The Gift

Episode 13: Out of This World

By Sulia Serafine

This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE fic. This is the sequel series to It Could Be Worse, which will end with season 4. NOTE: You can read it if you have not read ICBW. It's possible. You won't get the foreshadowing and the cameos, but you will, eventually. I'd explain them. Credit goes to Tamora Pierce. I'm broke, so you can't sue me. Any other copyrighted things that don't belong to me in here in fact belong to other very businesslike people. Could you believe that? I guess that's why I'm broke.

WARNING: This episode is rated R, because Vinny is awake and pissed and VULGAR and hoo boy, our censors don't like it when he's pissed…

Author's note: As I write this, it is April 12, 2004. I graduate on May 17, 2004. Significance: I have little more than a month before I will no longer have to stall my writing by studying for tests. (Speaking of which, I'm tanking in calculus and really need to study… why am I writing instead of studying?! I'm such a bad student…)

Quoting the intro theme to Generator Gawl, "I want out. Sever the chains of destiny."

Somebody. Please. Fast forward me to the end of May! T.T

~~

I was having a vengeful daydream about flaying and maiming my kidnappers, Silence of the Lambs style, when the back doors to the van opened and blinding white daylight came pouring in. I recoiled at first. Having adjusted to the darkness of the van had made me sensitive to the sudden brightness that assaulted my vision. I squinted and raised an arm to shield my eyes as I approached the doors.

Two pairs of large hands grabbed me by the arms and hauled me out.

"Whoa! Hey, watch it!" I yelled as I landed unceremoniously on the ground. I skinned my palms on the asphalt trying to brace my fall. Two large men who could have been wrestlers in spandex but were instead orderlies dressed in gray leaned down to pick me up by the back of my shirt. I was set right on my feet. I swatted their hands away from me. Ugh. I hate people touching me. Especially guys who've just kidnapped me and tossed me into the back of a white van.

Laughter floated across the way from me. I turned to see who it was. And no, it wasn't Santa Claus.

"Coram!" the old man greeted with a wide, hideous smile. Nope. Definitely not a jolly fat man.

"Doctor Chiles," I returned, glaring at him. I couldn't help but wonder at that very moment: if I were to throttle the good doctor right now, how long would it take the Gray Men to whoop my ass? I glanced to either side of me at the orderlies. Not too bloody long.

"Welcome back!" The doctor swept his arms to the side, gesturing to the place we stood in. It was the entrance to a familiar compound. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I was home, sweet home.

I could see the separate buildings for the boys ward and the girls ward. There was the roof that I had so desperately jumped off of to make my escape. That was the place where Jacob and I almost made our great escape together before his innocent young love and loyalty dragged him back. I turned my eyes away from the top of the building and gazed elsewhere.

It's deceptive. The green grass, a freshly mowed lawn where perhaps some birds were this morning, pecking for worms. The buildings were white and smooth. The windows were shaded so that only someone inside could see out. That's a good thing to have when you want to keep your secrets hidden. There was even a metal plate on the wall by the front doors. In flowing gothic script it read, "The Styx Hospital for Advanced Children."

What was that supposed to sound like? Did people from the outside actually read that and think it meant that there was nothing suspicious about it? Did they think that the children inside must be incredibly smart and privileged? What a lie…

The doors opened. Four men dressed in gray high collar uniforms like the orderlies exited. As soon as the doors closed behind them, they unbuttoned their jackets and took them off to reveal dark shirts of a thick, coarse material. The men were relatively young. They actually looked to be about my age. As they came closer, it became clearer to see white numbers painted on the collars. And they weren't black shirts, but dark green army surplus uniforms.

"Ah, the welcoming committee," I muttered. I threw a scathing look at Chiles. "So that's what the Gray Men really are? Soldiers? I should have suspected as much."

Chiles chuckled. "My, my, my, young Coram. I had hoped you would recognize them. Since you don't, we'll simply proceed inside and begin the tests."

I clenched my fists, aware that two large burly men were right behind me, ready to take me down if I made the wrong move.

"Tests? That's all you brought me back for? Tests?"

"Well, of course," Chiles drawled. "You've been gone for quite some time. We could have collected you earlier, but my colleagues and I thought it would be a good experiment to see how the outer world affected your… development. But now the trial period is over and you're old enough to be back where you belong."

I took a step forward. Surprisingly, no one grabbed me to hold me still. "Back where I belong? Back where I belong? In a nut house? In a conspiratorial, psycho—"

The doctor started up the steps and toward the front doors of the hospital. I was right on his heels, loudly voicing all my grievances about his idea of where he thought I 'belonged.' As we went up the steps, I shoved through the group of four men. Suddenly, an electric shock went through my hand after I had pushed the shoulder of one of the men.

