The Time Warden's Son

Chapter 3

"David," Doc said as he knocked softly on my bedroom door.

I sat at my desk with my hands buried in my hair, still angry and confused. I couldn't make sense of what was happening; truth be told, I didn't want to make sense of it. I wanted to stay angry, I wanted Doc to know just how much I was hurt, so, as childish as it was, I ignored his knocking.

"David," Doc said again, knocking on my door slightly harder this time.

I dug my nails into my scalp.

"David!"

I leaned back, letting out an elongated sigh, before forcing myself to get out of my chair and walk across the room. I opened my bedroom door in a deft and jerky manner, not yet ready to let go of my hurt, but too ashamed to continue acting childish. There stood Doc, with his arms crossed. I refused to look at him, half out of shame, half out of anger.

"It's about time you opened that door," his tone softened as he said, "I know that you are frustrated, and I have allowed you to be angry, but now it is time to push aside your feelings and face what is at hand. Complicated things are afoot, and we all need clear heads to deal with them properly."

Doc paused. I continued to avoid eye contact, instead, I stared at his hands, which he began to wring as soon as I opened the door. This nervous movement, while small, spoke volumes. Doc was not apt to show worry. My anger began to subside despite myself, being replaced by anxiousness.

Doc cleared his throat, "Mariam and I were talking. I...I am very worried about this decision, but I do believe...I hope that I am making the right decision. Do not take this the wrong way, but we were trying to decide who to send into the past to go after Lagabey. Miriam believes you are our best bet, she has faith in you, and...she thinks..." he paused and began to wring his hands even harder, "...I could not deny that she is right, though the decision does not thrill me."

My head snapped up; my anger began to flare again.

"Please, do not take this the wrong way," he interjected, "I only say that I am not thrilled, because of how all of this affects you. I fear that it could hinder you, but, as Miriam has pointed out, it could also help you. It is a risk, but I think it might be a necessary one.

'David, it is your choice whether or not to go after Lagabey, but I will warn you, this all affects you more than you would think, and you might uncover some very...um...difficult information."

I was studying his hands again, his wringing becoming more and more rigorous. When he did not continue speaking, I finally looked back up at his face. His eyes were staring into mine, questioning, or was it pity?

I scowled, "If this affected me so much then why didn't you tell me about all of this before?"

Mr. Norman's voice remained calm, but his gaze dropped to the floor, "I have already explained that it was to keep the time machine a secret. I didn't keep it a secret because I lacked trust in you, I kept quiet about it for your own safety. Can you understand that?"

My anger was growing again. No, I didn't understand, I didn't want to understand, and all desire to go after Lagabey had vanished. If Doc had told me about the machine in the first place, none of this might have happened. He dug his own hole; he could get himself out.

"No," I whispered.

"What?"

"No," I said, "I will not go after him. You went into this without me, you can get out of it yourself. I will not get myself mixed up in a fix like this."

I pushed past him and made my way to the front door, trying to escape outside as fast as possible, but I was not fast enough to miss his last words.