Timmy

The boy woke moments before the scream echoed through the room. Timmy didn’t know how he always knew when Benny was having a bad dream, he just did. But he knew that his mommy didn’t like to talk about it. Timmy knew that it scared her. Sometimes he could tell how she was feeling as well. Not all the time, but sometimes. He was on his feet in a moment, making his way across the floor to his frightened little brother. His bed socks flopping from the ends of his feet and thumping on the floor, making him smile. He turned the night light on, blinking his eyes in the sudden brightness. He knew that Benny was scared of the dark and of the bad monsters that hid under his bed in the night.

But Timmy wasn’t scared of the dark, he was a lot more grown up than his baby brother. Timmy was almost five, it was only six more sleeps until Timmy’s birthday and he could hardly wait. He gathered up his crying brother in his arms and rocked him backwards and forwards, singing his favourite song, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Benny’s thumb had found it's way into his mouth and he started to calm down. Timmy knew that Benny had been dreaming about their daddy and how daddy had hit mommy that time. He was yelling at her and calling her bad words. Mommy had been crying and Timmy and Benny had been hiding under the kitchen table, clinging to each other. When he knew that Benny was sound asleep again, he gently put him down and, leaving the night light on, crept back to his own bed.

But he couldn’t fall back asleep. He sat in his bed and looked around his room. He didn’t like this knew apartment. It was cold and the neighbours were noisy. Mommy cried a lot of the time now. She was always sad since daddy had left. She even screamed at him sometimes when he hadn’t even done anything wrong, and she never used to do that before.

Timmy didn’t like his new pre-school either. The lady there asked all kinds of strange questions and was looking at him funny when he answered. His mommy had told him that he should always tell the truth, but she also told him not to tell people about how he could sometimes feel what his brother was feeling. Timmy started to cry now as well. He had not known what to do today and the lady wouldn’t leave him alone. When his mommy had come to pick him up, he had wanted to tell her all about it, but he was scared that she would get angry, and he knew that mommy was already mad about something.

Timmy angrily rubbed the tears from his eyes. He wasn’t a cry-baby anymore, and he was the man of the house now. He had responsibites. He had to look after mommy and Benny now. As he straightened his shoulders, his mind turned to his birthday. He could hardly wait. Mommy would make a cake and there would be a special dinner and presents. Mommy had asked him what he wanted for his special dinner and he didn’t know what he wanted most. He was thinking that maybe mommy could make her special spaghetti. His mommy made the best spaghetti in the whole world.

He looked up in surprise when he heard the faint creak of the door opening. Maybe mommy had come to check to see if they were alright. She hadn’t tucked them in tonight. He started to smile and decided he would tell her about the spaghetti.

But Timmy’s eyes grew wide in shock when he saw the strange man in the doorway. The man was way to big to be daddy, he could tell that, even in the dim light of the night-light. His mouth started to open and he was just about to scream for his mommy when the man put a finger up to his lips.

“Shhhh kid. Nothings wrong.”

Timmy clamped his mouth shut.

A second man came in and whispered.

“Which one do we want?” and he pulled out a photo and peered at it in the darkness. “That one.” He pointed to Timmy.

The first man starting to move towards Timmy’s bed. Timmy scrunched himself up into a tiny ball.

“No-ones going to hurt you kid, but you have to be quiet.”

Timmy’s eyes grew wider and wider and the man must of known he was about to scream because he clamped a hand over Timmy’s mouth.

The other man moved over towards his sleeping brother and pulled out a short shiny knife.

The man was holding on to one of Timmy’s arms very tightly and he could hardly breathe. The man’s big hand was completely covering his nose and mouth. Timmy started to wriggle, but stopped when the man pulled hard on his arm.

“Quit it. Stay still.” He whispered in a harsh voice.

Then the man leaned down and whispered in Timmy’s ear.

“Kid, if you make one sound, or try to run away, I am going to have my friend over there kill your little brother. Nod if you understand.”

The tears started rolling down Timmy’s face. He was so scared and he wanted to scream for his mommy so badly. But he looked up at the man and nodded.

When the hand was removed from his face, he gulped in great big mouthfuls of air. He looked at the man standing over Benny and looked back at the man who still had a tight grip on his arm.

“Good boy. Remember, one sound….and you kill your brother.”

Timmy didn’t want to kill his brother and he tried so very hard to be quiet. But when the man got up and pulled him up by his arm, he could not help the gasp that escaped his lips. He froze, petrified as both men looked at him.
“I'm sorry” he whispered “I didn’t mean it. Please don’t hurt Benny, I’ll be good, I promise.” He pleaded as the tears streamed down his face.

But the two men chuckled softly. The man holding him put a black bag over his head and tied it up around his neck.

Timmy started to panic, breathing rapidly and he started to sob loudly. Then he heard a voice in his ear. He tried to shrink back, but the hand pulled him closer, his arm now aching from the tight grip.

“Remember kid, no noise…..or baby brother……”

The man then grabbed Timmy and lifted him, resting him against his hip. They made their way through the apartment and back down to the car.

The whole time Timmy was crying and his arm hurt and now his body hurt from the way the man was carrying him. He hoped so badly that he hadn’t killed his brother.

