Title: Thirty-six Part Three     Walter unlocked the front door, instantly hearing the sounds of distress and called out: ‘Fox?’   Fox heard the door open and quickly walked to the top of the staircase. ‘Um, hi Walter.’   ‘What is that noise?’   ‘I think Alex is dying.’   Walter didn’t bother asking any questions, taking the stairs two at a time. The groans emanating from the spare bedroom increased in volume as he neared the door.   Alex looked up pitifully as Walter came across to where he lay. ‘Hurts.’   Walter heard the whisper and looked back at Fox, who stood, ashen-faced, trembling in the doorway.   ‘Fox?’   ‘I…he was hungry…I made him a sandwich.’   Walter let out a disbelieving sound. ‘Fox! Alex hasn’t eaten solid food for…and you made him a sandwich?!’   Fox bit his lip and stared at the floor.   Walter sat Alex up, an arm behind his back, lifting two more pillows from beside Alex and stuffing them behind his back. ‘It’s okay Alex. It’s just indigestion. It’ll pass.’   Alex’s anguished face looked up at Walter. His soft voice was edged with pain. ‘Yes sir.’   Walter dropped onto the side of the bed. As he did, the t-shirt Alex wore moved and Alex’s throat was exposed. Walter frowned at the angry red marks his pale skin. ‘Alex, I think maybe the t-shirt was a mistake too. Your skin is still too sensitive.’ He reached down and pulled the t-shirt over Alex’s head.   Alex didn’t seem to notice the sudden exposure. ‘Yes sir.’   Walter turned. ‘Fox, get Alex a hot water bottle please. Not too hot. Wrap it in a towel.’   Fox nodded and rushed off.   When Fox returned, Walter took the towel-wrapped bottle and smiled reassuringly. ‘This will help Alex. There.‘ He laid it on Alex’s swollen stomach and covered him with the comforter. ‘Now, watch TV for a while, and if you feel better, lay back down and rest, okay?’   Alex forced a pained smile. ‘Yes sir.’   Walter looked over his shoulder. ‘Fox will sit with you.’   Alex flinched as Walter flicked the TV on and a quiz show, with a suitably enthusiastic audience, filled the screen.   ‘What is it Alex?’   Alex hesitated a moment, biting his lip.   ‘It’s okay Alex, what is it?’ Walter pressed gently.   ‘Loud sir.’   Walter pressed the volume control, then hopped through the channels until images of a programme evidently about wildlife filled the small screen. ‘There.’   *****************   Later, Walter looked into the bedroom. Alex was lying on his side, tightly tucked into a protective foetal ball. He looked so much younger than his estimated twenty-five years and Walter smiled as Alex snuggled further under the thick down comforter, his pale skin reflecting the moonlight from the window. Walter noticed that the skin at his neck had almost lost the redness he had discovered earlier.   He shook his head slowly, sighing softly. Startled, he jumped as Fox put a gentle hand on his shoulder, the hand replaced by Fox’s chin. ‘I thought we didn’t want kids.’   Walter laughed softly. ‘No, you’re enough of a handful.’   Fox stretched and kissed Walter’s cheek as his hand reached around, snaking down from Walter’s waist. ‘Talking of a handful…’   Walter turned, enclosing Fox in a tight hug. ‘Bed. Now.’   Fox grinned lasciviously. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’ He took a step towards the bedroom and yelped as Walter swatted his backside. With a final look at Alex, Walter followed him. ‘Behave, or I’ll make you change his dressings tomorrow.’   Fox gulped and walked quickly into the bedroom.   ****************** ‘Thirty-six.’   Alex crawled to the front of the cage as the door opened, the lock clicking loudly in his ears. He was pulled onto the trolley, strapped down across his upper arms and chest and wheeled out of the room and along the corridor. He knew from experience he would not have long out of the cage and enjoyed the freedom despite the knowledge of the procedure which would be performed before he was wheeled back.   ‘Level three, two seconds only.’ The disembodied voice came from across the room and Alex bit back a whimper as he was prepared for the procedure. The shock, short-lived but always worse for being delivered without warning and being focussed directly on his sensitive prostate. But he shivered at the increase in the intensity the word ‘three’ promised. He was not reassured that it was to be administered for a shorter period of time than the shocks he had been hit with at a lower level, which he had learned to tolerate without passing out or screaming so hard his own head hurt from the noise.   