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FIVE

Jason

The screaming of sirens brought me out of the pain-free darkness, but I couldn’t open my eyes. My head was throbbing, and as I became more aware, I realized there was something putting pressure on a very painful spot. I tried to reach up and feel my head, but my arms wouldn’t move. I was lying on a cot-like bed with straps around my legs and arms, as well as across my chest and stomach.

Adrenaline poured through my body as I began to lash out against the restraints; I quickly felt hands holding me down at the shoulders.

“Jason, stop,” an unfamiliar male voice commanded. Had I ended up with Mason’s men even after Alice showed up? Fingers pried my eyes open one at a time and I winced at the sudden bright light. The figure at the other end of the bright light was blurry, and he let my eyes close again.

“He has a concussion, probably doesn’t know he’s safe,” the voice said quietly, as if speaking to a different person. He didn’t sound like he wanted me hurt, but I didn’t hear Alice with him, so I couldn’t trust that I had been rescued.

“Let me go, please. I won’t tell anyone,” I pleaded as well as I could, but my voice was hoarse. “Please, let me go.” Repeating the plea did no good, and the bindings remained as secure as they’d been when I woke.

“Jason, you’re in an ambulance. We’re taking you to the hospital. The restraints are there for your protection,” the unknown man kept trying to convince me, but I needed more reassurance than a strange man could give me.

“Alice, help me,” I whispered.

“Detective Farrow will be seeing you at the hospital,” the man’s voice said again. He was speaking softly, and the voice was oddly soothing. He’d said Alice would be at the hospital. Could it be true? Was I actually away from Mason’s men?

“Can you open your eyes for me?” His request was not impossible, but I had no desire to repeat the searing pain it would cause.

“No… hurts,” I said. The sirens turned off and the feeling of motion stopped for a moment before the doors swung open and I was rushed out.

The paramedic who had been with me in the ambulance explained quickly what had happened as I was wheeled through the ER. “Gunshot wound to the head, we couldn’t see the wound itself because there was very heavy bleeding. He has a concussion, but speaking. Won’t open his eyes, he said it hurt too much. We started an IV and wrapped a pressure bandage around the wound.”

There were acknowledgments by several people then the paramedic said, “See you later, Jason. You’ll be fine.”

I lifted my hand slightly in response so he’d know I was still conscious, and I could almost hear the grin in his voice as he said, “Later, buddy.” Then I got swept away in a flurry of activity and medical jargon. After several minutes there was relief and I drifted into a glorious darkness.

The next time I woke, it was silent, besides the beeping of some kind of monitor. The pain was still there, but at a more tolerable level. The bed I lay on was softer than the gurney I’d been on in the ambulance, and I relished the feel of the soft pillows on my aching head. Behind my closed eyelids I could tell that the light wasn’t as bright as it had been earlier, so I cracked my eyes open. This time there was no painful spike going through my skull as my eyes opened, so I blinked a few times and took stock of my situation.

My head throbbed and I reached up, glad to find that I was no longer restrained. There was a gauze bandage taped in place over a sore spot on my head; as I felt around more, I found a painful lump on the back of my head from my first trip to la-la land.

I heard a groan and realized it came from me as I tried to stretch muscles that felt like they hadn’t been used in weeks. My use of power in the warehouse had taken its toll, and with the injury to my head adding to it, I wouldn’t be surprised if a full day had passed while I was unconscious.

I looked around the room and saw the heart monitor to my right and an IV stand with a line leading to my left arm on the other side of the bed. There was a TV in the upper right hand corner and a small table to the right of me that had a tray of food, apparently ready for whenever I woke. The door was standing open and I saw a uniformed cop walk past. A nurse came in, holding a chart and jotting something down without looking up at me. I watched her until she looked up.

“You’re awake,” she said with a hint of surprise. She smiled. “Your friends will be happy to hear it.”

“Friends?” I asked hoarsely, my mouth feeling like it was stuffed with cotton balls.

“Yes,” she said, moving toward me and helping me get a drink of water.

“Thanks,” I croaked. It felt odd to accept help for something as simple as drinking water, but my muscles weren’t up to the task just yet.

“A couple police officers are here to see you, also a younger girl, probably about your age. They’ve been waiting several hours.”

“Hannah,” I whispered. Alice had called her sister. I licked my lips and asked, “What happened?”

She pursed her lips, making her rounded face appear more angular than it really was. “What do you remember?”

I answered succinctly, “Got hit on the head. Woke up. Got threatened by a nut job. Police showed up. Heard a bang, and then hit on the head again.”

The nurse raised an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth stretched into an almost smile. “That sounds about right. A bullet grazed your head. There was a lot of blood and it gave you a mild concussion. You were lucky, young man, this could have been so much worse. The wound is stitched and bandaged now, and in all likelihood there will be a scar.”

