Throughout the entire drive to the clinic, Fluey kept staring out the window, thoughtfully, and fiddling with the key he had found. Big D kept glancing over at him every now and again.
"You're awfully quiet over there," he said.
"Yeah, well, you don't want to hear it until we get to the clinic, remember?" Fluey said.
Big D sighed. It was about all he could do. Fluey continued looking out the window. He didn't notice how far out this clinic was until he noticed they were passing a farm. He saw a little red hen walking around a chicken coop, pecking and scratching. The hen suddenly looked up and stared at the passing vehicle, and for a minute, Fluey thought it was looking right at him.
Hours passed until they reached the clinic, which was a large Victorian style mansion. Fluey noticed they were going awfully far into the woods.
"How come this place is out in the middle of nowhere?" he asked.
"I don't know," Big D said, as he parked the car. "Come on."
Fluey sighed, and reluctantly got out of the car.
"Hey, chief, I just had a thought," he said. "You know water and electricity aren't a good combination, right?"
"Precisely why I've decided to hold on to your transformer," Big D said, holding his hand out. Fluey rolled his eyes and surrendered it. Then, the two of them went inside the converted mansion. They were met by a woman with dark hair pulled up into a bun, and wearing a white lab coat. Fluey noticed she didn't look all that friendly.
"Good afternoon," the woman said. "I'm Dr. Stella Lorry. And I assume you're Mr. Dawson, and Franklin, correct?"
"Yes," Big D said, nodding. "I hope you can get to the heart of the matter of my grandson's insomnia, Dr. Lorry, because I am completely baffled over it."
"Step into my office and let's see what we can do."
Big D and Fluey followed Dr. Lorry into her office and sat down.
"Now then," Dr. Lorry said. "Shall we start from the very beginning, Franklin?"
"Well . . . ." Fluey said.
"Go on," Big D said. "Tell her about that so-called trip of yours."
"Okay," Fluey sighed, grudgingly. "See, it started when my friends and I went to Jellystone Park for a vacation."
Fluey then went on to explain the entire story of the Land of Paws to Dr. Lorry. He even handed her the key he had found for her to look at.
"Tell me how you got back from . . . . Paws, you said it was called?" Dr. Lorry asked.
"Yeah," Fluey said. "See, I had these boots . . . . sapphire boots. Like the ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz, only these boots were blue. Anyway, you click the heels together and say there's no place like home."
"I see," Dr. Lorry said. "And where are those boots now, Franklin?"
"I don't know," Fluey said, shrugging. "When I woke up in Jellystone, they were gone."
"I see," Dr. Lorry said. She stood up, and gave Fluey back the key. Then she looked over at the chief. "Well, Mr. Dawson. What we have here is a young man who appears to be delusional, if he's insisting an obvious fantasy land exists. I think I have just the thing to rectify this problem."
Dr. Lorry then left the room for a moment, and wheeled a strange looking contraption into the room. Fluey looked at it oddly. He just knew it was some kind of electrical generator, and Dr. Lorry was intending on using it to barbecue his braincells.
"This machine will get rid of those bad waking dreams, and make it possible for you to go to sleep again, Franklin," she said.
"Permanently," Fluey mumbled.
"Franklin . . . . ." Big D said, in a warning tone.
"Chief, she's gonna barbecue my braincells!" Fluey shouted.
"Franklin, you have absolutely nothing to be afraid of," Dr. Lorry said. "I admit, electrotherapy has been given a bad reputation, but advances in technology have made it possible to heal a person electrically with little to no serious side effects."
"Is this going to hurt?" Fluey asked.
"No, no, no," Dr. Lorry said. "All this does is manage electrical current. You see, Franklin, the brain itself is an electrical machine. Now, when the brain malfunctions, say due to a blow to the head, it produces useless excess currents, and these currents are dreams and delusions."
Fluey was no longer paying attention to what Dr. Lorry was saying. He was staring at that horrible contraption she wanted to hook him up to. He was getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach about it. Suddenly, he saw something in the machine's casing. A reflection of sorts, but it wasn't his own reflection. It looked like Phyllis. Fluey turned, and saw what appeared to be his sister on the other side of a mirror, except she was wearing a pale lavender short-sleeved dress. Fluey was a little confused, because he thought Phyllis had stayed back home.
"Now we have the means to control these excess currents," Dr. Lorry said.
"Are you listening, Franklin?" Big D asked.
"Uhhh . . . . yeah," Fluey said. "Right, excess currents. Yeah, sure."
"Maybe you would feel more comfortable with the procedure if your grandfather stay here," Dr. Lorry suggested. "To give you a little more sense of familiarity. As a matter of fact, he can even perform the procedure."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, doctor," Big D said. "I don't think it would be wise to have someone who doesn't know what they're doing to operate a machine such as this one."
"It's very simple to operate, Mr. Dawson," Dr. Lorry said. "A five-year-old could do it. I can show you how to work it while Franklin rests up a little in his room. If you come with me, please, Franklin . . . ."
