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Eric was a budding young talent in
the world of science. He was the top of his class in university and popular
with the press. The young man was already poised to make great strides forward
in his chosen field. When asked what motivated him to do so much in a short
amount of time, the scientist always had the same answer.
“I’ve idolized the Green Yard
research facility, ever since I was a boy,” he would explain. “There wasn’t a
single major field of science they haven’t influenced or advanced in the past
50 years. It was the work of their staff, such legendary names like Dr. Marko
and Dr. Gregorius, that inspired me to open my first science textbook.”
Typically, Eric would then be asked
what he’d like to do more than anything else. The young man would then put on
his most excited smile as he answered.
“Why to work at Green Yard, of
course,” he’d state. “But that’s nothing more than a fantasy now, even for me.
They’re very selective about their staff and very secretive about their
research. I don’t think a member of the public has even stepped foot on its
grounds in over ten years. If memory serves, they last welcomed a new member of
staff even longer ago than that.”
Despite his claims that it was
nothing more than a fantasy, it was a fantasy Eric desired to make real above
all else. Internally, he believed it would never come true and accepted he’d
just have to watch their work from afar. However, that made it all the more
wonderful when he actually did get accepted into Green Yard’s ranks.
After long weeks of orientation at a
handful of off-site locations, Eric was quickly given the approval to begin his
tenure at the facility. He woke up bright and early for his first day, packed
up all his needed possessions, and drove up into the mountains that housed the
facility. He was eager to visit the dormitory, hoping he’d get a room close to
one of his idols. He was excited about his future lab space, rubbing shoulders
with those at the top of their fields. But above all that, he was most excited
to lay eyes on the facility itself. Before now, he only had a ten-year-old
picture of the exterior and his imagination.
He arrived early in the morning,
only an hour or so past dawn. The facility’s gate appeared old and rusty. He
expected security guards to check him in, automatic gates, and something to
swipe his ID badge through. Alas, there was nothing but a decrepit gate that
looked like it had been put in when the facility was founded 50 years prior. It
wasn’t even locked. The lock and chain had long since decayed and fallen to the
ground.
Concerned he was at the wrong place,
Eric double-checked his map and direction. Yet, all they did was confirm he was
at the right place. More confused than anything, Eric drove his car up to the
facility and parked in the vegetation-covered parking lot. At first, Eric
wondered if they had skimmed on the parking lot maintenance bills until he
looked at the building itself. It was a large and sprawling structure, or at
least it would be by the standards of 50 years ago.
Eric referred back to his map,
directions, and even his photograph of the facility. The young scientist was
now thoroughly convinced he was in the wrong place. Certainty gave way to
confusion and then concern as he realized his photo and the aged facility
matched exactly. While in the picture, it appeared pristine. The real one
before him looked like it had been abandoned for almost 20 years. The young scientist
was taken aback. He had been a close fan of the facility for over a decade, yet
nothing told him it had fallen to such a state.
“Another one, eh?” A ratty old man,
with a filthy beard in a stain covered coat, emerged from seemingly nowhere.
Eric jumped back, reaching into his pocket for a self-defense tool. “Calm down,
son, I’m not here to hurt or nothing,” the old man assured. “Name’s Dr. Marko.
You must be the new guy, right?”
“You’re Dr. Marko?” Eric asked in
disbelief.
“I know, I look nothing like the
pictures,” Dr. Marko laughed. “To be young and handsome.”
“Apologies sir,” Eric looked around,
keeping an eye out for anyone else in case this was a trick. “It’s just, this
whole situation...the facility-.”
“Doesn’t look like you expected, and
neither do I?” Marko grinned, revealing half his teeth were missing. “I don’t
blame you. They all say that,” the old man coughed. “It’s good to see that all
the money upper management put into maintaining our image paid off.”
“Even if that’s the case, I just,”
Eric was at a loss for words.
“How about this,” Dr. Marko
proposed, “I bet you got a copy of my book in your truck that you wanted me to
sign, right?” Eric nodded. “Page 112, line 4, I use a metaphor about zero
gravity. It was my favorite line in the book, but I was sad when no one talked
about it,” Marko explained.
Eric was still suspicious, he had
read the book cover to cover several times, but not even he remembered such a
thing. Yet, he returned to his truck and pulled out the book. Just as the old
man said, there was a metaphor about zero gravity.
“Well, what do you know?” Eric
shrugged. “Dr. Marko, it’s an honor to meet you, but what happened to the facility?”
“Time passed is all,” Dr. Marko
answered. “We’ve always done good work here, but the only thing management
cared about was our prestigious image. I bet you’ve got photos from some years
back, right? Nothing but baloney the higher-ups cooked up. That guy from the
press who says he took the photo, he was paid off by management. He never
stepped foot on these ground, and that photo is way older than you think.”
“This is a lot to take in,” Eric
tried to maintain composure. “I heard nothing about this during orientation and
the like. Do you even still do research in there?”
“I guess you could call it that,”
Dr. Marko sighed. “Listen, boy, there ain’t anything in there for you, or
anyone else for that matter. Hop back in your car and go home. You don’t want
to get stuck up in this place, trust me.”
“But all my life I’ve-,” Eric
started to say, yet some nagging feelings at the back of his mind stopped him
in mid-sentence. Maybe it was Dr. Marko’s gaze. Perhaps it was the eerie
silence that surrounded the facility. It might have been the sensation of
unknown danger that had been tingling in his bones since he first arrived.
Whatever the reason, Eric took Dr. Marko’s advice and drove off.
His heart broken, Eric took one last
look at the facility through his rearview mirror. He sighed and obeyed his
instinct to leave. Dr. Marko watched with interest as the young scientist left
the parking lot and returned to the mountain roads. The old man chuckled as Eric
disappeared from sight.
“Another soul saved from this
wretched place,” Dr. Marko smiled. An eerie wind rolled over the facility,
sending a chill up the old man’s spine. “Ah, management is calling. Probably
mad I chased off another promising young soul. Better get down there before
they really lay into me. Don’t want to end up like old Gregorius, now do I?”
Dr. Marko waddled back into the facility, the creaky old doors slamming shut
behind him.
~~~~
Sometimes your dream job isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Apologies if the formatting seems a bit different. I'm experimenting with spacing and trying to find what feels right.
Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy
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