Chapter 14 - lunch in 20 minutes?

Hiding behind Dr. Johns’ desk, cowering like a beaten dog, Walker had been seething for having to do it. If word had gotten back to Johns that he had been here, uninvited, the repercussions would have been severe. Now, a brief moment of pleasure hearing Karson swear to himself.

Karson wasn’t as smart as he thought he was, thought Walker. I, Walker Stromberg was the deserving one. He had as good as an idea as anyone. He was a star on the lacrosse team. He was the one with all the connections. Karson had no connections. He was as average as you can get. He was a, … a nobody. He wasn’t even a second glance. He was shit.

“You will pay, you motherfucker,” Walker whispered to himself.



Staring down at his swirling black sand, Karson noticed the second liquid filled beaker that he had brought back from Jay’s lab. He had forgotten all about it. In it was a cloudy white cocktail that Jay had provided, just in case. Jay had placed a stopper on the top of this one. Not so much as to prevent any spillage from Karson walking with it, but to prevent any from spilling onto Karson’s. Jay had provided only 2 mg citing the hazards of working with it. It was an enzyme enhancer that, depending upon the subject plant’s chemical composition, could make it very poisonous and 1000 times more acidic that it was in its present form. It was normally used in retrieving fossilized plant enzymes for data collection and analysis. Right now, if any were to reach Karson’s skin, it would mean a painful trip to the hospital.

Figuring his brilliant idea had been a bust, and seeing as he had the cloudy liquid sitting there, Karson decided he might as well use it.

Exhaling a heavy breath, he put down the flask containing the diluted, yet still useless biticum. Next, he put on some work gloves and picked up the second tube containing the enzyme enhancer. With as gentle a touch as he could muster, Karson carefully and slowly twisted off the stopper. Just as the plastic top left the rim of the glass tube, Karson realized Jay had not told him whether or not its aroma was poisonous.

Hesitating a moment, and not suddenly keeling over in a painful and agonizing death, Karson continued.

“All right. Let’s see if you do anything for me.” And with that, Karson poured all of the enzyme enhancer into the flask of black sand. Instantly, the color altered a bit to a slightly lighter shade of dark, but that was about it. Closing off the top of the flask with a stopper, Karson gave it a quick shake as he walked over to the Orbit 1900 Heavy Duty Shaker one more time. He dropped it in, left the same settings and hit start. Watching the machine work, and without much optimism, Karson figured he’d be meeting Digger for lunch within 20 minutes.