And with that, Dr. Lorry led Fluey out of her office, and down a long hallway. Fluey could hear squeaky wheels coming from down another corridor, and turned to look. He saw an orderly or something, wheeling an empty gurney down the halls, and the wheels on it were squeaking something terrible. Fluey bit his lower lip, and watched him, wondering where he was going with that thing. Dr. Lorry then unlocked a door at the end of another corridor, and led Fluey into a small room. There was an old, metal hospital bed, a window, and a dresser with an empty mirror. Fluey figured they probably took the glass out of it so patients who were really whacked out wouldn't break the mirror and hurt themselves with the glass.
"Now then," Dr. Lorry said. "I'll leave you to get settled, and then I'll come and get you when I'm ready for you. Why don't you lie down and take a nap or something?"
"How can I take a nap when I'm suffering from insomnia?" Fluey asked.
Dr. Lorry said nothing, and left the room, locking the door behind her. Fluey rolled his eyes, and sat down on the bed.
"No sense of humor whatsoever," he sighed. "I hate doctors who can't take a joke."
Fluey sighed, and laid down on the bed, trying to ignore the squeaking bed springs, and stared up at the ceiling, wondering what in the world Big D was thinking, going through with this. As he was staring, he heard raindrops against the roof of the clinic, and a low rumble of thunder. Then, he thought he heard an agonizing scream from down the hallway. He sat up, and went to the door, before he remembered it was locked. But he could still hear screaming.
After a couple of hours, Fluey got up, and began pacing the room. It was about all he could do, other than listen to the storm going on outside. It seemed to be a pretty big one, too. Thunder crashed like canons being fired, and lightning lit up the sky. As Fluey contemplated his situation, he heard squeaky wheels from down the hallway, someone unlocking the door, and opening it. He turned and saw Dr. Lorry, along with two orderlies pushing one of those squeaky-wheeled gurneys.
"We're ready for you, Franklin," Dr. Lorry said.
"Maybe you aren't, but I'm not!" Fluey shouted. But he got up, anyway, and walked toward the hallway.
"Just relax," Dr. Lorry said, as the two orderlies lifted Fluey onto the gurney, and strapped him down. "It will all be over soon."
"What's with the straps?" Fluey asked. "Afraid I'll try to make a break for it in the middle of the procedure?"
"They're so you don't fall off the gurney," Dr. Lorry said.
"I don't know," Fluey said. "I don't like the way this is going, doc. I heard some screaming earlier, and . . . ."
"Don't be ridiculous," Dr. Lorry said. "You didn't hear a thing. It was just your imagination, I'm sure."
Fluey heaved a sigh, and the orderlies began pushing the gurney down the hallway with Dr. Lorry behind them. The squeaky wheels and the rumbling thunder made the whole thing seem more creepy. Finally, they reached the end of the hallway, and Dr. Lorry opened the doors to what appeared to be an operating room. Big D and that contraption were already there.
"Chief . . . ." Fluey said, nervously. "You're . . . . you're not really going to go through with this . . . ."
"We are," Big D said. "Dr. Lorry showed me everything. There is absolutely nothing to worry about. She ran some tests, and we are not going to set the machine at full power."
"That's right, Franklin," Dr. Lorry said, handing Big D what looked like a pair of headphones. "When we're ready, we'll just put these over your ears, and they'll draw all those unpleasant dreams out of your head, and when you wake up, you'll never be bothered by them again."
"If I wake up," Fluey mumbled.
"That will be quite enough of that, young man," Big D said, giving his grandson a look. "It won't be as bad as you think."
"I think Phyllis was right," Fluey went on. "I think the lack of sleep is starting to impair your judgement, chief."
Big D said nothing, and tested out the "headphones" or whatever they were, as Dr. Lorry began setting her machine. She turned a switch, and Fluey could hear buzzing sounds emitting from those "headphones."
"Chiiieeeeef . . . . please, please don't make me go through with this!" Fluey practically whined.
"I assure you, everything is going to be fine," Big D said, brushing Fluey's bangs away from his face. Having someone stroke his hair usually calmed Fluey, but this time, it did little to set his mind at ease.
"Would you mind checking the circuit breakers for me, Mr. Dawson?" Dr. Lorry asked. "We wouldn't want to blow a fuse now, would we? I need to adjust the settings on the machine before we begin."
Big D left the room for a moment without saying a word. The orderlies followed. Fluey bit his lower lip, nervously.
"Everything will be all right, Franklin," Dr. Lorry said. "When this is all over, you'll never be bothered by those bad dreams ever again."
Fluey then looked toward Dr. Lorry, though he couldn't see what she was doing very well. He wasn't positive on this, but it appeared that Dr. Lorry was fiddling with the controls of the machine. It looked like she was turning up the juice. She tested the "headphones" again, and Fluey could hear the electricity buzzing through them, much louder than they had before. Then she turned the machine off, and put the headphones over Fluey's ears. By that time, Big D came back into the room.
