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Chapter 2 A few weeks after Victorz was released from the hospital, his father came home with news that he had received via email. Apparently some guy named James had contacted Victorz's father and asked him to visit and pick him up in Washington, D.C., as soon as possible. Upon hearing that news, Victorz's father immediately booked a plane ticket for himself, Victorz, and their son. He had also instructed Victorz to pack and prepare for his flight within the hour so that the two of them could get there by 3pm that afternoon. Victorz packed a suitcase filled with clothing and other necessities and spent the remainder of the morning cleaning out his closet in preparation for his trip. That evening, he boarded the plane headed towards Washington and settled down in his seat next to his father who was reading the newspaper that lay spread across the aisle separating them. Victorz looked over his father's shoulder at the front page.

An image popped up on the large television screen next to the plane window, which displayed the current headline on the front page. A photo of President Johnson flashed across the screen along with his statement condemning all Americans for continuing their civil disobedience. In his father's words "You need to put an end to this madness once and for all before your generation becomes extinct." Victorz didn't really know what to make of such statements. It didn't sound like it was directed at anyone particular, so he figured that they must have been sent by someone with a political agenda. If that was true, however, then it was probably because of the protests. Although it didn't make sense for anyone to have targeted Victorz specifically. It wasn't like he was doing anything wrong, but it still didn't make any sense. As the plane flew into the sky above the ocean Victorz hoped his best friend wasn't disappointed. He knew Alex wouldn't try to contact him in public since they lived in opposite sides of the country, but he hoped that he wouldn't have to find out sooner than later. They needed to talk about what happened during high school, it needed to be done before it caused more trouble. He didn't know what exactly he was afraid of, if anything. He just couldn't stop imagining what would happen if Alex somehow found out the truth. What if Alex decided to confront his parents about it? He knew that his parents couldn't afford to keep him around, especially without being able to provide for their children, which would mean they'd have to sell him off eventually. What would happen to them then? Or worse, what would become of his mother? He shuddered at the thought. It wasn't that he didn't trust his parents, but he feared for his future with them. He had no idea what their plans were for him or how he was supposed to deal with what he would inevitably have to tell them when the time came. All he really knew was that he needed to tell them, and quickly. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes tightly, and tried to forget about whatever was going on behind the thick oak door. He knew that the only thing that he could do was try to focus entirely on the present. The present was what he had chosen to live for, but right now, all he could see was the possibility of losing it all. He opened his eyes again only a few minutes later when he heard the sound of a phone ringing. After pulling himself upright in his chair, he retrieved the cell phone out of the inner pocket of his jacket and glanced at the display screen to see who was calling. The number was unfamiliar, so it was likely that it was one of the many numbers he didn't recognize. With shaky hands, he pressed the green button. He could hear nothing but silence coming from the other end of the line for a short moment, before finally the person spoke. "Hello… Is this Dr.Kavinsky?" The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. "Yes... How can I help you?" He asked politely. He heard the sound of shuffling papers on the other end before the unknown voice started speaking again. "Sorry, I don't believe we've ever formally met." He recognized the voice then. As a matter of fact he couldn't remember if he had met the person in person at all, considering his life had been pretty focused on getting drunk for the past week or so, so he didn't remember whether he had or not. "No... You're not right," he replied slowly, hoping that he wasn't lying to himself in trying to convince him that it really was him. The person continued talking, although Victorz couldn't understand everything he said due to the background noise of the airport passengers. He heard something like'my apologies', and'sorry you can't talk right now'. However, after a while the stranger's voice grew louder, until he was shouting over the noisy background noise. "Listen! I want to talk to you alone!" Victorz paused, unsure how to respond. He could sense something bad about what he had just overheard, but what was that bad feeling exactly? Was it fear? No...

.he didn't think so. It seemed as though something in the atmosphere between them was different than usual. There was something odd and unnatural in the air. He thought about Alex, and the way he was behaving today. Something was definitely amiss. But he had promised not to worry too much. He reminded himself of these things and tried to calm down. He took a deep breath and turned around to face the wall. He was tired and he was hungry. He couldn't concentrate properly. After what seemed like forever, he managed to focus his thoughts on the conversation he had with the stranger on the other side of the phone. He listened carefully to what he had to say. "-and when will your father be arriving?" "I haven't checked yet." Victorz suddenly realized that it wasn't a stranger that had called him, it was Alexander. He hadn't heard the ringtone on his mobile phone, which meant that he must have received another text message and forgot to retrieve it. Suddenly the sound of the man's voice rang through his head once again, "I told you that you shouldn't bother looking for him." He was sure that this time that voice must belong to his father. Even with the distance between them, he could sense that the man was glaring fiercely at him. It was the same look he had seen in his father'