Date: Sat, 4 Jan 2020 11:17:08 +0000
From: Myke D <storymyke@outlook.com>
Subject: The Touch-Chapter 2

The Touch
Volume 1

"The Void"

By:  Myke D

Part 1:	The Dreamer

2:	Nightmares

It was Natalie that awoke me the next morning so she could help me get
ready to go home.  Once I was dressed, several of the nurses and doctors
came into my room to wish me well before I was loaded up into a wheelchair
and pushed towards the elevator by Greg.  Natalie and my doctor walked with
Greg down to the lobby where they both made sure I was put into the
backseat of a black sedan and buckled in firmly.

	"I have to work for a few hours," Natalie said as she kissed my
forehead gently.  "Don't let Greg bore you with all of his lawyer talk,
okay?"

	I giggled slightly and smiled as she closed the door.

	"Make sure that he eats something, Greg."  I heard Natalie tell my
new foster father.  "His meds will probably kick in before you get him
home.  Doctor Jerret went ahead and gave him a dose about ten minutes ago."

	"I've got this, Nat."  Greg said with a slight grin before he
glanced at me.  "Zachary and I are going to get along just fine today.
I'll call you as soon as I have him situated in front of the television."

	Greg kissed Natalie before he climbed into the driver's seat of the
car and headed towards the exit of the lot.

	"Are you hungry, Zachary?"  Greg asked as he pulled out onto the
main road.

	"Yes, sir."  I said nervously as a flashback of the monster teasing
me with food popped into my head.  I shoved the memory back down as deep as
I could so I wouldn't have an emotional breakdown on Greg.

	"How does McDonald's sound for lunch?"

	"McDonald's?"  I had saw the name of the restaurant before, but I
had never been there that I was aware of.

	"You are going to love this, Zach."  Greg said with a smile.
"We're going to be fat kids for the day."

	I giggled even though I didn't have any idea what he was talking
about.  His positive attitude was infectious, and I found it drawing me out
of my depression for short moments of time.  Greg pulled through the
drive-thru of the fast food chain and placed our order.

	"I'm not sure what you're going to like, so I bought you a couple
different sandwiches to try."  Greg informed me as he pulled around the
building with the line of cars.  "Okay?"

	"Okay," I mumbled nervously.

	"It'll be alright if you decide that you don't like something,
Zachary."  Greg said.  "It's no big deal.  I'm certain that Natalie will be
more than happy to take our leftovers."

	That was a word that I understood completely.  The monster had
always fed me table scraps.  Leftovers.  Food worthy of a scumbag like me.
I felt my spirits begin to drop, but I managed to keep it together until
Greg pulled away from the restaurant.

	"Here, buddy."  Greg said as he passed a wrapped sandwich back to
me.  "Try a cheeseburger.  It only has ketchup on it.  I figure that every
kid loves ketchup."

	I forced myself to smile as I thanked him for the food.  It smelled
delicious and my stomach growled loud enough to make Greg laugh from the
front seat.

	"Eat up, buddy.  There's plenty of food to go around."

	"Yes, sir."  I said with a brief nod before I took a bite of the
sandwich.  Greg laughed again as I groaned with delight and tore into the
sandwich like I would never eat again.

	"Eat a little bit slower, Zachary."  Greg said with a smile.  "I
don't want Natalie mad at me if the food doesn't agree with your medicine."

	"Yes, sir."  I replied before I finished off the food.  My nose was
being assaulted by the different smells coming from the front seat of the
car and my stomach growled again.

	"Did you like the cheeseburger?"  Greg asked me with a brief grin.

	"Yes, sir."  I replied meekly.  I wanted to ask him for another
one, but my voice caught in my throat as I remembered the way the monster
would sneer at me if I ever asked for anything.  My stomach betrayed me as
it growled again.

	"You can have more, Zachary."  The man assured me calmly.  "I
bought plenty for both of us, buddy.  Do you want another cheeseburger, or
would you rather try a chicken sandwich this time?"

	"C... c... coul... could I have a chicken one, please?"  I
stammered out bashfully.

	"Absolutely, buddy."  Greg replied as he passed another wrapped
sandwich back to me.

	"Thank you, Mr. Harris."  I said as I took the sandwich from him
and opened it as quietly as I could.  The smell of the cooked chicken made
my mouth water as I tore into it hungrily.  By the time I finished, we were
pulling into the driveway of a moderately sized two-story home.  There was
a two-car garage, but Greg parked just outside and turned the car off.  He
glanced back at me and smiled.

