Ring in Mine
Kim Terry
This chapter continues John's closes a door and opens another.
The cloaked figure is a cross over from a book currently being prepped for publication, "Images From the Darkness." It was a similar dream and I just couldn't pass up the chance to stick him here for a short cameo appearence.
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My thanks go out to Zack for proofreading this chapter.
Kim ----------
Ring in Mine: John Chapter 17
"What can I do? I'm just a mixed up thirteen year old that everyone thinks is gay." John asked.
"You were given a great talent that is going to touch a lot of people. It will help many people better understand those around them. I would like you to go back to your body and endure a little pain. I need you to create pictures that will reach past people eyes and touch their souls."
"Do I have to go now?" John asked. He knew he could say no but he couldn't disappoint this gentle, kind man.
"No Jonathan. You may stay here for a little longer."
John closed his eyes. When they opened Grandma Litchfield was there waiting by his side.
"Grandma, I saw grandpa in heaven. I think I told him he was a miserable mean old man." John explained very groggily.
"I used to tell that man even heaven wouldn't change him and I guess I was right." She chuckled."
When John woke again he could hear his father's angry voice in the hall. "Why weren't we told his surgery had been rescheduled? My son had to call my mother. Then you tell me he died on the table three times."
The voices moved down the hall. "Grandma," John said softly. "I saw him."
"Your grandfather?" She asked.
"No him." John said. Grandma humored her grandson not knowing he spoke the truth. "He loves me and needs me to paint for people's souls."
Mark came through the door.
"Dad are you done being mad, if not turn around? It's not my fault those boys nearly killed me. It's not my fault they moved the surgery and it's not my fault I nearly died. I'm not up to hearing it right now." The grownup thirteen year old demanded.
The statement made Mark stop in his tracks. "When had his son become the adult in their relationship?" He turned and stepped into the hall. He tried the relaxation techniques Bob had been teaching him. When he felt calmer he re-entered.
John held his arm out for his dad. With his arm around his dad John enjoyed the closeness in silence.
"Well dad, you aren't going to have to worry about having a competing gymnast in the family. It's never going to be 100% again. I think I will still practice though. I just can't do perfect landings."
Later as John slept the surgeon broke the news to the worried parents. John's leg was a mess. There was a lot of metal in John's leg. His shattered knee cap involved a lot of wire holding it together until it healed. John would be in a cast for a long time. His gymnast days may be over. The surgeon also explained that some internal damage had been discovered when complications arose during surgery. These had been repaired on the table.
John would be in the hospital for a few days until he was stable. Then he would be homebound for a while. He would definitely be in a wheelchair until he could put weight on his leg.
John's hospital stay consisted of long painful days and nights interrupted by images in his dreams that had to be recorded on paper. Mark or Ruth came when they could. Mark could only stay so long before feelings of guilt would make him angry. He felt so helpless. Bob visited now and then and stayed for a chat.
John drew when he could, but there was only so much he could do on his own. Then the therapy started. He learned to get from the bed to the wheelchair with the help from a ring he could use for stability. Getting from the chair to the toilet was a challenge.
John hoped that Andrew would visit, but he never came.
When John finally came home he found some changes to the house. The Litchfield's congregation had pitched in a lot of labor and supplies. There was a plywood ramp installed over the front stairs. In John's room a bar hung from the ceiling. The restroom had grab bars installed and a tall toilet. John's biggest surprise was in one of the spare bedrooms. Professor Terrion had helped design a studio for John, one that was wheelchair friendly.
Grandma Litchfield gave up her freedom to once again look after her grandson. She might complain now and then, but secretly she reveled in the fact she was needed. She even got used to watching TV again.
John hated the way the painkillers made him feel but he hated the pain even more. On a particularly bad day, he told his grandmother how much he missed his best friend. That afternoon Andrew's mother appeared with her son. Andrew wouldn't look away from the floor.
"Hey Andrew! Am I so ugly you can't look at me?" John called to his friend.
