Deep Freeze

DEEP FREEZE

BY

DOROTHY STRANGELOVE

The Present Day

She heard the snap and it crunched in her guts and turned them over.  Elizabeth drew in a breath to stave off the nausea that rose as she didn't have to try hard to envision the scene that lie behind the door : It would be as she imagined.

She turned the handle and walked in.  This was the Last Room, at least that was how she saw it - certainly not just because it was at the end of the hall, this was the last thing many saw before the snap of bone cut through the silence.

He was crouched on the floor, his shirt and hands stained with blood as he fed. She raised the gun silently. He lifted his head like a startled animal with a sixth sense, looked round sharply.

"I'm sorry."She said quietly, "I can't live like this any more.."

He blinked once.

"Do it."He told her.

A shot rang out , even though muffled by the size of the big old house, outside birds took flight from trees close by. But there was no one else to hear it, this place was in the middle of nowhere.

Fifteen Years Before

Elizabeth had sobbed all the way through the journey. As fields and miles of greenery sped by her eyes could only see the pictures that played over and over in her head as her heartache continued to rip her to shreds. It had been three years since she had split with Jason. He had been the love of her life from the moment they met, it had been the best and worst affair of her life. After twelve passionate months they had split because of his aversion to commitment. She had cut all ties with him and vowed never to look back. But now this had happened..... Sometimes things happened in life that were so bad everything that had gone on before ceased to matter. This was one of those times. The had shared a good deal of quarrels in the past.  She had hated him enough to leave. But not enough to wish something terrible on him....

She could still recall how good it had felt to be in his arms, how he would put her on the verge of an orgasm just by whispering in her ear and telling her what he was going to do to her as his hand slid down between her legs... Once she had tied him down and after those soft leather restraints had been closed she had kissed every single inch of his body, starting from his face, down his neck, his chest, his pelvis, his thighs, teasing her tongue briefly up the shaft of his cock as he shivered with ecstacy and begged her to keep going. She had kissed him everywhere, down his legs, kissed his feet, letting her long hair brush up his legs as she worked her way back up to his thighs, spreading him wide as he shook with excitement as she sucked on his balls, both in her mouth while she caressed them with her tongue. Then she moved lower, letting her tongue briefly touch his arse, something that sent a wave of pleasure shooting through him as he begged her to do it again.   He was so hard by then he was begging her to make him come. She closed her hand around his cock and gently moved it up and down. He threw his head back and gasped as he tried to hold back and enjoy the moment but as she whispered: "Shoot for me.." he lost control and came hard and loud, squirting all over her face and tits. Sex was always good with Jason, but that had been the day he looked into her eyes and said: "I love you, Elizabeth..I love you with all my heart..."

Whenever she thought of him, it was those moments she preferred to cherish. Now all that was clouded over by what had happened. Jason had been a handsome, successful scientist who had the world at his feet some day. Now all that was gone - certainly the  man she had loved was gone. His perfect face and body were gone forever, because of an horrific accident. So many people had said he was lucky to be alive. She doubted he felt that way. He had loved his life as he was, fit and active, good looking. Now his face was scarred and he had shattered so many bones he could barely use his left arm and he would never walk again. Finally his dare devil ways had caught up with him, he had flown his light plane in poor conditions against advice and assumed he could handle it. He didn't handle it, he had instead crashed into a field,  shattering most of his body in the mangled wreckage.  She was crying for the man she had known, who would never be that man again. Regret had coursed through her sharply, the worst thing of all, irreversible regret.  It had taken this for her to realise she still loved him and when she had been told about the accident she wished with all her heart she could have been there for him.  But it had been six months since his accident. He had contacted her and asked her how she felt about seeing him again.

"I'm not expecting you to fall into my arms,"He had told her, "I'm not the man you used to know any more, that accident really smashed me up. My face is a mess and no amount of plastic surgery can ever fix it. You won't want me when you see what I look like now."

"But I will,"She had promised him, "I'll look at you and see the man I fell in love with."

As he spoke she could hear the sadness in his voice. She wanted to cry and sob and say, it made no difference, she loved him anyway, but the words couldn't come unless she wanted to break down and let him hear it in her voice. Time had passed, they needed to talk, to get to know each other all over again - and she was determined not to cry. She was sure Jason had already shed enough tears behind the privacy of his closed door and he didn't need her sympathy.

Pulling up outside the big old house, memories rushed at her and she wiped her eyes again.

"How is he?"She asked the driver, "I mean, how is he really?"

"Not good."Scott replied. "He won't show it, but he's devastated. He never thought his life would be like this. But he is working on it. Better if he tells you more about that."

Scott had known him for years, studied with him and worked with him and knew him better than anyone. The pair of them were like brothers, they had been out together on the night she had met Jason.

She hadn't believed him at first when he had said, you should meet my mate, he's a genius.. then she had met charming and funny Jason, who had told her, No, he's not joking. I'm a scientist. I'm working on cellular regeneration... She had listened. It sounded exciting and complicated. He had been paid a massive sum of money to work on perfecting a 'smart' cell that took damaged tissue and replicated it whole again. The only problem was, it worked at sub-zero temperatures and any surviving test animals needed regular blood transfusions for the process to be maintained. His critics had said all he had succeeded in making was a 'vampire gene'. But the studies had gone on and on, with no further progress as yet. Now she wondered if he would ever see his work finished. Scott had said he had now taken over the practical side while Jason recovered in what ever way he could.

"You ready?"

Elizabeth paused, steadied herself emotionally. For all his faults Jason was so dear to her, such a sweet and loving man, he had not deserved what had happened and she didn't want to make him feel worse by breaking down at the sight of him.

"I'm ready."She told him.

Elizabeth checked her make up for smudges, took a deep breath and got out of the car.

He led her around the back of the house. The roses were in bloom and the flowers  threw a riot of colour that lined the flower beds around the large lawn. Just the sight and the scents hitting her all at once brought back memories of summers now gone, rolling drunk on the grass with Jason, getting fucked by him as they kissed so deeply his tongue never left her mouth until he came up for air at the moment of ejaculation. And the warm rain on their skin made their bodies slide together as if they were a perfect fit, he a piece of her jigsaw and she a part of his.... There was a patio that led onto the lawn, around here there used to be a big, padded swing seat. It had been big enough for both of them to make love on.

