Shades of Grey Chapter 36 Part II
With a final backward glance at Ryan, Lester turned to Mark, "Would you please enlighten me as to what has prompted Tom's rather bizarre behaviour?"
"All right. It's my fault. Tom was confused about a memory from his teenage years so I was trying to explain things to him in a way he might understand. But I have to admit I wasn't handling it too well. When I agreed to treat Tom I hadn't considered the aspect that memories of Ryan's sexual life might emerge. Usually children don't have first hand knowledge of adult sexuality unless they’ve been victims of sexual abuse. Ryan, on the other hand, has at least 20 years of memories of sexual relations. Memories a little boy can't comprehend and which might traumatise him. You know I'm not a fan of radical methods but I think I have to up the pace of the treatment considerably. The risk of triggering more such memories rises with every session," Mark declared frankly.
"So Tom has to grow up quickly," Lester said with a sigh.
Somehow neither from them seemed particularly happy about that.
The soldiers on sentry duty couldn't explain how Ryan had managed to sneak unnoticed out of the ARC. But the CCTV footage showed he had walked through the swing doors at quarter past two. It was quarter to three when Stephen registered that Ryan was nowhere to be seen and began to go looking for him.
Leek stared in surprise at the unconscious men in black uniforms now littering the floor of the warehouse. For clones of mercenaries, they had been caught off-guard rather easily.
"Uncle Oliver?" Ryan whispered tearfully as he heaved himself up from the floor with a whimper.
"Everything is all right, Tom. They can't hurt you any more," Leek said softly whilst he put the stun gun away that he'd used to incapacitate Helen's men. "I'm sorry I came so late. Come, let me see your face."
Ryan hissed through his teeth as Leek gently dabbed the corner of a hanky at Ryan's split lip and inspected Ryan's bloody nose.
"Thank God, it isn't broken. How are your ribs?"
"Okay, I guess."
To make sure, Leek patted along Ryan's ribcage but didn't find a fracture there either.
"Seems you’ve been lucky. What where you thinking walking alone down the street? Helen's idiots have been waiting for such an opportunity."
"I wanted to visit Mitch."
"Who's Mitch?"
"My friend. From back then. Long before I got to know Stephen. Uncle Oliver, my head hurts. Everything is blurry."
Ryan sagged against Leek who was almost brought to the knees by the sheer weight of Ryan's body.
"Tom, please, we have to get out of here before Helen returns. You can rest later."
"I don't like Helen," Ryan mumbled against Leek’s shoulder.
"Well, who does? Come on, move."
"Tsk, tsk, Oliver. Cuddling with the enemy? I thought you hated him," Helen said as she sauntered towards Leek and Ryan.
Leek pushed Ryan gently towards the nearest wall and straightened his back to appear larger as he faced Helen.
"He's no more than a child. I won't allow you to hurt him."
"Oh really? Have you suddenly grown a spine?"
In reaction to Helen's taunting, Leek raised his stun gun and aimed at Helen, enjoying how she swallowed reflexively in rising nervousness. Although Helen scared the hell out of him, Leek was determined to stand his ground. He would protect Ryan, no matter the costs.
"You are stupid, Oliver. Sacrifying everything for him. Do you really think he would waste his time on you if he was in his right mind?"
For a moment Leek wavered in his aim, accepting with a sad smile that Helen was right. Then he squeezed the trigger and watched Helen crumple to the floor. It was an almost liberating feeling to see her helpless like that.
"Is she dead?" Ryan asked hopefully, as he walked closer, still a little unsteady on his feet.
"No, just out cold like the others. I'm not a killer."
"She’s a bad woman. We should lock her up. For forever."
"That's the plan. You wait here until Stephen picks you up. Understood?"
"Uncle Oliver, where are you going?"
"I have some things to attend to before I can call the ARC."
Annoyed, Leek turned around as Ryan hobbled into the small room he'd had stored a few personal things in. The small box he'd just put on top of the already full knapsack fell down, spilling its contents on the floor as the lid sprung open.
"I'm sorry, " Ryan whispered conscience-stricken and knelt down to gather the items that seemed to be personal tokens.
"Tom, I told you to wait. You shouldn't run around in your condition."
"I didn't want to stay with the bad people in there. Are you going away?"
"I must. Or they will lock me up too."
"What's with your kitties?
"I can't take them with me where I’m going. At the moment they are better kept at the ARC. You will keep an eye on them, won’t you?"
