Alexander paled. “T-that information should be private, how do you know about it?”

Erik shrugged, “I guess you want me to keep going.”

“No!” Alexander reached out and snatched Erik’s phone away, holding it close to himself. “No…” he said again after a moment, though much more meekly. “Please don’t bring that up…” he trembled. “I-I don’t want to talk about that…”

Sonia glanced at Erik who shook his head.

Erik drew in a breath and paused before speaking again. “Your teacher attacked you,” he said. “With scissors. Why?”

“Doesn’t your infinite well of information tell you that too?” Alexander asked bitterly, sullen.

Erik reached out and carefully pried his phone from Alexander’s fingers. “I have access to the report from the child psychologist you spoke to then, but you never said much to begin with. Most of the report is from eyewitness testimonies and the school board’s actions—and a little bit of media reports. The police report from the interrogation of your teacher didn’t reveal anything either.”

“Just who the hell are you people…?”

“I want to hear it from you. Why did he attack you? How did that fire start?”

Alexander shook his head. “I don’t know, okay!?” He drew his knees up to his chin making himself as small as possible. “I don’t know… People just get mad at me for no reason. I’d rather not have a bunch of people with guns mad at me either…” he put his forehead down on his knees. “Please, I just want to go to school—Evan just wants me to graduate.”

They sat in silence for a moment, Alexander hiding his face in his knees, Sonia fidgeting with one of her tools, Erik sitting stoically in his seat. After a moment, the man sighed, stood, and turned the chair back proper. “By now, a real witch would have attacked us out of a sense of self-preservation. It doesn’t mean I’m completely convinced,” he added when Alexander looked up at him, pale-faced and scared. “It means I’ll be letting you go for now. Try to keep your nose out of trouble.”

Alexander looked away again, frowning. “I make no promises. Trouble seems to seek me out.”

Erik reached out to pat Alexander but thought better about it and withdrew. “Dose will finish your treatment and Mother will take you to the school in the morning. Unfortunately, you’ll have to come back for more treatment until we can kill this witch.”

“And if you don’t kill him?” Alexander asked softly. He already knew the answer.

“You’ll unfortunately die,” Erik replied.

“You guys really don’t sugarcoat it,” Alexander said with a weak, dry laugh.

“What’s the point in doing so?” Erik shrugged moving to the foot of the bed where a table stood covered by another drop-cloth. He pulled it back to reveal Alexander’s things. “What you were carrying made it just fine. Your luggage on the other hand…” he gestured to the formerly rectangular plastic box—now a heap of melted and charred materials. “I hope you didn’t have anything too valuable in there.”

Alexander made a frustrated sound as he allowed Sonia to take his arm back. “Just all of my clothes,” he frowned. “God, what am I going to tell Evan?” he muttered through his delicate fingers as he placed his hand over his mouth, staring long and hard at the luggage.

“If it’s a financial issue—,” Erik started.

“I—uh, no, nothing like that—it’s fine,” Alexander interrupted quickly, his ears tinging red. An obvious lie.

Sonia laughed while she re-wrapped the bandage on his arm. “What a cinnamon roll. Can’t even lie about that,” she mused, looking up at Erik. “There’s no way he’s a witch.” She reached up and flicked Alexander’s forehead as his cheeks flushed pink.

Erik raised an eyebrow at her. “I’ll see what I can do. We don’t really have a budget to reimburse people for losses not caused directly by our actions. However, as you are a student at Cranberry, you’ll have a set of uniforms, no?”

Alexander nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat. “I-it should be fine. Please don’t worry about it… You’re already doing more than enough for me,” he said, lamely gesturing at his injury.

“As I said, I’ll see what I can do. It won’t be much,” Erik said, heading for the door. “I have to go make my report now. Dose, you’re in charge of him for the night,” he said as he stepped out, stopping to look back, “I’ll do Tech’s chores this time, you’re off the hook.”

“Humph,” Sonia grunted, not looking up from where she was scribbling something down on a clipboard having finished her work on Alexander’s arm. “Thanks, so generous Ghost,” she said flatly. Erik merely arched an eyebrow at her, shook his head and left, shutting the door behind him.

“Shouldn’t you… you know... Be more respectful to your boss?” Alexander asked, watching Sonia for lack of anything better to do.

“Who said he’s my boss?” she inquired, not looking up. She turned away and went back behind the curtain to do something.

“He literally said he was the commander. How does that not translate to boss?”

Sonia returned with a cup of water and a pill. “Take this.”

Alexander accepted it and looked at the pill skeptically, “What’s this for?”

