A/N: I am feeling so lousy right now for taking so long to update. Boo hoo. mopes around for a few minutes Argh, I'm still wasting time updating! Okay on with the fic. Please forgive me for taking so long!
Disclaimer: (I'm stealing this from you, rockstarhobbit, hope you don't mind! .) I don't own the 4400. If I did JORDAN WOULDN'T HAVE DIED!
Tom's POV
I enter through the large metal door of the hospital ward. I step into the sanitary smelling room, the loud beat of the heart monitor ringing in my ears.
I look at the sleeping form of my nephew. He looks so peaceful in his sleep that I forget that he is
actually unconscious. I stare absently at him for a few moments thinking of the times before the 4400 "incident." God, I miss him. He was a cool kid, a little weird sometimes, but all teens seem to be like that these days.
I creep closer to his bed, forgetting that I don't have to be so quiet. I pull out the nearest chair and
settle into it. Watching Shawn lying on the bed reminds me of the all-night's research I did on Collier. I fall into a deep sleep.
----
I wake with a start as I hear the loud rustling of sheets. I look around the room in surprise before
stopping at the stirring figure of Shawn. His face is screwed up as if he's having some sort of nightmare. I get up and hover over him worriedly.
"Shawn, calm down," I say, trying my best to quiet the young man.
Shawn relaxes and goes back to sleep. Closing my eyes, I let out a sigh of relief then sit back down. I rub temples for a moment before looking at Shawn again.
He seems to be opening his eyes very slowly. He finally opens them and stares blankly in front of him before finally taking in his surroundings. The heart monitor's starts "beeps" quicken drastically. I stare at Shawn in worry, watching the scene unfold. Shawn sits up and stares in confusion at everything.
Upon spotting me, the young man backs against his headboard, bringing his legs to his chest. He wraps his arms around his legs and stares at me in confusion and fright.
I get up slowly, putting my hand up to calm him down, show him that I don't mean any harm. The heart monitor gives away the fact that doing that makes no difference. Dang, those things are useful.
"Shawn, calm down," I say for the second time that hour. The young man stares at me as if I'm speaking a different language.
"H-How do you know my name?" He replies shakily.
"I'm your uncle, Uncle Tommy," I say, hoping for some sort of familiar spark on his face. Nothing.
"No, no, my uncle is, is," Shawn looks down, looking perplexedly into his arms.
"Shawn,"
"I can't remember," The young man says desolately. Realizing this, he immediately stands up and starts to pace beside the bed. "Why can't I remember anything?"
"Shawn, I think you should lie down, get some rest?" I inquire. "You've had a pretty rough night."
Shawn looks up at me confused.
"But I've been sleeping," He says in a tone of annoyance.
"No, Shawn, you were unconscious, that's different." I point out. "You need to take it easy; the last few days have been tough on you. I think you'll remember things more if you just take a quick nap."
"But I'm not tired," The younger man insists. "I just want to go home."
I sigh and look at Shawn earnestly.
"I'll help you find home, Shawn," I say to him sincerely.
"Promise?" He asks.
"Yes, Shawn, I do," I answer. "But I really need you to go to sleep now, okay?"
"Okay," Shawn smiles at me slightly and gets into the bed. I settle the blankets on him and stand up. The younger man looks up at me for a moment before his eyes flutter close.
"I'll see you soon, buddy" I say, and head for the exit. I glance at Shawn for a moment before turning out the lights.
Shawn's POV
I open my eyes a few minutes after the weird guy leaves. I think that guy is lying about taking me home. I was already home, he took me away from it; he took me away from Jordan.
I get out of my bed tripping slightly on the blankets and sheets. I search the room for a window or anything. All of my escape plans are stopped as I figure out that everything is locked with a sort of number-codey lock. Well, not everything has that button-codey thing. The door the weird guy went out of is open but I don't think that's very secret of me.
I check the three windows in the room once more before giving up. If only I knew the right code thing. I press all the numbers on it and to my surprise the window opens!
I look around the room quickly making sure nobody noticed. Phew. I get ready to go outside but a cool chill blows into the room. I wrap my arms around me then look down at my clothes. I don't think this little paper-dress thing is going to be very good for the cold wind outside.
I search the place for my old clothes before finding them in a hamper. They smell bad since they haven't been washed yet but I don't care. I really need them.
I successfully get my clothes on and head for the window. It's a small space but large enough for me to get through. I climb out of it and drop harshly into some bushes. I stand up from the bush, grimacing at the cuts the shrub's given me, and head towards the street.
