Restored (The Missing: Book 9) [Formerly Titled Rescued]

Chapter Nineteen

Jonah couldn't move, but he was able to open his eyes with some effort. He could tell he was in a white room, but his eyes refused to make out any details. The floor beneath him was hard and uncomfortable. Jonah flexed his numb hands and blinked a few times. He briefly wondered if he had been sent to another time hollow until a hospital bed came into focus on his left.

At least he actually sent me to the hospital, Jonah thought. What did he say I needed to do? Something about Jordan and something. He let out a low groan as he tried to prop himself up on his elbows. Jonah gazed up again, and this time saw his reflection. Is that a mirror? Jonah wondered as he blinked. "Jordan?" he said slowly.

"Jonah! How did you get in here?" Jordan said excitedly, then lowered his voice. "Cira said nobody could zap in or out of this room. She said she'd be monitoring it." He jumped out of the hospital bed and kneeled next to Jonah.

"Yeah, well, I know a guy with a jailbroken Elucidator," Jonah replied as he shakily sat up.

Jordan put his hand on Jonah's shoulder to steady him. "Man, am I glad to see you. It's been a week since we were at the mall and the only thing anybody would tell me was that I wasn't allowed to go home yet. Did something happen to Katherine or Chip? Why aren't they here too? What's with the costume?"

"Slow down, they're fine. We just had to separate," Jonah explained. "And I'm wearing these clothes because we had to travel to the past."

"You always get to do the fun stuff," Jordan mumbled.

"I'd gladly trade places with you," Jonah replied. Then he was reminded of his own questions when he realized that Jordan was supporting him with his injured arm. "You're using your arm! Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, my arm." Jordan sat back and waved his arm around, demonstrating a full range of motion. "They said the toxin attached to my nerve endings or something, so my arm feels a little funny. But, apparently, they'll grow back in a few months and I'll be completely fine."

"That's good," Jonah replied, feeling some of the weight lift off of his shoulders. He remembered how serious JB had made the poison seem. "I was afraid they wouldn't be able to help you. How was getting treated in the future?" Jonah asked. Jonah himself had spent time in a hospital when he had gotten shot during a trip to the past. But they had time to set everything up while he was in the time hollow so that it looked like your average twenty-first-century hospital. He never got to see anything interesting. But everything happened so suddenly with Jordan. Maybe he had gotten to see more of JB's adoptive time.

"I dunno. I was in so much pain at first that I couldn't concentrate on anything. Besides, as soon as I was inside the hospital somebody gave me a sedative and I fell asleep. And then I woke up in this room, where I've been, by myself, for an entire week," Jordan complained. "Only 'authorized personnel' are allowed in so the only person I've seen is my nurse. And Cira, but she only visited once."

Suddenly, Jonah was struck by how familiar the room felt. "Hey, I wonder if this is the exact same room I stayed in when-"

"Wait a minute," Jordan said, interrupting. "How do you even know about my arm? Did JB tell you? Is he okay?"

"Well, kind of. For now," Jonah replied.

"What kind of an answer is that?" Jordan snapped.

"Look, let me start from right after we got separated. So, after you vanished, at the mall, we all decided to walk over to confront the 'Art Guy' as Katherine calls him, and-"

"Oh, I bet he's the one with the jailbroken Elucidator!" Jordan exclaimed.

"Don't interrupt me! I'll get to everything soon!" Jonah replied, secretly impressed. "Anyway, at the mall..." Jonah told Jordan everything he had missed over the past few days, although he rushed through some of the details to save time. "So he sent me here to get you and to bring back a doctor for JB. So how do we get out of this room to find a doctor with a white bag?"