Chapter 1: What You Don't Know Won't Kill You
Rows and stacks of books lining the shelves where they were meant to be. Tomes scattered all over the polished floor of my study. Editions forgotten by man, faded and dull covers lying face-up on my desk. I need to get out more, I thought to myself, I'm going to end up asphyxiating with all the lingering dust in the air. "Taske?" called a familiar voice. I gently rose my head off my arms, where I assume I'd been napping. I squinted my eyes, adjusting them to the surroundings. Blurrily, I glanced quickly and sharply around my possessions cluttering my workbench. I stood up creakily, like an old man, and stumbled across weakly to the hiding place of my beloved bracelet - The final artefact known to us left by my great uncle, Quintus. "Hello?" asked the same voice I had heard before. So I hastily replied "Just a minute". I took hold of the secret handle, disguised by some paint. I twisted it slightly to left, and largely to the right. After hearing the clicking motion - and whirring sounds - I inscribed the symbol of my legacy upon the newly appeared panel, tracing it with my finger. I pushed the corners in a clockwise motion, turning the plate upside-down. As the Latch popped, the hidden drawer opened, revealing the bracelet. I quickly grabbed it, and shoved it into my jacket pocket. To be honest, I hadn't actually realised I was wearing the jacket until now. Just as I heard the clink of the metal chains banging into each other, my lovely wife walked in. "There you are!" she stated, "I've been looking for you everywhere!"
"Emma, you know you'll always find me here. I always have some form of bloody research to do..." I slurred, surprisingly not tainted by alcohol.
"Darius. You're 30 years of age. Go out and live your life, for God's sake! There's so much for you to do, like..." She started
"What life?" I quickly interrupted, not wanting to hear another one of her 'You Only Live Once' speeches. "You know fully well that my Dad wanted this work done before 'the time comes', as he always said. Basically meaning as soon as possible."
Night was approaching fast. I think it was heading towards midnight, but I had lost track of time while I was buried in my books. I don't like to think of myself as a bookworm, but as a scholar it was a label I quite commonly was awarded. Along with the night course I surpassed at Harvard, I had a Degree in Archaeology, and a BSc Honours in Forensics. I think I managed to scrape a Mathematics/Statistics degree out the bag. I got bored of education very easily, so I did a lot of it to keep me entertained. Along with my original Job as a mentor to my 5 students, I did side police work. I was the go-to man for any unsolved cases, and when the department of Justice need my help, I get commission for each case solved, as to speak. Now, solving crimes are actually quite fun, as they provide an acute challenge, they require you to really think outside the box.
But I had a nagging feeling that things were going to change. One of my students, Graeme Jaime, had been called from my class to attend a research institute in Southern Carolina, the work he had done outstood my expectations, so naturally I wanted to put in a recommendation in for him. He actually invited me to come with him, as a guide to the area. Whilst I am well-travelled, as I told him, I had other students to care for. But I had promised him that I would come and visit him. We agreed the next summer - July 2016. That date was approaching fast. Only a couple of months to go. I was counting down the days, to be honest, I couldn't exactly help myself.
Ah, a hard night's work finished I thought to myself as I closed my latest reading material - "Neolithium and Constanbirane structural wonders". I saw the dust plume in helical structure, swirling around to the modern fan hanging loosely from the high ceiling of my study. You could hear the grinding of the gears of the machine, the grunts and squeaks as all the parts bundled together.
I stood up like an elderly man, having to lever myself up using the ledge of my desk. It was near to midnight, by my watch it was 11:52. Letting out a slight sigh, and a roll of my eyes, I allowed myself to stumble out the half-lit room into the adjacent bedroom. Haphazardly I felt my way to the bed, cursing as I stubbed my toe on the corner of the bedpost. Sleepily, my wife calls out to me "Darius, is that you?" Mumbling I slipped into the bed next to her, wrapping my arms around her silk nightgown, letting our arms knot together. As soon as my head hit the pillow, however, I was soon fast asleep.