"Of course, Uncle Oliver. Oh, that's cool."
Ryan admired a silver-plated necklace consisting of a split heart pendant and two chains, currently slightly tangled with an old wrist watch and an old-fashioned hair grip.
"Oh, that."
Leek carefully untangled the necklace and held it out to Ryan on his palm.
"I thought I had thrown it away long ago. I bought it for me and the girl I was best friends with in my teens. But then I chickened out of giving it to her. I was worried she would think it was childish."
Lost in memories, Leek unwittingly rubbed his thumb along the edge of the filigree heart. "Maybe if I had found the courage then everything... Anyway, it's too late now. You like the necklace, Tom?"
"It's beautiful."
"Here, take it. I don't need a permanent reminder of my foolishness. Just promise me one thing. When you met someone special one day, someone who accepts you the way you are, with all your quirks, eccentricities and shortcomings, then give him the other half of the pendant. Don't make the same mistake as I did. Don't be afraid to show your feelings."
While Ryan put the the necklace around his neck, Leek quickly shoved the remaining contents of the box into his knapsack. Afterwards, he headed towards the part of the warehouse where Helen kept her secret weapon, with Ryan still close on his heels.
"The grey monsters!" Ryan screeched in terror when Leek opened the warehouse door and revealed the occupants of the room.
"They are creatures of the future. Not monsters. They are just different from everything we know. Look, with the control devices they are harmless. You can even touch them."
Ryan's finger trembled as he tentatively touched the head of a future predator that had come closer, driven by curiosity. The creature seemed to lean into the touch, not at all aggressive. Ryan took courage and started to tickle the predator under the chin, receiving something like a contented growl in response to his efforts.
Leek watched the scene with a mixture of joy and sadness. In the last few days he had spent many hours in the company of the future predators. By looking behind their ugly appearance and their normal aggressive behaviour, he'd learnt that they were pack animals with a highly developed social structure. By now they were almost like a second family to him. Seeing Ryan now connecting with the creatures was moving. It was quite a change from the trigger-happy soldier he'd been before. But as much Leek wished to prolong the moment, he had to break up the idyll. Helen and her minions wouldn't stay unconscious forever.
With a sigh, he pulled his mobile out and dialed a number he knew by heart.
"All right. It's my fault. Tom was confused about a memory from his teenage years so I was trying to explain things to him in a way he might understand. But I have to admit I wasn't handling it too well. When I agreed to treat Tom I hadn't considered the aspect that memories of Ryan's sexual life might emerge. Usually children don't have first hand knowledge of adult sexuality unless they’ve been victims of sexual abuse. Ryan, on the other hand, has at least 20 years of memories of sexual relations. Memories a little boy can't comprehend and which might traumatise him. You know I'm not a fan of radical methods but I think I have to up the pace of the treatment considerably. The risk of triggering more such memories rises with every session," Mark declared frankly.
"So Tom has to grow up quickly," Lester said with a sigh.
Somehow neither from them seemed particularly happy about that.
The soldiers on sentry duty couldn't explain how Ryan had managed to sneak unnoticed out of the ARC. But the CCTV footage showed he had walked through the swing doors at quarter past two. It was quarter to three when Stephen registered that Ryan was nowhere to be seen and began to go looking for him.
Leek stared in surprise at the unconscious men in black uniforms now littering the floor of the warehouse. For clones of mercenaries, they had been caught off-guard rather easily.
"Uncle Oliver?" Ryan whispered tearfully as he heaved himself up from the floor with a whimper.
"Everything is all right, Tom. They can't hurt you any more," Leek said softly whilst he put the stun gun away that he'd used to incapacitate Helen's men. "I'm sorry I came so late. Come, let me see your face."
Ryan hissed through his teeth as Leek gently dabbed the corner of a hanky at Ryan's split lip and inspected Ryan's bloody nose.
"Thank God, it isn't broken. How are your ribs?"
"Okay, I guess."
To make sure, Leek patted along Ryan's ribcage but didn't find a fracture there either.
"Seems you’ve been lucky. What where you thinking walking alone down the street? Helen's idiots have been waiting for such an opportunity."
"I wanted to visit Mitch."
"Who's Mitch?"
"My friend. From back then. Long before I got to know Stephen. Uncle Oliver, my head hurts. Everything is blurry."
