Author's note – Thank you for the very positive reviews I have received for this story. They certainly motivate me to continue it!

Summary – All the people in Johnny's life are part of a disturbing vision he must piece together.

Characters – Johnny, Bruce, Dana, Sarah, Walt, Little Johnny.

Spoilers – First Season up to Destiny.

Disclaimer – The Dead Zone belongs to USA Network and Lions Gate Television and is based on the characters and novel by Stephen King.

Content – Drama/Angst/Mystery

Rating – PG13

Chapter five

Sarah picked up the cooler and placed it in the back of the car. She put her hands on her hips, watching as her husband and son packed up the rest of the car. She and Walt had reached an uneasy truce in their ongoing battles about Johnny. After talking long into the night she and Walt had come to an agreement about their camping trip. They were still going to the same area but she made him agree to stay away from the river and to camp near the ranger's station. Walt had reluctantly agreed.

JJ ran up to his mother. "Why can't you come, mommy?"

Sarah smiled at the son and ruffled the blond hair. "I have a meeting with the school board this evening. Otherwise I would go."

Walt glanced back as JJ and Sarah hugged. "Come on Champ. I wanna hit the road before the traffic gets heavy."

Sarah stood up as JJ climbed into the backseat of the car and strapped himself in. Walt walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek.

Sarah smiled and gazed into her husband's eyes. "Be careful."

Walt nodded cast his eyes up to the blue cloudless sky. It was still quite humid but not as bad as it had been. "I think the forecasters got it wrong." It hadn't rained all week but still the forecasters were predicting thunderstorms.

He smiled as he got into the driving seat of the car. "See you Sunday." He blew her a kiss and she pretended to catch it.

A light wind picked up as Sarah watched the car drive down the road. She felt a chill as she turned to go back into the house. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms to get the heat back into her. She glanced up at the sky and noticed some dark clouds on the horizon.

*******

Country music played on the radio as Walt and Little Johnny drove towards the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Little Johnny looked out the window of the car and watched as the landscape changed from suburban to countryside and forests.

"Dad?"

Walt stopped humming the song on the radio and looked through the rear view mirror to his son. "Yeah?"

"You know the Old Man of the Mountain?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Why is it called that?"

"It's a rock formation that looks like an old man's head on the side of the mountain. Some people say it was carved by someone –"

"Like Mount Rushmore!" Little Johnny said excited that he had remembered something from a geography lesson.

Walt smiled. "Yeah, like Mount Rushmore. Others say that it's just a natural phenomenon."

"Will we see it?"

"It ain't there any more. It collapsed a couple of months back."

"Oh." Little Johnny sat back in the seat and looked out the window again. He listened to his father singing tunelessly to the country music. "Dad?"

"Yeah."

"I've got a headache!"

Walt glanced back at his son. "Are you feeling sick? Do you want me to stop?"

Little Johnny let out a long sigh. "No Dad. It's your singing!"

His father looked back in mock horror. "You don't like my singing?"

The little boy giggled. "No! It frightens me. Put a decent station on!"

A small frown creased Walt's forehead. "Oh." He fiddled with the button on the radio and tuned in some rock music. "That's too loud!"

"No dad. Leave it on!"

"Leave it on? It's just noise!" exclaimed Walt.

"Turn it up!"

"No!" replied Walt with a wry smile. The two were silent for a few minutes. Walt noticed some very dark clouds getting closer and closer. The first drops of rain started falling as they crossed the state line. At first there were only a few drops but it soon turned into a downpour. The windscreen wipers swished as they cleared the rain off the window.

*********

Sarah stared absently out her kitchen window. She didn't notice the rain pouring from the darkened clouds overhead. Her thoughts turned to Johnny as they usually did. She tried not to but she had a tendency to compare Johnny with Walt. She knew it wasn't fair to do this but it was like a habit. She picked up the phone and stared at it for a few seconds. She put it down again. She grabbed her rain jacket and umbrella and went out the door.

