I do not own The Loud House. All rights belong to Nickelodeon.
Chapter 18
Lincoln used his telekinesis powers to bring everyone into Lori and Leni's room. They knew it was an emergency once they saw his blue and green glowing eyes. Most of them sat or lay in bed while Lincoln stood before them. The sisters and mother had concerned looks on their faces.
Lincoln started, "Okay, I'm sorry to wake you all in the middle of the night, but I wouldn't unless it was an emergency, and it is. So, you remember how we all had to work together to save Lori from getting into a fatal car accident?"
They all nodded.
"Well, now we all have to work together again, only we're saving Mom this time."
The sisters' eyes all widened, and some gasped. Lincoln summoned the light stream, pulled out a light orb, and explained as he showed.
"Because Mom is studying to be a registered nurse, she has to study at the university. So, she takes this bridge to get there. In one week from now, they will do maintenance on the bridge, but something goes wrong. The bridge breaks apart and collapses with everyone on it, including Mom," Lincoln explained.
The girls and Rita watched in horror as the light orb showed the bridge collapsing. It shook violently and fell apart, with all the cars and people falling into the river and the steel cables snapping off the concrete. They shivered with goosebumps, watching their mother fall. It was like a scene from Final Destination 5, but thankfully, it was without all the blood and gore.
Lincoln continued, "Now, saving Mom is easy. All she has to do is go the long way and take the bigger bridge west by the Costco at the edge of town. It just adds ten minutes to driving. However, here's the thing. No matter what happens, Mom on the bridge or not, the bridge will collapse. Which means—"
Everyone's eyes widened.
"All those people are going to die," Rita breathed.
"Exactly, and we can't let that happen in good conscience. So, it's not just Mom we have to save. It's all those people on the bridge – all 500 men, women, and children," Lincoln said.
Lana got off the bed she was sitting in and got up close to Lincoln, grabbing his shirt, "What is it?! What do we gotta do?! We'll do anything! Tell us what we need to do!"
Lori smiled aggressively, welcoming a challenge, "Whatever you need from us, we'll do it!"
Lincoln pulled out another light orb from the light stream, "We gotta blow up that bridge."
"What?!" Rita exclaimed.
"Say what?!" Lola added.
"Done! Let's do it!" Lori said immediately.
"Whoa, wait, what?!" Leni gasped.
"Okay, time out! Time out. Lincoln, bro, let's tone it down a moment. We're blowing up the bridge?" Luna asked.
"Yes, it'd going to collapse anyway. If we blow it up before it does, then no one will die," Lincoln said.
"Lincoln, we can't just blow up a bridge. I thought you said we were going to save those people!" Rita objected.
"We are. We're not blowing it up with people on it. Just let me explain," Lincoln said.
"Lincoln, I really don't—"
"Mom! Mom, Mom, guys," Luan calmed them down, "Lincoln can see into the future and all the various outcomes, including the one where everything will work out. Just let him explain. The more he talks and shows us, the more it'll make sense. Trust him. He's the man with the plan."
Rita glanced at the others before sighing, "Okay, Lincoln, how do we go about this?"
Lincoln showed the light orb, showing the future. They watched as he explained, "There's a big action movie being filmed in an abandoned factory. They're making a scene that ends with a big fiery explosion. We're going to steal enough packs of C4 to blow up the bridge. I'll disable the cameras with my lightning powers, but I need you guys to distract the guards from where they store the C4. Plus, we need Luan's help to pick the locks. No one needs to get hurt. We just need to lure them away from the explosives. Lisa will tell us how many packs we need to blow up the bridge. We don't need all of it. The only way to do this without hurting anyone is at night."
Lincoln pulled out another light orb and showed them its visions.
"During the day, the bridge is busy with people driving and walking on it. However, at night, between 1:00 and 3:30, it's totally empty. We'll have that whole bridge to ourselves, and it's outside of town, so there won't be anyone nearby to worry about. Here's what we'll do. We take however many C4 packs we need, we place the packs where they need to be, we get to a safe distance, we detonate the C4, blow up the bridge, save Mom and all the people, and in the words of Hades from the movie Hercules – we dance, we kiss, we schmooze, we carry on, and we go home. What do you say? Come on," Lincoln explained while almost perfectly imitating James Woods from the movie when he said that line at the end of Lincoln's explanation.
