Harry quickly got used to Alex and Percy's company. In fact, he even got to enjoy it. He'd never had a friend before, so it was all new to him. The closest thing he'd ever gotten to a friend was his cousin Dudley, but Dudley had never held the door for him to the cafeteria, and Dudley hadn't ever asked if he was alright when he was being more quiet than usual. It was the little things about Alex and Percy that Harry noticed and appreciated. That day, Alex and Percy became closer to family than the Dursleys had ever been.
There were some cons among the pros, though. As he passed all the adults in the halls, they all greeted him with a nod of their head and a curt regarding of, "Third." Percy quickly explained that this was the adults' pet name for him, as he was the third kid to show up at the lab. All Harry had to do was tell him his real name every time it happened, but his nature was to be quiet and shy, so it didn't come easily for him. Alex, however, took the opportunity to shout at the adults whenever he could.
"It's Alex, you morons! A-L-E-X, you hear? My name is Alex!"
Harry laughed every time Alex did this, which only made the other boy want to do it more. Percy had earned the somewhat respect of the adults weeks before, so they called him by his real name. But he didn't hesitate to whisper in Alex's ear every time he was called Second, "You don't even bother anymore..."
The next morning, there was a knock on the door of the boys' bedroom.
"Breakfast!" Dr. Carson cried in a sing-song voice.
Harry sat up in bed, and put on his glasses. He half-expected to have woken up in his cupboard under the stairs, and that the lab—with Alex and Percy in it—had all been a dream. But Dr. Carson coming in with a tray of pancakes and bacon and eggs extinguished that thought.
Percy clambered out of bed. "Food!"
Alex was still asleep, his hand clenching his pillow so hard that his knuckles were turning white. Harry cast a confused glance as Percy, who had shoveled eggs into his mouth as soon as Dr. Carson had left.
"Oh," Percy said with his mouth full. He swallowed, and continued, "I suppose it's the jitters of sleeping in a different place for the first time."
"Reckon we should... wake him?" Harry asked quietly.
"'Course," Percy said, taking another forkful of eggs. "We'll do it before the breakfast runs out."
At the mention of breakfast, Harry looked down at the tray of food before him. He thought for sure he was dreaming. He was allowed to eat that? Was this some sort of trick?
Percy noticed his hesitation. "You don't expect me to eat this all, do you?" He asked. "Come on, Harry, have you ever had proper food before?"
Harry shook his head. "Not much of the proper kind, no," he replied.
"Well, usually, when us Americans have food put out in front of us, we don't stare at it like it's from another planet. We pick up our utensil," Percy said, demonstrating so with his fork, "scoop some of the food onto said utensil," he plowed his fork into the eggs, "bring it up to our mouths, and shove it in." Percy did so, and said with a mouthful, "Then we chew, and swallow." He gulped. "Easy, right? You try."
Harry looked at him haughtily, wanting to say that he'd eaten before, but decided to not waste his words and eat as much as he could.
"There we go!" Percy exclaimed as Harry reached for a second piece of bacon. "Bravo, I must say, such a splendid performance!"
Harry glared at him, but proceeded to eat his bacon.
Ten minutes later, Alex woke up. "What time is it?" He asked groggily.
"I dunno," said Percy. "But would you get down here and eat, your pancakes are getting cold."
Alex sat up. "Pancakes?"
He climbed down from his bunk and ate so fast that Harry could barely keep up with him. When he finally sat back, he glared at the two of them. "Bloody 'ell, you two, this stuff is stone cold."
"Well you could've woken up sooner," Percy pointed out.
Alex looked ready to lunge at him.
"Besides," Percy said, "I would've eaten it all, if they'd been blue."
Alex swallowed. "You would've eaten the lot if they were blue? Did I hear that right?"
Percy nodded. "My mom always makes blue food. Blue pancakes, blue waffles, and she always brings home blue jelly beans for me. It's our little joke—food can be blue. Percy can survive school. Those little miracles in life."
Alex laughed. "Blue food. Sure. Why not?" Alex turned to Harry. "He keeps getting weirder by the hour eh, Lightning Boy?"
Harry smiled at that.
Alex looked at Percy. "So, what's the plan for today?" He asked. "Are we gonna hit the library before lessons, or—?"
"Or will Second come meet me in my office at 10:30?" came a voice from the doorway.
Alex groaned. "Not you again," he said.
The woman in the doorway smiled thinly. "It's me again," she said, a touch of amusement in her voice. "And I have the intention to teach you some respect, Second."
"But I don't wanna," Alex protested. "It's a free country!"
The woman came over to crouch next to him, and caressed the side of his face with her hand. "I know," she said, "but you'll have to learn to cooperate with me to gain your freedom."
Alex noticeably shuddered at her touch, his glare wavering for a split second. But it was all the woman needed to smile again.
