The Medium Kid

Chapter 55

When people ask where you see yourself in five years, Alfie could only think of the corridor he stared into. Grey, dark, dingy, endless. Swallowing down his nerves only made them fester in his stomach until his palms grew sweaty and his mouth watered from the familiar feeling of wanting to throw up the content of his stomach.

"Alfie, come on," Ronnie said like he was speaking to a dog. The man in the mask also stared. He had dark sunglasses on which Alfie thought was strange. "Salix here will take you to some people you can talk to about your abilities."

Alfie wanted to turn and run back to safety, but his feet were rooted to the floor, and the longer he didn't move, the more frustrated the principal looked.

"Salix," Ronnie said and with a swift wave of his wrist, the man in the mask and sunglasses walked behind Alfie and gripped his shoulders, guiding him through the office and into the corridor. Alfie tried to turn when the trophy cabinet closed, and they were plunged into darkness. The solid blackness in front of Alfie only lasted for a few seconds until lights turned on with a high-pitched ping.

The corridor smelt of damp, yet the walls were clean despite Alfie's nose making him think they were covered in mould.

"Where does this go?" Alfie asked. The man behind him only gripped his shoulders harder, moving him down the corridor. The further they walked, the more Alfie realised that it didn't go on for so long that the corridor was never-ending. The door at the end was black and solid, giving him that illusion.

"Where does this go?" Alfie asked again and the man ignored him and banged six times on the door. It immediately started to open, revealing a more complex route of corridors, leading in every direction. Alfie was directed down one on his right and stopped at what looked like an elevator. "I'm guessing if I ask where this goes, I won't get an answer?"

The man didn't move, but Alfie could feel his energy. He was anxious and surrounded with a sense of protection. Alfie wondered if he was a bodyguard who worked for Ronnie.

The small lift only had one blue button going down. Alfie already felt like he was a million miles from home when the doors shut, and he was trapped. Every wall in the elevator was mirrored, and Alfie spent his time looking at the masked man. "Why are you wearing sunglasses?"

The masked man stood in the corner like he was a part of the lift itself.

"Are you not allowed to speak?"

The man said nothing.

"Am I allowed to see my family?"

The man looked down, and his energy shifted to something that felt a little like sympathy.

"Am I gonna get hurt?" Alfie asked and the man looked back up, just as the door opened into a blindingly bright room. Three women in lab coats stood around a chair and Alfie suddenly felt like he had signed himself up to be a guinea pig for some crazy experiment.

As the first woman stepped forwards with an over-friendly smile, Alfie started to feel Mister Dorinto again and he almost sighed with relief.

"You must be Koda Oaks," the woman said, and Alfie made sudden eye contact with her. He felt the man's hands on his shoulders tighten almost painfully and Alfie found himself nodding.

Something wasn't right. There was a miscommunication between Ronnie and his staff, or they were testing Alfie to see if he would easily lie, or the bigger plan that Alfie was a part of was a plan that even Ronnie Birch didn't know.

"Take a seat Koda, we have some questions to ask."

Alfie sat on the chair and the man in the mask stood where he was, connecting his fingers and didn't leave like Alfie expected him to.