"So, the plan is to steal explosives and use them to blow the bridge late at night while there's nobody there?" Luna asked.
Lincoln nodded.
"If we destroy the bridge, Mom and all those people will be saved?" Lynn asked.
"We'll prevent a disaster?" Lola asked.
Lincoln nodded again, "I got a medal for being a hero. Now, it's your turn to be heroes. I mean, you kind of already are since you helped save Lori, but I need you guys to be heroes again. So, what do you say?"
Lori stood up, "We're in! We are so in! Let's do this!"
Lincoln stopped her before she rushed to put on her clothes. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Lori. Hold up. They're not gonna bring the explosives until tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Wait, so we're not doing this tonight?" Lucy asked.
"Why did you wake us up now to show us this?" Leni questioned.
"So that you guys could plan ahead and cancel your plans for tomorrow after school. I didn't want to tell you guys at the last minute," Lincoln answered.
"Oooooohh," the girls said in unison, followed by commentary on canceling events that involved sleeping over at a friend's place. Luna texted Sam that they would have to raincheck on the band practice and music session with Lincoln – she'll do it the day after.
They talked some more, but they agreed they'd work together to blow up the bridge. Everyone left for bed, but Lincoln stopped in the hallway.
"Wait, I'm forgetting something," Lincoln said. Then he snapped his fingers, "Ah, now I remember."
Lincoln walked back into Lori and Leni's room. They opened their eyes and raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"I forgot something," Lincoln said.
"What?" Lori asked.
"This."
Lincoln leaned in and kissed Lori's face, "Goodnight, Lori. I love you."
Lori smiled and pulled him in to kiss him back, "Goodnight, Snowflake. I love you too."
Lincoln walked over to kiss Leni goodnight. She had a warm smile on her face as she welcomed in with open arms. They kissed and hugged.
"Goodnight, Leni. I love you," Lincoln said.
"I love you too, Linky. Sweet dreams," Leni said back.
Lincoln went to each of the sisters' rooms to kiss them goodnight – they, of course, had no objections as they kissed him back. With that, they went to bed, back to sleep.
Later
The next day carried on, with everyone wishing it was over quicker. Once it was, everyone dressed casually like you'd wear when walking late at night so as not to draw too much suspicion. Lola wore overall jeans with a t-shirt like her twin sister's, and her hair was tied in a ponytail instead of wearing her pink gown. They all wore tennis shoes because there would be periods where they'd need to run to distract the guards.
The sun had set, and Lincoln teleported them to the old abandoned factory. The place had movie sets, trailers, spotlights, and security. There were fences, cameras, and guards. Lincoln put on a mask and hat to cover his face and teleported to the polls, where the cameras were. He used just a small amount of lightning to fry the cameras without making too much noise or being too bright. The girls snuck through the gates and past the guards. They distracted the guards by setting up the staff to fall into Luan's pranks. Lincoln teleported them where they needed to be and back. Once they fell into the trap, they thought the other was setting them up, resulting in a fight. Turns out, a paint bomb to the face can really piss someone off. The guards rushed over to break it up, leaving the storage room unguarded.
"I can see why you did pranks a lot, Luan," Lana said.
"It is satisfying when it works," Lola added.
"Yeah, but the problem is you're the only one laughing, not the others. That's why I quit pranking. It's just not worth it to make everyone else miserable just so you can get a laugh," Luan said.
"Dudes! Focus! We don't have a whole lot of time," Luna reminded.
Luan picked the locks to the storage room where all the C4 was.
"Whoa, there's a lot," Leni spoke.
Lucy sniffed, "Is it me, or does it smell like motor oil?"
