Salience

Chapter 5: Gohm

Acher woke inside a white room filled with medical equipment. He found himself unable to sit up to take the room in, in full, and stared at the ceiling. The machines beeped and hummed as the minutes went by. A person in heavy protective garments entered the room locked eyes with Acher and immediately left the room. Suddenly the door busted open and his sister, Astrid, crashed into him.

“Acher! I’m so glad they found you!” she cried.

“Oww, hey, that hurts,” he said, “I’m happy to see you.”

“You’ve been gone for weeks, seven to be exact.”

“Wow! I had no idea.”

“How did you not know?”

“Not like I had a calendar or computers to look at.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said crying.

He grabbed onto her and held her tightly. The door opened again and his father walked through the door slowly. His beard was long and scraggly as ever and his eyes seemed distant.

“Hey son,” he said.

“Hey,” Acher said without looking.

Their relationship was always tense after the death of Acher’s mother and it seemed that Colton, his father, never seemed to get over it. Acher wouldn’t ever say he was blamed for it but almost as if his father simply wished that it was him that passed instead of his wife, though he would never admit it.

He walked over to his son placing a hand on him and stared at the machines while he found the closest chair to sit in. Astrid pushed Acher to the side and laid her legs on top of his and also lay in the moment. No one seemed to talk and his mind began to wander to the thoughts of his wife. His eyes sparkled as he blinked in quick succession splattering tears on Astrid’s legs. He saw his son look at him for a moment and they shared a small smile together.

“What happened?” Acher asked.

No one said a thing at first and he saw his father open his mouth several times until Astrid broke the silence, “You were rescued by a SP called Goom or something like that. He saved you from that serial killer called Koda. Apparently, they have been looking for him for a long time.”

“Serial killer? Like a real one?” he asked.

“Yeah, a real one like on TV. He was killing several boys so close to our neighborhood though we never really knew.”

“Hard to really know something like that. From what I remember he seemed so normal.”

“Normal! You call that normal?” Astrid shouted.

“Hey! I meant that if you met him you wouldn’t be able to tell right away that he was some psycho killer thing,” Acher said.

“Whatever, that Goom guy was on to him and ended up saving you,” Astrid said.

“It’s Gohm. Go-mm. Just say it fast,” said Gohm behind them.

They both swung their heads in unison at the sound of his voice. He smiled at them both though the smile seemed very forced and he walked up to them without permission. Gohm was not very tall but seemed to be taller than their father. He had dark chestnut hair that was combed over and five o’clock shadow beard. Even though his clothes were baggy you could still see his muscles.

“Glad to see you are awake and I’m only a little sorry about all this but I just wanted to ask some questions about what happened,” he said.

“He needs rest. He shouldn’t be interrogated right now.” Astrid said louder than she meant to.

“I understand, but I am here now and I have asked so please indulge me,” he said, “Also this is not an interrogation. I am simply, curious.”

“It’s fine, the sooner you leave the better,” Acher said as he scooted closer to the wall.

Gohm raised his eyebrows and said, “Tell me what you remember?”

“Hmmm, I remember meeting him at the pharmacy store off of Brooks Drive. He helped me deal with an annoying store clerk.”

“Annoying how?”

“He was giving me problems on being a few cents short. Does it matter?”

“Not now, continue.”

“Then he followed me to the gas station when I noticed my bike tire needed some air. Showed me some magic trick after he annoyed me and then tricked me into wearing hand cuffs.”

“Ah, that explains that.”

“What?”

“Continue please.”

“Uh, Okay? Then he threw me into the back of his Station Wagon which I noticed is the same guy that has been almost hitting me in the neighborhood.”

“Wait! That’s the same guy?” Astrid said.

“Yeah! What an asshole right?” Acher said.

“Language!” she yelled, “Totally though.”

“Okay, that will be enough.”

“What? Didn’t you ask for the whole thing?”

“I asked what I needed to ask, everything we seemed to surmise ourselves from the ECHO team. Also going into certain details would bring up more trauma from yourself and perhaps cause some for those around us,” he said looking at his family.

Acher went to open his mouth and found himself closing it rather quickly and shooting sharp looks at his father. Astrid slowly grabbed his hand. Acher squeezed it tightly and returned his look to Gohm.

“So, is that all the questions? Can you leave now?”

“That I can young man. You have satisfied my queries for now though I am sure I will have a few more and would like to speak more with you at a later date about it, if that will be okay?” he asked.

“Super!” Acher said as he played with his medical gown strings.