The swing seat was still there. As they walked across the patio her heart missed a beat. Jason was lying across it, his head turned towards the inside of the seat, his arm across his face to shield his eyes from the sun. He was wearing denim shorts and nothing else. For that second, everything she had heard about his accident was forgotten.

Then Scott said his name.

Jason weakly propped himself up and turned to look at them.

"Elizabeth!"He said warmly.

Elizabeth stared. She was sure she only stared for the briefest time but it was impossible not to.

His legs were marked with scars. Fading wounds and surgical incisions. There was another vivid scar that ran down his wrist to his left hand. Worst of all was the fact that as he turned round she realised half his face was covered with a plastic mask. It was impossible to see the skin beneath as the mask was tinted flesh colour. The other half of his face was unscarred. His mouth was visible, both his eyes too. Just the left side of his face was obscured.

"Come here."He said softly and held his arms out.

Elizabeth blinked away tears as she hugged him.

Siting beside him now, up close to him, looking into his eyes, everything he had said about his face stopped mattering. He was still the same man she fell in love with, even if he didn't feel like that person right now.

"I'm so glad you're alive!"

He laughed.

"Well apparently I should be dead, but you know me, I like to be full of surprises."

She looked away as tears threatened to well up in her eyes again.

"What about your work? Still getting called Dracula?"

"Still working on that one."

Scott turned and walked inside. He did it slowly. It irritated her slightly, he wanted to listen. Scott always listened. Many years back she had been sure he had listened when the bed was hammering against the wall as Jason fucked her. That was the only thing she disliked about him, that nagging certain something that told her he liked to spy a little too much. As Scott disappeared, she felt herself relax a little.

"I'm so glad you asked me to come here. I've never stopped.."

Loving you just couldn't come out. She gave a sob and he put his arm around her, pulled her close and she cried some more, holding on to him feeling stupid that a simple thing like not crying had proved so impossible.

He drew back a little and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"I know you still love me. I wouldn't have told you about this if I thought you hated me! I wanted to see you. I've missed you. And I need to be with you."

As he recognised the spark of hope in her eyes he moved in for a kiss. She stiffened, froze. Her gaze was fixed on the mask.

"Not yet. Sorry, I can't just yet."

Jason nodded. He didn't seem at all offended by her reaction.

"I won't always look like this, Elizabeth."

"Well you can always have surgery there must be something that can be fixed."

And he smiled at that remark.

"So far it hasn't done much at all. But I'm working on something to make a difference to that."

From behind the curtain, Scott watched as they sat talking. He watched as the sunlight bounced off Elizabeth's long chestnut hair and the way she stretched out her legs in that tiny mini skirt. Driving her up here had been tough. He had always liked her, more than liked her. He suspected she liked him, too. It was the way she used to cross her legs and give him a flash of lace hold-ups on her stockings, how her tits used to swing and knock together like two soft fleshy little balloons when she leaned over or turned around quickly. Of course she wanted him to notice, she had to - after all, what could she see in Jason now?  He continued to watch. She did not kiss him. Of course she wouldn't. He looked like a monster.. Now she was closer to him, her head leaning slightly on one side as she listened intently. Ah, he was telling her about his own personal research. He had moved quickly on that one...Scott carried on watching.

"What do you mean?"Elizabeth asked him, rather disturbed by his comment that he was going to use his own research to aid his recovery.

"I've been using the deep freeze method on my own body. Only for a few seconds at a time, already I'm noticing the pain is disappearing. That means I'm healing."

"Or it means the cold is making you numb, Jason, you know this is a bad idea!"

He shrugged that off.

"You're not a scientist, Elizabeth, I am and I think I know how my own work was developed and what it involves. Don't you think I'm entitled to try and get my life back together?"

He had always been able to win any disagreement. She gave in and nodded.

"Just don't hurt yourself in the process."

He took hold of her hands and looked deeply into her eyes.

"Tonight, I'm going in the freezing chamber for one hour. It's all been designed to work with the smart cells I've implanted in my bloodstream and when the lid closes I'll be quite safe. It will be like going to sleep, that's all. And when the time is up, the machine will slowly warm me and I'll wake up again. Nothing can go wrong."

There was a look of determination in his eyes that only belonged to the desperate. There was no talking him out of this.

"What does Scott think?"

"Scott will do everything I say if he wants to stay a part of this project and get the rewards at the end."

"This is dangerous. This is totally insane."

"Staying like this is totally insane when I may have a way to fix it."

"What about the changes to you  after the process?"

"One hour is nothing. I may need a blood transfusion but we have blood. If I do, it won't be more than two units."

She looked again at her former lover. Yes, he was willing to take a risk but he wasn't insane. He had worked on this project for several years. It was all his own work. No one knew it better than he did.

"Promise me you'll be careful."

He smiled. Ever an optimist, he decided now would be a good time to make another move on her.

"Only if you kiss me."

Her gaze was locked on his, blocking out all the things that startled her so much about his face. In his eyes, there she saw the man she had loved. She focussed on this as they kissed. Once his mouth was on her's she closed her eyes and welcomed his tongue into her mouth as their kisses grew deeper and hungrier. His good arm was gripping her, holding her to him as she warmed to his touch, longing for yesterday, when he was whole and life made sense and this situation before her did not exist.

As he let go of her, she saw in his eyes that same spark that had drawn her in the beginning, even now she could not deny she still wanted him.

He got his cock out and thrust it towards her.

"Suck me dry.."

Elizabeth felt a tingle of excitement run through her as she heard the commanding tone in his voice. He had always known how to lock her into submissive mode and she slid back into it easily, lowering her head and opening her mouth wide as she took his cock in her mouth.  He was breathing hard, enjoying every stroke of her soft lips up and down his shaft, as she flicked her tongue over the head of his cock he tried to hold back but she was sucking and sucking and he just wanted to fill her throat with his cum. He gasped as the semen shot out, the orgasm all the sweeter for the way she sucked as he shot his load, sucking and swallowing as pleasure surged through his body.  Then he leaned back on the swing seat, his eyes still closed as a smile spread across his face.

"I've missed you.."He murmured.