"Yeah, that's what a lot of people don't know about C4. It's a plastic explosive with a texture that's a lot like clay. It has a distinctive odor that's like tar or motor oil. It's actually a really stable explosive, unlike others. The movies and TV shows have it wrong. You can't just set them off by shooting them with a gun or setting them on fire. It takes shockwaves to blow them up, which is why we really need those detonators to pull this off," Lana said.
Everyone stared at Lana with raised eyebrows.
"What? I can know stuff, too," Lana defended.
"She's correct. So, don't lose those detonators," Lisa said.
Lisa stated that they needed 60 packs to level the bridge. The sisters and Rita quickly loaded them into a big box truck with all the controls and detonators. Lincoln was using his powers to keep the guards and staff away.
"Guys, hurry! The guards are coming back!" Lori whispered.
One guard spotted them. His eyes widened, and he was about to radio for help, but then a bolt of lightning zapped him, and he fell unconscious. Then, another guard from across the way saw them. Lincoln shot a bolt of lightning at him. The lightning knocked him back ten feet, and he fell on his back with a burnt mark on his chest. Like the other guard, he was unconscious. The girls and Rita were stunned as they witnessed Lincoln's new powers – they had goosebumps crawl throughout their bodies.
Lincoln clapped his hands, "Come on! Come on! Let's go!"
A third guard appeared, but this time, Lincoln and the girls saw him coming, and they were able to hide. He went over to check on the unconscious guards. Lincoln was ready to zap him, but Lori snuck up behind him and hit him in the head with a wrench.
Lincoln looked up at her, and she grinned with a confident smile.
"Can't let you do all the work," Lori said.
They finished loading the C4 into the truck. Then, before anyone came back, they closed the storage room, and Lincoln teleported the truck to a safe area. Within a short hour, it was time – 1:00. The bridge was completely empty like Lincoln said. They opened the truck, and Lisa explained.
"Okay, I've drawn on this map where the C4 needs to be placed to cause enough destructive force to unbalance the bridge's main structure and cause it to collapse. The C4 packs are easy to work with. You simply need to flip this switch to turn on the remote fuse. The green light means it's on. Then, flipping, this switch turns on the red light, meaning it's armed. They won't blow up unless we turn these two keys and press that big red button under that plastic case," Lisa explained.
"Got it," the sisters and Lincoln said.
They placed the C4 packs where Lisa said 30 on one side and 30 on the other. They ensured both switches were flipped to show a green and red light. They finished within an hour. Once they were all in place and armed, Lincoln teleported them to a safe distance far from the bridge. They turned the keys on the primary control detonator, and it popped the plastic lid open.
"Who wants to do the honors?" Lincoln asked.
"I think you should do it, honey. This is all your plan to save everyone," Rita said.
"I was actually going to say you should do it, Mom, because Lincoln's vision showed you dying on that bridge," Lana said.
"Yeah, that makes sense," Lori agreed.
"Totes," Leni added.
The others agreed, and Rita finally said, "Okay, okay, how about this? We both press it, me and Lincoln."
Lincoln shrugged, "Okay."
They counted down from three, two, one and pressed it. The C4 exploded with dozens of bright explosions setting off in different parts of the bridge. The explosions were loud, and they could feel the shockwave even from a safe distance. It didn't take long for the bridge to crumble and fall apart. Debris from broken concrete, asphalt, and steel structures fell into the river. It was exciting to watch as the main structures fell. Lincoln pulled out the light orb of Rita and all those people dying, and they saw it lose color, indicating it would no longer happen.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief before cheering. Rita couldn't hold back her tears as she was smiling. She turned to her son and held him tightly in a warm hug. Lincoln hugged her back.
"Lincoln, you're my hero," Rita sobbed with joyful tears.
The other sisters teared up and joined in on the group hug. Rita planted several kisses on Lincoln's head and face.
"Thank you, Lincoln. Thank you so much," Rita breathed, gliding her fingers through his hair while holding him close.
"No problem, Mom," Lincoln responded as he hugged her back, "Congratulations everyone. You're all heroes."