	"We're home, Zachary."  My foster dad told me happily.  "Stay put
for a second so I can get the house opened up.  You're not allowed to walk
on your own yet according to Natalie.  I'll be right back.  Okay?"

	I nodded timidly as Greg jumped out of the car and ran to open the
front door of the house.  He was back a second later and pulled open the
backdoor.

	"Unbuckle your seatbelt, buddy."  I did as Greg instructed before
he slipped his arms around me and lifted me from the car.  He pushed the
door closed with his foot.

	"My trash..."  I started to say groggily.

	"Don't worry about it, Zach."  Greg informed me with a brief smile.
"I'll comeback out to get everything once I have you settled on the couch.
I think your meds are starting to kick in anyways."

	"I have to pee," I blurted out before I couldn't figure out why I
had said it.  That was not like me at all.  Greg laughed which made me
giggle bashfully.

	"Okay, then."  He said with a smile.  "Judging by the haze in your
eyes, I would say that the meds have definitely kicked in, Zachary."

	I giggled and leaned my head against his shoulder.  Everything was
spinning around me in slow motion as Greg pulled open the screen door of
the brick house and carried me inside.  The first room was a small foyer
that led straight into the living room.  The carpet was a dull beige color,
and the sofa and loveseat were dark blue.  Greg carried me past the sofa to
where two doors were closed next to each other.  He pulled open the door on
the right revealing a small bathroom with light blue walls, and gray tile
on the floor.  A single ceiling light illuminated the room as Greg stood me
on my feet in front of the toilet.  He reached forward and lifted the lid
before he made sure that he had me firmly by the sides.  My legs were
already beginning to tremble as I fumbled with the buttons on my pants.  I
had barely gotten aimed at the toilet before I let loose.

	"Close one, huh?"  Greg asked with a chuckle.

	I couldn't help but giggle as I slowly drained my bladder.  Once my
hands were washed, Greg carried me out to the sofa and had me lie down.  He
made sure he got me a pillow and a blanket off of the back of a nearby
chair before he handed me the remote to the television.

	"We have a much better selection to watch than the hospital," Greg
said playfully.  "I'm going to get our stuff out of the car, okay?"

	"Yes, sir."  I said quietly with a nod.  Greg ruffled my hair
before he ran out the front door.  I had fallen asleep before he even
returned.

	The first thing I saw was two little blonde-haired boys playing in
a sandbox.  They both had blue eyes and they were smiling happily.  The sun
was shining down on them without a cloud in the sky as the identical boys
played together.  A woman with long blonde hair sat nearby, but her
attention was focused on the paperback novel in her grasp instead of the
two boys.  One of the little boys stood to his feet, and on shaky legs,
began to walk away from the sandbox towards some bushes.  A moment after he
disappeared, I heard squealing tires and the woman glanced up from her
book.  She gazed towards the sandbox as a look of horror slowly crept
across her face.

	"Zyan?"  Her voice broke as the boy's name left her lips.  She was
on her feet a second later as she repeated the name again, this time in a
desperate scream.  "Zyan?"

	The image faded away until the monster stood in front of me with
the same evil sneer on his face.  His dark eyes flashed with rage as he
screamed at me, but there was no sound.  I felt confused until he continued
to scream at me with words I couldn't even hear.  Then, he lashed out and
punched me before he slammed me up against a wall.  I screamed out in pain
as my head hit a mirror and the glass shattered to the floor.  This only
helped in intensifying the monster's rage.  I tried to fight him off, but
he just kept holding me against the wall.  I screamed and cried as I fought
for my life all over again, but it was useless.  The monster would always
be able to overpower me.

	Harold Stubbs threw me down to the floor before he kicked me in my
stomach multiple times.  I had no idea how to stop him from attacking me as
he just kept hitting me repeatedly.  I could feel the darkness closing in
around me as I fought for my life.  I swear that I even heard him exclaim
in pain as my fist finally connected with his right eye.  Then, I felt
something different.  I felt somebody touching my chest with the palm of
their hand, but the only person that was there was the monster.  I could
faintly feel a large warm body beside me, but I continued to fight off the
monster.  The hand never left my chest no matter how many times the monster
struck me.  It even felt like somebody was petting the top of my head.
Then, there was a blonde-haired boy standing in the place of Harold Stubbs.
A boy that looked identical to me.