Back in the house Scott felt his balls go tight as he reached orgasm. His breathing had misted up a small circular patch on the glass but he didn't care as the spunk shot out and everything throbbed hard right up to his arse. One thought ran through his mind: If only she would do that to me.. Then he came to his senses sharply. Elizabeth was helping Jason back into his wheelchair. They were coming inside. And like a fool he had shot all over his hand and spattered the curtain as well. He wiped off the white marks, out of desperation opted to lick it off his hand, then he wiped it down the back of his jeans.

He jumped as they came in through the doorway.

"What's the matter with you?"Said Jason.

"Nothing." He said quickly, "Have you told her about.."

"I know."Elizabeth replied, "I just wish it didn't have to be so soon."

As Jason looked up at Elizabeth with understanding in his eyes, Scott felt the bottom of his stomach fall out. He just wanted to get this over with. As close as he and Jason had been, this accident had changed him, made him obsessed with finding a cure within his own hands. It was suicide, nothing more, nothing less to go into that chamber for sixty minutes. Scott was only sticking around in the hope that his presence could avert a disaster.

"We can always put it off till tomorrow."Jason said, "Me and Elizabeth need some time to catch up..I'll see you later on."

And they went across the room, through the doorway and out into the hall, towards the former study that was currently Jason's bedroom.

Scott breathed a sigh of frustration. Jason had put off suicide till tomorrow, and in the meantime he was going to spend the night inside Elizabeth. He couldn't be bothered to listen at the door and have another wank, it was all too disheartening. Instead he made for the drinks cabinet and opened a bottle of malt.

The door was locked. Elizabeth was glad he had locked the door, which was made of thick, heavy wood through which sounds would not easily carry. She helped him onto his bed. He patted the space on the matress beside him. She sat down.

He leaned back on the big, soft pillows and looked at her.

"You don't have to sleep with me if you don't want to."

"I want to."

She couldn't refuse him now, she didn't want to, it was too late for that, the taste of his spunk was still in her mouth and only served to remind her of what she had missed. The mask on his face still looked sinister. It was ugly, artificial, yet she couldn't bring herself to ask him to take it off. He seemed to read her mind.

"I don't sleep in this thing, you know. I will have to take it off soon."

"I know."She said quietly.

His mind had been full of thoughts of the chamber and what benefits he might gain from its use, then those thoughts had been shelved as he fed his mind with images of Elizabeth and the memory of her body. Now something else had come to mind and it hurt him to say it.

"Are you scared of my face?"

Jason had always been so bloody blunt. That hurt, more than she cared to show. Now she felt uncomfortable.

"No, of course not - I just don't know what to expect."

Jason reached up and unfastened the mask, taking it off with a sweep of his hand. He turned and looked at her, looked her right in the eye.

"It's not pretty, is it?" He said truthfully.

It was worse than she had expected, deep scars ran down his cheek, up to his eye, down to the corner of his mouth, over the bridge of his nose. The skin was livid and uneven, the scarring so deep in places it pitted his skin.

"No, it isn't pretty."She said honestly, and with her eyes still looking into his, she gently took him in her arms and kissed him once more.

He breathed out deeply, whispered in her ear: "If I wasn't in the mess I'm in,  I'd fuck you black and blue right now.."

There was a difference in his hunger, something that never used to be there, he seemed more aggressive, as if the accident had moved the submissive in him to the back of him mind and now all he wanted to do was concentrate on what he could still do to her.

"You don't want me to tie you up then?"

He laughed softly.

"I can't walk and I can barely move, what's the point in restraining me?"

His hand slid down between her legs.

"Open them for me."

She slid her skirt up to her hips. He liked what he saw, no knickers and shaved pubic hair, just there enough to feel like velvet as his fingers brushed downwards towards her wet and swollen slit.

She knew what was coming next and thrust upwards, moaning with pleasure as he slid his fingers in, then out, then in again, her hole grew wider with the pressure and still he pushed against her, in her. She was taking him up to the knuckles and her clit was throbbing as all the blood seemed to rush to her groin. He kissed her.

"Come for me."

She slid her hand down and began to rub her clit. He pushed harder, she felt  pain as her vagina stretched yet the pleasure was taking over and she was coming, just as the final pain burned deep in her cunt and she realised she had taken all of his fist. Then she came, hard and uncontrollably, as he slowly withdrew his hand, keeping his fingers in there just long enough to feel the last squeeze of her muscles as her body contracted with pleasure.

He gave her another kiss.

"I enjoyed that, Elizabeth. Now get up and sit on it for me."

She was weak with the orgasm but dragged herself up and shakily sat down on his cock. Every thrust felt like heaven, a small step towards a second orgasm that she seemed to sway on the brink of as he moved his cock in and out of her soaking, stretched hole. He couldn't thrust very hard but she didn't care, what he had just done had switched her on in the way that only Jason could. He came for the second time that day and immediately fell back exhausted, his arm around her, pulling her close beside him.

"Promise me you'll love me no matter what."

She had waited so long to hear those words but all her emotion had been spent and she was still exhausted. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his warm chest, closer to his heartbeat.

"I promise." She told him.

They slept. When Elizabeth awoke evening shadows were chasing over the walls, a three-quarters-full moon was just becoming visible and the last gasp of daylight was being swallowed by the coming night.

Here in his bed, filled with the scent of his skin and the smell of their lovemaking still warm in the air, she was caught in that between moment when all she knew was the land of sleep, where memories did not exist, just this contentedness, a snatch of bliss known only by deep sleepers in the waking moment. She turned around, cheek brushing the pillow as she moved in laziness, to see the contours of his face as he slept, her beautiful Jason. Then the light snapped on and the room was bathed in yellow that hurt her eyes, the first thing she saw was his real face, broken up and scarred, again she felt that jolt as the shock hit her all over again. He was sitting up, indicated to the time.

"It's not too late, it's just gone seven. We could still do it tonight."

Everything was back in place in her mind now. As he said those words a ball of dread went hard inside her.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I told you, I'm safe, I know what I'm doing.."

He looked at her sharply.

"Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you. I don't doubt you, I just want you to be safe."

"I will be safe."

There was impatience in his voice. She knew that tone; he was decided. It would be tonight...

An hour later Scott, still nursing a drink which had long since been watered by melted ice, joined them in the lab, which had at one time been a ballroom in times long gone, then had been used as an artist's studio because of the wide skylights that let so much light flood in. During the day this place looked bright and impressive. Right now, with the black night looking overhead and the harsh flurescent glow that lit the room, this place was anything but welcoming. Up against the far wall stood a tank that was made of gleaming metal. Pipes ran from the sides and went under the floor.  It resembled a coffin, except for the fact that a large window at one end was completely transparent.

