Chapter 40 -- Nice Job Breaking It, "Hero"

On we go...

The next chapter picks up with Eden and Bramford getting back to camp together.  Um... not going to cover how they get back across the waterfall?  It was pretty nerve-wracking (for the protagonist -- I honestly didn't feel much suspense at the scene) the first time, and I can't imagine it's any less nerve-wracking the second time.  Then again, if it spares us from a pointless filler chapter, I'll be grateful for a Boring Return Trip this time around...

Maria's not there to greet them, and Eden imagines that the worst has happened.  But she spends barely a single sentence fretting about her father before she goes right back to angsting about Bramford.

Bramford pulled her from his shoulders as soon as they reached the main hut.  They hadn't spoken a word since they had left Heaven's Gate.  How on Blessed Earth would Eden ever win him back? -- p. 283

Girl, I don't care if Bramford is your freaking soulmate or he-cat (or tomcat, which would be the correct term) or whatever -- your father is DYING.  Have a little empathy and worry about him instead of whining about losing your boyfriend, will you?

She goes into the hut to find her father asleep, with Maria keeping vigil at his side.  Bramford hands her the plants, and Maria nods at Eden and hurries out.  Eden awakens her father (for Pete's sake, let the poor sick man sleep a little) to tell him they got the medicine.  He complains that they were gone a long time, which is a legitimate complaint since the two of them stopped to sight-see and make out along the way.  Bastards.

She quickly shook her head, trying to discourage him.  "It was far, that's all.  Please, you've got to hold on."

"For some things, you cannot wait." -- p. 284

Like a man freaking DYING of infection or whatever ill-defined sickness her father has.  Come to think of it, I don't think they've really explained Dr. Newman's illness.  I guess it's supposed to be from the wound on his leg, but if it's really a bad infection or gangrene, don't you think some effort would have been made to lance the infection or even amputate the gangrenous limb?  Instead of just letting it fester and make him deathly ill? 

It's not like losing a limb or two slowed this guy

down any...

Bramford assures Dr. Newman he'll be stronger by this time tomorrow, and asks how long before the procedure for accelerating his change is ready.  Dr. Newman says another day, but Bramford gives him another hour after he's back on his feet.  I'd complain that Eden's selfishness has rubbed off on Bramford, but given that A) Bramford's just been betrayed by Eden and is probably not in a good mood and B) thanks to Eden's betrayal someone with destructive purposes in mind could show up at any moment, I'd say his impatience is a little bit justified here.

"Just be ready.  For two, that is.  There'll be two of us this time."

Her father looked at Eden in surprise.  "Is it true?"

"No," Bramford said sharply.  "My son Logan and I will adapt." -- p. 284

Eden freaks out, insisting Bramford can't do this to Logan.  Bramford retorts that he's his father and knows what's best for him, and Eden retorts that he can't force his son to live like an animal.  So turning someone into an animal-man is okay when it results in fetish fuel for you, but doing the procedure to save his son's life from The Heat (still a stupid term) is terrible.  Good to know...

"At least he'll survive."

"But at what cost?  Go ahead, run away if you want, but leave Logan here.  We'll care for him."  Eden was surprised to say it, and yet relieved.  "I'll take care of him."

Bramford's temper evened.  "You would do that?"

"Yes, as if he were my own son." -- p. 284-285

Just what we all want, don't we -- for a scared little boy to be raised by a whiny, selfish, racist brat who'll probably yell at the kid whenever he does something that displeases him.  I'm sure Foyt expects us to side with Eden in this case, but honestly I'm hoping Bramford grabs Logan and runs far into the jungle where our little twat can never find them.

And to my great relief, Bramford tells Dr. Newman he'll bring information on Logan's genome and leaves.  Yay, Bramford!

Eden stared through the window at the moonlight that laddered across the waterhole.  [Laddered?]  She would never love anyone but Bramford.  She simply couldn't live without him.  Only one choice remained, whether he wanted it or not.  If necessary, she would spend the rest of her life convincing him.

"Please, Father," she said, turning to him.  "Adjust your calculations for three."

"No," he said flatly.

"But I want to adapt like Bramford."

He looked at her under his eyebrows, the owlish eyes begging for restraint.  "That is categorically impossible."

Poor Father.  He just had to listen. -- p. 285

Look, girl, this man is very sick, stop badgering him and let him rest.  And stop whining about Bramford.  You spent three-quarters of this book hating his guts anyhow, I'm sure you can learn to do it again.