"Team Loud rules!" Lynn hollered.
"Go Team Loud!" everyone cheered.
They continued to stay in a group hug.
"I love you so much," Rita said as she brushed her cheek against his hair.
"I love you too, Mom. I love all you girls."
Lincoln relished the group hug and being in his mother's arms. Rita eased to look at Lincoln with eyes full of pride and happiness. Her hand gently caressed his cheek as he looked back at her.
"My hero. My little knight in shining armor," Rita said.
"Oh, Mom," Lincoln replied while blushing.
A few tears streamed down her face, "My angel. My boy!"
She hugged him again, and Lincoln gently glided his nails on her back as he held her. Then he teleported everyone home. Everyone talked about how awesome blowing up the bridge was and how they saved their mother and all those people.
Lincoln spoke as they entered the living room, "There's one last thing to do."
That shut everyone up as they turned to Lincoln.
"However, it is impossible for you guys to do. Because we just did something amazing. We saved all those people, including our mother, so this calls for a victory dance. Although, there lies a problem. None of you can do a proper victory dance because your butts have no talent and skill like mine," Lincoln stated in a somewhat sassy tone at the end.
All of the sisters and Rita's eyes widened at that.
"Excuse you?" Lori questioned with a baffled voice.
"You heard me. It takes a butt with talent and skill to pull off a proper victory dance. Since I'm the only one in this family with both, I guess I'm dancing alone," Lincoln said.
"You? The only one? I doubt that," Lola said.
"The chances are slim," Lisa added.
"In your dreams, Snowflake," Lynn stated.
"You couldn't dance even if the people who made La La Land taught you," Luan mocked.
"Oh yeah? All aboard! Whoo-whoo! This caboose is leaving the station!" Lincoln hollered and started dancing, "Go Lincoln, best butt shake."
He danced around the ladies, and they watched with unimpressed looks.
"You call that a victory dance? Gimme a break, bro," Lana questioned before dancing, "Go, Lana. Go, Lana."
"You must be joking. Mine's better," Lola stated before dancing as well.
"Why do you even have a butt if that's all you're gonna do with it?" Lori questioned.
Leni scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Like you could any better."
The sisters looked at each other with a challenging look in their eyes. Then, they all broke out into their own victory dance, each busting different moves, even Lynn.
"Kids!" Rita called, making them stop to look at her, "Pleeeeaaaasssseee! Amateur hour! Complete and total amateur hour here.
Rita swung her butt out.
"This is how you do a victory dance! Oh yeah! Go, Mom! Shake that booty!" Rita said as she danced.
Lincoln looked toward the viewers, "Well, now you know where we get it from. As they say, the nuts don't fall too far from the tree."
Lincoln continued his victory dance with his family. Everyone was having fun and a good time despite the patriarch, Lynn Sr., not being there. Lynn Jr. was able to forget all the things that she was feeling bad about . . . for a while. But then the voices came.
"Having fun, Lynn? Enjoying yourself?" a voice whispered.
Lynn froze, and goosebumps ran up her body. She noticed that Lucy hadn't seen her yet. Lynn quickly thought of an excuse to leave the room.
"I gotta use the bathroom, but just so you know, my victory dance is better than yours!" Lynn hollered.
"No way, Jose. Have you seen moves this booty can break?" Lincoln asked as he moved his hips.
"Not as good as mine!" Lori countered.
They continued dancing while Lynn rushed to the bathroom. She washed her face and then gripped the sink, taking several deep breaths to slow down her heart rate.
"What's the matter, Lynn?" a voice whispered.
"She looks like she's seen a ghost," another voice said.
"Maybe this one?" a voice asked.
Lynn looked up and saw her adult homeless self. She shut her eyes hard and turned away.
"Oh, sure. Close your eyes and pretend it's all just a bad dream. Yeah, I'm sure that'll make it all go away," a voice said.
"If only life were that simple, right Lynn?" another voice asked.
Lynn's lips quivered, "Please . . . please stop. Please just let me enjoy the good times with my family. Please."
