Jack forced himself into action, dragging himself from the locker. His limbs were stiff from having to stay so still for a long time, but not as achy as he’d perhaps expected - just a few joint clicks here and there. He rearranged the locker contents so it wasn’t as obvious that he had been there, and then his eyes came to rest upon the oversized inhaler…

It was one of the blue ones he knew was a ‘reliever’ – to be used in the event of shortness of breath. He’d met a boy with asthma many years back, on holiday at some lakeside place up-country. The kid had had a much smaller version, which he’d used a couple of times after they’d been running during some of the more sporty activities.

Jack was staggered that someone as athletic as Caitlin could possibly need an inhaler, but that was obviously part of the mystery. It was obvious she was hiding its existence from everyone, and Alex was in a position to cover up for her, much like she was shielding him from Caitlin.

He swung the locker door to, leaving it as it was, and paced swiftly through the school. The building was verging on empty by now, and he would easily be able to hear any Alphas approaching by just their footsteps. He was still wary, but it wasn’t anything like as nerve-shredding as during the school day proper. He just had to stay calm, exit the building quietly, and get home as quickly as possible. It was a little blurry without his glasses, but he could see well enough to get by.

It took about 5 minutes to traverse the giant hallways, avoiding an Alpha janitor and a couple of students milling around, and head out via the less-conspicuous side entrance. A further 5 later, and he was well past the school environs and on the path home.  Conscious he was still easily visible from the road, as soon as the carriageway opened out into suburbia, Jack abandoned the sidewalk and stalked between the trees and foliage, to shake any latent paranoia that he was being followed somehow, just in case.

After about half a mile hugging bushes and flowerbeds, Jack came to a rest next to a birch tree and leant against it, pulling out his phone to check the time and take stock of things.

4:48PM – still plenty of time to get home – he could take a moment to compose himself.

The overriding emotion he felt was relief. Thoughts of Alex were starting to pile up inside his head, analysing how she had acted, how she had asked him to trust her.

He’d seen how she’d used the closeness of her friendship with Caitlin and Hannah to manipulate the situation expertly to keep him out harm’s way, but what he didn’t understand was why. Was this really the same girl who’d gotten satisfaction from crushing his pen flat?

Penny had been missing today, for whatever reason, and in her absence he had been forced to take risks, and it had very nearly resulted in disaster. He had been very unfortunate to fall practically gift-wrapped into Hannah’s clutches right on the verge of leaving school, but equally lucky in that someone else had stepped up in Penny’s absence and gotten him out of harm’s way.

He missed Penny, in all manner of ways, but his heart beat more strongly when he thought that Alex too was capable of kindness; another Alpha who, seemingly, gave a shit about him.

Sliding down against the tree trunk until he ended up sat on the grass, he felt overwhelmed.

It made him sick to think he was still so vulnerable to abduction; staying away from school, no matter how difficult it would be to facilitate, was looking more and more like the only real solution. His own feelings towards getting in contact with the authorities were also shifting, from the intimidating prognosis that Caitlin’s father would pull all the strings, to more of a ‘nothing to lose’ mentality. He felt it was rapidly reaching a point where he might have no choice but to take things to the next level, no matter where it might lead.

The girl had abused him, and was apparently looking to do so again. The more evidence he could collect, whether a voice-recording, some photos, or even someone like Alex’s testimony, if she was willing to give it, would make it increasingly difficult for a cover-up to occur. He knew people could be silenced, and he would be risking more than just his own skin if he took things down that path… but the efforts of those involved encouraged him to at the very least consider taking steps towards framing or outing Caitlin, or creating a body of evidence to disprove any counterclaims she might make.

To Jack, Caitlin was this all-powerful, vindictive giant, but in the wider world that she belonged to, she was still a teenage girl… well-built, imposing, a bully… but still someone’s child, a person with a lot to lose… and he needed to remember that.

The phone resting in his hand slowly began to burn its way into his brain - he really needed to relay to Delon that he was ok.

He brought up his friend’s contact details, and pressed the number to call him immediately.

The phone rang a few times before Delon eventually picked up.

“Hey… Jack?!” he said anxiously.

“It’s me… I’m fine, I’m good… walking home right now,” Jack explained.

“Oh thank fuuuck,” Delon breathed, a rush of air buffeting the receiver.

“Just get home as soon as possible man, did Alex come back in the end?”