He was thrown in the car and the man sat next to him, keeping a firm grip on his arm the whole time. After a little while, Timmy had stopped crying. He wanted so badly to ask what was going on. Why was he in trouble? What had he done wrong? Was his mommy sending him away? He reached up to fidget with the hood, but stopped when he received a light blow across the head and the man hissed at him.

“Touch that again and I will break your arm.”

Timmy started to cry again and tried real hard not to touch the hood. But he hated it. It made him scared and if he couldn’t see where he was going, how was going to remember how to get home? Mommy would be so mad tomorrow when she found out that he had been out of his bedroom in the night, leaving Benny all by himself.

a/n. All my thanks to Onisius whom has been no end of help, and thanks to all the reviews, I was not sure how this was going to be received and had not planned to continue with it, but it seems like I have now committed myself….and Kylie, I wish I could promise you a happy ending…..

Timmy Pt 2

Timmy sighed with relief when the hand let go of his arm. His arm was really sore now and he reached up to rub it. And he wanted to go home very badly. They had been in the car forever and Timmy had finally curled up on the seat and fallen asleep.

When Timmy awoke, he was hoping that he had only been dreaming. He was going to tell mommy all about it. But when he opened his eyes, he couldn’t see anything and he could hear the two men talking in front of him. He reached out to feel next to him and the man wasn’t there. His hand went up to the thin cord at his neck and his little fingers struggled with the knot. But it was no use, he could not undo it. He started to cry again and he really needed to go make a pee pee.

“Hey, the kid’s awake.” The man turned around.

“What's his name? And tell him to stop his snivelling, it’s going to drive me crazy if I have to listen to that for another three hours.”

The man reached over the back seat and grabbed Timmy roughly.

“What's your name kid?” The voice was gruff.

Timmy whimpered and froze in fear. His mommy always told him he must never talk to strangers and never ever tell them his name.

“Are you listening to me? I said what’s your name?” The man’s voice rose in anger.

Timmy was dragged forward as the grip tightened. He let out a small cry.

“Timmy. Please don’t hurt me. When can I go home?”

“Listen here Timmy. And listen good. You do as you are told and you can go home real soon. Now stop your crying.” He hated this detail. Stuck in a car with a whining kid, driving cross-country for hours.

Timmy squirmed under his grasp.

“Please Mister. I'm sorry, I really am and I promise I’ll be good, I promise. But Mister, I really need to go and make pee pee.”

“Ohh for Christ sake! Pull over Ron. I don’t want the car stinking up.”

Timmy fell forward as the grip was gone from his arm and the car came to an abrupt halt. He smacked into the back of the drivers seat with a dull thud.

The man picked him up and set him down on the ground.

“Ok kid. I am going to take this hood off, let you take care of business by yourself. But if you are not back here in two minutes, I am coming to get you, and you don’t want that. Understand?’

Timmy nodded meekly and stood stock still as he felt the man’s hands at his neck. When the hood was finally lifted off his head, he squinted in the light. He looked up at the man’s face and nodded again.

Timmy looked around for a bathroom and couldn’t find one. How was he going to go to the bathroom out here? There was only bushes by the side of the road.

“What are you waiting for?” the man pushed him forward.

Timmy stumbled and almost fell. He turned around to look at the man who had lit a cigarette. This was a mean man. He made a gesture with his hand to go. Timmy looked around again. He wished his mommy was here. She would know what to do. But he really needed to go and couldn’t wait any more, so he walked behind one of the bushes. He thought about trying to run away, but he was lost and didn’t know where he would go. And he didn’t want to make the man any more upset.

When he walked back, the man was leaning against the car, finishing his cigarette, the black hood hanging from his free hand.

Timmy looked at the hood with fear, he didn’t want the man to put it back on him. He didn’t like it at all.

“Come here kid. C’mon, I'm not going to bite you.” He stubbed out his cigarette. He was growing impatient. “I said come here.”

Timmy started to walk towards him. He looked down the road, but there were no cars coming and he knew that he had better do as he was told.

“Do I have to put this back on you or a you going to behave yourself? No noise.”

Timmy nodded mutely.

The man hunkered down and handed Timmy the hood.

“For Christ sake, wipe your nose.”

Timmy took the hood and used it to blow his nose. He handed it back to the man when he was finished, but the man just looked at it.

“Get back in the car.”

Timmy, still clutching the hood, climbed back in the car.

The man slammed the door and got back into the front seat. “Ok Ron, lets go. I tell you, I will be glad when this ones finished.” He looked back towards Timmy and put his fingers to his lips.

They drove and drove and Timmy was thinking about Benny. It was morning now, and when Benny woke up he would be scared that he wasn’t there. Benny was scared all the time, especially since daddy had left and mommy had said that it was Timmy’s job to look out for Benny now. Benny was just a little kid and big brothers always looked out for their little kid brothers. Timmy liked looking out for Benny, it made him feel all grown-up and important. He also liked to help mommy too. He started to cry again. It was breakfast time, and it was Timmy’s job to get the cereal from the cupboard and the milk and orange juice from the fridge.

Timmy looked out the window at the other cars going by. He was hungry and he wished that they would stop soon for some breakfast. He knew that breakfast was the most important food of the day. But Timmy liked dinner the best because sometimes his mommy let him have ice-cream for dessert. And he was going to be late for pre-school as well. It was the day for his piano lesson today and if he didn’t get home he would miss that too. But they just kept driving and driving, so Timmy laid back down and he fell asleep.