Still looking at the floor Andrew answered. "Why would you want me around when I treated you so badly?"
"Andrew, look at me!" John ordered. Andrew sheepishly looked up. "Come over here."
Andrew flinched when John reached out for him. The hit Andrew was expecting didn't come. Instead John's still strong arms pulled him into a hug.
"I've missed my best friend." John announced. Andrew started to cry. He had been so afraid John would hate him.
"Are you failing math yet?" John asked.
"It's not that bad." Andrew answered.
"You have five minutes to get your books and be at the kitchen table. Maybe grandma can rustle up some cookies." John had smelled baking cookies all morning.
This was the way things were meant to be. Two best friends doing homework and eating cookies. With the work done Andrew told John all about the aftermath at school. Andrew had convinced some of the right people that John was straight.
When more students came forward about how the coach had made inappropriate advances toward them the younger siblings of the high school jocks started regretting spreading the stories their brothers had told them. Especially when it turned out some of them were having regular sex with the coach to keep their first string positions.
As they were laughing Andrew grew really quiet. It was obvious that he was now uncomfortable.
"Andrew I know. I probably knew before you did." John put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Have you found a guy to, you know?"
Andrew was shocked. "You knew and still wanted to be friends?"
John laughed. "Friends, yes! Lovers, not so much." John pulled Andrew closer and kissed him on the cheek. "That's about all you are getting from me."
John had been home about three weeks. A transport van had taken John and his wheelchair to the surgeon's office a couple of times. The van arrived and John rolled himself down the ramp and onto the lift. With the chair locked in place off they went. The van didn't stop at the doctor's or the hospital. Bob had given him books to study. John hadn't minded it gave him something to do. Bob met John outside a building on the college campus. A sign pointing to the `Testing Center' pointed their direction.
"I want you to take a test today. It's going to take most of the day. If you get too tired we can split the test up. Frank and Professor Terrion had to pull a lot of strings to give you this chance."
John rolled into a room broken up into cubicles. The first two tests were challenging. Much of what he had studied was on the tests. During the break John ate the lunch his grandmother had packed. He sat alone. This was John's first experience being alone among strangers since the beating. He didn't want to take an anxiety pill. The test was difficult and tricky; John couldn't afford any impairment. He didn't take any of his more powerful pain meds, opting for over the counter pain relievers for the same reason.
At the end of the last exam John felt he had done well. He realized if he passed he wouldn't have to go back to his school, ever. He wondered what he would do instead.
John was tired but had that rosy feeling you get from a job well done until he looked out the doors. The sun had retreated and darkness filled the window. He was supposed to meet the van at the parking lot. John was unable to pass through the doors. He couldn't even force himself to look into the darkness for very long. His breathing became rapid. John could feel his heart pound in his ears. The thinking part of his brain retreated.
"I was supposed to pick up a boy in a wheelchair." The driver asked.
Everyone remembered seeing John and his wheelchair but no one seemed to know where he had gone. Double-checking the area leading up to the pickup point, he found no sign of his passenger. After twenty minutes the driver radioed his dispatcher. The van was sent to its next pickup.
At the Litchfield home a houseful of people were waiting to greet John. The expected arrival time came and passed. After waiting an additional half hour Mark called the transport company.
"The driver waited 20 minutes. He even went to the building. His passenger wasn't there." The dispatcher informed a panic father.
Marked turned to his guests. "John is missing. He never arrived at the pickup point. The driver even looked in the testing center." Mark immediately assumed the worst.
Brother Terrion picked up the phone.
"This is Vice-Provost Terrion. I need head of campus security." He waited silently. "Chief, we have a crisis. We have a very young man in a wheelchair missing. He was last seen in the testing center." Brother Terrion filled the head of campus security in on all the details.
A caravan of cars headed toward campus. Grandma Litchfield was left holding down the fort just in case John arrived home. Andrew sat in the backseat of his parent's car. He was becoming more and more nervous. He kept hearing a faint whisper.
