Spencer Blight's father had worked for Alex with Malice. One day, about two years ago now, Alex had come to the house and told Spencer that his father wouldn't be coming home.

Alex had said that Spencer would need to be the man of the house now, and suggested that Spencer should work him, like his dad had done.

Spencer did a lot of jobs for Alex, but the one that he did the most, and liked the best, was doorman. He had once asked Alex why he would be picked to watch the door. Even at 14, Spencer was still a scrawny little scarecrow.

Alex had leaned in and said something that Spencer had never forgotten. He was smiling when he said it, a bit of menace behind that smile. It was the way Alex said a lot of things.

"Because, Spencer, I know that no matter who comes through the door, who goes out the door, or whatever happens while they're behind that door, you'll never, ever lie to me about it."

Boy, was that the truth.

Spencer liked to watch the door because it made him feel important. At least, he usually liked to watch the door.

This particular door, he wasn't so crazy about.

It was the door to one of Alex's many cabins that were scattered across the Breaks. This one they called the Workshop, and it was used by a man called Mr. Timothy. A man who built things for Alex. Things that weren't very nice.

Mr. Timothy made Spencer nervous. Spencer didn't like the way he looked him over, or the little jokes he made. Sure, Alex got angry, could even get violent, but this man was cruel. Spencer's mother said there was a big difference.

Mr. Timothy was one of the few people that Spencer worried might violate Alex's order not to harm him, and the only one who might be able to get away with it.

So when Alex's big red van pulled up outside the Workshop, Spencer felt a great sense of relief.

Truth be told, he always felt safe when Alex was around. Spencer knew what other people said about Alex, Alex with Malice, but he knew other things too. He knew that his mother and sisters always had enough to eat, had a roof that didn't leak, and never had to worry about being raped by gangs of scavengers. That was more than a lot of people had, and the Blights were not typically a very lucky family.

Alex got out of the van by himself, which probably meant he wasn't staying long. That made Spencer a little sad. He didn't want to go back to being alone with Mr. Timothy. Alex was carrying a big piece of metal, and the left side of his face was a dark purple. He reached out and patted Spencer on the head as he passed, but he didn't say anything. Maybe because it would have hurt to talk.

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The boss left the door open when he went through, so Spencer saw Mr. Timothy approach him.

"How did it work?" he asked, nodding at the big metal thing.

"Like a dream about a summer picnic," Alex said, but he had to to rub his face after he said it.

"And the other part?"

"Even better. You should have seen the look on her face," Alex said. He hefted the metal thing, and asked a question.

"Will I ever be able to do stuff? You know, cool stuff, like they can?"

"No. It will hold the Blue if they're using it, for a while anyway, and release it when you let go of the trigger, but that's all it will ever do. Anything more, and you'd have to be one of them," Mr. Timothy answered.

"But my Plan B, she'll be able to do more?"

"Possibly. It's too early to say," Mr. Timothy said.

"Can I see her?"

"Of course."

The were two small rooms in the Workshop behind the main room that they were standing in. Mr. Timothy opened the door to one of those rooms. The room with the girl in it.

Spencer knew that the girl didn't want to be here. He could hear screaming sometimes when Mr. Timothy was in there with her. Once, when the door was open, she had looked at him like she hoped he might help. After that, Spencer had tried as hard as he could to avoid eye contact.

She was fastened to a special adjustable chair. At the moment she was sitting upright. As Alex approached her, Spencer risked a glance in spite of himself. He thought she looked scared. Really scared.

"What's with her eyes? They were brown when she got here," he said, bending over her to scrutinize.

"They've been turning blue. It's the process. You can see it in the roots of her hair too," Mr. Timothy said.

Alex ran his fingers through her hair. She flinched.

"It's wonderful," he purred. "Dye the whole thing. Something dramatic. Turquoise maybe."

"Of course," Mr. Timothy said.

"Oh, my sweet, sweet Calamity J, we're going to have such fun together. You don't even know," Alex said, barely loud enough for Spencer to hear.

"Actually, I think her name is—" Mr. Timothy started.

"Her name is Calamity J, from now until the doorstep of forever," Alex snapped.

"Yes, sir," Mr. Timothy said, and Spencer thought he actually seemed a little rattled. That was rare, and Spencer was worried he would be in a bad mood later.

Alex pulled on the skin above her eye with his thumb, opening her eye as wide as it would go.

"Timothy,"

"Yes?"

"I'm going to need her a lot angrier," Alex said.

Mr. Timothy didn't say anything. Spencer thought he probably didn't know how to fulfill the request, and was afraid to say so. This happened to people talking to Alex a lot. Alex had a lot of weird sounding requests. Of course, they weren't really requests.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it," Alex said.

Alex with Malice got up and shut the door.

Spencer was glad. He didn't have to look at the girl anymore, and he could go back to doing his job.

He turned his attention back to the wide, flat landscape, and did what he was supposed to do. He watched the door.

It felt good to do his job.

It felt better not to have to think about what was going on in the Workshop.

Especially after the screaming started.