The Change of Sides - Ch. 2 - Duncan's Lab

         “No… Kim, NO!”

         “What?” Kim yelped as her master grabbed the futuristic gun out of her hand. “What did I do?”

         Duncan sighed. “You don’t put the gun on that setting or it’ll implode in on itself with a seventy percent chance of taking you with it.”

   Kim looked up. “And that would be…?”

   “BAD.”

   Kim sighed and sat down with a huff. “Sorry, Duncan, I’m just… Tired.”

   Duncan smiled knowingly and sat beside her. “Well, the way I see it, you’ve got two options.” He said. “Either get to sleep, or get some coffee.”

   Kim rolled her eyes. “I’ll choose sleep, thank you.” She stood up and took off her lab coat, hanging it on one of the hooks beside the door. She turned and smirked knowingly at Duncan. “I wouldn’t want to become a lifeless, nocturnal science freak, now would I, Duncan?”

   “I prefer the term ‘Scientist’.” The blonde replied.

   Kim rolled her eyes. “Same difference.” She stepped through the door, closing it behind her.

   Duncan shook his head with a smile as he stood up and returned to his work. He reflected once again upon how much having an apprentice brightened his day.

   Kim walked across the courtyard, breathing in the clear night air. She was almost to her tower opposite the lab when she heard a knock on the large oaken front door.

   She sighed and switched direction, heading instead towards the door. Then there was another knock, this time faster; more urgent. Kim, now a bit concerned, quickened her pace. As she reached the door, she pulled it open. Her eyes widened.

   She covered her mouth with both hands. “L-Lewis, what did you do?!”

   “I found him in the woods getting attacked by a skeleton.” Lewis replied, his voice strained due to the rather awkward position with which he held the seemingly unconscious victim of an apparent skeleton. He was totally limp. His purple hood had fallen down onto his shoulders, his wispy brown hair falling messily almost vertically. “Your castle was the closest place.”

   “O-Oh my gods!” Kim exclaimed. She looked back into the castle and cried out, her voice almost panicked. “Duncan! Duncan, help!”

   “What’s the matter?” Duncan’s eyes widened as he ran out of the lab. “Lewis, what did you-”

   “I didn’t do anything!” Lewis interrupted exasperatedly. “Just help me with him before he bleeds out or something!”

   Duncan rolled his eyes and headed quickly over to his friend and apprentice beside the door. “Alright, alright, you don’t have to yell, Jesus…”

   .         .         .

   “Okay… I’m pretty sure he’s gonna wake up when I pull the arrow out, and he’s gonna have a massive surge of adrenaline.” Kim said. The stranger had been propped up against the outer castle wall. Kim knelt beside him as Lewis and Duncan stood a few feet back. “We have two options.” Kim continued. “We either hold him down until he passes out again, or let him go free – which probably isn’t the best idea considering we’re not sure what he’s capable of.”

   “A wounded animal will always show fight.” Duncan crossed his arms. “He might see us as a threat and lash out.”

   Lewis shook his head. “He couldn’t defend against the skeleton, so he won’t defend against us. We let him be, so we can gain his trust.”

         Duncan sighed and pulled out the same gun Kim had been messing with earlier in the lab. Lewis noticed and stopped him. “No weapons.” He pulled his own sword out of his sheath and tossed it aside. “This is a very delicate situation and we can’t muck it up like we do with everything else.”

         “Luckily, Simon isn’t here.” Duncan smirked. “Otherwise he’d dwarf it up.”

         Lewis rolled his eyes, but smiled – knowing his friend was right. “Just put the gun away, Dunc.”

         Duncan sighed heavily. “Fiiiine…” He tossed the gun over his shoulder without looking at it.

         Without being asked, Kim pulled her own dagger out of the sheath at her side and threw it hard at the now closed front door. Her intentions had been to make the sharp edge stick out of the wood, but instead of the tip, the hilt struck the door. The knife bounced off the thick-wooded door with a dull thud and fell to the ground below. Kim’s expression went blank.

