They were carrying huge machetes and judging from the long and hard stare that they had on their faces, it just showed Dr. Greene that they didn’t have any problem with killing.
“Guys, this isn’t what it seems. I come in peace.” Dr. Greene tried to defend himself, only to realize that these good people didn’t speak any English.
In fact, it seemed as though they were getting a little bit angry the more the doctor tried to explain that very awkward situation to him. They then started sizing him up with their clubs and swords ready to hack him to death.
“We have been having trouble with people stealing our things. And now, we think we have found him. Brothers let's hack him to death. Leave him little pieces so that we can have the chance to feed our hunting dogs with this filthy man with a foreign tongue.”
Dr. Greene didn’t understand what these Greek barbarians were talking about. But that said, seeing them advancing slowly towards him made him go down on his knees and started begging, thinking that going down on his knees was some kind of universal language. But the men weren’t really in the forgiving mood.
From the look of things, they were just too darn fed up with the thief and since Dr. Greene was the only one that they didn’t know, he automatically fitted into that category which was more or less the reason why they wanted to see him dead.
And without warning, one of the men decided to throw a spear at him, missing him with only a couple of inches since Dr. Greene ducked and used his slenderness to his advantage, dodged a couple of times and when he found an opening, dashed outside at the speed of an arrow and ran for his dear life, the barbarians hot in pursuit.
All that the good doctor hoped was that the time would just elapse and then he would end up in his laboratory, trying to make sense of any damn thing that was just about to happen. Dr. Greene wasn’t precisely the marathon champion material and that said, the only thing that he could have done at the time would have been to run as fast as possible. But he was pitted against born warriors who had experience when it came to hunting and shooting on target.
But before any of them could launch a spear at him, the good doctor disappeared into thin air, leaving the Greek hunters stuck in limbo, not understanding whatever the heck that just happened.
Chapter 2:
-Fresh from the other realm-
Dr. Greene got back into his time machine and let out a scream as a sharp pain engulfed his entire body. It was such severe pain that he felt as though his ear was ringing from the screams of pain that he was experiencing. But either way, the good doctor was in a celebratory mood. Even though the pain seemed way too much for him to bear, Dr. Greene always let out a smile.
And just like that, the impossible had become possible, and that called for a celebration without a doubt. But first, there were a couple of tests that Dr. Greene had to make sure that he had carried out. For instance, he needed to make sure that he was in a position to take samples of his blood and see to it that he had carried out the blood tests from the company lab since he didn’t have the relevant equipment.
He was shaking a little bit and his skin seemed as though it was about to change to white. All of these were symptoms that he couldn’t explain since they were a first. And even though he might have been scared just a little bit, the good news was that he was still alive. And if there was anyone who was more qualified to check any unusual thing out, then it was none other than Dr. Greene.
And so he just closed his eyes, repeated the phrase ‘I am going to be fine.” Like a mantra until he got to the point where he was calm.
And it was at that moment that he picked up a hug syringe. And using some cotton wool dubbed in methylated spirit, Dr. Greene made sure that he had gotten it all sorted out by disinfecting. It was before plunging it in his arm, pulling a handsome amount of blood from it, pulling it out and pressing his arm with another clean cotton wool dubbed in methylated spirit and clenched his teeth for a while until the discomfort subsided.
He then lifted up the syringe and shook it a little bit as though he was trying to check out for any anomalies. Thankfully, his blood was all good from the look of it. But the good doctor, as everyone was now making a habit of calling him, put it away in a freezer with the intention of getting to check it out the following day when he was to report to work after his week of being sick.
Once everything was all sorted out, Doctor Greene sat down and started writing down every single thing that he had experienced, something Neither the rat nor the baboon could do. And from the look of things, he had plenty of things to write about and he was all excited as he did so. Firstly, no one could believe that he met the Greeks when they were at their peak of civilization.
What was much more impressive than any other thing that he had seen was the fact that people seemed a hell lot more organized than they were in his present realm.
The weather was fantastic and the wind smelled of sweet soil and the land looked very fertile and well taken care of. Pollution nowadays just seemed to have ruined virtually every single thing for them which was more or less the worst thing to ever happen to the earth. When Dr. Greene was still in grade school, he always hated the human race for polluting the earth for the animals.
And his first visit out of this realm just made him hate his race even more for not following the way of life that their ancestors followed. He wrote about the trees, the social organization, the food and diets and even their mode of dressing.
In another life, Dr. Greene would probably be some writer since he was always very descriptive in virtually anything that he had the opportunity to describe.
It was just amazing and every fiber in his body wanted him to get back into business and make sure that he had made a follow up by maybe visiting another place in another timeline. But Dr. Greene had to stop himself as soon as possible and cast that thought out since he just couldn’t tell the kind of damage that the serum would do to him unless he took the necessary precautions.
