AN: I hope this doesn't suck as much as I think it does. I did some thinking, and I know what I want to do with this story. And I hope you guys enjoy it too. I'm going to be doing a lot of jumping around in the plot, so you may get confused. But don't worry, everything will make sense in the end.

April 19, 2009

TIME: 5:39 AM

THE JOURNAL OF DR. GERALD PIRRIN

To the hour, it had been 3 years since I rescued Apelrios from The Lab. Since then, we have been on the run, adopting different aliases to keep Them off our trail. Currently, we are masquerading as Mr. Jeffrey Hundor and his son, Christopher Hundor. So far no sign of Them, and we have been here for a little over 5 months. I have enrolled Apelrios into a public school in the area. Though we may not stay here long, I think it is good for him to interact with others his age. He is making friends well enough. My biggest fear, however, is his temper. I’ve noticed before that he often has two ways of expressing anger. In some instances, he will simply clench his fist and close his eyes, breathing hard as though it was an effort to hold back. Usually, he will disappear for close to an hour in this case, and reappear as normal as ever. In other instances, such as one in our last home, the results will be much more violent. So far, he has not shown any signs of losing control, but I am always keeping a watchful eye on him. The nightmares, which he suffered from in the first 2 years away from The Lab, have thankfully lessened. He no longer awakes screaming, though on rare occasion I will find him in my bed after a particularly bad one. With time, I think he will eventually heal to the point where they no longer bother him. Until then, they are just something we will have to overcome. I have calculated his age at 16 today. He is still small for his age, but that may just be because of malnourishment and mistreatment at The Lab. I doubt he’ll ever be much bigger than he is now.

NOTE: Research a family called Lark

Gerald Pirrin closed his journal and hid it in a secret drawer in his desk, as per usual. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. He hadn’t been able to sleep a wink all night. The fact that it was the 3-year anniversary worried him. In his experience, nothing like this ever came easily. Especially when it concerned The Lab. They were a tricky bunch, and the fact that they hadn’t recaptured Apelrios was a miracle in itself. It was probably due to all the moving they did. But it wore on him, as well as Apelrios. He hadn’t saved the boy so they could live in fear forever.

He had rescued Apelrios from a place called The Lab when he was about thirteen years old. He had been a scientist working there, naively led to believe that everything they did was for the good of the scientific community. But all they had been doing was…torturing…a young boy. He didn’t deserve the cruelty shown to him. Gerald didn’t even know why they were doing these things to a poor, defenseless, child, but it didn’t matter.

So Gerald had stolen him away and brought him to various safe houses. They had to change aliases often to ensure they would never be found out. A friend of his, Dr. Dramin, helped them out time and time again by providing forged legal records-birth certificate, driver’s licenses, those sorts of things-as well as fake deeds to the houses they resided in. Without her help…none of it would be possible.

The noise of a floorboard squeaking softly sent him bolting upright, hand going halfway towards the concealed gun in the bottom right drawer before he realized it was Apelrios standing in the doorway of the office.

“Yes, what is it Apel-Chris?” Gerald turned to find a young boy clad in pajama bottoms and a navy blue t-shirt staring at him sleepily.

“I went to your room but you weren’t there,” the boy mumbled. “I had a nightmare.” Gerald waved him over and gathered him into an embrace, pulling the small boy onto his lap. Apelrios wrapped his arms around him and buried his face in the crook of his neck as Gerald threaded his hands through his hair comfortingly. It was times like this that he could forget about The Lab and the danger they faced every day and just revel in the good fortune he had at having Apelrios safe and alive. And he could pretend that the small boy in his arms was well and truly his son. He had always wanted children.

“Do you want to tell me what it was about?” Gerald whispered. When Apelrios woke like this, it was always best to use a soft voice. He frightened so easily; even more so when he was already shaken by nightmares.

“Dogs,” the young boy said, so quietly Gerald almost didn’t hear it. “The dogs were chasing me again. They ripped my legs off this time.” He wrapped his arms tighter around Gerald’s neck, shaking minutely. This was one of the worse nightmares, most likely brought on from countless nights spent in the same room as snapping, near-rabid dogs in The Lab.

“Shhh…the dogs aren’t going to hurt you; it’s okay.” Gerald kissed Apelrios’ head and smoothed it down. “I’ll never let them get you. I promise. You’re safe now.” Apelrios nodded.

“Father, I love you.” Gerald smiled. Times like these, when he acted like a child, were both frightening and heartwarming. Every time, he was almost afraid Apelrios would never go back to his true mentality, but sometimes didn’t care. He was sweet and calm when he was childlike. And, more importantly, they were both able to forget their hardships and just be.

Gerald stood up, carrying Apelrios’ tiny body with him. The young boy clung tighter.

“Father, I want to sleep with you,” he said desperately. “Can I? Please?” Gerald’s heart jumped erratically. As the years passed and Apelrios’ mentality had improved, controlling his primal urges had become more and more difficult. But…he looked down at the wide eyes, staring at him hopefully. He sighed.

