[HANSON STORIES]

The Gifted Child

Chapter 9 - Will you or won't you?



Daniel leaned his hands onto the table and looked into the monitors set up in Taylor and Mr. Hanson's rooms. He watched Mr. Hanson for a moment. Every now and then his face would twist up like he was having nightmares. Daniel smiled. The drug that had been given to Mr. Hanson would keep him asleep no matter how bad the dreams got.
"Maybe that'll teach you not to defy us," he said coldly.
He then looked over to the monitor showing Taylor. He frowned a little. Taylor was thrashing and tossing and turning. His face was also covered with a look of fear. Daniel stood up straight and crossed his arms over his chest.
"Sheila!"
She looked up from the papers she was going over and looked at him, "Yes Sir?"
"Come over here." She did as she was told and joined him by the monitors.
"Yes Sir?"
He pointed to the screen with Taylor.
"Look at that. What do you think is wrong with him?"
She looked at the monitor and felt her stomach twist. She felt so sorry for the boy. She hid her emotions though.
"He seems to be having a nightmare sir."
He glared at her.
"I can see that. I mean why do you think he is thrashing so much, and not waking up? What's keeping him asleep? Most people would have woke up by now."
"Not neccessarily sir. Sometimes, a person's dream may be so intense that they just can't wake up. In cases like this, the person may be to have someone wake them up. But even then the person may not wake up."
"Then if that doesn't work what should be done?"
"I hate to say it, but the person will only wake up when the dream is over with."
Daniel sighed.
"He is going to wear himself out. I want him to have restful sleep. He'll be of no use to us if he can't display his power. And he can't display his power if he is too tired to concentrate!" He yelled, his voice getting louder with each sentence.
"Sir if you'll just calm down I'm sure he'll be ok. There are drugs that are stong enough to keep a person from dreaming. I could...."
"No! You saw what the drugs did to his father's power. We can't risk that with him. He's much too important to us."
"Sir, if your displeased with the effect the drugs are having on his father, why do you keep making me give them to him?" Sheila asked innocently.
"Because, we can't have him communicating with the boy. The boy is of much more importance. His father's power seems weaker but for all we know it may have already been weak before we drugged him. He's had that power for many years and it could have weakened over time. But the boy. His powers are still young, just like him. He's matured and hopefully so has his power." He gave Sheila a harsh look. "Do you understand what I'm telling you. Do you understand my reasoning?"
"You're saying that the boy is more important to you because of his power. That his power hasn't had time to deteriorate, right?" Sheila asked.
"Exactly." Daniel said with an evil smile.
"But sir, that doesn't explain why you would want to keep Mr. Hanson drugged when it is obviously doing something to his telepathy."
"Sheila, you don't get it do you? The main reason the both of them are here is because of that boy. When we discovered that that boy possessed such a strong and powerful ability we knew we had to have him. When we later found out that his father had telepathy, we knew we could get two for the price of one. Don't you see? Our main focus is on the boy. Sure we want to test his father but his ability has no where near the amount of importance to us as the boy's telekineses. For all we care, you can go ahead and give him a drug that would make him asleep permanently. Then we could focus on the boy and not have to worry about the two communicating secretly and figuring out a way to escape us. But, we do want to test his father, so I guess that is out of the question. And I'm sure you wouldn't want to do such a horrible thing." He said rather sarcastically.
