To Journey's End Part Seven

It had been quiet in his safe room, nothing was happening, it was eerily silent outside his room. Suddenly Todd sat up, off in the distance he heard Sam talking to someone. She was crying. What‘s her name? Think.You know it? Beth, Sam’s talking to Beth. Who's Beth? Where did he know her from? Come on, Todd, think. His wrists were hurting suddenly and he watched as bandages appeared on them. Where did those come from? Wait. Beth’s a doctor. Todd suddenly saw a woman with short gray hair, and she was talking to him. He was cold. Todd started to shiver. I remember, she was nice. She got me a blanket just like Momma. Of course, now it made sense. Sam had brought him to a doctor.

“Sam, it’s me, Todd, can you hear me? We have to talk. Sam?” Damn, if Sam was here, he needed to get out. Sam didn’t know how much trouble they could be in. He couldn’t let them hurt Sam or Doctor Beth. He flung open his door only to be met by a choking murk.  No! I’ve got to get out.  He waded in but he felt like he was moving only an inch at a time.  It was like walking through thick sucking muck.  Every step was a chore, the muck grasping and pulling at his body. Arms and legs felt so heavy.  But Sam needed him, so he continued to struggle.

Sam sat down next to the bed. The man was so still. What was going on in his mind? “Hey Pal, it’s me, Sam.  Listen, I wanted you to know it’s safe to come out.  I took care of it like I told you. Those guys after you. They’re out of the picture.”

Todd shook his head. “No, Sam they’re fooling you. You don’t know them like I do.” he continued to wade laboriously through the mire. Reaching to pull one leg free, then the next. He was so tired. Through the murk, a light appeared.

Sam continued talking, as Red wandered in and laid down next to Todd once more. “They came looking for you. The black gentleman said you had wandered off from their campsite, but I knew something was wrong. I knew they were lying to me, they weren’t who they pretended to be. I decided to fool them. Really, Todd, you’re in the clear for now. They think you’re dead.”

Todd flailed, pulling himself through the thickness knowing the end was in sight. He clawed his way through the gunk, to the surface, to the light. He reached for anything to grasp and pull him the last few feet. Then he felt it, a lifeline, an arm he could grab. He clutched it and fought upward. Todd awoke breathing like he had just broken through the surface of the water. He was gulping in air. “Sam you can’t trust them. They’ll come back” Todd's eyes were wild as he stared at his friend.

“Todd take it easy. It’s all right. You have to believe me.  Man, I’m glad to see you back. You just need to calm down. You’ve been gone for a while. Just catch your breath.”

Todd stared at him and slowly his eyes focused. “Sam?” he blinked, then he watched as the face of his friend dissolved replaced by a man similar but clearly not Sam.

“Yeah, it’s me, Sam.” Sam watched as Todd stilled and his eyes searched, looking at Sam as if through a microscope.

Pain lanced through Todd as he realized,the man next to him was not his Sam. “Oh God, You’re not,....God he’s dead.” he collapsed back on the bed and covered his eyes letting the tears flow for his friend and mentor. A hand reached out and patted his shoulders. “I’m sorry Todd.” Todd flinched even his inflection was so like Sam’s.He lay there trying to take stock of where he was. He wasn’t in that awful room any longer, and the man beside him obviously didn’t want to hurt him. He lowered his arm and looked at the man sitting above him. “Who?”

“Who am I? My name is Sam Clayton and I’m Beth’s husband. You’ve been pretty sick. Beth is a doctor, I found you the other morning and brought you here. Look you just rest. Let me get Beth, she’ll want to check you out.” he turned and hollered out the room. “Beth, he’s awake!”

Beth rushed into the room at Sam’s word and looked at her patient “Oh Todd, thank goodness you’re awake. Move Sam, let me look him over.” Sam got up and let Beth take his seat. She reached and laid a gentle hand on Todd’s neck to get his pulse. It was a little unnerving because he just laid there quietly and studied her. His pulse was strong and she looked into his hazel eyes and smiled. “You’re fever’s gone and you’ve got a fine pulse. So, do you remember me?”

Todd nodded. “You’re Beth. I remember you covering me. I was cold. How long have I been here?”

“You’ve been here a little over a day. Sam brought you to me early yesterday morning. You were suffering from exposure and disoriented. We know your first name.  Do you remember your last name?” She wasn’t sure if he would answer or not but she was trying to get a gauge on his mental state.

Todd didn’t answer. He looked around the room. Was this all real or simply another one of their tricks? He closed his eyes and took a shuttering breath. Please God, let this be real.  He felt a cold tongue lick his left hand and looked down to see a beautiful Irish setter laying next to him. The dog stared at him solemnly.Todd reached carefully and patted the dog's head. “Hi handsome, what’s your name?”

Sam had walked around to the other side of the bed and said, “Meet Red. He’s the one who really found you. Todd?”

Todd looked up at his name and found himself looking into piercing gray eyes but there was nothing about them that was threatening. “Yes.”

“Todd, Beth asked you a question. Do you remember?’”

Todd looked over at Beth, She was patiently waiting for the answer to her question and just watching him. What was the question? Oh yeah, my last name. I know it, think Todd.

“ Look we know you’ve been through a lot. Don’t worry if you can’t remember. I’m sure it will 

come back to you.” said Sam.

He had to think, I have a daughter. Her name is Starr. Starr had a father, her father is Todd. I’m Todd. I’m Todd ...I’m Todd Manning? Yes, that’s it. “I’m Todd Manning.”

Sam nodded. This was good. Now he had a name he could look up. ON the safe side, he still wanted to get fingerprints. Todd seemed a little uncertain and after what he had been through, Sam wasn’t surprised. It wouldn’t hurt to see if the fingerprints matched the name.