“Hey, I’m alive. A scar doesn’t really matter right now.” I was starting to feel a bit tense as I nervously glanced around the room, trying to see out the window. The blinds were open, but the angle didn’t allow me to see out. “What floor are we on?”

I was trying to sound relaxed, but my apprehension must have shown because when she glanced at me before answering. There was a hint of concern mixed with her confusion. “We’re on the third floor. Why?”

I shrugged, trying to hide my discomfort. “No reason. I’m just curious.”

She nodded, her short brown hair bobbing with the motion. “Okay. I’m going to get your friends now. They can’t stay very long, but I know they’ll need your statement.”

“Thanks.” My hands were starting to shake. On the third floor anybody could sneak up on me and I would never feel them coming. I can feel slight vibrations on floors, but the identity would always be hidden from me.

“I need to get out of here,” I whispered. Mason would be coming for me; he’d said as much.
This isn’t over
. That’s what he’d said before he shot me. He could have so easily shot to kill, but for some unknown reason he hadn’t.

I was lost in my thoughts as Alice, Dan, and Hannah walked in.

“Jason? Are you okay?” I jumped, startled, my eyes searching for a threat.

It was Hannah who’d spoken and I spent a couple seconds pulling myself together. “Sorry,” I said quietly. “You startled me.”

“It’s okay. I didn’t realize you were so zoned out,” Hannah said with a slight smile. Behind that smile was concern. Like her sister, Hannah also knew about my ability, and that I was very uncomfortable anywhere above ground level. Hannah is my age and beautiful. She has long blonde hair that has a slight wave, and hazel eyes. She’s about 5’6” and slender. Not skinny. Her face had a gentle roundness. Unlike her sister, whose face—although still attractive—was rather angular.

My eighteen-year-old mind saw all the right curves in all the right places. However, that's not what makes Hannah beautiful. Although sometimes wielded with humor and sarcasm, it's her caring and compassion that make her beautiful; her willingness to spend time with a street kid, and see potential for more. When she pushed me to try to be something more than just another runaway, I wanted to trust that I could be somehow be better than my situation dictated.

After Hannah and Alice’s parents had died, she could have lost her caring and compassion. She could have let herself wallow in her grief to the exclusion of anyone but her sister. Instead, she had embraced her pain and used it to better empathize with others.

“Jase, you’re zoning out again,” she warned; the worry more clear this time. Her uneasy frown was obvious in her voice; I didn’t have to look at her to know it was there.

“Sorry. Just thinking. How long have I been out?” I asked, realizing I still had no idea.

“About a day and a half. You were taken yesterday morning and have been out until now. It’s about seven o’clock. They were worried about blood loss and possible brain damage,” Alice explained.

“Did they scan me?” I asked, concerned about the possibility that a scan would reveal something out of the ordinary.

“No, they measured your brain waves and realized that you were simply in a very deep sleep. The scan would have happened if you’d stayed out any longer,” Alice spoke professionally, but I could hear the guilt in her voice.

“Alice, you know this isn’t your fault, right?” I asked. “You didn’t do anything.”

Dan grunted and said, “That’s what I told her, kid.”

I jumped. I hadn’t expected him to speak up. Usually if he was with Alice, I tried to ignore him or refused to talk until he left. The older man noticed my reaction and cringed slightly. I tried to relax, but it was difficult. It wasn’t Dan’s fault, really. He just happened to bear an unfortunate resemblance to my father, and my defenses were at an all-time low. I had a hard time separating one from the other, and the sight of him brought back some horrible memories.

I rubbed at my arms where some old scars lingered, and my breathing sped up until I was almost hyperventilating, which made me panic even further. Memories from my childhood were threatening to tear me apart.

“Jason, relax. Breathe. You’re safe. No one here is going to hurt you.” Hannah’s voice was followed by her weight settling next to me on the bed as the heart monitor’s beeping sped up. She rubbed my back in small circles to sooth the tense muscles and help me slow my breathing.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry,” I said, reaching to hold Hannah and hide my face in shame as tears flowed down. She just held me and murmured softly to me as I cried for the first time in years. I just kept breathlessly whispering
I’m sorry
over and over again.

SIX

Alice

Waiting for Jason to regain consciousness was horrible, but watching him fall apart in my sister’s arms was worse. Something was hurting him, and it was an inner turmoil that I couldn’t hope to help. I could only trust that Hannah would be able to bring him out of it and that he would finally be able to tell someone what he’d gone through. I had seen him rubbing at the scars, and I knew what they meant. At some point in his life, Jason had tried to end it. The attempt hadn’t happened in the time I knew him, and that painted a horrible picture of what he’d gone through as a child.

I had seen plenty of people who’d attempted suicide, and they had not been nearly as together as Jason seemed. Several had never made it out of the mental institutions they’d been confined to for their own safety. That Jason had been able to move on and help other kids like him was impressive, and said a lot about his character. He was stronger than he now appeared, and he would be able to get past this panic attack with the help of his friends.