“Excellent, then I shall bother no more,” he said taking a bow and turning towards the door. Astrid shot up out of the bed so fast that both her father and brother made grunts and groans.

“Thank you mister Go-ums! –”

“Gohm –”

“Without you, my brother wouldn’t be here.” she said as she hugged him.

He didn’t return the favor and said, “He is more capable than you think, I am more certain that he would have done just fine on his own. I grew impatient is all.” He turned away almost shaking her off him and left the room.

Astrid stood up from the floor wide eyeing her brother.

“What a weirdo,” she said walking back like a robot.

“I am Goum and I am just doing my duty,” she said in her best robot voice.

Acher laughed hard grabbing his side choking on his laughter. He saw his sister worry and he waved her away. Their father seemed to snap out of his trance and got up to stare at them laughing.

“I’m gonna go see when you can come home, son.”

“Okay,” they said together.

Once their father left the room Astrid hunkered down and stared directly into her brothers eyes. She spoke to him with her mothers voice, “So, how did you really escape?”

He almost fell for the voice and told her everything she wanted. But he couldn’t do it. This is not something he really even believed himself and so much was happening too fast. The more that time went on while they spoke the more he wanted to tell her the weird odd details about his eyes growing large and everything it took to escape. How he fought back somehow and his body listening to weird requests. This just wasn’t the time and he didn’t want to believe that he did those things either.

Their father returned and said that after a final check up they would be able to return home that evening but they had to leave Acher be in the mean time to make sure that he rests and has time to process the events but also to process how to move forward after the trauma.

Several hours later a nurse came into the room and started her final check up on Acher. She informed him that he had two fractured ribs, broken fingers, and a hairline fracture on his ankle. These were the major injuries, she didn’t feel the need to almost tell him about all his bruising and how the swelling will push more bruising and make things look worse than they really were.

“You’re lucky to sustain these injuries only, though I also know that you must be dealing with a lot of mental scarring too. Our doctor is looking to find you a specialist to help you through the trauma,” she said.

“You mean like a therapist?”

“Precisely.”

“Great, I’m a wacko now.”

“Don’t say it like that, there are a lot of things that you most likely have internalized and haven’t realized just yet. For example we had to sedate you in order for you to go to sleep because you didn’t want the lights off.”

“What! That’s ridiculous, I”m not afraid of the dark,” he yelled.

“It’s okay to feel this way, just know that we are going to find the best way to make sure you are taken care of. Not just physically, which we have already done, but also mentally,” she said.

Acher took a moment to lay there and think. The nurse took a few more vitals and left him to his own devices. He took the time to really take in what she said and found himself disturbed that this stranger, Koba or whatever his name was, had done more damage far beyond his body. Deep down he knew that what the nurse said was true that he felt himself different and that Gohm getting closer made him really nervous.

“So am I okay to leave yet?” he asked.

“Just about, we will run these last few tests to confirm,” she said.

Acher nodded his head and layed down on the bed staring at the ceiling. Why did that Gohm save him and ask him questions just before the real abduction? He thought hard on this.

“Ah, I bet he was wondering if there were other people helping him or something like that.” he said to himself.

“You are a pretty sharp young man it seems,” said a voice.

Acher leapt up and searched for the voice. Gohm was standing about in the middle of the room.

“When did you get in?” he asked.

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, it does matter.”

“Why?”

“Because, I asked.”

“Ha, what a response. We will get you better at asking questions later,” he said.

“We?”

“Yes, we. As in those who are part of the P.P.O. or Paragon Perch Organization.”

“And why woud I join that?”

“Because you too are like me are you not?”

“Like you? I don’t see myself as a self proclaimed god over the people.”

“Is that how you see our kind?”

“OUR kind? I am not like YOUR kind.”

“Then how do you explain your body becoming three times your original size and then shrinking back again?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Interesting, you are deliberately lying about having powers,” he said scratching his stubby beard.

“Leave me alone already, you’ve done your job. You SAVED the day, yay for you. Out you go,” Acher said pointing to the door.

Gohm turned away to leave without giving any indication to wanting to give a retort and walked to the door. He grabbed the handle and slowly opened the door pausing for a moment.

“You know, I promise you that many of us never would have chosen who we are if given the chance. It’s clear that you don’t want the life of salience. I hope you come to understand more about what and who you are and give me a call when you do,” he said taking an extra moment of silence, “We SPs are, as you say, not shit and I couldn’t agree more with you. Farewell young man.”

“Finally, peace and quiet,” he said rolling over on the bed pulling several machines around attached to him. Gohm smiled, nodded, and then left.

