“You are not mistaken David,” Phineas replied with an affirmative nod.
He stepped forward and extended his hand. Doc walked toward the elevator and grabbed it. The two shook hands and smiled.
The two stared at each other momentarily. Noticing the beard on Phin, Doc reached up and coifed his own.
“A right handsome beard I must say,” Doc said, his lips curling at the edges.
Phin rubbed his own shorter beard, smiled and said, “Working on it.”
“What a remarkable phenomenon,” Doc said, now shaking his head in wonder.
“You are quite a remarkable man Jeb,” Phin responded, unsure of how to address him.
Suddenly, Doc’s face turned serious.
“My goodness, we’ve forgotten poor Geoffrey. He’s dying,” Doc said, his tone now deeply saddened.
“Don’t worry, I’ve made all the arrangements… just like you instructed,” Phin said to Doc.
“I instructed?” Doc said, now confused.
“Yup, you passed along the same kind of letter to save Geoff as you did to save David the last time he returned. The O.R. is prepped and waiting for him. If we’re going to save him, we better do this now,” he said, motioning to two men standing outside the elevator, inside the hospital.
From behind, two brawny orderlies rushed past David, Doc and Phin. They carefully lifted Geoff’s stretcher and raced back into the elevator to a waiting gurney on the other side. In seconds he was gone, hurried up the hallway toward the operating room.
Phin extended his hand once more and said, “Doc, it was truly my life’s greatest pleasure to meet you.”
Doc smiled and shook his hand aggressively.
“Take good care of Geoffrey,” he said.
“I will.” Phin nodded, then turned and rushed out of the elevator.
Doc stared at David for a moment. His face was filled with sadness.
“Here we are again,” he said sadly.
“I don’t know what to say,” David replied. He smiled apprehensively and said, “I’m going to miss you… again.”
“I feel the loss already,” he replied, his voice growing weak.
Doc’s eyes reddened and began to tear. David felt the painful loss of his best friend. The two stood speechless, each man struggling to hold back his emotions.
Suddenly, both men leaned forward and hugged each other, neither wanting to let go as they realized that would be the last time they’d ever see each other again.
As the two men pulled back, tears streamed down Doc’s face.
Once more, David felt a rush of wind. His eyes widened signaling the end was near.
Doc nodded and said, “Godspeed, David.”
“Take care of yourself, Doc. You’re my greatest inspiration.”
“As you are mine,” Doc replied.
As the door began to close, both men raised their hand to signal goodbye. Seconds later, the time portal shut, severing the connection in time forever.
David continued to stare at the blank wall that was once a door, hoping for it to reopen. A moment later, he pursed his lips in sadness, nodded in understanding, then turned out of the elevator. As he walked up the hospital corridor, his mind shifted gears.
“Geoff,” he said to himself.
Instantly, he sped off up the hallway toward the O.R.
-----*-----*-----*-----
Chapter 19
December 17th, 2012
“Geoff… you awake? Can you hear me?”
The young man stood beside the hospital bed and lightly rubbed Geoff’s arm, trying to rouse him.
“Geoff, I can see your eyes twitching. I know you can hear me. Come on man, wake up,” he said, this time louder.
The young man looked around the intensive care room and watched the monitors. Flashing lights and monotonous beeping tones signaled Geoff’s health. The young man watched Geoff’s pulse beep loud and strong and decided to try again.
“Geoff, I know you’re in there. The doctor said you should be coming out of it any time now. Can you hear me? Wiggle your fingers if you can.”
The young man studied Geoff’s hand for movement. Suddenly, he smiled as Geoff twitched his index finger.
“Good work, Geoff. Now try to open your eyes,” he asked, growing ever more excited.
Geoff’s eyelids shuddered slightly, then began to part. He opened them halfway, closed them, then opened them fully.
“All right man, good job. Nice to have you back,” the voice said, excitedly.
Geoff’s eyes moved in and out of focus as they adjusted to the light. As the blurred vision disappeared, he stared at the young man with confusion. His mind processed the face, then smiled.
“Bobby?” he said in a low gravelly tone.
“In the flesh, Dude. How are you feeling?” he asked, his voice now soft and sympathetic.
His eyes began to well with tears, but he forced them back, keeping strong for his brother. Geoff smiled again, then winced in pain.
“I’m a little sore… feels like someone punched me in the back.”
“Oh man, that sucks. I’m really sorry to hear that,” he responded in saddened tone.
“I can’t believe you’re alive,” Geoff said, his voice barely audible. “Bobby, you were dead.”
“I heard… weird man, really weird.” He rubbed Geoff’s shoulder affectionately and said, “Thanks for saving my life bro. I can’t believe you went through all of that for me.”