	"Wake up, Zyan."  The boy said firmly.  "You're having a dream,
little brother, and you need to wake up, now!"

	I stared at him in confusion.

	"You've got the wrong person," I told him.  "I'm not Zyan."

	He looked hurt by my statement, but he slowly faded from my sight
– leaving me alone with the slight pressure of a hand against my chest,
and another stroking my hair softly.

	"Wake up, Zachary."  A baritone voice said softly.  "Please, wake
up, buddy."

	I struggled against the thick haze that held me down, but it
finally began to give.  I had to get out of the darkness.  It was the only
way to get away from the monster.  I could almost hear his evil chuckle and
I began to sob violently.  I needed to wake up.  I tried focusing on the
warmth I felt around me, as I struggled to come to.  The baritone voice
continued to whisper soothingly in my ear.

	"Wake up, Zachary."  I heard the voice say again with a worried
tone.  "Just open your eyes for me, buddy.  Please?"

	I finally found the strength to get my eyes to open, but there was
nothing but a blur around me as the medicine tried to keep me in its grasp.
The first thing I saw was a man with brown hair and brown eyes holding me
tightly against his chest as he soothingly rocked me back and forth.

	"There you go, buddy."  He said softly.  "You're almost there."

	The memories of my day flooded back to me as I realized that I
wasn't in the hospital room.  I couldn't stop crying long enough to get a
grip on what I was going through.  All I knew was that the monster had
attacked me in my dreams, and I had barely escaped his wrath.

	"Natalie's on her way home, Zachary.  Just relax and take deep
breaths."  Greg told me with relief in his voice.  "She definitely needs to
have a talk with your doctor about your dosage levels."

	I heard a door open before I heard the sound of Natalie's voice.

	"Did you get him to wake up?"  Natalie asked in a worried tone as
she kneeled next to the couch and placed the back of her hand against my
forehead.

	"Only just before you walked in, Natalie."  Greg informed her.

	Then, Natalie reached up and touched Greg's cheek and I followed
her movement to see the bruise already forming around Greg's right eye.  I
remembered how I had managed to actually hit the monster while he had been
attacking me.

	"He got you good," Natalie said with a slight chuckle.

	Greg rolled his eyes as he patted my chest.

	"I really think that this kid should join baseball with the way he
threw that punch," my foster dad said which made me finally connect the
dots as to what I had done.  A fresh wave of tears began to fall from my
eyes and I just knew for certain that they were going to send me back to
live with the monster.  "The guys at the office are going to love this war
story."

	Greg didn't even realize how his words had shaken me.  Any moment
now, they were going to call my caseworker and have her come pick me up.
That's what happened to children who hauled off and slugged their foster
parents.  They were sent to group homes.  Harold had warned me what
happened in those group homes, that was how he kept me from telling his
secrets.

	"I'm sorry, Mr. Harris."  I cried uncontrollably as Greg looked
down at me in confusion.

	"For what, buddy?"

	"Please, don't send me to the group home!"  I sobbed.  "I won't do
it again."

	"What's wrong, Zachary?"  Natalie asked me softly as she rubbed my
back.  "Why would we send you away?"

	"Because, I hit you."  I cried.

	Greg chuckled and hugged me tightly.

	"Trust me, buddy.  Natalie hits me a lot more than you do," Greg
said with a chuckle.

	"I do not!"  Natalie said in exasperation as she slapped him on the
arm.

	"See?"  He said with wide eyes.  "This happens all of the time!"

	Greg laughed which made me giggle lightly.

	"Are you guys hungry?"  Natalie asked as she rolled her eyes and
gave me a kiss on the cheek.

	"I don't know about this guy," Greg said as he poked me in the
stomach.  "But, I know that I'm starving!  He's gotta be hungry after the
workout he just went through."

	"What did I do?"  I asked quietly.

	"You were stuck in that dream like a tick, buddy."  Greg said with
a worried grin.  "I was worried that we were going to have to take you to
the hospital to get checked out."

	"I don't want to go back to the hospital," I stated.

	"And we don't want you to, either."  Natalie told me before she
kissed me on the cheek again.  "Now, how about chicken for dinner?"


*****Here ends another installment of "The Touch".  Next time... Chapter 3
– The New Student...


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