Iron Soul [2]

Chapter 6

Flashback...

Jackson cried when he got the news. His heart crumbled and ached for the girl. The first thing he did was try to wallow in solitary and drown it out with basketball. Then, he would drive out all day and not come back until night. He would drive to nowhere in particular and just keep on going around town and come back late. Of course, his chances of being in a crash increased.

Today was one of the worst days, however. It would've been her birthday. She would've been 16.

He woke up from his slumber crying. He looked at his calendar and remembered it. It was also the anniversary of when he first met her. He got up and threw on jeans, a t-shirt, tennis shoes, and a jacket. He headed downstairs towards the kitchen and just grabbed a piece of toast. He headed outside and hopped in his car.

Valerie hopelessly watched on. Her concern for her brother had grown tremendously. He wasn't the normal happy-go-lucky guy he almost always was. He had become a hollow shell of that. He practically deprived himself of basic necessities. While he did act a little here and there, most of the time he didn't leave the confines of the house or his car.

Jackson revved the engine to life and slowly backed out. After driving for a bit, he reached the city.

He was at a red light and stopped. He looked around as he saw happy couples and families walked through the city. He turned his attention back to the road, when he heard a screeching sound. His eyes widened as his car was hit in the back. His car jolted forward into the street. He looked around, and was about to get out, when a truck rammed into his side. 

The car flipped and landed on its back. He felt his skin get cut and scrapped. He could feel bruises start to form. Sirens and voices filled his ears. He saw a light. He slowly closed his eyes and let the light consume him.

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"Come on!" a fireman yelled as the car door wouldn't give way.

He took an axe and cut it off of the rest of the car. He saw a young boy sitting there passed out. Blood trickled down the boy's head. The fireman unclipped the seatbelt, and the boy tumbled out. He rolled the teen on his back.

Murmurs emerged from the onlookers. The fireman was confused as to why such a huge crowd  had gathered and was pointing at the boy. The fireman looked down at the boy and studied his face. He seemed familiar...

Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. This was the actor his daughter fawned over in the High School Musical movies. He knew the story of how the boy had lost the girl he loved. He knew that if he didn't save the teenager, guilt would plague him, and all of the little girls around the country would be in mourning. He picked up the boy and carried him to an ambulance, where they hooked him up to machines.

Immediately after hooking him up to a heart monitor, they began CPR.

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Jackson felt like her was floating. He saw some light. All of the sudden, his sense of touch was back and he could feel his injuries. His eyelids felt heavy. He opened his eyes to find himself in a vehicle with a paramedic looking down at him. Jackson's shirt was off and he was hooked up to several machines.

"Where am I?" Jackson mumbled. "Where is she? I saw her."

His voice was extremely soft and tears brimmed his eyes.

"Son, you're in an ambulance. You were in a crash. We're taking you to the hospital," the paramedic explained.

"I don't understand. I saw her. She was alright..She was okay. Where is she? Where's Ada?" Jackson continued to ramble in a whisper.

He started to struggle against the paramedic's grip. The paramedic took out a small syringe filled with a clear liquid and injected it into Jackson's neck. He suddenly felt very sleepy and slowly drifted away.

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"How is he?" Valerie asked the doctor.

Their parents were at work, so Valerie had to come to the hospital for Jackson.

"He's going to be alright," the doctor started. "He did flat line on the way here, but we were able to get him back. However-"

The doctor sucked in a big breath.

"-he thinks that Ada Stark is still alive. He keeps asking where she is and how he has to see her. I figured it'd be best to come from someone he knows."

Valerie nodded.

"You can see him now if you'd like," the doctor added.

"Thank you," Valerie mumbled as she walked to the door of the room that currently held Jackson.

She pushed open the door to see him asleep on the bed. She slowly walked over to him and brushed away some of his hair. She examined his face as her thumb caressed it. He shifted slightly in the bed and smiled.

"Ada..." he whispered as his hand found their way to Valerie's hands.

His eyes slowly opened with a smile plastered on his face. However, it faltered slightly when he saw Valerie. She shook her head.

"Jackson..." she frowned. "You hit your head and you can't remember this, but Ada is gone. I'm so sorry, but she's not here."

Tears formed on his eyes as he hugged his sister.

"I know you don't know what happened in the past year, but please just try to move on. Please promise me that," she pleaded.

"I promise..." he mumbled.

But even he knew he could never forget Ada Stark.

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Kinda a filler/background chapter to provide more on how Jackson was affected by Ada's disappearance.