I hope if you are reading this you are enjoying it. Like I said earlier I don't own anything. This has male conduct in later chapters so if you don't like don't read. Please review so I know someone is reading. I will continue this story even with just one review. I do hope I get more than that, LOL. If you have anything you would like me to add please let me know and I will try. ENJOY.
--Lincoln Park Hospital-- October 6th 2004--10:47pm--
Skyler opened his eyes to darkness, unsure of what was happening. In the background he could hear someone yelling, but he couldn't make out the words. He could also hear the sounds of machines around him. He couldn't figure out where he was. His head was pounding again, and he was having trouble thinking. All of his thoughts were jumbled up in knots, more like everyone in the hospitals and he couldn't pull them apart from one another. For a moment, he felt incredibly dizzy and then it all stopped: the emotions, thoughts, and sickness.
He still couldn't see anything. He tried rubbed his eyes, but he was strapped to his bed. Fear fell over him, he had no idea what was going and why he was strapped to his bed. "Relax, kid, before you strain yourself." Skyler couldn't tell who said it, but he stopped moving immediately and started blinking his eyes again. A face slid into his view, a young man, with messy brown hair and a cute smile, but most of view was still quite blurry. "I see you're awake. Good. Can you see me properly? Skyler shook his head yes."Well, Now that you can see and hear me means you're doing great. I don't want to frighten you, but you have been restrained, which is why you can't move. Just relax. You're in Lincoln Park Hospital. I have to go see other patients, but the nurse on duty will be coming in to take your vitals. It's important that you remain relaxed, Skyler. Can I have your assurance you'll stay calm?" Shock his head yes again."Good. Skyler, the nurse will be here in just a moment." He turned leaving him alone in the room. Skyler closed his eyes and tried to relax in his bed.
"So I'm in a hospital" Skyler thought. "What happened to me?" He couldn't remember all of it. He did remember falling on the ground laughing when Jennifer was tickling him, but then all he could remember was all the people in the mall he could feel their emotions and then nothing. He searched his memory for anything, but that was all he could find. "I hope I didn't hurt anyone, or that anyone hurt me. I wonder my friends are or where my family is." He couldn't figure out why nobody was here with him.
Suddenly he was aware someone else was in the room. Most likely the nurse was there. He heard a ripping sound and felt someone touch his arm. "Skyler, can you hear me?" Josh opened his mouth and tried to speak. "Yes." His voice was crackly and low, but she heard him. "Good. I'm Susan, and I'm here to take your vital signs. I've removed the restraints, so you can sit up." Skyler slowly sat up and opened his eyes fully. He could see again! The room came into focus, revealing a small white hospital room with machines beeping all over and a TV hanging from the ceiling ahead of him. At the end of the room he could see the open door and the people passing about in the corridor outside. On his right side was a woman, looking to be in her mid twenties, pulling out a blood pressure cuff from the cabinets against the wall. She smiled when she saw him sitting up. "I'm glad to see you are finally wake and moving around. I was worried about you, you know." She shook her head. "Dreadful business at the mall tonight, you're lucky you didn't break any bones falling like that or kill anyone." Skyler wasn't sure what to say; he didn't remember falling from anywhere or hurting anyone. He was about to say so when she pulled the cuff off and announced, "You're blood pressure is just fine. I've got to check your temperature and so on, so if you could lean back against the bed I'll get the equipment." Without giving him a moment to do it himself, she gently pushed him back into the bed, still smiling. She reached over to the counter and grabbed a few devices from it; these she used to check that his eyes and ears were okay.
"Now, breathe in deep for me and hold it for a moment, then release. That's it. Again, please. Yup, that's what I need." She came over in front of him. "Well, Josh, your vitals are all fine. You're going to be okay. Do you feel okay?" As she asked him, she walked over to the door and closed it.
"Yeah, I fell okay. I'm just not sure what happened to me tonight. I can't remember a thing."
She sat down on the edge of the bed suddenly look grim. Josh got a sinking feeling in his stomach; whatever she was about to say, he wasn't going to like it. "Skyler, we called your family and told them what happened. Your parents weren't happy about it. In fact, they don't want to come and get you.
Unfortunately, we have no way of keeping you, but we can turn you over to the police, who can try to find a place for you to live." When Skyler started to shake his head, she held her hand up. "I know this doesn't sound good, but you have to understand. I do know of another solution though Skyler." She sat back a little and clasped her hands. "There's someone who is a close friend of my family who runs a school for people like you." Skyler looked at her for a moment. The events of the past day whirled in his head and he started to feel dizzy again."Sick...I need the bathroom, please...I'm - I'm going to throw up."
