An Unexpected Journey: Chapter 11 - The Truth Revealed
#11 of An Unexpected Journey
Here is Chapter 11! A big part of this chapter is told as a flashback, which is in italics. Enjoy! As always sound off in the comments! Thanks for the support thus far! :)
"Zanith! You're awake!" Yasika yelped running toward the bed. She gave me a great hug.
"Heh, It's nice to see you too Yasika! I'm so glad you two came out to visit!"
"Has the doctor okayed you for release?" she replied anxiously.
"Not yet, she said I could be out today," I said with a smile on my face.
"That's great!" Kantum said, now joining our conversation from across the room. He and Ranfult both walked over toward the bed and Kantum leaned in for a hug.
"Glad to see you're alright Jeremy," he whispered in my ear promptly pulling back. He started talking to Ranfult. I'm not quiet sure what they were talking about since they walked away to grab three chairs to place around my bed so they could all sit around me to talk.
"Knock, knock," announced Dr. Juni as she walked into the room. "I'm glad you aren't comfortable yet because I need to conduct some tests on Zanith now."
"Aw come on!" Kantum said, clearly upset at the imperfect timing.
"I'm sorry Kantum, but you, your sister, and Ranfult are going to have to go grab a bite to eat in the cafeteria or something for a little bit," Dr. Juni suggested as she walked past them to check on me.
"Fine..." He whined. All three of them started for the door but Ranfult stopped dead in his tracks. He swiftly turned around, "wait... How do you know Kantum's name? And that he and Yasika are brother and sister?" he questioned.
"It's my job to know who has visited my patients and I specifically remember these two visiting Zanith while he was in the comatose state. They were both extremely friendly and genuinely concerned with Zanith's well being. A doctor remembers these things," she countered tapping her head.
"You are one observant doctor, Dr. Juni," Ranfult deduced as he left the room with Kantum and Yasika, closing the door behind him. Dr. Juni just smiled and began checking my vitals again.
"I'm glad they made it," she smiled while checking my blood pressure.
"I am too," I smiled, " thank you very much for everything you have done. You are the best doctor I know!"
"Oh please," she blushed, "it is the least I can do; being cooped up with Ranfult all day can be boring. He doesn't seem like the fun type. "
She doesn't know the half of it. "He's more fun than he seems," I replied, "but you're right, I need new company too."
She proceeded to finish the physical tests, and then took some blood for testing.
"I'll be right back, I need to drop this blood off at the lab."
"See you soon," I smiled, partially not paying attention. What was she testing for? I have no idea. My mind is so scrambled right now. I really need to get home... but Ranfult and Kantum are both here... I thought Kantum and I really had a connection even though I fought it at first. He seems like a really caring person and, most importantly, he believes my name is Jeremy and not Zanith. Convincing him of the mix up should be a breeze. It's Ranfult that is going to be difficult, but if we can convince him to believe me he will help, especially after him opening up to me about what happened to Julasi. Bringing up Rachel and comparing the situations should hit an emotional trigger inside Ranfult, thus securing his help in me getting home.
I guess the only question I have to ask myself is... Do I want to go home? I love my friends and family, but I do have people who care for me here too. There I go again calling them 'people' I should really ask them what they call themselves as a group... Anyway, I know my parents are probably worried sick about me... and Rachel... I mean I don't know if I could just leave them thinking something terrible happened to me. But the sex here is GREAT. It's terrible I'm even bringing that up as a reason to stay, but I can't ignore it. Both Ranfult and Kantum were amazing... which leads to the awkward love triangle. Shit. They're basically brothers, if they each knew about the other, it could break their relationship... and all over me. God what do I do?
"I'm back!" Dr. Juni announced as she walked back in the room, "and I have some good news! The preliminary results came back from the tests yesterday and it seems you are perfectly fine, no brain injury."
"That's great news!" I smiled, "thank you so much for everything you have done! You are a wonderful doctor."
