Whump Prompt Challenge: Fever - Hurt Jason Scott 3/3 (PR2017)
A Fevered Dream Final Chapter
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Coming back from… wherever it was he’d gone to wasn’t easy. It was exhausting and lonely and scary and he’d never felt more helpless or weak in his life. It was a terrible feeling. It was even worse waking up to pain and mind numbing confusion and not being able to breathe or talk or scream for help, clawing desperately at whatever it was that was choking him and feeling so utterly terrified and desperate and alone even though he could sense the presence of people around him and the voices saying words into his ear that he couldn’t understand.
But it was a soft voice calling his name, a voice that struck a chord somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind that grounded him, that pulled him back into reality. A voice that all of a sudden he missed so much and a presence that offered him comfort beyond words just by being near. He didn’t realize how much he missed her until he was staring at her face.
Mom.
He didn’t remember going anywhere but he most have gone somewhere if he was suddenly returning to the sight of his mom’s tear filled eyes and her showering him in kisses and his dad sobbing softly into his chest. He didn’t think he’d ever seen his dad cry, but something terrible must have happened to illicit such a response from the usually stoic man.
He opened his mouth to ask if his dad was alright, if they were both alright, but no sound came out only the uncomfortable feeling like his throat was made of sandpaper and the air rushing past only aggravated it, sending him into a painful coughing fit that didn’t pass for almost a minute. By the time it subsided, tears were trickling down his face and it felt like his whole chest cavity up into his trachea was filled with lava, burning him from the inside.
But his mom and dad were there, stroking his hair and holding his hand and whispering words into his ear that he could barely decipher; it was only their presence he needed and having them there automatically made everything slightly less sucky.
He barely remembered going into surgery much less coming out of it. But the next thing he realized he was once again fighting his way out of the darkness, emerging into the near blinding brightness of the white ceiling and his parent’s overjoyed faces looking down at him. His whole right leg felt numb, his sore throat that had been slowly healing once again felt like he’d inhaled burning embers instead of oxygen and he felt absolutely bone-weary exhausted he could barely lift his arms an inch above the mattress. But his mom and dad were there and to Jason that mean a lot more than his pain.
It was two days after he first woke up – at least that’s what his mom told him, he had absolutely no sense of time, sometimes he even had to be reminded that he was in the hospital because he’d forget. It was a terrible feeling not being in control of one’s own mind. His mom tried cheering him on and telling him stories about everything and nothing to take his mind off things; even his dad didn’t bring up the topic of the cow or the arrest and he didn’t mention the word football even once during the duration of his stay which was the most surprising.
Almost dying seemed to take precedence over everything else which Jason was deep down rather thankful for – not the almost dying part.
But his day really started looking up when his mom brought Pearl over. At least it would have been if she didn’t burst into tears the moment she laid eyes on him. It was the absolute worst Jason ever felt watching his little sister cry because of him, for him and no being able to rush over and swoop her up into his arms. But his dad was there to do what he couldn’t; lifting Pearl up and over to the bed, placing her at Jason’s side where she immediately latched onto him, her arms reaching across his shoulder and around his neck, holding on tight; her face buried into his shoulder. Jason could only slowly return the embrace; his arms still felt like lead and his movements were heavy and frustratingly restricted, but Pearl needed him in that moment and he’d made a promise to himself to always be there for her – a promise he’d sorely been neglecting unfortunately. He had a lot to make up to her for.
“I missed you, Jason,” he heard her sob and the sorrow in her voice shattered his heart to pieces.
“I missed you too, Pearl,” he said; speaking was painful and his voice came out barely above a whisper but it was enough to get Pearl’s attention who turned up a teary gaze to stare at him intently.
“Are you alright now?” she asked, sniffling softly though not easing the grip she had on his neck.
He nodded, trying to suppress a cough. “I am.”
“Promise?”
He forced a small smile onto his face that he intended to look happier than he felt on the inside. “I promise.”
