14. Trust

I walked towards Peter as he stood by his black chauffered limousine. He was dressed in a dark blue suit. I thought he seemed agitated as I stared at his stern straight face but I honestly couldn't fathom the real reason for him being here.

"Peter, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"I'm here to talk to you about a serious matter," he stated.

"Really?" I answered.

"Yes? What's so serious that it can't wait until tomorrow when I'm at the office? Can't you ring Dr Darrell and speak to him?" I asked as I left him standing there and climbed the steps to my apartment building.

"No. I can't do that," he said as I stopped on the top step and turned to stare at him.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Can we go to your place and discuss this privately because I think it would be best," he said in a quiet voice as if someone might be listening, but as I looked around us, there was no one in sight.

The whole fiasco of him being here was strange and it brought a curiousness which led me to accept his proposition.

"Okay... follow me then," I announced as I walked inside the building and started to climb the first flight of stairs where I lived on the first floor.

I walked into my apartment and Peter followed me inside.

"Would you like a drink? Coffee or tea?" I asked politely.

"No thank you," he answered quickly.

"Right... well... what is it you want to talk to me about? Please... sit down," I said.

I watched as Peter sat on the sofa opposite the armchair I was now sitting on. He stared straight at me and I admit, I was feeling apprehensive as I realised he was in my apartment. I had not seen this coming. I was now feeling out of my depth with him being here. What did he want and why was he here? What was he going to tell me? Surely, he could have told me whatever he was going to say outside! Why was he being so secretive? Would he tell me something about how he had vanished?

"First of all, I want to say how sorry I am for the way I behaved. I shouldn't have stormed off earlier. I didn't mean it but sometimes I get agitated and then I cannot stop myself from being angry." He said as I wondered if he was being honest with me or not.

He seemed genuinely sorry but something didn't feel right.

"I see. You did storm off but I went after you straight away to make things right. When I got to the reception area you weren't there... for some reason you seemed to have vanished. Even the receptionist said you hadn't appeared at the lifts as she was there the whole time. Can you explain where you went?" I asked as I noticed a flicker of annoyance in his eyes.

I knew I had triggered something inside of him.

"Well... I will explain in due course but the reason I am here is to tell you that Dr Darrell is someone you cannot trust. He is not who you think he is," Peter said sincerely.

What was this? Was he trying to sabotage an important doctor? I really didn't know what to think but I knew I had to hear him out.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"He's a dangerous man. I know this because I have seen what he can do. He has done things to people... he has experimented on people... which is what I meant to say," Peter said in a quiet whisper.

Why was he whispering? No one could hear him except for myself.

"What things? What has he done?" I asked not sure I really wanted to know.

"Okay... this is going to sound very weird but you have to hear me out before you say anything. Don't interrupt... just listen," he said peering desperately into my eyes with a seriousness that pulled me in.

"I'm listening," I said.

"I will start from the beginning which is the past... when I was a boy Dr Darrell took me to a shop where he bought me a special charm. It caught my attention. I remember thinking how much I wanted it and the lady in the shop told me an intriguing story about it. She said it was magical. She also said it could stop time and take you to a world that no one knew about. So, as a boy, I was immediately interested and in those days I was a dreamer," Peter said pausing to catch his breath. "That night, at home in my bedroom something weird happened to me. I can't really explain it but at the time I didn't know what had caused it until I realised it was the charm. I was holding the charm close to me in both of my hands when I suddenly disappeared. I remember the first time. I found myself in a mystical place and it had freaked me out. I was shocked and afraid. I eventually came back to my room and this kept happening whenever I held the charm close to me. Then one day, my mother noticed I was missing. I never told anyone about the charm not even Dr Darrell because I was scared. Eventually, he found out from my mother that I was acting very strangely and she told him that I was disappearing out of nowhere, so he took me to his house and did something to me. I still, to this day, don't know what he did because I woke up in a room that I hadn't seen before until I realised he had a basement where he experimented with things. After that, my mother would bring me to his house twice per week and I would always wake up in the same bed in that room. So, I think this is the reason why I have problems with anger and vanishing. I think he made me worse but the charm has always kept me safe from him. I know this because I brought it with me when I was a teenager and I held it in my pocket when I entered his house. For some reason, the charm protected me because Dr Darrell couldn't touch me or do anything to me since that day."

I was stumped. I couldn't believe it but I knew that somehow Peter was telling me the truth.

"Where is this charm now?" I asked eagerly as I put my hand in my trouser pocket and felt the charm there.

"It's in a safe place," he stated.

"Is it at your home?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter where it is. One thing I must say is that I need to use the chair to find out what Dr Darrell has in store for me in the future. I'm certain he intends to try and find the charm. He has also experimented on others who have died in the process," he explained.

"Are you sure? How can you be certain about that?" I asked apprehensively.

"Because I have seen the bodies," he said seriously.

"Bodies? Oh wow... this is really a bit far fetched, Peter and I'm not sure I can believe that Dr Darrell is dangerous," I said honestly.

Could he be making this up just so I can take him to the chair? But I couldn't now!

"I'm sorry to say... but Dr Darrell has taken my key away from me today, so I have no access to the chair at the moment. So... I can't help you," I explained.

"I see," he replied.

"Hey... I need some proof from you if I am going to believe you. Can't you show me how the charm works or how you can disappear? I need to see it for myself or perhaps, you can take me to this other world you talk about?" I asked knowing I was pushing it.

I had to see it for myself. I needed to know if he was lying or telling the truth. I wanted to trust him but I wasn't sure of anything. What I did know was that I had seen his eyes light up. Was he telling the truth? Hadn't I seen what the charm could do during the time I had used the chair? 

Whatever the truth was I needed to see it for myself.

"I... suppose I can show you but you have to promise not to tell anyone else what you have seen, especially Dr Darrell," he said shakily.

"I promise," I said as a nervous tremor in the pit of my stomach made me swallow with fear.

"Okay then... right... follow me," he said as he got up and walked to the front door.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To fetch the charm and show you the truth," he said as I followed him down the steps and into his car.

I felt a shiver run down my spine as I sat in the back of the limousine with Peter and the chauffeur drove us away and I knew things were about to get weird.

Was this really going to happen? Was I about to make a mistake? Could I trust him?

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