“Of course.” He kissed Apelrios on the forehead and smiled as the boy’s face lit up. What was one night, anyway? And besides, he could control himself. He wasn’t an animal after all.

He laid the young boy on the bed and crawled in next to him. He had a moment of panic when Apelrios curled up against his chest, but relaxed as the boy’s soft snores soon filled the room. Gerald wrapped an arm around the small boy, listening to the soft in-and-out breathing. It was the best lullaby, and he was asleep within minutes.

--

“Ah, Dr. Gerald Pirrin?” A man in a suit held a hand out for me to shake. I did so, reluctantly. He looked as if he could stand to wash them a few dozen times. I wiped my hand on my khaki pants, leaving a slightly greasy streak. I grimaced. These were new.

The man led me through a white hallway, with countless rooms on either side. A few had windows, but the man was walking much too fast for me to stop and look inside. He led me to a large circular room. In the middle was what looked like a giant computer. Different scenes would flick on and off in the span of 10 seconds. Some of them featured animal testing; others were of simply blank rooms.

“These are you colleagues, Dr. Pirrin. I’ll let you get to know each other on your own time.” He pointed to a small closet next to the door. “You’ll want to take a lab coat. If anything gets on it, throw it in the trash and grab another one. I’ll allow Dr. Dramin to explain what you’ll be doing.” He smiled, and I counted 2 teeth with cavities. “Welcome to The Lab.”

I wasn’t sad to see the man leave. I did as he instructed and grabbed a lab coat. The woman he had gestured to before, Dr. Dramin, approached me.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Dramin. My first name isn’t important. None of Them will ever use it anyway.” She smiled prettily. “We’ve been a little shorthanded for a while, ever since…” she trailed off. “Well, anyway, it’s nice to finally have another scientist around. You’re familiar with the concept of cloning and cell-splitting, right?” I nodded. One didn’t easily forget those lessons. “Good. Then I think you’ll do very well.” I stared around at the monitor screens.

“What exactly is it you do here?” I asked. She smiled mysteriously.

“Science…and a bit of everything else.” I blinked, unsure if I was supposed to ask what exactly she meant by that. She laughed. “Welcome aboard, Dr. Pirrin. Now if you’ll just go visit Dr. Gerard over there, we can get started…”

--

Gerald woke with a sensation of being kissed on his lips. He pressed upwards unconsciously and another pair of lips pressed back. A tongue probed at the barrier of pink skin and teeth. He opened to let it through unhindered, and led the other into a slow tango. There was a moan above him as a small body settled warmly over his.

His eyes snapped open and he pushed the body away gently. Apelrios hovered over him, a look up shame settled on his flushed face. Gerald sighed.

“I told you not to do that when I’m sleeping,” he scolded, pushing the boy off of him onto the comforter. Apelrios glared at him.

“What am I supposed to do?” He said venomously. “You won’t do anything. You never do anything.” Gerald sat up and reached for the dark-haired boy, but he dodged the touch. “What are you, afraid? I already told you I’m fine with it.”

“Now, you know that’s not what it’s about.” Apelrios crossed his arms sulkily. “Chris…”

“Don’t call me that bullshit name,” the boy spat. “Nobody’s around, what does it matter?” Gerald shook his head.

“You have to get used to it. Like it or not, it’s your name until we move again.” He grumbled. “Hey, don’t be so down. It’s your birthday today, you know.” Apelrios rolled his eyes.

“You do realize that it’s not actually my birthday, right? I don’t know my birthday.” He looked at Gerald as if to silently add, ‘And neither do you.’ Gerald ruffled his hair.

“That’s exactly why we have to celebrate your birth today. What better day to celebrate than the day…you…” Gerald let himself trail off. He didn’t want Apelrios being upset by being reminded of The Lab. He beamed. “What do you want for breakfast?”

Apelrios glanced at him longingly and crawled over so that his head was resting on the older man’s shoulder. Gerald fought to remain still and not jump away from the contact.

“I’m not hungry,” he said miserably. “Gerald, I want you…why do you keep rejecting me?” Gerald pushed away wandering hands and stood up.

“You don’t know what you want,” he said, threading his fingers through the dark locks. “You’re still young, Apelrios. You can’t go jumping after one thing your entire life.”

“Yes, I can. It’s you who doesn’t know what you want.” The glare returned. “You’re just so used to separating yourself from me that you can’t take a chance when it’s right in front of you.” He leaped off Gerald’s bed and made a mad dash to his own, slamming the door. Gerald sighed and sat down on the bed.

Maybe that was true. Gerald had promised himself he would ignore any feelings he had towards Apelrios that were not fatherly. He was still a child, after all. He told himself it was for Apelrios’ good, even after he revealed his love to the older scientist. But that love was probably just his being grateful for rescuing the small boy, and if Gerald ever gave in Apelrios would regret it for the rest of his life.

The older man buried his head on his hands. This was the preferable outcome for both of them, and he needed to hold strong.