"Oh, did you hear that, everyone? She said please," a voice said with a chuckle.
"How polite! Just like Lincoln would have said please when you would have thrown him to the curb or when your teammates begged you to let them use the restroom to go number 2," another voice said.
"I'm begging you. Please, don't ruin this night for me. I did something good. I helped stop a terrible thing from happening. We blew up a bridge to save Mom and all those people. Doesn't that count for something?" Lynn asked with her eyes watering.
"One good deed doesn't overlap a bad one," the voice stated.
"Then what about a lifetime of good deeds?" Lynn asked.
It was silent for the longest of times. Lynn waited impatiently for a response as her eyes shifted all around.
"Lifetime? Of good deeds? You?" the voice asked.
"What, you're gonna join the peace core?" another voice questioned.
"You said one good deed doesn't overlap another, even if they haven't happened. So, what if I spend the rest of my life helping people . . . like in the peace core or something," Lynn suggested trying to keep her nerves together.
"As noble as that is, and that would be useful to somebody somewhere, I'm sure, but you're missing the point," the voice said.
"You can't buy your way into becoming a good person. Doing good things to get something out of it doesn't count as a good deed. Doing it because deep down you genuinely want to help others and you care does make you a good person, like your brother who has been saving his family from life-threatening danger," another voice said.
"Speaking of him, this wasn't all you. It was Lincoln," the voice said.
"But I helped!" Lynn insisted.
"Yeah, but you know how there's a group project, and there's that one kid that didn't pitch in as much but still ended up with the same grade? That's you. You're part of the team, but you're not the star player that won the goal," the voice said.
Lynn shook her head, "That is bullshit, and you know it."
"We know what you know, and we know that you'll never amount to anything good in life. Nothing that truly counts anyway," the voice said.
"Lincoln is better than you in every way," another voice said.
"He's a hero," the voices said, echoing.
"You're just a villain, a failure, a loser, a no-good Judas!" a voice yelled.
"Those events didn't happen, but it's still who you are!" a voice called.
Lynn closed her eyes and let the tears roll down her cheeks.
"You're right . . . I am a loser," Lynn admitted. She sobbed and let the tears fall in the sink, "I . . . I am so ashamed of myself."
Lynn tried to block out all the bad thoughts and flashbacks, but her mind was flooded with it all. All the bad memories, all the times she's bullied her family and friends, all the visions of the terrible things that she would have done to him. Lynn tried to focus on all the good things, but it was nearly impossible. It was like her mind wasn't in her control.
Then, a scream broke out from Luna. It startled Lynn as she quickly wiped her tears and rushed to the stairs. When she got there, she heard Luna speak.
"Dudes! Sam sent me a link to an article talking about the restaurant. Check out this review!" Luna said, handing her mother the phone.
Rita read, "From Cobie St. Deakin, a professional food critic. Lynn's Table turned into The Loud Table is a perfect 'back from the dead' scenario. Lynn's Table wasn't terrible, but it definitely wasn't something worth bragging about—"
"Ouch," Lynn whispered.
"—The Loud Table, however, is worth all the buzz. Not only is the food astonishing with different varieties and the fabulous twin chefs, but it's exciting to walk into. There are very few restaurants that I say are fun to go to, and The Loud Table is one of them! It's a place you must go to before you die."
Everyone gasped with joyful surprise.
"He said that?" Lincoln asked.
"Yes!" Luna squeed.
"Oh my god, Lincoln. This is literally amazing!" Lori praised.
"Lincoln, this will really put the restaurant on the mark and get a lot of attention. You did outstanding!" Rita added.
"Really?" Lincoln asked.
"Honey, in all the years that that restaurant has existed, I don't remember anyone ever giving it such a positive review. Believe me, I should know. Your father read me all the reviews when it was Lynn's Table."
Lincoln blushed, "Thanks. I don't want to rely too much on my future vision powers, but it's great to avoid some bad things that would have happened."
"Understatement of the year," Lori said while rolling her eyes.