Scott unlocked the catches that held the unit together and the front panel completely came open. He helped Jason into it. Throughout this he had stayed silent, focussed on preparing the chamber, trying to conceal his own doubts.

Jason laid down inside the chamber. He turned his head towards Scott.

"One hour. Not a minute more."

Scott nodded. Then he whispered: "Good luck, Jason."

Jason didn't notice his closest friend had tears in his eyes. He winked at Elizabeth.

"When I get out of this thing I'll be a new man."

If you get through this, she thought, and silently prayed nothing would go wrong.

Scott lifted the lid, closed it and turned the catches to seal the chamber. He turned a dial, hit buttons on a keypad and walked over to the monitors and watched the small black screens jump to life. Vital signs that showed steady and even.

Elizabeth turned back to the chamber. Through the clear window Jason's face was disappearing, covered by a white, rising mist that filled the chamber in seconds. Her throat went tight as she watched his vital signs fall.

"We should get him out.."

Scott's finger shook alarmingly as he pointed to the cardiac monitor.

"The drop in temperature happens so fast it causes instant loss of consciousness. Slows the heatbeat right down, too. This is supposed to happen...but he's never been in there for an hour before. In theory - his theory - one hour is the maximum safe exposure time. When we get him out of there we should see a massive improvement in his scars...rapid healing, more than that, partial regeneration of lost and damaged tissue....in theory."

And Scott downed the whisky in one, felt it burn as it hit him deep inside and went over to the desk and poured another.

"I've never been so fucking scared in all my life."He confessed, gesturing to the chamber, "If he dies, we could get done for murder - well, I could. I never should have gone along with this.."

Scott was drinking faster. And he was the only one who knew how to turn that thing off..

"What happens if he stays in there longer than sixty minutes?"

Scott swirled the liquid around in the glass thinking about its comforting warmth as he replied.

"Exposure for more than one hour would change his cell structure irreversibly, making his body dependant on regular sessions in the chamber to prevent degeneration of new tissue - and dependant on regular intakes of blood to feed the new cells. He would be a proper mutation of nature - in theory."

He was sweating. He swallowed another mouthful of booze to steady his nerves.

"How do we get him out?"She asked him.

"Manual shutdown of the chamber's freezing unit - turn the dial all the way to the left and a red light comes on for prescisely six minutes. Freezer stops freezing, chamber warms up, gets his circulation going normally..then we get him out of there, warm him up, hopefully he's still breathing and hopefully we can wake him and when we do he will be the same Jason we knew before tonight..."

Scott's eyes were glazing as he drank another mouthful of dutch courage. He raised his glass to towards the chamber.

"Here's to the greatest scientist who ever lived - in theory.."

The hour crawled by. Scott rambled on and paced about as Elizabeth stood watching the chamber, wanting this to be over. It was unreal, like a horror movie, except that she had known about his research for years and it was all to real and it was happening in front of her eyes. She had already decided what she would say when this was over, she would tell him, she loved him no matter what he looked like, no matter how useless his body was now. It didn't matter. He was here, alive and she wanted him to stay that way. This risk he was taking was too much, a step too far, playing with processes which he had little practical experience with. His life was too precious to risk again.

As she gave a sob, Scott heard her and took his opportunity to throw his arms around her. She shuddered and wept so gently that he thought she was even lovely when she cried. He gripped her tighter, felt her breasts crushing against him, wondered how he could get a hard on under these circumstances..

"Listen, Elizabeth, there's something I want to say to you - "

The timer beeped in unison with the clock on the wall.

He let go of her, dashed to the chamber and turned the dial.

The fog within began to melt away.

He returned to the monitors and watched as each one counted down from six minutes.

At first, his vital signs remained slow. Neither of them spoke as they continued to watch the screens.

The time crawled. Then Scott shook his head.

"This is bad, it's been nearly four minutes it should be picking up.."

Two more seconds ticked by, and the signals suddenly picked up speed.

"That's it, that's it,"Scott was saying, optimism creeping into his voice, "He's going to be alright..he has to be, everything's going back to normal, look."

As the counter continued to zero, Scott opened a fridge. Elizabeth shivered : bags of blood. He took one out and set it down on the table.

"Don't know for sure how much he's going to need..not yet.."

Elizabeth stood back, right out of the way, finding it hard to share Scott's enthusiasm. After what she had just seen she found it hard to believe anyone could survive inside that thing and come out in one piece.

The glass was wet inside, droplets of water showered out as Scott threw open the lid.

"Jason?"He said sharply and shook him.

He didn't respond at first. Elizabeth watched as his friend shook him again, panic creeping into his voice as he called his name a second, then a third time. He was deathly pale and his skin was damp, his hair dripping wet. But the scarring to his face, although still obvious, was faded somewhat. He opened his eyes slowly, took in a heavy breath. He started to shiver.

"Did it work?"

Scott breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's just say you look better than you did an hour ago."

He glanced at Elizabeth, who forced a nervous smile as she thought, it would have been better if he had failed. She knew him only too well. Now he would never let go of this..

It took a while to stop him shaking. Scott took some blood and looked at it under the microscope and then hooked him up to an IV and started his first transfusion. Then he gave him a second one, after which he said with relief in his voice that everything seemed normal again.

Jason slept for several hours, Elizabeth stayed by his side, too afraid to leave him, afraid to look away in case everything that had altered him in the chamber crumbled away. She reached out and stroked his face. The scars were still there, but lighter, as if the deep gouges in his skin had simply been erased.

He stirred, she kissed him gently. He had felt cold as death for several hours after the experiment, now he was warm again, warm enough for her to want to run her hands all over him.

She slid her hand under the covers and moved slowly down his body. He stirred some more and a smile came to his lips.

"Don't stop, just touch me.."

Her fingers curled around his cock.  He opened his eyes and laughed softly.

"That's one place where I still feel cold..I think you should defrost me properly.."

"Is it hurting?"

"It's hurting bad, I need you to make it better for me.."

He slid the covers back and put his hand on the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair and pulling it just tight enough to hurt a little as he pushed her mouth downwards.

"Suck it, bitch.." He ordered, "Suck it properly for me.."

