Doubt can only be removed with action. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

          Bennett smiled at Douglas' relief. His friend was so happy to be able to move and it physically hurt Ben to stoke his happiness. These next few moments would mean the world to Douglas if Bennett would just be happy for him. With Ben's agreement Doug had already forgotten of the papers that Bennett had shown him.

          "How are they fixing you?" Ben asked slowly.

          "Cheee-mo." 

          "What's that?"

          "A type...of tharapee."

          "How does it work?"

          Douglas was becoming exasperated, "Eeeliminaaa...shon."

          "Of what?"

          "Wanna' play...chesss?"

          Douglas reached down and brought up a chess board and pieces. It was a miracle even that he could lift the chess board. Once the game started Bennett was already out of it. Douglas won quickly due to his friend's lack of concentration. 

          "Timees almos up." Doug frowned and folded his arms best he could, "You did'n play."

          "I'm too distracted. Can we play tomorrow?"

          "I've aljebra."

          "After?"

          "Wasso importan?"

          "Nothing." Bennett shrugged.

          Ben was at least slightly relieved by his usual slow understatement and memory pause. Douglas' nurse walked in and on Bennett's side the door was opened. Bennett wouldn't say he was necessarily happy with the cutting of their time but he had crucial things on his mind. He was, however, keeping in his mind that it could all be a misunderstanding and he could be over-analyzing the situation. He always wanted his boring but unusual life to be exciting and it was entirely possible he was just conjuring a whole scheme so something, anything can happen that is more exciting than life.

          It had been an entire 10 minutes since all the buildings went entirely dark and quiet except for the occasional blue lights of the empty laboratories--which was where he was heading to. Bennett was beginning to realize what he didn't think through before rushing into this. What if someone is awake and happens to be wandering around? Maybe the place is on a lock-down and I'm trapped out here until tomorrow? He had replaced himself with pillows and clothing in his bed and pulled the curtain to avoid attention. It always works in action films and novels so it has to work in real life--right?

          When he began moving his body glitched and he fell forward. He caught his body in time to eliminate damage to his face but he found he was asphyxiating. Gasping in nothing caused him to begin panicking and blackness dotted his vision by the time the asphyxiation stopped. He rolled onto his back and breathed in frantically. This was why he was under such close assessment. His mini-monitor was making all sorts of sounds. Is it connected to the building's system? If it was then someone would be going to check on him at this moment.

          He pushed himself onto his feet and began to slowly make his way to the laboratory building. What am I doing? "Bennett you are doing something dumb but there is no stopping now." He whispered to himself.

          The door was surprisingly unlocked and he easily slipped inside--easily not gracefully. Multiple people were awake, of course they were this was an area full of mental and physically disabled children. A man was walking across the hallway he entered in as he had entered which was lit brightly. The light caused Bennett to squint until his eyes adjusted. Bennett neither had camouflage powers or super hiding powers and the man in the hall immediately saw him. Bennett was waiting for anger or... something, he wasn't expecting the man to show sympathetic reactions to his breaking-and-entering.

          "Oh, are you OK?" Bennett recoiled as he came closer, "Monitor's showed you weren't OK, did you come for help?"

          The man was moving to help Bennett down the hall. 

          Might as well be invited in than having to sneak in, Bennett decided.

          "Come." He put an arm around Bennett's metal body and began walking with him down the hallway. "I'm Dr. Hugo Wesley."

          Bennett hadn't seen the man before. He was a middle-aged man of average height, maybe just out of 8-year college. He was a slightly chubby man. His baby fat seemed to be holding on for dear life. Bennett imagined his arm to be comforting if he could properly feel it. The imagine made him feel slightly less awkward and less like a trespasser. Maybe it was a good thing he came at the time and the man saw him then they would sure know he was here with conflicting intentions. Maybe someone was already pulling his makeshift Bennett from underneath his covers. For some reason this made him chuckle.

