Unbelievable Pt. 06

"What's got you all smirky?" Brylee asked, wondering why Bill was smirking like that.

"Oh, just the fact Johnny hasn't done this in a very long time," Bill stated.

"Done what?" Ruth asked, curious.

"Messing with your friends," Katherine supplied. "It must have been a really good day for him, well I'll let you two get back to it," she said, lightly patting her son's shoulder. "Bill make sure you clean up when the four of you are done," Katherine said, her voice trailed after her as she left the room.

"Did Johnny used to do that?" Ruth asked, eager to know more about John before his time in that hospital.

"Before he went in almost every day, after..." His gaze turned dark recounting how his brother was once his parents brought him home, "well you know how he's been," Bill said, looking over at Ruth who nodded.

"Ruth I thought you didn't like him?" Liana asked, confused by her friends demeanor.

"Well... I didn't," feeling her face grew flush in her shame, "but I learned what happened to him and I don't know if I could go through that and not end up like his friend Julia," Ruth said, her hand slipping into Bill's.

"Who's Julia...?" Brylee asked, tilting her head to the side as Bill placed a finger to his lips. Watching how he got up from his seat and peered around the door jam.

Bill arched an eyebrow as John stood at attention as he saluted his father who was shaking his head at the display. He could see his father chuckling as he pointed out along the yard, shaking his own head as John marched like he was in a formation with the bag of fertilizer on his shoulder.

"Julia was someone Johnny knew while he was there," Bill said, retaking his seat knowing his brother wouldn't over hear them.

"What happened to her?" Liana asked, her eyes darting between the two as they silently spoke to one another.

"She died, that's all I'm going to say..."

"Good," Annie spoke up. "Don't go telling Johnny's secrets," she said, as she walked towards the kitchen. "I'm not about to let Johnny have an episode because you two can't keep your mouths shut," Annie said, her blue-green eyes cut into her brother and Ruth as she carried a tray lined with a pitcher of lemonade and three glasses filled with ice as she headed towards the backyard.

"Wow, your sister..."

"Is right, I'm not about to let Johnny have an episode because of this," Bill said, telling the two of them that was the end of the conversation as he heard the back door opening.

"Dad, Johnny, I brought drinks," Annie called out as she stood on the back porch of their home as she watched as John walked behind the seed spreader.

"Annie what's gotten into Johnny? I haven't seen him like this in... a long time," Brandan said, as he climbed the steps.

"I don't know, but..." Biting her lip, knowing it had to be what he and Julia's father talked about and she wasn't about to bring her brother down.

"Let's not ruin the mood," Brandan said, finishing his daughter's sentence. "Okay, I won't pry as long it isn't drugs," he said, placing a kiss on his daughter's temple. Standing beside his daughter sipping his drink as John hummed and danced as he circled around the yard.

"Johnny what're ya humming?" Annie asked, when John was halfway done.

"Living Dead Girl," Johnny called back.

Her feet lightly touched on the steps as she watched John putting up the spreader into the shed. Gliding along the soft blades of grass as John locked up.

"You two don't stay out too late," Brandan called out before leaving his two youngest children alone. Knowing if he lingered he would probably ruin his son's good mood. That wasn't something he wanted to do after the years of coldness that had encased his son like a glacier.

"Johnny will you come with me for a moment. I promise nothing more than a kiss might be involved," Annie said, feeling her cheeks heat as she held out her hand to him.

"O-okay," Johnny said, wondering why his sister was always blushing around him.

"Do you remember when I told you we'll recreate the memories you lost?" Annie asked, as his hand slipped into hers.

"Yeah?"

"I thought maybe given your good mood, we could give it a try," Annie said, nodding towards the mulberry tree where it had all started.

Tilting his head to the left as John gazed at the tree. He didn't understand why Annie put such significance to that single tree. Yes, he knew why she put it in such an important light, yet to him, it was just a tree. If there was any magic to what happened before his memories were taken from him it was long gone now. He didn't see how they could recapture that if what his sister said was true. Nonetheless, the way she was glancing at him, the way her closed hand rested over her heart, how her skin had a rosy rue to it as they neared the tree as they walked towards it did make his sister rather cute. It reminded him of how Julia kind of acted around him when they were alone or when they were in the courtyard.

