The Fall of the Aftons

047: Michael Afton

The back of Michael's shoulder throbbed with searing, agonizing pain that burned deeper into his flesh than anything he had ever experienced. And it only hurt more when William drove over a bump in the road and sent everybody flinging back into his seat, especially Michael. Every time he even lightly touched the seat, he could feel the glass driving further inside his shoulder. He could hear William, Henry, and Terrance talking rapidly with one another and asking him questions, but he couldn't focus enough through the pain to understand what they were saying, less than answer them.

Michael felt someone unbuckle his seatbelt and lift him from his seat, then rest him on their lap. They wiped tears from his eyes and his vision cleared a bit. He saw Terrance smiling sadly at him before he pulled him into a protective hug, careful not to touch his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Michael. We're almost there," Terrance murmured into his ear.

But suddenly, the car squealed to a hard stop, making Michael fly backward off of his cousin's lap. Thankfully, Terrance caught him before he fell to the car floor, but he accidentally caught him by his injured shoulder. He yelped when he felt the glass shards slice deeper into his flesh. Terrance pulled Michael back onto his lap, muttering swears and apologizing frantically.

~ ~ ~

Michael slowly woke up from his black, dreamless abyss. The first thing he noticed was that the throbbing agony from before was now just a dull sting. The next thing he noticed was that William was talking to three police officers.

A shiver ran down his spine. He'd never liked the police. They always made him feel nervous as if he'd done something wrong. 

"Will," Henry's voice said. Michael turned his head to see Henry standing next to his hospital bed. Terrance was sleeping in a chair behind him. "He's awake."

William instantly spun around and his eyes landed on Michael. He rushed to Michael's side and bent over the metal railings to give him a huge hug. "I'm so sorry, Michael--I didn't think you needed help when you called for me," he explained guiltily. "I thought you just had another nightmare. I'm so sorry!"

Michael hugged his father back with his uninjured arm. "It's okay, I forgive you," he promised.

"Is this the victim of the break-in?" one of the police officers asked as he took a step forward.

William backed away, but he kept a firm, comforting grip on Mike's arm. "Yes, sir. This is my son, Michael..." His words trailed off and he looked at Michael to fill in the blank.

"Afton," he finished quietly. His voice was almost a whisper. "Michael Afton."

Another officer stepped forward. "I remember you. You're that kid whose leg was broken when you came to get your Center papers filed."

Michael reached to grab his necklace but it wasn't there. Where was it? What happened to it? He couldn't have lost it! It meant too much to him. He felt his whole neck with his cold hand to find it. But it wasn't on him. He started to panic.

"Hey, hey, hey," William said frantically as he gripped Michael's arm tighter. "Settle down, bud. I've got your necklace in the car. It's perfectly safe, okay?"

Michael slowly nodded his head. He didn't want to speak.

"Are we going to do this now?" the last officer asked, staying where he was. He didn't step forward like the others. "Or are we going to do this once he's out of here?"

"Could we wait a couple of days? If it's okay, I would like to be the one who talks to him first," William answered.

"Would tomorrow work? We prefer to get it done as early as possible when the memory is still fresh," the first officer explained.