Jack paused, “Sort of, yeah…”

He briefly explained what had happened, eager to highlight not only that Alex had come through in a tight spot, but also Caitlin’s ‘secret’.

Delon, as always, listened intently and was, in his own way, supportive, albeit without having much to say.

“I’m just really happy you’re ok, dude,” he said finally, “Just get yourself home, and I’ll chat to you online.”

As Jack was about to say a rushed goodbye, he remembered something important.

“I’m having second thoughts about talking to the cops, D,” he admitted, his voice suddenly cracking with emotion. As Delon paused, Jack stifled a fresh set of tears, covering his mouth and nose with his hands to try and prevent his friend from hearing.

“I get it…” Delon said finally, “I mean, I know it’ll create a whole new set of problems but you can’t go on like this… we can’t watch over you every moment of the school day…” he added.

“I know…” Jack replied, sniffing slightly, “I’m… not going to do anything just yet, but I have to figure out what to do… tell my parents, tell the school… but even if I do, it doesn’t mean my chances of being kidnapped will stop… you know…”

Delon made a thoughtful ‘mmm’ noise, he knew exactly what Jack was saying. If he could hear that his friend was fighting back the tears, he didn’t make any mention of it, but there was a gentleness to his tone that suggested he could sense Jack’s emotional state.

“It might make her think twice though,’ Delon soothed, “It would also mean she’s on their radar and if she tried anything, people would be on the lookout.”

“I suppose,” Jack said, wiping his eyes, “I need to think about it, my mind’s a mess…”

“It’s understandable, man,” Delon said, “You’ve been through a lot, again…”

“I miss Penny…” Jack’s words leaked out before he could think. He’d not told Delon about the kiss they had shared, but he knew his friend was aware, at least vaguely, of the closeness of the relationship he had forged with the tall Alpha girl in such a short time.

“I’m sure she just had something come up,” he reassured with conviction, possibly for his friend’s sake, “I bet she’ll be in school tomorrow.”

“I… I might not go in…” Jack admitted hesitantly.

“Oh…” Delon paused, “I guess I don’t blame you, will your parents go for it?”

“Unlikely,” he sighed, “But right now I can’t face going back…”

Not without Penny. That was what he meant. If she wasn’t there again, he wasn’t sure he could cope.

“I understand,” Delon said quietly. “Look, just get home, have a think, I’m always on the other end of the phone, or messenger.”

“Cheers, Delon,” Jack said quietly, drying his eyes with the back of his sleeve.

“Be safe, dude,” and then, with a click, his best friend was gone.

Jack put his phone in his pocket, and with a familiar feeling of hopelessness, began the final leg of his journey home.

Fortunately, it was an empty house that greeted him, and he could afford himself a little ‘me time’ by fixing himself something quick and hot to eat; instant soup and some bread and butter. His appetite was still poor, but having skipped lunch, his body was crying out for even this meagre consolation.

He stirred the contents of the mug with a spoon cheerlessly and stared straight ahead, uncertain of how to proceed. This latest brush with danger had been averted, and he would not be trying to escape school at ‘rush hour’ ever again, but coping with the perils of school was not the only thing on his mind.

Penny’s kiss had been supplanted as the dominant feature of the last 24h… and yet her absence left a hole in his heart that was just as painful, if not more so than his near-miss abduction.

Taking his phone out again, he brought up their messenger feed in the app. Staring at the blank text box, he yet again felt hollow, like if she had not contacted him then it was pointless to contact her, even to express his concerns and convey his great worry over her wellbeing.

He toyed with what he could even say that would express how he felt, and then the screen timed out and faded to black, revealing his own morose expression staring back at him in the reflection.

The rest of the evening came and went in a bit of a haze. Time seemed to pass him by and his parents were, yet again, too involved in their own lives and the general hubbub of work, dinner, tv, etc to really notice anything untoward, or suspect anything other than Jack being in one of his quieter, more insular moods.

He went back to his room under the pretence of ‘revision’ but found himself staring into space once more, unable to figure out either a plan of action for getting himself out of school in the morning, or for notifying the authorities of his predicament. He knew he needed to do something, but no matter how hard he tried, his brain was just unable to move forward, like it was stuck between two gears, unable to function properly.

He felt a wave of anger and frustration rise up within him, and punched a pillow in silent agony, on the verge of tears. He couldn’t outsmart all of this, it was just too much to bear.

Beleaguered and upset, he curled up into a ball and held his face in his hands.

