Peter sat by the fire, studying the fish roasting in the flames. The firelight danced off his deep, dark eyes and his golden hair glowed like a halo.
“You’re doing it again,” he said. “Staring at me.”
“Relax.” I sat across from him and clasped my hands together. “Don’t you trust me by now? I’ve kept you alive all this time, haven’t I?”
He crossed his arms and shifted in his seat, obscuring his body. “Have you? I don’t know what you’ve done to me. But my body feels...different. I might be a convict, but I’m not an idiot. What’s really in those injections? Because it sure as hell isn’t antibiotics.”
So, Peter finally wanted to address the elephant on the deserted island. Well, better late than never. “At first, they were.”
“And now?” His gaze never wavered from me, searching for the answer he feared he already knew.
“You remember Lucia? On the ship, she was—”
“The tranny. Yeah, I remember. What does she have to do with this?”
I felt my face flush with anger. “As the ship’s doctor, I stored her hormone treatments. They survived the wreck. Seeing how dangerous you convicts were supposed to be, after we washed up here, I thought it best to take measures to ensure you wouldn’t cause me trouble.”
Peter’s eyes blazed with fury. “Y-You’ve been giving me female hormones? That’s why I’m...I’m growing breasts and my body feels so soft, and I fucking cry at the drop of a hat?”
“I cry, too, Peter,” I said, my voice quavering. “We’re hundreds of miles away from civilization, stuck on this godforsaken island. We’ve been surviving on fish and coconuts for weeks. It’s normal to feel emotional in situations like these.”
“That’s not the point, and you know it.” His voice was low and dangerous. “You’ve been drugging me without my consent.”
“I had to find a way to keep you docile. Before we left port, I read all about your criminal history. You’re not exactly a model citizen, Peter. But it worked, didn’t it? You’ve been calm and cooperative ever since.”
He rose to his feet, fists balled at his sides. His small breasts jiggled with the sudden movement. “You bastard! You sick fuck.”
My heart raced. Even with his altered physique, Peter was still physically imposing. “I was afraid of you,” I admitted. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
Peter took a step closer, his fists still clenched. “You drugged me and...and started turning me into a fucking woman, and you’re worried about me being dangerous? You’re the dangerous one here.”
I held up my hands in surrender. “Peter, please, I’m...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for things to go this far. I figured we’d be rescued after a couple of weeks, but it’s been months and I...I didn’t know what else to do.”
Peter stopped in his tracks, his chest heaving with anger. “What about now? Are you going to keep drugging me with those hormones?”
I shook my head vigorously. “No. I won’t touch them again. You have my word.”
“H-How much do you have left?” His voice was barely audible.
“I...I don’t have much. Maybe enough for another two months, if I ration the injections carefully.”
“I have a proposal of my own, doctor.” Peter’s dark eyes gleamed. “I think I should take the rest of them. And when we get rescued, you tell the authorities that I’m one of the crew. Not a convict. After all, we were all males when we left port, right?”
I stared, trying to process what he was saying. “You think that will buy you enough time to escape?”
Peter shrugged, a small smirk playing at the corner of his lips. “It’s worth a shot. I’d rather be a woman than rot in prison.”
I had no other option. I nodded and agreed. So, the estrogen continued to flow into Peter’s bloodstream, changing him more and more with each passing day.
Three months later, we were finally rescued. I stuck to the story we’d discussed, telling the authorities that Peter was a member of the crew. The ruse didn’t last for long, but by that point, it didn’t matter. Peter was gone.
I still wonder what happened to him. Did he start a new life as a woman? Did he end up back in prison? Or did he simply disappear into the vastness of the world, a free man in a woman’s body? I guess I’ll never know. Although, lately, there have been a few news articles about a mysterious woman robbing wealthy men in Dubai after they’ve taken her home. The thief’s identity is unknown, but witnesses describe her as tall, golden-haired, and strikingly beautiful. I can’t help but wonder if it’s Peter—and I also can’t help but hope that one day I’ll see her again.