"I'm not just talking about life or death situations. I mean, stuff like this," Lincoln pulled out a light orb, "In a failed attempt to win a video contest, Clyde and I do something really stupid. We record embarrassing moments of you guys, and as you can imagine, you don't appreciate me humiliating you like that. So, to try to win you guys over, I humiliate myself. You girls appreciate that and I win a 'Most Improved Brother' trophy that you girls make for me."
"Most Improved Brother?" Lori asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, you girls basically take pity on me not having a trophy, so you make one up, and it's to show that you appreciate that I throw my dignity under the bus for you," Lincoln explained.
"Well, I'm glad that was avoided altogether," Rita said as she and the others watched the light orb.
"Oh, bogus! I tear my leather pants? Crude!" Luna whined.
"I'm glad I gave up eating gross stuff. Not only is it bad for my health, but it's embarrassing," Lana said, crossing her arms.
"Thank goodness you and Clyde don't do this. Showing everyone while I'm in my beauty sleep would be the worst!" Lola stated.
"Geez, Lori. Maybe we should crown the queen of farts, huh?" Luan said.
"That was my shoes!" Lori snapped.
Lincoln fast-forwarded the orb to the parts where he purposely humiliated himself to win his sisters over. One of the stunts was him kissing Lucy's statue, Edwin, with a photo of Cristina's face on it.
"It's a good thing this never happens. Otherwise, I would have ridiculed Cristina, and she would think I'm a total creep and switch classes," Lincoln said.
"But she doesn't right now because this never happens, right?" Rita clarified.
Lincoln nodded, "Oh yeah. We're good friends. I help her and Girl Jordan in group study, and we hang out."
"Good."
"Does she flirt with you, Lincoln?" Lori asked, squinting her eyes.
"Nah, but she has asked who she should go out with. I suggested a few nice guys, but it's up to her. She did mention that she and Girl Jordan are a little jealous of Stella dating me, but they're both cool," Lincoln answered.
The girls looked back at the article talking about The Loud Table.
"I gotta say, I thought for sure we'd lose the restaurant," Luna said.
"Yeah, that cooking competition was a good idea, Lincoln," Leni complimented.
"Oh! Speaking of competitions, there's going to be one next week. Do you guys remember Bill Buck's agent, Rachael Fields? Well, she invited me to an art competition. Its theme is veteran art for this new exhibit at the museum," Lincoln said and then pulled out his phone, "And this is what I'm going to use to compete. It's almost done. There's few touches, but it's mostly finished."
Lincoln sent a photo in a group text to all his sisters and parents. When they all got it and looked at it, their jaws dropped, and their eyes widened. They were in awe of the art Lincoln drew of all the soldiers from every major American war and conflict. Lynn was speechless as she stared at the photo on her phone. For years, it never occurred to Lynn that her brother would possess such talent and skill. She knew he was an artist; she read his comic Full Deck, but this was truly extraordinary. Each soldier was so detailed, and the colors were bright and alive!
"O-M-Gosh! Lincoln, you drew this! This is totes amazing!" Leni praised with a big smile.
"This is literally drop-dead spectacular!" Lori added.
"Lincoln, your skills are improving," Luan said.
"Totally, bro. There's no doubt anymore. You're a big-league artist now. Thomas Kinkade would bow in respect if he were here right now, dudes," Luna stated.
"Oh my god. Thomas Kinkade, what a painter. Talk about a man who knew how to bring life to art. I've mastered my pencil skills, but not my painting skills yet. That's what I was going to do next," Lincoln said.
"No doubt that when you do, you'll be wonderful. Like I said before, Lincoln, art is a reflection of the soul, and your soul is beautiful," Lucy stated.
Lincoln blushed. They continued to talk high praise about Lincoln and how he made things better for everyone. They spoke with such pride and love. Lynn peered from the stairs to see Lincoln look around at everyone with a warm smile. He stood up straight with confidence and allowed himself to be proud of himself. Even from the stairs, he looked a little taller.