Susan helped Skyler up and walked him over to the bathroom. "Do you need any help? I can also give you some anti-nausea medication if you need it. You've got an IV, so I can simply put it in the back." He looked down at his arm and was surprised to see a line running from the underside of his wrist up to a bag hanging on a pole Susan was moving with him. In his haste to get up, he didn't even notice. "No, I'm okay; I just needed to breathe for a moment. I'm...I'm...I'm not sure what to do, I've never felt so hopeless." He started to cry, leaning on the bathroom door. He felt Susan put a hand on his shoulder and rub gently. "I don't even know what I did or what happened and why my family is doing this to me." He looked at the nurse, sniffling. "What happened to me?"
"Come here, back to the bed and I'll get you some tissues and then tell you what happened tonight." She gently took his arm and slowly led him back to the bed. "There you go, sit back and catch your breath. You've been through a lot tonight." He felt grateful for the help, but desperation took over. "Please tell me what happened! I need to know!"
She placed a hand on his chest and pushed him back on the bed. "Relax. If you get too excited, I'll have to sedate you, and then I can't tell you anything. Are you relaxing?" He nodded. "Good. Okay. Well, I think I'll begin with when you started having seizures. Do you know what a seizure is? You do? Okay. You started having a seizure and then, according to the witnesses, you began yelling about your head, grabbing it and screaming. You with me so far?"
Skyler tried to remember what she was telling him, but the whole time was simply a blank spot. It was like looking at a white wall and seeing a big black area right in front that would move anywhere you looked and you couldn't get rid of it. He nodded.
"Then, and this where it gets weird, you apparently started to glow and lift off the floor. Everyone says that you floated in the air about five or six feet for a few minutes, and then this blast shot out from you knocking everyone out and you simply fell and hit the ground." She patted him on the arm. Before Skyler could say anything, there was a knock at the door, and a policeman stuck his head inside. "Excuse me Mrs. Richards, but is this Skyler Anders's room? I need to speak to him."
"Officer Smith, Hi, Yes this is Skyler." Susan said to the man.
He pulled the rest of himself into the room. "Ah, so you are Skyler." He walked over to the bed and grasped Skyler's hand. "I'm Officer Smith, Isaac Smith." He said it like he thought he was James Bond. Skyler didn't know why, but he took an instant liking to the man. Maybe it was the soft way he talked. It kind of pushed away some of the wall most people seemed to carry around with them.
"Well, Skyler, I have to say, you gave a lot of people a fright tonight with the whole glowing floating thing. I've got to ask you a few questions about what happened tonight. Is that okay with you?"
Skyler wasn't sure at first what to say. He still couldn't remember anything. "Um, I don't really remember anything."
"Nothing?" Buford asked eagerly.
"Well, I remember some pain, and then, nothing. I woke up here. I wish I could remember it, because it sounds really weird to me."
"Certainty is, son. We've gotten ourselves into a big quandary here." He looked grim. Skyler started feeling that faint anxiety in his stomach again. "Ya see, since you are under the age of 18, and seeing how your parents said they don't want you coming home." Seeing the panicky look on Skyler's face, he pressed on quicker, trying to soothe him. "No, no, don't worry. I'm certain they are simply angry and scared. When people are faced with something they didn't expect, they sometimes act in... ways you wouldn't expect." He patted Skyler's shoulder. "I'm certain they'll come around, but until then, you'll need a place to stay, and the hospital ain't it." Susan looked like she was about to say something, but she swallowed her words.
Skyler looked up at the officer and smiled slightly. He looked around the room for a moment. "I still don't even fully understand what happened to me tonight."
"You can come with us and be placed in foster care." Skyler looked scared. "The other option is the streets - and I've heard they ain't very nice."
Skyler shifted in his bed, he'd been lying there long enough to suddenly realize his bottom had fallen asleep. "This is a lot to take in at once. Do you mind if I rest for a while?"
Officer Smith smiled at him. "That's okay. I've got someone else I should see here too. Since you can't seem to remember anything, all of my questions will have to wait. Still, I hope you feel better there, son." He touched Skyler's shoulder in a fatherly manner. "And if you get any more glowing or floating things going, let me know; I'd love to see it! Meanwhile, your nurse can tell you what will happen to you next" He winked at Skyler and left the room.
Skyler breathed out slowly and shifted again the bed, turning to face
Susan, whose face was etched with compassion, "Seems I've managed to royally fuck-up tonight, huh?" She laughed. "Yeah, it certainly is messed up. But you'll be okay. I can tell." Her eyes glistened. "Looking at you and how you are handling everything is amazing. "I screamed and paniced like a little five year old when this happened to me." She got up and hugged him tightly. "You'll get through everything fine, Skyler sweetie."
She let go and stood up, wiping her eyes. "Oh, look at me, I've ruined my mascara." When Skyler laughed, she smiled. "I've got a few other patients to check up on, and then I'll be back to make sure you are okay for the night." She gently kissed him on the forehead and then turned and walked out the door."Oh, Skyler, we will talk more about another option that better for you then foster care."