"Aww it was my pleasure Zanith," she came over and held my hand, "I still have to wait for the final test results before releasing you, but luckily the lab is slow today so they will be able to determine the final results within the next few hours. Looks like you'll be going home today!" She smiled at me and then walked away to go check on her other patients.
But which home will I be going to?
It was about an hour until Ranfult, Kantum, and Yasika came back.
"Hey bud!" Kantum shouted, "How are you doing? Tests come back alright?"
"Dr. Juni says my initial results look great but she is waiting to release me until the final results come in," I smiled.
"That's great!"
"Yeah... She says I'll get to go home..." I trailed off looking at Kantum, who has always pondered where I'm from. I don't think he really played into the King's story about how I am his son. He just stood there next to me and looked into my eyes trying to figure out what it is I had to say.
"Well you'll be there soon," Ranfult interrupted, "and you'll be able to eat and choose from a variety of different foods that are WAY better than the clinic food!"
"True," I smiled looking over at him.
"Do you have something to tell us?" Kantum questioned, seeing right through my fake smile. I remained silent for a moment as Yasika and Ranfult just stared back and forth between Kantum and me.
"Well?" Kantum pressed.
Now or never..."Yeah there is actually something I want to talk to you all about. It's about who I am and where I came from."
"Not this again, Zanith how many times do I have to tell you, you are not who you think yo-"
"Let him finish," Kantum said sternly.
I took a deep breath and spoke again. "I'm not King Lenim's son," I proceeded, "Ranfult, did you know what Zanith looked like before the accident?"
"N-no..." he stuttured, "but I checked the news reports, Zanith, was the sole survivor of the accident minus the couple in the other car. That report was how I found Zanith. I only had his adoptive parent's names..."
I shook my head, "I am going to start from the very beginning and explain the whole story to all of you," I said looking around at Ranfult, Yasika, and Kantum, "no questions until I finish... got it?"
"I don't really see the ne-" Ranfult began but then was nudged by Kantum.
"Got it, Jeremy," Kantum replied giving Ranfult an angry look.
"Please proceed," Yasika chimed in, clearly intrigued by what I had to say.
I cleared my throat and began my tale, "Well it all started on a typical day. I was a senior in high school and I was sitting in my kitchen when my parents walked in...
"Good morning Jeremy," my mom said frantically as she ran around the kitchen looking for her keys.
"What's the rush mom?" I questioned. She usually left for work long after I left for school.
"Your father just informed me that he took my car into the shop last night to get the engine looked at."
"Well isn't that good? The light has been on for a while..." I said not seeing the problem.
"The thing is he JUST told me... Now I have to carpool with him. He has to drop me off at work early so he can get to work on time..." at this point I could barely hear what she was saying because she ran into another room while looking for other things see needed this morning. This is by far an abnormal morning for my family; we're usually very chill.
"Anyway honey," I heard her start to yell, "your father will be down in a moment and we need to book it out of here." She was now in the kitchen packing a quick lunch and she continued, "So have a wonderful day at school and I'll see you later tonight."
"Thanks I will. You too!" I smiled as she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. She then rushed out to the garage. I don't know why she's rushing. My dad's not even downstairs yet...
*HONK* *HONK*
Just as I finished up my cereal, my dad ran down the stairs.
"Geez, we're running perfectly on-time today," he joked as he passed me. He was now filling up his thermos with coffee I brewed a few minutes before my mom came down. I got up from the table and put my bowl in the sink.
"Well I guess I better be getting to school, Dad. I'll see you tonight," I said giving him a hug as I headed to the front door.
"Don't forget to lock the door on your way out!" My dad yelled as I closed the door. I never forgot to lock the door... I don't know why they insist on always telling me to lock it. Regardless I did as I was told. As I walked to my car, which was parked in the driveway, outside of the garage, I could see that my mom had already started my dad's car. It's hilarious how impatient she can be sometimes.