Ouch. That's not right. I whirled around, wide eyed with surprise. The last man I had pushed stared back at me. His dark eyes seemed familiar. Burning like coals in the darkness. No, that's not possible. It was so bright outside. How could I see darkness?

But I did. I stared at him, confused. There was something… oh, what was it? My gaze lowered to look at the number that was printed on his uniform. My mind must have been playing tricks on me. Delusion befalls those who have spent the last few hours screaming and thrashing about inside an enclosed space.

"0554," I whispered. I know that number. It's… it's…

Oh, gods, please please please don't let it be true.

As if to spite me, a dark brown falcon shrieked from above and alighted on the young man's shoulder. It shrieked again and flapped its wings. Its sharp beak looked like it could gouge my eyes out within a manner of seconds. I involuntarily stumbled backward. The young man appeared unfazed.

"B-baker?" I stuttered.

There was a sudden electric jolt racing up my arm again, the arm that had touched him. The scene before me disappeared, and before my bewitched eyes appeared the image of a young boy who sat in the corner of a playground, feeding pigeons and looking mistrustfully about him. I breathed in sharply and let the vision go. There was no denying it now. Here he was: Baker.

"Come along, Coram," Doctor Chiles called. That bastard. He didn't sound worried in the least.

Baker stepped forward. He had grown up and filled out, like I had. Skinny turned into lanky, maybe even a little more muscular than me. Seeing him dressed in that dark camouflage sure convinced me that he was probably capable of taking me down within five seconds.

"Baker! Don't you know me? It's me, Vinny!" I said animatedly. I frowned. "I mean, it's me, Winston. Patient 0550, remember? Baker!"

Without thinking of the consequences, I reached forward and grabbed his arm. Baker's eyes widened. His gloved hands shot out and grabbed my arm, squeezing and twisting it. Before I could even know what was going on, he shifted sideways and used my momentum against me. I flew over his shoulder and down the steps onto my back. The steps of the hospital entrance dug into my back. Baker still held onto my arm. In fact, I was absolutely sure he had just broken my arm.

He moved again and suddenly his boot was on my chest, crushing my ribcage. I cried out in excruciating pain as he continued to twist my mangled arm. Baker's comrades stood to the side, stone faced. I didn't care much about them. Not when all my mind could think about was the source of my injury. Baker! Breaking my arms and my ribs and looking like a fucking automaton while he did it!

It didn't help that the falcon had suddenly decided to attack as well, landing on my body and deciding to bite perhaps the most precious part of my body. Yeah. You guessed it.

Now that's a whole new world of pain right there, folks.

"Excellent! You may stop now, 0554. That will be enough for today."

The pressure on my chest and the grip around my arm disappeared. I opened my eyes to see Baker step back. The falcon hopped off my body and returned to its master, preening itself on his shoulder. I groaned brokenly and turned onto my side, curling into a fetal position and cradling my broken arm.

Excellent? Baker just broke my arm and Chiles says EXCELLENT?

"I don't believe we have any documents on the accelerated healing of broken bones, do we? Ah, this presents a very wonderful opportunity! Get him inside, quickly! I want a complete examination right now!"

The two Gray Men who had hauled me out of the van now unceremoniously picked me up by my ankles and armpits and began following the doctor into the hospital.

"Shall we set the bone in place?"

Through my pain, I opened my eyes and glanced at my arm. Wow. Whaddya know… That's a funny angle…

Chiles paused to consider it. "I suppose. It is a bit unsettling to look at that."

"Fuck off!" I screamed at him.

"Or we could choose not to set the bone back properly," he said, raising his voice to match my intensity. I remained quiet. It was difficult to remain still as they carried me inside. I grit my teeth as hard as I could. If I had been biting my tongue, I would have bit it clean off by now.

The halls were just as white and sterile as I'd left them. No one else was there but a few more Gray Men, standing in a line against the wall. They watched me while smirking. Perhaps some of them recognized me, this boy who'd ran away the first chance he got. Where were the children? The patients?

Of course they wouldn't let the children know I was there. That would upset their little worlds, especially the ones who had convinced themselves that the Styx hospital was the safest place in the world for them. Gods forbid they should ever question a young man being brought in with a broken arm and bruises on his chest and neck. That would mean that something strange was going on in the hospital.

And that just couldn't happen. Not in the minds of ten year olds who have never known anything else.