He woke up abruptly as the man reached in and hauled him out of the car.

“Rise and shine kid. We’re here.” The two men grabbed him and pulled him towards the big glass house.

Timmy looked around, he could see some words but he didn’t know his alphabets good enough to know what the words said. But he saw a big statue of a lady with wings. An angel lady. The men pulled him roughly towards a big house with lots of glass.

There were more men in the house. They all had the same clothes on. Timmy thought that was a little bit strange. At his new pre-school, there were two girls who looked exactly the same and they always wore the same clothes too.

They took him down some stairs and into a room. The man picked him up and put him on a bed. The bed was really high off the ground and there were some really bright lights. He looked around the room and there were no windows and the man was standing by the door. After a little while, another man came in the room.

“Hello Timmy. My name is Dr Raines. I am going to be looking after you for a while.”

Timmy Pt 3

A doctor. Timmy was so happy. Doctors made you feel better when you got sick. Doctors helped people. Maybe the doctor could help Timmy get back home. Mommy said that teachers and doctors were good people and if you ever got into trouble you could always go to a teacher or a doctor and they would help. But Timmy got a funny feeling from this doctor every time he touched him. Timmy also knew that sometimes they made you take some medicine that was yucky. And the doctor at the school stuck something in his finger that made it bleed and it hurt. Timmy didn’t think that this was a nice doctor.

“I want you to lay down Timmy, I am going to do some tests to make sure you are alright. Now be a good boy and lie down.”

Timmy did as he was told, but when the doctor touched him again, he flinched. He was getting scary feelings from the doctor every time he touched him.

“Dr Raines, when can I go home?” Timmy asked in a small voice.

“All in good time Timmy, all in good time. Now do as you are told.”

The Dr pushed him down onto the bed and stuck sticky white things with wires coming out of them all over his head. They made him take his pyjama top off and they stuck them on his chest and tummy too. They tickled and Timmy wanted to take them off. But when he grabbed one, the big man at the door took a step towards him and shook his head. Timmy’s hand froze and dropped back down to his side.

Timmy didn’t want to be here anymore, he wanted to go home. His mommy and Benny would be worried about him. But Timmy did as he was told. The man in the car said that he would go home soon if he behaved himself, and Timmy knew how to be a good boy, so he should be going home soon.

The doctor was standing in the corner talking to another man, and he was smoking a cigarette the whole time. Timmy wished he would stop because the whole room was filling up with smoke and it smelled yucky.

As he waited on the bed, the white things started tingling and some machines started making noises. The doctor kept looking from the machines over to Timmy. He seemed very excited and kept looking at bits of paper that where coming from the machine. Every time Timmy tried to move, the big man near the door shook his head.


Timmy tried really hard to stay still, but he had been lying here for the longest time and he was really really hungry. His tummy let out a really big rumble. The doctor looked up sharply when he heard Timmy’s tummy and walked over.

“Are you hungry Timmy?” Dr Raines looked down at Timmy and stroked his forehead.

Timmy tried to shrink back from the doctor’s touch. He didn’t like the way his hands felt, cold and wet. Timmy started to cry again.

“You will answer me when I ask a question. And you will stop that crying right now.” He instructed and Timmy could tell that he was upset with him.

“Y…yes …” he answered.

“Yes what?”

“Yes, I'm hungry.” He tried to curl himself into a tiny little ball. This was not a good doctor. This was a mean doctor. This doctor was not going to help him at all.

“From now on, you will call me sir!” The doctor leaned forward and grabbed Timmy by the arm and pulled him towards him.

“Yes sir.” Timmy answered in a tiny voice. His eyes grew wide as the doctor pulled a needle out of his pocket and stuck it in his arm.

Timmy felt his eyes go funny and he couldn’t keep them open any more. He fell back onto the bed when the doctor let his arm go and he fell asleep.





******************




Raines was pleased with the initial readings from the EEG. This subject seemed to have more natural ability than any of the others that had been previously tested. With the right training and the proper stimulus, this new Red File could be the pride of the Pretender Programme, perhaps even better than Jarod.

Raines would dearly love to show up Sydney. Jarod should have been given to Raines. They were clearly wasting his potential, Sydney was constantly coddling him, preventing him from participating in some of the more extreme simulations. But that would not be important if this new project lived up to expectations.

Raines looked over at the sleeping child, who was obviously in the middle of a dream. The instruments were off the charts now that the kid was dreaming. He was eager to get back to Delaware and get his new project underway. But first he had other matters to attend to. Raines had learnt a long time ago not to store all his eggs in the one basket.

“Mr Fenigore, see that he is taken to The Centre and install him in SL-27.”

Raines looked up at his sharp look.

“Do you have a problem with that Mr Fenigore?” Without waiting for Fenigore to respond he continued. “I don’t want anyone to know about him just yet. You and Mr Parker are the only ones. And no contact with any other subjects either. I want complete isolation.

“Yes sir.”

Raines smiled at the man’s obedience. He knew that Fenigore did not like him, but he was one of The Centre’s best expeditors, and Raines rather enjoyed forcing the man to work with him. He had briefly considered using Jacob in this matter, but of late, Jacob seemed very distracted and Raines was becoming concerned about his loyalties. As much as he hated Sydney, he knew at least that Sydney was completely committed to the Pretender Programme.




