We'll Meet Again (Original Book)

|14| Explanation

"Are you CRAZY?!"

Tedric sighed. "Nat-"

"YOU JUMPED OUT OF A WINDOW!"

"Let me explain-"

"And you landed on a universe that was undergoing MASS ANNIHILATION?!"

Tedric rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Yes."

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Nathalie fastened the bandage around his shoulder a little tighter than she meant to. Tedric let out a wince but didn't further complain. The last thing he wanted right now was to fuel Nathalie's anger.

He was in her lab and Leonard with Jocasta were probably catching up and in her own, but Nathalie had insisted to patch up his wounds first before dealing with Leonard.

"He was... good," Tedric added "at fighting, I mean."

"I can tell," Nathalie sat on the bench beside him, holding a pinch of cotton drenched in hydrogen peroxide and using it to disinfect that dried up scratch across his left cheek. "Even for a Garner like you... I can't believe he was tough to deal with."

"He said everything's my fault. He wanted revenge from me. He seemed to recognise me, but I have no idea who he is. Neither do I know how I wronged him," Tedric said confusedly, and she finally finished taking care of his final wound.

"Are you sure you don't know who he is?"

"I'm absolutely certain!"

Tedric tried to remember. He had met a million people throughout the years. He had spent so much time in other universes, and he had met so many people. There was no way he could remember them all. But this man seemed to be from this universe. His origin timeline, and Tedric hadn't spent enough time in his timeline. If anything, this universe was the one he'd spent the least time into.

"We'll figure this out later," Nathalie gathered the medical supplies in her kit and placed it back in its shelf. "If he was there to kill Leonard, then Leonard knows who he is and he will answer our questions himself."

"Unless Leonard doesn't recognise him either," he said, but he hoped that that wasn't the case.

"If we don't ask him, we'll never know," Nathalie stood up "come on."

Nathalie walked out of the lab, and he followed from behind. Jocasta and Leonard were into her own lab and when Nathalie and Tedric walked in, there was an awkward silence between them as if they hadn't talked at all. And maybe that was the case. Jocasta was mad at him, and she had every right to be.

Leonard was a smart man. There had never been a single Burgess to be born without the slimmest trace of intelligence. There was no way he didn't know how painful it was for his daughter. He was probably overwhelmed with shame and regret for doing this to her.

If Nathalie was in his place, she wouldn't dare to start a conversation either.

"Dr Leonard Burgess, I presume?" Tedric decided to speak. If he didn't, they would most likely sit there for hours on end either staring at one another or avoiding eye contact.

"Yes," the old man nodded, and he turned and looked at Tedric, finally realising who he was. His eyes widened and he looked visibly distressed. "Y- You must be... Tedric Garner... the time and space traveller, correct?"

For a Garner to be in the Burgess Laboratories it could only mean that the Burgesses were trusting him not to hurt them. But that man also seemed to fit the description.

"How do you know my name?" Tedric arched an eyebrow.

The old man seemed hesitant at first, but eventually sighed heavily and talked. He had nothing more to lose.