The pain was consuming me. Did I even have an arm at that point? Or was it just a piece of flesh and bone that hung from my body? It hurt to breathe. I could feel the tenderness of my ribs as I was manhandled onto a bed. There was the smell of sterilization again. Eww. Now I'm sure I didn't miss that.

After what felt like an eternity, I finally let go and let my subconscious claim me. My eyes fluttered closed, the second time in too short of a period.

"Exit light. Enter night. Take my hand. We're off to Never Neverland."

~~

The dull buzzing sound was the first thing I noticed when I woke up. The hum of electronic equipment, of fluorescent lights, of all the things that made me wonder if this really was hell. Only the Devil would think of something as ingenious as dull buzzing sounds to slowly drive a man insane. I blinked a few times, lifting my pounding head up a few inches to peer in front of me.

"Not this room again," I moaned, recognizing my location instantly. I let my head drop back onto my pillow. It smelt like fresh laundry with a hint of bleach. Nice. No, not really.

"You are awake."

I lifted my head again. The young man I formerly knew as Baker was seated on a padded stool in the corner of the room. His arms were folded across his chest. Unlike before, this time he was fully dressed in black and green camouflage. Right. Because you could blend with colors like that in a building of white floors and walls. Sssuuurre.

A sharp pain raced up my entire left side. I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut. "Couldn't you just pretend to be Wally here to visit me with a cup of water?"

"Excuse me?" Baker frowned.

"Nothing," I muttered. I glanced down at my side. My arm was in a splint. It was blue, purple, and red from the damage Baker had done. Almost like art, the way the colors meshed together on my skin. I've heard of men dying for their art, but this was ridiculous.

I looked at Baker again, completely annoyed by the person I saw. As children, we had never been particularly close. He was always so stoic and distant from Wally and me. He had been the rebel, the boy who sneakily defied the doctors and openly disrespected the Gray Men. This young man before me, he looked like a brainwashed soldier. I had very little doubt in my mind that he would follow any order that Chiles gave him now.

That's a long way coming from the boy I once sold a year's worth of homework to for the means to escape this godforsaken place.

"What kind of drugs do you have me on? Shouldn't it hurt more than this?" I asked, my voice cracking. My throat was dry. I spied a glass of water on the nightstand beside me and licked my cracked lips. However, Baker stayed where he was, noting my wanting eyes and the water glass with indifference. Jerk. "Well?"

Baker glanced at an IV bag in the corner that was, by the way, not connected to me in any fashion. I suppose they really were trying to test my natural healing skills. But why would they give me painkillers? They've never done that before.

"What is it?" I asked, exasperated. "Morphine? Methadone?"

"Nothing. I hear it's all you," Baker replied with a simple shrug.

To disprove his theory, I moved my arm, expecting a dull numbness instead of the agony that nearly consumed me on the spot. I howled with pain as I tried to lay my arm still again back down on the bed beside me. From his place in the corner, Baker smirked, the neo-sadist that he was.

"Argh! You bastards! I'm going to kill you all when I get out of here!" I shouted. I fixed my gaze on my former fellow patient with my best menacing look. "This is your last chance. Let me go. Help me get out of here."

"No."

"Baker!"

"Please refrain by addressing me by that name. My identification tag is 0554."

I pouted. "Your name is Baker, the boy who can control the birds. Not Soldier of Fortune."

"Correction. I am addressed and identified as 0554." With that, the boy I formerly knew as Baker stood up and approached the bed. I tried not to cringe as he came closer. It wasn't because I feared him, but my arm hurt so badly. The last thing I wanted was for him to see me weak.

Can you imagine that? I'm still one proud, nose-up-in-air, arrogant bastard more concerned with his image than his own tormenting pain. What a nut job I turned out to be, huh?

"The doctor will be in to see you soon."

He said it so calmly. Exactly like a Gray Man. Was that who he was now? One of them?

"Hey, wait! Don't you dare leave!" I shouted hoarsely. Baker stopped and turned to face me again. I used the last bit of my waning strength to keep my head up so I could see him properly. "What's going on? What are you? What is this place, really?"

Without answering me, Baker pressed a button on the door that slid it open. He stepped out and closed it behind him. Defeated, I let my head drop back onto my pillow. Well, that went well. I'm such a commanding, powerful guy. Yup. He was that close to cracking and giving me the information I needed. I wish.

I eyed the glass of water again. To tell you the absolute truth, I have never wanted anything in my life more than I wanted that water at that moment. There were tumbleweeds practically rolling down my desert of a throat! Give me a friggin break!

