Chapter 2

NEXT MORNING

Eva stood before her husband Adam. He held her close to himself with his hands resting on her waist and his forehead touching hers directly.

Eva is quite tall, but Adam was taller, so her bent to her level. And neither of them seemed in a hurry to pull away. They remained that way for a moment, enjoying the quiet intimacy before Adam finally spoke.

He lifted his head, breaking their. forehead-to-forehead contact. He gently tilted her chin upward and pressed a kiss to her lips.

"Today is your big day Eva, I'm so proud of you" he whispered.

"Let's hope I and my team succeed."

"I know the brain box I married, I trust you" he smiled at her.

"You're always cheesy!" she giggled and then she suddenly frowned as her eyes rested above his brows.

"Something happened?" he asked.

Eva raised her hand to his forehead and slightly wiped off the sweat beads with her thumb. She rubbed her fingers together, feeling the moist of his sweat.

"They're oily," she muttered and looked at him. "and yellow."

"What do you mean?" Adam blinked, looking confused.

"Your sweat beads aren't normal Adam, are you sure you're okay.?" she placed her palm of his forehead to feel his temperature.

"Oh c'mon now, I'm fine Darling. It's just your doctor instincts" he rolled his eyes funnily.

"Are you sure? You were in pain last night too, remember?."

"And like I said, that was just my pills."

"Adam you..."

"I said I'm fine Eva!" he suddenly snapped.

Eva's stood with her mouth open, her hand froze mid air. "Adam..." She whispered.

Adam's eyes widened slightly as he realised what he just did. He quickly took Eva's hand and closed the gap between them.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, I just....I don't know, I just feel a bit worked up" he looked at her with pleading eyes.

Eva released a deep breath. "It's fine, but I still think you should go to the hospital."

"I will, I promise."

~

SCIENCE LAB 9:18am.

"Doctor Charles" Eva looked at the Man standing next to her and gave him a brief nod. He understood the signal and left immediately.

Within moments, he returned carrying the pills. He placed it carefully on the laboratory table, and the rest of the team gathered around it.

Eva's eyes lingered on the pills. Their sleepless nights and endless adjustments had led to this moment. If the pill worked as intended, it could change the future of humanity.

"Let's begin..."

Eva was cut short by the vibration of her phone in her pocket. She reached for it and checked her screen to find it was Adam.

Her forehead rumpled slightly as she stared at her phone. Adam never calls during her working hours except it's really important.

"Doctor Charles" she called and turned to face him. "Please carry on with the test, I have to take this, it's important."

"Of course" He nodded and then she left the room.

"Hey Baby, anything wrong? I was in the middle of..."

"Eva..."

She stopped talking as she heard Adam's voice. It was low, almost inaudible and shaky.

"Adam? can you hear me? are you okay?" she asked quickly but the background was silent with only loud heavy breathing.

Then he finally spoke. "You need to come home Eva, please" Adam muttered like a scared child locked up in a dark room.

"Okay okay, I'm coming right away." She said and dashed out immediately, not bothering to take off her lab coat.

MINUTES LATER...

"Baby?" She called as she rushed into the house but she got no response.

She met the living room empty and the kitchen too, then she quickly rushed to the room and caught the bathroom door slightly open with the sound of running shower..

"Adam? are you there?" She asked and she took quick steps towards it.

"Adam..." She couldn't finish the statement as her voice got stuck up in her throat.

"Oh my God!" She screamed and staggered, holding the door for support. Her eyes and mouth were widely apart as she stared at Adam.

"Eva... What's happening to me?" Adam muttered without looking at her. His eyes stayed gummed to his reflection on the mirror.

His left arm was mutated, looking nothing like a Human's. It was abnormally huge and thorny with huge spikes and hideous red veins.

"Wh...what happened to your arm" Eva stuttered with wide eyes. "What's that?"

"I don't know, Eva! Okay? I don't know!" he snapped, raising his voice as he finally turned to face her. "After you left for work, I experienced that sharp pain again, just like last night. But... but this time, it made me dizzy, and I passed out. When I woke up, my arm was like this."

"The same pain you experienced last night? But you've been taking those pills for..." Eva's words trailed off.

Her lips parted slightly as the realization hit her. Her breathing quickened, and her eyes slowly widened.

"The pills..." she whispered.

She immediately rushed back into the bedroom and began rummaging through the drawer of the bedside table. Her fingers frantically pushed aside a few items until she found the bottle.

She picked it up, examining its contents.

"It's... it's not white."

Her knees suddenly gave way, and she collapsed onto the floor, the bottle trembling in her hands.

"No..no, this can't be happening, this can't..." she started trying to catch her breath.

"Eva, What's going on?" Adam muttered from a distance like he was scared of getting close to Eva.

Eva remained silent for a moment. Then her eyes suddenly went wide again as a remembrance struck her memory.

"The test subjects" her jaw dropped open.

She quickly searched her pocket and brought out her phone, dialing Doctor Charles's number. It didn't ring for long before he picked up.

"Hello Doc..."

"Have you given the pills to the subjects?" she asked immediately, cutting him off.

"Yes, just as you instructed."

"Oh my God" She gasped, clapping her palm over her mouth.

"Talk to me Eva!" Adam called impatiently.

"We need to leave now, Adam" Eva managed to speak. "Now." She got off the floor.

Eva drew the duvet out of the bed and hanged it over Adam's shoulder. Properly arranging it to cover his arm properly.

Her eyes met Adam's and for the first time, she saw fear and uncertainty in his eyes.

"Let's go" she said to him and together the left the house, heading for the lab.