Leapholes (2006) (3 page)

"So, what's up with you? Can't remember your own name? You got amnesia or something?"

Ryan chewed off another bite of granola bar. "Something like that. I just can't remember."

"Well, maybe I can help you."

"I don't think so."

"No, really. I'm good at these kinds of things. Let's try it this way. I'll bet you like knock-knock jokes, don't you?"

Ohy yes. And Barney and Teletubbies, too. Ryan said, "To tell you the truth, I hate knock-knock jokes."

"Work with me on this."

"No. I mean, I really hate knock-knock jokes."

"Trust me," said Kaylee. "This just might work. Now, you start."

"All right," he said with a sigh. "Knock-knock."

"Who's there?"

"Ryan."

"Ryan who . . . She made an exaggerated gesture, as if that were supposed to trigger his memory.

Ryan shook his head. "It's not working."

"Hmm. This is going to be tougher than I thought. Well, to heck with your name. Maybe I can just make you laugh. I'll start this time. "Knock-knock."

"Can we do something else? I'm just not a knock-knock person."

"Knock-knock."

"Kaylee, please."

"Knock-knock."

"Come in!" he said. His tone had a certain finality to it.

Kaylee paused, not quite sure what to say. Then a smile came to her lips. "Knock-knock--Come in!" She snickered and said, "Cute. I like that."

Ryan returned the smile. "Works every time. It's the perfect knock-knock buster."

He rolled the empty granola bar wrapper into a ball and shot it into the waste basket. Two points. "So, what happened to you?"

She sighed, then glanced at her leg. "I got hit by a car."

"Really? Me too. How did your accident happen?"

"Well, I was out jogging, because my dance instructor says I need to improve my wind. Anyway, I was crossing the street when this car seemed to come out of nowhere."

"What did it look like?"

"I think it was a white station wagon."

"You've got to be kidding," said Ryan, his voice racing. "Did you see the driver?"

"Yes. But not at first. The car cut right in front of me. It didn't exactly hit me. It was more like a bump or a glancing blow. Knocked me right to the ground."

"And then--don't tell me--a guy with a flat face jumped out, right?"

"How did you know?" she said.

"Because that's what happened to me! I was riding my bike, and this white station wagon came out from nowhere. Then this strange-looking dude got out and put me in the back of the car."

"Yeah. Except that when he opened the back of the car, it didn't look like a normal car. It was more like . . . like an ambulance."

Ryan's mouth was agape. "We're talking about the exact same guy! Did he do that finger-waving thing to you?"

"Yes," she said. "Back and forth, like a windshield wiper. And then I blacked out."

"And the next thing you know . . ." Ryan paused and gave her a chance to catch up. Then they finished his sentence together: "I'm waking up in the ER."

They locked eyes but said nothing. They'd been through the same experience, the same strange accident. The fact that it had happened to someone else was comforting on one level. But in some ways, it made it even more bizarre.

"Except I'm not having any trouble remembering my last name," said Kaylee.

"Well, maybe you didn't bump your head like I did."

She glanced at the bandage on Ryan's elbow. "Yeah, sure. Head injury, huh?"

Ryan smiled nervously, sensing that perhaps she was beginning to see through his little LNU-charade. The doctor showed up just in time, before Kaylee could probe any further.

"Hello, I' m Doctor Morales. How are we doing here today, Ryan?"

"Pretty good, I think."

Dr. Morales checked Ryan's chart, speed-reading from top to bottom. She had a round, full face, and her short black hair was in tight, efficient curls. Ryan saw only concern in her dark brown eyes. No scorn, no ridicule--no clue as to who he was.

She laid the chart aside. "How's that memory coming along?"

"I thought it was getting better, but now I don't remember."

She smiled, realizing that it was a joke. "Do you know your last name yet?"

"No."

"Well, don't worry. I'm sure it will improve with time. But I want you to know that we've notified the police that you're here. As soon as your parents get worried enough to file a missing persons report with the authorities, we'll be able to link you up, okay?"

