As Straus had planned, the lodge became a popular place for big city doctors to spend their vacations. During the summer and fall months, it was common for Straus to have at least one guest staying in the guest rooms, one floor above his rooms. Each guest was told the same thing about him.
“I have a patient who lives here year round. He is an especially challenging and interesting patient; highly agoraphobic, paranoid, and extremely private. He pays me to ensure that he is left alone. I ask that you understand and respect his wishes and that you do not enter the first floor hallway. I assure you, he is as harmless as a butterfly, but his emotional stability would, I fear, crumble if anyone he hasn’t learned to trust makes contact with him.”
The few times that all of the lodge’s rooms were filled with guests, he was sedated and either kept in his bedroom or relocated to a rented cottage in the nearby hamlet of Oxbow Lake. The days in the cottage were usually spent unconscious and always included an armed guard who liked to promise him that he would not hesitate in the use of his gun.
“I don’t know what your story is, and I don’t care. If Straus wants to pay me to babysit you for a few days, so be it. But I promise you that if you try anything, your head will explode.”
He was strapped to the cottage’s bed and secured with enough rope and wire to make any attempted escape impossible. And all the while he would lay in the bed, his babysitter would sit a few yards away, pointing his high powered rifle towards his head and telling him what a freak he was.
As unpleasant as those days were, he used them as opportunities to study and to learn. The more exposure he had to the world and to those who lived in the world, the closer he became to fulfilling his plan.
For him, the passage of the years did not bring him closer to his own end but rather to his own beginning. The more agreeable he was, the more rewards and privileges he was given.
Several weeks before his plan was launched, Straus awarded him with a privilege that seemed too perfect in its timing.
“Alex, I know how much you want to go outside. To go feel the lake as you have wished for. As long as you agree to my terms, I will allow you to walk with me to the lake. But I assure you, if you do anything that I even remotely think is an attempt to leave, I’ll shock you.”
“Why would I try to leave, doctor? Where would I go?”
They had learned of the impact that electricity, of being shocked, had on him. They were amazed at how quickly and how powerfully the slightest jolt would drop him to his knees.
“I need you to attach this to your ankle. Make it tight.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“It’s a training device for dogs. I’m sorry, but if you want more to earn more privileges, you have to agree to my terms.”
“Which ankle?”
Straus waited a few hours until Jacob Curtis joined him at the lodge. He wanted to be sure he had a backup in case his patient was able to subdue him.
“Jacob, I need you to make sure that no one is around. I want to take Alex outside, but I don’t want anyone seeing him. All I need is for some local to start talking about the ‘gray guy walking around Straus’s lodge.’”
Jacob Curtis was gone for no more than a minute before returning.
“Can’t see anyone. Rain is keeping people inside, I suppose.”
Once Straus confirmed that Alex had tightly placed the shock collar on his ankle, he reminded Alex of his expectations.
“Now Alex, this is a privilege. I hope you understand the risks I am taking.”
“I do, Doctor Straus.”
“It’s raining out which will make the shock from that collar a bit more severe, so I really hope you don’t do anything to warrant its use. Just stay with Doctor Curtis and me, don’t speak to anyone who may show up, and, for God’s sake, don’t try to run or swim away.”
“I can’t swim, Doctor Straus, and I have nowhere to run to and nothing to run from,” he answered.
The gray sky matched his complexion. The light rain that was falling felt wonderful against his sensitive skin. Together with the two doctors, he walked down the narrow path that led to Piseco Lake’s shore. Once at the water, he bent over and splashed water onto his face and arms. He loved how the cool water sent shivers racing throughout his body and wondered how it would feel if his whole body was submerged. He knew that he could easily jump into the water and remain submerged for hours, but he also knew how quickly Doctor Straus would press the button and send a shock throughout his body.
“Alex?” Jacob Curtis called from a few yards away. “I don’t like how quiet you are.”
“I am just enjoying this immensely, Doctor. Nothing to be concerned about.”
He had felt shocks before. Doctor Lucietta was the first to use them as treatment many years ago and was also the one who first discovered how they debilitated him. Shocks were not only painful for him, but they disrupted his thoughts and ability to function for days.
They allowed him to stay at the water’s edge for nearly twenty minutes before suggesting they “head back and get in out of the rain.”
“Very well, Doctors. And thank you for this privilege,” he complied.
Neither he or the doctors saw the young man approaching them, but there he was, smack dab in the middle of the road separating the lodge from the lake. He seemed like the nervous type, the type that Straus would enjoy having as a patient. And had Straus been alone during this encounter, he might have offered his business card and a suggestion that the stranger contact him for an appointment.
But now was not the time to advance a career. Straus and Curtis stood as if they were catatonic as the young man stood staring at the gray man walking up from the path. As the stranger moved closer, Straus thought that he looked familiar but couldn’t place the face.
“Good day,” the young man offered, his eyes now less intense. “Not the best day for a hike, is it?”
“Just a short walk to the lake. No hiking today.” Curtis said.
“Well, stay dry,” the young man said.
“You too,” Curtis said. “We should be getting inside now. Take care.”
The young man stared at Alexander, and the doctors noticed that he was staring back at the young man. There was no look of terror on the young man’s face, only intrigue.
“You must excuse us,” Straus said. “Our patient hasn’t been feeling well. We need to get him back into his bed. Good day.”
“Hope you feel better,” the young man said as he continued his trek down the road.