My pain and my anger had left me lying there as a big vulgar pile of groaning goo. It was not a pretty sight. I'll make sure to leave it out of my memoirs. Can't charm anyone with the image of me as a insipid invalid stinking with sweat, can I?

The door opened after not too long a time. I had expected Chiles to enter, the skeletal lap dog of the Black God himself, but instead, a much crueler angel came to taunt me.

"Oh, gods, anyone but you," I moaned. "Get out! Get the fuck out!"

Ansil Groten smiled at me as he tucked a fountain pen into a lab pocket on the left side of his chest. He used a small metal writing implement to scrawl a message on the touch-sensitive screen of a PDA. He whistled as if he'd never heard me. He rolled the stool on its tiny screeching wheels to the foot of my bed. Then he sat gracefully, moving masterfully as if he were auditioning for a Broadway play or something. Cocky son of a…

"So! How are we today? Aches? Pains? I'm surprised. We only set the bone back a few hours ago, but it seems like you're body is taking exponential leaps in recovering."

I pursed my lips.

"Well? Does your head hurt? Does your arm tingle? Do tell," he urged.

"Kiss. My. Ass," I ground out between clenched teeth. That traitor! Not only was he a spy for Doctor Chiles, he was a doctor himself! And to think, I was this close to trusting him! Yukishiro was right. I should never have talked to him. I should have turned heel and ran the first time I even looked at him.

And even worse: I had left the baby with him. The baby—Wally Aonir—that I had gone to so much trouble rescuing from the clutches of Chiles and his lackeys! The poor kid was probably in the Styx hospital nursery, being brainwashed with strange toys handing over his cradle. No, they did not hang electronic chimes that played "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", but the toccata and fugue in D minor that is the classic theme to Dracula. (Bet you didn't even know I knew that. Told you I had class.)

Ansil put his PDA away in his pocket and resigned himself to watching me intently. I stared back defiantly at him, not even blinking. It was childish, this staring contest, but I didn't particularly care. I hated him so much. On some subconscious level, I was terrified by the fact that if I didn't have a broken arm or if my other arm wasn't tied down, I would have leapt off the bed and killed the man sitting in front of me.

It wasn't just me expressing my rage and anger and betrayal. I really wanted to kill him.

And for some unexplainable reason, I wondered right then if that homicidal notion had been my father in me talking.

Ansil gestured to the glass of water on my night stand. "Are you thirsty?"

Oh, yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes—

"Go fuck yourself. Better yet, find a rectal thermometer and fuck yourself."

What the hell is WRONG with me?

Needless to say, I didn't get my glass of water. The man laughed in my face (I was expecting him to punch me in the face for my vulgarity and disrespect, but apparently he didn't want to condescend to my level. Good thing, that) before he stood up and retreated toward the door. He explained that some nurses would be in to bring me to the radiology imaging technicians. X-rays, in laymen's terms. No, they had no intention of putting my arm in a cast or giving me painkillers. They just wanted to get their dinky little black and whites of my friggin broken arm!

Sadists. All of them. Ugh.

~~

I opened my eyes and the sky was a rosy pink and orange color over the line of the dark treetops. I outlined the little wisps of clouds in my mind until I had reached as far as I could see. Then I rolled over on my reclined seat and looked at the other occupants of the car.

Faleron was lying on the back seat, curled up underneath his jacket and a blanket I had not seen before. Maybe he'd brought it with him. No, the boy had been in such a rush to run away. It was probably Li's blanket.

Speaking of which, Li was also lying down on his reclined seat behind the steering wheel. He was lying on his side facing me. Sleeping in his tie and shirt had made both wrinkled. It felt wrong, somehow, seeing him sleep in a wrinkled business suit, sans jacket—

Jacket. I slowly looked down at myself. There was a man's suit jacket draped across my body. It was black, matching the slacks that Li wore. It must have been his. When had he done this? It was too nice a gesture from a complete stranger. You know me. I don't trust anyone. And yet…

I took the jacket in my arms, folding it up. Another glance at Li's peaceful face made me unfold the jacket. I gently laid it over his slumbering form. My touch wasn't gentle enough. My mysterious rescuer stirred from his sleep, making a little groaning sound. He rubbed his eyelids with the heels of his palms and blinked his eyes open. He saw me and smiled.

"Good morning."

I pouted. He looked so tired. Did I look that tired? I hoped I didn't have bags under my eyes. He shouldn't have to see a gross looking woman so early in the morning. "How long did you drive? You probably didn't sleep that long, did you?"

