On some nights, when he was sufficiently sedated and the day had been particularly good, Alex slept through the entire night. On the usual nights, he woke thrashing and screaming in utter horror, the night terrors unbearable. On every night, he was restrained while sleeping. It was safer for him and for anyone that might make an attempt to calm him down.<br/><br/>Sometimes, if he had been very good, Dr. Valenti would be there. And he tried to be very good more often than not.<br/><br/>But tonight, Alex woke up screaming, terrified in the early hours of morning. Theyâ€™d moved him; he was unfamiliar with the room, even though theyâ€™d let him take everything with and told him Dr. Valenti would be there when he got up. It still scared him, and he didnâ€™t remember when heâ€™d gotten here or how; couldnâ€™t even be sure what theyâ€™d told him was true.<br/><br/>There were things in the dark that just scared him so much. When he woke up restrained every time, it was even worse. A lot of the time he remembered his uncle tying him to the bed to punish him, or sometimes to the work bench if he broke something and had to put it back together. It made him cry, beside the screams that tore his throat raw from the terrible, unknowable, dark things in his dreams. But Dr. Valenti was going to be there and the sedative muzzy mind wanted sleep when nightmares finally retreated to the darkest corners.