The Road to Round Mountain: The Betrayal by (2 page)

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made it out the door, “Dr. Matthews, aren’t people usually  hooked up to some monitors or something”? He smiled as  he left my room, “One would think that, But you’re condition has been somewhat of a hindrance to our equipment”.

I looked around the room, there were monitors, and other  contraptions that I had no idea what they were. Everything  that was in the room was unplugged, “Maybe I died, and  they’re just being nice”, I muttered to myself, while finishing  my scan of the room. The only thing that was plugged in was  the TV and of course, it was off. Just as well, I was wondering  what was taking my parents so long to show up. Just then a  Nurse poked her head inside the doorway, “Is there anything  I can get you, Are you hungry yet”? “No, I’m not hungry, but  do you think you could turn on the TV, You know, to pass the  time before my parents get here”? “Oh No, no, no, we have  strict orders not to turn on anything electrical around you,  you tend to make things go poof! Or catch things on fire”.  “I’ll tell you what, I’ll go get you some apple juice, how does  that sound”? Before I could respond she darted out of the  room with the speed that Nascar Drivers would be envious of.

So here I am waiting for some news about when my parents are going to be here, or if they are here, why won’t they  let them come in? The drowsiness was beginning to go away,  and my mind started to kick in to its normal mode, which  was never ending wondering. Looking down towards the  edge of the bed, I noticed that under the covers my right  foot looked unusually larger than my left. I found out I was  too stiff and sore to check out my foot when I attempted to  sit up, and my back did not cooperate for such a normally  meager task. Laying back down again I stared at the blank

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screen of the TV, wishing that it would come on. I would  even settle for some evening news.

I continued to stare at the TV as if , I stared at it long  enough it would come on, Wishful thinking. Looking around  for the remote, I noticed it across the room on the night  stand, “Come on TV Gods, Give me just this one”, I pleaded,  and as soon as I stopped talking, the TV came on. My mind,  though not fully clear, was able to reason, that maybe someone in the adjoining room hit the remote in their room, and  mine came on as well. Lucky me until I noticed that indeed,  the evening news was on. Oh well, can’t complain now, that’s  what I asked for, and proceeded to catch up on current events.

KATU’s news team had one of their reporters live at what  looked like, a fire of some sort. “I’m here at 1919 Glascow  Ave. where this deadly house fire was a result of a lightning  strike, 2 nights ago”……. . The reporter kept talking but I  didn’t really hear him, the only 2 things that registered were,  deadly, and my address 1919 Glascow Ave. The reporter  continued, “Hank and Linda Speer, perished in the fire, and  their only son William, is at Columbia memorial Hospital,  in stable condition after being hit by lightning”. There it was,  my parents weren’t waiting out in the lobby to see me. I was  never going to see my parents again, I was hurt, confused,  and… all alone.

For the first time since I was 11 years old, I felt like cry-

ing, and I did.

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3

I’m not sure
 
how long I remained in a daze, trying to get a grasp on the death of my parents, but the news was over and Wheel of Fortune was on, and I did not care about a 9 letter word defining “things”. A few minutes had passed, when a tall man in a white doctor’s smock came into the

room. He spent a long time gazing at his clipboard before  finally looking up. “I’m Dr. Bangor, and you have some issues  we haven’t figured out yet”. “First off, you destroyed over 2  million dollars’ worth of equipment, when you were brought  into the ER. You caused my head nurse to miss the past 2  days of work, with burns over 70% of her hands, which will  require skin grafts and a lengthy recovery period”. “Plus I’m  not too thrilled to have you here”. My dad had told me that,  I would meet a lot of assholes in my life, but be kind and not  point it out to them. This guy was making me want to stamp  the word asshole on his forehead.

