Here’s to a fun entry by a new-to-BB-budding writer! She doesn’t have a blog of her own, so she’s here on mine to share her story today. 🙂 Enjoy!

#BlogBattle word prompt for May: EXTRACT

The Antidote

by Sue Denym

Dark clouds rumbled ominously. Rain pounded anything unhappy enough to be out in the storm. Lightning flashed, illuminating a dilapidated building in a forbidding neighborhood.

In one of the few intact areas of the building, through the only window, lighting revealed the insides of a small white room. It was filled with strange equipment, and the walls were covered with shelves. Caged animals chattered quietly on the south wall, fearful of the storm raging outside. Peculiar lights stood over various tables, upon which odd tools were arranged neatly.

Footsteps echoed outside the room. The main lights turned on, and three bizarrely-dressed men entered. They quickly pulled rubber gloves and protective coats on.

The  jittery man hurried toward the single window. “Tonight’s the night!” Lightning flashed, reflected in his eyes, as the thunder rumbled. “It’s just as you described, sir.”

The other lacky shook his head doubtfully. He peered at shelved and labeled containers behind protective glass doors on the north wall, mumbling to himself. “Hmm…nightshade-potato extract…ground herbs…where’s the…?” He whipped around. “Where’s the potion-thingy, Professor?”

The third man, Professor Dr. Professor—or “The Evil Scientist”—scowled, pushing his wide-rimmed glasses up his thin nose as he spoke in a rather high-pitched Russian accent. “In the refrigerator safe box where it was placed last night—and it’s not a potion! It’s a concoction of my making with the blood we extracted from Gecko.”

The curious creature he motioned toward glowered at the men through its terrarium. The size of three footballs, it flared its frills and hissed.

The dark-haired man shuddered. “Yuck. Anyway, how can you be so sure we’re even ready?”

“The blood we extracted healed your finger of Gecko’s poison when he bit you, didn’t it?” the man by the window asked. “And—”

“If you’re finished bickering with Igor, I suggest you get the blood extract from the safe!” Dr. Professor snapped, rubbing his bald head. “And don’t forget the other ingredients or else….”

The men quickly obeyed as their towering superior prepared a deep bowl and some medical instruments on a small table beside the window. The doctor barked orders at his colleagues, which was mostly ranting at them.

“Add in a dash of wild thyme—dash it all, John, a dash not a gallon. You almost put too much in—Igor where’s the nightshade-potato extract—shut up, you morons—do I need to gag—John!—don’t you dare give that mutated cheese to the baby bunny thingy—I don’t care if it’s rabid rabbit or hangry hare; do not feed it mutated cheese—AM I THE ONLY SANE ONE HERE?—Igor where’s the extract—John get the extrac—SHUDUP YOU MORONIC BABOONS!—pass the ground herbs will you—and don’t you forget the—John come back here—Igor fetch him—GET ME THE MIXER!”

And so it went. The strange mixture was finally finished.

“At last!” The Professor exclaimed, a rare but evil smile forming. He held up a beaker, containing an unpleasant-looking (and smelling) liquid. “It’s ready!” He poured the foul liquid into a vial and capped it.

“Uncle, the storm has almost reached its zenith!” Igor peered out the window, licking his colorless lips.

“What have I told you about calling me—oh never mind.” The Professor reached for a box and lifted an extremely strange contraption out of it.

John scuffed his shoe on the concrete floor. “Er, Doc—”

Professor Dr. Professor puffed out his cheeks, outraged. “What is with calling me—”

“Professor, what is the antidote for?” John ran fingers through his thick hair in embarrassment.

“Well, the crushed herbs are for healing…the others have many properties, especially the nightshade-potato extract.” The Professor cleared his throat and took a deep breath for a long speech.

Igor grimaced. “And the blood we extracted?” He winked at John. The professor glowered again, his moment lost.

“Well…the blood counteracts Gecko’s venom, as we found out when he bit you, Igor. So, it must have more healing properties than just that.” He grabbed the lapels of his lab coat and stood erect, his head inches from the ceiling. “That is why we extracted some blood from the little monster.”

“Oh…” John still looked confused. “Why during the storm, though?”

“I’ll walk you baby goats through it.”

The professor yelled, “Carefully!” as he cradled the vial and followed John and Igor who carried the contraption outside. Rain pounded, drenching them.

“The antidote is not complete!” The Professor had to shout to be heard over the storm. He placed the vial into a small slot in the contraption. “This will lift the vial up high, closer to the storm clouds. As it is made of metal, it will attract lightning and will cause the vial to be struck.”

He pulled a lever and the long arm of the equipment began lifting the vial.

The Professor shooed the men away from it. “Stay back—once it is struck, the structure will most likely collapse. The vial will be fine. The lighting will enhance the healing properties of the blood extract.”

Lightning flashed, attacking the contraption. The three men were knocked onto their backs, stunned, as the structure fell.

The storm soon calmed. The men stiffly picked themselves up, and the Professor rummaged through the wreckage for the antidote. He held it up triumphantly. Eerie green light flickered throughout the dark liquid. The vial was surprisingly intact.

“It’s finished!”

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You could call this young lady one of my writing students. She’s a voracious reader with a wicked vocabulary (and who also loves the thesaurus almost as much as me)! Blogbattle is a great opportunity for me to walk through storytelling and teach the rules so these young writers can become even better writers who know when and where to break the rules. I hope you enjoyed “The Antidote” and will head over to BBPROMPT.COM to check out more stories by other newbie and seasoned writers alike!