Chapter 2
Peter entered the lab, but something felt different than it had before. Yes, he had not been to the lab for a while, at least a couple of months now, due to the stress of his new job, but something was definitely off. Being one of the chief engineers at Massive Dynamic is a tall order, and he was barely able to visit his father. Still, Peter knew that something was terribly wrong.
Astrid was sitting in a chair with her hands over her face. She kept thinking to herself that it was somehow her fault. She should have been paying more attention to Walter. Something was off with him today. There were no obscure experiments. The only time he touched his Easy-Bake oven was to put it up on a shelf. He did a lot of organizing and cleaning up today. That was what was bothering Astrid the most. He never tidied up; he always left that to Astrid. Did he know that he was leaving?
"Astrid," Peter said as he rushed over to where she was sitting. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, Peter, I'm fine. I'm just worried. What if he's wandering around out there all by himself? What if he gets lost?"
"It's alright, Astrid. He'll turn up. Just tell me what happened." Astrid recalled the last few hours, explaining Walter's peculiar behavior and sudden disappearance.
"Peter, do you think it could be the other side? Do you think Walternate took him?"
"That crossed my mind, too, but I don't know why he would do that. He didn't have any cause. I think we should just wait it out. I bet that he'll turn up."
"I hope so, but I'm skeptical. He practically vanished right in front of me."
"Maybe your right, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions."
Astrid got up from her chair and began to walk towards the door. "Where's Olivia?"
"She's still at home with Etta. I didn't want to worry her with this just yet."
"Peter, why did you call me in the first place? Did you know that Walter was gone?"
"No, I just received this strange letter from him." Peter removed the picture of the tulip from his pocket and showed it to Astrid. "I wanted to ask him what it meant. Do you have any idea?"
"I haven't the slightest. Do you think it could be linked to his disappearance?"
"Possibly, but I don't see how."
"Me neither. I'm going to go out and get something to eat; I haven't had anything since breakfast. Do you want to come?"
"No, I'm fine. I'll stay here and see if I can find anything that might help us explain this."
"Alright, good luck."
"Thanks." Astrid walked out the door and closed it behind her. Peter was left alone in the lab in search of clues as to why Walter would suddenly vanish. He decided to check his father's office first.
As he walked in the door, he saw something on the desk: a videocassette tape. Peter hadn't seen one of these in years, but he was not surprised that his nostalgic father would have some lying around. Peter picked up the tape. The label read, "For Peter Bishop Only" in Walter's handwriting. He walked over to the television on the other side of the office and quickly inserted the cassette into the VCR. Walter appeared on the screen. He appeared gloomy in a way; he didn't look like is normal, joyful self. Walter's message began to play.
"Peter, I sent you a letter. It contains something of mine. I imagine you called me to ask, 'Why would you send such a strange letter?' And when you tried to call, I didn't answer, so you tried to find me at the lab. But I was not to be found. I was here one moment and vanished from the face of the Earth the next.
"I want you to know, I'm fine, living many, many years from now. You will never see me again. You will never see me again because it had to be this way, to ensure the future of our humanity, your future, the future of Olivia, and the future of Etta.
"I don't want you to be sad. The time we had together we stole. I cheated fate to be with you, and we shouldn't have had that tome together, but we did. I wouldn't change it for the world. I don't want to say goodbye. But I will say, I love you, Son."
Peter stared at the now black screen, unable to understand what he had just watched.