A SPARK OF GOOD

AUTHOR'S NOTES: All "Clockwork Orange" characters are property of Anthony Burgess, except for Angela, who belongs to me. I give many thanks to my dear friend Diane N. Tran for providing her ideas for this fanfic, which would not have been possible without her kind assistance.

Enjoy the story. I welcome all reviews, so long as they're not flames.

Chapter 1:
Little Girl Lost

"People don't just wake up one day & say, 'I'm going to be a serial rapist & a killer.' Something leads up to it." — Dr. Kathryn Seifert

It is a common misconception, greatly enforced by TV & the movies, that people who are evil have been their way their whole lives. Saturday morning cartoons never show the grim & sinister pasts of the villains, & when the bad guys in comic books appear, their background stories are left to our imaginations. But life is not a movie.

Scoundrels are not born overnight, but are made through a series of tragic events that shaped them into who they are today. Such was the case of Alex DeLarge, the young delinquent adored by all fans of the movie that covered the most distressing points in his life...Strike that—what you've seen in "A Clockwork Orange" didn't even come close to the most distressing points in his life.

The tale that you are about to hear is hear is that of Alex's true tragedy, the very one that warped his soul & changed his heart. It will shock you, it will move you to tears, & most of all, it will prove to you that no one, not even a villain, has always been the way they appear to be.

Nestled underneath her cozy blankets, as the cold winter winds blew fiercely outside her window, Sheila DeLarge tossed & turned in her slumber, moaning dismally over whatever plagued her dreams. The moment she woke up with a terrified scream, her husband Philip quickly awakened from his interrupted sleep & turned on the light, sporting a concerned look on his face. "What is it, dear?" he asked worriedly. "Are you all right?"

Sheila took a moment to settle down, & then gave a weak smile of assurance at Philip. "I'm fine, darling," she said with a feeble attempt at hiding the troubles that bothered her soul each day. It didn't take long for Philip to see what was really going on with his wife. When he asked to find out more, Sheila sighed heavily before she made her answer.

"It's about Alex, Phil," she finally replied, trying desperately to keep from getting upset. "I had dreamt that our son had become this terrifying monster, & he started to hurt so many people in gruesome, horrible ways...Then he came in during the night, & he killed us all!" Finally, her attempts to remain calm proved to be in vain, & Sheila began to cry, leaning on her husband for support. "Oh, Philip," she sobbed, "I've been dreaming the same bloody thing for a whole year! I don't want it to become a reality..."

"There, there, Sheila," Philip said comfortingly as he patted his wife's back. "You're just imagining things. There's nothing wrong with Alex; he's as normal & happy as a child can be."

"You're right, Phil," Sheila said as she sniffled & dried her moist eyes, which gazed lovingly at a photo of her family on her nightstand. "Our baby boy is quite fine...& there's no reason to believe otherwise."

Alex DeLarge woke up from his sleep with a sudden start, as he felt himself shivering with cold & dampness. Once his nose took a tiny whiff of an acrid odor & he saw what his sheets were soaked with, Alex pouted in annoyance. The boy had only turned 12 years old a few months ago, & he still hadn't overcome the incontinence problem he'd had ever since he was a toddler. (His friends, fortunately, didn't mock him when they discovered his unpleasant secret, but the problem itself was just as humiliating as the revelation of it.)

With great carefulness, Alex stayed as quiet as a mouse as he tiptoed to his parents' room, softly opened the door, & went to awaken his mother. "Mum?" he asked in a hushed tone, trying his best not to whisper too loudly. "Mum, wake up!" When Sheila opened her eyes & saw her son standing in front of her, she scooted over to make room for Alex, who crawled into bed beside his darling mother as she wrapped her arms tenderly around his back & gave it a comforting rub.

"What's the matter, honey?" Sheila asked gently. "Did you have a scary dream?"

"No," Alex grumbled in reply, "but something just as bad."

Sheila had a good idea of what her son was talking about. "Oh, Alex, dear," she tried to console him, "you musn't be so upset. Lots of people still wet the bed at your age; it's usually just a problem with their bodies. Your dad, for example," she added with a playful smile, "didn't stop having accidents until he was just a few years older than you...but, anyway, son, what I'm trying to say is, well..." She paused to think of the right words to say. "There's nothing wrong with you at all, Alex; you're a perfectly normal child, & even if you did have a few problems, I wouldn't care in the slightest—you're my baby boy, & I love you more than anything in the world." She gave Alex a hug, & he smiled.

