Disclaimer: I do not own Alex Rider or anything associated with the series. It all belongs to Anthony Horowitz.

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I sat in my last class of the day, sleeping, when a shrill voice woke me up. "What?" I asked groggily, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

My teacher, Mrs. Thomas, pursed her lips and repeated, "I would prefer you not to sleep in my class, Mr. Rider. You can do that on the bus or in the bathroom." Several, if not all, of the students laughed at me. The teacher herself sniggered and continued, "Now Alex, what is-?"

I interrupted her with a single finger held up, the universal symbol for "wait", when I yawned like there was no tomorrow. "I'm sorry, just really tired. Please continue."

Mrs. Thomas rolled her eyes and said, "Never mind. Tom, what is-?" I was trying to listen when my head collapsed forward onto my desk and I was out.

Tom's pov

"Good heavens!" Mrs. Thomas shrieked and she ran over to the collapsed boy. "Alex! Alex, wake up! This isn't funny! Alex!" She was shaking his shoulder and lightly hitting Alex's cheek, but it didn't work.

"Someone call the office!" she yelled and I ran over to the intercom button and pressed it. "Yes," the secretary answered.

"I have a student who just fainted!" the teacher yelled. "Bring him down," was all the lady in the office said and hung up.

"Tom, come here and take Alex to the nurse," Mrs. Thomas instructed and I ran forward. I grabbed Alex and slung his arm over my shoulder, and started to ungracefully hobble forward, lugging the dead weight.

When we reached the nurse's office, she threw open the door and let me walk in with Alex, still out of it.

"Just lay him there," she pointed out and I set him down on a cot, a very uncomfortable one at that.

"You can go back to class now." The nurse turned her back to me and started to take Alex's temperature, pulse rate, etc. I stood there for a few seconds before the nurse's shrill voice ordered me to return to class immediately. I turned my back and left.

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Nobody's pov

Mrs. Thomas was trying to teach science again when Tom stalked back into the room. "Any news?" she asked the boy, who replied with a shake of his head. He walked back to his seat and collapsed into it.

Another five minutes passed and finally the long-awaited bell rang, announcing the end of the day and week. Everyone simultaneously got up and made their way either to the buses or a locker. Tom solemnly staggered to his locker. When he got there, he turned the padlock, 11-34-22, and the locker opened at his command. He put his books in and shut the locker, going towards his bus.

As he was about to pass through the doors, he turned towards the offices and entered the nurse's. He cautiously opened the door, not wanting to disturb Alex, when he stopped and was about to back out when a voice asked, "Tom?"

He turned back around and answered the question with a nod and walked forward. Sitting on the bed, next to Alex, was a woman with bright red hair; she was holding Alex's hand.

"I'm Alex's guardian, Jack," she introduced herself and scooted closer to Alex for Tom to sit down. He sat and the three crammed the bed.

"So, is he going to be ok?" Tom asked.

"The nurse said she was surprised at how long he's been out, but he should wake soon."

Just then, the nurse entered the room to inform Jack of school being over when she noticed Tom. "Young man, you should be on the bus!"

Jack spoke up. "It's ok; he's going home with me." The nurse nodded curtly and left.

"Thanks," Tom mumbled and looked at Alex. He was just the same as when Tom had left him, except his hair had been ruffled. Jack nodded in recognition and sighed. "Well, I guess we should be getting home. Will you help me with Alex?"

Tom nodded again and helped Jack sit Alex up, and then Tom slung the boy's arm over his shoulder again and followed Jack out to the Dodge Caliber; it was orange. She opened the side door and took Alex from Tom. Tom then climbed in and helped to drag/sit Alex in the car.

When Alex was in and buckled, Tom buckled himself and let Alex lean on him to keep the blonde from falling forward. Jack walked around to the driver's side and got in. With the key in the ignition, the car started and pulled out from the school. No one even thought twice about the unconscious boy being led out of the school.

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When Jack pulled up to the house, she walked back to Alex's side and pulled him out, then let Tom take him and the two plus a dead weight walked in to the house. Jack instructed Tom to lay Alex down on the couch, and then she went and got an ice pack.

She came back, equipped with the ice and two Cokes. She placed the ice on Alex's forehead and handed Tom a Coke. He mumbled thanks and sat on the recliner; Jack sat by Alex's feet.

"Do you want me to run you home?" Jack asked, breaking the uneasiness.

"If you don't mind, I'll stay until Alex wakes up." Jack nodded in agreement and she reached for the remote, turning the TV on. "You can change the channel to whatever you want. I'll be back in a bit," Jack added. She got up and walked out of the room.