And that said, the next thing that he knew he had to do was to get an empty glass, pour himself some vodka before sorting himself out, you know, as a celebration, but first, he needed to make the necessary preparations and take some more samples.
And as soon as he was done with taking some blood samples and jotting down some observations from the other realm, Dr. Greene kicked back and put his hands behind his head and started reminiscing about life in general. It was just too darn amazing that they had gotten to that point where he got without the help of the other scientists. Honestly, he didn’t really know what he was going to do with the money that he was going to make from selling that technology to the military.
But at that moment, his pager beeped and the good doctor made a point of picking it up and checking the LCD screen.
“Oh, crap!”
***
An invitation from Richardson to go to office came back as soon as Dr. Greene got back from his ‘travels’ through time. And it felt as though the man had just been waiting for him to pop out of the machine before he could call him in for inquiry. It was as though Richardson had placed surveillance all over his house and could get to watch virtually every single thing that was going on.
And for a moment, Dr. Greene was almost scared of what had actually transpired. But then it occurred to him that if at all that was the case, then the man would have already stormed in and took everything the moment the weird rodent popped out of the time machine. And thanks to that thought, Dr. Greene closed his eyes and gave out a long, lazy sigh of relief.
His body was still shaking and for a moment, he knew that it was because of the minor mercury poisoning. It actually seems as though his fellow scientists were right about the mercury in the system. And even though his argument that it wouldn’t kill a human if at all it was applied in the right amount, there were still some very weird side effects that arose from using the mercury-induced serum which would more or less get people in lots of trouble at the end of the day.
Dr. Greene had a h
ell lot of adjustments to make as far as his machine was concerned. But that said, he also knew that he had no other choice but to ensure that he had made a point of getting to see his boss if at all he wanted to get ahead of the game at the end of the day. Richardson was clearly suspecting him and for that matter, the only thing that would have mattered at the time would have been to heed to his call and to avoid having problems with the man.
And so as soon as Dr. Greene had lots of water and injected himself with the anti-mercury serum shots – one that he had invented just incase the mercury treatment went awfully awry – and hit the bathroom.
After a short, very nervous drive, Dr. Greene was finally in the place, trying as much as possible to look as innocent as possible. But that said, he didn’t want to look that guilty. And so the moment he got to the door to Mr. Richardson’s office, Dr. Greene took his time, wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a couple of deep breaths right before getting in with a plastic smile on his face.
“Ah, the good doctor, just the person that I wanted to see. How have you been?” Richardson said with no facial expression at all.
“I am doing fine sir. I think the flu has finally subsided, and I am ready to work.”
“Well, if you ask me, you look like shit. Please, have a seat. There is something that I have wanted to talk to you about.”
Dr. Greene already knew what his boss wanted to hear about. And it went without saying that he was most definitely going to give it to him just the way that he wanted. But also, it also seemed as though Dr. Greene had been preparing to do so sparingly.
“Well, here I am sir. But I am afraid you will have to do your inquest as fast as possible since I have missed my post for a while and I need to get back to work immediately.”
“Oh, I understand that. And honestly, that is why I like you. So I will get straight to the point. How is your private invention going on?”
“Well, I am making some great strides sir. All I need is just a couple of weeks more, and it will all be sorted out without much trouble.”
“You are dismissed, my good doctor. Go back to your post and make sure that you are working on something new.” Richardson said with a smile on his face.
But as Dr. Greene was walking away from that place, there was that kind of feeling that he had and it went without saying that he had his fair share of doubts as far as his thoughts were concerned. First and foremost, it was just too darn bad for his research since Dr. Greene was sure going to search his place and will most definitely get the machine, claim it and who knew what would happen to the poor doctor after that.
And just like that, the euphoria just disappeared from the doctor’s face as he trying to figure how best he was going to get the machine out. Yes, Dr. Greene had been using the company’s resources to make that time machine, but they not only rejected the idea but also made a point of ridiculing him and that wasn’t acceptable at all.
Richardson’s fake smile disappeared as soon as Dr. Greene came out of the office, and he turned to his bodyguards.
“I want you to follow him and do the necessary if it comes to that.”
“We got it, boss.”
Chapter 3:
-Richardson-
Richardson sat back in his office, trying to understand why one of the very best scientists in the business was trying to cross him. They had been working together for over two decades and in his mind, Richardson had formed that crazy notion that he was never going to be crossed at any given point.
But that was the point where he was dead wrong since, from the look of things, it appeared as though the good doctor had no intentions of keeping his promise.