“Wouldn’t you?” Geoff asked, knowingly.
“What do you think?” he said in sarcastic tone.
Geoff smiled, then his face became puzzled.
“What day is it?”
“Monday,” Bobby said simply.
“No, what day is it… as in year, month, day,” Geoff persisted.
“Oh the date, sorry… it’s December seventeenth, two-thousand eleven,” he shot back, a little embarrassed.
Geoff thought for a moment, then smiled.
“Damn, I came back before I was gone.”
Bobby stared at Geoff with a puzzled expression.
“Bobby, I left to go back in time February eighth, two-thousand twelve… two months from now.” He laughed and winced in pain, then continued, “I was there for ten months.”
Bobby shook his head. “Man, that’s just too weird. It could only happen to you,” he joked.
Geoff nodded and smiled. As his mind grew clearer and more focused, another question popped into his head.
“So whatever happened to Arles?”
“Who?” Bobby asked, understanding the name, but not the connection. “You mean Poindexter?”
Geoff stared in confused. “Poindexter? I don’t get it.”
“Duh… Arles Moore? Nerd boy, bookworm, Poindexter?” Bobby rattled off in quick succession.
“Arles Moore is a bookworm?”
Bobby laughed. “Yeah… why? Was he some kind of cool jock before you left?”
“Hardly,” Geoff retorted. “He was a tattooed loser hillbilly boy.”
“No way!” he shouted, throwing his head back in laughter. “Arles as a tattooed redneck. Man, that’s too funny.”
Geoff laughed with him, then moaned.
“Damn, feels like a knife in my back.”
“Not a knife… stitches and staples,” a voice bellowed.
Dr. Phin Morgan and David walked through the door and entered the room. David smiled at Bobby, then came to Geoff’s bedside. He stared at Geoff tenderly, then rubbed his arm.
“How’re you feeling, there buddy? Can I get you anything?” David asked.
Geoff smiled back. A tear welled in the corner of his eye.
“We did it,” he said simply. “Bobby’s alive. We did it.”
“Narrowly,” David shot back.
“Well, his vitals look great, considering,” Phin said, stepping back from the monitors and standing at the end of the bed.
“Geoff, do you know who you’re talking to?” David asked.
; Geoff shook his head slightly.
“This old geezer here is none other than Dr. Phineas Morgan, great great grandson of Dr. Jebidiah Morgan.”
Geoff stared for a moment, his mind trying to process the details of David’s words. Suddenly it hit him.
“Oh my God. Doc’s great great grandson? How’s that possible?”
“First Geoff, let me just say, I’m absolutely astounded by your courage and strength. David filled me in on all the details. You are truly a remarkable young man,” Phin started.
Geoff beamed with pride. He smiled from ear to ear, then responded, “It wasn’t that bad, really. David did most of the work.”
“Modest too,” Phin said to David. Turning back to Geoff, he continued, “The story for me goes way back to my childhood. We’ve been carrying a family secret ever since David left for the future, back in eighteen sixty-three. As you already know, David was wounded trying to return to the future. When my great great grandfather, Jebidiah Morgan, learned of this tragedy, he became so distraught over it, he developed a plan to save him. For the last hundred and fifty years or so, at least one family member of each generation of the Morgan’s was trained to be a doctor. No one knew the exact date David was to return, so it became a game of waiting… waiting for David to appear. He finally did.”
“On Phin’s watch,” David joked.
“Yes David, I was the lucky winner,” Phin said sarcastically. “I was able to treat David’s wound as he reappeared from the past.” He paused a moment, then continued, “Strangely enough, I don’t ever recall any ambiguities about the date of his return. In my mind, the date was always clear.”
“I don’t understand,” Geoff said, now puzzled. “You just said you didn’t know the date and now you said you did. I’m confused.”
“I’m a bit confused by it all too,” Phin said, glancing over to David. “You see, with yours and David’s return to the past, Jebidiah then knew the exact dates of both yours and David’s return to the future. So, the letter that was passed down from generation to generation must have changed once you two made the second visit.”
Geoff continued to stare, puzzled.
“What Phin’s trying to say Geoff, is that he doesn’t remember what the past looked like because we changed it again. In essence, the reason he was able to wait for us at the elevator at the exact time we arrived is because Doc, Jebidiah Morgan, now had that exact information at the time he wrote the letter.”
“Sure wish you had passed along that information before we left. That could have saved us a lot of trouble,” he responded to Phin, mildly disappointed.
