Chapter 10
After a long day at school that included three tests and a confrontation with Kevin Anderson, Gabriel was glad to leave. He regretted that he could not drive Melissa home; that they could not spend time together. He needed to go home. Terzini would be expecting him.
He reflected on the day as he drove, losing himself in thought until he arrived at his driveway. As he traveled the length of the gravel-filled path, the Gothic Victorian came into view. The house, positioned against the waning daylight, looked menacing. Its many striking edges were not softened by the shades of gold and orange, but intensified. It loomed darker in contrast, each angle sharpened, every slope steepened. It stood, a blackened castle against a fairytale-hued canvas of colors, cold and dark, puncturing the warm and brilliant backdrop. Pulling up to the garage, Gabriel noticed that the interior lights were on. Terzini was there.
Gabriel drove into the garage and turned off the engine of the Explorer. He remembered the last time his maker left the laboratory and visited the main house; the confrontation was fresh in his mind. Gabriel had already engaged in enough conflicts for one day. He did not need another.
He climbed out of his SUV, laden with concern, and entered the house through a door that led to the laundry room. He crossed the laundry room to a flight of stairs. As he ascended the staircase, anxiety hailed his every step. He paused briefly to listen for sounds of activity. None were heard and he continued, unsure whether stillness was a good sign.
Gabriel reached the top of the flight and stood before another door that opened to a hallway. The corridor led in one direction to a bathroom and the other to a formal living room and dining room. He listened again and still heard silence. The quiet was eerie, unsettling.
Turning the knob and entering slowly, Gabriel did not see the geneticist at first. The bathroom door stood open, vacant. The formal dining room appeared unoccupied. Gabriel moved forward in search of what he could only imagine would turn out to be an unpleasant visit from Dr. Franklin Terzini. Surprisingly though, his maker was not seated on any furniture in the formal living room nor did he inhabit any corners in the room. He was nowhere in Gabriel’s field of vision. Perplexed, he remained where he was, in the center of the living room, wondering where exactly Terzini was.
Finally, a man was heard clearing his throat from the kitchen. Surprised, Gabriel moved swiftly to the kitchen and entered only to find Terzini leaning against the granite countertop of the center island, one arm folded across his chest while the other feverishly stroked the lower half of his creased, scowling face. The petite genius appeared deep in thought and looked ill. His thick, neatly arranged jet-black hair provided a severe contrast against his skin that, even in the more forgiving glow offered by incandescent lighting, remained ashen, pallid.
“Hello, Dr. Terzini, sir,” Gabriel said careful to not reveal his growing unease.
His apprehension increased as Terzini did not reply right away. Rather, he waited, allowing his beady eyes to search Gabriel’s through wired-rimmed glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. Inside, Gabriel felt tense, worried.
Finally, after what felt like an endless period of scrutiny, his maker elected to speak.
“Gabriel,” Terzini replied remotely.
“Can I be of any service to you, sir?” Gabriel offered still fraught with questions about the unscheduled encounter.
“Yes, Gabriel. You can,” Terzini began, enunciating each word with painstaking precision. “I am going out of town for a few days. I am leaving Friday afternoon and I will be returning Sunday evening.”
“Yes sir,” Gabriel answered still unsure of where the conversation was headed.
“I demand that you stay home. Do you understand me, Gabriel?”
Suddenly, Terzini’s intention was clear; he feared rebellion. The bonfire incident had rattled him, made him distrustful of Gabriel.
“Yes sir.”
“You must remain here in this house, Gabriel. No bonfires, no skirmishes in the woods,” he commanded icily.
“Yes sir,” was all Gabriel would allow himself to say. Feigning complete compliance was crucial.
“I want to be very explicit with my instructions. There should be no confusion. My instructions are not subject to interpretation.”
“Yes sir.”
“I do not wish to be carted off at a ghastly hour of the night to the local police station to verify your fabricated identity.”
“Yes sir.”
“It is essential that I make my demands clear as we both know what the consequences will be for noncompliance, Gabriel,” Terzini warned bitterly as he stepped toward him.
Involuntarily, Gabriel flinched when his maker advanced. His heart began to race and perspiration beaded his forehead.
Terzini appeared satisfied with the response he evoked and retreated, leaning once more against the counter. Only this time, his usually unreadable countenance bore the slightest trace of self-contentedness, arrogance.
Feeling his pulse rate return to normal and the tension releasing within him, Gabriel internally questioned what was happening to him. Melissa had evoked a similar physical response but it was accompanied by a pleasant fluttering sensation and heightened his senses; it roused and energized him. The phenomenon that occurred with Terzini’s advance was dissimilar. He felt paralyzed inside; dulled to his surroundings, save for the expression on his maker’s face.
“Gabriel, do you understand what is required of you?” the geneticist questioned, his tone terse and impersonal in nature.
“Yes sir. I do.”
“Very well then, I will return on Sunday sometime after five o’clock.”
After Terzini stressed his expectations during his absence, he promptly left.
Gabriel watched as his maker turned on his heels and strode out of the kitchen. The rhythmic clacking of his dress shoes could be heard echoing through the living room and dining room and down the flight of steps which led ultimately to the garage.
Gabriel was shaken. Uncertain why his body responded as it did, he breathed deeply to steady himself. All the while he resisted the urge to call Melissa immediately and inform her that plans had changed; that he would have access to his car over the weekend. They would be free to be together. He opposed every compulsion that urged him to grab his phone and instead postponed texting Melissa with the good news until the sound of the garage door opening then closing could be heard. When both were heard, he immediately pulled his cellphone from the back pocket of his jeans and began texting.