Lynn remembered how depressed Lincoln was before they found out about his future vision powers. For him, it was like waiting for the end of the world or for his death. It must have felt truly awful for him knowing what his family would do to him . . . what Lynn would do to her own brother. It was like a big doomsday clock was in his face, and he could only watch as it counted down to what would ruin the whole family and their lives . . . all because she couldn't handle losing one game.
Now that it's all changed, Lincoln is walking on air. He is a hero not only to Michigan but also to the whole nation. Everyone at school wants to be his friend. All the girls are jealous of Stella being his girlfriend. He has them flocking to him like the devil's charmer. Everyone knows and loves him. Lynn saw unread text messages. They were from her friends and teammates, all asking what was going on with her. Many of them stated how her game's off, and she doesn't seem like she's focusing, which is why they've been losing.
Lynn felt numb as she scrolled through her phone. Everything seemed darker and less colorful for her. Lincoln's climbing while she's sinking. She didn't have the heart to tell her family about her losing streak . . . or how bad her grades have gotten. She walked back to the bathroom to dry her hands and face. The aching pain in her chest left a hole where her heart should be. With it, she felt nothing but sorrow and shame mixed with guilt. Then, she trembled with fear as she stood at her bedroom doorway.
"What do I do? What am I going to do?" Lynn whimpered.
Then she felt someone's arms hug her from behind. She saw that it was Lincoln. The sisters walked past her to the bathroom to brush their teeth and get ready for bed – some, like Luna, rustled Lynn's hair as they passed her. At that moment, Lynn's fear and anxiety slowly vanished. She exhaled a relaxed sigh of relief as she relished the sensation of being in Lincoln's arms. The feeling of ease felt so good that Lynn could cry. Her mind no longer had all the bad memories or the visions or the nightmares. All she could think about was her brother and their shared good times. Lincoln planted a long and gentle kiss on Lynn's face. Lynn savored every second of it.
"I love you, Lincoln," Lynn whispered.
"I love you too, Lynn," Lincoln replied.
Lynn's dream
Lynn woke up in a hospital. She was lying in a hospital bed wearing a green gown that patients wear. A male stood close by and noticed that she had awakened.
"Ah, you're awake. That's good. Hello, I'm Jerry," the nurse said.
Lynn groaned, feeling stiff with her whole body aching, and had one hell of a headache. She noticed that she could only see out of her right eye because her left eye was covered in bandages.
"Where am I?" Lynn asked.
"You're at the hospital. You gave us quite the scare. Good thing someone brought you here. Someone really did a number on you. Several of your ribs are cracked, you got bruises all over, and we had to pull glass shards out of your face. Everyone thought it was pointless to check for anything more, but I wanted to make sure, and it's a good thing I did. You have severe bronchitis," Jerry explained.
Lynn scoffed, "That explains the blood I've been coughing up. My eye . . . is it gone?"
"No, but that bandage isn't coming off anytime soon, and these are for you," Jerry said, placing some meds on the stand next to Lynn's bed, "You should be grateful that the person who brought you here paid for the bill."
"Really? Where is he? I should thank him."
"He's gone already. However, you should take things easy and should quit smoking. I could smell off of your . . . clothes. Which we threw away because they were filthy, and you were too. We had to sterilize you before we could help you."
Lynn smelled her arm, "Is that why I smell like hand sanitizer?"
"Yes. We have some clean clothes for you. Is there anyone we can call to take you home?" Jerry asked.
"No, there isn't."
"Where do you live?"
"Nowhere."
Jerry stared at her before asking, "Do you mean that you're—?"
"Yes."
Lynn hated the words 'homeless' and 'hobo,' but that's what she was. She turned away in shame. Jerry noticed this and took his time to think of the right words. He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something on it. Then he gave it to Lynn. She saw that it was an address.
"What's this?"
"The address to a place that helps people who have nowhere to go. I used to do volunteer work there. If you go there, they'll help you. When you're healed up, you'll have to leave. Go there to that address. Ask for Mitchell. He runs the place," Jerry said.
