Mind Warp
69
Unfriendly
Strung out from worry about the upcoming conversation, Doctor Reginald Bushroot knocked on the door and waited with baited breath.
"Come in."
Reginald took a breath and opened the door. "P-please don't fire me, Dean Hardgrove. I have a very good explanation."
The dean stared wide-eyed up at him. Reginald felt at once very self conscious.
Hardgrove moved himself to talk. "By god. Years of playing with plants, Reginald, and you finally tripped the line right into the chemistry set."
"I was kidnapped by a mad scientist."
"No kidding. And they were a plant scientist too?"
Reginald shook his head, "Oh she was trying to make 'superheroes'. She did a lot worse to the poor guy in the next cell."
Hardgrove rubbed his head then grabbed the phone, "Well, at least you're alive and breathing. I'll let the police know to stop looking and you better check in to the microbiology department. Doctor Forster has been worried. Not just about herself either; for a change."
"Th-thank you, sir." Reginald turned to leave the room.
"Doctor Bushroot..."
Reginald turned back.
"Having only two professors in the department puts a lot of strain on the teaching side of the equation." Hardgrove frowned. "So I only wish I 'could' give you a holiday. But right now we really need you to get back on top of your classes."
Reginald nodded, "Yes sir."
It was well into peaceful night when there was the sound of a motorcycle somewhere outside. It reminded Reginald there was an existence outside his emails and he looked down at the clock at the bottom of his screen. It was after eight.
Reginald shut down his computer, shrugged on his coat and headed outside.
The motorcycle he'd heard earlier was in the teachers' car park. A medium sized duck in an oversized hat was studying his car under the lamp light.
"Um, hi, can I help you?" Reginald asked.
"Nice collection of grass spiders. So you still have your job, huh?"
"Y-yeah, I was only gone for a couple weeks, though you'd think it was a lot longer."
"Do you work with a Doctor Dendron?"
"No."
"Ah, well, win some, lose some."
"Look, uh, who are you?" Reginald frowned.
"Negaduck. I'm investigating the Doctor Bellum situation."
Reginald shuddered. "I wanted to get away from that." He sighed.
"There are three other guys in your situation. We need to pool our resources and help each other."
"The guy beside me got liquefied. He needs a lot more help than I do."
Negaduck frowned, "Any idea how hard it is checking everywhere for moving puddles? I don't know where he hangs his hat, yet. Unlike you." He pointed, "Doctor Reginald Bushroot. Research scientist at SCU."
"He said his name was Bud Flood." Reginald answered and opened his car door.
"Wait, wait!" The duck held up his hands, "Don't you reckon you need help too?"
Reginald sighed, looking at the lit contents of his old car. "I'm a plant..." He rubbed his head, "I just need water, and a garden bed right now."
"But you're a scientist, right? How about telling me what was going on back at that place?"
"She put him in that vat, I can't be sure the chemicals she-."
"Not him, flower-brain, you!"
Reginald straightened. "There's no need to get all nancy-pants with me."
"Nngh!" The duck's eyes narrowed as he clenched his beak, "Can't even..." He gritted under his breath, "English... right..." He was struggling not to reply to that.
"Look," Negaduck gritted, "I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot here."
Reginald flinched. "Roots."
"I meant 'so to speak'." This guy was insulting even when he was trying not to be.
"I'm as adult as the next college professor so why don't you just have a go at telling me the whole story, that way I can answer the whole question instead of in bits?"
Negaduck glared and straightened. "I've been investigating what happened to you. You weren't just getting a chlorophyll transfusion in there."
"No, I was also subjected to an electro-shock treatment to make sure my body didn't reject it."
"You remember something else happening, near the end?"
Reginald stared at him, thinking. "Yes, a blood transfusion..." Reginald's breath hitched, "That wasn't necessary for the process, I was near the end of the treatment, I got the transfusion then I got the last electroshock. Minutes after that the UV light turned on. It was so much noise around me... I guess you don't want to hear about that. Elmo walked off in a daze. Jacob looked fine, he just looked shaken. Bud, though..." Negaduck already said he didn't want to hear about Bud. "You know something about the transfusion?"
"That 'last ingredient' was vampire blood."
Reginald closed his car, "So-so it's not enough making me a plant, now I'm a vampire plant!"
"You feel any different? Uh, stupid question, I meant from how you think a plant duck should feel?"
Reginald considered, "There's certainly been something nagging me all afternoon, like I forgot something. This would qualify for sure."
"Okay, so that's progress." Negaduck folded his arms.
Reginald glared at Negaduck. What a patronizing jerk!
"So when I was with Quackerjack, we went to the doctor about it. Apparently figuring out what's going on with you guys is tied up with tracking down that vampire that gave you the transfusion."
Who? Jack, as in Jacob? Reginald frowned, "Which doctor was this?"
"He saw a couple doctors at the Careaway Clinic."
"Then I'll make sure to go visit there tomorrow. I'll get more sense out of them..." Reginald stopped, this guy was getting under his leaves. "No offence to Jacob."
"Okay, but you'd also get a lot more out of the vampire whose blood you've got mixed up in your chlorophyll. You know, before you get your teeth in?"
Reginald reactively put his hand to his beak, pressing his tongue against his regular teeth. There was strange irregularities in the roof of his mouth. Sheaths? His breathing hitched. All at once, his brain had dissected Negaduck into a compilation of chemicals and minerals. He quickly opened his car, got in, and slammed the door shut.
Negaduck tapped on the window.
Reginald took a steadying breath and turned on the accessories, rolled down the window.
"So you already got them in." Negaduck shrugged, "That just makes it more urgent you hearing me out."
Reginald breathed. "It's apparent I have some issues to work out; I'm forced to admit you were right."
"Finally." Negaduck rolled his eyes.
Reginald clenched his beak, "So, what do you suggest, or were you just after the smug satisfaction of proving yourself right?"
"Yeesh... Look, we gotta track down this vampire somehow. Make him talk. The problem with that is he's working with Doctor Bellum, so you know he's not such a nice guy."
"I can't imagine where you get that idea from..." Reginald swallowed. "I-I've got to go home."
"If we work as a team we can catch him. He's not going to help you willingly."
Reginald started the engine, "I believe you, Negaduck." He changed the radio station, "But right now, I've got to stop thinking about it."
"That's where it is, uh-huh-."
"I'm walking on-."
"Like a room without a-."
"You're on the air with-."
"Nah-ah, nah why don't you get a-."
"Bee-bop-a-."
"Yo other brothers can-."
"...East St Canard Chamber Ensemble."
Reginald sighed in relief at the soothing tone of the radio host's voice.
"This next orchestral piece is called, 'Wind in the Willows'. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do."
Negaduck stepped back from the car and Reginald drove home.