"`He's still in the building. Find him he's afraid of the things that go bump in the night. John needs you."
Finally Andrew couldn't take it any more. "Okay I'll find him!"
"Find who dear?" Andrew's mother asked.
"John! mom."
"You didn't need to shout." The voice whispered.
When everyone got out of the cars they each were assigned areas to look. Andrew went into the testing center. Remembering the incident at the gym, he began looking in all the bathrooms. The testing center was part of a much bigger building. He finally found a handicapped restroom its door locked.
"John, unlock the door!" Andrew shouted as he pounded on the door. There was no answer. "I'm going to sit here until you let me in!" Andrew sat against the bathroom door for a good five minutes.
"John, I'm not leaving until you open the door. I need your help with my homework." Andrew called through the door. He heard the lock click. He stood and opened the door. John looked awful. He was pale and shaking.
"I couldn't go outside. I tried, but it was dark. I'm thirteen; I can't be afraid of the dark." John sobbed.
"Have you taken your pills?" Andrew asked. John shook his head. He had passed a vending area just down the hall. He bought a Sprite; John didn't need any caffeine. Andrew watched as John took his pills. Andrew picked up a campus courtesy phone. He explained to someone in security that he had found John Litchfield and they were on the way back to the testing center.
Andrew parked John in the nearest men's room. John didn't need a crowd right now. As Andrew turned the corner that was exactly what he found. Andrew was bombarded by questions faster than he could answer.
"Everyone stop!" Andrew shouted. "When it quieted down, he continued. "Look out those doors what do you see?"
Andrew paused for his audience to process his question. "Dark, lots of dark."
It sometimes amazed Andrew how slow adults could be.
"What happened last time John went out alone at night?" Andrew paused. As his audience realized the point he was trying to make their faces paled. "John is afraid of going out at night. It's a nighttime version of agoraphobia. This is what's going to happen."
Andrew told everyone to go back to the Litchfield's and wait. The party was still on. No one was to bring up the issue of a lost boy.
"Mark, when I bring John out what are you going to say?" Andrew could see Mark getting angry. "Bob, will you take Mark home and talk with him. My parents will drive John home. These two officers will walk with us to the car."
The group turned and left leaving Andrew's parents and two officers.
"Very well done." Andrew's little voice said.
Andrew hoped this voice would go away. John was fearful as they neared the door into darkness. Andrew reassured his friend the officers wouldn't let anyone near him.
When John was rolled through the front door at home everyone yelled, "SURPRISE!"
The party was in honor of John taking the high school equivalency exam. They all had faith that when the scores were returned, John would pass with flying colors. All the drapes were pulled tightly closed. The warmth of the lights and friendship helped push his earlier fears back into the shadows.
"John the new quarter at the college starts next week. It took some convincing, but the Provost has agreed to let you register for a couple of classes." Brother Terrion announced.
"I took the liberty of signing you up for a major level drawing class and a beginning sculpture class that deals with clay." Professor Terrion continued.
"We put you into a freshman English class. We would rather you have a lighter load and be a shining star than be overwhelmed." Brother Terrion finished.
John stood in shock. All eyes were on him waiting for his response.
"How am I paying for college?" John asked.
It was Frank's turn. "Because your father works at the college you get half off tuition. There is enough money in your trust to finish your degree."
"I hope you'll ride to and from school with me." Mark looked at his son with wide expectant eyes.
John returned his father's gaze. An image came to mind that John knew would be an amazing work. This was Marcus's third gift.
His father came back into focus. John held his arms out to his father. When Mark reached out to his son, John took hold of his father. Being careful to only put weight on his good leg John pulled himself up proudly wrapping his arms around his dad. Flat footed John kissed his father's cheek. When did he get to be so tall?
When the party was over, a very tired boy lay in his bed. He was afraid to close his eyes. His fears slowly crept from the shadows where they had hidden during the party waiting for the darkness behind John's eyelids. He had already taken an anxiety pill.
As John lost the battle and his eyes closed his fears took control.
