The Creature

  The moment John stepped into Professor Whittaker's office, he knew he'd entered another world, one part museum, one part battlefield, and ten parts mess. It was filled with great works of art, stuffed beasts from halfway across the world, technological marvels he had only read about in books, and at least ten scattered tea cups, still filled with what he imagined must have been some very old and dusty tea. Everything was cluttered and piled around, it was clear that Whittaker didn't care much about organisation. In the centre of the room was a glowing red diamond pced atop some strange contraption. John was amazed, he had never seen anything so majestic in all his life. Well, he hadn't seen much majesty in general, but he could still tell that this was exceptional. As Whittaker walked over to it, John couldn't help but ask a question.

  "W-what is it?"

  "It's a diamond," Whittaker said condescendingly. "Easily recognizable."

  "No, I mean... what is it really?"

  Whittaker eyed him warily. "It's the Diamond of Eruki, but I doubt you've heard of it."

  John's eyes lit up. "I... of course I have! I read about in your book!"

  In that moment, he saw something that could be almost mistaken for approval on Whittaker's face. At very least, the disdain had decreased from 100% to about 99.

  "You read my book?" she asked, sounding genuinely surprised, like she'd just seen a mongrel bance on its hind legs and recite poetry.

  "It's one of my favourites," he answered. "I... I am an admirer, as I said..."

  "Most of my 'admirers' only read the puff pieces in The Strand," said Whittaker with a sniff. "It's rare to meet someone who's actually read my work." A small hint of respect was now detectable in her voice.

  "Th-thank you," John said, taking any praise he could get at this point.

  "So," she said, cocking an eyebrow, "you're a science devotee, then?"

  "Absolutely," John replied. "Though... I haven't settled on a field yet."

  "Ah, of course. No doubt you've been accepted into the 'Worlds in the Making' course for young scientists still working out their expertises?"

  "Yes, Professor."

  "How are you with technology?"

  "P–pretty good," John said. "I used to build little robots in my room—when I could scrounge the parts. They broke a lot, but I always managed to fix them."

  Whittaker gave a curt nod. "Then you might be more qualified than most of my assistants." She gestured to the contraption linked to the diamond.

  "W-what's the purpose of that device, if I may ask?" John asked, trying to analyse it.

  Whittaker looked disappointed by the question, but then she grinned. "Well, you know

  what the crystal is, you know why I want it... what do you think it does?"

  John hesitated. The answer seemed obvious—but he didn't want to blow it, not after earning something almost like approval from his hero.

  "Uh... well, the crystal contains a... a city... you want to get into the city... so... will the machine... open a... a portal to the c-city?"

  Whittaker csped her hands together. "You've got it! After a lot of hemming and hawing, I will admit... why were you so nervous when you clearly knew the answer?!"

  "I don't know," John admitted.

  "You're not very confident for someone who grew up in privilege," Whittaker noted with deepening interest. "You must be that boy who got in on merit."

  "Uh, yes," said John, ashamed to admit it, "don't hold it against me."

  "Now, why would I do that?" Whittaker asked, seeming genuine in tone.

  John felt a pang of joy at this, he should have realized that Whittaker would be different. "Everyone else has," John said, quieter now. "So far."

  "Oh, the University has always been made up of snobs," Whittaker said, "when I was your age, people were upset at women being allowed in, but here we are." She turned back to the diamond, her voice more casual now. "Don't let them get to you."

  John had a flicker of confidence, and honestly wasn't quite sure how to process it. Such things were very rare for him.

  "What was your name again?" She asked, showing some genuine interest. "John. John Andrews."

  "Charmed," Whittaker said, shaking his hand.

  John couldn't believe things were going so well. "Likewise," he said.

  "Now John," she said, her tone shifting back to her usual educated pomposity, "to work."

  "Y-yes, p-professor. What do you need me to do?"

  The Professor gestured to the device, running through the wires before getting to a rge lever connected to it from the other side of the room.

  "It's simple," she said, "in order to activate the portal, I believe I need a high concentration of Liminal Energy, energy which will be channeled through this device and into the Diamond. However, it's a two-person job; I need you to press the lever down as many times as it takes, while I operate the device and make sure that it stays stabilized."

  John nodded. "Sounds very simple."

  "Yes," said Whittaker, "my previous assistant deemed it too much for himself,

  though I suppose our little escapade beforehand didn't help."

  "What happened?"

  "Oh, let's not get into details, John," Whittaker said, quickly scooting over to her device.

  John walked over to the lever, holding it firmly.

  "N-nothing dangerous is going to happen, is it?" he asked hesitantly.

  "Of course not," she said. "Either a portal opens up, or the whole thing just fizzles out... I wouldn't worry your young head about it, John. Just do as I say, and everything will be fine!"