"It was smaller back then," Annie said softly, as they stood beneath the swaying branches of the tree. Knowing that no one could see them from the ground floor. She didn't want Ruth's friends to know about their secret. "See here," reaching out, her fingertips lightly touching the carving she had put into the tree with Ray's pocket knife so long ago, "this is where I told you that I wanted to spend all my years with you," she said, reaching down, guiding his hand towards that roughly carved heart with their initials in the center of it. Her blue-green eyes quivered as she gazed at her brother. She could see that he had no recollection of the event in his eyes. How that tore at her heart; the one thing that bound them together was forever taken from him. The sinews of her free hand tightened as she clenched her fist as she fought to keep her anger at those men in check. Stepping closer to him, feeling her breasts bulging as they pressed into his chest. "I really do love you Johnny. I know things haven't gone how either one of us had thought, but we are here now. Just the two of us, isn't that what matters?" Annie asked, as her hands ran along his hips mimicking what she had done on that day. "I'm going to kiss you now, okay?"

John nodded; his Adams apple bobbed as his heart hammered in his chest. He didn't understand that. It wasn't the first time they'd kissed or being held in his sister's arms. So then, why did he feel so nervous? Why was his hand still on that carving that meant nothing to him? Why did he feel like sinking into the velvety embrace of his sister's lips as they touched his? Then a searing pain flooded his head as the sounds of laughter, the warmth of the sun on his skin, the sound of a dog barking flared into his mind. His fragmented memory burned sending John to his knees as his hands clutched the sides of his head.

"Johnny?! Johnny what's wrong?!" Annie shouted in worry dropping to her knees, her hands took hold of his face.

"It hurts... it hurts so much?!" Johnny howled in pain, falling onto his back as the spark of Annie's fifteen-year-old face flashed before his eyes.

"Johnny what's wrong?! Talk to me?!" Annie shouted tears reamed her eyes as she tried to keep her brother from thrashing about. "Mom! Dad! Somebody! Help?!" she screamed out as fear flooded her body unable to help her brother as John's arms fell away and laid lifeless at his side as John blacked out. "Johnny! Johnny! Somebody help us!" Tears streamed down her cheeks as John was unresponsive to her pleas. "Wake up Johnny, please wake up!" Annie wept as she lightly stroked his cheek as she felt for a pulse. Sighing when his heartbeat was still strong.

"Annie?!" Brandan called out as his feet thundered on the ground as he raced towards his sobbing daughter. "Oh my God! John! Katherine get Bill now!" he shouted back at his wife as he caught sight of his lifeless son. "What happened?" Brandan asked, looking at his daughter who was muttering for her brother to wake up. "Annie," taking his daughter by the shoulders, "what happened to Johnny?" he asked, sternly.

"One moment we were kissing... the next he was holding his head... oh Daddy! Johnny's going to be alright, right?" Annie asked, in-between sobs falling into her father's arms.

"What's wrong...?"

"Johnny!" Katherine screamed having to be held back by Ray as her eyes fell upon her baby boy. "Johnny wake up!" she called out as Brandan moved Annie out of Bill's way.

"Ruth tell your friends to go home," Bill said, looking over at his fiancée. "We don't need our family's misery witnessed by them," he said, seeing her nod before rushing off to the porch where her friends stood. "Annie did Johnny have a seizure?" Bill asked, as he checked on his brother's heart rate, and breathing.

"I don't know," Annie said, weakly. "All he did was hold his head saying it hurt so much and then he began to thrash about."

"Johnny's stable, but he needs to go to the hospital, we need to get that MRI, no telling what kind of damage we'll find," Bill said sternly, glancing over to his sister and mother as they both broke down in tears.

"Ray?!" Wanda called out running towards them with her cell phone in hand. "The ambulance is on its way," she said, her chest heaving as she came to a stop. Having called 911 once Ruth told her what had happened after she had escorted her friends to their car. "Oh no!" Her hand flew to her mouth as her eyes fell on John's body.

"I'll ride with Johnny, you all follow after," Brandan said, taking charge as the paramedics wheeled his still unconscious son into the back of the ambulance. "It's going to be okay Katherine," he said reassuringly, as he gently rubbed his wife's arms.

"Sir, if you're coming we need to go now," the female EMT said, as she stuck her head out the door.

Brandan nodded, leaving his wife in the very capable hands of his sons as he climbed into the back. "Call Dr. Copper, she might want to be there for this," Brandan said, as the back doors of the ambulance closed.