******************



When Timmy awoke he was in the back of the car again. There was a man sitting next to him, and the same two big men sitting in the front. It was dark outside and Timmy was really scared.

He tugged on the man’s sleeve and waited for the man to look at him. When he didn’t, he tugged again.

“Mister?” Timmy could not wait any longer. His need to know if he was going home was stronger than his fear of the bad men

Fenigore turned to look at Timmy.

“You must be quiet.”

Timmy lowered his voice to a loud whisper.

“Mister? Are we going home now?”

Timmy held his breath as the man looked down at him and smiled.

“Yes Timmy. I am taking you home.”

Timmy’s eyes filled with tears as he threw himself into the man for a hug. The man pushed him gently back on the seat.

“We will be home soon, but you must sit still and be quiet.”

Timmy was so happy that it was hard for him to sit still. He was going home. He was going to see mommy and Benny. He could hardly wait. It was going to be even better than his birthday. Now that it was night time again, he knew that it was only five more sleeps until his birthday. Thinking about his birthday made him think about his mommy’s spaghetti. His tummy growled at that thought and he hoped he would be home soon. He had never been this hungry in his entire life.

He looked out the window, trying to see something familiar in the dark. Thought about asking the man how much longer it would be, but then decided he better not. The man had told him he must be quiet. And that was okay because he was going to be home soon.

After a very long time the man finally said.

“Timmy we are home now. Come along.”

The car had stopped and Timmy blinked, trying to peer through the darkness. This didn’t look like home. He could see a really big building that went on forever and ever.

Timmy Pt 4

Timmy was really scared again. This wasn’t his home and he started to cry again. They had said if he was good he could go home and now and he had been really good. He tried to open the door of the car, but it was broken and so he sat and waited for the man to get him.

This man was different from the other two men. He was small and reminded Timmy of the man who stamped out his books at the library. He had a soft voice, and his hands were soft too, not like the other men, they had big hands and they were rough.

Timmy got out the car when the man opened the door and looked around. He could smell the ocean and this scared him more than anything. Once, before daddy had left, they had taken a trip to the ocean. Timmy was only little then, but he remembered that it took all day to drive there. Timmy and daddy had played in the water and Timmy had lots of fun. Mommy didn’t come in the water because she was carrying her “special load” as daddy called it. Timmy had come up and dripped cold water all over mommy who had wriggled and tried to escape. She had laughed hugged him close and told him that his little brother or sister would be along soon. Timmy had put his head on mommies big belly and he could feel his little brother. Timmy had always know that Benny was going to be a boy and he wondered how come daddy kept saying that he was going to have a little sister.

That was the only time Timmy had ever been to the beach, daddy had said it was too far away. Timmy sobbed at the memory of it, it was one of the happiest days of his life. And even though he was only four, but nearly five, he was smart enough to know that if he was at the beach, he was a long long way from home.

He looked up at the man in the dark and reached out for his hand. The man felt different from the nasty doctor. This was a sad man. Maybe he missed his mommy and daddy too.

“Can you take me home now, please?” it was barely a whisper

“C'mon, lets get going. We haven’t got all god-damned night” the big man growled at Timmy, grabbing one of his arms.

Timmy squealed in pain and started to run to keep up with him. But soon his little feet were tripping and the man swung him up over his hip and carried him to the big building.

Timmy started kicking and screaming, trying to make the man let him go. Just before they got to the doors of the building, the man stopped and put Timmy on his feet and grabbed his hair in one had and his arm in the other. The man crouched down so that he was eye-level with Timmy, who was still sniffing back tears.

“If you don’t shut up, you are going to be the sorriest kid in the world.” He pulled Timmy’s face close to his own. “Do you understand kid? Shhh. Don’t speak. Nod if you understand.”

Timmy could hardly breathe, he was so scared, but the man wouldn’t let his hair go and so Timmy finally nodded.

“You don’t have to be so rough, he is just scared.” The sad man knelt down next to Timmy.

“Timmy, it is very important that you listen to me. You must do what you are told. If you do what you are told, nobody is going to hurt you. You must go with this man now, he is taking you to your new room.”

“No please, can't I stay with you? Please?” Timmy didn’t want to go with this man, he didn’t want to go to his new room. He wanted to go to his old room. He wanted to see his mommy and Benny. He wanted to go home.

The man looked at Timmy for a minute and then made a decision.

“Ok Timmy, how about if I come with you?” he looked at the big man and the big man let Timmy go.

Both men stood up and Timmy watched while they looked at each other. Timmy thought it was a bit strange how the big man seemed scared of the little man. Timmy liked that the big man was scared.

“Mr Fenigore, I have strict instructions from Dr Raines that I have to take him and install him in his space right away. The doctor will be here in the morning and wants to get things started,”

“Yes, yes. Very well. What room number has been assigned? I will take him and make sure he is properly processed. “

“I am sorry sir, but I am not authorized to give you that information. Dr Raines was very specific in his instructions. Please sir, your responsibility is to complete the paperwork, I will ensure that the boy is taken to his space. Now sir, I must insist that you let me do my job.”

Timmy didn’t understand what was going on here, but he could feel the fear from both the men every time the name Dr Raines was mentioned. He cringed when he realised that the big man had won the fight. The sad man took one last look at Timmy and turned and walked away.

