"Blue Horizons" by Jacqueline Harrett"What do you mean the side effects could be permanent?" Zelda glared at Erik. "When you gave me the drugs you said that any side effects should be temporary. At no point did you say 'permanent.'"
Erik blinked and shuffled the papers on his desk. He coughed. "Yes, well....it seems the air on Mars made unexpected changes to your physiology and altered the way the drugs worked. Unexpected changes, you understand...which appear to be..." he took a deep breath, "...irreversible." He forced himself to look up at Zelda. She looked just as beautiful as the day she’d set off on the mission to Mars, twenty years ago. He swallowed, trying to keep his voice steady. "There have been benefits too, Zelda. No signs of ageing such as loss of muscle tone or...loose skin..." "But my skin is blue, Erik. I’m a freak." "The other side effects are..." "Don’t try to calm me down. I know what they are. The superhuman strength comes with a desire to kill someone. Anyone. There has to be an antidote and you’d better find it quickly." Zelda slapped a hand on the desk which cracked and collapsed. Erik’s papers slid to the floor and he could feel his heart rate increasing. "I...we’re working on something but..." "Sort it or you’ll be sorry. Everyone on this little planet will be sorry." She left the room, slamming the door in her wake. Erik collapsed into a chair. There was no solution, no antidote. Sweat beaded his upper lip. What had he done? He knew, to his horror, that he’d released a beautiful monster into the world.
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