“She does,” replied Josh.
“I thought as much. Those pills are all that’s keeping yourmemory suppressed. The solution is simple – just stop taking them. In a fewdays it will all come back to you.”
“She said they were keeping me alive by stopping the virusfrom mutating.”
“That’s her way of making sure you take them,” said Henry.“Stop and see what happens. If you get sick, then I’m the one that’s lying, butwhy would I go to all this trouble? And she’s hardly going to let you die, isshe? What have you got to lose?”
Josh mulled it over. Everything he was saying made perfectsense.
“I’m going to have to leave now,” said Henry. “She’s goingto be getting out of the shower soon and she could start listening in on you atany moment. She can’t hear me, but she’ll wonder who you’re talking to.”
“I’m really not sure what to do,” said Josh.
“Seriously, stop taking the pills,” said Henry. “In a coupleof days everything will become a lot clearer.”
“And then what?” asked Josh.
“I’ll be back in three days – at the same time. Vanessa’s acreature of habit, she always takes her shower at the same time each morning,”said Henry. “Then we can talk about what needs to be done.”
“Sounds ominous,” replied Josh.
“It is, but let’s leave that until we meet next,” saidHenry. “By then, your memories should have returned and you’ll understandeverything. In the meantime, it’s vital she doesn’t suspect anything. Playalong with her until then.”
“I’m not sure I can keep it up for another three days,” saidJosh. “She’s been coming on really strong. She’s made it really clear she wantsto sleep with me.”
“Stall her,” said Henry. “It’s just three more days. Now Ireally must go. See you on Saturday.”
“Ah, so today’s Wednesday,” said Josh. “Shocking, isn’t it?I don’t even know what day it is. Come to that, I don’t know what month it is,either.”
“It’s June,” replied Henry. “And now I must fly.”
Henry held out the tachyometer in front of him, a devicewhich was currently unfamiliar to Josh, even though he had created it. Quicklyhe stepped forward and vanished.
“That’s a neat trick,” said Josh, before heading for theshower himself. Henry was right – he had nothing to lose and everything togain. He had hated living like this, with no memory of who he was.
But that wouldn’t be for much longer. Soon, he would behimself again.
Chapter Twenty
July 2058
Josh didn’t take long mulling over the conversation withHenry. By the time he had taken a brief shower he had reached a firm decision.
He had felt genuine affinity with Henry. His warm andfriendly nature made Vanessa’s portrayal of him as some sort of genocidallunatic quite unbelievable.
On the other hand, everything Henry had told him aboutVanessa supported the nagging doubts that he had felt about her ever since hehad arrived on the island.
He was going to play along as if nothing had happened, asper Henry’s suggestions. All he had to do was make sure he avoided taking thelittle yellow pills and wait for his memory to return.
Over breakfast, he was polite and friendly, even allowingher to flirt a little with him without overly rebuffing her. If he hinted thathe might be coming around to her way of thinking, she might ease off a littleon him.
It seemed to work, and she was more relaxed than she hadbeen on previous days. Usually she kept a close eye on him when he was takinghis pill but today, he was able to distract her by asking for more coffee as hechatted happily about how much he was enjoying life on the island.
With her back turned, he was quickly able to palm the pilland slip it into his pocket. It had only been on his tongue a second or twowhich was thankfully not long enough for it to dissolve.
Later he was able to safely dispose of it by dropping it inthe sea while he took a paddle during his daily walk around the shoreline.
He noticed some of the many tropical fish that swam aroundthe shallow shores sniffing at the pill but didn’t think it would do them muchharm. Josh had won a goldfish at St Giles’ Fair when he was a kid andremembered being told by his father at the time that goldfish had memories thatonly lasted a few seconds.
He didn’t know if that applied to allfish, but whether it did or not, a little memory loss wasn’t going to adverselyaffect the lives of the colourful shoal swirling around his feet.
He was used to taking his morning walk alone because Vanessawas never around in the mornings, claiming she had work to do. She wasdeliberately vague about the nature of this work, which took place in heroffice, behind a door in the lounge of the villa. When she was in there, shehad made it clear she did not want to be disturbed.
The door was heavy and made of metal, almost like an airlockon a spaceship, something that made him curious. He had tried to open it oneday after he had called her name: there had been no response. But it waslocked.
In the evening they enjoyed a couple of after-dinner drinkson the decking behind the villa. Maybe he was overdoing it on the friendlinessbecause she again brought up the subject of their relationship. Aware that hecouldn’t stall her forever, he knew he had to throw her a bone to keep hersweet until Henry returned in a few days.
It was warm, and they were lit up in the moonlight. It waslike a scene from a romantic movie, and Josh knew he had to be careful.Encourage her too much and she might expect something to happen right now. Giveaway too little and her frustration might boil over, and then there was noknowing what she might do.
“Lovely drop of claret, this,” said Josh, swirling his drinkaround in his expensive crystal glass. “These replicators are amazing. I’dswear this was real. You