The kind doctor looked away from me, when some lady wanted to buy a vowel. “And suppose you tell me why the  TV is on”? “I gave strict orders to have nothing turned on in this room except lights, well….”, as he looked at me with contempt. I didn’t know what to say to him. “I’m sorry if I caused damage, but I don’t remember anything after I got hit by lightning up until about an hour ago”. He immediately cut me off, “I said how did this TV get turned on”? “I don’t know, it just came on, no one came in”…..” you expect me to

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believe the TV came on all by itself, what do I look like, an  idiot”. It was hard not to swing away when someone lobs up  a fat one down the middle, though I was getting pissed, but I  held back. “Look, I’m trying to help you, but if you continue  to lie to me”. Okay that was enough, one thing I do not do is  lie. I threw the covers down away from me and kind of sat up  (still groggy). “Look asshole (sorry dad) I said I don’t know  how the TV came on, it just came on. That’s when I pointed  at the TV as if to emphasis the point. As I pointed at the  TV, a flash of lightning shot from my fingertips, the TV immediately exploded, and what didn’t blow up caught on fire.

I was shocked and scared, after that light show from my  fingers. The Doctor was also in a state of awe, and more than  a bit afraid, as he slowly backed away from my bed and slowly out the door, but not without backing into the doorjamb  first. All I could hear was the quick shuffling of his feet down  the hallway.

One of the nurses came running into the room, “Are you  alright dear”? She looked up at the smoky remains of the  TV, and then back to me,” did the TV commit suicide so it  didn’t have to listen to that awful doctor anymore”. I broke  out laughing, I don’t know why, I just found out my parents  are dead, and I seem to have more electricity than Portland  General Electric.

“Yeah I’m okay, but I nuked the TV and spooked Dr.  Bangor”. “Too bad it couldn’t have been the other way  around”. “I’m known around here as Nurse Mattie, you can  just call me Mattie”. Nurse Mattie was every bit as pleasing, as Dr. Bangor was every bit an asshole. She had one of  those sooth sounding and polite southern accents. Not real

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tall, and short brown hair, which seemed to accent her smile  somehow. She was not thin but looked in pretty good shape.  Maybe mid 40’s I would guess, and her green eyes were as  pleasing as I could remember. They made you want to trust  her with anything. I noticed she was wearing gloves, which  made me a bit uneasy. “Okay Mattie, maybe you can tell me  what the doctor was talking about. How on earth did I destroy so much equipment, and is it okay to ask what the gloves  are for”? My dad had a prostate exam recently, so when I see  gloves I’m ready to run. “Well, Dr. bedside moron was right  about the machines in the ER, our EKG monitor, x-ray machine, etc. , anything that touched you went Poof”! “These  gloves are for my protection only, they’re rubber gloves so my  hair won’t stand out strait when I check your vitals”.

Relief ran through me as she explained the glove dilemma. “So first off, your left foot is now slightly lighter than  your right, when the lightning was going through you, it  popped off your left shoe, and your last 2 toes went with it.  You’ll be fine on that end, but we haven’t figured out about  your hair”. Nurse Mattie held out a mirror for me to have  a look. The expression on my face must have said enough.  “It’s no big deal Billy Speer, it looks kind of hip, or hip-hop,  whatever it is that you kids say today”. I couldn’t believe it,  my blonde hair was now jet black except for the white strip  down the middle. I don’t know how it could get any worse,  but I was sure it would if I just waited awhile. I lost my 2 parents, lost my 2 toes, and as I gaze into the mirror, the name  Cruella De Vil comes to mind.

It was quite apparent that this new version of Billy Speer, that I was looking at in the hand mirror, compliments of

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Nurse Mattie, is a complete transformation of what I was before I got hit by lightning, William Shake Speer 2.0 if you will.

I handed the mirror back to Mattie, thinking I have a lot on my plate, and no appetite. Nusrse Mattie, had her rubber gloves on to protect her from my electro charged body. She checked my vital, as best she could, with somewhat primi-tive but effective methods. She couldn’t use a stethoscope, because of the metal I suppose. But she did check my pulse, and used on of the new thermometer strips to use on my forehead, and had me take deep breaths.

“So Billy, I understand you’ve been waiting for your par-ents to come in to see you”…. “It’s okay Mattie, I saw the news before Dr. HeadBangor pissed me off and the TV ex-ploded”. A look of relief, came over her as she raised her head back up to meet my eyes again. I would’ve been relieved too,  I’m not good at passing on bad news. “What do I do now  Mattie”? Hoping to get an answer, but I was pretty sure that she would not indulge with such a broad request.

