The Individuals

Story#11: Hero Syndrome

I hate them all

***

An old man sat slumped in a chair. His head was balding and he had a long, bushy white beard cupping his face. In his aged left hand, he held a pair of scissors and was using them to prune a small potted tree in front of him. With still hands, he clipped a few of the tree's smaller branches off. Leaning up for a moment to give his neck a stretch, he heard the telephone behind him let out a ring.

Standing up from his seat and walking past the many cluttered bookshelves in the room, which were overflowing with countless amounts of medical and scientific books, unfinished research papers, and some of the old man's awards, he unhooked the telephone and raised it up to his ear.

" This is Ulysses speaking. How may I help you?" The old man, Ulysses H. Drills, a senior retired award-winning researcher and doctor answered in a deep, monotone voice.

" Hey! Long time no see!" The voice replied over the phone.

" Brian, is that you?" This was Brian Nosnick, an old friend of Ulysses', who he had not heard from for a while. " It certainly has been a while. What are you calling me for?" He asked.

" Yes, it certainly has. I was just calling to tell you about a certain job that's been floating around." Brian answered.

Ulysses sighed, " Brian, you know I'm retired already. After all, I'm much too old to be working on projects anyhow."

" Yeah, I know, but this one is pretty interesting. This job is being issued straight from the Klasknia Government themselves. It's a pretty hush-hush job." He said over the phone.

" If that's the case, then why are you telling me? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Ulysses replied while pulling out a nearby chair and taking a seat.

" What? No way!" Brian uttered. " Anyways, the Government is still looking for researchers for the job, so I thought I'd ask you before all the spots are taken up."

Brian continued, " It's about some new mysterious disease that has plagued the people of a small town called Hurostain, over in West Hasin. The job is to study it and to find out whether a cure is possible or not. The first day starts in a few weeks and the job is going to last for about one month. We'll be working in a small facility near the quarantine zone they built around the town. Oh, and any travel expenses are being covered."

" Wait, wait, wait." Ulysses interrupted him. " 'We'? I never said I was going."

" Oh, come on! It'll be like old times!" Brian responded, blowing out a hearty laugh under his breath.

Leaving Brian on pause for a moment, Ulysses turned his head and gazed back at one of the old photos adorning his cluttered shelves. The photo in particular was one of him, Brian, and several other of his old colleagues back when they were still fresh out of college. For a moment, memories from that period crept into his mind. Ulysses let out a sigh.

" Alright, I'll think about it." He uttered back.

" Great! Well, if you do decide to come, see you in a few weeks!" Brian replied. After saying goodbye, Ulysses hung the telephone back on its hooks.

While his chair let out a creak, he leaned up onto his feet and paced back to his desk. Pulling out the chair and grabbing his pair of scissors off the desk, Ulysses took a seat and went back to pruning his potted tree. Beside him on the desk, in the corner of his eye, was a framed photo of him and his wife.