As always, a lubricated metal prod was pressed into his barely-resisting anus, sliding cold and rigid into his warm body until it reached the point marked on the prod which indicated the position of his prostate. Then the plastic tube was fitted to his semi-hard shaft, held in place until his hardening shaft expanded and held the tube without the latex-gloved hand of the white-coated lab assistant supporting it.   The shock when it finally came made him scream as he had in the early sessions, and he ejaculated involuntarily into the tube, filling it quickly. As he slumped back onto the metal trolley, the clinical disinterest in his suffering was evident in the voice which came across from the far end of the room. ‘Take him back.’   He provided the required fluid twice a day every day and he rarely considered where his sample ended up, but occasionally found himself wishing the men who stood around him could let him provide the sample using a less painful collection method.   *************   Walter turned over, hearing the soft keening noise, and immediately turning to look at Fox. He was sleeping soundly. It took him a moment to work out that the sound was coming from the spare room. Sighing softly, Walter pulled himself from his warm bed and padded quietly into the corridor.   He reached Alex’s bedside and leaned down. ‘Alex, what is it?’   There was no response, only the continued sound of Alex’s distress. Sleepy, Walter finally worked out that Alex was asleep. Evidently in the grip of some awful memory. He shook Alex’s shoulder gently and, after a few seconds, Alex woke suddenly with a gasp, his whole body spasming. ‘Wha…?’   Walter smiled, flicking on the small bedside light. ‘It’s okay Alex. It was just a dream.’   Alex took several deep breaths then looked away, embarrassed. ‘Sorry sir.’   Walter smoothed Alex’s damp hair from his head. He smiled kindly. ‘It’s okay.’ He reached to switch the lamp off and saw Alex’s quickly-hidden look. ‘I’ll leave this on for a bit, okay?’   Alex nodded slightly. ‘Thank you sir.’ He forced a slight smile. ‘I’m sorry I woke you sir.’   ‘Don’t worry Alex. You can’t help it, can you?’   Alex bit his lip and shook his head slightly, his smile fading. ‘No sir.’   Walter smiled reassuringly. ‘Then don’t worry about it. Close your eyes now.’ He fussed with Alex’s bedclothes, delaying his leaving for a few moments.   Alex snuggled back down, closing his eyes obediently. Walter straightened up, watching him for a moment, then turned to leave, the impulse to stroke the hair from the young man’s eyes strong in his mind.   ‘How long was I there sir?’   Alex’s softly-spoken question stopped Walter in his tracks. ‘Two years, four months Alex.’ He turned back and sat on the edge of the bed.   ‘The lights were always on.’   Walter nodded. ‘So they could watch you.’   Alex fought tears, trembling under the thick warm cover. ‘I got away once.’   Walter’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘When Alex? What happened?’   Alex’s eyes dulled. ‘They caught me.’   Walter sensed he had pushed Alex enough and got up. ‘You’re safe now Alex.’ Impulsively, he gently stroked Alex’s pale cheek. He was surprised when Alex’s head turned slightly, looking up at him, a slight smile briefly ghosting across his face. Although Alex’s eyes remained dull, and the smile was gone in a moment, Walter was extraordinarily pleased with the small breakthrough. He decided not to disturb Fox with the good news.   ***************   Alex managed to walk down the stairs and into the living room. His legs began to waver half-way to the couch, and he tried to will them to work for a few feet more. His scream of frustration echoed in the empty room and in his head. He lay on the floor for several minutes, shaking from anger and muscle spasm, until he heard the sound of a key in the door. Quickly, he pulled himself up and onto the couch, managing to end up lying full-length just as Walter came through the door, his arm trapped under his torso.   Walter helped him get more comfortable. ‘Alex, how did you get down here?’   ‘Um, I…walked.’   Walter sighed. ‘Alex, you could have fallen.’   I did, Alex almost said.   Walter shook his head briefly, then turned his attention to the kitchen.   ********************   ‘Alex, you want to help me make the dinner?’   Alex looked at Fox. ‘Um, okay.’   Fox hooked an arm around Alex’s waist. He was aware Walter always carried Alex the short distance, dropping him onto a barstool against the breakfast bar when they reached the kitchen. He was also aware Walter would be less than pleased if he hurt his back trying to do the same. Or, worse, if he dropped Alex. So he helped Alex to pad slowly into the kitchen, holding him until Alex dropped into one of the wooden chairs around the table in the center of the room.   