"I will see you at 10:30, Second," she said, crossing to the door and gently closing it behind her.
"Who was that?" Harry asked as soon as the door closed.
"Dr. Wilkinson," Percy answered, watching Alex intently. "You okay, Alex?"
The boy was touching the place where Dr. Wilkinson had stroked his face, an empty look in his eyes. "Jack," he said, the single word coming out choked and broken. "Jack... used to do that to me every time I needed to calm down. And I always did. She was the only person that could make me calm like that. And that—that scientist won't replace her. Ever."
"But Alex," Percy said, treading lightly, "you still have to go to her office at 10:30."
Alex shook his head. "I can't," he said. "The last time, she promised that she would tell me exactly where I was. And she didn't tell me anything. There is no way something good is going to come out of this visit. So what's the point in even going?"
"Alex," Harry said softly, "I really don't think you have a choice. Think of all the terrible things Dr. Wilkinson could do to you. She could hurt Jack. She could hurt you. But if you go to her office today, you'll at least know what she's capable of. And maybe you could prepare for it, for the next time."
Alex looked at him, and Harry saw a single tear run down his face. Alex quickly swiped it away, clearly embarrassed that it had even been there. But Harry reached out to touch his arm.
"And you'll come back to us, Alex," Harry told him. "Right after that meeting, promise us you'll come running back to us and tell us every detail. Because we'll be here. Okay?"
Alex hesitated, then nodded.
When Alex stood up, Percy scooted over to Harry. "You're a miracle worker," he whispered. "When Alex is mad, he could end up throwing something. But you made him okay again. It was like magic."
Harry shrugged. "I just told him whatever I tell myself whenever something bad happens to me. There's always a safe place to come back to."
Alex felt just like the people in horror movies. Stepping into the scene of the crime, where it's dark and cold and creepy, and just waiting for a monster to pop out of the shadows to snatch you up and suffocate you in the chilly empty air.
Alex shivered. That visual definitely wasn't helping his situation. He approached Dr. Wilkinson's door, and raised his fist to knock. But there was no answer. Alex looked at a clock up ahead. It was 10:30 on the dot. Where was she? Slowly, Alex pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The lights were off. The equipment made strange shapes in the darkness. Alex called out for the doctor, but there was no answer. Alex reached for the light switch on the wall, groping in the blackness. But was it there? Was it activated by sensors? Cautiously, Alex waved his arms around. But nothing happened.
"Dr... Dr. Wilkinson?" Alex called again.
Then, the lights were turned on. He felt a rough material being wrapped around him, working from his feet up to his neck. Alex's breath caught in his throat—what was happening?
Rough hands grabbed at him, but he couldn't make a move to fight against them.
"Be careful, he's a struggler," said a voice overhead. Alex knew it. It was Dr. Wilkinson's. Alex tried to cry out, but a thick piece of duct tape was stretched across his mouth. He squirmed, but the material—was it rope?—didn't budge. Alex was scared. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not yet, anyway. He wasn't ready. He wasn't ready! Dr. Wilkinson had to make it stop, she had to.
Carefully, he was laid onto the table. Alex tried to squirm again, but hands held him in place. Alex saw Dr. Wilkinson's face as she looked down at the frightened little boy.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she said softly. "You're still safe. All we're doing is taking precautions. I promise."
Precautions? Alex didn't know what she meant. Did she think he was dangerous? Was he dangerous? He didn't know what to think anymore.
"Now, I'm going to take the duct tape off," the doctor continued in her soft tone. "I'm asking you to not make a sound. Or there will be consequences."
As best as he could, Alex nodded. Dr. Wilkinson peeled the tape off of his mouth, and Alex didn't say anything.
"That's better," Dr. Wilkinson said, smiling. "We'll teach you things yet, won't we? Now I'm going to secure your arms to the table. It won't hurt, I'm just making sure you won't fall off, okay?"
"Okay," Alex said, his voice hoarse.
Dr. Wilkinson spread his arms out onto the table, and kept them stationary with strips of hard, thick cloth. Alex's arms felt numb. He was more scared than ever.
"You'll see that your legs are also secured, so you can't fall off," the doctor told him. "And I ask you to please keep still."
She went away for a moment, and Alex craned his neck to see that she was wheeling over a cart with metal instruments on it. Alex gulped as he saw scalpels and knifes and other sharp objects. They glinted in the light.
Dr. Wilkinson took a pair of gloves from her white coat pocket, and slipped them on. Slowly, she ran her hands along the instruments with loving care. But she didn't select any of them. Instead, she picked up a cotton swab and dipped into a container of liquid. She brought out the swab and placed it gingerly on one of Alex's fingers.
It stung as the liquid met with the a on Alex's finger. Alex bit his tongue to keep from crying out. Dr. Wilkinson pushed harder on the swab, watching him closely.