          "Doctor Abbott is going to check you out OK." He spoke slow as if to a young child. Bennett tensed at the name he decided belonged to someone of suspicion. Hugo felt the mechanical body beneath him attempt at complying with the brain to tense and turned to look down at Bennett. "Are you OK?"

          He was still talking as if Bennett was a child and frankly, it was beginning to become annoying. "Yeah."

          They walked down the long corridor before turning right in the eighth right turn they came across. The sign above the hall read "Examination Rooms 20-50". Bennett would have imagined the lights to be flickering how they do in films when a mysterious doctor leads an unknowing child. Unsurprisingly there was no climatic music in the background either, just the eerie but calming sound of monitors beeping. Bennett believed that the beeping of monitors was calming because it told the patient they were still alive. Once it flatlined it became horrific but the patient would already be dead...

          Bennett shook himself out of his thoughts as he was led into room 23. The lights were dim and the monitor was unplugged--no beeping, yet no flatlines either. The man radioed Dr. Abbott and sat with Bennett to wait for him.

          "How do you feel?" Hugo asked.

          "Like shit." Bennett mumbled, which wasn't a lie. "Excuse my language."

          Bennett felt like shit for coming here and thinking he could do something. This place was riddled with people, of course it was. He should have known it would be impossible. At least have asked for help or told Donella he was going. If Abbott was an evil man set out to eliminate him or whatever then he could be dead in the next ten minutes. No goodbyes to his family and no record of his death.

          You're being stupid Ben. He scolded himself.

          He looked up to find Hugo staring at him then realized he must've asked him something. "I'm sorry..." Bennett trailed off awkwardly.

          "Do you have any friends beside Douglas."

          Bennett wasn't sure whether he could officially call Donella a friend yet but he nodded anyway.

          "A girl?" Hugo smirked.

          Bennett guessed Hugo was one of those middle-20s person who still thought they could joke around with teenagers and be cool. Bennett didn't care about those type of people--cool or the middle-20s-cool person. He shrugged then laid back on the examination table but immediately sat up as a man stepped into the room.

          "Doctor Abbott." Hugo smiled.

          Bennett looked him up and down. He was tall but not lanky. He looked friendly enough but friendly people could always be intimidating and evil. He wore a lab coat with his face and name displayed. Dr. Nicolaus Abbott. A criminal or murderer wouldn't have an identification tag, would they? Bennett was questioning a lot.

          Dr. Abbott smiled warmly at Bennett and held his hand out. If he had a dislike for him he didn't show it. Bennett slowly extended his hand as Hugo left. As Abbott clasped his hand he suddenly wished Hugo would stay.

          "You seem tense Mr. Wenmore." He said as he released his hand. "How do you feel?"

          "Hugo asked me that, I told him 'like shit'." Bennett said.

          Unfazed. "And why is that?" He began examining him like he was a normal being; checking his ears and eyes.

          "Because I do." Bennett didn't offer more and thankfully Abbott didn't ask.

          "How many fingers am I holding up?"

          "Two."

          He dropped his hand then regarded Bennett. "So what was going on out there Ben?"

          "Pardon?" Bennett would've gulped if he could.

          "What happened to cause you to have trouble breathing?"

          "I... I glitched." Bennett said lowly.

          The suspicious doctor was now closer than comfortable to Bennetts face and he looked deep into his eyes as if he could see into his soul. "Why were you outside, how did you get there after dark?"

          Bennett was sure this man was evil now, his voice was still soft and "compassionate". He was still flashing crow feet from smiling slightly. "I left to come here."

          "OK."

          Bennett was sure he knew he was out there. It only made sense, he could not have gotten out after lights out and definitely couldn't have gotten to the hospital so quickly. Abbott kept up his soft demeanor until he called Hugo back to escort Bennett.

          As Bennett got out to leave the doctor leaned towards him--still smiling--and said: "Next time I'll remind the staff to get an attendance count before lock down, yeah?" He patted him on the back before letting him past.