He yawned. "No. Not really. But I should be fine. Honestly."

Oh, gods help me. I didn't know why, but he made me smile. Maybe it was because if I had been in the same situation with Vinny, he would have replied with some arrogant, cocky answer that made him look suave and made me look like a kooky girl. I returned Li's smile and lied back down on the seat. We stared at each other for a while.

He had the most piercing eyes I've ever seen. It was like he bore a hole straight through me. But I didn't feel any different from it. Not like I'd had holes in me or that I was something weird that needed to be stared at. I've been so used to the almost sisterly treatment from Vinny and Faleron that I'd forgotten what it felt like to be noticed by a man.

Was that what this was?

"Go back to sleep," I whispered. "We're safe where we are."

Li yawned again as he checked his watch. He nodded and closed his eyes again. I reached forward and adjusted the jacket so it covered him more completely. He murmured a sleepy 'thanks' and fell back into slumber.

I wish Vinny were more like that.

I closed my eyes and joined my companions in wonderful sleep.

When I woke up again, Li was driving with one hand on the steering wheel and his other elbow sticking out the window. The radio was on and Faleron was humming in tune with a popular song that had been on the Top 40 countdown for two weeks. Yes, because singing about seducing someone in the corner of the nightclub and stripping their clothes from them merits mucho radio airtime. I hate pop culture.

I sat up and yawned. I looked at the clock. Hmm. I'd slept for another two hours.

"Hungry?"

Li glanced at me, a slight smile on his face. Faleron, who was also wide awake, bounced in the back seat, offering me a bag of what looked like breakfast menu fast food. Muffin sandwiches, bad sausages, and hash browns. I took a hash brown and readjusted my seat so that it was upright.

"Where are we?" I asked in between bites.

"Halfway to Irontown. We're making good time, even with the break we took back at that park," Li replied. He pointed to the drink holder in front of the radio. "There's coffee, if you like. It's black, though. The sugar and cream is somewhere in the bag."

"Thanks." Oh man, did I need coffee. I used to hate the stuff, but after a while, I couldn't wake up properly without it. It's an essential part to my morning routine. Ha! And they say coffee is addictive. I reached for the second Styrofoam cup. The first one was half full and must have belonged to Li. 

Faleron handed me two packets of sugar. By this point in time, he knew how I took my coffee. It was an endearing little moment, seeing his smile. I wonder what the boy was thinking. Was he worried about Vinny? Was he wondering what we were going to have for lunch? Little boys. I'll be darned if I ever figure them out. At least he looks happy.

We drove for a few miles, just listening to the radio. I didn't like many of the songs that came on, but we only got static when we tried to tune in to another radio station. And it was better than silence. I glanced at Li from time to time. Maybe there was an alternative to the radio.

I reached forward and turned it off.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

Li hid his surprise well. He grinned and nodded. "Sure. Shoot."

"Why?"

He gave me a questioning look. "Why what?"

"Why help us? And how did you know I was in the holding cell? How did you find out where Fal lived?" I leaned forward. He didn't appear nervous. He didn't even appear annoyed. I suppose in his position, I would have expected questions, too. But sheesh! What answer was he willing to give us?

Our rescuer continued to remain the pinnacle of calm. "I'm a friend of Vinny's. He just doesn't know it. And as for knowing where you both were… It's not like I've been watching. Other people were. I'm just the person they sent."

I shook my head. "But why Vinny? Why is he so important? Why is a boy just trying to find his parents so damn important to everyone that he has to be kidnapped?"

"Who told you he was kidnapped?" he asked quickly.

"I guessed. He wouldn't have left on his own without telling us. Are you saying he wasn't?"

Li shook his head. "No. He was kidnapped, don't make any mistake about that. I was just wondering what you had heard, that's all."

"You know more than us, that's for sure."

"Trust me. That's not necessarily a good thing," he responded. After that, he reached for the radio and turned the volume up. I pouted and folded my arms across my chest. If Li didn't want to talk, then there would be no point in trying to make him. I resigned myself to watching the scenery outside. It was boring as hell, but what else could I do?

An hour later, Faleron begged Li to exit to a rest stop so he could use the restroom. We pulled in to what looked like the regional Tourist Center. There were more vehicles parked there than we expected. Li warned Faleron to keep his head down and not attract any attention to himself. Though we had only been traveling for a day, there was still a good chance that word had been sent out to the whole northeastern area of the country about us.

I fidgeted in the passenger seat. I should have went with Fal! What if the same thing that happened to Vinny happened to him?

Suddenly, I noticed Li's hand over mine. I blinked.