“Just like David’s situation before you, even if we did know about your time travel, I still wouldn’t have interfered,” Phin replied. “The Morgan family decided long ago not to interfere with time because we knew greater events would result from it.”
“Well, I sure wish you could have interfered anyway, before Arles killed Bobby. It’s not like anything great happened because of that tragedy.” He winced a bit and added, “Just a huge hole in my back and Arles isn’t a loser anymore is all I see.”
“Greatness is on its way,” David said cryptically.
“What do you mean by that?”
A sly grin crossed David’s face. “We’ll talk about it later when you’re well.”
“So what happens now, Doc?” Bobby cut in.
“Same as before: media circus, of course!” Phin responded, emphatically.
Suddenly, the door thrust open. Geoff’s parents rushed in.
“Mom, Dad!” Geoff shouted, excitedly.
As he groaned from the pain, they rushed to his side. While his father rubbed his shoulder, his mother leaned over and hugged him carefully.
“Oh my God Geoffrey. Thank goodness you’re alive. We came as soon as we heard you were shot. We’ve been up all night worried,” his mother said through her tears.
“Sorry to put you guys through all this,” Geoff responded, wincing as he tried to return her hug.
“Nonsense Geoffrey. We’re just happy you’re alive,” his father shot back.
As David watched, he stood back and smiled in satisfaction. Suddenly, he felt like an intruder on the family gathering. He nodded to Phin, gesturing they allow the family their privacy. Phin nodded in agreement.
“We’ll get out of your hair,” David said, turning to leave.
“Where are you going?” Geoff blurted defensively.
“Don’t worry buddy, I’ll be back. Remember, we have things to talk about,” David said cryptically once more.
-----*-----*-----*-----
Nine months later…
As promised, word of David’s and Geoff’s ordeal sparked a media frenzy. The two become national heroes. Once Geoff became well enough to move, the pair spoke at press conferences and news programs on TV around the world. Even Hollywood wined and dined the two, as they vied for rights to their story. Although the pair made fame and fortune, a higher calling overrode their celebrity status.
Standing on the marble steps of Gordon Hall, the centerpiece of Harvard University’s five stately medical buildings, David and Geoff waited patiently for the first class to begin. As Geoff paced nervously back and forth, David sat patiently and stared out over the campus.
“Relax man, you’ll do just fine,” David said casually as he sipped a cup of coffee.
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re already a doctor,” Geoff shot back.
“After all you’ve been through, do you honestly think you don’t have what it takes to be a doctor?” David questioned.
“I guess I do,” he responded reluctantly.
“Believe me, you’re going to have it a lot easier than most of the students here. Harvard is giving you a free-ride scholarship just for the privilege of your presence. They’re supplying you with tutors until you’re up to speed with your studies and you’ve made enough money on guest appearances to live comfortably for a few years and then some. All the normal pressures of life are gone. You have to trust me, you’ll do just fine,” he reasoned.
“I guess,” Geoff responded.
David could still see the apprehension in his eyes.
“And just remember, if you have any questions or need any help, I’m also just a phone call away.”
“Thanks,” he said simply.
He turned around and stared at the enormous marble building in front of him and smiled.
“Wow, who would’ve guessed a year ago I’d be standing here now. Boy, have things changed.”
“I only wish Doc could be here on your first day. He’d be so proud of you,” David said.
“I wish I could’ve said goodbye to him before I left. That’s one of my biggest regrets. Too bad we couldn’t just go back and visit for a few minutes… just to see how he’s doing,” he wondered with mild sadness.
“That would be so cool, but unfortunately, it’s way too risky,” David responded.
“You’re probably right,” he said. He thought for a moment about their adventure and said, “Man, what a ride. I still can’t believe we fought in the Civil War.”
“I know, so much death and suffering. I’m sorry a kid your age had to see that kind of stuff,” David said, shaking his head in disbelief.
“You know, as scary as it was, looking back now, it was the best time of my life,” he said, smiling.
“You have a twisted sense of values there, junior,” David joked.
“No really,” he defended. “Ok, the death and suffering really sucked, but damn, every moment there was thrilling. Every day you woke up, you knew you were going to do something important. Whether we were sitting around the fire drinking coffee and talking about important things or working our butts off to save people, it was really exciting, and rewarding… and fun.” He paused a moment to think, then added, “Do you realize I haven’t touched a video game since I’ve been back here? All that kind of stuff seems so childish, meaningless and boring right now.”
“I hate to say it, bu
t I know what you mean. Once you’ve lived that life, everything else seems so mundane,” David confided.
“It’s funny. While I was there, I couldn’t wait to get back here. Now that I’m here, I kinda want to go back.”
Prisoner in Time (Time travel) Page 49