"Okay, great."

"I'll check back with you in about an hour," the doctor said as she walked away, moving on to the next patient.

Ryan's head settled back into his pillow. A missing persons report. Wonderful. Ryan hadn't figured on that. He had no plan, and running away from home was a pretty stupid idea. But he wasn't ready to go back. He didn't want to cause his mother too much heartache, but the fact was, both his parents had lied to him. They'd both assured him that the criminal charges were bogus. For the first time since his father had pleaded guilty and gone away to prison, Ryan wasn't a part of the Coolidge family. It felt good, and he wanted to keep that feeling going,' at least a little bit longer.

Kaylee said, "You don't want to go home, do you, Ryan?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Instinct. Intuition. I don't know. Something tells me you like being Ryan L'new better than Ryan whatever your name is."

Ryan didn't answer. He just looked at the big white board, toward the name penned in beside bed number twelve. Ryan LNU. A little goofy, but he'd heard worse. His gaze drifted toward the EXIT sign over the ER's double doorway. They were automatic doors, and people seemed to come and go at will. His elbow still hurt a little, but his legs were fine. He could ask to use the bathroom, walk out those doors, and just keep going. His mother would find him when he was ready to be found, not when she filed that missing persons report and the police came to get him.

"Hey, Kaylee."

"What?"

"You think anyone named L'new has ever been to prison?"

"I don't know. Why do you ask?"

Ryan drew a deep breath, then let it out. "Just wondering."

Chapter
5

Ryan's plan was working like a charm. The automatic doors closed behind him, and he was cruising down the hall away from the ER. The bathroom was around the corner, first door on the left, the nurse had told him. Ryan didn't really need to use it, but he stopped there anyway. His clothes were in a bag that he'd concealed under his loose hospital gown. He ducked into the bathroom and made a quick change. He used the sharp corner of the paper towel dispenser to cut off his plastic hospital ID-bracelet. Two minutes later he was back in the hallway, dressed in his street clothes, headed for the hospital's main exit. His bicycle accident had left a small tear at the knee of his blue jeans, but that only made them cooler. His sweatshirt covered the bandage on his elbow. No one gave him a second look. This was almost too easy. He even waved to the receptionist as he breezed past the radiology department.

"Hey, how you doing?" he said.

Cool. So cool. Just act like you know what you're doing, and people assume that you own the place.

He kept walking, following the directional signs that pointed to "HOSPITAL MAIN ENTRANCE." The corridors were long, cold, and brightly lit, and of course that sterile hospital smell was everywhere. Ryan reeled in the urge to sprint for the exit. Absolutely no running, he told himself. So long as he walked at a normal pace, no one would ask questions. He couldn't help but smile, however, as he turned the final corner and spotted the hospital's main lobby, dead ahead. It was just beyond the final set of sliding glass doors. He was a mere twenty feet away, fewer than ten steps to freedom. This was going to be fun. He could be Ryan L'new as long as he wanted.

And then an alarm sounded.

It was a shrill, pulsating alarm, so loud that it drowned out every other sound in the hospital. Ryan stopped dead in his tracks. The security guard sprang from his chair. He was an imposing figure with rock-hard biceps that bulged from his tight shirt sleeves. He was standing between Ryan and the hospital's main entrance, and he looked at Ryan suspiciously. Ryan wasn't sure who had sounded the alarm. His plan had been working perfectly, but obviously someone had figured out what he was up to. Or maybe someone had discovered that he was a Coolidge. Yes, that had to be it. They were afraid he had stolen something and was trying to sneak out of the hospital.

Ryan took a long look at the security guard, and the big man returned the glare. Whatever was going on, Ryan didn't want to have to explain himself to the Incredible Hulk. He turned and ran in the opposite direction.