"What?"

"You're too nervous. Twitching isn't exactly inconspicuous, you know."

He released my hand and went back to watching the steady flow of people going in and out of the building. The front of the building had large clear windows that allowed us to see the front desk and the line to the restrooms. Though no longer moving, I anxiously watched the door, waiting to see the third member of our party.

I glanced over at Li. There he was, still sitting as calm and composed as ever. There was something bugging me. This James Bond beside me was just too good to be true. Too movie-like for my belief. I sighed.

"What now?" he asked listlessly.

He knows what I'm going to say. Might as well get it over with. "Li, have you ever… killed anyone?"

Just as I expected without a moment's hesitation, he said, "Yes."

"M-more than one?"

"Yes," he answered, starting to sound a bit impatient. He turned to face me. "Does that bother you?"

His dark eyes caught me off guard. I jerked away, shaking my head. Why did it always feel like he was reading my mind when he did that? "No. I suppose it makes me feel a little safer. Because, you know, no one else can…"

"I won't let anyone harm the two of you," he assured, completing my thought. Yes. If anyone tried to kidnap Faleron or me, he had the skill and the experience to not only protect us, but to remove any threat by any means possible. I wondered then if he had a gun and if it was loaded. Did he even need a gun to kill someone?

He also sighed and slumped into his seat a little further. While he kept his gaze straight ahead, he spoke. "You still have a question."

He hadn't asked me what my question was; more like commanded me to ask him whatever else was on my mind. I blushed and fidgeted again. My fingers had started to nervously drum against my thigh. His hand shot out and closed around mine again, stilling my movement. He squeezed gently.

"Go ahead. Better now than when the kid's here," he murmured.

"Do you know who Vinny's parents are?"

Li didn't respond at first. Then he slowly nodded. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Won't you tell us? Vinny has been searching for so long and—"

"Why would you help him so easily? Damn it! He's been keeping secrets from you since the beginning. In fact," his voice dropped low. "He's still keeping secrets." Li's expression became ominous. Was he angry? I involuntarily shrank away, but his hand remained closed around mine, preventing me from leaving the car if I'd wanted. That didn't matter either. His eyes held me spellbound.

With a suppressed shudder, I realized he was really reading my mind. I know that sounds crazy, but I thought he really was. I didn't know how to explain it, but I just knew he was doing it. Like he knew magic or something.

"Are you mad?" I whispered nervously. It wasn't that he scared me. I was just… it's wasn't a good idea to make him mad when he was our only hope of finding Vinny. I mean, it's not like I still feel that way about Vinny. I just feel so bad about everything. I should just set it straight: Vinny is my friend (for better or for worse, that creep) and I want to help him.

Besides, Li was keeping secrets from me just like Vinny. Okay, okay, so it's his job not to reveal that information. What the hell am I doing? Trying to justify my trust in Li? I've known Vinny for a while now and I continue to find more reasons not to fully trust him. And here I am trusting a guy who's admitted to bumping off a few people.

Li let go of my hand. I pulled it to my chest and cradled it there like a wounded bird.

"I'm not mad," he replied. And then he did the strangest thing. His gaze softened and he chuckled, as if he had found something ironic about the situation. He rested his elbow on the steering wheel and propped his chin up on his palm. "I just don't get it. Those damn blondies reject the ones that love them back and the girls are still willing to do whatever it takes to please them. Like father, like son, I guess. I didn't think I was going to be so annoyed by it after so many years."

I gasped. "You know Vinny's father personally?"

His expression dimmed a bit. "Unfortunately."

"But that's great!  Don't you see? Because…" I trailed off when I saw how unhappy it made Li to see me excited at that. Perhaps Vinny's father wasn't that great of a man after all. I mean, if Li knew him personally and if Li was a professional killer… Oh man. Not cool. I'd better make sure I had a long talk with Vinny before we finally ventured off to find his father.

Another question formed in my mind. I watched the Tourist Center. Thank goodness Faleron was taking his time. Maybe he had stopped by the vending machine to get some extra food. I bit my bottom lip softly.

"What happened? Between you and Vinny's dad? You said… something about rejection."

"Nothing… happened. Nothing you need to know anyway," he replied. He changed the subject quickly. "I just don't understand why you would still help Vinny after he rejected you."

He is a mind reader.

"Of course I'd still help him. He's my friend."

"So you still care about him? As more than a friend?" he pressed.

Damn it, I better not be blushing. "No. I care because… I pity him."

And that was the truth. Li mulled over my words for a few moments. He continued to stare at me. "Why?"