"Thanks, Mum," Alex said as he returned Sheila's embrace. "I really do appreciate it." After Sheila kissed her son "goodnight", she gently held him in her arms, rubbing his back & humming a soft lullaby until he finally fell fast asleep.

The next morning was slightly overcast, & when Alex, dressed in his pajamas & robe, went outside on the porch to take a look at the nippy weather, his face lit up in excitement as he saw beautiful snowflakes floating gently to the white-powdered ground. "Wicked awesome!" he cried cheerfully as he dashed upstairs to put on his winter clothes. "I'll see if Pete, Georgie, & Dim can come out to play with me!" Once he had gotten prepared for the chilly fun that lay ahead, Alex smiled in anticipation as he ran out to summon his friends.

Watching their son zip away like a race car, Philip & Sheila chuckled in amusement as they shared their brunch at the family table, adorned with garish faux sunflowers in a brightly-colored vase. "Goodness," Philip chortled as he went back to reading his newspaper, "kids these days will do anything for entertainment! Back when we were younger, we were content just to..." Suddenly, Philip stopped as he glanced over an article, & his face fell when he began skimming through the details.

"What is it, Philip?" Sheila asked in concern.

Philip stammered a bit, but quickly gained the courage to show his wife the horrible news he had just read. "There's been another gang murder," he said solemnly as he handed Sheila the paper. "The police said they found evidence that the victims were married with a child, but they weren't able to locate her."

"Well, wherever she is," Sheila said, "I hope she's in good hands. With all the violence that's been going on lately, she'll need to be."

Outside, blissfully unaware of the grim news his father had given his mother, Alex laughed merrily as he frolicked in the lush white snow, constructing carrot-nosed people while his three friends rode down the hills on sleds, made snow angels, & tossed snowballs at one another. Alex had just finished putting a smiling face on a new snowman, when he suddenly yelped & tumbled right into his creation, sending it crashing to the powdered ground. Just as soon as he had gotten up & looked at the demolished remains of his poor snowman, Alex pouted upon hearing triumphant laughter from a short distance away. "Georgie," he whined, "look what you made me do!"

"Oh, little Alex," the boy in the top hat said with a playful smile as he went over to dust the makeshift artillery off his friend's face, "what's the use of complaining? A snowball attack was all in good fun!"

"You should have warned me, though," Alex retorted with an annoyed, yet somber, gleam in his sparkling blue eyes. "Otherwise Mr. Snowman wouldn't have had to make his all-too-vain sacrifice for his beloved people..."

"I'll make it up to you, droogie," Georgie offered. Instantly he began sculpting a makeshift fort & ducked behind its protective walls, taking Alex with him. "Let the winter war begin!" he cried as he took a snowball & tossed it at a hefty boy in a bowler hat, causing him to lose control of his sled & crash into a pile of snow. When he emerged from the flurry (after some effort) & saw his friends bursting into laughter, his face fell. "Aw," he pouted, "no fair, that isn't!"

"Don't be such a whiner, Dim," Alex taunted, going over to the stout lad & playfully boxing his muff-covered ears. "Like Georgie said, it's all in good fun!"

"Well, you wanna know what's really fun?" Dim challenged, as his brown eyes twinkled roguishly. "Seeing you get your sharries kicked by bolshy old me, that's what!" With a mock snarl, Dim quickly gave chase after Alex & Georgie, who bolted away with gleeful giggles as they sought shelter from the wrath of the behemoth beast that was quickly gaining up on them.

Just as Dim had cornered his friends & prepared to give them the ultimate snowball attack of their lives, a lanky youngster donning a beret came up to them, looking frantic as he struggled to catch his breath that curled like smoke in the winter winds. "Pete," Alex asked in concern, "what's happened?"

"There's someone in the alley down the street," Pete replied, pointing yonder. "We have to do something, & quickly, before it gets too cold!" With this in mind, Alex & the others willingly followed Pete. By the time the boys got to their destination, they were surprised to see a young girl, around their age, lying in the snow as she shivered violently. Though Alex & his friends could not get a good look at the lass, they could tell from the way she drew her ratty blanket around herself & from her quiet, shallow breathing that she had been exposed to the elements for a long time.

"What will we do with her?" Alex worried, for he knew that the girl was sure to die unless she was cared for immediately.

"Let's take her to your house," Pete suggested, & with that, the four boys strained with effort as they struggled to carry her into the DeLarge family's home, before collapsing & stopping to catch their much-needed breath as the girl fell to the floor with a thud. When Sheila went to see what was going on, her eyes widened & she let out a panicked scream. "Philip," she called frantically for her husband as she went to help the poor girl, "come quickly!"