The guard may have yelled at him, but Ryan heard only the blaring alarm as he raced down the hallway. Doctors and nurses suddenly emerged from behind closed doors. In a matter of moments, the corridors were flooded with people. They were standing around, looking at one another in confusion, trying to make themselves heard over the screaming alarm. Ryan never broke stride. He wove through the crowded hallway, arms and legs pumping. With so many people in his way, it was like running through an obstacle course. He didn't know where he was headed. It only seemed logical, however, that the hospital would have another exit, probably at the other end of the hall. He had no intention of stopping until he found it, but he nearly screeched to a halt as he rounded one last corner.

Thick, black smoke was pouring from the cafeteria.

"Fire!" a nurse screamed.

Suddenly, it all came clear. The hospital was on fire! The alarm hadn't been for him after all--unless they thought Ryan had started it.

Oh, great, thought Ryan. They think I snuck out of the ER and started the building on fire! They do know Vm a Coolidge!

A human stampede emerged from the cafeteria. Scores of people flew past Ryan, their clothing covered with soot. Many were coughing and trying to catch their breath. Others screamed and ran as fast as they could. Ryan had no time to get out of the way, and they trampled him in their hysteria. A man stepped on his leg. A woman stepped on his hand. Ryan tried to get up, but he was immediately knocked back to the floor. His head smacked against the tile, and it hurt almost as much as when that car had hit him and he'd flown into the windshield. He was dizzy, and the smoke was making it even harder for him to get his bearings. Ryan was on his knees, his body pressed against the wall, as the crowd whisked past him. Finally, every last one of them was gone, and he was able to climb to his feet and focus. As he rose, he could see the flames poking through the open door to the cafeteria. Smoke was creeping down the hallway like a ghostly gray snake. Ryan cleared his lungs with a deep cough, then turned and ran. The crowd was well ahead of him. He knew where the exit was, but if he didn't outrun the smoke, he might never find it. Suddenly, the alarm blared even louder, and water was squirting from the ceiling.

Sprinklers! Ryan was sprinting around a corner at full speed just as the water hit him. He slipped on the wet tile, his feet went out from under him, and he slammed into the wall like a NASCAR crash. Water from the sprinklers continued to rain down on him, but it wasn't nearly enough to extinguish the raging fire. Smoke was pouring from the cafeteria. He picked himself up, but before he could take a step, someone raced past him and knocked him to the floor again.

"Sorry, Ryan!"

He recognized the voice. It was Kaylee's.

"Come on, Ryan! There's a fire!" She was running toward the cafeteria, leading four other ER patients straight toward disaster.

"Stop, you're running the wrong way!" He was shouting, but she didn't hear him.

Ryan knew the way to safety, and he was only minutes away from saving himself. But if someone didn't catch up with Kaylee, she and the others could be trapped by the flames. Ryan couldn't let that happen. On impulse, he turned and ran after them, but it was like running through a rainstorm-- blindfolded. The sprinklers continued to soak him. The smoke was thick and black. He could barely breathe, and with the alarm blaring, he could scarcely think. In a matter of seconds, he completely lost sight of his new friend.

"Kaylee, where are you?" he called into the darkness.

Chapter
6

A hand emerged through heavy smoke, snatched Ryan by the collar, and yanked him into a side hallway. Ryan found himself running alongside a complete stranger. Oddly, a cool breeze was flowing toward them, as if the air conditioning were running full blast. It was blowing the cloud of smoke away from them, back toward the main corridor. No smoke meant no sprinklers. The floors were dry, the air was breathable, and the fire alarm was audible only in the distance.

"I'm over here," said Kay lee.

She was standing in an alcove where the hallway jogged to the right. Ryan didn't recognize the four other people in her group. Two of them were wearing hospital gowns. One was an old man with his arm in a sling. The other, a woman, had a bandage wrapped partially around her head. The rest of it trailed behind her like a fifteen-foot-long streamer. A second woman was wearing a business suit, and she looked nauseous, probably with the flu. She was carrying a plastic bucket.