That wave of desire washed over her senses again and she took him in her mouth, sucking as he controlled her movement and kept a firm grip on her hair. He thrust up to her face harder than before, with more urgency and even when she coughed as it hit the back of her throat he carried on, desperate to cum.

She sucked harder as he neared orgasm but he didn't wait for her, instead pushing it deep into her mouth, bruising her before giving one final thrust as he fucked her face and shot his load. She swallowed, coughed as she tried to take a lungful of air, then swallowed again. He let go of her hair and she let her lips glide up and down his cock, cleaning him lovingly.

Then he took her in his arms - both of his arms and held her tightly.

"I can move my arm again."

"I know,"She said and they looked into each other's eyes, both sharing a moment of warmth.

That moment was quickly chilled for Elizabeth.

"I think one more hour in there tomorrow will be enough to erase all the scars, at least the ones on my face.."

Jason felt his lover tense as she lay beside him. He stroked her hair.

"I've just proved my theory was right. I've proved an hour at a time in the chamber is safe. Look at my face..Look at me!"

And he grabbed her face, turned her towards him. There was an urgency about him that she had never seen before, like a cold fire burning deep within his eyes.

"Look at my face..I'm almost there! I can use my arm again. I can feel my legs as well. One more time, Elizabeth.. then no more, not for at least six months..but I have to do this one more time!"

There was something fanatical about him, about his urge to use the chamber. Scott had been so sure his blood had returned to normal. And he had said, over use of the chamber would make him dependant..but what if he was wrong about the kind of dependancy?

"How do you feel?"She asked him.

That fire still burned in his eyes as if he had discovered the elixir of life.

"I've never felt so alive."He told her, "Forget everything you thought about life and death and all it's meanings - I've just blown all of that out of the water. When I show my results to the world I'll be called the greatest scientist who ever lived - the man who conquered death itself. That chamber has the potential not just to regenerate flesh but to prolong life indefinitely.."

"Not everyone will see it that way."

He was past caring about any form of criticism.

"No, no, that won't matter, who will object? Just the backward of this world who don't understand. They'd rather hide behind a three letter word and pray to the sky because they can't see death for what it is - the end, lights off, goodbye.. I'm a man of science, Elizabeth. I have no time for those who can't see their own potential.."

"The potential to live forever?"She said quietly.

He smiled.

"Of course."

Elizabeth sighed, held him closer and shut her eyes, prayed to the god he didn't believe in to restore his sanity sometime soon, then fell into an uneasy sleep.

Morning began with a cloudy sky that darkened quickly, bringing with it heavy rain. Thunder rumbled and lightening flashed somewhere far off, the rain was endless and the storm seemed to be growing closer.

Jason was impatient to outline his intentions to Scott.

They argued.

Scott walked out to the patio and stood there in the rain, cold but glad he wasn't as cold as the man who wanted a second go in the freezing chamber. After a while he came back in.

Later, Elizabeth would always conclude this was the deciding moment when everything took a wrong turn.

He pushed his rain-soaked hair from his eyes, glared at Jason and made no attempt to hide his resentment.

"Ok,"He said, "Tonight it is. And this is the last time I watch you do this to yourself."

The storm blew overhead for most of the day, outside rain lashed the gardens and hit the windows and trees bent with the wind.

Inside the house, while Scott consoled himself with a drink Jason sat at his desk and began to create a program to work towards making alterations to the chamber.

"It's the next stage of the project,"He told Elizabeth, "To make a timer that can be operated from the inside of the chamber so I need little if any help from the outside."

Her face was still turned to the window as she watched the storm.

"Did you hear me?"

"I heard you."

"I know you're not like Scott..you'll stay, won't you? You do love me, don't you?"

"Of course I do."She replied automatically.

As much as she hated what he was doing, she was not about to turn her back like Scott. He had her, he had always had her right there, within his fist, and she was not about to tear herself away. Outside the trees were battered by the wind, leaves being ripped away as branches leaned. Yet no matter what happened, they stayed put. Like me, Elizabeth thought, Like me for him. I bend, but I do not break.

After a few hours working on the program, he had reached the point where waiting had become unbearable. They had agreed twenty-four hours should elapse before his second session. It was three fifteen. He had hours to wait. Sweat was breaking out on his face.

"I just want to get back in there and do it."He said, "I want to feel alive again. I want to heal myself."

"You will."She promised him, "But please wait..it's just a few more hours.  We need to stay as safe as we can, right? Otherwise it could compromise the results."

To her relief, he nodded.

"You're right."

And he sank back down in the armchair by the window, managed to stretch out his legs. He took a deep breath.

"I just can't stop thinking about how that chamber made me feel.."

That look was still in his eyes, like the memory was haunting and tantalising him at the same time.

"I can't describe how I feel. It's like I know this great secret and nobody else can share it because they haven't lived it like I have.."

Elizabeth took a step closer to him. He was getting better but he was very much the weaker of the two of them and he recognised the look in her eyes as she smiled a slow smile.

"You know I do like to be in control some of the time. I've missed that. You've been so aggressive lately.."

She was leaning closer, her cleaveage spilling downwards giving him a great view of a deep, soft place where he longed  to push his face. She was actually taking his mind off the experiment somewhat.

He smiled. Time to play a little game..

"Help yourself, then..any part of me you fancy.."

She got on her knees. As her hands slid down his shoes he laughed..she never could resist  his shoes, or a chance to touch his feet.

"Go on, then..I did say you could do what you liked.."

She slid off his shoes, pausing to smell the leather and the scent of his skin. Then Elizabeth took his right foot in her hand, raised it and kissed across the upper part of his foot. Her hands were gently massaging him and for a moment all thoughts of his obsession with the chamber disappeared. Her mouth was soft and gentle, kissing him as she caressed him, then she did the same with his left foot, her touch was so gentle and warm he closed his eyes and enjoyed it and wondered why it felt like an intimate massage. He wasn't into shoes or feet like she was but it certainly felt good.. She put his shoes back on, then got up again, kissed him hard on the mouth and whispered:

"You smell so good I could fuck you here and now."

In the old days, he would have submitted and let her take over, but the sensual feelings were gone and the urgency was back within him.

"Wait till I've been in the chamber again..then I'll give you a fuck that you will never forget."

Elizabeth felt her heart sink. This obsession of his was growing by the hour. She dreaded to think what he would be like after a second dose..