Ryan sagged against Leek who was almost brought to the knees by the sheer weight of Ryan's body.
"Tom, please, we have to get out of here before Helen returns. You can rest later."
"I don't like Helen," Ryan mumbled against Leek’s shoulder.
"Well, who does? Come on, move."
"Tsk, tsk, Oliver. Cuddling with the enemy? I thought you hated him," Helen said as she sauntered towards Leek and Ryan.
Leek pushed Ryan gently towards the nearest wall and straightened his back to appear larger as he faced Helen.
"He's no more than a child. I won't allow you to hurt him."
"Oh really? Have you suddenly grown a spine?"
In reaction to Helen's taunting, Leek raised his stun gun and aimed at Helen, enjoying how she swallowed reflexively in rising nervousness. Although Helen scared the hell out of him, Leek was determined to stand his ground. He would protect Ryan, no matter the costs.
"You are stupid, Oliver. Sacrifying everything for him. Do you really think he would waste his time on you if he was in his right mind?"
For a moment Leek wavered in his aim, accepting with a sad smile that Helen was right. Then he squeezed the trigger and watched Helen crumple to the floor. It was an almost liberating feeling to see her helpless like that.
"Is she dead?" Ryan asked hopefully, as he walked closer, still a little unsteady on his feet.
"No, just out cold like the others. I'm not a killer."
"She’s a bad woman. We should lock her up. For forever."
"That's the plan. You wait here until Stephen picks you up. Understood?"
"Uncle Oliver, where are you going?"
"I have some things to attend to before I can call the ARC."
Annoyed, Leek turned around as Ryan hobbled into the small room he'd had stored a few personal things in. The small box he'd just put on top of the already full knapsack fell down, spilling its contents on the floor as the lid sprung open.
"I'm sorry, " Ryan whispered conscience-stricken and knelt down to gather the items that seemed to be personal tokens.
"Tom, I told you to wait. You shouldn't run around in your condition."
"I didn't want to stay with the bad people in there. Are you going away?"
"I must. Or they will lock me up too."
"What's with your kitties?
"I can't take them with me where I’m going. At the moment they are better kept at the ARC. You will keep an eye on them, won’t you?"
"Of course, Uncle Oliver. Oh, that's cool."
Ryan admired a silver-plated necklace consisting of a split heart pendant and two chains, currently slightly tangled with an old wrist watch and an old-fashioned hair grip.
"Oh, that."
Leek carefully untangled the necklace and held it out to Ryan on his palm.
"I thought I had thrown it away long ago. I bought it for me and the girl I was best friends with in my teens. But then I chickened out of giving it to her. I was worried she would think it was childish."
Lost in memories, Leek unwittingly rubbed his thumb along the edge of the filigree heart. "Maybe if I had found the courage then everything... Anyway, it's too late now. You like the necklace, Tom?"
"It's beautiful."
"Here, take it. I don't need a permanent reminder of my foolishness. Just promise me one thing. When you met someone special one day, someone who accepts you the way you are, with all your quirks, eccentricities and shortcomings, then give him the other half of the pendant. Don't make the same mistake as I did. Don't be afraid to show your feelings."
While Ryan put the the necklace around his neck, Leek quickly shoved the remaining contents of the box into his knapsack. Afterwards, he headed towards the part of the warehouse where Helen kept her secret weapon, with Ryan still close on his heels.
"The grey monsters!" Ryan screeched in terror when Leek opened the warehouse door and revealed the occupants of the room.
"They are creatures of the future. Not monsters. They are just different from everything we know. Look, with the control devices they are harmless. You can even touch them."
Ryan's finger trembled as he tentatively touched the head of a future predator that had come closer, driven by curiosity. The creature seemed to lean into the touch, not at all aggressive. Ryan took courage and started to tickle the predator under the chin, receiving something like a contented growl in response to his efforts.
Leek watched the scene with a mixture of joy and sadness. In the last few days he had spent many hours in the company of the future predators. By looking behind their ugly appearance and their normal aggressive behaviour, he'd learnt that they were pack animals with a highly developed social structure. By now they were almost like a second family to him. Seeing Ryan now connecting with the creatures was moving. It was quite a change from the trigger-happy soldier he'd been before. But as much Leek wished to prolong the moment, he had to break up the idyll. Helen and her minions wouldn't stay unconscious forever.
With a sigh, he pulled his mobile out and dialed a number he knew by heart.