“One, it’ll shut you up for the night. Two, pain relief. I imagine your arm hurts like hell,” she replied curtly, folding her arms. “If you refuse,” she added, “I’ll knock you out by force. It won’t be nearly as easy on you.”

Alexander gave her a disgruntled look before swallowing the pill. “There, happy. God, what the hell kind of doctor are yo—?” He was grabbed by his chin, Sonia forcing open his mouth and checking it with her gloved finger to make sure he hadn’t stowed the pill somewhere. “Jesus Christ lady!” Alexander pulled away when she was satisfied. “Paranoid much!?”

She grunted again, checking her watch. “In my line of business, you have to be—or you die.”

Alexander swallowed back another lump that formed in his throat. “Is it really that dangerous, being a witch hunter?”

“Let me put it this way, kid,” she began, putting one hand on her hip, the other propping herself against his bed. “You go out and hunt down unknown assailants who have incomprehensible powers with nothing more than a pistol—in most cases. Armour is useless for the most part, and sometimes even detrimental. Take the witch you just encountered for instance,” she waved at his arm, straightening up and folding her own across her chest. “Earlier this week he burned down a shop, a timed attack across town to distract the police while he robbed a bank here in downtown. Those temperatures were what you’d see in a normal house fire—about five or six-hundred degrees. This morning, we found some crispy bastard that had been cooked at a cool twelve-hundred degrees. I estimate it took about a twenty, twelve-to-fifteen second sustained hits.”

She started at him. “Now, cremation is done at about nine-hundred-eighty degrees to start. This witch burns whatever he touches, leaves charred hand-prints on everything. You’re lucky you didn’t burn down to your bone in the few seconds he was holding you—and I suspect that what ever is the cause of that ice that saved the rest of us is also the reason why your injury is so light.”

Alexander’s mouth was set into a straight line as he stared at the bandages winding from his finger tips just above his elbow. “I see…” he muttered.

“The worst part about these witches,” Sonia added darkly, “Is that we have literally no idea where they come from or where they’ll appear. It’s completely random—and it’s global. So if you’ll forgive me for being paranoid, but you’re not only new in town, but you have a weird history and I haven’t seen any evidence of any other witches with ice-based powers like those since I became a hunter here.”

“So even if your commander clears me, you won’t…” Alexander understood.

“I don’t take chances where my life is concerned,” she chimed, lightly pushing him over onto his back.

Alexander couldn’t resist. He was suddenly very tired and dizzy. “I’m really not a witch…” he mumbled, his eyes closing. He fought it hard, but it was useless. “At least I don’t think I am…” he added drifting off into a deep, relaxed sleep.

Sonia pulled the covers back over him, tucking him in and checking her watch and his pulse once more. “What are you doing there, Eagle?”

“Observing,” Marcus’ voice oozed from darkness of the now open door next to her. He emerged into the dim light and leaned against the door frame, one arm above his head, the other resting lazily across his waist. “It’s unlike you to say so much to a patient,” he mused.

“Anna said he’s a guest, gotta be polite,” she shrugged, peeling off her gloves and tossing them on the table at the end of Alexander's bed.

“Bullshit,” Marcus chimed at her. “You like the Peach, admit it.”

“No. Is dinner ready?”

“There’s something. The bosses are having a meeting and Leon’s already gone to bed, so it’s just you n’ me,” he said musically.

“Oh, goodieee,” Sonia emphasized sarcastically, still chewing on her sucker stick—the candy having long since melted.

“You could be a little nicer you know,” he strolled into the room, leaning down to her height, close to her face. He gave her a close-lipped cold smile as he pulled the paper stick from her mouth. “I went through the trouble of making you some French toast, after all.”

“Boy do you know the way to a woman’s heart,” she said flatly, leaning away from him as he invaded her personal space.

“Well, I’m practically one myself, sister,” he smiled, straightening up, expertly tossing the candy stick into the trash by her desk. A fine shot at that distance. “I was hoping our Peach might have some too, but I guess not,” he looked over at the sleeping Alexander with some modicum of mock disappointment.

“You’re only here to look at a cute boy,” Sonia replied.

“Guilty as charged!” he grinned, raising his hands in surrender.

She shook her head and set her clipboard on her desk. “He’ll sleep for the rest of the night with what I gave him—so I guess I can come for some food. I could use something sweet after today.”

“You’ll get fat you know,” Marcus teased, receiving a punch in the arm as she passed him to the hallway. He only laughed, leaned over, looked at Alexander up close once and then left, pulling the door shut behind him.