It’s not easy being a gay man in Utah, but it’s even more difficult when you’re young and overweight. Jay has never fit in with the general “club culture” and he knows he’d never be attractive enough to catch a one-night stand, much less a boyfriend. Losing himself in books and school alleviates his loneliness, and he doesn’t waste time dreaming about what he can’t have. Until he meets the new director of the GLBT Center on campus and promptly falls in love -- against all common sense and logic.<br><br>Hoping to catch a few glimpses of Stephen outside of the Center, Jay decides to start working out at the university gym. The plan turns out to be too successful as Stephen volunteers to be his workout buddy, then invites Jay out to lunch, and finally, kisses him. Jay wants Stephen more than anything, but he can’t bring himself to trust Stephen’s intentions. Not when he knows he’s disgusting and Stephen is so perfect ...

From Behind that Locked Door

He crawled up onto an examination table. Zoe was there, but only to assist this time. The Monks had a combination scientist and doctor named Gilead. It mostly stayed in the labs, working. Gilead was the one who did the necropsy on the second fern that Cillian found. Now, the Monk was here to put its research into action.


“I made an antidote to the spores the specimen expels. It is designed to clear the particles out of your blood stream, which should end the hallucinations. Unfortunately, it only worked on half of the mice, so I am not certain it will cure you.” Gilead held up a vial of white powder and handed the medicine over to Zoe, who poured it into a bowl and added distilled water. She mixed it together diligently before producing a syringe. She filled it up.


“I decreased the strength of the dose. And you are not a mouse. It should not kill you.”


Chapter 37