The answer seemed enough for Pearl who immediately tightened her grip and burrowed deeper into his embrace immediately after.
Jason shared look with his dad who was standing back just watching the scene unfold. A small sad smile came onto his bearded face for a moment before he nodded towards the door, indicating that he’d leave him and Pearl to their privacy for a while.
Jason just let out a sigh the moment his dad stepped out the door.
So much had happened over the course of the last couple of days. He didn’t remember most of it but he could feel the physical side-effects. He was just tired, his leg hurt and didn’t hurt at the same time which was the weirdest feeling; swallowing was painful and there were still so many wires and tubes attached to him he couldn’t even find a position that was remotely comfortable; the only upside to the entire situation was his mom and dad’s presence and now Pearl’s there by his side.
His relationship with his dad had been on the rocky cliffs for a long time, pretty much since he joined the football team at his dad’s insistence. He loved playing football, but somehow, never as much as his dad loved watching him play football. Somewhere down the line, his passion for the game had turned into more of an obligation and it came to the point where he realized that he just didn’t love it as much as he once did. But he played for his dad instead for himself and at one point it just gave birth to feelings of negativity and resentment towards the man that he never hid very well.
The prank with the cow had been only half for that reason. Deep down maybe he’d wanted to get caught; maybe he’d wanted to get kicked off the team. He never intended on going to jail though, that particular outcome still sucked ass.
But the way his dad had looked at him the last couple of days; without the bitterness and the disappointment he’d grown used to seeing on his face, it was unnerving, but not unwanted. He didn’t realize how much he missed having his dad look at him with pride; how much he missed wanting his dad to look at him with pride when it came to something other than football, but there it was, plain as day on his face and Jason basked in it.
A few of his football buddies had stopped by once he was moved into a regular room. Jason appreciated the visit but it wasn’t one he really wanted at that point. They were appreciative of him not ratting them out for their involvement in the unfortunate prank gone bad – as if there was any chance he would have been a snitch anyway, especially considering that it was his own stupid fault for getting caught and ending up where he did. It was a series of bad lucks and bad choices that landed Jason where it did and there was absolutely no one else to blame for it. He just waved off their thanks with the excuse that he was getting tired, which wasn’t even a complete lie anyway.
He knew he was off the team without anyone having to mention it – maybe a small part of himself was even glad; the very small part than maybe even looked forward to not being revered by the people he passed by in the hall and getting a chorus of exited ‘Jason Scott’s by random strangers in town. Maybe it was weird being happy for something like that, but ultimately he was just tired and he wasn’t even talking about the physical kind.
The window at the far corner of his room was open, letting in a cool breeze and the sound of the leaves and the trees rustling in the courtyard below. The sun was shining and there was even the clichéd sound of birds singing in the distance.
Jason missed being outside. He’d only been really awake and aware for a couple of days but already he was getting antsy over being cooped up inside staring at an endless supply of bland white walls. Couldn’t they have been red or something – anything other than bland ass white?
His visitor list was pretty limited, being only his parents, Pearl who was currently curled up sleeping, tucked into his side; the few guys from the football team that one time and an endless array of doctors and nurses, so he was rather confused when a person who didn’t belong to any of the aforementioned group suddenly walked in.
At second glance, he recognized him as one of the kids he’d seen around school, always meandering around by himself tinkering with something or another and not really taking note of his surroundings until he’d inevitably get body slammed into a locker or a door. He’d step in to intervene whenever it happened in front of his eyes but he wasn’t the school’s resident bouncer or anything.
“Umm, hi?” he greeted hesitantly.
“Oh, hello!” said the kid, finally looking up at Jason and then glancing around at his surrounding as if he wasn’t sure where he was or how he even got there.
“Can… I help you?”
