Free Mysterious Gift by Carlene Rae Dater Page A

here.”
    Brian recognized people he’d met the night before, some bent over tables, others busy working on computers. “Very interesting.”
    “Someday in the future, when we have time, I’ll give you a full tour. Right now it is imperative that we get your visions under control so you can go off and do that little chore for us.”
    A short man with wild, fuzzy gray hair and thick, horn-rimmed glasses scurried over. With a big smile on his weathered face, he said, “Hello, hello and welcome. You must be Mr. Wakefield. I am Dr. Gossling.” He whipped a pair of leather gloves out of his pocket, pulled them on, and held out his right hand.
    When Brian hesitated, Gossling said, “Not to worry, dear boy, these are lead-lined gloves.” He peeled the edge of his left glove back but all Brian could see was some grayish material.
    He was here to learn, though, so he decided to take a chance. He shook the doctor’s hand but received no messages.
    “Wonderful, yes? My own invention.” Doctor Gossling’s sherry-colored eyes sparkled with good humor behind the thick glasses. “Sit, sit. Let us begin.”
    Brian glanced around as he sat up on the examination table, but Phelps was nowhere to be seen.
    Without another word, the doctor did the usual doctor thing; listened to his heart, took his temperature, blood pressure, and pulse.
    “Fine, fine. You are in excellent condition. Well, other than that little hearing peoples thoughts thing.”
    Brian couldn’t help but smile at the man’s humor.
    “Now then, let me get my assistant to take a small amount of your blood, and we’ll begin to map your brain to see where all this funny business is coming from.” Gossling moved to the door and yelled at the top of his voice, “Igor! I need you!”
    “You have a lab assistant name Igor?”
    Gossling laughed. “No, of course not. A little joke. Where I worked before, they referred to me as Dr. Frankenstein.” He pulled at his fuzzy hair.
    “Where was that?”
    “Another place. Anyhow, because of my work and appearance, they called me Frankenstein behind my back, but I knew. I knew. So when I came here, I decided I needed a lab assistant named Igor. Ah, here he is now.”
    A muscular young blond guy came through the door. He had a basket filled with empty glass tubes. Brian hoped to hell he didn’t intend to fill them all.
    “Igor, I need the usual amount for a workup, and please be speedy.” Gossling spun around and went to fiddle in a storage cabinet.
    “Sorry about that,” the young assistant said. “He’s a little nutty, but harmless. Actually, my name is Jack.” He slipped on a pair of gloves similar to the doctor’s, tied a piece of rubber around Brian’s upper arm, and just before he inserted the need, Brian looked away. He’d always hated needles.
    Had he? He frowned as he stared at the wall. Another feeling, like the one about dehydration and flying.
    “Okay, all done.” Jack slapped a small bandage on the injection site, picked up his basket, and left. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes, Doctor.”
    “Yes, yes, fine.” Gossling walked over to Brian holding what looked like a shower cap with a bunch of wired attached. “So, if you will please follow me?”
    The two men walked into a small office. There was a chair in the middle and a massive bank of machines along one wall. Brian’s heart rate increased, and his palms sweated.
    “What is all this, Doctor?”
    “Ah, here is where we hook you up to map out the funny business in your brain. If nothing comes out, we’ll have to throw you in a hole and bury you.” His eyes twinkled with merriment.
    Brian sat in the chair, and the doctor carefully placed the cap on his head. He whistled a tuneless melody until Jake walked in pulling on his lead-lined gloves.
    “Relax, my friend,” Gossling said. “We’ve only lost one customer so far this week.”
    “Oh, what did you do with the body?”
    “It’s buried in the woods, like all the others.