"I should say not sir! That is just horrible! How could you be so cruel?" Sheila said with tears in her eyes. She could not believe what she had just heard. It was bad enough that they had kidnapped them but now they seemed to not care one thing about anything but that stupid power. And she was caught in the middle.
Daniel glared at her and grabbed her shoulders.
"Listen to me Sheila! This is none of your business. I don't know why I even told you. Your job is to give them medication and help with the tests. Other then that, you have no place in anything that takes place. Do you understand?"
By now she was trembling. She knew this man was bad but never thought that he could be this evil.
"Do you understand!?" He then yelled when she did not answer.
"Y...Yes sir."
Daniel felt a hand grab his shoulder. He turned and saw Jacob.
"Let go of her Daniel. Now!"
Daniel let go. Jacob looked at Sheila.
"Go back to what you were doing."
Sheila nodded and did as she was told. Jacob then glared at Daniel.
"Now you listen to me. That boy is very important to us. But his father is very imporatant too. I want both of them taken good care of. So if I find so much as a scratch on one of them because of you, you will be terminated so help me God. Do you understand me?"
"Listen Jake, that man's power has weakened and there is nothing we can do about it so why don't we just forget him and focus on the boy?"
"Because they are both very important to me. And if Mr. Hanson's powers have weakened fine. We'll work with what we've got."
"But Jake there is nothing we can to do make it stronger."
"Oh yes there is. We are going to lower his dosage. He was able to communicate with his son when they first got here. He hasn't been able to since. I'm telling you Daniel it's the drugs. I don't know what you told Sheila to give him but I want the dosage lowered."
"If we lower the dosage it will be easier for him to communicate with his son!"
"Well then let them communicate Daniel! Maybe if they can talk to each other every now and then they will be more cooperative." Jacob yelled.
"But Jake, if they can communicate it puts us in danger." Daniel said with a slight growl to his voice.
"And may I ask you how that puts us in danger Daniel?" Jacob said, annoyance obvious in his voice.
"If that man can communicate to that boy telepathically, he may have his son destroy us all. You saw what he did to that building when he was ten. Think about what he could do now."
"We don't even know yet if his power has gotten stronger Daniel. For all we know it may have gotten weaker."
"No chance." Daniel said. "If those two communicate, we're all in danger."
A scream made the entire room look at the monitors. Taylor sat straight up in his bed gasping for air. Jacob and Daniel walked over to the monitors to get a closer look. Jacob pointed at the fear stricken boy.
"Look at him. Do you honestly think he is in any condition to do any serious damage?"
"There is always a chance Jacob. Always."
Jacob glared at him.
"You know you're right Daniel. There's always a chance for anything. Like for example, the more I look at you right now the more I want to kill you." Daniel looked up at him with wide eyes.
"What?" Daniel said.
Jacob got right in his face.
"You listen to me Daniel! You will not harm that boy or his father. If you do, I'll be doing an experimant on you. Human disection with out pain killers." Daniel's eyes widened. "Now Daniel, anymore thoughts about getting rid of his father?"
"No..No sir."
Jacob smiled.
"Good."
He then looked back to the screen. Taylor was gone. He looked to the monitor above it and saw Taylor standing in the doorway between the bedroom and living area.
"I want to start testing him today. Is the room ready?"
The room answered. "Yes sir."
"Good. Daniel, you go get him. And remember what I told you."
"Yes sir."
With that, Daniel walked out of the room and headed for Taylor's room. Jacob watched as Taylor slumped onto the couch. He was so angry at Daniel. There was no way he would let that man ruin his experiments. If Daniel so much as looked at him wrong he may just have him destroyed on the spot. There was no way this was going to get messed up. No way. Or was there?