  John nodded hesitantly. He liked the Professor, but he couldn't stop thinking about the boy who had stormed out before him. What danger could have caused him to react the way he did? Was it really a good idea to become her assistant, even just temporarily? Still, his hand was on the lever, he wasn't going to back out at that moment.

  Whittaker began pushing down buttons on the device, at a speed that could have been described as almost superhuman. John watched, nervous in anticipation.

  "NOW, JOHN!" Yelled Whittaker.

  John did as he was told, pushing down the lever, he felt a small surge, but nothing happened.

  "Again!" Whittaker said frantically, clicking more buttons. John did it again, but still nothing.

  "Third time's the charm!"

  John pushed it down a third time, and finally, the diamond started making a low humming sound. John and Whittaker stared on in suspense, when a crackling beam of energy suddenly erupted from it, creating a rge circur portal at the far end of the room away from the two of them.

  Whittaker grinned almost manically. "We did it!" She excimed.

  John could barely believe his eyes. He had read about otherworldly phenomena and ancient technologies, but seeing it was a whole different story. He never thought he would have such an honor in his own life, let alone his very first day at University!

  "Well," said Whittaker, caught in the moment, "let's see what's on the other side!"

  The portal pulsed, flooding the room with unnatural light. A low, harmonic thrumming filled the air, like a thousand cathedral bells humming beneath their feet. John stared, transfixed. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was part of something beyond comprehension. Something holy. He felt ready to enter with Whittaker, to see what was on the other side, to know what it was that y within the crystal. Sadly, this was immediately undercut.

  "SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

  The two of them heard an awful, deafening shriek coming from the portal, covering their ears as if to stop their drums from bursting.

  "AAARGH!" John cried out.

  "KEEP YOUR EARS COVERED, JOHN!" Whittaker yelled.

  In that moment, something emerged from the portal, a creature not of their world. It was something made up of both flesh and metal, sporting brown fur and a rge pair of wings. The metal was rusted and broken, crudely bolted onto the flesh. It flew at breakneck speed and crashed right into Whittaker's collection, frantically fpping about, seemingly in fear at its new surroundings. John jumped back, terrified. Whittaker stood in awe.

  John struggled to process what had just happened; he gulped in fear, trying to resist the urge to just run away then and there. He hated that it was even a thought he was having, but it took every ounce of courage he had in him to stay.

  "W-what is it?" He asked Whittaker, frantic.

  "I don't know! I don't have a PHD in things that come out of diamond portals!"

  Suddenly, the device connected to the diamond shorted out, the portal closed with a harsh crackle.

  "NO!" shrieked Whittaker.

  The creature was startled by Whittaker, backing away and crashing into a suit of armor she had standing against one of her walls. It recommenced its screaming, letting out another deafening shriek that caused them both to have to cover their ears once again.

  "Oh, what I wouldn't give to make you shut up!" Whittaker said, straining. Fighting through the pain, John stepped forward, trying to calm it.

  "E-easy!" he said, trying to replicate what he'd seen stablemasters do with frightened horses.

  Whittaker stepped towards him. "John, no! This thing is NOT a horse!"

  But the creature locked eyes with him. There was fear there, fear that he recognised. It was raw, childlike. For one hopeful second, John almost thought it would let him help.

  Then... CRASH! It unched upward, smashing through a stained-gss window and vanishing into the sky.

  John and Whittaker stood there for a moment, not sure what to say. Whittaker was the first to break the silence.

  She let out a furious groan. "Bst it all! A creature on the loose, the machine's fried, and that was my st window with the original Gothic tracery!"

  "Uh... c-can we talk about what just happened?" John asked, trying desperately to process everything.

  "No time," said Whittaker, walking towards the office door. "I have to go and alert the authorities as to what's happened here."

  "Wh-what should I do?" John asked, rushing after her.

  Whittaker gnced back at him dismissively. "You should go, John. It's your first day here, you should be acquainting yourself with the pce... not chasing after some cyborg bat thing!"

  "Oh... okay," said John, disappointed. "W-will you need my assistance again at any point?"

  Whittaker put on a thin attempt at a smile.

  "Probably... you have promise." She patted him on the cheek. He flinched, but this went unnoticed. "But for now... I'll be off! See you in css tomorrow, okay?"

  And with that, she ran off, leaving John standing awkwardly in the middle of her completely wrecked office.

  He walked through the hallways in a daze, trying to process the events of the st ten minutes. It was hard to believe it was real, it had all happened so fast! The creature was terrifying, but it looked at him with such fear... fear that he could certainly understand. They had pulled it from its own world–whatever such a pce must have been like–and transpnted it to an environment totally alien to it. He couldn't possibly bme it for the way it reacted. All the same, he feared what it would do now that it was loose in London.