Tom decided to watch Britain's Got Talent when he heard a groan. He turned the TV off and looked at Alex. The boy's eyes fluttered open and he put his hands over his face, wiping off the feeling of sleep and dread.

Alex's pov

As I opened my eyes, there was a guy staring at me. He turned the TV off (when did it go on?) and I rubbed sleep off my face. Gross.

He shouted "Jack!" and made me cringe from the loud outburst, then turned and muttered an apology. "Tom?" I asked, looking closer at him. He grinned and nodded his head, and then I heard someone else running into the room.

"Alex!" she shouted, and I instantly recognized her as Jack. She rushed over and pulled me into a hug, then sat next to me, touching my forehead.

"Jack," I said my voice raspy, "what happened? And why are you touching my head?"

"Just checking your temperature and it's normal. As for what happened, I don't know. Don't faint like that again!"

"Sorry," I mumbled, rubbing the back of my head.

Tom spoke up next. "You were sleeping in class, then the teacher woke you up and you two cracked a few jokes, then all of a sudden you just collapsed. It was really creepy."

The three of us were silent until Jack, once again, broke the uneasiness. "Well, Tom, why don't I run you home then? Alex, I'll be back soon, and if you need anything just call."

I nodded and the two of them left; now the house was mine. I got up, despite how hard it was, and made it into the kitchen. Peering around the food pantry, I found the popcorn and took a bag, then placed it in the microwave and let it pop away.

When the timer went off, I took a bowl from the cabinet and dumped the food into it. Then I made my way back to the couch and plopped down, shuffling through the channels. I stopped at a movie channel, featuring The Dark Knight, and happily ate my snack while watching a few masked men rob a bank.

The movie was about halfway through went a tap on the window alerted me. Turning down the volume almost to a mute, I strode around the couch and into the kitchen, where the sound had originated. Nothing was moving, everything was silent, but as I turned around, another tap came.

I followed the noise and ended up back in the room where I started: the family room. I turned the TV off and crept towards the window, peering out, when a face rushed into my view. I screamed and stumbled back. Looking back up, I noticed it was gone, but then there was creak in the kitchen. I went to see what it was, sidling down the wall, when three men came into view.

Burglars? I thought. Surely not! Not in this house. The three men crept through the back door, which I had noticed Jack forgot to lock, and stealthily walked through the kitchen, right past my hiding place, and then they split up. One went upstairs, one went to patrol the main floor, and the third stood lookout at the front door.

I stayed to the shadows and turned around and went to the kitchen through the other hall. I stayed low and stalked over to the counter, pulled the phone and receiver down, and pressed myself against the counter.

I dialed the number that first came to mind and the person on the other line answered, "Royal and General Bank." I quickly hung up, mentally kicking myself for calling them and wasting precious seconds, then I dialed Jack's number and she picked up after three rings.

"Alex-."

I interrupted her. "Jack, listen," I said in a hushed tone.

"Alex? What is going on? Are you ok?"

"Yes, but three men just broke in."

"Well, get out of there! Call MI6!"

"I'm not going to rely on them! And I can't get out. One guy is at the front door, another is upstairs, one is somewhere on this floor and there are probably more outside."

"Alex, listen, just stay hidden and I'll call MI6-." The line went dead.

"J-jack?" I whispered hoarsely, desperately.

Fearing the worst, I looked up and saw the worst; one of the three men was standing in front of me with the phone line in his hand.

On reaction, I jumped up and did a roundhouse kick, but he was expecting it. He ducked below my oncoming foot and punched my chest, but I blocked with my arms crossed and, with my leg still swinging, brought it around into the guy's head. He cursed, but stayed on his feet amazingly.

Acting in rage, he grabbed the ankle that just hit his head and yanked it back. Gritting my teeth, I waited for the exact moment when his hand was all the way back and I was about to hit the ground. It was then and I threw my hands to the ground, stopping my injury, and I pushed myself up with my arms while yanking my foot from his grasp. I drew my hand back and punched the guy straight in the face. He dropped like a, well, dead weight.

The guy in front of the door had obviously heard the fight and he ran forward, much to my delight, and right as he entered the kitchen I shot out my foot and hit him square on his chin. His head flew back and smashed into the wall and he dropped immediately. That left one guy.

I walked down the hall towards the stairs and was just about to go up them when a gruff voice shouted, "Hey!" I glanced up to the top of the stairs, and sure enough, there was the guy. He was standing there like a present under a Christmas tree just waiting to be unwrapped; I didn't have to look for him now and this would end quickly.