Jack was woken by his mother.

The sky outside was still dark, his bleary eyes slowly focused on his bedside alarm clock.

5.47am.

“What’s going on…?” he asked, half-asleep.

“Jackie, it’s about Grandad,” his mum said, her face looked grave.

He realised she was fully dressed, shoes on and everything.

“He’s… well, there’s been a… complication,” she tried to explain, falteringly.

“Is he ok?” Jack asked right away, sitting upright and forcing himself to pay attention.

“For now,” she said, pausing, “He’s stable, but things could deteriorate quickly…”

“Are you going to the Hospital?” Jack asked, interjecting without meaning to be rude.

“Yes,” she sighed, “Your Dad and I feel it’s best, just in case…”

His mother’s eyes began to fill with tears.

In that instant, Jack’s focus completely snapped to his family.

His Grandfather, his mum’s dad, was his only surviving grandparent. A fiercely proud man from a generation that largely predated the sweeping socio-economic changes GH-X2 would wreak, he had been quite influential in Jack’s life growing up, and someone he had looked up to.

“I’m coming too,” he said firmly.

“I think that would be best…” his mother agreed, wiping her eyes, “Just in case… you know.”

“He’ll be just fine,” Jack insisted, trying to be the strong one, placing his hand atop his mother’s, “He’ll be fine.”

The cold air outside was crisp as he followed his Dad to the car. Bundled up in a jacket, he sat in the back seat as his Mum locked the house behind them, all around was still and dark and quiet.

The engine fired up and soon they were cocooned together, unsure of what to say to one another as the sodium streetlights whipped past overhead.

After a few minutes he saw his mother slump down in her seat, sobbing, and his father reached across to comfort her.

“It’ll be alright, Alison,” he said quietly.

Jack reached his hand forward to try and comfort her too, resting it on her shoulder.

It took about 20 minutes to reach the hospital. Traffic was dead, so parking was straight-forward enough, despite the ever-dwindling size of the Beta lot. The walk to the ward was, again, mostly silent, the occasional glance or comforting word aside. Both Jack and his Dad were focused on keeping his Mum together, as the situation was threatening to overwhelm her.

At the front desk, the tiny family were confronted with the sheer scale of a public building designed for Alphas. There was a makeshift reception step ladder that his Dad ascended to attract attention, and after catching the eye of an on-duty nurse, the Alpha woman was able to escort them to his Grandad’s bed.

As his parents spoke at length to the lady, who stooped down to hear them and held a couple of oversize doors as they passed through, Jack couldn’t help but marvel at the way everything had been designed to suit both scales.

Every set of swing doors had a half-scale swing-door inbuilt, and one side room he saw contained a single Alpha bed, whereas the one next to it contained 4 Beta ones with partitions. Clearly the staff were mostly Alpha-sized, but he did catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a Beta doctor scurrying down the end of one of the corridors.

Eventually, they reached a ward that was filled with Beta-size beds with partitions between them, and the giant nurse gently slid back a curtain to reveal a frail old man surrounded by several pieces of medical equipment.

“We’ve put him under, and we’re monitoring the situation,” the lady explained, getting down to her knees and gingerly inspecting the notes to verify he was still stable.

Jack’s mother escaped her husband’s grasp and went straight to her father’s side, gripping his hand in hers as the nurse looked on sympathetically.

“We’re hoping that he’ll pull through relatively quickly,” she explained, “But there is of course a small risk that he might not respond to the treatment.”

“I understand,” his mother said, not taking her eyes off her father, “Thank you for letting us see him on such short notice.”

The nurse pressed her lips together, acknowledging her words, and began to stand up.

“I’ll let you have some time together, let me know if you need anything,” she offered, before taking her leave.

Jack’s father scratched the back of his head, fighting the tiredness they were all contending with, but he too wore an anxious, scared expression.

Jack daren’t ask about the severity of his grandfather’s condition, but he understood the gravity of the situation.

Walking up to his mother, she turned to him and gave him a sad smile, one of concern, but also of affection for her son.

“He’s a fighter,” she said quietly, letting go of her father’s hand and gently embracing her boy.

“And you’re right,” she added, “He’ll get through this, I just know it.”

She went back over to Jack’s dad, who wrapped his arms around her, and Jack was suddenly acutely aware of the slender, fragile human fighting for his life in the bed before him.