"This is the last time." Scott's gaze was unblinking as he looked at Jason.

"I mean it, I won't be any part to repeated exposure by a human subject. This is getting too serious."

Jason lay back in the chamber.

"Lock me in, switch it on and I'll see you in an hour."

Over his shoulder he saw Elizabeth's anxious face and smiled.

"Don't worry, Elizabeth..this is controlled and safe..and remember what I promised you."

With that he shut his eyes. He waited. Scott understood, this was Jason doing what he did best, having the final word as usual. He replied by slamming the door of the chamber and sealing it.

Jason didn't  react, he was waiting for the switch to be activated, the moment he had thought about all day.

As the window misted, paled and his image was swallowed by the vapour, Scott watched the monitors for a moment, then remarked:

"Well that's me finished with this. I'll get him out of there and that will be the end of it..I'll work on the project but I won't mess around with human subjects. It's mad - he's mad if he thinks this is acceptible."

And he poured himself another drink. It began to dawn on her that he hadn't really let up on the drinking since last night. His eyes were still glazed, his resentment at his role in this was becoming all too apparent now.

They sat in silence as the time ticked by. Then he filled his glass a final time, drained the last drop from the bottle and dropped it into the bin with a crash that seemed to bounce around the room and only emphasise the hollowness they both felt.

He got up.

"I need a refill."He said, and left the room.

Elizabeth stood in the lab, in the silence that was only broken by the sound of the monitors, the only indication that he was still alive inside that thing. She looked at the chamber, a steel coffin of ice..she wondered what he would be like after this second treatment. Yes, he would certainly look better. But that cold fire would burn even brighter within him, all he would talk about and think about would be his next session in the chamber. And he would become more obsessed with every passing day.

The place suddenly seemed too cold, too empty and she could'nt bear it. She walked out, leaving half an hour before the shutdown, and went to find Scott. He made her a little uneasy right now but any company was better than none at this moment in time.

He was in the livingroom, the empty glass on the table as he took a swig from a freshly opened bottle.

Seeing her come in and join him made him smile. So she couldn't keep away, then.. He put the bottle down and smiled.

"Think we're both better off in here for a while. It's not healthy, staying around that chamber too long. It's too weird for me. And too weird for you, I think. Come and sit down."

She sat beside him. He offered her a drink but she refused, one of them had to stay sober in case anything went wrong...

"I don't know what you see in him."He remarked, "He's changed a lot over the last couple of years - ever since his research went to the next level, he's had so much interest,all these people calling him a bloody genius and saying he could be making such a breakthrough, it's gone to his head. After the accident most normal people would have been in pieces but no, not Jason..he was at first but then he started saying all this mad stuff about how his own invention could repair everything and he wasn't afraid to try it.."

He drew in a shaky breath, took another mouthful from the bottle and steadied his nerve.

"Four months ago we moved the experiment to living tissue. Four months ago, Elizabeth..we used monkeys.. after two three hour sessions they seemed fine. Transfusions set their blood cells right and we thought, this is a real turning point..then they went crazy..ripped each other to shreds..ate each other."

His mind was still spinning. He glanced at the bottle and decided better of it and set it down on the table; in his memory he could still see the blood smeared all over the cages and spattered up the walls..and Elizabeth was looking so beautiful, so sweet and comforting. She knew how he felt, she understood, she had to.. He reached forward and grasped her arm.

"You and me..it's different for us, I mean, we've always understood each other, haven't we?"

He was right in her face, breathing whisky all over her. She leaned back, shook her arm free, stood up. He stood up to, stepped closer. Now alarm bells were ringing, there was a look in his eyes that made her go cold, he was looking at her like he wanted to have her, and it wouldn't matter if she wanted him to or not.

"Jason has another thirty minutes in that chamber, then - "

Rage clouded  his eyes and he snatched hold of her, fingers digging into her flesh sending pain to her very bones as he dragged her hard against him.

"Dracula is in his fucking box, Elizabeth. He can't hear you, he doesn't know and he doesn't care!"

She struggled. He let go of her. She made a move to step back, but his fist slammed into her cheek and knocked her on her back. She hit the ground hard, pain smacked across her head and made her vision blur for a moment. Everything hurt. Blood was running from her mouth.

And he was on top of her. Scott was on top of her and parting her legs.

She screamed and struggled.

"Don't fight me.." He was speaking so calmly, as if she was merely nervous and he was her lover getting her in the mood.

He forced his cock inside her, all the way up. It hurt, he started to thrust in and out, slowly, deliberately, enjoying every second.

She let her body go limp. Fighting would only make it worse, make him worse.

He was breathing heavy in her ear.

"I knew you'd love it." He whispered.

Elizabeth felt his grip relax. She slid backwards, struggled free and aimed a knee straight into his balls.

He yelled out and as the pain made him double over, she dragged herself to her feet.

"Jason will kill you for this!" She yelled.

Scott lunged at her again.

Anger burned in his eyes, he closed his hands about her throat and squeezed as he shoved her backwards, falling with her as they crashed into the table. It snapped and splintered beneath their combined weight, she felt the wood slice her flesh and splinter her body. Her eyes felt as if they would burst, she struggled for air. The room was growing dimmer, she was about to pass out.

"Jason," He told her, "Will never know.."

As he squeezed harder, her fingers closed around the cold neck of the open whisky bottle. She drew on all the strength she had, every last bit she could drag up and as she slammed it into the side of his head it shattered, with it came a crack of bone and he slumped on top of her.

Elizabeth panicked and pushed him and kicked, feeling pinned down by his dead weight. As he rolled off her she realised he would not be repeating his attack - she had more than knocked him out. He was lying lifeless on the floor, blood running from a gash to his head.

Thunder rumbled over the house as the storm made a return, as lightening flashed the lights flickered and as they burned bright again she stood there, taking in the scene: the room was trashed. The table smashed, bits of broken wood and glass littered the floor. There was blood everywhere - looking down at her cuts and gashes she realised it was her's.

She gave a sob and thought of Jason. He had only been in the chamber for half an hour. She could get him out, she knew how. He would know what to do.

She stepped over Scott's body feeling a terror rising in her - she had not meant to kill him and all she wanted to do was get away from this room, get to the lab, wake Jason. She ran to the doorway.

And in her panic her shoe slid in a bloodstain, she slipped and smacked her head on the doorframe.