“I’m looking for my mom,” he said, “I lost her. Or rather, she lost me would be more appropriate to say because she’s somewhere where she’s supposed to be and I’m right here where I’m not really supposed to be – Have you seen her?” and then as if he just realized what he said, immediately backtracked without Jason even getting a chance to reply. “Of course you wouldn’t have seen her, since you’re there and haven’t been around the part of the hospital where she’s supposed to be which is where I’m supposed to be. I mean –”
“Whoa – whoa – whoa,” said Jason, raising a hand to stop him mid rant. “Hang on, man, one thing at a time. Umm… who are you?”
“Oh, I’m Billy. Billy Cranston! Cranston with an N like cranberry, not an M like crème – you know like, the Kristy Kreme, but with a C not a K. And you’re Jason right? Jason Scott? I know you from school, I mean I know of you – I’ve seen you around school with the other football guys. I heard you stole a cow and crashed a car which is crazy! I don’t know how to drive a car – or even how to handle a cow; I like cows, but I’m kind of scared of them too, but they seem like really chill animals but they’re –”
“Billy,” said Jason, cutting him off, reaching up to massage the bridge of his nose, feeling the tell-tale signs of a headache coming on, “Not that that isn’t interesting or anything, but again – how can I help you? I haven’t seen your mom around if that’s really what you want to know.”
Billy opened his mouth to speak but both their attentions were caught by a sudden commotion coming from – of all places: outside Jason’s window. Jason wasn’t sure how that was even possible; his room was on the third floor of the hospital. However he didn’t have time to wonder over it for long because all of a sudden a dark figure came flying in through his window like something straight out of a comic book, rolling a few times and coming to a splayed halt at the foot of his bed.
Not two seconds after that a yelping Billy joined him on the floor, a third figure having barreled into him from behind sending all three of them landing in a heap at the foot of his bed. Jason sat up higher, careful not to wake his sister still sleeping curled into his side; trying to peer over the edge of the bed at the figures trying to untangle themselves and the violent profane words being thrown around by a distinctly feminine voice.
“What the hell – get off!”
“Guys! Guys! I’d appreciate if you get off me – ow, ow, ow that foot should not be that close to that part of the human anatomy.”
The third unfamiliar voice was just letting out the most insane cackling sound that Jason was convinced that he must have been an escapee from the psych ward.
“I didn’t know there was a party happening just a few doors down I would have brought my party hat,” came another new voice. Jason felt like he was getting whiplash from all the new an unexpected people who literally just materialized in his room.
He looked up to find the infamous Kimberly Hart standing with her arms crossed, leaning one shoulder against the doorframe surveying the scene with an amused gaze.
“Are these guys with you?” Jason asked.
“What? No, I thought they’re with you, since they are in your room,” she answered.
It seemed like the tangled trio finally managed to free themselves from the heap because one by one they popped up off the ground like the strangest version of a human whack-a-mole.
Billy; Jason had just met, but the other two he thinks were also students at Angel Grove High, he might have seen them around school but never interacted – which wasn’t the most shocking thing.
“Guys, that was the strangest and least sexy human orgy I’ve ever been a part of,” said the Asian guy who come flying in through the window like some stunt gone bad in a Jackie Chan movie.
“You guys better stay a million and one miles away from me otherwise you’re all going to catch these hands,” said the new girl.
Jason really didn’t know what was happening, who these people were or why they were even there. “Umm, not that I don’t appreciate the visit,” he said, clearing his throat, “But… who the hell are you guys?”
“We’re the ghost of Christmas past, present and future,” sniggered the Asian guy who seemed to have a perpetual grin carved onto his face. “And this must be Tiny Tim,” he said pointing towards the angry girl in the yellow shirt.
“You wanna catch these fists dude? Keep it up.”
“Dude you came flying in through the window – we’re on the third floor,” said Jason, feeling the thumping of the headache getting more apparent.
“I’m Billy. Billy Cranston. Cranston with an N –”
“Yeah Billy, I think we all know who you are,” said Kimberly, “Billy with the crayons right?”