Dan was pale and looked upset, as if he were the cause of Jason’s meltdown. He was standing still, but I knew when he was truly stressed he liked to pace.

“Come on partner, let’s give Hannah a few minutes to work some magic,” I said, steering him out of the room so he’d have space to move if he wanted. The look Jason had given Dan when he’d spoken was that of a child’s terror, not the young man’s normal reaction. His physical pain and the effect of using his power so severely had clearly led to some unlocking in the memory department.

“Dan? You all right?”

He looked at me incredulously. “I cause a kid to have a meltdown by saying one thing to him, and you want to know if I’m all right?”

I sighed. “Dan. You have to know it’s not you that’s making him react this way. We don’t know enough about him or his past. You’ve never done anything to hurt him, and sooner or later he’s going to realize that.”

I could hear my sister speaking softly to Jason as he clung to her desperately. “Jason will be fine. You did nothing to him to cause any breakdown. He’s had a hard time and it’s catching up to him.”

“Hannah seems to really care for him,” Dan said, changing the subject.

I nodded; a smile on my face. “She does. And I’m fairly certain that Jason cares for her in the same way. For her, he might actually try to go back to school and get a job. He can have a good life. He just needs to realize it.”

“He’s been on the streets since he was thirteen. That’s a lot of schooling to catch up on,” Dan said. “But the kid is smart, and with some help, you’re right, he could do it.”

Dan and I waited in silence for several more minutes while Hannah tried to get Jason to calm down. I could hear them both talking in low tones and I hoped that whatever they were talking about was helping.

“Alice, Dan,” Hannah was at the door.

“Yes, Hannah? How is he?” I asked.

“He’s better, but he really needs to get out of here. He feels trapped. Is there any way we can get him out?”

“He got shot in the head, Hannah,” Dan said. “He needs to be supervised, not out on the streets.”

“Not to mention that Mason might come after him again,” I said. “He needs to be protected, and that would be easier somewhere else.” Hannah and I shared a glance, knowing that Jason felt completely helpless when he couldn’t feel the earth beneath him.

“Yes, but he still needs medical attention,” Dan insisted. “He got knocked out twice yesterday, or did you two forget? And then he's basically been in a coma since then. He needs to be monitored.”

“Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine,” Jason said coming up behind Hannah. There was a small bloody spot on his arm where he’d apparently decided to remove his IV.

“Jason, what are you doing out of bed?” Hannah scolded, grabbing some tissue for him to place against the wound. “I told you to stay put.”

He scowled. “You were talking about me, so I felt I should put in my two cents. I’m done with this place and I can leave when I want to. So whether you help me or not, I’m out of here.”

“He’s right, Dan. He’s eighteen and can sign out against medical advice. They can’t hold him here if he doesn’t want to stay.” I thought quickly and caught Hannah’s eyes as I spoke. “He can stay with us; at least while he’s healing.”

“At your house?” Dan’s voice showed his doubt. He had Jason’s best interests at heart, but my partner didn’t know what we knew about his abilities.

“He’ll have police protection and both Hannah and I will watch out for him in case anything goes wrong medically. It takes us five minutes to get to the hospital, Dan. He’d be fine.”

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here,” Jason growled. “I'd be happy to stay with you and Hannah, but I'm not staying here.”

“Okay. Fine. I’ll get the captain to assign a rotation at your house, Alice,” Dan said. He turned his attention to Jason. “It’s just in case Mason decides to come after you again. I know you don’t want that.”

Jason struggled with accepting help from Dan, but finally relented. “Agreed. Put police protection in place.” Jason looked at Hannah. “Can I please get out of here now?”

“Not until the doctor does a quick exam. Dan is right, Jason; you were just shot yesterday. You do need some medical assurance that you’re okay. Besides, you need a Band-Aid on that arm. You really shouldn’t have pulled your own IV line you know.”

The way Hannah said it made it clear that she was the one who needed the assurance. I looked at her sympathetically, and she gave me a wry half-smile in return. My sister was obviously falling hard, and I really hoped she wouldn’t get her heart broken. Jason would never intentionally hurt her, but he might push her away with the thought that she deserved someone better.

“Is Sam okay?” Jason asked suddenly.

“He’s fine. I drove by the alley last night and they were all there,” Dan said.

I looked at him in surprise. “You did?”

“Yeah. I wanted to make sure nothing more had happened to the kid. I even told them that Jason was going to be okay. They didn’t come to me, but I told them anyway. They needed to know.”

Jason looked at Dan, a confused expression on his face. “Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” Dan said quietly, not wanting to scare Jason again.

I hoped eventually Jason would be able to separate Dan from whoever had scared him so badly in the past. For now we’d have to be happy with baby steps.