I got into my car and buckled up. I put the key in the ignition and gave it a twist... but nothing... I twisted it again but this time I did hear something... And it didn't sound good. I tried a few more times to start my car but something was clearly wrong. Great... Now I need to ask my parents for a ride or else I'd be late. I unbuckled and got out of my car. Luckily my dad wasn't in the car yet. I walked up to the passenger side where my mom was sitting and knocked on the window. She jumped a bit but then let out a sigh of relief. She rolled down the window, "You gave me a heart attack Jeremy!"
"I think your giving yourself a heart attack by how stressed you are!" I laughed.
"Very funny... What's wrong?"
"So I hate to add to your stress BUT my car isn't starting. I'll have to look at it after school. Is it possible to get a ride today?"
"Oh of course honey! Your father will just have to be a tad late to work," she said smiling, "Which I am now official blaming him for cause I have been in the car for 5 minutes!"
She rolled her window back up and I got in the back seat. We waited another few minutes before dad emerged from the house door that led out to the garage. He got in the driver's seat and asked, "What's wrong with the car?"
"It's not starting," mom said answering for me.
"Great another car problem, let's just hope this car doesn't break down too."
"Don't say that!" mom yelled hitting dad in the shoulder.
"What?" he laughed, "We're fine."
"Just drive!" she countered.
The drive to the high school was pretty short compared to my parents' work places. I was just a minor inconvenience this morning. We made a left out of my neighborhood and onto one of the slowest streets in the city. My dad was very good at maneuvering, but his driving always freaked my mom out, especially when she's stressed and in a time crunch. There was a red light ahead, Dad put his left turn signal on and got in the turning lane. The high school was only a few blocks away now. We waited patiently for the green light, but what was actually a minute and a half, felt like 10. When the left turn signal turned green my dad put his foot on the accelerator as we were turning a car in the opposite direction thought they had a green light to head straight and they continued right on through the red light. They must have been going at least 40 miles per hour. By the time I saw it coming right at me we were hit. Our car spun three times because of the contact angle and high velocity of the other vehicle. We almost flipped but luckily we didn't. Both my parents' airbags deployed. I was barely conscious as I had hit my head on the window and my door was completely bent inward. Luckily I moved a few inches before the crash or I may have severely injured my leg.
"Mom? Dad? Are you alright?" I said rather distraught, "Hello??"
There was no answer. Luckily my arms were free and I shook my mom's shoulders, "uh... hmmm, w-what..." she trailed off trying to look around.
"Don't move mom, we were in an accident, are you ok?"
"mmmm yeah.. I-I think I am. The airbag... saved me. Just a bruised elbow," she said looking at her elbow, "What about you?"
"Just a small bump on the head. I'll be fine." I unbuckled my seat belt and shifted over to my dad's side of the car.
"Dad? Dad?" I nudged him a couple of times, but no response.
"I-is he?"
"No..." I said feeling his pulse, "he has a pulse, but we need an ambulance now, can you move?" I asked looking around the street to see if any cars were around. Of course not, this was the back way to the high school, barely traveled by anyone.
"Mmm, barely," she winced.
"Don't strain yourself! Can you reach your phone?"
"Y-yeah, I think so."
"Good call 911, I'm going to check on the other car."
"Jeremy! Don't leave me here!" she pleaded clearly freaked out.
"Mom, I need to see if the people in the other car are ok! They may need medical attention, and their car is steaming" I said looking through the back windshield at the other car that ran into a telephone pole after colliding with our car, "I need to get them out!"
"Y-you're right. Please please please be careful," she pleaded again.
"I'll be right back," I promised.
I knew my door wouldn't open but I was hoping the door on my dad's side was still functional. I slide over closer to the door and tried opening the door. I heard a click noise when I pulled the handle but nothing happened. Shit. I backed away from the door and with all my strength bumped the door. Still nothing. I decided to lay down and use my feet. I kicked with all my might until the door finally flew open. I stumbled out of the car and I could hear my mom yell, "be careful!"