Elizabeth sank to the floor, knocked out cold.

And in the lab, Jason slept on.

The timer went off. No one came.

In her head, there was a pounding like a hammering on a door. She heard it but lost herself in sleep again. She was cold, so cold and the bed was made of stone but if she moved the branches that held her here grew thorns and snagged on her skin. It was a dark place, she thought, cold and dark but she could not move. Then someone lifted her up, carried her away from this, placed her on a warm, soft bed and covered her with a blanket. Then, she slept on.

Elizabeth opened her eyes and found herself in bed. The room was warm and the window was open, the sun was high in the blue sky and the sound of birdsong drifted faintly on the light breeze.

She ached all over. Her head still hurt but only mildly. She blinked again, recognised Jason's bedroom.

That was the moment it all came flooding back, images flashed to mind as the cold realisation of the truth hit her and turned her blood to ice: Jason in the chamber. Scott shut the lid. She had watched as that machine swallowed him up again. Left the room. Gone to find Scott...his face was up against her's, he pinned her down. The whisky bottle. The blood.. the first thought that hit her was, I've killed someone. The next thought blew everything else out of the way: Jason is still in the chamber, he's been trapped for hours! She threw the covers back, briefly noticed her torn clothing and the scratches and the bruises. How did they happen? Oh, yes..Scott, last night. He deserved it. But Jason was her main concern now....she made her way carefully down the corridor, went quietly down the stairs, feeling more and more sick as she approached the bottom, knowing she would take a few more steps, turn to the open livingroom door and see Scott lying on the floor, there would be blood everywhere and the table would be smashed and the glass would be broken..

At the bottom of the stairs, she turned towards the scene and faced it head on.

Elizabeth blinked, scanned the room with frightened eyes and continued to stare.

There was nothing. Nothing wrong at all. The table was gone, the glass was gone, Scott's body was gone and there was not a spot of blood in sight.

She drew in a shaky breath and felt a small wave of relief. It had been a night filled with strange dreams. Maybe it had all been a dream. She wanted to think so, she needed to think so.

Elizabeth turned and headed towards the lab.

The house was silent, if she listened hard she could hear a clock ticking somewhere but that was all..No, there was something else. A hissing sound. It got louder as she approached the door of the lab.

Her hand shook as she turned the handle and pushed the door open.

The hiss was more like a low roar, the lights were off in the lab now and instead of the harsh artificial glare the sunlight streamed in through the skylight, but the corner where the chamber stood was still in the shade, lit up now by an unearthly glow as the roar emitted from the blowtorch. Someone was welding the lock on the chamber. He was kneeling in front of it with his back to her, wearing dark blue jeans and an old shirt that looked like one of Jason's. But this couldn't be Jason, this man was strong and fit and seemed more athletic...

"Who are you?"

Her voice had come out more llike a frightened whisper and he had not heard her over the sound of the torch, he was intent on repairing some of the metal work and didn't even know she was there.

"Who are you?" She spoke louder this time, her voice more shrill and afraid. And he heard her.

He switched off the blowtorch and set it down, then stood up and turned around.

Fear froze her to the spot as the man in the welder's mask looked back at her and said nothing.

"I said, who are you?"She demanded.

Her heart was pounding and every nerve in her body seemed to be shaking all at once as she looked at the stranger in the mask.

Then he took the mask off and set it down beside the blowtorch and stepped forward out of the shadow.

"It's alright, it's only me!" Jason said, and held his arms out to her.

Relief washed through her and she ran to him, throwing her arms around him. He held her tightly and hugged her. As she looked into his eyes she was still taking it in : He was more than healed, he was perfect, he looked even better than he had when she had first met him, she never knew he could look so amazing. And the chamber had done all this..

"Did you know that Scott -"

He stopped her there, kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly.

"I know what Scott did, it wasn't hard to work that one out - you don't have to worry about him any more."

"I killed him."

Jason laughed nervously. But as he looked into her eyes she saw a sparkle there that had long been absent.

"No you didn't kill him, Elizabeth, I can assure you he was very warm when I found him - I've sent him away, you'll never see him again. I thought that would be best. I felt it would be what you wanted me to do."

He was looking at her intently as if he was desperate for her approval. She nodded.

"I just want to forget all about him."

Then she looked back at the chamber.

"How did you get out?"

"Well the freezing gasses are not inexhaustible.."

Then he decided to make it easy for her to understand : "Things ran out. The temperature came back up, I woke up, had to break out from the inside. I've fixed the lock now."

"How long were you in there?"

"Seventeen hours."He replied, "You've been out cold for a long time.."

Then he laughed.

"Out cold.. bit like me, really!"

Seventeen hours? She could still recall what Scott had said about the monkeys..

"Are you alright?"

Jason smiled.

"I've never been better."

He held on to her tightly, hugged her again, squeezing her like he never wanted to let go and safe in his arms, nothing else seemed to matter : He was safe, she was safe, he was out of that thing and his calculations had been wrong, he was healed.

He took her upstairs and under the hot jet of water they showered together, she ran her hands over his body massaging him, still feeling a trace of chill as she touched his flesh. It only made her kiss him deeper, wanting to warm him, to get the last of the cold from his skin.

With the steam still rising from the bathroom, he led her out into the bedroom and held her down on the bed. He had her pinned by her wrists and he ran his gaze down her body and back up again then whispered:

"Now, I'm going to fuck you black and blue.."

There was a darkness in his voice, his eyes glazed over with desire and his sheer strength held her in an iron grip. It did not seem to matter that what Scott had done was still fresh in her mind, but she let him do it anyway, as his cock slid into her cunt and hit her deep inside a wave of pleasure ran through her and she held on to him, begging for more as he fucked her harder and harder. Her juices were spilling out, soaking his cock, his pubic hair, making her thighs wet.

He slid out of her, she felt the head of his cock slide over her perenium and press against her arse.

She whimpered in protest but he pushed it in anyway, the juice that covered his cock more than served as enough lubricant and after the initial pain that shot through her, pleasure took over and she found herself rubbing her clitoris as he buggered her and the ring of muscle burned with pain and pleasure as she felt the orgasm coming. She gasped as the climax hit her, felt all the muscles contract and her arse was squeezing his cock in rhythm with her pulse. He stopped then, took his cock out of her, wiped it on the sheet and held her mouth open.