"Why?" I echoed. "What else can I do for somebody who says he's stopped seeing beauty in the world?"

Li laughed loudly at that, almost like he'd heard the same joke a long time ago. I didn't think that Vinny's depression was all that funny, but apparently it was to him. Maybe it was something that reminded him of Vinny's dad. That's a creepy thought.

We lapsed into another silence. Faleron was now exiting the tourist center and entering the parking lot. As he approached the car, I realized that this was my last chance to ask Li anything. I turned to him quickly, my mind frantic for the right question. Who kidnapped Vinny? Why had they done it? Was he being hurt by his kidnappers? What secrets was Vinny still keeping from me? I needed to make this one count.

"Li?"

"Yes?"

"Do you… do you think I'm beautiful?"

"Yes," he said tenderly. "And there is beauty in the world. You just have to wait a while to see it."

I took a deep breath. "If I kiss you, will you stay with us and help us?"

The corner of his mouth curled up in a crooked smile. "Probably."

Faleron was busy opening the bag chips he had gotten from the vending machine while trying to reach the rear door handle. Before the little boy could see, I impulsively leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. Li didn't pull away. His lips were wonderfully warm. I leaned back. His eyes burned into me again. It was clear to him that I had been lonely. But somehow I knew he had been lonely for years longer. I wanted to kiss him again just for all that time he suffered.

A few seconds later, Faleron opened the door. Li started up the car. And I smiled.

~~

I had dreamt of a man with dark hair and dark eyes holding Yvenne's hand. I thought to myself that I should have been jealous of the idea, but in fact, I was strangely relieved. She wouldn't be after me anymore. But did that mean she was going to forget about me? Was she still going to come get me out of this place? With a heavy sigh, I knew the answer. No. I was on my own from here on out.

"It was a clean break," Ansil consoled, looking at the x-rays. "And it seems like the tissue around the bone has already been healing at a highly accelerated rate. You should be happy."

"I will be once I break your bones, cop boy," I growled from my bed. After I repeated it again in my head, I felt somewhat ashamed that I couldn't have thought of anything wittier. Oh well. I'll chalk it up to being distracted by pain.

The Gray Men came to put me into a wheelchair again. Since I'd already been to radiology, I wondered where on earth they would need me next. Perhaps they wanted blood tests or urine samples. Ugh. I didn't care anymore. I just wanted out of that room, away from Ansil!

I pitched forward a little out of exhaustion, my chin nearly on my chest. Though one of my arms was in a splint, the other was buckled down with a strap of leather, as were my feet. For crying out loud, did they actually think I'd attempt a jailbreak with a freshly broken arm?! These people really are insane! I just want some painkillers or a bottle of tequila! Or, at this point, both…

They wheeled me past the classrooms, past the rooms where I used to have Session. I wondered if there were any boys inside at that very moment. They could be suffering horrible psychoanalysis right now-- being forced to tell their every thought to a man who would use it against them.

I kept my eyes forward. I couldn't recognize where I was.

"You would never have seen this place. It was restricted to patients," said the Gray Man, who was pushing my wheelchair.

"Secrets, secrets, secrets..." I muttered. The orderly was probably an ex-patient. Mind reader perhaps?

"Yes, actually," he replied. I groaned inwardly. Figures.

We entered a room where there was a blank white screen and a chair positioned perhaps fifteen feet away from it. The chair itself came straight out of the old black and white movies—made of wood, with black leather harnesses and a few stains that looked oddly like blood. The bile rose in my throat at the thought of having to even touch it.

Yuck. How unsanitary can you get? I know this place probably doesn't get inspected by the Health Department, but sheesh! Ew!

In the back of the room, anchored near the ceiling, there was a projector protruding from the wall. It all started to make sense. This was a room where they strapped someone down and showed films that were meant to brainwash and manipulate. Oh. Nice. And they probably inject the poor unfortunate soul with a chemical solution meant to create complacency (Gods know we don't have enough of those).

Chiles entered the room then. He watched as the Gray Men lifted me from my wheelchair and put me on the other. Now that I sat in it, it reminded me of an old-fashioned electric chair. The kind they used to execute murderers and capital offenders on. Actually… wait. I stared at the bolts on the wood and at the top of the headrest, which looked like something had been ripped off and replaced. It probably had been an electric chair at some point—

Ow. No, no, stop it… Ow… Ow! Not that!

Of all the things in the world for my gift to finally react to, it was this.

I heard a low wailing sound. Was that me?

"Something wrong?" the doctor asked.