When Walter arrived back from his meeting, the smell of casserole drifted from the kitchen. He closed the door and called out: ‘Fox? Alex?’   Fox called back: ‘Hi Walter, we’re in the kitchen.’   Walter frowned slightly. Alex usually greeted him, and his silence lead Walter quickly into the kitchen. He didn’t know whether to laugh or groan. Fox was standing in front of the sink, his back to Walter. Alex was lying with his arm pillowing his head, apparently asleep at the table. Fox had covered him with Walter’s thick quilted jacket, leaving only the top of Alex’s head visible.   Fox turned. ‘Hi, dinner’s almost ready. Alex helped. Well, for a while. I guess he still gets tired.’   Walter frowned. ‘How did Alex get in here?’   ‘He walked. I didn’t carry him.’ Fox said quickly.   Walter nodded, reassured. ‘Okay. I think I’ll take him back into the sitting room. We need to talk.’   Alex barely stirred in Walter’s arms as he was carried from the kitchen. Fox barely stirred the casserole, wondering what Walter meant.   When Walter came back into the kitchen, he sat at the table and watched Fox silently for a few seconds. Fox laid the wooden spoon onto the ceramic rest and turned round, walking behind Walter, tentatively massaging the muscles under his fingers. He smelled smoke, and sighed silently.   ‘Fox, I know you’re trying…’   Walter’s hand on his stilled Fox’s hands instantly and he stood back. ‘I made a deal.’   Fox frowned, sitting on the edge of the table. ‘I’m not gonna like this am I?’   Walter swallowed hard and ran his hand over his head.   Fox frowned. ‘Your friend I never meet?’   Walter nodded slowly. ‘There’s a snag.’   Fox laughed briefly. ‘Tell me.’   ‘Alex isn’t part of the deal.’   Fox slid off the table. ‘Walter no!’   Walter sighed heavily. ‘Fox, you don’t know anything about him…’   Fox shook his head. ‘No deal Walter! No deal!’   Walter looked at Fox for a long moment then pulled the phone towards him. He dialled, waited and listened. ‘It’s Skinner. I’ve changed my mind. Alex is part of the deal.’ He listened for a few seconds then dropped the phone heavily on the wooden surface. He shook his head, a slight smile crossing his face. ‘I should have let you get a dog.’   ******************   Spender took a deep drag from his cigarette. ‘The boy isn’t a danger to us.’   Another of the men in the room got up. ‘Can you be sure of that Mr Spender?’   Spender didn’t get up. ‘Yes. I can.’   *******************   Alex turned over in his sleep, heard soft voices in the kitchen and lay quietly, waiting until he heard his name mentioned. Curiousity got the better of him and he walked slowly to the kitchen, stopping in the doorway, leaning on the frame. ‘Um...’   Walter turned. ‘Alex, you shouldn’t...’   Fox got up, helping Alex to one of the chairs. ‘Maybe you should be trying to get your strength back Alex. It’s been a few weeks now.’   ‘When do I have to go back?’   Fox and Walter both looked at Alex, their surprise evident on their faces.   Walter frowned. ‘Back Alex? Back where?’   Alex’s eyes and voice were dull. ‘To the clinic.’   Walter got up. ‘Alex, you’re *never going back there, understand? Never!’   Alex flinched at the force of Walter’s response, but he looked from Walter to Fox for some hint that they were lying.   ‘They won’t just let me go.’   Walter smiled slightly. ‘’They’ have Alex.’   ‘Really?’ Alex was still unwilling to believe Walter.   Walter nodded firmly. ‘Yes Alex.’   ‘You can drop me in town. I’ll get a bus or something.’   Walter frowned. ‘A bus to where Alex?’   ‘Dunno. Where are we?’   ‘New York.’ Fox was as puzzled as Walter, but waited for Alex to explain.   ‘Okay.’   Walter seemed suddenly to understand what Alex meant. ‘Do you want to leave Alex?’   Alex shrugged. ‘I guess.’   Walter smiled. ‘Is Fox’s cooking that bad?’   Alex didn’t get the joke. ‘No. I can’t stay here forever.’   Walter didn’t want to upset the younger man but... ‘Alex, you can hardly get up and down stairs. You need to get some of your strength back before you leave. When you’re ready, we won’t stop you, but you know you’re not fit enough to wander the streets right now, don’t you?’   Alex’s shoulders sagged. ‘And who would want me now anyway, huh?’   Fox looked at Walter. ‘Stay Alex. For as long as you want to.’   Alex nodded disinterestedly. ‘Okay.’   Continued in Part Five...         Home Send me feedback on this fic Return to the X-Files Fic Index Return to the West Wing Fic Index