It was apparent that he had been faithful for years and in turn of that faithfulness, managed to give him a hell lot of a stub in the back.
That was one thing that Richardson was never going to let slide no matter how good of a person he was. Some things just didn’t go unpunished and as far as he was concerned, the only thing that would happen at this time would be to make sure that he found whatever it was that Dr. Greene was at pains trying to hide from him.
Richardson was the perfect example of a self made man. He, for instance, came from the streets. His parents abandoned him when he was a toddler and it went without saying that he had been doomed to fail, in ever sense of the word. He always wanted to be an inventor, but since no one wanted to adopt him, he didn’t have anyone to take him to school.
And that explained why he joined a gang and soon, due to his rare talents when it came to inflicting lots of pain; he graduated to being a bank robber, and it went without saying that his pockets flourished beyond his imagination. And that said, the only thing that remained was for him to go out there and invest the money.
Though many years had passed by, it seemed as though he was still thinking about being an inventor. But since there was no way a hardened criminal could go back to school, he decided to start his own invention company. Besides, he had grown to hate books as well as school as a result of spending way too much time with the wrong crowd.
And that said, the next thing that happened was that they tried as much as possible to ensure that every single bright student from the University was vetted and recruited. The good thing about Richardson was that he invested most of the money he earned from years of being a bank robber, and a smart one for that matter.
And eventually, it appeared as though everything was now starting to go his favor. But still, Richardson wasn’t satisfied. Unlike most of his robber friends who bought islands and retired from the life of crime, Richardson decided to invest his money into invention and his first scientist ever was none other than Dr. Greene. Dr. Greene was one of the most brilliant scientists from Harvard who made sure that he was always on point as far as his research was concerned.
And one of the scouts that Richardson had sent to the University took a video of Dr. Green while making a presentation. Of course, Richardson had no idea about what this brilliant young man was talking about, but from the look of things, he made sure that he was able to get him signed. At first, Dr. Greene was a little bit suspicious since the offer was too good to be true.
But then again, it also seemed as though every single thing was most definitely going to work out perfectly for him if only he took the liberty of kicking back and learning just how to trust the right people. So as soon as they made that deal, Dr. Greene persuaded five of his course mates to join him and just like that, it was time for them to change the world.
Richardson never wanted to get into their way with their creativity. All he did was linger and gave them an opportunity to do whatever it took to stay on top of their game. And it went without saying that they were so good at what they did that their inventions sold over a billion dollars, pummeling Richardson, who was now a legitimate businessperson into the Forbes list of the richest.
Thankfully, Richardson was too smart to attract attention to himself during his criminal past and therefore there was no doubt about him being a legitimate businessperson. But once in a while, Richardson always unleashed the Hyde in him especially when someone he didn’t like crossed him and that was how the scientists realized that messing with their boss wasn’t something wise.
But that said, it also seemed as though the trust started dwindling and some of his scientists were trying to pull the rug under him. And since he was to be feared, there was no way that he was going to allow such to happen.
***
“We are ready, boss. We are good to go.” Said one of his huge bodyguards, thumping his fat fist into his palm while chewing on a toothpick that kept on being flipped from one corner of his mouth to the next.
And with that, Richardson stood up from his chair and straightened his suit. It appeared as though everything was all decided. He wanted to go out there and get to find out exactly what happened. And if Dr. Greene was hiding something from him, especially something that would have made him money, then he didn’t even want to think about whatever the heck that was going
to happen to him at the time.
The car was ready by the time Richardson and his team got down on the elevator and together, they both made a point of walking to the car. The scientists who were on the upper floors had seen this happen for a number of times and they knew, that someone was in trouble. They just couldn’t stop staring through the windows as they chanted a silent prayer for the person who was about to be confronted by Richardson and his team of insubordinate hooligans.
The drive was quiet. And since Richardson was the boss and he was quiet, his people did the same. It looked a little bit out of hand merely because they were the kind of individuals who chuckled and made fun of each other while on their way to kill someone. But now, it seemed as though the boss almost didn’t like the idea of paying his good friend a visit. It was as if it was bothering him.
But Richardson was smart enough not to forget where he came from and what it took for him to get to where he was at the moment. And Dr. Greene playing with his resources and him not making an example out of him was most definitely never going to happen anytime soon.
In the end, they finally got to Dr. Greene’s place and it just-just about that time that he had just teleported back from freaking Greece after being chased all over the scene with the hunters who were baying for his blood. And it didn’t occur to him that he was just about to be paid a visit by a bunch of modern-day barbarians in black suits with automatic guns hidden under their well-pressed jackets.
Mystery : Cozy Mystery: Forsaken (shocking, mystery, thriller, cozy, short stories) (suspense, short reads, detective, murder) Page 8