“Ok kid. You do what you are told from now on. I don’t want to hear any noise coming out of your mouth, and I do, I promise you, you are going to be sorry. Now come here.”

The man grabbed Timmy's arm again and dragged him inside the building.

Timmy's arm was sore, and he was hungry. But he couldn’t help but be amazed at this building. It was so big. He had never seen anything like it before. There were a few people around and he wondered what they would be doing here, up so late past bed time. He looked around, but was careful not to make any noise.

The man pulled him over to an elevator and pushed a button. He didn’t speak while he waited and Timmy started to fidget. But he stopped when the man yanked on his arm. When the elevator arrived, he pulled Tmmy in. Timmy usually liked riding in elevators. They were fun because they made his tummy feel funny. But now he was just scared. The elevator went down and down and down. Timmy tried to take his mind from the pain in his arm by counting the little numbers as they lit up. Timmy's new teacher had said he was very smart to be able to count as high and as fast as he could, and he wasn’t even five yet. The lift finally stopped and Timmy nearly lost his balance. He had counted 27.

Timmy forgot his troubles for a moment. 27. He could hardly believe it. He had never been that high before. His mommy had taken him to see a man about some law last week, and he had worked on the tenth floor. Timmy had been so excited to look down on the street and see how tiny the people and cars looked from the window. And 27 was almost three times higher than that.

When the doors opened, Timmy was out before the man. He was looking around for windows. But all he saw was long hallways. He couldn’t see a window in sight and he started to panic again. He looked up at the man who was pulling him along and he knew he was supposed to be quiet, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“Where are the windows?”

The man laughed at him and Timmy tried to prepare himself in case the man hit him again.

“Oh kid, you got a lot to learn. There are no windows. We are below ground. Now shut up and come along.” The man pulled on his arm again.

Below ground? That didn’t make any sense. Buildings didn’t go underneath the world. They went on top. Up towards the sky. He might only be a kid, but even dumb kids knew that.

They stopped in front of a door. There was a little number on it that Timmy could just see if he strained his neck. It was 155. The man put a key in the door and opened it and pushed Timmy forward.

“Welcome home kid.”

The door slammed shut and Timmy heard the man turn the key. He turned around and saw that there was no handle on the door. He tried to push it open, but it wouldn’t move. He looked around at the tiny room and threw himself on the bed, the only single thing in the room. He cried himself to sleep.

Timmy Pt 5

When Timmy woke, he couldn’t remember where he was. He looked around the little room and then it came crashing in on him. He sat up on the little cot and pulled his knees up to his chest, hugging them. He wanted it all to be a bad dream, he wanted it all to go away.

He couldn’t tell if it was morning or not and he cried silently for his mommy. When he ran out of tears he took a look around at the room. He could not remember a time when he had ever cried so much before and he felt like a little baby. Benny would laugh at him if he knew.

Timmy got up and tried to open the door. He knew it wouldn’t work, but he tried anyway. He banged his tiny fists against the big cold door and slid down and curled into a ball when he finally ran out of energy.


When the door opened, Timmy looked up to see a big man. He was different from the man from before, but he had the same clothes on. Timmy knew by now that the big men that wore those clothes were scary and he knew that he should do what he was told.

“Hey kid, it's time for breakfast. Then we going to get you showered and then get you to work.”

At the mention of breakfast, Timmy’s tummy let out a big grumble and he opened his eyes wide in fright. The big men didn’t like noise. He scrambled back so the man couldn’t grab him.

But the big man just laughed.

“C'mon kid. I’m not going to hurt you. But it's chow time and the boss doesn’t like to be kept waiting. Although I gotta tell ya, I don’t envy you one little bit.”

Timmy looked up. This man seemed to be a bit different. He seemed nice. He put his hand out and let the man take it. He scrunched himself up in case the man squeezed like the other ones did. But he didn’t and Timmy walked out the door with him.

“What's your name kid? My name’s Ted.”

Timmy looked up at him and decided that maybe it would be okay to tell this man his name. His mommy and daddy weren’t here and he was scared and this man was a lot nicer than the other ones. Maybe this man could help him. He had already told other people his name, so he guessed it would be alright.

“Timmy.”

As they walked along, Timmy was beginning to feel a little bit less scared. So far, this man whose name was Ted hadn’t hurt him. But Timmy was worried about the shower. Only grown ups had showers. Timmy always had a bath with Benny.

When they got to the shower room, Timmy asked if he could use the toilet and the man let him. He was looking around for a bathtub, hoping the man had made a mistake. When he came back out, the man told him to stand still while he took his pyjamas off.

Timmy stood very still and he could see feel his face going red as the man took his pants down. The man pushed him into the shower and turned the water on.

Timmy stood under the warm water, trying to hide his private bits. The man laughed at him.

“Don’t worry kid, it aint nothing I haven’t seen before. Here’s the soap. Wash and then go and brush your teeth.”

Timmy did as he was told, and even though he was still a little bit scared, he felt good too. His mommy told him he was too little to have a shower all by himself. But he smiled when the man said that he was doing a good job.

He got out of the shower and let the man dry him off and he got into some clothes that looked like what they wore in those kung fu shows that daddy used to like to watch. They were grey and ugly, and the material was not very nice, but his pyjamas were gone.

