Back at the Steers' house, Ari appeared in Albert's room. Xavier and Mrs. Steers followed.
"I'll call for Dr. Teeters," said Xavier as
Ari put the semi-conscious Albert on the bed.
Mrs. Steers ran over to his side.
Xavier scribbled a note and sent it via the message
incantation. Moments later, Dr. Teeters
arrived with her medical bag in hand.
"What happened?" Dr. Teeters quickly opened her bag and pulled out a pair of scissors to cut open the sweater. Xavier explained, while Mrs. Steers cried.
In the front parlor, Emily came to. "What happened?"
Pulling herself together, Rose said. "You passed out. Sam is fine. We found him in the backyard. Looks like he
fell off the back porch and knocked himself out."
In the back parlor, Trenda heard the conversation. Sam was quiet and sat perfectly still. Ari snuck into the back parlor via the kitchen. He carried a bottle of brandy and a small glass. Ari poured a small amount into the glass and gave it to Sam. "Drink a little."
Sam struggled to swallow it.
Ari took the glass and poured in liquid from a small vile he had pulled from his pocket. "Drink this."
Sam sat straight up. His eyes wide. The aches and pains vanished instantly.
"What was that?" said Sam before lapsing
back into the chair.
Ari smiled. "A cure."
Meanwhile, Emily was still drunk from being drugged. Emily shook her head, trying to come to.
Rose was talking to her. "Well, we ummm... we found him laying out in the back yard. He'll be fine." She was confused by Rose's story.
"What?" Groggy, Emily slumped over.
"I'll be right back," said Rose, reassuring
Emily that everything was fine. Opening
the sliding door into the back parlor, Rose looked at Sam.
"Sam, are you alright?" Rose
got down on her knees and hugged him.
"I think he's in a little shock," said
Trenda. "This isn't good. This isn't good at all."
"William, why don't you pretend to be a doctor
and talk with Emily?" said Rose.
"Ari and I will take care of Sam." Trenda went into the front parlor, closing
the door tightly.
Sam stared into space. Rose shook him a little. "Sam?
Sam?"
Finally, Sam looked at her and started crying. Rose hugged him tightly. Sam wrapped his arms around her, pushing his
face into her shoulder.
"Sam, listen to me. You will be fine. This deed will not go unpunished. The Doctor is a madman. We are here to protect you. You were tricked." Rose repeated this over several times.
Sam sat back and looked at her. "So that's Dr. Herkeimer... Wait, my Mom." Sam jumped up from the chair. "They've got my Mom."
"No. No, they don't. She's fine.
She's in the front parlor waiting for you." Rose realized immediately what had happened. She thought Damn you Dreda. I know you were behind that.
Rose hugged Sam again. "Listen to me, Sam. You've got to help us. Your Mom mustn't know about any of this."
Sam started to argue. "But..."
"Sam, you must believe me. We are here for you. You are protected by
us." Their eyes meet. "Ari.
Xavier. Mrs. Steers. Albert. The entire club. You are our youngest member. We need you."
Sam sat back.
Rose smiled. "I'm going to
ask you to do something you may not like.
You have to go along with the white lie to protect the entire club. Your Mom thinks you fell off the back porch
and knocked yourself out. Trenda is
pretending to be a doctor. Got it?"
Sam looked up at Ari, who nodded and smiled. "You've got so much to learn. Don't give up on us now. The Doctor roughed you up. His turn will come."
Sam turned back to Rose and whispered. "Okay."
"Great," she whispered. "Let's show your Mom that you're fine."
In the front parlor, Emily gave out a huge sigh of
relief when she saw Sam.
Sam went over to her.
"Mom, it was an accident. I was messing around on the back porch.
Mrs. Steers went out there and I followed her. She came back in. I stayed and
was looking around and didn’t know about the loose board. I fell off the porch."
Emily believed the lie. Sam hated himself for lying
but he knew it would be better than the truth. His Mom wouldn’t understand. He
had to keep his secrets, at least for now.
"Where is Mrs. Steers?" said Emily.
"Oh, she's laying down upstairs taking a
nap," said Trenda. "I gave her
some aspirin. She was overwhelmed by the
shock of Sam getting hurt."
Rose gave him a surprised look. Trenda shrugged his shoulders. Emily didn't notice.
"Come on Mom, let's go upstairs. I want to take a nap." Sam grabbed his Mom's hand.
Emily turned to Rose and Trenda. "Thank you both. I'm sorry I passed out. I don't think I've ever done that."
"No problem." Rose ushered them to the front door. Emily and Sam walked up the outside steps to
their apartment.
"Sorry, I gave you a scare." At the top step, Sam gave his Mom a big hug.
"I just panicked for some reason."
Sam headed to his room but stopped in the doorway. "Mom, I think
maybe we should move."
"Why? I
thought you loved it here. Mrs.
Steers. Her library. You two seem to get along."
Sam looked at her.
"Those people down there are her family. I think they might be staying with her
now. So, she won't be alone."
"Oh. I'll think about it and see
what's out there. But mind you, the rent
is really good here."
Sam understood and closed his bedroom door. Stretched out on his bed, he got lost in
thought.
I'm never lying to my Mom again. Next time, the police will be involved. There's something going on that I don't want
to be a part of. This Dr. Herkeimer...
Sam started crying again into his pillow so his Mom
wouldn't hear. The thought of the
Doctor scared him. The aches and pains
were gone, but not the memories of the horrible experience. Being thrown to the
floor, tied up, threatened, slapped.
Sam had never experienced anything like it. Sam wondered if he would be safe from now on.
Every time he closed his eyes, he could see the Doctor
hovering over him. Yelling down at
him. Screaming about the books.
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