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"Well, Elliot, as usual, you've completely failed to mention the obvious."

Dr. Berman stood close to Alessandro, his nose mere centimeters away from the boy's left shoulder; so close that one might've thought the exam included an exploration of one's scents and smells. The old scientist leaned, straining his eyes, stretching his jaw and angling his face to facilitate the inspection, head-to-toe. He circled about the boy's back, then moved to the other side.

"What do you mean, Doc?" Elliot asked. The pathology apprentice straightened himself from a counter in the lab.

"You said the boy was covered in glass, didn't you? Were you exaggerating, or did he not sustain any injuries whatsoever?"

"What? No, he did! But, uh, he didn't, uh... "

"Well, which one was it? Did he, or didn't he?" the Professor grumbled. He grabbed Alessandro by the jaw and turned the boy's face aside to examine it.

Meanwhile, Alessandro said nothing despite being manhandled. The boy from the human time capsule sat with his legs crossed and his back pulled straight. His head was held high, and his arms were stretched out over his legs, his hands resting on bedrock knees.

"Why are you sitting like that?" Dr. Berman snorted, not waiting for a response. He shook his head and returned to his exam.

It was the same as it ever was; the scientists appeased in their own regard, speaking without cognizance of Alessandro's being. The boy from Earth's past squinted at the scene.

"Beyond a lack of cuts and scrapes," the Professor continued, "there is something rather peculiar about the boy."

"What's that?" Elliot responded.

The old man gave Elliot a frown. "Look at his facial hair and acne. Look at his size, he's growing! He appears to be going through puberty! Have you measured him at all? Or had you even noticed?"

Elliot's eyes widened.

"Well yeah, I-I did notice, but he's also b-been exercising... "

"Exercising? What do you mean, like push-ups and jumping jacks?"

"N-no, like stretching and, and... "

"Pfff! Stretching, my ass," Dr. Berman scoffed. "What's he been eating?"

"Cafeteria food, Sir. The usual stuff here."

Dr. Berman shook his head. "Well, it's obvious you're feeding him more than what you're reporting, Elliot. More protein, I gather."

"I am not!"

The Professor rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Fine! Perhaps it's the result of some delayed hormonal change, manifesting after emergence from his hyper sleep -- I don't know! I'm not the one monitoring his diet!" The old man threw a hand through the air to dismiss the conflict.

The two scientists were quiet for a moment.

"At least he's in good health," Elliot half-spoke.

"For now," Dr. Berman responded. "We'll have to keep observing."

Elliot looked at Alessandro.

The senior doctor turned and began to walk toward the exit.

"Is he ready to come out of quarantine, Sir?" Elliot called out.

The Professor grimaced out of view. Another last-second arrow.

"No, Elliot, not yet... " Dr. Berman's voice rose and faded as he left the lab.

Elliot stood there for a second, staring at the door.

He looked back at Alessandro and frowned.

"Well, I guess you can go back to sitting on your table, doing your calisthenics, or whatever it is that you like to do here."

Alessandro tilted his head. "It's meditation, Sir."

"What?"

"My activities -- the sitting and stretching -- they're for meditation, and prayer. They make me feel better."

"Oh," Elliot paused. "Okay. Well, I guess I thought you were exercising or something."

"Inward calm requires physical strength."

"Oh," Elliot replied, "right."

"Prayer keeps one away from evil."

The hair on Elliot's neck stood up.

Something in the background caught his attention -- a green light at the doorway.

He straightened his posture.

That's not supposed to be like that.

The emerald light at the control panel indicated an unlocked state.

Elliot glanced at Alessandro, then made his way over to the unsecured door.

He stopped outside the range of the security scanner, thinking.

Before he could do anything more, the entryway opened automatically.

Elliot's jaw dropped. He had not used his own clearance to unlock the exit.

"Aless, what happened to the door? Did you do this?"

The two young men stared at one another.

The answer seemed to drift in the air between them, wafting away.

"Did you break the lock?" Elliot asked. "Do you just break everything?"

The young stranger said nothing in return.

Elliot's eyes widened at the implication.

"Are you...? Are you getting out of the lab?"

The silence answered the question.

"That's not allowed!"

More silence followed.

Elliot shifted his stance. He tried to relax his shoulders.

He contemplated Alessandro's activities. "Where have you been going?"

Alessandro looked to a corner of the lab, as if peering through the floor. "To the recreation center, to the library... "

"To the lower levels?" Elliot blurted.

"The building is underground." Alessandro said.

Elliot stared. "That's a secret! Why would you go there?"

"I am alone here, Sir," Alessandro replied. "I have no friends."

"W-wha-?" Elliot said.

He hesitated.

A moment presented itself.

"W-well, I-uh, I can be your friend," Elliot offered. "I mean, I'm your friend," he corrected.

Alessandro looked into Elliot's eyes.

"Are you?"

"W-well, yeah," Elliot said. He waited a second for confirmation. "W-why do you ask me like that? I mean, I-I can to introduce you to all my friends, all the other students here... "

He paused. His lips shifted.

Alessandro's eyes narrowed.

"M-maybe we should get you started in school, as soon as the quarantine period ends?" Elliot wondered aloud.

Alessandro sat up straight. "I'd like that very much, Sir."

" Okay!" Elliot smiled. "But stop calling me 'Sir.' "

Alessandro smiled back. "Thank you, Mr. Elliot. Praise God."

"Just 'Elliot,' okay? For Sherman's sake, is this how you always act? Can't you do anything right?"

He stopped for a second to think.

"Did you run into anyone when you snuck out of the lab? Have you spoken to anyone?"

Alessandro shook his head.

"No? That's good," Elliot replied. "You can't talk to anyone, alright? If they find out you're from a time capsule, it'll be trouble for us, but especially for you. You can trust me on that!"

"I do trust you, Elliot," Alessandro spoke up.

"Y-you do?"

"And I forgive you."

Elliot raised an eyebrow. "W-what?" he stuttered.

"I won't say anything to anyone," Alessandro replied.

"You won't?"

Alessandro shook his head again.

Elliot felt momentarily confused.

"O-okay," he said. He stared at Alessandro and took a deep breath. "Praise God," he mumbled.

Alessandro smiled.

Elliot gazed at the unlocked door once again.

"You've already left the lab multiple times now, haven't you? That makes decontamination a mute point now, doesn't it?"

He hesitated.

"Maybe I should be the one taking you around the Center?"

Elliot passed his hand in front of the security scanner.

The exit from the isolation room opened.

Elliot looked at Alessandro and took another deep breath. He gave the foreign teenager an encouraging nod, and looked to the doorway.

A gateway to new adventures awaited.

Together, the two young men left the lab.

What?!! Uh-oh... this doesn't sound like a good idea. Talk about the blind leading the blind. Okay, what's next? Click on the next chapter!