Roughing It


Roughing It
By Elizabeth Black
Short Erotic M/M Medical Thriller
Publisher: JMS Books, a queer small press
Part of JMS's Men At Work Series
Release Date: April 24, 2016

BUY LINKS

JMS Books (Publisher)

BLURB

When a strange outbreak occurs at a campground around a lake, Jake Walker and Lance Cameron investigate. Not only are they biologists, they are lovers who share a passion for science. The outbreak has terrified the locals. Nine campers became sick. Four died. One victim reported an increase in her sex drive so serious she attacked her best friend's husband. Is this lustiness caused by the disease? What is the story behind the flash rain shower that fell over a small geographic area and the strange red dust over the foliage around the cabins? Is this outbreak a new disease or something much more dire? Jake and Lance must find the cause before others are infected – and before they come down with the plague themselves. A cross between The X Files and The Andromeda Strain, Roughing It will terrify you and make you cheer for the heroes.

EXCERPT

Lance awakened in the dark with a start in a cold sweat. Once the chills took over, Jake stirred at his side, and then woke up.
"I can't shop shivering." Lance curled up into a ball, wondering what was happening to him. He hadn't felt this sick in years. Was this how Jake felt? Did he somehow expose himself to what the campers caught? He shook so hard his back seized. Pain shooting from his shoulder blades to his hips brought tears to his eye. He groaned in agony.
Jake grabbed the blanket bunched at the bottom of the bed and brought it up to wrap around Lance, who grabbed it as if it were a life preserver. Anything to get warm.
After what seemed like hours, the chills passed. Lance relaxed, exhausted but wide awake. He glanced at the clock. 4:30 am.
"I have a scorching headache." Lance said. "Could you please get me some aspirin?"
"Of course. Would you like some cold medicine, too? It's only 4:30. You could sleep for a few more hours."
"Sure. It might help. This sure came on suddenly."
"I feel terrible. You got it from me. We're playing volley-germ."
"You didn't have the chills, though. And it's all in your head. Every joint in my body is on fire, and my ears are ringing. I hope it's not the camper's disease."
"I doubt that's what it is. Maybe it's the flu manifesting itself differently. You have the headache to end all headaches, though, just like me. Let's keep an eye on it. We haven't drunk anything except bottled water, and we've used gloves and masks at the cabin. We thoroughly cook our food, too."
Jake returned with Tamiflu, aspirin, and a bottle of water. After Lance took the medicine, he lay back in bed, wondering how whatever-it-was could slam him down flat on his back like this. Lance took pride in his healthy way of living. Fit and athletic, he worked out, ate organic, fresh food, and avoided too much alcohol. He neither smoked nor took illicit drugs. No prescription drugs, either. His body was a temple, and he hated so much as defiling it with aspirin and cold medicine, but now he had no choice. He rarely got sick, and when he did it was usually only a mild head cold.
This was different, but he couldn't let it stop him from doing his job. What if I attack Jake with a dildo? Did I catch it from Emily Vanderness? He worried a stray thread on his t-shirt. Damn, he'd been careful! And he had work to do. A few more hours of sleep might be enough to get the bug under control so he could get back to the cabin. Before he knew it he drifted off into a fitful, dreamless sleep.

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