The Raincoat

The Raincoat Part 6

A loud honking roared in Henry's ears and he turned his head. A yellow taxi was coming towards him. He jumped out of the way just in time. The car swerved and hit a tree, steam coming out of the engine. The entire front of it was destroyed and the windows were cracked. The car door was busted and had been flung wide open from the impact. Henry ran towards the taxi and went to the front. Tears were streaming out of his eyes. It was the taxi driver who had taken him to the hospital. He was unconscious and his head rested on the steering wheel. Blood was gushing from his head where it had hit the steering wheel. "No this is all my fault!" He screamed as he buried his head in his hands. Then he lifted his head slowly. "No, I am not going to let the raincoat take anymore lives..." He went over and unbuckled the driver. He started to pick him up when the raincoat squeezed his chest, wanting to prevent him from saving him. Henry gasped for air and clawed at the coat, trying to allow himself to breathe. He unbuttoned the coat and saw the name Henry inside of the coat. He found a loose thread in the embroidery and pulled. The voices screamed in his head. "STOP! STOP! You don't know what your leaving!" He gritted his teeth against the pain and continued pulling on the thread. The name slowly began disappearing from the coat. With each letter that disappeared and he was able to breathe more freely, and the voices quieted, loosing their power. Once the name was gone, the coat released its grasp on him and he was able to continue saving the man. He picked him up and began carrying him to the hospital. Fortiunatly, it was just right across the street. Henry found a new strength in him that he never knew he had before. This new strength allowed him to carry the taxi driver to the hospital without much trouble at all. He walked at a brisk pace, his feet crunching under the gravel, and climbed the twenty three steps leading up to the front door. A woman came up from behind him and opened the door. He nodded quickly to her and rushed inside. 

Doctors ran to him and took the driver from his arms and placed him on a bed and rolled him down the hall. Henry took a couple steps forward to catch up to them when the woman grabbed his arm. 

"You are going to have to wait here, sir. You have done enough." She gently released her grasp and walked down the hall and entered the room where they had taken the driver. She wore scrubs and had a mask which she quickly put on, he saw, before the door closed with a squeaking of its hinges. Henry just stood there, in the hallway, shocked by what he had just experienced. He put his hands in his pockets and slumped down in a seat to wait for any news of the driver. He watched the clock's numbers slowly change. His eyelids grew heavy and he had to force them to stay open. He must have snoozed out because he woke up to the woman shaking his shoulder trying to wake him up.

"He is awake. He wants to see you." And she walked down the hall and entered a different room to check on another patient. Henry stood up and stretched his arms and walked slowly down the hall. "Wow, what a coincidence." He thought to himself because the driver was in the same hall, the same room as his sisters had been. He strode up to the door and twisted its handle. He gently pushed open the door and put his head through. On the bed lay his driver propped up on a bunch of pillows. He had a cream colored bandage covering part of his head. His eye lids fluttered open when the door squeaked.

His lips formed into a small smile, "its you, I thought, I thought I had it' you. I'm a glad to see dat you are OK. Come on in sit, sit wherever you like." His hand motioned to the foot of the bed. 

Henry  reluctantly took a seat on the bed, "yeah I'm ok . I managed to get out of the way just in time. I was the one that took you here." He rubbed his arm. Embarrassed at what the coat had caused, but when he looked into the drivers grinning face, he saw his teeth were crooked a little bit. 

"You know, I never did get ya's name." He said and put his hand out. Henry shook it.

"I am Henry. And you?"

"Da names Charles, but everyone calls me Chuck. You know, Henry, your parents be worryin' about you if you don't get along  home soon." The smile disappeared from his face.

Henry shook his head, "they don't care about me, never have, never will. They aren't even my real parents." 

"Oh I a see, you know Henry, they are just bein' scared for you that's all." 

Henry stood up from the bed, "it was nice meeting you, Chuck." He said not making eye contact and walked out and closed the door. Outside of the hospital, police had already taped the area off where the wreck had happened. He crossed the street went inside his house. He ran upstairs and grabbed his silver lighter. He went out into the backyard. The grass swayed in the wind and the leaves crunched under his feet. When he was farther out in the yard, he pulled the lighter from his pocket and flipped it open. The flame flickered in front of him and reflected into his eyes. He stared at the flame for a while and then he closed the lighter. He then began taking off the raincoat, it was no longer attached to him. He gently set it on the dirt, away from the grass and took a step back. He flicked on the lighter once more and dropped it on the coat. The cotton lining took flame at once and quickly consumed the entire jacket. He stared at the fire and grabbed a bucket that was full of water and dumped it on the dancing flames. The raincoat was now nothing more than a pile of ash and was blown away by the wind, leaving only the small lighter laying on the dirt.

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Three months later.....

"Happy birthday, Henry!" His mother said as she gave him a small box tied with a yellow ribbon, "I hope you like it!" Henry slowly untied the ribbon and gently peeled back the wrapping paper. He tossed the paper and ribbon aside and opened up the box. His jaw gapped open. Underneath all of the tissue paper lay a small gray rubber raincoat with the name Henry embroidered on the inner pocket.