They were soon on their way to breakfast. Timmy was really hungry now and he was looking forward to some food. For the moment, he forgot all about mommy and Benny and his hand snuck up into Ted’s hand. Ted looked down and ruffled his hair. Timmy smiled and hoped that the other men wouldn’t come back. He liked Ted.

They went into a really big room with a big mirror on one side. Timmy sat at the table and there was a bowl of stuff in front of him. He looked at the bowl and then up at Ted. Timmy was hungry, but he wasn’t THAT hungry. He moved his spoon around in the gloopy mess.

“It's good for you.” Ted said.

When mommy said that things were good for you, what she really meant was that it tasted yucky. He spooned some of it into his mouth and scrunched up his face. It was yucky alright. His tummy was telling him that it didn’t matter that it was yucky, but his tongue was telling him to spit it out.


“Eat it son.”

Timmy swung around to see the nasty Doctor from yesterday. Timmy was scared of this Doctor and so he did what he was told.

By the time he was finished, he thought he was going to be sick, but the doctor watched him until every spoonful was gone.


Timmy did all kinds of tests and puzzles and he was so busy he almost forgot where he was. The doctor seemed very excited by some of the things that Timmy did, and he yelled at him sometimes too. Timmy tried his hardest and by the end of the day he was really tired.

Timmy was too tired to care anymore, and Dr Raines was telling him that he needed to do better. But he had had enough. He was tired and he was hungry and his clothes were scratchy and he hadn’t been allowed to play all day long. He wanted to talk to his mommy and he wanted to go home.

“When can I see my mommy? When can I go home?”

“You are home Timmy.” Dr Raines looked down and stroked Timmy’s tear-stained face. “Your mommy sent you here because you are special. She gave you to me so I can mould you to reach your full potential.”

Timmy didn’t like it when the doctor touched him. It gave him creepy feelings. But when the doctor touched him this time, Timmy closed his eyes and felt hate wash through him. Hate for somebody named Sydney. Timmy knew all about hate. He knew that his daddy hated his mommy now, and that had something to do with Benny somehow.

Timmy looked up at the Doctor, he never had such strong feelings before, not even from Benny. He was really scared and he got up and ran to the door. But Ted was there and scooped him up before he could get through it. He felt safer in with Ted, Ted didn’t have all kinds of bad feelings.

“What do you want me to do with him Dr Raines?”

“Take him back to his space. We are done for today.”

Timmy didn’t think he would be happy to be locked back in that tiny horrible room, but he was so happy to be away from that doctor and all the bad feelings that he had.

He didn’t know what time it was, but it felt like it was past his bed-time. He hated not knowing if it was day-time or night-time. He was hungry again, but he curled up on the cot and fell asleep and dreamed of birthday cake and spaghetti.

Timmy Pt 6

Timmy looked up at Ted as he opened the door. He got up and ran to him, throwing his arms around Ted’s legs.

“What’s up little man?” Ted asked gently. He crouched down and held Timmy’s tear-streaked face in his hands.

“I want to go home, I want my mommy.”

Ted heaved in a sigh. “I know kid, but we talked about this yesterday. It’s best that you do what Dr Raines says, and you have gotta stop these tears. I thought we made a deal yesterday. You said you were going to be a brave boy for me.” Ted stood up. He hated to see the poor kid this upset.

“I know” Timmy sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve.

“Then what's wrong?”

“I think today is my birthday,” he wailed through a fresh set of tears. He had been counting the number of sleeps he had had, and even though he couldn’t tell anymore if it was daytime or night-time, he thought that today might be his birthday.

“I’m not a little kid anymore, I’m five.” Timmy said proudly, holding up five fingers to show Ted.

Ted got down on his knees and pulled Timmy tightly to him. “You poor little bugger.”

Timmy wrapped his arms tightly around Ted. He was the only person here that Timmy liked. He was really scared of everyone else. But he knew that Ted was trying to help him. Timmy had never had a grown-up friend before and he knew that his mommy would not like it.

“You have to listen to me Timmy, and listen good. Can you do that?” he pushed Timmy away and tilted his head up so that he could look into his eyes.

Timmy nodded. He didn’t want to upset Ted, he didn’t want Ted to go away.

Ted got out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes and nose. “Now Timmy, you have to do what Dr Raines tells you. I know it is going to be hard sometimes, but you have to try and do your best okay?”

“I don’t like him. He makes me scared” Timmy whispered.

“He scares me too” Ted whispered back.

“Really?” Timmy asked. He couldn’t believe that Ted would be scared of anything. “But he doesn’t make you do things all the whole long day.”

“C’mon kid, time to get you ready for the day.” Ted stood up and smiled. “Happy birthday Timmy.”

“Mom was going to make me a special dinner,” Timmy said as they started down the long dark hallways to the showers. “I don’t like the yucky stuff here. I wish I could have some of mom’s dinner. Do you know she is the best cook in the whole-wide world?”

When they got to the big room that Ted called a sim lab, Timmy sat down in his chair and looked at his breakfast. He was always hungry now, but there was only the yucky green stuff. He put his spoon in it and ate it slowly while Ted watched.

“You don’t like it here” Timmy said as he spooned his breakfast into his mouth.

“How do you know that kid?” Ted looked up sharply.

“I can feel it” But all of a sudden he was scared. He knew he wasn’t supposed to tell people about that. Especially strangers. “Please don’t tell on me. Mom says I am not allowed to talk about it. Mom says that people will think I am crazy and lock me away if I tell.”