John walked through the darkness, a miasma of hopelessness. He began to notice shades of black defining the impossible landscape. The shuffle of feet grew closer. John began running. Glowing eyes appeared in his path. John veered to his right into a briar bush of thorns. The bright red drops of blood dripping from his arms stood out in contrast to the black leaving a visible trail behind him.
"Run, run, there is nowhere to hide." A hollow voice blew in on a damp breeze.
John tripped, scraping his knee and hands. John looked up. The silver glint of a knife caught his eye.
"Get up! Run; maybe we will let you live." The voice taunted.
John ran. "Help! Someone help me!" John shouted. The dark drank his words.
A flash of silver was followed by agony; John's arm fell to his side dripping blood. Another glint of the blood streaked blade and John fell, his leg useless. The unmistakable thud of a boot impacting his now vulnerable side was followed by another.
"We've decided not to let you live!" A chill voice declared slipping into maniacal laughter.
John tensed waiting for the final blow.
"Enough!" A clear young voice cut through the dark.
A cloaked figure appeared in the distance carrying a flickering lantern, leaning on a tall staff. The darkness hovered just outside the lantern's glow. As a hand reached down to lift John to his feet, John noticed pigment under the figure's nails.
"You're an artist." John shared his astonishment.
"I find putting my fears on paper helps me defeat them." The figure pulled back the hood. The face wasn't much older than his own. There were smudges of chalk on his face. John had never really tried pastels. "It is time to wake up. Draw tomorrow. Tonight find someone warm to cuddle up with. It helps."
The figure touched the flame in the lantern. A shimmering sphere of gold followed his fingertip. The light filled John when the cloaked boy touched John's chest.
"John wake up."
John gratefully looked up into his father's concerned face.
"You were having a nightmare." Mark stated the obvious.
John looked at his father and for just a moment thought, "This is the man that handed me over to the men that did terrible things to me. Why don't I hate him?"
John didn't have an answer, but for now he had his dad's undivided attention. Mark wasn't thinking of his job or reputation; for the moment it was all about John. He wasn't going to waste this special moment worrying about the past.
"Are you going to be alright?" Mark asked.
John decided to go for broke. "Dad, will you stay with me?"
As Mark crawled under the covers John realized his father hadn't taken the time to pull on any shorts and he really didn't care. That brief glance in the dim light was the first time he had seen his dad naked in years. They were a modest family. Mark usually wore at least his white underwear most adults in their church wore even to bed. John thought, "Dad must have gotten some tonight!" He smiled.
With his cast John had limited options of sleeping positions. He lay on his back as his father snuggled up next to him. Mark's arm crossed his son's chest pulling them tightly together. John was very aware of his father's adult penis pressed against his hip. He thought for a moment of where it had been earlier and decided it didn't bother him. John hoped his dad didn't notice that his son was hard.
John woke once early in the morning. With the drapes tightly pulled keeping the darkness at bay, it was only the clock that revealed the time. Mark's hand was firmly around John's firm dick and balls. John panicked for just a moment and realized that it was a comforting feeling. His dad wasn't awake being a pervert; he was just being with his son.
When John woke again he was disappointed to find his father missing from his bed. John struggled to his feet. Rather than fuss with the wheelchair John hopped across the hall on his good leg only to fall into the arms of his naked father, a damp towel wrapped around his neck.
"Thanks dad, can you help me over to the toilet?" John asked.
"Sorry for the intrusion. I slept late. Your mom is getting ready in our bathroom." Mark announced as he finished shaving.
Sitting John was about eye level with his dad's equipment. John hoped his would be that big some day. He must have made Marcus really happy. He wondered, `Why did I just think that?' He shrugged it off and finished his business.
Mark took the initiative to help John wash off and get dressed for the day. John loved it when they had moments like this. He could push all the bad thoughts from his mind for a while and take the opportunity to be happy. Knowing that his father could become angry at the slightest provocation.
If you would like to be notified when a new chapter is available drop me a line. ringinmine@yahoo.com