It's Monday, a new week brings us a new free short story again today! Today I have a little horror story of mine, Everything Has a Price, originally published in a horror anthology a few years back. Enjoy! Everything Has a Price
By Sheri Velarde Celeste smiled and nodded as her fiancé showed her off at the research facility his family owned. Now that he was marrying her, this would all soon be under his control. Since she agreeing to marry him had facilitated this, he wanted her to see what would soon be their empire to run together. Carson industries was the largest and most prestigious medical research facility in the world, if a treatment for a disease had been found, odds were the patents were held by Carson. She felt honored to now see all their secrets. As it turned out, there were more secrets than Celeste bargained for when Andrew took her into the very bowels of the facility, a place that very few ventured. “What’s down here?” She asked as Andrew smiled. “Why this is where we keep our Cure for everything.” He replied. She would have thought he were joking, but Carsons never joked. “Cure for everything?” “Yes, when was the last time you heard of someone of our caliber dying of any disease? Have you not noticed how those in our circles live to be very old and never have health concerns? We have the reason for that down here.” “You have the means to cure all diseases down here?” “Yes.” Pride emanated from Andrew. “Every disease? All cancers? AIDS? MS? Parkinson’s? You have those cures?” Celeste knew she must be misunderstanding something. “Of course. Why do you think those diseases have been eradicated from the higher classes of society? Carson Industries discovered those cures decades ago, they helped to make us even richer.” “Then why do those diseases still exist in the world? You have the drugs that would cure cancer and everything else, save millions of lives, and you keep it down here for a chosen few?” Celeste took a step back, appalled. “Don’t be such a bleeding heart. You’ve been vaccinated, same as I. Your parents paid a hefty price to make sure you turned out genetically perfect. You should be grateful. You would not be standing here, handpicked to produce the next heir to the Carson name. As I understand it, before our Cure the Malloy’s had cancer issues. Good thing your family also had oil and money.” Andrew smirked, heading into the lab. Sure, their marriage had been arranged by their families, but Celeste couldn’t believe that her fiancé could be so callous. Not knowing what else to do she followed him into the secret lab. Only three people worked down here it seemed. Of course she guessed you would want to keep a cure for everything as quiet as possible. Her stomach still turned at the thought of all the lives that could be saved, all within the power of the Carsons yet they used it as a way to only preserve those in their societal level, and to get richer. Of course none of this showed on her face. She had been raised to be calm and collected, and to do her family’s bidding. Still it she felt like snatching the cure and running to the nearest hospital. Totally unlike her, she usually epitomized the perfect lady. Andrew motioned her over and introduced to a man in his fifties she guessed. “This here is Dr. Rome. His grandfather and father both worked here before him. His grandfather came up with the original Cure in fact. Of course it has been improved on over the years. This Dr. Rome found a way to work behavioral cues into the Cure, making our offspring even more superior to those born as norms.” “Norms?” Celeste asked, already knowing the answer. “Those lesser people out there, those who cannot afford the Cure and who must toil away, always worrying about disease. With the help of our fine doctors here we have evolved, we are better than them on the genetic level now. Of course we need norms to keep doing the menial work that keeps our civilization going, but we are the superior race.” Andrew answered. “We let out just enough medications to keep the population from dying en masse. We dole out small cures and it pays us very well. In fact we often experiment with tweaks to the Cure in those lesser medicines, see the side effects and perfect them before the Elite ever have a dose.” Dr. Rome provided. “The Elite?” “Welcome to the inner sanctum Celeste.” Andrew said as he slid a needle into her neck.
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AuthorAuthor, artist, jewelry maker and all around creative person. I write in many genres and have a lot of fun doing so. Please take a look around and enjoy! Archives
January 2022
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