"Does it hurt?" She asked him.
"No," Alex lied as best as he could.
But Dr. Wilkinson didn't believe him. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Alex said, as she pushed down harder on the swab.
"Completely sure?"
"Yes," Alex said again. Dr. Wilkinson held the swab to his cut for a moment longer, then took it off. She sealed the swab into a plastic bag.
"I would've thought that you would take me seriously, Second," Dr. Wilkinson said somberly. "I gave you three chances. But you give me no choice."
The doctor took what looked like a wooden paddle from a drawer in her desk. She approached Alex, and held the paddle to each side of his face. Then, without warning, she slapped him with it.
Alex's cheek stung. He felt his eyes begin to water. Dr. Wilkinson turned his face over and slapped the other side. Still, Alex made no sound as his cheek smarted.
Dr. Wilkinson put the paddle away. "I didn't want it to come to this," she said. "You're so capable of doing the right thing, Second. Let's try again."
She took out a syringe.
"You—you said you wouldn't hurt me," Alex choked out.
Dr. Wilkinson loaded the syringe from another container. "I know," she said, the ever-present smile on her face. "But this is just a prick."
Alex squeezed his eyes shut as she pushed the syringe into his skin. He felt a flood of nausea hit him almost at once, and looked down to the see that the syringe was still in his arm. Dr. Wilkinson taped it in place.
"What are you—?"
But Dr. Wilkinson put a finger to her lips to silence him. "It'll hold for just a few minutes," she told him. "By then, we'll have a little work done."
Alex felt sick. He eyed the syringe with a venom of his own, wishing that his glare would make it melt away. He was filled with hatred for the doctor by every passing second, and she gave him another patronizing smile.
"I'm going to ask you a few questions, Second," Dr. Wilkinson said, slowly untying his body so only his ankles and arms were secured to the table. Then, she folded her hands and looked down at him. "What school do you go to?"
Alex was confused. What kind of question was that? "Um, primary," he answered.
Dr. Wilkinson shook her head. "No no no, that's not what I asked." She moved to her computer. "Do you want me to bump up the serum—?"
"No!" Alex shouted. His hands were shaking.
Dr. Wilkinson looked back at him. "No? Well, it doesn't really look like you don't want me to. In fact, you're practically begging—"
"Brookland!" Alex blurted. "Brookland primary, okay?"
The doctor nodded, seemingly satisfied with his answer. "There's an answer. The next step is to say it politely. Repeat after me: 'I go to Brookland School, Dr. Wilkinson.'"
Alex glared at her, but when she moved again towards her computer, he grumbled, "I go to Brookland School, Dr. Wilkinson."
Dr. Wilkinson smiled. "Good, good, we're making progress. Here's another question: Where is Ian Rider right now?"
Alex wracked his brain. Where was he again? "Er, on a work trip."
Dr. Wilkinson tsked. "Dear me, Second, do we really need to go through this again?" She moved to her computer, and, before Alex could stop her, punched in a few numbers. Alex clenched his teeth as his nausea doubled.
"Hong Kong!" He yelled. "He said he was going to Hong Kong, but that's all I know, I swear!"
Dr. Wilkinson nodded. "Hong Kong. Interesting. Can you go through that answer one more time for me, but in the way that we practiced?"
Alex glared daggers at her. "He's in Hong Kong, Dr. Wilkinson."
Dr. Wilkinson's smile got wider. "Very good, that was spectacular. Now, I have one more question for you. It's about your young friend Third."
Third? Alex wondered. Why would she want to know about Harry?
"How did he get his lightning scar?"
Alex gaped at her. "I—I don't know," he said. He really didn't. He didn't even think Harry knew.
Dr. Wilkinson raised an eyebrow. "You really don't?" She asked.
Alex shook his head.
"Let's swap that for a different question, then," the doctor said, unfazed. "Your housekeeper, Jack Starbright. Does she care for you?"
The question hit Alex like a slap in the face. "What... what do you mean?"
"Jack," Dr. Wilkinson said slowly. "Does she really love you?"
All thoughts of tolerating the doctor's games, or being scared of the syringe, flew out of Alex's brain. She'd already insulted Jack once. He wasn't going to stand for it a second time.
"Of course she does!" He exploded. "What are you talking about? Of course, you don't know what it's like to be loved, because no one has ever loved you! Because no matter how much of a doctor you may think you are, you'll always be so—so sick!"
"That's enough, Second," Dr. Wilkinson said quietly. She punched in more numbers into her computer, and the serum in Alex's system tripled, then quadrupled as Dr. Wilkinson put in more numbers.
Alex started shrieking. He screamed so loud his throat was sore.
"Stop! Make it stop! Please! Noooooooo!"
