Part 10 - merry christmas to all

"Hey. Hey, Dean?"

I came back to myself with a jerk. I stared down at my chest and shoulders. Damn, this was confusing. I was covered in stripes. Damn black and brown stripes.

What the hell? What happened to my Hawaiian shirt? I liked that shirt. It was a nice shirt. So many pretty flowers….

Good grief, the Mark of Cain muttered inside my head. Snap out of it. The fog inside my head began to clear. I remembered that Hawaiian shirt was a bundle of rags in the snow now. Damn.

I sat on the ground. I was covered in a blanket but my ass was cold. Something warm flooded my skin from the inside. Better.

A kid came into view. Dark hair. Worried look. I didn't like that. A kid shouldn't ever look like that. I wondered where Sammy got those clothes. I didn't recognize them. They looked new, not those thrift store specials we were used to.

I shook my head. No. Not Sam. Marty.

Marty's dad knelt beside me on my left. Marty was on my right.

The blanket was soft and warm. I pulled it even tighter around my chest and shoulders.

The Mark and my soul hummed underneath my skin. They were busy. Bones knitted back together. My skin healed.

Harris quirked an eyebrow at me. "So. Do you like turkey?"

"Huh?"

"We've got egg nog. With Jack Black."

"Is that..." I blinked at him. "Did...did you just invite me to dinner?"

Marty's dad nodded. "It'd be rude not to after what you did for us. So, do you like turkey?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do. Ummm….You had pie." That was a statement, not a question.

"We got apple. And peach. Come on. I'll help you up." Harris put my left arm over his shoulder.

Marty moved out of the way.

His dad held my wrist with his hand, leaned into me and then stood us up slowly. I wobbled at first.

When he took a step forward I stumbled. My knees wouldn't unbend. Funny thing was I didn't want to be helped. I wanted to move on my own, but I couldn't. My muscles were limp. Nothing worked right.

After a few more steps I got the hang of walking again.

Marty flicked a quick glance at me. "Thanks, Dean."

"You're welcome, dude. Anytime."

Marty's expression lightened. His mouth twitched up into a grin. I liked that better.

"I think we got some clothes that will fit you," his dad said. "I dunno about the shoes."

I nodded. "Thanks."

There were people all around us. The Harris family stood on the front porch of their house. The people from the neighborhood were out on their porches.

Snow crunched. Somebody was on my right side. I narrowed my eyes as I turned my head in that direction. Two young dudes from the apartment building bulled their way over the snowdrifts. I remembered them. Camera Guy and his sidekick, Stuck On Stupid. He pointed his camera at us and they both stood there staring.

I knew what they were seeing. My skin healed. Bruises faded. Scratches and burns too. Oh yeah, there was a You Tube video in my immediate future. I smiled a litle as I imagined the shocked look on Sam's face when he saw that. Shock first, then he'd bitchface.

Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. What the hell. I looked at Camera Guy and I grinned. I blinked black and winked at him.

"HOLY SHIT!" Camera Guy jerked back but he kept filming. His buddy's mouth dropped open even wider.

"Dude, did you see that? Tell me you got that! Please tell me you got that!"

"I got it, I got it!"

I rolled my eyes and blinked green again.

I felt better by the time we reached the stairs. Marty's mom and his grandmother smiled and nodded at me. They weren't afraid of me any more. The uncle who screamed backed up. He looked like he wanted to bolt but he didn't.

Camera Guy and Captain Stupid followed us up onto the porch.

"Excuse me, dudes, can we come inside -"

Marty turned and slammed the door in the dude's face.

Next: the epilogue.