Jake
XXII
Dark. It was so dark! I- I couldn’t see. Nothing! It was dark. So, so dark! And, his evil ways. It cloaked me and snatched at me and wouldn’t let me go. It was evil. So, so evil! Evil and dark! Yes, very dark! And it was cold. It was the opposite of- of-. I forgot who it was. But it was the opposite of that person. Yes, yes, the Dark Cold Evil One, so different from the Light Warm Nice One. So, so different.
Then this boy, this light brown boy with dark hair and eyes came up to me and said: “Jake? Are you alright?” He made no sense. Who was Jake? Was it me? He was looking at me when he said it...So...maybe I was Jake?
My thoughts jumbled but three kept coming back: Dark, Cold, Evil. Those three despicable words. Yet they made the Evil Ones life story. He was cold and dark and evil. No life lay beneath his dark eyes, no mercy, no kindness.
It was horrible.
The boy kept on asking me questions. “Do you know who I am?” He asked.
I shook my head. He had a worried look on his face. I wondered if I did something wrong. “Who are you?” I asked again.
“Harrison,” The boy responded, “I’m your best friend.”
I shook my head. I didn’t know this boy. He was about to say something when a girl with sun hair and sea eyes came. Next to her stood a boy with gold eyes and black hair. Then the boy- Harrison sneezed. The girl spoke.
“What’s up?” She asked. She too acted as if she knew me.
“Jake...he...he…” Harrison said.
“Well?” Sun Girl asked, “What is it?”
“He...He has amnesia!” The last three words came out in a rush. Amnesia? Wasn’t that forgetting stuff? But...I still remember everything… right?
The gold boy and Sun Girl both gasped. Sun Girl's hands flew to her mouth. She shook her head in disbelief. “Jake?”
I looked around. Maybe their was someone else called Jake. No one else was there. I pointed to myself as if to say, me? She nodded and shook her head at the same time. There were tears in her eyes. A part of me wanted to comfort her but the other part said that I didn’t know her. She could be another Dark One. Except… She didn’t look very dark. And she didn’t have wavy, black tentacles like the other one. My brain fought while Harrison, Sun Girl and gold boy fought.
“What should we do?” asked Sun Girl, with tears in her eyes.
“Maybe we should go to the hospital?” suggested Harrison, thoughtfully.
“Idiot!” shouted gold boy, furiously. “How’d you explain this?” He gestured at me. I laughed. His frustration was amusing.
I guess that was the wrong thing to do, as the others looked weirdly at me. I covered my face and giggled. I expected the others to laugh too, but instead they continued their weird looks. I guessed they were trying to be humorous. So I laughed. They shook their heads.
“Well,” Harrison said, still looking at me funny. He sneezed. “What do you suggest then, oh smart guy?”
Gold boy thought but came up with nothing. “I guess we’ll take him to hospital,” Harrison smiled widely, “But with what excuse?”
“Easy, fighting.” piped in Sun Girl.
“Yeah, but fighting who?” asked Darryl. They looked confused so I said,
“Dark One?”
Harrison and Sun Girl exchanged looks. I guess they knew who the Dark One was and they didn’t like it one bit. Gold boy looked confused. “What’s going on?” He asked.
“We’ll tell you about it later.” Sun Girl said, “Jake’s our primary concern now.”
Pleased by their praise, I smiled widely and ugly, I burst out laughing at their disgusted faces. These people were very funny! Gold boy shook his head. “Let’s just say he ran into a wall. I mean that is what happened.”
They looked at me then nodded their heads in agreement. “Sure.” said Sun Girl.
“It’s the best we got.” agreed Harrison.
“But how do we get him there?” asked Sun Girl.
“Well,” admitted gold boy, “I’ve been working on an invisible hoverboard… and it’s pretty much ready… so… “
“YES!” yelled Harrison, pumping his fist in the air excitedly. “Yes, yes, yes!!!”
Gold boy smiled. “Way to go Darryl!” said Sun Girl. I guess gold boy had a name; Darryl.
“Thanks Carly.” Darryl replied. And now Sun Girl was Carly. The name held some affection in my brain, but I couldn’t understand why. Actually I could: her beautiful blond, shining hair and those intelligent, big, curious blue eyes, I could understand the affection her name held.
Darryl went to get his machine and left Harrison and Carly to ‘guard’ me. Instead of looking at them, I listened to a field mouse running towards it’s burrow. I looked at the sky. A beautiful eagle, with talons ready to kill, flew overhead. I looked away and pretended not to hear the squeal that was slowly dying on the mouse’s mouth.
Some things you just don’t want to see. Or hear.
When the eagle left, I opened my eyes to see Darryl swooping in on a floating hunk of metal. Harrison and Carly gasped. Then Harrison sneezed. I smiled and laughed and jumped in. I clapped my hands excitedly. The other three exchanged worried looks again.
We climbed aboard.
Darryl shook his head and said, “Everyone strapped in?” We nodded. “Then let’s go!”