Then it was gone. Dr. Wilkinson slid the needle from Alex's skin, and put it in yet another plastic bag. "I think that's enough for today, Second."
But Alex stared, empty, at the wall, even after Dr. Wilkinson released his bonds.
Dr. Wilkinson went over to him and whispered in his ear. "If you don't go now, I'll have to carry you again, Second."
Stomach roiling, eyes haunted, Alex looked up at her. "My name is Alex," he said. Then, he dashed back to his bedroom...
...and promptly crashed to the floor.
Harry and Percy rushed to his side. Alex could barely focus on them. Distantly, like coming from the end of a tunnel, he heard their voices.
"Alex! Are you all right?"
"Speak to me, dude!"
"Come on, we need you!"
"Alex!"
Alex rubbed his eyes, and gingerly sat up. "I..." he managed, but he started coughing.
Harry was watching him intently. "What did that woman do to you, Alex?"
Alex coughed again. "She—kept asking me questions. She tortured me and put a serum in my blood. It made me feel sick. I feel like I'm gonna hurl."
"Back it up!" Percy called. "I don't need you spewing all over me."
Alex coughed some more, then sneezed.
"We need to get him to a hospital," Harry said quietly.
Percy looked at him like he was insane. "Lightning Boy, in case you haven't noticed, this is the hospital. We can't take Alex anywhere if Dr. Wilkinson treated him this way."
Harry grabbed Alex's arm. "Come on," he whispered. "Alex please, please get better. I need you to get better. Please."
Alex looked into the boy's hopeful green eyes. He gave him a small smile. "Well, since you said please," he said weakly. He coughed once more. Harry sat back, disappointed.
All of a sudden, the pain cleared. Alex stopped coughing. "Guys," he said, his voice clearer. "Guys!"
Both boys looked at him, and Alex stood up. "I—I'm not sick anymore!"
"But... how?" Percy asked.
Harry was looking at his hands. "It was me," he whispered.
"You?" Alex repeated. "What do you mean, it was you?"
"Weird stuff happens to me," Harry said quietly. "When I'm at school, at Privet Drive... whenever I'm around, something strange happens."
"Like what?" Percy said.
Harry shrugged. "I once was—erm—getting chased, and I fell. I got super scared, and... maybe it was the adrenaline, but—I started to run really fast. And a different time, I was trying to hide somewhere, and I—uh—ended up on top of the roof."
"Wicked," Alex said.
"My aunt says... some people a while ago were like me. But those people were bad. So I don't wanna be like those people." Harry looked down at the floor.
Percy put a hand on his shoulder. "You're not a bad person, Harry," he said. "You're just... special."
Harry smiled at that.
Then, the door opened. A man walked in.
"Percy!" He exclaimed. "How are you?"
Percy smiled at the man in the doorway. "Hi, Dr. Crandall."
Alex didn't like the look of Dr. Crandall at all. His lab coat was crisply starched, a gleaming white that looked unreal; his hair was closely cut, his face clean-shaven. He was the kind of man who knew his business and knew it well.
Dr. Crandall put his hands on Percy's shoulders and said, "I heard one of your little buddies got himself a hard appointment today."
Percy looked up at him. "What, you mean Alex? What was the deal with that, anyway? He didn't do anything wrong! Unless I missed something. But I didn't. So he shouldn't have gotten punished!"
Dr. Crandall shook his head. "I'm afraid that's between Second and Dr. Wilkinson." He turned to Alex. "Isn't that right, Second?"
Alex tilted his chin up to look right at the man. "Yes, Dr. Crandall."
Dr. Crandall was visibly impressed. "And I'm sure she had fun with you."
As he turned to leave, Alex called, "And by the way, Dr. Crandall—" The man looked back at him "—the name is Alex."
Dr. Crandall left.
Percy turned back to Alex. "Tell us every detail of what happened. What questions did she ask? How'd she torture you? What did you tell her?"
By the time Alex was done explaining his ordeal, Percy's eyes were wide and Harry's face had gone pale.
"Why... why did she ask about me?" Harry said softly.
Alex shrugged. "I dunno." He brought his arms around his knees and hugged them close to his face. "I just... I don't want to go to her office again. And if she makes me, I'll try and fight her off. I'm not stepping into that place again for as long as I live."
Percy looked at the clock. "It's lunch time," he said. "What could possibly go wrong?"
Alex stood up. "You take that back because we all know something terrible is going to happen at lunch."
Percy grinned. "Well that's what makes it interesting!"
Wow! I'm so excited for the attention this story's getting. Thanks sooooo much. As you can see, I've been working on this little masterpiece of mine for awhile... I've got most of the chapters written out already, so there's that. Yay. Fun. Please, please tell me if I need to get the characterization right or if I need to fix anything at all (plot wise, personality wise, etc.). And, uh, thanks again!