He rushed down the staircase, three at a time, and reached the bottom in a mere three seconds, but I was already out the door, careening down the street at 9PM. Cars flashed by giving me weird looks, but then they veered off the street, practically, to miss my pursuer. I felt happy when a car went by, but aggravated when it missed the guy pursuing me.

He followed me for about ¾ of a mile when I veered off the asphalt and into a large tree grove. I crashed through branch after branch and was rewarded by the sound of my pursuer doing what he did best at; pursuing me.

I jumped over a fallen tree and hid in the thick patch of leaves, where they used to be the top of the tree. The guy bounded over the dead tree and stopped, no longer hearing my footfalls. "Damn," he seethed, and reached into his back pocket, bringing out a phone-like object.

Sure enough it was a phone because the next minute he was talking into the LG Shine. "Dirk, I've lost the kid." The other person, Dirk, was apparently really mad because from a distance of fifteen feet, I could hear him screaming, "What do you mean 'lost him'? You better bring me that kid if you know what's good for you."

The guy, which I so happened to name Joe, slid the phone shut and shoved it back in his pocket, done with the conversation. He hopped back over the tree and was out of sight when I confirmed he was. I cautiously rose from my hiding place and crept over the tree, planning to go a different way from where I entered, but felt a hand grab my shoulder.

I whirled around and was about to punch the man's face in, but he hit my arm and deflected it, then grabbed and twisted it around my back, making me turn back around. I growled in disagreement and tried to free my hands, but he wouldn't give in. I finally reeled my foot back and it collided with his shin. He dropped to one knee and accidentally released my hands. With this newly stolen freedom, I ran forward with a burst of energy.

"Damn it!" Joe yelled and chased after me. Fortunate for me, but unfortunate for him, I was faster. I ran on, lengthening the gap between us, and took a sharp left turn. I kept the same speed and vaulted over another dead tree then ducked under hanging limbs to avoid a rather unpleasant accident.

As I jumped one last log, I halted immediately; there was a barbed wire fence. Without a second thought, I dropped to my stomach and crawled under the fence, army-style.

When I cleared the threat, Joe had just approached the fence. "You twerp!" he seethed and jumped the fence like it was a pile of rocks. I high-tailed it out of his view and leaped behind the protection of a tree.

"Quit hiding! You suck at it and it's going to get you killed!" Joe thundered.

An idea sparked itself in my head from his outburst and I picked up a good size limb. Grinning like a manic, I gripped my weapon and approached Joe from behind. Just as I swung the branch, he started to walk forward again, narrowly missing the branch. I yelled inwardly and stepped behind another tree.

Joe turned around and said, "I know you're here kid, so make this easy for me and come out." I had other ideas.

I discarded the limb and picked a small but heavy stick then started to climb the tree. I got a part of the way up when Joe started to back track. I threw the stick down and it landed 20 feet away: perfect.

Joe immediately turned towards the stick and crept over to it. Then he turned back around and I saw another threat; he was holding a gun. I turned my attention back to climbing and rose another five feet. Meanwhile, Joe was stalking towards my tree.

I picked my foot up another step and went to put it on a branch, but it slipped and crashed onto the next lower branch. Shit! How'd I miss that?!

Joe whipped around and raised the Glock to where I was hiding in the tree. Crap, he found me! I screamed in my head.

A shot rang out in the open and leaves 5 inches from my head disappeared. "Come out now or I'll put a bullet in you!" Joe screamed.

I climbed higher, ignoring how loud I was being, and made it to the top of the tree. I looked down at the ground and saw Joe scanning the tree for me. Looking up, I concentrated on the next tree; it was only 7 feet away.

Carefully, I stood up and launched myself at the tree, just barely grabbing the trunk. I looked back at Joe, but he didn't see me jump. Hehehe, idiot.

I cautiously shimmied down the trunk and tiptoed over the ground, staying hidden behind the trees, and quietly walked around at a wide 180-degree circle; I ended up a tree behind Joe again.

Amazing, I thought, He still hasn't recognized that I left that tree. Just like before, I picked up a good-looking branch and swung it at the guy's head. He stood there, dazed for a minute, and then dropped to the ground out cold.

I turned and proceeded to leave when a thought struck me, What if he comes after me again?

Turning back around, I dragged the guy to a tree trunk and took off his shoelaces, then pulled his arms back and tied them tightly to the trunk. It was sort of medieval, leaving a guy tied to a tree in empty woods alone and completely out of it, but oh well. I wasn't going to waste any sympathy on him.

As I got up, I grabbed the Glock from the ground, just in case someone else jumped me, and walked back to the road, some 700 feet away.