When I heard the door open, I expected it was Lisa returning with the coffees she'd gone to buy.
I was wrong.
Instead of my apprentice, I saw Xander Clavell
"You still have no idea who I am, do you, old boy?" he said. "Even after following me to the family's lab the other night?"
All at once, realization washed over me.
"Chester Landgraab! Your notes...you discovered the elixir of life...that explains how you're here now!"
"Yes, indeed. Your time machine brought you here on the fast track, but I managed to make sure you couldn't use it twice."
"What?!? You
sabotaged my time machine?!"
"Indeed, when you didn't accept my offer to join me in my pursuit of alchemy, I decided to help myself to your lab and I made a few alterations for you. But conveniently, you showed up to find my old notes which I'd somehow misplaced. A few snapshots with my phone and I had all I needed to replicate my elixir. You see, it only lasts for a few decades, and I'd run out. I appreciate you finding my notes," he said with a wicked smile. "Aren't you just such the knight in shining armor and a hero?"
"But I'm afraid it won't be bringing your beloved back from the grave. It only works on the living. Seems I've stolen time from you yet again," he said, dangling my own pocket watch in front of me. He left, laughing at my pain.