I shut my eyes tightly, but I could still see the vision clearly. A man with a leather mask on was writhing and twitching in this very chair while sparks flew between his body and the metal touching it. I couldn't even scream! The pain that suddenly fell upon me was unbearable. It felt as if those same jolts of electricity were flowing through my limbs, straight to my bursting heart.

"Get me out! No!" I shouted. I thrashed about, sending stabs of pain through my splinted arm. That didn't seem as important. The other pain was worse.

The sensations subsided, leaving me pale and sweaty. I gasped for breath and felt salty moisture drip into my eyes. I strained against the leather straps, but they would not budge.

Chiles peered at me. "Interesting." He signaled to the Gray Man standing behind me. "Cancel the film. I think little Coram and I are going to have a talk."

"You and I have nothing to talk about," I panted.

"I don't believe," the doctor began, "that you're in a position to argue. Now I know how intelligent you are, my little Coram. You were always one of my brightest patients."

"You mean, the only one who managed to develop thoughts of freedom and act upon them successfully," I corrected, a smug look coming back into its usual place on my face.

The frail old man snorted. "You were of little importance then. But now! Now you have started to come into your full potential. You have no idea how precious you are. You… and your gifts."

I gulped nervously. I blinked the sweat from my eyes again. He waited for me to speak. When I didn't, he frowned.

"Come, now. I know you've probably foreseen what I'm about to propose. Tell me your answer."

I looked away. Yeah, okay. So I did see. He had been about to ask me if I wished to enter his service with the other Gray Men of my own free will, so as to save myself from brainwashing and to become a major figure in whatever operation they were running. But how could I do that? There's more than meets the eye here. Children from Styx don't just grow up and become orderlies. They go somewhere else. But where?

The familiar tingling at the base of my skull prompted me to think of how I'd mocked Baker earlier. Soldier of Fortune, I had called him. How ironically true.

But really, folks, what option do I have here? I'm strapped to an antique electric chair with a broken arm and some bruised ribs. No one knows where I am and every orderly in the hospital was capable of forming a small army to take over the world with their supernatural talents.

May it always be said that I have never denied being a self-serving asshole. Weak, sometimes. Prone to short bouts of human emotion in which little boys and young ladies have manipulated me into a being a decent person—but on the whole, very selfish and very opportunistic.

My eyes flickered toward the sunken eyes of Doctor Chiles.

"If I join you willingly, I expect to be made general of this army of yours. Don't bother telling me the cause or the enemy. I don't care. It won't matter soon anyway."

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Because I foresee," I lied blatantly, angry at my choice of destinies, "that this small army will fail and I will kill myself before I let anyone else shut me up in a padded room handcuffed to the floor."

Don't give me that look.

May it be said that I have been cynical, sarcastic, even pessimistic about how my life was to turn out. However, may it never be said that I have always been a nihilist. You see, once upon a time, I was a little boy who stared out windows—wondering how much beauty the world could possibly hold. Where has that boy gone? Didn't he still believe that there was a wonderful meaning to life?

I dug my nails into the arms of the chair. The rusty dark stains were more slightly moist than the rest of the wood. I pressed them against my fingertips. Blood and sweat, it was.

No. I was born in the filth and shadows. Parents or no, I will lie in them again with only my gift for company.

I am the key to the lock in your house
That keeps your toys in the basement
And if you get too far inside
You'll only see my reflection

It's always best when the light is off
I am the pick in the ice
Do not cry out or hit the alarm
You know we're friends till we die

And either way you turn
I'll be there
Open up your skull
I'll be there
Climbing up the walls

It's always best when the light is off
It's always better on the outside
Fifteen blows to the back of your head
Fifteen blows to your mind

So lock the kids up safe tonight
Put the eyes in the cupboard
I've got the smell of a local man
Who's got the loneliest feeling

That either way he turns
I'll be there
Open up your skull
I'll be there

Climbing up the walls
Climbing up the walls
Climbing up the walls

~~

Author's notes: OooooOOooohh. Foreboding, ain't it? So what's Vinny to do now? Well, you'll have to wait until I get another three episodes of ICBW written. But hey! We're heading toward the climactic finale of The Gift! And who knows what will happen next?

*The first quote (Exit light. Enter night.) was taken from Metallica. Rock on.

** The second full set of song lyrics is Radiohead's Climbing Up the Walls from their 1997 OK Computer album. The best ever. Never to be topped (how sad, but true). This band has been like the theme band for The Gift. Their moods always match Vinny's. Go figure.

Thanks for reading! Comments and criticism welcome! Please review!