A week later, Lynn was back on her feet. The meds really helped with her bronchitis, and her cough was gone. However, she craved a smoke as badly as a lion craved meat. The bandages were finally able to come off, but there were many scars on the left side of her face, and her eye was still red. The clothes were hand-me-downs, likely from Goodwill, but they were clean.
The place Jerry mentioned was on the other side of town, which wasn't a problem for Lynn since she hasn't had a car in years—so she walks everywhere. Lynn was feeling hopeful as she headed for the place. Jerry told her it had a program that helped people get jobs and get them back on their feet. However, the place Jerry talked about wasn't there. Or at least it didn't look like a place that helps homeless people because it was an empty lot with weeds growing up to the hips. Lynn looked around to make sure she was in the right place.
A bystander was unloading soft drinks for a food bank across the street. Lynn walked over and asked him, "Hey, excuse me. I don't know if I'm lost, but I'm trying to find this address. I thought this was it, but I must be wrong."
"Nope, that's it. The place burned down last year in a fire," the man replied before walking inside with a load of canned sodas.
Lynn's pupils shrank, and goosebumps ran up her body. She let out a heavy sigh. All her hopes went down the drain. Once again, she had nowhere to go. With that, she started walking.
Seven Years Later
Lynn drifted around from one place to another, eating food out of garbage cans and dumpsters—some of which gave her bad food poisoning. She thought she was lucky with a box of donuts but learned the hard way why they were thrown away, and they went right through her. The winters were the worst. The thing about the cold is it makes things that are wet stay damp and wet longer, especially when the sun's not out.
Lynn found a tent with an old mattress inside that no one was using under a highway overpass bridge. She managed to get a cart again to store all her belongings – not that she had much. Another thing about being homeless is it's not easy to make friends. There were other homeless people, but some were people you'd want to keep your distance from. Some were rough around the edges, and others weren't right in the head. Lynn made one friend . . . sort of. An old guy named Berny. He was okay once you got to know him, even though he didn't talk much.
That nurse wasn't kidding about quitting smoking. She tried smoking again, and it got her coughing hard. So, she stuck to alcohol. Thankfully, that doesn't expire or go back unless it's light stuff, like beer. That cold autumn had extra rain, and being homeless made it hard to stay dry. Lynn's shoes and socks were always damp and soggy – Berny's was even worse. With the cold wind, Lynn could barely feel her toes or her face.
As she walked alongside Berny while trying to resist the cold wind, some of the posters from the pole blew off, and one landed on Lynn's face. When she pulled it off, her eyes widened in surprise. It was a missing person poster. On it was a reward of $25,000. The poster had an old photo of a girl who looked a lot like Lynn.
At first, Lynn was surprised to see a missing person poster with a huge reward. Then she wondered if her family put any missing person posters of her when she started living in the streets. Lynn wanted to go home. She wanted to reunite with her family more than anything, but her pride couldn't take facing them and showing them that she was a failure.
She glanced back at the poster, "$25,000? That's a big number. Somebody must really love this girl. Did her whole family pitch in, or was it just a rich daddy? Did my family do the same when I didn't come home? Eh. Doesn't matter now. They probably think I'm dead . . . and it's better that way. I can't fuck up their lives."
Lynn's eyes watered, and the wind made her eyes colder. She wiped them away and continued walking as she dropped the poster. She and Berny sat down at their spot underneath the bridge. Berny coughed up a lung.
Lynn patted him on the back, "Deep breaths, Berny. Deep breaths."
Berny softly wheezed as he nodded. Lynn took a long sip from a bottle of vodka she had found in a garbage can.
"I remember the air used to be cleaner," Berny said in a raspy voice.
Lynn nodded, "Me too . . . I remember, too. I remember the sky used to be bluer, too."
What Lynn didn't see under all those posters was an old missing person poster dating back almost twenty years. The poster was faded and had lost much of its color, and the plastic seal suffered water damage. Despite that, it was still readable. It was a missing person poster of a young athletic brunette with her hair in a ponytail.
The reward was $100,000 . . . for Lynn Loud Jr.