His driving was shaky at first but soon he got a hang of it. In no time at all we landed in the desolate parking lot of Island Harbor Medical Center. There was an air of familiarity around.
Harrison took my phone from my pocket and called someone. “Hello?” he said. “Mrs Patterson? pause Yes, this is Harrison. pause They’re fine, but- pause I will, we’re at the hospital with Jake.” Harrison held the phone away from his ear and I very loudly heard a woman shouting, “WHAT!!” “He has amnesia.” Harrison continued. “pause Okay, I will pause Bye… By-” I heard the beeping that signified hanging up. I laughed and Harrison looked at me disgusted.
Harrison sneezed, then turned to the others. “She said she’ll be here in ten minutes.”
Carly nodded and bit her lip. I was then marched, by Darryl, to the Waiting Room. A lady with cropped auburn air sat in a chair. She didn’t look like she would be able to get out of that chair. “Hi Jake!” she said.
“Hi Agatha.” Harrison answered for me “Jake, he… he…”
“Yes?” encouraged Agatha.
“He has amnesia.”
Agatha gasped as well. She typed something into her laptop, then keyed in some numbers on the phone. After one ring it was answered.
“Doctor Chatterjee?” she asked. “We have a code…” She checked her list. “A code turquoise 78.”
The doctor said some words into the phone (I didn’t bother listening in) and the nurse nodded and mumbled “mhmm” occasionally.
Finally the call was over. Agatha said, “Well Jake, just sit tight until your Mom comes, okay?” I nodded.
I took a seat in a small plastic chair and tapped my feet on the floor impatiently. Carl bit her nails, Harrison kept rubbing his hands together, like an evil scientist. Minus the evil smile, plus the bad cold. Darryl just… sat there, like meh.
I started smiling at the differences in their facial expressions. Carly was worried and wasn’t trying to cover up. Harrison was failing miserably at covering up his expression, he tried his brave face. Darryl didn’t look like he cared. He had a blank expression. The best poker face ever.
I giggled.
The others adopted that he’s a weirdo face. I wonder why. I sat there listening to the sound of their heartbeats. It sounded like a series of over-excited drummers. Ba-Bum Ba-Bum Ba-Bum Ba-B-. My listening was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up in the parking lot. I instantly turned off my super hearing. I rubbed my hurt ears.
We stood up for no reason. A beautiful woman with a regal face and long blond hair. At first I thought she was Carly’s mom. They looked alike.
“Oh, Jakey!” s
he rushed towards and inspected my face. She hugged me.
Agatha cleared her throat. The lady jumped back and brushed her navy suit. “Sorry Agatha, please tell us the problem.”
“Well,” She began. “As I’m sure you know Jake is experiencing a form of amnesia. He remembers basic things like talking and definitions of words and stuff, but the more complex stuff, actually remembering people, that is damaged.”
“How did this happen?” the lady asked.
“He… ran into a wall.” said Darryl.
“Oh.”
“But not to worry!” announced Agatha. “He’ll be fine after a bit of rest and some basic treatment.”
“Phew!” said the lady, relieved. “I was getting worried.”
“Not at all, Mrs. Patterson!”
“So when do we start?”
“Well-”
Agatha was interrupted by the arrival of Doctor Chatterjee. Doctor Chatterjee was a fit Indian doctor who looked like he went to the gym regularly. He had bright blue eyes and a charming smile. “Why hello Jake!” he said, in a friendly voice. “How good to see you again!”
I waved uncertainly.
“Now, shall we begin?”
“Okay…” I said.
“So Jake please follow me.”
The others made a move towards him, but he held out a hand. “No visitors please. The patient needs to be alone.”
“Oh.” they said, unhappily.
Dr. Chatterjee led me to a big, bright room at the end of the hallway. Room 98. He opened the door and stepped aside to let me in.
I hesitantly walked into the bright room. It was empty except for a hospital bed, some machines and a child’s table and chair.
I sat down on the chair.
“Now Jake,” Dr. Chatterjee began. “Hospital tradition requires me to take your temperature. He took a thermometer out of a cup of boiling water and told me to raise my arm. I obeyed and he placed it in my armpit. “Now hold it there and don’t move.”
Once again I obeyed and the doctor busied himself by typing down my medical information on computer.
After a few minutes the thermometer beeped. I let loose an uncontrolled yelp of surprise, and the thermometer crashed to the ground. The doctor also yelped and rushed to pick up the thermometer.
“Ah!” said Dr. Chatterjee. “Just as I suspected! Ninety-eight point seven degrees Farenheight!! A tiny bit over normal, but in this heat, who can blame ya? I mean summer’s right around the corner! Lucky, huh?”
His ramblings gave me a headache and I asked if I could lie down. He seemed delighted by my answer and led me to the bed. He lifted the blanket, but I pushed it away and shook my head. It’s like what he said. It’s boiling!
I slept without the blanket for a good two hours. When I awoke my mind was clearer than before. I couldn’t remember all the people in the Waiting Room, but one name kept coming to me with a lot more familiarity this time.
Carly.