I trekked over to the other car. As I approached, it didn't look good, their car was pretty smashed in. I walked to the driver's window and saw blood all over the hood of the car. It was the most horrific and graphic scene I have ever seen in my life. The male driver was halfway through the windshield. I found his neck and checked for a pulse, but as I figured there wasn't one to be found. I looked at the front passenger side and didn't see anyone there. But the blood on the windshield couldn't have all belonged to the driver. I looked around and saw a body laying on the ground several feet down the street. I limped over to the body and flipped it over. She was female and looked older, maybe around my mom's age. Her clothing was badly tattered, had various lacerations on her face, arms, and legs. I leaned over and felt a very faint pulse. She coughed up blood and opened her eyes. She started seizing and mumbling.
"Ma'am, relax!" I said calmly as I held her down, "You've been in an accident. Medics are on the way. Just hold on," I knew the chances of her surviving were slim, I knew from watching medical TV shows like "Grey's Anatomy" that coughing up blood was a very bad sign.
"G-ggg U-uggg," she was trying to speak to me.
"D-Don't speak ma'am, s-save your strength," I stuttered beginning to become emotionally unstable.
"M-m-m-m. S-s-s-o-o-n" she mumbled looking me in the eyes.
"You have a s-son?" I questioned.
All she did was blink twice.
"Jesus... in the car?" I panicked looking back in the direction of the car.
"Y-y-y," she started.
"I got in. I'm going to check on him. Hold on!" I got up from her side and limped back over to the car. I saw a figure in the back seat and tried to open his door but it wouldn't open. I went to the other side of the car and pried the door open, but I could only get it open about a foot. I squeezed in to check on the woman's son. It didn't look good, he wasn't wearing his seat belt either. He smashed his head on the hood of the car as well as the back windshield. He couldn't have been much younger than me, or older for that matter, we were probably the same age. I checked his pulse but there was nothing. I began to weep. This could have been my family... The only thing that saved us was our seatbelts and not running into the pole. My head started to pound. I forgot I hit my head. I felt very light headed and decided I should get back to the car. As I squeezed my way back out of the door, my shoe got caught on something and I fell onto the cement. Where I blacked out.
_ _
I awoke in the hospital, with my mom by my side.
"Oh honey, thank god you're awake. I was so worried," she said squeezing my arm.
"Mom, where's Dad? Is he ok??" I questioned.
"Yes, yes. He is doing well. He was just knocked out by the impact and has some bumps and bruises, nothing too serious. He is resting in another room, I'm so glad you're ok!"
"Me too... W-what about the other car's passengers? Do you know about them?"
My mom was silent and she looked at the floor, "Well the driver and passenger in the back were both dead on scene, but the woman who flew out the windshield died on route to the hospital... I'm so glad we were wearing seatbelts. God was really looking out for us," she said as she continued to hold my hand.
My mom was a religious individual. Me? Not so much. We survived because we had the sense to wear our seatbelts and were lucky that it wasn't a head on collision.
"Yeah," I said comforting her. "How long until I'm released?"
"You JUST woke up, don't worry about that... just relax and get better."
"So you obviously weren't hospitalized," I said sarcastically.
"Oh I've had my share of hospital visits mister," she replied with a smile.
"So how long until Dad is released?"
"They are going to keep him over night for observation and they will be keeping you for observation as well. Hopefully you both will be released tomorrow if all goes well," she said crossing her fingers. "I'm going to visit your father for a bit, are you ok by yourself?"
"I'll be fine! There's a TV isn't there?" I smiled pointing to the television set above my bed.
"Oh you and your TV... I'll be back later."
She got up and left the room. I decided to turn on a broadcast channel because I had no idea how long I was out for and I didn't see a clock on my side of the room. That thought didn't even cross my mind until right now. All I knew was it was dark out. I turned on FOX because they had my favorite local TV personalities as anchors. Little did I know it was 9:14pm and FOX was smack dab in the middle of airing a new episode of "Fringe."
