Spiritmal, The Deadly Glow

5. Professor... Tim?

I heard a knock on the front door, rushing towards it instantly and opening it. Outside the door was a grinning Tim, Fang by his side.

"So, what do you need help for?" He asked. "You seemed pretty desperate on the phone earlier.

"I kinda am." I replied. "You see, Star just came by to visit."

"Well, that's a great thing! Besides, why would you need my help for that?"

"Well... you see... I need to go on a journey to find something. However, I can't leave the research facility unattended." I explained.

"So I was hoping that you would drop by to feed the Spiritmals three times daily, if you're not too busy that is. If you are, I could always find someone else." I explained.

"Oh. I can do better than that." He grinned. "I'll even take care of them 24/7 if you need it!"

"There's no need to Tim! You've already a job to take care off and I don't want to get you fired due to this small issue."

"It's no biggie." He smiled. "I've wanted to be a professor since forever, if you've forgotten already. In fact, I'll gladly switch jobs if it means that I'll be able to follow my dream."

I fell silent, not knowing how to answer.

"Is five thousand a month as a starting pay too low? It's about half my current salary. You could also have nine thousand a month while I'm gone, since I can't exactly use the money anyways." I calculated the costs. If Tim was really going to work for me, he would have to get paid.

"Ummm... there isn't exactly a need for that much. That's even higher than my current pay!" He protested.

"Well, then you're hired." I simply answered. "If you want to work under me that is."

"Umm... I don't know..." Tim contemplated his choices for a while. "I guess I could take lift form my work for a few days, then decide if I want to continue on this path. Even if I don't, I promise to feed your Spiritmals every single day."

"I'm fine with that, thanks a bunch Tim."

"Anytime."

"Here." I passed him a book. "This is the daily routine the Spiritmals will go through. You could have a look through it during your free time."

"Of course."

"And... I better introduce you to the Spiritmals, so that they wouldn't be confused tomorrow morning."

I beckoned Tim to come into the research facility, leading him to the room the Spiritmals were in. They instantly perked up when they saw me at the door, pelting me with questions.

"It's not lights out yet!"

"Who's he?"

"May I have your attention please?" I asked, the Spiritmals instantly focusing their attention on me.

"Well, you see... I'll have to take a short trip to find something important." I explained to them. "And it may take a while. As such, Tim here has agreed to help me take care of all of you while I'm out."

The muttering started again.

"Is that ok with all of you?" I asked the Spiritmals for their approval.

"If it's needed." A poison darkrancruel spoke up. "I can see that this journey means a lot to you."

"I'm fine with it too!" A thuninx, a lynx-like spiritmal, agreed as well.

Murmurs of agreement spread through the crowd.

"Thanks a lot guys. I'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning so I don't think you'll see me around from tonight onwards.

With that done, I walked out of the room.

"Whoa, you're taking care of a lot of Spiritmals." Tim remarked.

"Yea... I guess." I answered him.

"Now, I think I'll get going. I've a lot to read after all," he gestured at the journal. "I'll see you when you return I guess."

"I'll see you too. Oh and here are the keys." I passed him a set.

"Thanks." He accepted the keys, walking out of the research facility. Fang was waiting for him, and I smiled as the Spiritmal wagged its tail at its trainer's return.

I watched as Tim and Fang rode off into the night, wondering what I would do without a friend like him.

Soon enough, I closed the door and headed upstairs. After all, I needed to pack for the journey tomorrow.

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Five chapters without anything interesting? Well, I really do need to pick up the pace.

Eh, sorry if it's getting boring, I feel as though it is.