******

Annie paced the room that the hospital had placed John in once he was admitted. Having texted Janus what had happened to John. Chewing on her nail hoping that she wasn't the cause of John's current state. She never wanted to hurt her brother; she didn't know how she could live with herself if she indeed has caused John's current state. Her eyes glanced over to the empty bed where John had been laying until the nurses came and placed John on a gurney so he could be taken for an MRI.

"Stop that honey, I know you're worried, we all are," Katherine said, squeezing Brandan's hand. Trying not to break down into tears at how the day had turned out given John's rare, good mood.

"Annie tell us exactly what happened?" Brandan asked, trying to understand what was happening with his son.

"Johnny was putting away the spreader, I asked him if he would come with me for a little bit. I wanted to recreate our first kiss," her cheeks heating at Ruth's and Wanda's 'Awes', "given how those people!" Annie hissed angrily. "Took away his memories, so we walked to the mulberry tree. Where I showed him where I carved the heart, telling him that was the day I told him... I wanted to spend my years with him. Then we kissed, then I don't know. All of a sudden Johnny's hands flew to his head, then he dropped to his knees saying it hurts... it hurts so much. Then he fell to his back crying out in pain then he started to thrash..."

"Was his movements jerky, twitchy, or was he moving like this?" Bill cut in his arms moving wildly about.

"The first two, Johnny didn't do that," Annie stated referring to her brother's movements.

"Johnny suffered a seizure," Bill said, remembering his med classes.

"D-d-did I cause it?" Annie asked, feeling her knees going weak.

"I don't think so," Dr. Copper said, knocking on the door frame. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," she said, flashing John's family a smile.

"What do you mean?" Katherine asked, hoping she had some insight to all of this.

"I can only speculate as to the cause; it would be better for us to wait for the doctor to read the MRI scans. But I have to warn you, what I saw, isn't going to be easy to take," Dr. Copper stated, trying to prepare the family for what was done to John.

"Please doctor, anything you can tell us. I don't know how much longer we can all wait," Wanda said, drawing strength from Ray as he wrapped his arm around her.

"How many times did John ever tell you he was given an ECT?" Dr. Copper asked, looking around the room.

"I think he said two times, didn't he?" Katherine asked, looking over to Bill who nodded.

"That's not possible," Dr. Copper muttered.

"What do you mean?" Annie asked frantically, taking hold of the doctor's arm. "Sorry," she whispered once Dr. Copper placed a hand over hers.

"Mind you this isn't my field all I can give you is what limited knowledge I have during my residency," Dr. Copper said, seeing them nod. "There's just too many dark spots on John's brain to simply be done by two ECT sessions." Feeling for Katherine as her hand flew to her mouth. "I'm speculating here so it would be best if we wait for the doctor with the MRI results. But whether whatever was done to him killed the brain cells that separate the frontal lobe from the rest of the brain or its scar tissue I can't say. The MRI doesn't distinguish between the two, all they show is dark spots. They could be lesions for all I know, but that's highly unlikely. As to what caused this, I'm guessing he remembered something from his past, and the electrical signals went haywire when they tried to pass along that damaged part of his brain..." Looking to her right as Annie collapsed to the floor.

"No, no, no! I couldn't have, I didn't mean too," Annie muttered between sobs as she wept in her hands.

"Shh, you couldn't have known Annie. This isn't your fault," Ruth whispered, comforting Annie.

"Does that mean if we try to get him to remember anything before he was hospitalized that this might happen again?" Brandan asked, sorrow filled his eyes as Dr. Copper nodded.

"My li'l John gone, forever...!" Katherine gasped into her cupped hands.

"Get off of me!" Johnny's voice filled the hallway. "What fresh Hell is this!" he yelled as he struggled with the nurses.

Dr. Copper along with John's family in tow quickly fled the room. She was not expecting the anger in his eyes as he growled 'You!'

"You did this! I am not going back; you can't make me!" Johnny thrashed like a bucking bronco as he tried to free himself from the nurse's grasp. Yet for some odd reason his body felt weak and fatigued.

"Johnny calm down," Katherine and Dr. Copper said as they rushed to his side.

"I am not going back!" Johnny roared.

"Baby, you got it all wrong. We think you had a seizure; don't you remember?" Katherine asked, her lip trembling at her son's blank look.

"Do what?" Johnny asked, perplexed.

"Johnny let's get you back to your room and let the doctor tell you what he's found," Dr. Copper said, seeing a middle aged man stepping off the elevator with a folder large enough to contain MRI film.

"No! You lie! You're going to put me back in!"