*********

A glowing fire burned in the hearth of the Smith house. Dana lay back into Johnny on the couch, comfortable in his arms. Johnny twirled a strand of red hair around his fingers.

"Mmm. This is so nice," murmured Dana with her eyes closed.

"It is," replied Johnny. He stared into the fire and then closed his eyes as well.

Dana sat up suddenly and looked back at Johnny. "Oh I talked to Chatsworth. He said you can start coaching Chuck the week after next."

"Hey that's great. Thanks," replied Johnny. He leaned into her and they kissed. He ran his hands through her hair as their kiss intensified. She sighed quietly as he kissed her neck and began to unbutton her shirt. Then the doorbell sounded. Johnny groaned and lowered his head on her shoulder.

"Ignore it," said Dana. She took Johnny's hand and he stroked her face. The doorbell sounded again. Johnny sighed and reluctantly got to his feet. He turned to Dana and smiled. "I'll get rid of them."

She smiled and lay back on the couch again. She didn't bother buttoning up the shirt again.

Johnny opened the door and was surprised to see Sarah standing on the doorstep. "Sarah? What are you doing here?"

Sarah frowned at the abrupt tone of voice. "Well… Walt and Johnny are away and I thought you might need some company!" She brushed past Johnny before he could say any more.

"Um…. Sarah. It's not a good time."

"What do you mean it's not a good time?"

"Johnny. Who is it?"

Sarah turned at the sound of a female voice and saw Dana coming out of the living room. She stared at the woman, taking in the stocking feet and the half opened blouse. Pink spots flared on her cheeks as she looked from Dana to Johnny. Johnny's blue eyes went to the floor, to his fingernails, anywhere to avoid looking at the strained smile on Sarah's face.

"Excuse me,' Dana said breaking the silence that had descended upon them. She walked back into the living room buttoning her blouse. She smiled to herself.

"So where did Walt and Johnny go?" Johnny said eventually.

"Camping," replied Sarah.

Johnny swallowed as he stared at the dark haired woman standing in front of him. "What?"

She cast her eyes to the ceiling and brought them back to look at Johnny. "I made them promise to stay away from the river. They're not going to do any fishing, swimming. It's ok."

Johnny lowered himself into a nearby chair. He looked up at Sarah with a look of anxiety on his face.

Sarah smiled at the man with empathy. "It's ok," she said softly kneeling down on the floor beside him. She placed her hand on the arm of the chair. Johnny glanced at Sarah's hand. He saw the flash of the diamond from her engagement ring. Slowly, he took her hand in his and immediately he was transported….

…back to the forest, standing in a clearing beside a fast flowing river, watching as Sarah dropped to the ground as the rescue team pulled a body from the river. Johnny turned to see a figure huddled in a blanket sitting at the ambulance…

Johnny dropped Sarah's hand and got out of the chair with some difficulty. It seemed like this vision had zapped him of energy as he swayed on his feet. He reached out and held onto the wall.  Several seconds went by before he turned to Sarah who was still kneeling on the floor. The silence was broken by the clicking sounds of Dana's black high heels as she came back into the hallway. Her eyes went from Sarah to Johnny. "What's going on?"

Sarah didn't move from her kneeling position. "What did you see?

Johnny closed his eyes as if to block out the memory of the vision. He opened them again and looked intensely at Sarah who stood up. "Sarah, call the search and rescue team at the campground, tell them that the thunderstorm will cause a flash flood. Tell them a six year old boy will be swept into the river. His father will try to save him but won't be able to reach him –."

Sarah's hands went to her mouth, unable to comprehend the message Johnny was conveying to her in that urgent tone she had heard so many times before. Dana moved in beside the other woman and made her sit on the chair Johnny had sat in. The sound of a cell phone ringing startled them all.

TBC

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The next part will be posted soon.

Footnote - The Old Man of the Mountain is a natural rock formation on the side of a mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. A couple of months ago it collapsed.  Thanks to the fan fic geography group for providing me with this information. Who says fan fic isn't educational?!?