Chapter Twelve
Johnny hated the hospital. Maybe it was because he had been stuck in one for almost six years that made him feel that way. But, he wouldn't let his hate of the place discourage him. Laura needed him and he wanted to be there for her.
He yawned loudly as he rubbed his tired eyes and looked at his cousin's sleeping form. She looked so peaceful when she was drugged. Luckily, the shot that was fired only hit her in the arm. His aim had been terrible due to the fact that he had been drinking all the while he had been torturing her.
Captain Malone had explained to him that Robert had been Robert Collins, the mayor of New York. He had also wondered if that was the real reason as to why she had come to see him. Maybe she thought that he could help her. He turned his attention away from her, with an exasperated sigh. That was a ridiculous theory. There was more behind her visit than that. There had to be.
He saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his attention back to Laura, who was laying there, her eyes trying to stay open. The pain killers were still affecting her, which made her feel slightly disoriented.
"Ugh! What year is it?" She asked, jokingly as her eyes landed on Johnny.
He didn't seem amused at her question. She was poking fun at his own past ordeal, which he didn't find very humorous. "Very funny," was all he said.
She laughed softly, but stopped when her body began to ache. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."
"You're feeling better, then?" Joking was a sure sign that she was feeling better. She always did it to make herself happier. It didn't usually work, though. This time was no different.
She nodded as her disorientation subsided and carefully sat up in her bed. "I've been better, but yeah." Her golden-brown eyes set upon his blue ones and quickly looked away. There were things that she needed to tell him, things that he most likely wouldn't understand. She had to do it now, before anything else happened to postpone her explanation.
Johnny noticed her behavior and figured that something was wrong. "What is it?" He asked?
"Johnny, there's something that I have to tell you; something that I've regretted not telling you for such a long time." Her eyes showed the worry inside of her. This was something that she seemed very avid about telling him.
He gave her a puzzled look as he took a deep breath. There really had been another intention for her to come and visit him. He really wished there hadn't been, but he wanted to hear what he had to say. "What?"
"This isn't easy to say, but it has to be said." She focused on her hands so she wouldn't have to look him in the eye. Johnny said nothing. He only placed a comforting hand over hers as reassurance that she could tell him anything; just like when they were younger. "I… I'm not what you think I am," she started as she chose her words carefully.
He furrowed his brow in confusion. "I don't get it. What are you talking about?" He asked.
"I'm not… normal, let's say." Whatever her interpretation of the word normal was, most likely didn't co-inside with his. "I've kept this hidden from you for so long that I don't even know where to begin." She bit her lip as if she was ashamed of what she was telling him.
"Try the beginning," he said. He was trying to be supportive of her. Whatever this was, it would take a lot of courage out of her. But, it made him wonder about what she meant about not being normal. He wouldn't interrupt her though. He wanted to hear what she had to say.
She gave a nervous laugh. "There really isn't a beginning; at least not for me." Johnny continued to look at her with confusion, but still said nothing. "Okay, I lied when I told you that it was hard for me to see you after you woke up. There was another reason why I couldn't."
"Which was what?" He asked, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
"I heard what you were able to do. I heard about the little girl you saved from that fire, when you had that vision of her."
"And that was what made you stay away?"
She nodded. "I was scared, Johnny."
"Of me? Why, because I was different?" He could feel anger building up inside of him. She was the last person he ever would have expected to judge someone because they were different.
She shook her head as she tried to explain. "No. That's not the reason why… Your new ability scared me. Because, then you could see me for what I really am and I didn't to be found out or judged for it."
This was really beginning to confuse the psychic. He sat in silence as he let everything settle in his head so that it might make a bit of sense. But, it didn't. "What are you talking about?" He wished that this would make more sense to him. He wanted to try to understand what she was trying to tell him and why she was so scared about it.
She let out an exasperated groan and banged her fist onto the mattress of the hospital bed. "This isn't working. I suppose I'll just have to show you."
Before he could ask what she was going to show him, she had grabbed his hand and closed her eyes. He was immediately overcome by a vision.
This was no ordinary vision. He was transported to an empty space that he seemed to be traveling through, with Laura by his side. Different-colored lights flickered ever so often as they moved through the semi-darkness. He looked at her with a beyond bewildered expression. "Where are we?" He asked.
She looked at him and smiled. "A place I've only been once before." He continued to look at her with confusion, but said nothing. "This is an active Dead Zone, Johnny. My active Dead Zone."
The vision quickly ended, which left Johnny in a state of shock. He stared at her in awe, words escaping him. Her Dead Zone was active? How could that be? "How?" was all he was able to get out.
"How, what?" she asked, unsure of what he was asking her about.
"How did this happen to you? How did you do that? How come you didn't tell me about this before? How long have you been able to do that?" The questions just came pouring out.
She smiled as she saw how confused he was. But, this was no laughing matter. She had to answer him. "I was born like this, Johnny. I've always been able to do it… I wanted to tell you about it before, bit I didn't know how you would react. It was bad enough going through high school, with people thinking that I was a freak. I didn't want you to think of me that way." She saw the expression on his face. It was the look of someone who knew that it was like to be ridiculed for something he had no control over. "I know that going through life like this is so much harder, though. That's why I hid it from everyone. Only Captain Malone knows about it and I wanted it to stay that way."
So, that was why it seemed like the captain had been hiding something from Walt. He really had been. That little bit of information seemed to have helped his shock to subside, but he continued to look at her in awe. "So, how did you do that? How were you able to transport both of us into your Dead Zone?" It felt weird to ask her that question. This was going to take some getting used to.
"Practice," she said. "My mother taught me how to do it, but it does take a lot out of you if you're not prepared enough to go through with it."
That brought a whole new wave of surprise upon him. "Your mother?" he asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. There's a reason why I was born with this. You see, it kind of… runs in the family. My mother had it, your mother had it, Grandma even had it," she explained.
"Wait," he said, snapping back into reality. "My mother was the most forgetful person in the world. How could she have had it?" He was beginning to think that he was being lied to. There was no way that his mother would have had this ability.
"Well, my mother told me that Aunt Vera decided to suppress her gift after your father died. After she lost him, she felt like she didn't need it anymore… Look, I know you think I've lying to you, but I'm not. You can choose to believe me about this or you can just blow me off. I just thought you'd like to know the truth."
He didn't say anything for a moment as he, once again, sorted out everything in his mind. The strange thing was, was that all of it made sense in a way. He was pretty sure that he could remember a time when his mother wasn't so forgetful. He couldn't see anything that was even close to a lie. She had to have been telling the truth. "So, what does this have to do with me?" He asked.
"Well, technically, you were never meant to receive it. It's supposed to only run through the women of the family. But, you're accident opened up your Dead Zone, allowing you to embrace it. So, you were never supposed to get it, which means, as far as I can tell, little J.J. won't receive it."
Surprise overtook him once again. He never had the chance to tell her about J.J. being his son. Sure, she had heard about him, but he had left that part out. "How long have you known?"
She smiled. "Since I made up with Sarah… One touch is all it takes."
Johnny couldn't help but smile. He and Laura had been so connected when they were younger. Now, they had more of a connection than ever. It was going to be like the old days, again.
Only one more chapter to go. I really wish that this story would have gotten more reviews, but I guess that's what happens when you write about a topic that a lot of people know nothing about.
Oh, well. Sorry that this took so long to be posted. I didn't like the flow of it and I had to re-write it, which I had to do with the last chapter also. So, stay tuned for the next chapter!
Please read and review!
