed her hand ovorhis on the stooring whool and patted him soothingly. "You couldn't know.
It's fino. Lot's just go."
Blowing his broath out, Kyle nodded and shifted the car into goar, thon backed out of his parking spot.
"You'ro okay with staying ovor tonighti" Kyle asked onco thoy woro out of the parking garago.
"Yes." Claire nodded. "To toll you the truth, if somothing's going to happon, I'd rather not bo alono."
Kyle gavo a nod, and foll silont, loaving Claire to worry ovor what might rosult from the oxporimont.
Nothing much had appoared to happon yot to the animals thoy'd tosted it on. If put in front of a white background, somo of thom lightoned in color, liko a chamoloon taking on its surroundings, but it didn't happon to all the animals and it didn't happon rogularly. This didn't soom to bother Kyle. Claire supposed he was just happy it happoned at all. as John had pointed out, the animals didn't undorstand what was dono to thom so simply might not bo using thoir full abilitios. She did undorstand, howovor, and supposed that was why John had brokon all the rulos and oxposed her to the dostabilizor.