"DAMN!" I said outloud, "I'm missing "Fringe," what are the odds??"
Not knowing the first 14 minutes was killing me... but I sucked it up and decided to watch the rest of the episode until the start of the 10 o'clock news. After the end of the episode, the news started.
"Tonight on the news," began anchorman Bill Stradler, "a simple morning commute in Westerhaven turned deadly as George Hanson drove through a red light and smashed into oncoming traffic. The husband and wife in the car that got hit, James and Donna Linden, ended up in the hospital with minor injuries. George Hanson's car smashed into the Linden's car and then smashed head on into a telephone pole. Nobody in the Hanson car was wearing his or her seatbelts. The car consisted of George Hanson, who died on impact, Laura Hanson, George's wife, who died on route to the hospital, Jeremy Hanson, George's son, who made it to the hospital with minor injuries, and an unidentified friend of Jeremy Hanson's, who died on impact. This tragedy in Westerhaven..."
"Wait what?" I said out loud, not listening to the rest of the broadcast. They showed my picture when they said Jeremy Hanson. They don't have that story right at all! That couple's son is dead; I wasn't a passenger in their car. How did they mistake me for Christopher Hanson? I have to tell mom about this. I hope she comes back soon... I always have my I.D. on me, why didn't they look for it? I looked over to my nightstand and saw my keys and cell phone as part of my personal belongings but not my wallet... hmm...
A few minutes passed and mom came back into my room. Without even greeting her I asked, "Mom, where is my wallet? I don't see it here with my belongings."
"Oh... hmm. That's strange... Maybe it fell out of your pocket when you were checking on the other family in the crash. I'll give the repair shop a call in the morning to see if they found it in our car, maybe it fell out there."
"T-That... H-How..." I murmured.
"Honey, it's only your wallet... The most important thing is that you are ok," she smiled, grabbing my hand as a sign of support.
"N-No, you don't understand. I just watched the evening news. Bill said you and dad were the only passengers in our car and that there were four passengers in the other car. T-They must have thought I was in that car since I was found there..."
"I'm sure they just got the details mixed up. Easy to do when you were found in their car."
"Well that's not the worst part! They showed my picture and said my name was Jeremy Hanson, the couple's son, and that he survived the crash. They said the other person in the car was an "unidentified" friend of Jeremy; probably until he could be identified. I don't get it. If I had my wallet on me this whole mess could have been avoided. Why didn't the real Jeremy have a wallet on him?"
"Jeremy, relax. We'll take care of this in the morning. You need your rest. Just a major screw up by the network I'm sure. I already gave the police my statement as well as your father's. This will get sorted out in the morning."
"Sorry, it's just so weird."
"It is most definitely weird," she smiled, "you think you can get some sleep?"
"I've been sleeping all day!" I whined.
"Because you didn't have a choice! You were out cold!"
"Can I at least make a call first?"
"At 10:15 on a school night? Who would even answer?"
"Everyone mom... It's 10:15 not 2:45" I said sarcastically
"Fine... One call."
"Thanks mom!" I said leaning up to kiss her on the cheek. I reached over for my phone and started dialing.
"Rachel?" she questioned.
"Who else?" I laughed, "she's probably worried sick not seeing me at school today."
"I'm sure she is," she smiled back. My mom was always a fan of Rachel. She wanted us to date, I could tell. She always smiled and gave me weird faces when I mentioned her. I knew I was gay, but I hadn't told them at this point. I proceeded to call Rachel to talk to her about the accident.
"Rachel? It's Jeremy."
"JEREMY! I was worried sick! What the hell happened! I called your home phone. No answer. I called your cell. No answer. I went to your house. No answer. Then I caught the news just now and saw your parents were in a car accident early this morning! Are they ok??"
"Yeah they're ok. My mom has very minor injuries; just some bumps and bruises. My dad will be fine but they're keeping him over night in the hospital for observation like me."
"LIKE YOU?! I thought it was just your parents in the car?!"
"No I was there too. What network did you watch?"