"Eden, I realize that it may not be readily apparent, however, you are my first priority."  He started to tremble as he went on.  "My deepest regret is that I did not take better care of your mother.  I won't make the same mistake with you." -- p. 285

So this should set the stage for a touching scene where father and daughter reconcile their differences and learn to get along, right?  For Eden to show a little empathy and forgiveness and learn to connect with her father despite his seeming emotional distance, and come to terms with her past, right?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHno

Maria hurries in with a gourd full of medicine -- Eden whines about how the "Fountain of Youth" smells and looks bad -- and Eden hurries out of the hut.  We get a random interlude where she spots an owl and has to repeat its Latin name (this trait never gets not obnoxious), and then she decides that Aunt Emily was right and "love is all there is," and decides to act.  

So what does our protagonist do?  Does she chase Bramford down and beg his forgiveness?  Does she leave some kind of loving memento for Bramford to remember her by?  Does she do something tragic that star-crossed lovers have been wont to do since the days of Romeo and Juliet?

Nope, she goes to the laboratory and destroys her father's life's work.  Don't believe me?  Read on.

He would forgive her, eventually.  And if he never did, well, he had done enough.

Eden slipped inside the laboratory, steeling her resolve.  Moonlight streamed through the solar roof, bathing the room with a soft, waxy glow.  She gripped a stool, poised to throw it, when she considered Bramford's wrath.  He just might kill her.  Then the frightening image of his final adaptation popped into her head.  He also needed to understand.

She heaved the stool at her father's console and it hit with a loud crack.  Glass splintered in the air; electric wires fizzled like life snakes.  Eden slipped on the debris as she ran forward.  She used her hand to break her fall and cut it on a shard of glass.  Overwhelmed by the rush of emotions, she barely felt the sting.  She struggled to her feet and charged forward again with a fierce yell.

She was her own damn she-cat! -- p. 286-287

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-

Our.  Effing.  Hero.  Ladies and gentlemen.  Our hero.

This is NOT the work of a heroine, people.  This is a psychopath.  This is a spoiled, selfish child throwing a tantrum because Daddy wouldn't give her what she wanted.  This attitude of "if I can't be made into a jaguar furry, no one can" -- or alternately, "I don't want my boyfriend to go through this procedure even though he wants it so I'm going to ruin it for him" -- it's not the mindset of a hero.  It's the mindset of a spoiled brat who's only thinking about what she wants instead of what's best for everyone else.  And never mind that she's wrecking her father's life's work in the process; never mind that she's ruined the chances for Bramford to save his son's life from The Heat.  This is supposed to be a victory according to the text, but in reality it's just despicable.

Victoria Foyt, your "heroine" is a friggin' psychopath, a selfish brat of the highest order.  And NOTHING you can fit into the last few chapters or blog about after the fact will convince me otherwise.

Bramford hears all this and is understandably pissed, and he tackles Eden to the floor and snarls "once a traitor, always a traitor."  She fires back that she loves him and wants to adapt with him, which is supposed to make it okay, but he retorts that all he cares about now is protecting his son.  This is a man with his priorities in the right place.  Why isn't HE the hero of this book?

"My father refuses to give me the procedure.  He left me no choice."

"You're lying," Bramford said, yanking her to her feet.  "You're just buying time until your mate arrives."

Eden slapped his cheek.  "You're my mate."

"But you're too beautiful to change." -- p. 287

And for whatever reason, despite the fact that Bramford should rightfully hate her guts right now, they start hatefully making out.  Buh... romance is weird...

Eden tells Bramford they can be a family together in the jungle, her and him and Logan (conveniently forgetting her father -- I guess the fact that he denied her the change made her disown the poor man?).  Bramford tells her this is wrong and throws her over his shoulder, hauling her off to the prison hut despite her protests.

"I should have left you here from the beginning.  Then none of this would have happened."

Eden grabbed his arm.  "But you can't deny that it did."

"I don't deny it.  But I have a choice.  This time I'm making the right one." -- p. 288

Go Bramford!

Bramford says the natives will let her out after he's gone, and warns her not to try to find him again, then locks her in.  She screams for him to let her out, but he's long gone by now.  Good, good, keep walking and never look back, Bramford...

Exhausted, she curled into a ball on the ground with her head pillowed on top of her hands.  Tears slid across her face, forming a puddle under her cheek.  It could all be so simple.

What on Blessed Earth would it take for Bramford to trust her? -- p. 288

Three chapters to go... if there was any sense of justice in the world, the book would end with Bramford taking Logan and getting the heck out of Dodge, but I have a feeling it's not going to end that way.  Get your strongest drink of choice out, whether it's alcoholic or caffienated or just plain guilty pleasure, I have a feeling we're gonna need it for the home stretch...