The doctor came into the room an hour later to inform him that he was allowed to finally leave and that the PPO would be providing services to help them get back home. Acher was given some of his clothes that his father had brought him and changed quickly. He felt oddly calm to be in his own clothes like a hug he really needed from something familiar. He found his father and sister waiting for him at the front desk. His father was speaking with the receptionist.

“Ma’am, I don’t know how to handle the bill at this time as we are still paying for many things from the passing of my…wife,” he said stumbling over his words.

“Sir, the bill was already taken care of,” they said.

“What? But I didn’t pay for it,” he said.

“It was paid for by the PPO and by the SP Gohm,” she said.

“That’s a relie–”

“WHAT!” Acher yelled. “No, no, no, no, no! We are not having some SP pay for this. Let the government pay or whatever that pee pee group is.”

“Sorry, but the bill is paid for and our company wouldn’t see the need to refund just for the bill to be paid off by another. That is a lot of unnecessary paper wor –”

“I don’t care! –”

“Acher! Enough!” his father said.

“Shut up Dad! It’s not like you do anything for us!”

“Acher!” his sister yelled.

“How dare you talk to me like that, I am your father!”

“Barely! Especially after mom died!”

“Acher stop!”

“Stop Astrid, you’re always defending him.”

“He’s sad!”

“You always say that! He has to get over it just like we did. We’re sad too!”

“Enough!” their father said and began to push Acher out of the facility.

Acher began swinging his arms trying to hit his father off of him, “Get off of me!”

“I am your father. We are leaving and when we get home you will be grounded.”

Acher smacked his arm off and turned towards him with hate in his eyes, “I hate you! All you do is drink and waste away! What about us!”

“What about you? What about me? You think I just lost a family member! I loved your mother with all my heart and looking at your two remind me of her. It’s hard to live a life where the one person who treated you like a human being is gone. I have to get up and stare at her beauty every day and know that when I come home she will never be there again. Grow up son! I’ve lost more than you!” Colton screamed with bits of spit and venom.

Acher grew red in the face and his body began to swell. Soon his entire body was bigger than his father and he reared his arm poised to strike. He hesitated for a moment and then released his anger. Astrid stood paralyzed and crying. Colton covered his face in fear. Acher was yelling at the top of his lungs with his eyes closed and his body was telling him that he couldn’t hit his father. He pushed and he pushed further with the power of anger filling his rage and yet he couldn’t seem to swing the punch. He opened his eyes and found that his father was still cowering in front of him and beside him was his crying sister. Once the moment had passed he realized that his arm was in a tremendous amount of pain and looked to soothe it. A giant paw-like fist was wrapped around his arm and attached to that monstrous size arm was a bear-like man.

The bear man released his grip and Acher quickly rubbed the gripped area and backed away slowly. The bear-man tried to talk but only roars and growls came out. Their eyes grew wide and then gave a dull look. Shaking his head back and forth his mouth opened again, “I guess I was too much bear and forgot to leave my voice box intact. Now, is that any way to treat your father?”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” he said.

“Still defiant and stubborn.”

“Shut up.”

“Not very polite way to say thank you after not only I saved your life but helped with your financial debt,” he said.

“None of which I asked for.”

“Well that is a bit odd, would you have wanted me to leave you with that monster so that he can fufill all of his perverted desires just as he did to other the other boys?”

“Yes, I was handling the situation just fine.”

“Is that what you call getting smacked around and bleeding everywhere and getting dragged back into their lair?”

“I had a plan!”

“A plan that involved being assaulted and then murdered slowly? Great plan,” he said rolling his eyes.

“That’s a bit immature to roll your eyes.”

“Well, look what I’m dealing with, I figured I speak your languge.”

“Fuck you!”

“Language!” Astrid

“Shut up! Just everyone shut up!” he yelled.

The hairs on Gohm began to vibrate and static shocks spotted across his body and his body began to change. The form of a bear melted away and within a few seconds there stood a man with sad eyes.

“If it’s such a big deal then you can work off your debt,” he said.

“Work for you! Never!”

“Then you accept my generosity, glad to hear it.” he said smiling a fake smile.

“The hell I’ll let you. Fine! I’ll work for you because I refuse to be in the debt of an SP. Once it’s done I never want to see you again,” Acher said.

“I’m sure that will be an easy fix,” he said reaching his hand outward, “Deal?”

Acher grabbed his hand without looking and mumbled many horrible things under his breath which every person could hear. After releasing their hands Acher immediately wiped his hands down his pants and walked away.

“See you this weekend,” Gohm said. “Bright and early,” he said under his breath.