He’d been escorted there by Frank,who’d found him in Ophelia’s room, grabbed his arm and marched him off. Arthurtried to stop him but was shoved roughly to the floor. Now Frank sat at theback of the room, a large shadowy figure with arms folded, watching intently.
Bill gasped as the hypodermic needlepierced his skin. He began to feel very groggy. The room span and went in andout of focus. Bill panicked and began to struggle, but his wrists were boundvery tightly to the arms of the chair. The Professor dangled a silver pocketwatch on a chain in front of Bill’s eyes and spun it slowing, causing points ofyellow candlelight to reflect on its surface.
“See the lights. See nothing but thelights,” said the Professor over and over again.
Bill stared at the watch andimmediately began to relax. He stopped struggling and gazed open mouthed at theglittering reflections.
“Think back William,” said theProfessor, “back one year.”
Bill moaned. “I can’t... the firstthing I know... I wake up in bed. Mother is there.”
“You must go back further, cross overinto the darkness!”
The powerful drug surging in hisbloodstream began to have a very strange effect. The room seemed to shrinkaway, the glinting watch was a sparkling jewel suspended. He was no longer inProfessor Nox’s rooms but floating, piercing a dark void...
He could see a couple of test tubesand a pair of hands, his own hands, picking them up and emptying the contentsof one into the other. He could see glass phials and a Bunsen burner lit undera spherical jar filled with bubbling liquid. There was a brass microscope andhis hand placed a glass slide under the lens. Everything shifted forward as helooked down the microscope. He could see cells moving, dividing.
He was suddenly speaking to Beryl, whowas asking him something very important, but he couldn’t understand what shewas saying. There was a needle on a plastic tube.
He was in standing inside an opencabinet, about seven feet high, lined with pipes and wires, fitting a dial intoa socket. He stepped outside and slowly closed the door, which was covered inhighly polished brass. Bill could see the reflection quite clearly. A face thatwas similar to his own, but careworn and lined, with thinning hair, wire frameglasses and large mutton chop sideburns...
Bill returned to consciousness with astart and saw Professor Nox standing over him, his face filled with impatientanticipation.
“I want to know everything,” said theProfessor, “in great detail.”
Bill was shaken up and groggy, butalso filled with intense curiosity. Had this really been a vision of hispast? If so, then who was the old man reflected in the brass? Bill had noknowledge of science or mechanics but clearly the man did. He wanted tounderstand what was going on – even if the Professor’s visions were just someparlour trick – so he decided to cooperate and explained his vision as best hecould.
“Very good William,” exclaimedProfessor Nox with a strange grin. “But next time we need to use someelectricity, more stimulation I think.”
Bill gulped. “But what does it mean?Do you know the man?”
“All in good time William. I think youare not ready to face the truth, just yet.”
The Professor untied his wrists andBill got up out the chair, swaying slightly.
The Professor laughed. “The shot of coproxidrol will wear off shortly.”
Bill noticed a clock on themantelpiece. It was a little out of focus but he was sure it said ten thirty.He’d been there over three hours!
His mind turned to Ophelia. He had togo and see her. Yesterday she’d taken Vita Dantis but did she now needmore? Would he go into her room and be attacked? The thought of her pretty facetainted by those horrible yellow eyes and white veined skin made his heartsink.
“Got to go now,” said Bill, making hisway unsteadily to the door.
He felt a strong arm support him.
“Frank will guide you back,” said theProfessor.
Frank led Bill out of the Professor’sroom, across the quad and over to Connaught Hall. Bill was bundled roughly intohis room and shoved down onto the bed.
“God knows what he wants with you butdon’t mess him around,” growled Frank.
“I’ve got to sleep now. I’m verytired,” mumbled Bill as he closed his eyes.
Frank stood over him, a large imposingfigure in the dark. Bill could feel the big man watching and it gave him thecreeps. A few minutes later Bill pretended to snore gently. He kept this up fora while until Frank was sure he was asleep and left the room. As soon as thedoor closed Bill sat up and banged in the wall beside his bed.
“Hey Arthur! You there?”
He could hear a shuffling noise andthen a voice. “You’ve been in the hands of those goons for hours.”
“Never mind that. How’s Ophelia?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been waiting herefor you to show up.”
“We’ve got to go and see her. Shemight need some more of that Vita Dantis stuff.”
“She might. How does that stuff work?”
“Who knows. But I’ve got to see her.”
“Meet me outside in 15 seconds.”
Bill got out of bed, left his room andfound Arthur already in the corridor, arms folded, casually waiting. They wentdownstairs, with Bill’s head still spinning slightly – all the time keeping aneye out for Frank. They went along the ground floor corridor and stoppedoutside Ophelia’s room.
Bill knocked on the door. “Hi Ophelia,it’s us. Are you there?”
The door opened and Ophelia let themin. Bill was shocked all over again when he was met by her fierce yellow eyes,but he could also see that she was upset and in tears.
“It’s this stupid thing,” she said,prodding the Hex Box on her bedside cabinet. “I turn it on, that’s easy enough,but where the heck does this go?” She held up a long plastic tube.
“I think it went somewhere near thebottom, didn’t it?” said Arthur examining the box closely.
“Oh God!” she said, “I can’t remember.“And it didn’t come with instructions.”
“You okay?”