"I was watching ABC," she started, "all they said was your parents were in an accident and the other car had one survivor the son of the couple driving."
"Great so all networks have this story wrong. I was watching FOX and they showed my picture when saying the son was the only survivor. Needless to say I am the survivor of the accident."
"I'm not sure I follow..."
"Oh right. Well after the crash I was the only one who could move. My mom was pinned and my dad was knocked out. I left our car to check on the passengers of the other car. It was a gruesome scene, Rachel, but I had to see if everyone was ok..." I trailed off thinking about the terrible scene.
"Then what? You found them all dead?"
"No the front passenger was alive when I found her, but she was thrown out of the car and coughing up blood. The driver was dead on arrival and the son wasn't breathing when I checked on him. The only reason I even knew someone was in the back was because the mom tried telling me. Once I figured out what she was trying to say I ran to the back of the car to check on him. After I saw he wasn't breathing I tried to get out of their car but my shoe or something got caught on the door and I fell half way out. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital."
"OH MY GOD! That is unreal. I am so glad you and your family are ok though! I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"Thanks Rachel. It's been quite a day..." I trailed off again.
"Well you should get some rest bud," She began.
"I've been resting all dayyyyy," I whined.
"Haha ok ok, we'll just keep talking until you don't want to, sound good?" she offered.
"Yeah, that'd be great."
We talked for about an hour until I decided to let her go. We discussed school drama, family issues, and vacation plans. We never ran out of things to talk about. It's the reason we get along so well. We can just talk about anything.
My mind raced for a bit before falling asleep but I knew we would get it sorted out in the morning.
_ _
"So in the morning, my mom called the police and news stations and told them about the mix up. She told them to 'get their shit together' when it comes to communicating because name mix-ups shouldn't be taken lightly. The news stations apologized and aired retractions with the real course of events that happened that morning. I was deemed a hero by locals, even students in my school, but I didn't see myself as a hero... Who did I save? No one... I tried my best and that's what they commend I guess. The fact that I tried and didn't just sit around and wait for the medics to get there..." At this point I trailed off. I thought of everything I had to say. I looked up at Kantum, who was holding Yasika by his side because she had tears in her eyes, but he didn't say a word. He just looked over at Ranfult, who looked extremely confused.
"N-No... T-That's not what happened," he began trying to gather his thoughts, "I mean... I saw your picture on the news... they said you survived..."
"I-I'm sorry Ranfult... The real Zanith didn't make it. I tried my best to rescue them..." tears began flooding my eyes.
"Oh Jeremy, this isn't your fault," Kantum let go of Yasika and gave me a hug, "don't think that..."
"Yeah," Yasika agreed, "if this is anyone's fault it's the news station's for airing the wrong information."
"Information...I gathered," Ranfult whispered.
"This isn't your fault," I said, holding back more tears and grabbing Ranfult's paw, "We need to tell King Lenim his real son is -"
"No," Ranfult interrupted, "h-he won't be able to take this news. He's been waiting too long to get you back to him."
"I'm not going to pretend to be his son. I have my own family back home."
"I-I know... I wouldn't keep you here to pretend to be his son. That wouldn't be fair."
"So what do we do?" Yasika inquired, "He needs to get home to his family."
"How did you grab the wrong Jeremy after the accident and the retractions?" Kantum said with anger in his voice.
"I didn't see the retractions! I saw his face and knew his name was Jeremy and I tracked him from there, alright," Ranfult said defending his actions.
"A smart investigator would use the last name of who they're trying to find, not just the first name!"
"GIVE ME A BREAK. I made a mistake, like you have never done that before. I mean -"
"ENOUGH!" Yasika yelled, "This isn't helping. Mistakes were made, we need to move on and fix this."
Kantum and Ranfult who looked like they were on the verge of killing each other both backed off and looked at the ground. Yasika just looked at me, trying to think of a plan...
"I have an idea..." Ranfult began, breaking the silence "but it won't be easy..."