Timmy’s eyes opened as wide as saucers. “But I didn’t tell the lady anything, I promise I didn’t.” He was trying to think real hard about what he had told the horrible lady at his pre-school that day. That was the day that they had come for him. That was the day that they had taken him away from Benny.

“Tell her what Timmy” Dr Raines walked in the room. “It is very important to tell the truth Timmy. I will not tolerate your lying, and I will not tolerate your hiding things from me.” Raines moved closer over to Timmy, stroking his hair.

Timmy started to cry again. He got nasty feelings from the doctor. But he was scared and he didn’t want to get into trouble.

“Sometimes I can feel things” he whispered.

“Feel things? Like what?” Raines eyes were glittering with excitement.

“I don’t know, just things.” Timmy just wanted the doctor to go away. “Sometimes I know when Benny is having a bad dream. And I know that Jarod has really bad dreams.”

Raines hissed in a breath. “What do you know about Jarod?” He grabbed Timmy's arm, hauling him to his feet. “How do you know about Jarod?’

“I don’t know.”

Raines shook him harshly. “You better tell me the truth, and tell me right now. What do you know about Jarod? Who has been talking to you?”

“Nobody talks to me” he sniffed. Timmy was so lonely and he couldn’t understand why the doctor would think that people had been talking to him. he was stuck here all day and then at sleep-time he was locked in his little room.

“Jarod has bad dreams like Benny did. Sometimes I can feel him. He misses his mom and dad too.”

“You can read his mind?”

Timmy could feel the doctor now too. But they weren’t scary feelings now. The doctor was really happy and excited.

Timmy shook his head. He wished he could read minds so he would know what to say so that he wouldn’t get into any more trouble.

Raines got up and dragged Timmy out of the room. He hadn’t even finished his breakfast yet. He thought he was being sent back to his room, but he was dragged to the elevators. Since he had been here, Timmy had not been allowed to go off this floor. It scared him sometimes to think that he was under the world. He was scared that maybe the world wasn’t even there anymore. Had his mom come and looked for him? Would she be able to find him all the way down here? He wanted to see the sun. It was always dark down here. And cold.

But the little lights on the elevator stopped at SL-24. Timmy knew that that was still far down for him to be able to see the sun. The doctor pulled him out of the elevator, grabbing his sore arm. Timmy had to run to keep up. He didn’t know where they were going but he was happy that he didn’t have to do all the really hard things that he had to do yesterday.

Timmy was pulled into a tiny little room with a window that took up the whole wall. The doctor made him sit in a chair that was facing the window. Timmy was all excited because he thought maybe he was going to get a look outside after all. Maybe Ted had been telling him fibs when he said that they were under the world. He didn’t think that Ted would lie to him and this made him upset because he liked Ted.

The doctor pressed a button and the window lit up. But it wasn’t a window like normal windows. Timmy looked at it confused. It was kinda stupid to have a window inside that just looked into the next room. He watched as a man walked around the room.

“Sydney” he said to Dr Raines. Timmy could feel the hate coming off of him in waves.

“How do you know that?” he looked at Timmy sharply.

“You don’t like him, you think that you should be him.” Timmy knew that that wasn’t really what the doctor felt, but he didn’t know how else to say it.

Timmy watched the window as a young boy was led in. He watched him as he talked to the man.

“Who is that?” Raines asked.

“I don’t know.” Timmy said. He had not seen the boy before and he wondered if the boy was the same as him. He wished he was allowed to talk to him.

“How can you not know? Are you trying hard enough? Concentrate” he ordered.

Timmy watched the boy but he wasn’t getting any feelings from him. He screwed his eyes tightly closed and tried really really hard. But it wasn’t working.

“It doesn’t work all of the time. Only sometimes, and mostly only with Benny.”

The doctor looked at him for a long long time and Timmy thought that he had that same look that mommy got sometimes when she was trying to decide something that was really hard.

“Come with me Timmy, we are going to Renewal Wing. We are going to turn you into the best Pretender The Centre has ever seen.” He reached down and stroked Timmy's face lovingly. Looking through the window at the boy and Sydney, Raines turned to Timmy again with a big smile on his face.

Timmy didn’t like the smile, it made him feel like he was going to be eaten for dinner. He didn’t know what a wing was that was new, or what he was supposed to do there, but he was scared of it.

“I am going to help you reach your full potential son. Your’s and mine.”

a/n: Thanks to Onisius who was an enormous help on this journey. Thanks to all who read and reviewed and I am sorry this chapter took so long.

Timmy Pt 7


Timmy had tried really really hard to do what the doctor wanted. His mommy had always said that he was a good boy and he tried to do as he was told. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not make Dr Raines happy.

Timmy did not like it in the New Wing. There was a nurse there and she was not a nice lady and stuck him with lots of needles. Sometimes they made him feel sick, but sometimes they made him feel all funny and excited. One time he thought Benny was here, standing right in front of him, but when Timmy reached out to hug him, he disappeared.

He was there for a very long time and he did not get to see Ted anymore. He tried to do everything that they told him but Dr Raines got upset with him no matter how hard he tried.