"Swallow it.."He panted, wanking hard as the spunk began to pump out and drip into her mouth.

Elizabeth swallowed, gagging but still swallowing as he finished shooting his load.

Then he let go of her and flopped down beside her, slightly out of breath but not as exhausted as she was.

He closed his eyes for a moment, relaxing as all the tension left him.

Then he turned and looked at her.

"You know I love you?"

She nodded.

"Then stay with me, I need you more than ever now.."

Elizabeth leaned forward and kissed him softly. Tears were pricking at her eyes.

"I love you too, of course I'll stay."

He kissed her some more, seemed calmer and it reflected in his touch. He rolled over face down and opened his legs, told her Help yourself to me.. Remembering where he used to keep the sex toys she looked in the drawer beside the bed and found the vibrator was still there. As she switched it on his now powerful body tensed with anticipation of the pleasure that was to come. She buzzed it on his balls, slid it to his arse and teased the hole. He was moaning into the pillow and urging her to fuck him with it. She licked the buzzing toy and gave him his wish, easing it in gently. His arse opened up willingly and it slid in. She began to fuck him with it. He was up on his knees by now, furiously wanking his cock as she  filled him up.

"Look at you,"She said, "The great scientist who is so respected - being fucked in the arse by a woman.."

He trembled as he came, collapsing back onto the bed.

Now he was exhausted. She had always known how to blow his mind with some arse fucking and humiliation. He drew her into an embrace, held her tightly and kissed her.

"Let's just lie here a while,"He told her, "I never want this to end."

Later they dressed again, Jason told her he needed to go back to the lab to finish up some work. Elizabeth rested. By now it was evening and although it had been only a day since everything had turned the world on it's head she was finding things settling with a speed that surprised her. All that mattered now was the warm, comforting glow of knowing that he loved and wanted her, they were back together. Nothing mattered now except for that. Nothing could happen that would change her mind - she was where she had longed to be for so long, back with Jason.

By nightfall she decide to go to the lab and join him, she had been alone too long and was already aching to hold him in her arms once more.

The lab was in silence, the lights were on and the door was open but she heard no sound from within.

"Jason?" She called as she walked in.

He wasn't there.

She glanced nervously towards the chamber, it was closed up and empty.

Then something caught her attention - there was a spot of blood on the floor beside the fridge.

The blood! a wave of alarm ran through her. If the blood had leaked, if Jason suddenly needed a transfusion...She wrenched the door open.

The inside of the fridge was spattered red, every single bag of blood had been drained. Torn open and drained...

"I had to, Elizabeth..there was no time to transfuse it. I had to take the faster option."

Jason had said it so calmly.

She spun around and faced him. He seemed unconcerned that she had found out.

"It's pretty bad when it hits me,"He told her, "I get these cramps all over and I feel like there's no blood in my body..like my bones are turning to stone or something. I'm expecting the attacks to slow down soon but I'll have to get into a routine of at least six hours a day in the chamber and I'll need the blood afterwards."

"You're drinking it?"

She seemed so horrified. He laughed.

"I had no time to set up a transfusion - what did you expect me to do, stick it up my arse?"

Her face paled. She stepped back.

"Where's Scott?"

Her questions were beginning to irritate him.

"Right," He snapped, "You want to know about Scott? He was dead when I found him. After I crawled out of that chamber a dying man. I had no choice I needed the blood and he was wasting it all over the floor, it was coming out of his stiff corpse like he was throwing it down the drain!"

Elizabeth's eyes grew wider. This could not be happening..Jason was insane. Only a madman would rationalise something like this..

"Do you understand? Please, tell me you understand..that chamber mutated my blood, I had no choice..I didn't want to die."

He spoke with such pain and desperation.

Her heart melted as she looked at him and she nodded, blinking back tears.

"I can't imagine what it was like but you don't deserve to die because of this....I do understand, I understand because I love you."

Jason took her in his arms. As she looked at him, a cold fire burned in his pupils like pinpricks of starlight in a moonless sky.

"I know you love me,"He said, "And we belong together."

Fifteen Years Later

"How long have you been a widow?"

Elizabeth flicked the switch and the lights snapped on, flooding the old house in an orange glow. Overhead thunder rumbled and lightening lit the sky like a camera flash. The lights blinked and flickered on and off and reminded her of a storm many years ago..

She smiled at her date for the evening. A younger man, younger than Jason when she had first met him..

"A few months."

The lights flickered again and threw up creeping shadows that darkened the corridor.

She took a step forward and indicated to the door at the end of the hall.

"That was his lab. I'd like to show it to you. He used to be a scientist."

"Really?"

"Yes, he was a remarkable man."

She led him to the door and turned the handle. It swung open with ease and she gestured within the brightly-lit room.

"After you.."

He stepped inside, as the lightening flashed again the flourescent strips blinked off and on, the light stuttering between brilliance and shadow.

The walls were damp, the furniture old and dusty. In the corner, in the gloom, he saw a giant tank that looked like a metal coffin. It was gleaming , polished like new and seemed to be the only thing that was cared for in this room - apart from a tall, white fridge across the other side of the room.

He heard the sound behind him too late.

Just before she heard the sound of bone breaking, Elizabeth wondered if he had noticed the bullet hole in the wall, the one she had made when she had looked into Jason's eyes, seen only love there and deflected her aim. Jason understood, she had grown tired of his need for fresh kill once in a while. But there was no alternative but death and to live without him would be far worse, she knew that now..

The lights were becoming bright and steady. It made the blood on the floor seem more vivid.

Jason dropped the body to the floor and turned to look at her. She was still beautiful. Older, but still beautiful. Jason never aged. He only seemed a few years older than the young man who had now joined them in the lab - this was their son, born from their unholy alliance. He looked impatiently at his mother.

"Is it my turn?"He demanded.

Like his father, he needed fresh kill. He didn't need the immersion in the chamber but had already said, when he was ready, he would do it - he wanted immortality, too.

Elizabeth nodded.

Jason shifted the body, smiled at his wife with bloodstained lips and continued to feed.

His son joined him.

Their humanity vanished whilst immersed in devouring prey; and all the while Elizabeth felt a strange sense of  pride growing within her as she watched her strong and ever youthful husband at his most savage side-by-side with their offspring.

There was no need to fight against it, only the need to accept.

This was her family.

They fed together.

END