I walk casually for a moment before some official looking guy spots me. I break into a run towards the exit, the man follows. I turn out from the building glancing backwards, but the guy is still chasing me along with two others.
I panic slightly but keep on running. My lungs start to burn and my mouth gets dry but the men never stop. I look for someplace for me to stop and hide but nothing immediately comes to view.
A few minutes later, I feel like I'm going to collapse. But in a distance, I see an abandoned garage. Yes.
I run for a short while longer, the men close on my trail, and arrive at the garage. I search quickly for a hiding spot, the guys still trying catching up, and find one. I jump inside an old, smelly dumpster, that's hidden ironically well.
I breathe heavily through my mouth, half because I'm exhausted, half because I can't bear the smell. I hear through the dumpster one of the men approaching me but he turns back upon reaching the acrid smell.
"He's not ober here," The man says through his plugged nose.
I thank the dumpster for smelling like dog poop/rotten eggs.
After awhile the voices die down. I sit quietly through the whole ordeal, my breathing slowing to normal pace. I open the top of the dumpster and peak out into the faintly lit garage.
"Is the coast clear?"
I jump back suddenly in surprise, bumping my head harshly on the back of the dumpster. The blow makes me dizzy for a moment. I scrunch up my eyes in pain and shake of my wooziness.
Head throbbing, I open my eyes and see the dirty face of a red-haired girl, maybe around my age. She is bent over me, staring concernedly.
"Are you okay?" the girl asks.
"My head hurts," I state.
"Yeah, sorry about that, I didn't mean to surprise you," the girl says. "You surprised me though, jumping into my dumpster like that."
"This is your dumpster?" I ask staring around at the dirty, smelly box-thing I was still stuck in.
"Well, no it's not mine," She says. "But I do live in it more or less."
I stare around at the space once more. I notice a tattered blanket in the corner and a few torn posters and pictures on the "walls" of the dumpster.
"Err, it's kinda smelly," I say, plugging my nose.
"Well, you're not very shy to speak your mind… I like that," She says, adding the last part timidly. She gets up and puts out her hand to help me. I grab it and she pulls me to my feet. I wobble a little as the dizziness comes back but I quickly gain my bearing.
"My name's Liv, what's yours?" She says after helping me out of the dumpster.
"It's, um, Shawn," I say hesitantly.
"Cool," She replies.
Liv grabs my hand and leads me down a little way to a place with many dirty smelly people.
She stops at a little blanket fort thing and pulls out two sodas. She hands one to me and sits down on a nearby box. I sit down too and sip my soda.
"Yeah, um, Liv?" I start.
"Yes?"
"Those two guys were running after me, I kinda escaped this place I was supposed to stay in…"
She frowns.
"Why did you escape it?"
"Well, I was trying to go home," I say at last.
"Where do you live?"
"I don't know, I can't remember where, I can't remember anything." I exclaim, my eyes brimming with tears.
Liv's POV
I look at the distressed young man in front of me. Something is definitely wrong with him. I'm not talking about his "home" problem; I'm talking about his brain problem. Why can't he remember anything?
I creep closer to him and wrap my arm around him. He leans forward into me.
"I don't know what's happened to me," he says.
"Shawn, do you know anything about your home?" I ask, looking down at him.
He thinks for a moment and something on his face shows recollection.
"Yes, it's a big place and, and, my friend lives there, his name is Jordan Collier," he says elatedly. "I remember that."
Jordan Collier? He's that dude with his face on those 4400 books. Shawn lives with that guy?
"You live with Jordan Collier?" I ask.
He nods.
"But I can't remember where," he replies sadly.
"I can help you," I say contentedly.
He looks up at me eagerly.
"Really?" he asks enthusiastically.
I nod.
"Yeah, I pass by your home everyday when I go… to my job," I say, mumbling the last part.
Shawn smiles at me sincerely and gives me a hug. I pat him on the back and we let go.
"Can we go now?" he asks.
"Sure, why not?" I say, jumping up from my spot.
Shawn follows suit and we walk into the afternoon air.
Answers:
I am so sorry. I cannot post my review answers anymore because Fan Fiction glares at the site won't let me (or any others) do it anymore. It's their "new rule" or something. Well, they can shove that rule up their butts. A petition is going around. If you'd like a copy, e-mail me. Oh, yeah, and don't worry. This new rule will not stop me from answering your guy's reviews. I'm posting them in my profile. So click my name and there you go. How clever am I? (Okay gonna stop gloating now.)
Thank you so much for all the reviews though. I'll try and update a bit faster next time to make up for last time! Please R&R!
Have a nice day,
-Sarah