Chapter 2 : The Incident

As always, a mixture of rage and shame took over Alejandro. Remembering how he had been abducted, how easy it had been for Joseph to simply come and snatch him, as if he was himself a snack, or some lost toy on the ground was both infuriating and frightening. This rage was what doctor Smith had seen, burning in his eyes, the savage hatred against all MAJORS which was still smoldering inside him. It had been this fury, kept in check as best it could, that prevented him to truly succumb to MAJOR’s attraction when watching sports programs on the TV, or singers, or whatever jobs MAJORS had.

A smile suddenly crept on his face, lifting his spirits for a time. One of his all-time favorite song, Capitaine Abandonné by Gold, was playing in his head. He couldn’t refrain himself from singing the short part he liked most, in a slow tone, as if he was savoring some secret treasure.

“Ohé, Ohé, capitaine abandonné

Ohé, ohé, met des ailes à ton voilier !

Sonnez, sonnez, les sirènes au vent salé

Sonnez, sonnez la dernière traversée”

It was strange, really. This refrain was bittersweet, and he loved it. Perhaps because all Minors’ lives were bittersweet themselves. They were precious jewels and inferior creatures, beloved pets and derided monkeys all the same. Still, this feeling allowed him to face the Incident proper, to remember once more the night which changed him forever.

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Mere minutes after his abduction, he had been dropped on a wooden surface. Tears blinded him more than the poor light, but he still managed to see the interior of a wooden cabin. As for his kidnapper, his back was turned toward him. Still, he easily recognized him. Joseph Mac Ferlan was watching the street from behind a small window, probably to see if anyone was following him or had seen what he had done.

As for Alejandro, he hoped Joseph wouldn’t see the trail of fallen candies. It had been all he had managed to think off when the greasy and sweaty paw had engulfed his head. To tilt his pumpkin jar and let the overflowing candies fall to the ground. With any luck, someone would pick the trail soon enough. Alaric at least would call their parents very quickly. Search would be had and he was certain that he would be found really soon. Still, the prospect of even one night with Joseph was terrifying to him.

“No one’s coming, good” said the MAJOR in a joyous tone which sent shivers down Alejandro’s back. “So, my little Mejicano…”

“My name’s Alejandro!” screamed the Minor. He immediately regretted interrupting Mac Ferlan when the MAJOR backhanded him. It hadn’t been a strong hit, but it was enough to knock the wind out of the poor Minor kid and make his head ring. Alejandro was pushed against some cold metal, and his tears became even more numerous, if it was possible. The titanic MAJOR approached him and took his head between his thumb and his forefinger to force Alejandro to watch him in the eyes.

“I’ll call you whatever I want, pet. You’re mine. All mine. Just like good old Anna. Look!”

Alejandro didn’t dare resist and turned his head toward the cold metal behind him. There lied the most massive pistol he had ever seen. It was almost as long as he was tall! Alejandro began to sob uncontrollably.

“Don’t cry, pet, she won't hurt you” said Joseph in an amused tone which added to the horror of the scene. “Anna’s always ready to help me protect what’s mine. And you are ! You belong to me now, as it was always meant to be!”

At was at this moment that Alejandro wet himself. When he had looked Joseph Mac Ferlan in the eyes and seen only madness. Even at eight, he had known with absolute certainty. The MAJOR had lost all grips on reality. He didn’t know why. Truth been told, even ten years later, he didn’t knew nor did he care. But even this realization palled compared to what immediately followed.

“Tell it” demanded Joseph. “Tell you’re mine!”

“No… No !” screamed the kid an answer.

“Very well, remember that you who asked for it!” roared Joseph.

The Major changed his grips and engulfed Alejandro’s left arm in his palm. He brought the crying and screaming boy to his eyes. The Minor had assumed that he would be bellowed at, but instead the MAJOR remained silent. Silent but invading in the worst way possible. At that tender age, Alejandro’s mind had been wide open, free for any giant to enter it. And that’s what Mac Ferlan did.  The minor had been able to feel it, and it was horrifying.

It was as if a roiling see of rot was engulfing him. He could feel Joseph’s insanity under his skin, the marrow of his bones, in his brain… It wasn’t the communion between two kindred spirits that his parents had said the bond was. There was no intention to even consider the Minor like a living being. Joseph’s mind saw him as a thing, here for his pleasure and his only. The sensation was simply atrocious, and Alejandro’s begun to puke and convulse, as his body and mind tried to reject this invading corruption.

Three words and he would have been finished. Joseph had been too deep into his subconscious. The kid wouldn’t have been able to resist the bond, it would have left him forever disfigured, scarred at a mental level. It never happened. Just as Joseph opened his mouth to speak, the door of the cabin burst open. There stood Alaric, with a large iron shovel in his hands. Without a word, he charged at Joseph.

Alejandro never knew why Mec Ferlan did it. Was it a reflex? Some will to mark him no matter what? Any other reason his insane mind might have found? In any case, he crushed the kid’s left arm in his hand before letting him fall over “Anna”. The sound had been atrocious, kind of like a twig breaking and a tomato being crushed in the same time. Alejandro wailed like never before nor since. His bones weren’t simply broken, they were reduced to powder; his muscles weren’t strained, they were turned into a pulp, bursting out of his teared skin. The suffering was unimaginable, yet with it came a modicum of respite, something which allowed Alejandro to think. Mac Ferlan had left his mind.

In his state, the Minor saw Alaric charging the older MAJOR and hit him in the head. Alas, the only effect it had was to enrage Joseph even more. He made use of his superior size and strength to get the shovel out of Alaric’s hands and proceeded to try and beat him to death with it. All the while, he screamed incoherent drivel, letting his madness consume him fully.

Alejandro had to do something. That’s what prevented him from losing consciousness. He crawled over “Anna” and tried to position it so that it would aim at Joseph’s head. With only one arm and his legs, it was a feat of strength, but the boy was too lost in fear and concern for his twin to realize it. Finally, after almost a minute, where his poor brother had been screaming and screaming, suffering at the hands of Joseph, Alejandro managed to aim at Mac Ferlan’s head. He pulled the trigger and, mercifully, the blowback was strong enough to break some ribs and finally render him unconscious.

He never saw Joseph Mac Ferlan’s head exploding, his insane brain splattering all over the wall of his cabin…