It was so strange to see him like this. Even as he got older, Jack’s Grandad had kept himself fit and able, always going for long walks, even after his dog had passed away, and keeping his mind active with puzzles and reading.

To see him so… helpless… was difficult to process. Unable to speak, just breathing down a tube, it was artificial-feeling, uncomfortable… scary.

He had no idea what to do, whether to say anything or hold his grandfather’s hand as his Mum had done, so he stood there awkwardly for a while, as if paying his respects before going back over to his parents.

His Dad had fetched a chair and was in the process of finding another, so Jack made sure his mother was sat down, to which she responded by fishing in her bag for some tissues to fix her running mascara.

“Thank you for coming, Jackie,” she said, “I’m sorry about all this, especially with your exams and everything… it couldn’t have come at a worse time.”

“It’s ok, Mum,” he replied, shrugging as if to say it was nothing, “I’ve not been to see Grandad since he went in, I should have visited…”

“Well you’re here now,” she said firmly, “We’re all here now, and that’s all that matters,” giving him a look that forgave everything.

His Dad reappeared with another chair, and Jack gestured that he should sit and Jack himself would stand.

“You ok, son?” his Dad asked, before sitting down.

“I’m ok,” he replied.

“Did you forget your glasses?” his Dad asked, tracing the outline of a two circles on his own face.

Jack hadn’t even realised. In the rush to get to the hospital it hadn’t crossed his mind, but it dawned on him that the blurriness was not just down to being sleepy.

“Yeah,” he nodded sagely, not wanting to admit that they were probably lost or broken in the scuffle at the school entrance.

“It’s understandable,” his father said sympathetically. “Just make sure you grab them next time.”

They stayed for about an hour, as the sun started to rise up, and Jack’s focus began to wander as the prospect of school started to reappear.

The Nurse popped back to check on them, and his grandfather, and was pleased to see that his vital signs were improving, albeit only slightly.

His Mum was reluctant to go anywhere, whilst Jack’s dad wandered off to find a vending machine, so Jack was left alone with her to gather his thoughts.

“I don’t think I can go into work like this,” she said quietly, looking at Jack, “I’m too worried.”

He nodded sagely.

She fished for her phone in her bag, and brought it out.

“Are you going to be ok for school?” she asked, eyeing the time.

He paused.

“I…”

“Look, I know it’s hard at the moment,” she interjected, “And lord knows you need to be in there getting everything up to scratch for the final push… but are you going to be able to concentrate today?”

He looked back at her blankly. He daren’t manipulate her like this. Not today. The prospect of using the situation made him feel utterly vile.

She sighed, half-laughing.

“You know, he’d laugh at me for this, you know,” she smiled, gesticulating at her father. “He had no qualifications, barely went to school, played hooky half the time apparently,” she smiled, adding with a wink, “Your great-aunt told me all about it, god rest her.”

Jack smiled back; regardless of the situation, it was nice to talk family for a change.

“And still he pushed us, he did, but he had his moments. He used to get into trouble for taking us out of school before the end of term, to go on holiday and save a few bob. He always told us that hard work was the best way to success, but all work, and no play…”

“Makes Jack a dull boy… I know.”

“Oh god, I’m sorry,” she said, welling up slightly and dabbing at her eyes with what was formerly a tissue, now more of a clump of peeling, papery mush.

“I think we’ve both earned a breather, sometimes life’s too important, you know?”

Jack nodded.

His Dad returned, empty-handed.

“Bloody machine’s broken,” he opined, tone-deaf to the situation at hand.

It was agreed that Jack and his Mum would get a taxi home, whilst Jack’s Dad felt willing and able to go and work.

Jack said his own goodbye to his grandfather after his mother had spent some time by his side, and chose to plant a kiss on his head, and said a couple of quiet words when no-one was listening.

He hoped it would not be the last goodbye, and that he would soon be able to visit a fully-conscious, albeit fully-cantankerous grandparent, but just in case, he felt more at peace having visited.

The taxi ride back home took a bit longer than the journey there, battling through rush-hour as the Beta driver cranked up music of indeterminable origin, and he felt his mother’s head slide onto his shoulder as she drifted off, exhausted by the morning’s drama.

Jack woke her up as they approached the house, the fare ended up being particularly steep, but neither of them felt that it was really worth arguing over given the circumstances.

They paid the driver, and took themselves off to bed once they’d re-entered the premises.

Jack’s head barely touched the pillow before he was quite, quite asleep…