When Skyler was sure she was gone, he started to plan his escape. He knew that his parents wouldn't take him back, not after all of this. Like it or not, that was a fact. And he didn't want to be in the state system. He'd heard terrible stories about things going on in there, guys getting beaten up, raped, and even murdered. "I'm not going to end up like one of them" he thought.
Which left him with one option: running away. The streets, while not safe, seemed better than anything the hospital or the police could offer him. Heart feeling heavy, Skyler got up and grabbed a bandage out of the drawer to his left. He thanked God that they hadn't removed his clothing when he was asleep and replace it with a gown; this made things so much easier. Wincing, he slowly pulled the IV out while pressing down hard with the bandage. With a slight popping sound, it slid out of his wrist.
'Damm that hurt!' He wrapped some gauze around the bandage and then taped it. Then he looked around the room for anything of his that might still be there. His wallet and phone were in his pocket, but he bet that his phone would not work for long. "Well, here goes!" He said out loud to himself.
He strode over to the door and peeked out. At the moment the hall was deserted. Look both ways, he quickly stepped out the room and started walking towards the end of the hall, trying to look nonchalant. He passed by many other open rooms, all with the sounds of the sick and ailing and various soap operas.
Just as he was about to the turn the corner, he got the strangest feeling that Susan was right there. Without knowing why, he wedged himself in a small alcove by the intersection and waited. Sure enough, she breezed by, deep in conversation with a tall doctor about another patient. When she was far enough away, he darted out, going the opposite direction. He reached another intersection and chose a right, finding himself in front a bank of elevators. He checked the floor he was on (2), and pressed the down button.
Skyler breathed out a sigh of relief as the elevator made its way to the lobby. He really hadn't expected running away to be so easy. Still, he planned on being careful enough not to get seen by anyone who knew him in the hospital, as he planned to pose as a visitor to get out of the building.
When the elevator doors opened, his heart sank. Standing outside the door was Officer Smith.
"Skyler!" Smith was quite surprised, since he didn't expect to be seeing him anytime soon. "What are you doing down here?"
"Well...I've been discharged." He hoped that he had sounded convincing. "Oh. Well then, where do you plan on going?" He gave Skyler a piercing look, as if to say he didn't quite believe him.
Skyler thought fast. "My brother and sister are on their way here."
Smith was silent for a moment, and then he clapped his hand Skyler's shoulder. "I wish you luck, son." He pushed past him and stepped into the elevator. As the doors closed, he winked.
As Josh walked out into the lobby he felt a bubble of joy rising inside of him, ready to burst. He had done it! He made it out of hospital without a hitch. He still couldn't quite believe that he had wormed his way out of that so easily. He quickly walked out through the double doors.
--Toronto--Rouge Valley Park--Four Months Later--February 18, 2005--9:24pm--
Skyler couldn't believe how cold he was. He pulled his jacket closer around himself and settled against the dank brick wall for the night. His shivering was slowing down somewhat, now. He supposed he might be a bit warmer. It had been a while since he had felt a good source of heat. He was proud of himself. He had made it all the way to Toronto, through hitchhiking and when he got to the border, he just walked around the wood for a while till he made it into Canada.
The only bad thing was the hunger. It bit into him sometimes, especially late at night when his body was tired out and he hadn't had much to eat that day anyway. Sometimes he felt like he couldn't remember what it was like to eat three full meals a day. On good days, when his begging was top-notch, he could get 20 or more, that was more than enough for a decent meal at any small restaurant or McDonalds. But today was not one of those days at all. His muscles, so toned before were thin and wiry from not exercising. His diet didn't help his health much either. Lately he had been feeling even more tired that he should be and coughed more often.
Early into his time on the streets, he had come to peace with himself. It was obvious what had happened. Glowing and floating? He was a mutant after all. Surprisingly, the thought didn't really scare or disgust him. At least not anymore that is. He had more important things to worry about now, such as where his next meal lay and the best place to sleep depending on the weather, though he hadn't been in this city long to know where it was safe. Also while he walked around he had experimented with his powers.
He found he had the ability to move objects with his mind. He sometimes could lift cars and even semi-trucks with little effort. Then he found out that the tons of emotions he felt weren't just puberty but his empathy power. He could feel others and how they felt. He knew that there were other powers lying there, close to the surface, but he couldn't figure out how to release them. Sometimes they manifested themselves, but without his control. Like once, he was sitting on the street, and an old woman was crossing the street, a car was about to hit her, he knew that someone should help and he wanted to run after her. Next thing he knows he is right there be sided her helping he out of the way of the car. She thanked as she looked at the car driving by and when she turned to him she was shocked, saying he was her guardian angel sent to protect her. He was confused for a while till realized he could see through his hands and saw his body sitting on the curb. He had astral projected himself to the old lady and saved her.