“Can you tell us where you’ve been?” asked Beth.

Todd looked back at her and a feeling of dread nestled inside him. He didn’t want to talk about there. Not yet. “I can’t.... Please don’t ask . Please.” his hand had tightly gripped Red’s fur coat. Red nudged his side and Todd loosened his grip.

Beth realized they needed to back off. The last thing she wanted to do was force the issue and have Todd retreat again. She pulled his sheet up around him and said. “Don’t worry. It can wait until you’re ready. Do you think you could eat something?”

At the mention of food, Todd’s stomach growled and he smelled the terrific scents coming from the kitchen. “I think I could eat a horse right now. But um, first.” He looked at Sam “I’m feeling a little uncomfortable, if you know what I mean.”

Sam knew the problem immediately and said. “Beth, why don’t you see if any of my clothes might fit Todd.” Beth nodded and went to see what she could find.

“Uh, that’s nice Sam, but it’s not the naked part that’s bothering me.” said Todd with a little hint of sarcasm.

Sam smiled. “I know but I didn’t think you wanted me telling her outright you needed to use the bathroom. Come on let's get you in there.”

Todd sat up slowly and waited for the moment when the room stopped spinning. Then attempted to stand up. He would have toppled over if Sam hadn’t been ready for him. They made it to the bathroom and after a few minutes proceeded back to the bedroom where they spotted some clothes on the end of the bed. The two men looked at each other and grinned.

“Well she is a doctor, not much gets past her.” chuckled Sam.

Todd was feeling a lot steadier by the time he was dressed. It had been unsettling to see the bandages around his ankles similar to the ones around his wrists but he found he didn’t want to think about them too much.

“Why don’t you lie back down and I’ll bring you a tray.” offered Sam.

“If you don’t mind I’d rather join you if that’s okay?”

“Sure pal, we’d love the company.”

“You’re a lot like him.”

“Who Todd?”

“My friend Sam. He would often call me pal. I guess I just wanted to hear him so bad. I thought you were him.”

“Hey, it was what you needed at the time. Don’t let it bother you. Think you can make it on your own steam or do you need a helping hand.”

“I think I can do it on my own but thanks for offering.”

“Okay then, the kitchen is down the hall, let's go.”

Todd got up and made his way slowly out the door, his steps getting stronger as he went. He walked into a kitchen that reminded him of someplace else but he couldn’t quite latch onto the memory. Beth turned around surprised to find him standing there. “Sorry didn’t mean to scare you.” he felt uneasy, like he had to apologize.

“You didn’t scare me, I just wasn’t expecting to see you in here I was just fixing a tray. Sam why did you let him out of bed?”

“Beth, the man is obviously tired of laying around. He wanted to stretch his legs, at least he didn’t have to go far. Have a seat, Todd.”

Beth watched as Todd lowered himself into a chair, she saw the slight shake of his hands as he clasped them on the table in front of him. He was holding it together but it was difficult. She looked at the bowl of soup she had been going to take into him and reached into her cabinet and pulled out soup mug instead. Pouring the contents from the bowl into the mug she placed the mug in front of Todd. “Careful it’s hot.”

Todd smiled and picked up the spoon but his hand wouldn’t stop shaking. He set the spoon down and gripped the mug with both hands and began to drink. The heat made him gasp for just a moment, but the flavors exploded in his mouth. He had never tasted anything so good.

Beth and Sam watched as he drained the mug. “Todd, you need to slow down. You’ve been sick.”

Todd wiped the little bit that had gotten on his beard with his hand. “That was great. Could I have some more?”

As a doctor, she should have insisted that he go a little slower but his obvious pleasure was too much and she poured some more soup into his mug. “Take your time with this cup, Todd, I don’t want you getting sick again. You haven’t eaten in a couple of days. Give your stomach a chance to recover.”

He took another sip and set the cup down. He stared into it remembering eating some soup sitting at a coffee table. She had been next to him. Blair, her hair curling down around her shoulders, wearing a white blouse. He had taken a kiss, then another. Then the memory faded. He blinked back the tears. They were all he had, his memories, but he couldn’t tell if they were real or not.

He had seemed so happy just a moment before, then he had gotten silent. “Todd are you all right. You’re not feeling sick, I knew you shouldn’t have eaten so fast.” Beth was worried.

Todd glanced up and saw Beth’s expression. He had done it again. He had scared her. “I’m okay, I get these images, memories. I’m not sure. It’s all so screwed up, up here.” he pointed to his head and ran his fingers through his hair. “I can’t tell what’s real or imagined.”

It’s going to take time. It will all come back and make sense just give it time.”

“Time. I’ve lost too much time. Eight years. They told me it’s been eight years.”

Beth gasped as his words hit home. He had been held for eight years. So many years so much torture. Sam touched her arm and shook his head. She composed herself. Todd didn’t need to see how upset she was. This was about him, not her. “But there’s more time left Todd. You have time now to set everything back on course.”

“Do I, Beth? Can everything be reset, after all these years? Can I just go home and get my old life back. I’m afraid. They don’t want me to do that. They’ll try and stop me. I just know it.”

“Todd. Pal, I told you. They think you’re dead. At least for now. You have some time to figure out what you’re going to do.”

“How Sam? Why do they think I’m dead?”

“Because I made it look that way. They came to my office and asked for help searching for you. I laid a false trail with the clothes you were wearing when I found you. For now, they believe you are dead. I’ll try and keep them in the dark as long as I can.”

‘You shouldn’t have done that Sam. They’re dangerous. You could get in trouble with the law.”

“Relax Todd. I am the law around here. I’m the county sheriff.”

Todd started to laugh. It must be fate. He had landed in the lap of the law.

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