"Your circuit breakers seem fine to me," he said.
"Oh good," Dr. Lorry said. "Because we're just about ready."
"I'm not sure why you're insisting I be the one to start this machine, doctor," Big D went on.
"I like to get the family involved with the procedures," Dr. Lorry said. "It makes the more apprehensive patients feel a little more at ease."
"It's not working!" Fluey shouted. "Please, chief! Can't we just go home? I'll never mention Paws again, I promise!"
"Do you think it's possible to sedate him?" Big D asked. "Knock him out so he doesn't feel anything? I'm starting to have reservations about this whole thing myself."
"Mr. Dawson, there is nothing to be concerned about," Dr. Lorry said. "The controls are set where they need to be, and all you have to do is pull the switch. And no, we can't sedate him. We may not get the results we want if he is unconscious during the procedure. Now, shall we flip the switch?"
Fluey threw Big D a pleading look. Big D brushed Fluey's bangs out of his face for a moment, and went for the switch, taking a deep breath as he got ready to pull it. Fluey squeezed his eyes shut, and waited for the jolt. He had a feeling this was going to hurt, big time. He heard a crash of thunder, and, even with his eyes squeezed shut, could tell something had flashed, and then, everything went dark. "Oh darn it!" Dr. Lorry shouted. "A power failure!"
"That's a relief!" Fluey shouted, heaving a sigh that could have been heard in China.
"I'm going to check on the back up generators," Dr. Lorry said, and she and her orderlies left the room.
Almost immediately, Fluey heard those agonizing screams once more.
"Chief, did you hear that?" he asked.
"I did," Big D said, nodding. "I'm going to look into this."
And with that, Big D left, leaving Fluey strapped to the gurney. He tried getting loose, but he was strapped down too tightly.
"Sheesh, the least they could've done was to unstrap me!" he shouted.
Thunder and lightning continued to crash and flash outside. All Fluey could do was listen to it. Suddenly, someone ran into the room, and began unstrapping him. When lightning flashed again, Fluey saw it was Phyllis.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, confused. "I thought you stayed home."
"Hurry!" Phyllis shouted, as she loosened the last strap. "We've got to get you out of here! The doctor is keeping damaged patients in the basement!"
"Damaged patients?" Fluey asked, as he climbed off the gurney. "What do you mean?"
"There's no time to explain! We have to leave now!"
And with that, Phyllis grabbed Fluey's hand, and the two of them dashed down the hall. The lightning lit up the halls so they were able to see where they were going. But they didn't get very far before a flash of lightning lit up the room, and there was Dr. Lorry standing there.
"Stop!" she shouted.
"Run, Fluey, run!" Phyllis shouted.
Fluey ran as fast as he could, following Phyllis, and wondering why she called him by his code name. She knew never to call him by his code name in public. Coiley's little sister often forgot that, but Phyllis always called him "Franky" in front of someone who didn't know about the boys' double lives. He decided not to dwell on that. He just followed his sister out the front door. Dr. Lorry chased after them as fast as she could.
"Come back here, you little . . . ." she started.
Phyllis was practically dragging her brother by his hand, as they ran into the woods through the wind, the heavy rain, and the thunder and lightning.
"Faster, Fluey, faster!" she screamed to be heard over the storm.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" Fluey shouted back.
The two siblings kept right on running, until Phyllis slipped on a patch of mud, and slid down an incline, taking Fluey with her. Both of them screamed as they plunged into a rapid moving river.
"Holy Mesopotamia, a flash flood!" Fluey shouted.
"Stop!" Dr. Lorry cried out as she reached the river bank. "Come back here!"
The siblings grabbed hold of a nearby branch, but unfortunately, it snapped, and the siblings were swept into the current of the flood waters, and away from Dr. Lorry. Fluey grabbed onto a barn door floating nearby, and climbed onto it.
"Phyllis!" he shouted. "Grab on to this! We can use it for a raft!"
Phyllis grabbed the barn door, and climbed on. Unfortunately, it wouldn't support both of them, and it sank almost immediately. Both siblings were swept underneath the water for a moment or so. Fluey came back up and gasped for air, grabbing onto part of a chicken coop, using it as a floatation device.
"Phyllis!" he called out. "Hey sis, where are you? Phyllis!"
Fluey looked around frantically, but he couldn't find his sister anywhere, and he was being carried further and further down stream by the flood waters. He was swept underneath them a second time, but managed to come back up to the surface. Coughing and sputtering, Fluey broke a couple of the planks on the chicken coop in order to climb inside of it. It wasn't much of a shelter, but at least it would keep him from drowning. Once Fluey got inside, he hung on for dear life. Several thoughts raced through his mind. What happened to Phyllis? Was she all right? Where would the flood waters lead? Where was he going to end up? And finally, would he be able to make it back home?
Exhausted from his escape from the clinic, Fluey began breathing heavily, and shivered a little in the cold. He closed his eyes, and slowly lapsed into unconsciousness.