“No – not with the crayons, that’s distinctly not possible to cram –”
“Anyway, it’s been fun guys,” said the Asian guy, dusting himself off, “But I think I better be out of here before the cops find me.”
“I still don’t know who you are or where the hell you came from,” said Jason.
“It will all be explained to you in due time,” he said in a teasing tone, the smirk still frustratingly present on his face. “But like I said, I really should –” he took one step towards the door and halted suddenly in his step.
It wasn’t anything apparent that happened or even anything that was corporeal, but all of a sudden there was a pulsating wave inside the room that resonated through all five of them, almost like a single pulsing heartbeat that they felt inside their soul.
Jason grabbed at his chest but didn’t feel anything different besides that one wave that washed through the room. He looked around at the four other occupants and realized that they’d felt the same thing.
“What the hell was that?” asked the girl in the yellow shirt, looking down at herself.
“You guys felt it too?” asked Billy, looking half excited and half freaked out which mirrored Jason’s feelings exactly.
All of them exchanged glances from one to the other, as if whatever that happened had forged a connection between them that they couldn’t see, but could somehow feel thrumming in the back of their minds like an itch.
But as soon as the feeling came, it was gone without a trace that it was ever even there.
“Must have been a like the blast of a jet engine or something,” said Kimberly.
Jason decided not to point out that feeling the blast of a jet engine would only be possible if there was a jet engine anywhere in the vicinity.
“You guys are weird,” said the other girl with a scoff, “I’m out of here, gotta go find my brothers,” she said, pushing past Kimberly and disappearing out of the room without another word.
The strange guy also followed her, muttering something about his mom absentmindedly and catching himself like he wasn’t sure why he’d even said it in the first place. As strange and as mysteriously as they’d both appeared, they were gone again. Jason hadn’t even managed to catch their names.
“Well… it’s been amusing,” said Kimberly, “Get well soon,” she said, looking at Jason and giving him an odd wink before she turned on her heels and walked out.
In the end it was just Jason and Billy in the room once again; the three other occupants had come and gone, blasting through the room like a tornado leaving confusion and many unanswered questions in their wake.
“So… did your mom come for a checkup?” asked Jason while Billy was still busy looking over himself, making sure all his limbs were still there and still attached to him. “I think outpatient treatment is on the first floor.”
“Uh? Oh – yeah, I think you’re probably right. I must have hit the wrong button on the elevator. It’s a bit tricky to press buttons with your elbows. I don’t really like touching things in the hospitals. There’s germs and bacteria on all sorts of surfaces you know.”
“Umm… yeah?” said Jason unsurely.
“Well, I should go. Bye,” said Billy turning around and leaving the room without another word, leaving Jason to stare at the door and at the now empty room strangely, his mind still trying to process what exactly had happened, who those people were and what that strange feeling was that seemed to have come over them all at the exact same time. But at least Pearl was still sound asleep beside him, so he laid back down, pulling her closer to his side and just exhaled.
He hadn’t had a moment to think about what had happened over the last couple of days and even less time to think of what was going to happen from that point on. He only knew that he was in a world of trouble, not just with his parents, but also with the school and with the police. His knee was messed up, not beyond repair but he knew that his career in football was pretty much done with. However he found that he was less sad about that fact that he really thought he’d be. The only thing he could do was take it one day at a time, just accept his punishment; being grounded and detention and whatever else was going to be thrown at him; he’d messed up badly and he didn’t think he was beyond punishment. He was going to accept it like a man.
Also once he was back on his two feet, he was going to finally going to solve the mystery of those mysterious people who’d blown through his room and find out what had brought them there in the first place. It might have been kismet, but Jason didn’t really believe in that crap. Maybe it was aliens?
He tried not to wake Pearl up with his laugher at his own dumb theory when he actually tried to process his own train of thought.
Pfft, aliens. As if there was even such a thing.
The end.