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


Taylor screamed sitting straight up. He had just had his worst nightmare yet. He sat gasping for air as tears began to roll down his cheeks. He had no control over the tears as they came faster and faster. He was shaking so bad he was sure it could be measured on a ricter scale. Taylor took a couple of deep breaths to calm his nerves. He closed his eyes trying to regain his composer. After a few moments, the shaking had nearly stopped and the flow of tears had stopped. He pulled his sleeve over his hand and wiped the sweat off of his face. He then opened his eyes and looked around the room. He looked up and saw a surveillance camera. Taylor glared at it and hoped they saw it, though he knew it meant nothing to them. He looked around a again and decided to check the place out. Taylor slowly climbed out of bed and stood on shaky legs. He saw a door next to the bed and walked over to it. He slowly opened the door which felt like it weighed a ton. A bathroom. Taylor closed the door again and turned around as a dizzy spell hit him. He hated feeling this way and knew it was a mix of the drugs he had been given earlier, the nightmare, and the fear deep within him. He slowly walked to the doorway leading into the other room and leaned against it. He stood for a moment and looked around. The room resembled a small living room. There was a couch, a coffee table, an armchair, a TV and a few other little things that made it look like a living room. Taylor let out a sigh and walked over to the couch. He slumped down into it feeling depressed, scared, and lonely. His eyes came to rest on a remote control. He sighed and picked it up. He looked at it for a moment and then sighed again.
"I might as well. There's nothing else to do. Maybe it'll get my mind off of things." He laughed bitterly. "Not likely."
Taylor flicked the TV on anyways. He flipped through the channels only to find that one came in.
"Great." he said sarcastically.
He threw the remote down on the coffee table and leaned back. He looked at the TV trying to lose himself. It just woudn't work though. Nothing coud get his mind off of this horrible place. He looked away from the TV and slumped even lower. He wished he could just disappear in the soft cushions. He hated this place and just wanted to go home. He knew they would start the tests soon and it scared him. Taylor didn't want to do these things but he wasn't sure how to get out of it. He had found out a long time ago that if he defied these people that they would cause him pain. He couldn't take that anymore. Right now though, his biggest fear was that he would lose control again. Taylor had been on an emotional rollercoaster for a while and now he felt like he was about to go over the edge.
"God," he said. "If nothing else, let me stay in control. Please. I don't want to hurt anybody."
Ever since he was ten, that had been his biggest fear. Losing control of his power and seriously hurting somebody.
Taylor looked up when he heard the electric beep of the door. He looked back to the floor. He knew what they wanted. He also knew he wasn't ready.