         Lewis raised an eyebrow.

         “Yeah…” Duncan said slowly. “We’re working on science instead of aggression…”

         Lewis rolled his eyes. “Let’s just get this overwith.” Kim nodded and knelt beside the stranger again. She wrapped her hand around the arrow’s shaft and took a deep breath. She gritted her teeth and yanked the arrow hard.

         Just like Kim had predicted, as soon as it was out, the man let out a cry and shoved Kim away as a reflex. He scrambled backwards and to his feet, holding both his hands out in front of him as he struggled to catch his breath.

         Lewis, although confused by strange position of his hands, held up his own arms in the universal gesture of peace. “It’s okay.” He said simply.

         “Wh-Who are you?!” The stranger half-shouted. His voice was younger than Lewis had expected. The man before him couldn’t be older than nineteen; maybe twenty years old.

         “My name is Lewis. These are my friends, Duncan and Kim.” Lewis spoke slowly; carefully. “We’re not going to hurt you. We just want to help.” Lewis smiled reassuringly. “What’s you name?”

         For a moment, the man stared at Lewis in fear, a wild look in his eyes. Then, all at once, he began to quiver slightly. Without giving an answer, the adrenaline wore off and he slipped into unconsciousness again, collapsing to the gravel with a dull thud.

         As soon as he had, all three of the others in the courtyard ran over and knelt next to him. “Is he gonna be alright?” Lewis asked Kim.

         Kim hesitated as she laid two fingers on the side of the stranger’s neck. After a moment, she nodded slowly and replaced her hand at her side. “I think so.” She said. As the two were speaking, Duncan had been staring at the stranger, a perplexed expression on his face.

         “Good…” Lewis sighed. “Kim, d’you think you-”

         “Lewis, can I talk to you?” Duncan interrupted. “In the lab?”

         Lewis looked up at Duncan in surprise. “Yeah, of course.”

         Duncan nodded and stood, leading the way over to the entrance to the lab. Once both he and Lewis were through, Duncan closed the door.

         “What’s wrong?” Lewis asked quietly.

         “Lewis, this guy is young. Kim’s age; maybe even younger. We’ve underestimated him. He’s probably scared and maybe even a little panicked. He was just shot, for one, and now a bunch of complete strangers are helping him. And on top of that, maybe he was out in the woods alone for a reason. Maybe he was chased out for doing something violent, maybe he got lost, maybe it was all a misunderstanding. We can’t know if he’s as dangerous as Israphel or as shy as Sjin. We need to be careful; and we need to be gentle with him.”

         Lewis nodded. “I know the risks, Duncan. If you’re not comfortable with him staying here, I under-”

         “No.” Duncan shook his head. “He’s safest here.”

         Lewis sighed and nodded. “Alright… D’you mind if I stay over?”

         Duncan shrugged. “If you want. People stay over here all the time. Simon was just here last week.”

         Lewis’s face lit up. “How is he?” He asked.

         “Simon?” Duncan laughed. “As dwarf-y as ever!” He said. “And bad at planning as well. He left his house with the intention with the intention of making it back to Stoneholm by nightfall. Not even close. He was a little less than halfway there when the sun started to set. My castle was the closest safe place for him.”

         “Did he seem torn up?”Lewis asked.

         “A little.” Duncan replied. “But you know Simon. Once he gets his pick fixed, he’ll be back to his old self again.”

         Lewis nodded. “Well, I’m gonna turn in, Duncan.”

         “Psht…” Duncan turned to face the table in his lab. “Sleep is for the weak…”

         Lewis shook his head knowingly. “Goodnight, Duncan.”

         He stepped through the door to the lab again, but as he stepped into the courtyard, a thought struck him. “By the way, Duncan…” He turned and headed back into the lab. “Since when did you have compassion for other…” Lewis’s voice trailed off as he realized that the scientist had fallen asleep at his desk, his goggles askew on his head.

         Lewis smirked and left the room again, quietly this time. “We’re all weak here…” Lewis said to himself as he walked across the courtyard.