The Evil That Came

Part 2: Matilda and Lisa

Greg's youth was striking, and his presence—his dirty blond hair, bright blue eyes, and muscular frame—disrupted the usual monotony of bureaucratic meetings. As he strode into General Alden's office, the environment, buzzing with bureaucratic efficiency, felt suffocating compared to the vastness of space he'd traversed for the past two decades. But his mission was clear: secure funding for a private research lab, a haven for innovation free from the military's red tape.

Matilda Bari, the general's enigmatic secretary, greeted him. Her striking hazel eyes with a hint of yellow held an intelligence that masked her youthful appearance. Years ahead of her peers, she'd graduated university at 14, her brilliance masked by a meticulously coiffed hairstyle and tailored clothes—a shield against skepticism. Yet, beneath the facade, a spark of curiosity ignited when Greg outlined his vision.

His words resonated with her. Here was a chance to break free from the monotony of filing endless reports—an opportunity to put her theories on extraterrestrial biology to the test. Captivated by the depths he glimpsed beneath Matilda's youthful facade, Greg casually mentioned discovering her research online. Matilda blushed a mix of surprise and a sudden sense of vindication washing over her.

"You see beyond appearances," she mused, surprised that someone so young could see through her carefully constructed persona.

"Perhaps we're both anomalies," Greg smirked, his gaze lingering on her.

The playful banter sparked a connection—a sense of shared peculiarity. The doors burst open before their conversation could deepen, revealing General Tobias Alden's imposing figure. His steely gaze landed on Greg, electrifying the air between them with an undercurrent of tension.

Ever the diplomat, Matilda expertly steered the conversation towards Greg's proposal. Alden, who valued efficiency above all else, listened with a frown. He recognized Greg's potential, but a flash of something akin to jealousy danced in his eyes.

Greg, oblivious to the undercurrent, pressed his case. The lab, he argued, would be a boon to the military, pushing the boundaries of science without the constraints of bureaucracy. Greg did not want to involve the general, considering he took his children, but he is, after all, his boss. After a tense silence, Alden agreed—under the condition that Greg reports directly to him.

Leaving the oppressive atmosphere of the general's office, Greg felt a surge of relief. With funding secured, his dream of a research lab was closer than ever. However, a nagging worry gnawed at him about how closely he would have to work with General Alden.

Greg woke up early, feeling groggy. He flushed his face with water and looked at himself in the mirror. He noticed he looked so young still. He felt so young, but his mind felt old and wiser. He was seventeen but would have been two hundred and twenty-seven years old if he hadn't traveled at the speed of light." Sometimes, I feel like I've seen it all," he said to himself.

Someone knocked on the door and awoke Greg from his abstraction. He went up to the door and looked at the screen showing who the person was standing at the door. It was his lawyer friend.

 Seeing Lisa, his childhood friend and lawyer, on his doorstep sent a jolt through him. It wasn't just the joy of reuniting with a familiar face but the realization of a long-dormant feeling stirring within him.

Now a seasoned lawyer, Lisa exuded confidence that belied her youthful charm. After two centuries of interstellar travel between them, her arrival in his present defied comprehension. She could have picked any time to return to and retire from the I.S.G. Instead, she traveled to the present with Greg. They embraced, a lifetime of unspoken emotions swirling between them. As they talked, catching up on lost years, Greg felt a deep affection resurface—an affection he'd buried under layers of duty while traveling the stars.

He confessed his love, his voice thick with emotion. Lisa, her eyes welling with tears, confessed her secret love, a love she'd harbored for him all these years. The space between them dissolved in a kiss, a bridge built on unspoken longing and the bittersweet weight of lost time. It was always her he was looking for. He thought.

Meanwhile, General Alden fixated on Greg, tailing him home from a distance. Parking several houses down, Alden transformed into a predator stalking its prey.

He crept towards Greg's residence, a low bungalow bathed in the warm glow of evening light. Peering through a gap in the curtains, a vision of blonde entered the house—a slender woman in a sharp power suit. A moment later, the door swung open, revealing Greg, shirtless and relaxed.

The woman – Lisa. The name surfaced from the murky depths of Alden's memory, a name long intertwined with regret. He watched, his blood turning to ice, as their reunion unfolded. A primal possessiveness, a viper uncoiling its venomous rage, stirred within him. Lisa, the woman he'd loved and lost, was back in Greg's life.

The years of simmering jealousy boiled over. He recalled a younger Lisa, her laughter a melody reserved for Greg alone, the way her eyes sparkled in his presence. Back then, the stoic general felt powerless against Greg's carefree and unique charm.

Consumed by a twisted sense of entitlement, Alden sees Greg as a thief in the night, stealing what he believes is rightfully his. He wouldn't let Greg have Lisa again. A dark plan began to take shape in his mind, fueled by a past he couldn't rewrite and a future he was determined to control.

Despite the joy of reuniting with Greg, Lisa couldn't shake off a growing sense of unease around her. A prickle of unseen eyes followed her wherever she went, a feeling that intensified after Greg confessed his love. Her walks to work, once a time for quiet reflection, became fraught with tension. A shiver ran down her spine. It felt like someone was watching her. She dismissed it as nerves, but the feeling lingered. Lately, Lisa has had Greg walk her to work to feel a little safer, even if it is paranoia.

Hidden in the shadows, General Alden watched them walk away, his face a mask of icy resentment. His hand instinctively went to the concealed weapon at his hip. A cruel smile played on his lips. Soon, Lisa would be out of the picture, and Greg would be left with nothing but regret.