Daniel opened the door and walked in. He closed the door behind him and made sure it was secure. He then walked through the bedroom and into the living area. He saw Taylor sitting on the couch looking miserable. He looked up to the TV and saw a Bugs Bunny cartoon playing. He walked over to the couch, trying to act as friendly as possible.
"Hi Taylor."
No answer.
"Mind if I sit down?"
Still no reply.
"Ok." He said as he slowly sat down on the arm of the couch. Taylor still made no effort to acknowledge him.
"So Taylor, how do you like the room? Is it comfortable enough?"
Taylor still remained silent. Daniel looked up to the TV.
"Are you unhappy with that television. I'm sorry but we only get one channel here. I could have them bring in a VCR if you like. Would that make you happy?"
Taylor still sat in silence looking at the floor. Daniel sighed.
"What would make you happy Taylor? Hmm? You tell me what will make you happy and I'll see that it gets done. Ok?"
Taylor finally looked at him. "Promise?"
Daniel paused as he wondered what Taylor wanted. "Yes, of course. What is it you want?"
"I want to see my Father."
Daniel cringed. He should have seen that one coming. How could he be so blind?
"I'm sorry Taylor, but I can't do that," Daniel said, trying to sound friendly.
Taylor looked away again.
"Liar," he said.
Taylor had known Daniel wouldn't agree. But he had done it to show Daniel that he wasn't stupid. That he wasn't gonna fall for the sweetness again. He had believed him when he was five, been unsure when he was ten, but now he was certain. This guy was nothing but a cold-hearted liar. He had realised it not long after escaping the last time. He wished he would have seen it sooner. But, he was young. He didn't know any better. This time, however, he wasn't falling for it.
Daniel sighed.
"Listen Taylor, we want you both to be comfortable. I can assure you that your Father is safe. For now."
Taylor looked at him with fear and anger raging through him.
"What do you mean, 'For now'?"
Daniel could tell the boy was scared and he loved it. He knew the boy would cooperate if he thought his father was in danger. He leaned in slightly.
"Taylor, you know how interested we are in this ablility of yours."
Taylor frowned. It was starting already. Daniel went on.
"We have some tests that we would like to run on you. Now, if you give us your full cooperation, and I do mean FULL cooperation, everything will be fine. However, should you choose not to cooperate, well, let's just say some things could start happening."
Taylor gave him a cold, questioning stare.
"You don't want your Father to get hurt now do you Taylor?"
Taylor's anger boiled.
"You leave my Father alone! If you hurt him I'll do something to you!"
The tears were falling once again. They couldn't hurt his father, they just couldn't. He wouldn't let them.
"If I find out you hurt him I swear to God I'll tear this place apart! Do you hear me!?"
"Oh I don't think so Taylor. You see, we've already thought of that. We've had this placed reinforced in more ways than you could imagine. We're not taking any chances this time Taylor. So if I were you I'd do as I was told. You got that?"
Taylor's face fell. He slumped back again. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to make this place a heap of rumble but he couldn't because someone could get hurt. He hated this place and all the people inside of it. Even so, he just couldn't bring himself to hurt them. He never wanted to hurt anyone. Daniel gave him a look.
"So, will you help us with the experiments? Will you give us your full cooperation and show us what you can do?"
Taylor glared at him.
"I'll never help you!" He looked away again.
Daniel sighed and stood up.
"Ok then, I guess we'll just have to punish your father."
Taylor's eyes grew wide.
"Wait!"
Daniel turned around.
"Yes?"
Taylor swallowed hard.
"Punished...how?"
Daniel smiled.
"I guess you'll never know will you?" He gave a small laugh and began to walk away. "Have a nice day Taylor."
Taylor panicked.
"Wait! Danny, come back! Please don't hurt him!"
Daniel came back and looked at him.
"Oh no?" Daniel asked, knowing he had the boy where he wanted him.
Taylor looked at his hands as he rung them nervously. He took a deep breath and looked at Daniel.
"I...I'll do it. Just please don't hurt him."
Daniel smiled.
"Good boy." he said. He motioned for Taylor to follow.
Taylor stood slowly and began to follow Daniel. Daniel placed his hand on Taylor's shoulder.
"I knew you would help us. Just remember to be good. No funny stuff. Your father's saftey depends on it." Daniel said in a friendly yet eerie tone.
Taylor knew there was no turning back now. He had to cooperate with these experiments or they might hurt his father. God only knows what they were making his father do and he didn't want to make it harder for his father. He decided he would do the experiments and nothing more. He wished he could see his father. He still wondered why his father hadn't tried to contact him. What were they doing to him? Was he really safe? Had they already punished him for something? Oh how he just wanted to see his father and go home to his family.
"Dad," he thought. "If you can hear me, I love you. I'm doing this for you. Please answer me. Tell me you're ok. Please dad. Please."