She held out her hand to me, “Take this, it will help you sleep. It’s fairly potent, but not as fast as a shot, which no one is confident in administering yet”. I took the pill, and she handed me a cup of water. “What about water, will my mouth catch fire if I drink this”? “You’re catching on quickly, but no, one of the other nurses gave you ice chips when you started coming around, and you did fine, so drink up and try to get some rest”. “Dr. Bangor will be in to see you in the morning, so remember, Use the force Luke”! She smiled and left the room.

I was worried, hurt, both physical and emotional. Not

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knowing what would happen to me, what do they do with 17  year olds with no parents? I have no house to go to, the only  relative I know of is my Mothers older brother, Samuel, from  Columbia, Mo. He’s an English professor at the University  of Missouri. I’m hoping he won’t take me in. I can’t see trading the Northwest for horrible Midwest weather. The longer I thought about it, the drowsier I became. Soon I wasn’t  thinking of anything. I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Sleep  found me, but if I dreamed, I didn’t remember it.

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4

“so, were you
 
able to get video from his room”? “That’s  affirmative Mr. Landers, the camera was placed outside his  window last night, it should be far enough away from him  to stay operational, but you’ll still get clear video”. “Thanks  Evans, I’ll be in touch”. Mr. Landers put his cell phone back  in his pocket, and used the wireless feed from the camera to  his laptop, where he now had a clear and unobstructed view  of William S. Speer in room 217. “Hey Frank, want to get a  bite, looks like the kids dosed off”? A quick nod of approval  from Mr. Landers and they exited the vehicle.

The Hospital cafeteria was open 24 hrs. One of the few  spots to grab a bite to eat after 10:00pm in Astoria. Mainly  empty except for a few orderlies and staff members, the 2  men seated towards the back of the cafeteria in suits and

ties seemed as out of place as a chandelier in an outhouse.  No one paid them any attention though, as they finished  their meal.

Frank Landers has been with the bureau for 21 years, his partner Don Marrick had 4 years under his belt, but his tech training was what got him partnered with the bureaus number 1 investigative genius. Agent Landers was an impos-ing specimen of a man, 6’5”, and a rock solid 235 pounds.  Sporting jet black hair that has been touched up for years, though no one dared mention it. Even at 53 he was in such good shape, that most new agents had quit challenging him

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in the yearly self-defense refresher course. His piercing blue  eyes struck fear into enough people, to back off and give him  the right of way. His expertise in investigating phenomena  was a relatively new field that the bureau felt that Landers  would be perfect for, considering his experience in interrogation and political connections around the country. Not to  mention 21 years of helping solve some of the biggest corporate crimes in recent memory. A non-stop investigative  hound, that won’t take no for an answer. Don Marrick on  the other hand, was the new age Agent. A self-professed,  self-taught, tech geek that caught the bureau’s attention with  his hacking skills. He hacked the DMV when he was 15  and change the information of 16 different Auto titles, and  made himself their new owner. The FBI made a deal with

him. They would drop federal charges in exchange for his  services, upon completion of high school. Not a bad deal.  At 5’9” and 150 pounds, he struck fear into no one, until he  was in front of his computer, and his skills would make even  agent Landers shudder.

“Did Gable, say how long he wants us to monitor this  kid”? Frank slowly finished wiping his mouth and replied,  “We tail him until we are told different”. “Hey Frank, what  do you make of what he did in the ER”? “I’m lucky my buddy  from the BAU was monitoring You Tube that night, even  luckier that the Patient in the ER got him on video”.

“I’ve been doing some research on the phenomena of possible things that could happen when you get hit by lightning,  but nothing even close to compare it to. He is one Dynamic  electrical force, and I’ll need to view the footage some more  to see if I missed anything”.

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“Let’s get back to the van before the kid wakes up”. “Sure  thing Frank”, as Don grabbed a handful of saltines form the  table and headed back out to the parking lot to keep tabs on  their favorite patient.