Offkilter, Chapter 2

Jeremy's face itched. In fact, his entire body itched, and for some reason, he couldn't seem to scratch. Still half-asleep, he tugged at his left wrist trying to reach the bridge of his nose, but somehow couldn't make his arm move. The first twinge of fear sped his mind towards wakefulness as his senses tried to sort out his situation.

He was in a not uncomfortable bed, though the rough cotton sheets certainly weren't the satin ones his parents had given he and Conner for their fifth anniversary. No blanket protected him from the chill, alcohol scented draft either. Jeremy pried his eyes open to find himself staring up at a white acoustic ceiling and surrounded by softly beeping medical equipment. Had he been in an accident of some kind?

The fear blossomed into full blown panic, but his struggles were useless against the wide leather straps fastening his wrists and ankles to the bed. The memory of his aborted escape came crashing back then, and he moaned. His struggles ceased, and he let his eyes close once more, with the hope of returning to sleep and an awakening from the nightmare.

The sound of a harsh buzzer off to his left drove away any chance of that, however, and he turned his head to look. The door to his all white room opened and Dr. Jenks took a few steps inside, wearing a strange set of goggles. The doctor carried his usual clipboard, but instead of the angry expression Jeremy expected, Jenks' face was a perfect mask of indifference.

"Mr. Stein. Feeling less combative today, I hope?"

Jeremy looked down at the straps binding his disfigured limbs and shrugged as best he could. "Not much choice, do I?"

"You have all the choice in the world, Mr. Stein." Dr. Jenks' voice was calm, his expression never changed, but he remained several feet away.

He's frightened, Jeremy thought. He's frightened of me and what we both know I can do.

"As for the restraints, Security insisted. Given that we had to transfer the nurse you blinded to another facility, as a patient, I thought it seemed a wise precaution."  The slightest frown crossed the Doctor's face as Jeremy gasped. "We have no idea if she will ever recover her sight, so you'll understand if I choose to err on the side of caution. That's also why I'm wearing the safety glasses, by the way. Polarized lenses. Everyone who sees you will have them on, just to be safe."

"I didn't mean to hurt her," Jeremy replied quietly. He turned away to stare at his crimson-skinned hands and balled them into fists. "It just…happened."

"Of course, of course." Jenks' tone had gone plaintive, but an edge of sarcasm made his statement more of an accusation than of comfort. "We want you to do it again – under controlled conditions, of course. But we need to know that you're going to co-operate and not try to escape."

Jeremy shook his head. If he could blind someone by accident, the gods only knew what else he might do. What if he hurt someone else? What if he hurt Conner? "No, I won't. I promise. I don't want to hurt anyone, and if you can help me get this under control, then I'll stay."

"Good. I think we'll leave the restraints on for now, but if you stay calm and cooperative, I'm sure they can come off soon. It's for everyone's protection, you understand."

"Can I see Conner?" Jeremy blurted out as Dr. Jenks turned to leave.

The Doctor paused, but did not turn around. "I really don't think that's a good idea, do you?"

Jeremy slowly shook his head, disappointed, and sank back down onto the lumpy pillow.

"Until tomorrow, then." Jenks looked back over his shoulder. "I look forward to seeing what you can do."

Franz Jenks, MD and PhD, strode down the corridor of the facility. The sleek design and state of the art equipment available belied the building's exterior appearance as one of the many derelict buildings of the Baumton district. He'd been reluctant to transfer subject Alpha to headquarters, given the potential for damage, but Dr. Oualline, the project's psychiatrist, had insisted the move made sense.

They needed to isolate Alpha from his former life and make sure he understood that the good people of Crey Enterprises were his only hope of returning to a normal existence. The first step of that had already been taken – even before Stein had first awakened, all of the subjects' families had been told that the treatment had proven regrettably fatal. Given that the other subjects actually had died from the serum, the story was credible enough.

Crey had paid each family a substantial compensation and politely pointed to the waivers each subject had signed before undergoing the experiment. Now, three weeks later, the failed subjects had been autopsied and analyzed while Alpha was finally taken off of the sedatives that had kept him in a coma-like state.

Dr. Jenks made a quick note on his clipboard to take a biopsy of one of the strange blood vessels that had swollen across Alpha's body for analysis as he turned the corner towards the observation room. Dr. Oualline sat in her customary chair, reviewing the recording of his conversation with Alpha, her white lab coat standing out brightly against her dark mahogany skin.

"Perfectly done," she remarked without looking up at him. "We'll need to decide how best to distance him from his partner. I think giving Alpha a phone will help. We can make sure his attempts to call are never answered."

Jenks nodded absently. "We may want to keep him on a low level dosage of the sedative, as well. He's still in shock over that nurse's 'accident', but I doubt he'll remain cooperative."

"Which is why it's important for us to lay the foundation now," Dr. Oualline replied. "By the time we're done, Alpha will know that everyone he knew has abandoned him and all he has left is Crey – and us."