Timmy had tried to tell the Doctor that he couldn’t make it work just when he wanted. Sometimes he felt things and sometimes he didn’t. And now he was so tired and so scared, it was hardly working at all. But what scared Timmy the most, was that he could hardly remember what it felt like to fell Benny anymore. Sometimes his head was so full of Jarod that he even forgot what Benny looked like. He knew now that the boy he had seen was Jarod and that Jarod was special like Timmy was.

He also knew that there were other kids here. He sometimes could feel them when he slept, and all of them had bad dreams. Timmy was getting scared now to go to sleep because he was having really bad dreams too.

Everyday, Dr Raines was getting more and more upset with him. He grabbed him by the arm and started to take him away from the New Wing. Timmy was secretly glad that he was leaving this place, he did not like it at all and the nurse was really mean. Dr Raines was talking to himself and Timmy knew that even grownups did that sometimes, especially when they were angry.

Dr Raines opened a door and they walked into a big room. Timmy thought he heard something in the room, but he couldn’t see anyone. The doctor stopped pulling on his arm and turned Timmy around to face him.

“I want more cooperation from you next time.” he told Timmy.

“When can I go home Dr Raines?” Timmy asked for the hundredth time.

“In good time Timmy.”

Timmy knew he would get in trouble, but he couldn’t help it and he started to cry again. He saw Dr Raines look up as if he had heard or seen something and Timmy looked around, trying to see if someone was there, but before he could see anyone, the doctor grabbed his arm and pulled him away again.

Timmy had figured out that he should not to try and answer back to Dr Raines so he just tried to keep up with him.

When they got back to his room, the doctor opened the door and pushed him inside, Timmy saw a chair. His bed was gone. He was scared of the chair, it had wires coming from it. It looked a little bit like the chair that Benny sat it when mommy was feeding him. Timmy wanted to tell the doctor that he wasn’t a baby anymore and he could eat like grown ups, at the table.

“Timmy sit down, I am going to help you now.” Dr Raines took him to the chair and made him sit in it.

Timmy knew that bad things were going to happen and he was scared. When the Doctor looked up and left the room, Timmy crawled over to the corner and huddled there. He didn’t want to sit in that chair. He wanted to go home. A minute later the doctor came back in and pulled him to his feet, dragging him outside.

There was a lady waiting outside. This lady was different from any other lady that Timmy had ever met. There were lots of feelings that he was getting from her, but the really funny thing was that he could understand them. She was very pretty but she was also scared and she was very sad. When Timmy looked at her, he knew that she was a nice lady and that she wanted to help him. She was going to try and get him away from this horrible place.

When she knelt down, Timmy looked into her beautiful blue eyes. He could almost read her thoughts. Even with Benny, it had not been this easy to understand what all the feelings meant. He could feel her love for her daughter and the sadness over him and Jarod. She had already save some other children and now she was going to help him.

“Hi Timmy, my name is Catherine. How you doing?”

“I miss my mom and dad.”

“Ohh, I know you do honey.”

“Come on Timmy.” Dr Raines pulled him back into the room.

Timmy didn’t want to go back into that room. He wanted to go with the lady. He wanted to go home with Catherine.

“Timmy, get in that chair now.” Dr Raines pulled him into the chair and tied his hands down with the straps that Timmy saw hanging from the chair.

The doctor was very upset with the lady and Timmy was hoping that she would come in and save him. He tried really hard to get out from the chair but the doctor had tied him in very tightly to the chair. He started to cry again.

Dr Raines moved over towards Timmy and placed a strap around his head, holding it tightly to the chair. “Be still Timmy and this won't hurt at all. Timmy, you are going to thank me for this one day, I am going to make you the best pretender they have ever seen. This brainwave manipulation is going to make you into the best project, the best asset anyone has ever had. This is going to guarantee our future.”

Timmy tried to back away as the doctor touched his face. He started to cry again, scared by the look in his eyes. He wished that the lady would come back. He wished that Ted was here. He wished that he was back home with his mommy and Benny and that his daddy was still there.

Timmy watched the doctor walk over to some buttons and when he pressed Timmy screamed and screamed as he felt like he was on fire. He tried so hard to move away from it, but the straps were too tight. It seemed to go on forever and ever and when it finally stopped he was crying like a little baby.

When Dr Raines came and helped Timmy out of the straps, his hand touched Timmy and he jumped back as a whole bunch of images ran through his head.

“What is it Timmy, what do you feel?” Raines asked eagerly.

“I d-d-don’t know.” Timmy sobbed, scared by all the things he had seen. He did not understand any of them.

“It’s working.” Raines gloated, and started to drag Timmy back to the New Wing for more tests. He tried so hard to fight be he was too tired and he hurt all over.

By the end of the next day, Timmy was so scared of all the things that he could see in his mind and the pain of all the things that Dr Raines was doing to him that he decided he would run away and hide. He found a tiny dark corner in his mind and locked himself in there. Huddling as small as he could, like Benny sometimes did under the bed when he was scared, he whispered to himself over and over again that there was no more Timmy, that way the doctor would leave him alone. Before he hid himself away forever, he cried to himself, “Timmy’s gone.” He looked out and saw that the lady was back, but he couldn’t talk to her anymore.

“Timmy.” she sobbed, “Raines, what are you going to do with Timmy now?” she cried.

“There is no Timmy anymore. From now on he is to be called Angelo.”


The End


“You were special Timmy”