He had gotten to use his powers a few times to help himself since the night he ran away from the hospital. Once, a group of thugs cornered him in an abandoned warehouse and smacked him across the face. When he fell to the floor, he reached out with his mind and pushed all four of them out of the second floor window and to the alley below. He covered his ears as they screamed and tried hard not to listen to the thuds of their bodies hitting the pavement below. Luckily for them, they all survived, but Skyler had never seen them again.
"Hey kid!" Skyler looked around for the voice, his eyes finally falling on a young man, no older than 25 or so, walking swiftly down the alley towards him. "Yeah, you. Hey, you got a smoke on you?" Skyler shook his head, digging his hands a bit closer to himself. He didn't want to talk to anyone, even cute guys like this one. He was a typical blond boy, but that didn't hide the glint in his eyes, a glint Skyler didn't like. The guy stepped a bit closer. "Are you sure, man? I'm really in need." He spoke the last word just dripping with an obvious leer. Skyler's heart began to pound. Skyler was about to answer when he noticed two other guys were making their way quietly down the alley, trying to stay hidden in the shadows. With an effort, he focused on the blond guy closest to him.
"No. I don't have anything you want." He stared at the man as he shifted slightly away. The blond man saw the move and grinned. "Are you afraid of me, kid?" He stooped down by Skyler and put his hand on his right leg. "Why are you afraid of me?" he murmured softly. Skyler started to shake with fear and tried to move away. "Don't touch me." He said, pushing the guy's hand away. The man smiled again. It was not a kind smile, but rather a very dirty smile. Not in the fact that his teeth were not quite the cleanest, but the in the manner that he was staring at Skyler with poorly concealed lust. "I know you want me as much as I want you." He pulled himself closer.
Suddenly, Skyler stopped shaking and his hands started to glow blue. "I'm warning you, back away from me or you will regret it." His voice was cold and hard and carried a tinge of something the blond man couldn't quite identify. Whatever it was, it sent a tingle of fear down his back. He backed away slightly, then changed his mind and grabbed Skyler, trying to pin him against the wall.
Skyler flung his hands out and the man flew across the alley only to slam into the brick wall on the other side. The other two men rushed Skyler, one of them kicking him in the stomach and the other punched him across the face. "Ahhhh" Skyler moaned, grabbing his stomach. The other man kicked him again. "Ya like that, huh?" when Skyler didn't answer, he grabbed his face and pulled him upright, kneeing him in the crotch. Skyler keeled over, unable to breathe. Stars flashed before his eyes and his head started to pound. Before he could try to catch his breath, he was smacked across the temple and his head banged hard against the wall behind him.
"I asked you a question, you mother-fucker! Don't you like it when
I fuck with you?" His breath smelled of alcohol, and Skyler recoiled from the stench. He weakly flexed his hands, but nothing happened, he was in too much pain to concentrate. "Please...don't hurt me anymore. I'll do anything you want." He tried to breathe in a bit deeper, but the pain bit him hard and he gasped. "I'll...do anything...you...you...want," He wheezed between tortured breaths.
The other man smiled and turned to his companion. "Check on Aaron while I try out my new toy." He shook Skyler roughly, kneeing him in the stomach again.
"Mac, Stop. This little bitch is mine." Aaron said standing up. The other man looked down pissed but he listened letting go of Skyler letting him fall to the ground gasping for air. "So, you want to use powers huh?" Aaron said with that dirty smile. Aaron came in close, extended his right hand grabbing Skyler's face, and then released his own power. A white light which burst from Aaron's palm was brighter than any natural light on this world. The light blasted Skyler's unshielded eyes, overloading their capacity to adapt. A searing, burning pain ripped through Skyler's eyes. Skyler screamed as his eyes felt like they were melting. Aaron removed his hand from Skyler. "Ha, you like that you little bitch?" Skyler was in so much pain he couldn't focus. Then another voice echoed through the alley. They weren't alone! Hope surged through his heart when he heard the person say, "Leave him alone." Skyler tried to look at the person talking, but his eyes wouldn't work, he couldn't see. Aaron just laughed "Come on guys, let's go." He let go of Skyler, "The names holy. See you around. Ha, never mind, you won't." Aaron said walking off leaving Skyler there with the new comer.
Skyler heard the other man walking over to him and placing his hand on his shoulder. "Come on, get up!" Skyler stood up with the help of the man. He squeezed his eyes closed to hope it would help with the pain. "I'm Marcus and you are?" Skyler looked in his direction."I'm Skyler." Marcus smiled. "Don't worry I'll take care of you Skyler."