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


Mr. Hanson slowly opened his eyes. He was gasping for air and had sweat running down his face. He had just had a terrible nightmare about Taylor. In the dream, Taylor was forced to do too much and once again lost control of his power. Only this time, the consequences were fatal. Many people were injured and some killed. Taylor had been so upset about what he had done that he became depressed and secluded. Taylor was terrified to leave the house and the whole neighborhood ridiculed him for his act.

Mr. Hanson got tears in his eyes.
"Please God don't let it come to that," he prayed. "Protect my son so that no harm may come to him. Give him courage and strength so that dream may never come true." He felt tears in his eyes as he placed his hand on his throbbing forehead.
"Please. Amen."

Mr. Hanson felt horrible. He took a deep breath as he slowly tried to sit up. After much effort, he was in a sitting position with his head in his hands. His head felt like it weighed a ton and like it may burst if he moved to fast. He knew there was no way he could contact Taylor in this condition so he thought that he would wait a while for the drugs to subside fully. He sighed and let out a small groan as he hoisted himself off the bed and too a standing position. A severe dizzy spell hit him as he grabbed the nightstand for support. After a few moments, the spell passed and Mr. Hanson regained his balance. He slowly began to look around the room noticing a living area in the next room and a door beside the bed. He also noticed some surveillance cameras in both rooms. Mr. Hanson decided to ignore them as he slowly walked over to the door and opened it revealing a small bathroom. He decided that maybe some cold water on his face may help him to feel better. He went into the bathroom and closed the door.
Mr. Hanson leaned over the sink and began to splash some cold water on his hot, sweaty face. It felt so good. He could feel himself slowly begin to gather himself as the drugs began to subside. After turning the water off, Mr. Hanson stood for a moment with his eyes closed and leaning on the sink taking some deep breaths. He then opened his eyes and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked horrible. His eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles under them. His face was pale and sickly looking. Mr. Hanson sighed.
"They can't keep giving me these drugs. Don't they see what it doing to me?" He sighed.
Of course they knew. Why else would they do it? He cringed.
"They won't make me take anymore. No more!" He said in a harsh whisper.
Mr. Hanson then rubbed his eyes and looked around the small bathroom. He noticed that there was no camera in it. He gave a bitter laugh.
"At least we get some kind of privacy. Yeah right! I bet if I stay in here too long someone will come in after me."
As if on cue, there was an electric beep and the door opened as he heard a familar voice call to him.
"Mr. Hanson?" Sheila called.
She saw the door by the bed open and a weak looking Mr. Hanson came out. He saw her holding a tray.
"Please, give me a break. I can't handle anymore of those drugs right now. The others haven't even worn off yet."
Sheila smiled at him.
"I'm not going to give you any drugs right now."
She set the tray down on the nightstand and lifted up a lid revealing some bacon and eggs.
"I'm here to give you some breakfast," she said with a smile.
"Oh," Mr. Hanson said, taken a bit by surprise.
He sat down on the bed feeling exhausted just from walking to the bathroom. Those drugs were very powerful medication. He looked up at her.
"Thank you. I appreciate the breakfast, but I don't think I could keep it down very well. Those drugs you gave me are making me feel horrible."
She smiled a warm smile as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"It may make you feel better. You should really try. Even if you only eat half you will feel a lot better."
He looked at her.
"Ok. But I'm not making any promises."
Sheila smiled.
"Well that's ok. The food here isn't that great anyways so I wouldn't expect you too."
They both let out a small laugh. Mr. Hanson grabbed his head. It felt like it would burst from the laughing. "You ok?" Sheila asked, obviously concerned.
"Ah, yeah. It's just the side effects I guess." Sheila nodded.
"I'm sorry. But I have some good news for you."
"Oh?" Mr. Hanson asked.
"Yeah," Sheila said with a friendly smile. "I have been instucted to lower your dosage and give you a drug that is not so strong."
"Oh? So I guess that is a good thing then?" Mr. Hanson asked.
"Oh yes. You won't feel so so weak or sick. I'm so sorry this happened. I had no idea the drug they had me giving you was going to have this effect on you. I mean I knew it was strong but not this strong. I'm so sorry," Sheila said, feeling truly sorry.
"It's ok," Mr. Hanson said. "I'm just glad to hear they are lowering it."
Sheila nodded. Mr. Hanson looked at her.
"Ma'am? I know you probably aren't supposed to do this but... can you please tell me how my son is? I need to know. It's killing me not knowing what is being done to him. So please, if you know anything, tell me." Mr. Hanson asked desperately.
Sheila hated to lie to this man. But she had no choice. She sighed.
"I...I sorry Sir. I'm not authorized to give out imformation about other patients here."
"What other patients? As far as I know my son and I are the only ones here. Now please tell me. I have to know!" He asked desperately.
She sighed.
"I'm sorry sir. I can't. I don't even know where your son is."
Oh how she hated to lie.
"Then why didn't you just say so in the first place?"
"I'm sorry sir." Sheila felt horrible. She wanted to help this man but she knew she couldn't. She then thought of something.
"Your telepathic right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Then, how come you didn't know I was lying? Why didn't you just see that I didn't know where he was at?"
"The drugs. They've done something to my power. I just hope it's not permanant."
Sheila nodded, thankful he coudn't see what she really knew. That would cause some serious trouble. She got up from where she had been seated on the edge of the bed.
"Well, finish your breakfast and I'll be back soon with your medication."
He looked up at her.
"More?"
Sheila nodded.
"Yes, but it's not as strong. Enjoy your meal. I'll be back."
And with that, she left Mr. Hanson to his breakfast. He sighed and figured he'd try to eat some of it. Maybe he would feel better and be able to contact Taylor without them knowing. He said his grace, praying it would help, and took a bite. This was going to be a long day, though he probably would be asleep for most of it. He cringed.
"They won't get away with this. They won't. They can't. There's no way, " he said under his breath so the cameras wouldn't pick it up.
"Dear God, please, help us!"
He tried to eat the food but had much trouble because he was just so upset. He wanted Taylor. To hold him and to know he was alright. He wanted to take Taylor and go home to his wife and children. He missed them so much. He knew they must be worried. He said a silent prayer that they be taken care of. He sighed. When would it all end? When would they just be able to go home and lead normal lives?

Normal Lives. He had forgotten what that was like. Poor Taylor. He never really knew what that meant. The poor kid had been running most of his life. It wasn't right and Mr. Hanson wasn't going to put up with it. He swore to himself and God above that somehow, he would find Taylor and get home. He knew his love for Taylor and faith in God would somehow beat all odds. Somehow. They would win. Somehow, they would get home. Somehow everything would be alright. Somehow. Somehow.
"Dear God please somehow." He prayed as he tried to choke down the meal before him. Somehow.


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