"Please Johnny, listen to them," Annie rushed to the foot of gurney. "Do this for me, please?!" Her blue-green eyes pleaded with him to listen.

"Fine, I'm doing this for you Julia," Johnny muttered in a huff. "You better not be lying." Dr. Copper cast Annie a look once Johnny had calmed down. "Why is my head killing me?!" Johnny groaned as he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes.

"It's the side effects of your seizure, young man," the doctor said, from behind Johnny. "It will wear off in time, Dora please see that John gets some Tylenol 500," he said, writing it down in John's chart.

"It's Johnny," Johnny and his family said at once.

"I apologize, now are we done making a ruckus in the hallway," the doctor said, smiling down at John.

"I don't know, you going to fry my brain too?!" Johnny shot back argumentatively.

"No, but that's something I wish to speak with you about and your family. So how about we get you back into your room."

"O-okay," Johnny muttered looking away. With the help of the nurses John eased onto the empty hospital bed. Looking at his mother, father, brothers, sister, Ruth and Wanda weirdly as they stood by his bed. "Wait?! I know what this is. I'm dead and this is my Hell... oww!" he hissed as his mother slapped his left leg, hard.

"See if you were dead you wouldn't feel that," Katherine said, trying not to smile at her son's dark humor.

"Says you, for all I know you could be Beelzebub," Johnny said, crossing his arms in a huff.

"Just you wait until we get you home, then I'll show you the devil," Katherine said, matching John's dark tone.

"So you brought the minions along, had to have an audience, huh?" Johnny teased his mother.

"Well, seems Johnny's back," Ray said, lightly squeezing John's right forearm.

"Did I go somewhere," gasping, "am I a pod person now?!"

"Hush you goof," Annie cooed lightly slapping his leg.

"I take it this is Johnny's normal behavior?" the doctor asked, as he hung up the film. Making sure it wasn't caused by the seizure.

"Yes doctor, this is how Johnny is normally," Katherine said lovingly, as she held John's hand.

"What's that?" Johnny asked, as the lights shone through the film.

"This, Johnny, is your brain," the doctor said, turning to look at John. "Tell me, do you know what this is?" he asked, pointing to the dark line that ran across John's brain and a few spots in his frontal lobe.

"No, should I?" Johnny asked, puzzled.

"Johnny how many ECT sessions did that doctor give you while you were in Raven Dale?" Dr. Copper asked, noting the look of recognition on the doctor's face.

"The truth this time," Katherine said, sternly.

"Come on Johnny, this is no time to be secretive. We all promise it won't leave this room," Bill spoke looking around at his family and Dr. Copper who nodded.

"Six times," Johnny whispered as he dropped his chin to his chest.

"At what voltage?" Dr. Copper asked, bringing his attention to her.

"The highest, 450, always set to the highest," Johnny said, truthfully.

"How can that be possible, there're safeguards in place?!" the doctor stammered in shock.

"I don't think that thing had safeguards," Johnny said, looking at the man. Peering through the gap that separated his mother and father as the door opened.

"What did the device look like?" Dr. Copper asked once he had taken his pills.

"Old, it was in a wooden box... I think," Johnny said, scratching his head. "Can I go home now?" he asked, looking up at his parents.

"Soon Johnny, soon," Brandan said, lightly patting his son's leg. "When you've answered the doctor's questions."

"Did it look something like this?" Dr. Copper asked, showing John an image of a 1950's version of an ECT machine.

"Yeah that's it," Johnny nodded.

"I see, yes that would explain this," the doctor said, as he and Dr. Copper discussed amongst themselves as they studied the film. "It's a wonder the board ever gave whoever did this to him a license in the first place," he said, keeping his temper in check.

"Dr. Mott was a cruel man, he's no doctor," Johnny said, his fist crunching up the bedding of the hospital bed. "Can we go now please?!"

"Just a little bit more, okay?" Katherine said, feeling her son beginning to tremble.

"Well, I'm sorry you had to go through that Johnny but what's been done to you is..."

"Forever, yeah I think I got that," Johnny said, darkly. "So... why did I have a seizure?"

"I can't say, seeing how we don't have a pre-MRI or anything else on you before you went into that place. All I can think of is your brain tried to pull something from this side," the doctor said, pointing to the back half of John's brain. "To this side," pointing at John's frontal lobe, "whatever it was got high jacked and caused the seizure. Yet I can't be sure without further testing. However, just in case that's not the case and to keep this from happening again I'm going to prescribe you Sympazan at a low dose so it won't interact with your other medication."