Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned within unless specified.
Rated M for sexual content, language and violence. Drug references. Slash warning,
This one's for the fans of our show as well as anyone who's ever wondered the question " What if?"
Notice: The events herein take place during the Episode " Scratch".
Jackson's Other Lives
Prologue
The rain beat down on the seven youths from the Hartwell Academy. The winds had died down for the moment, but the steadily increasing lightning did not bode well. It shook the earth with its thunderous fury, the random light from it briefly illuminating the face of Cody Jackson, tears trickling down as the anguished young man spoke to the young woman he knew loved him.
He was finishing telling them about the fight with his gang. About ho Big j had been stabbed protecting him and how Dan Rosenthal, his supervision officer was itching to send him to Paso Robles as the prime suspect in the stabbing. The others were looking at him with mixed emotions ranging from disbelief to sympathy. It was still too soon to say whose loyalties lay where.
" I can't go back to that hellhole. You don't ever want to know what goes on at a place like that." he was saying, fear and revulsion plain in his baritone voice, " I'd do anything to keep from going back. You have no idea." he repeated, staring at the ground.
Nathan McHugh spoke up. The rain dripped from his curly russet hair into his bright blue raincoat as he spoke, "What happened to you there Jackson? If you'd just tell us why you're so scared, we might understand."
Melissa Wu pleaded with him as well, " We aren't judging you, we aren't. But you have to see why it scares some of us when you say you'd do anything to keep from going back. Please, " she was begging him now, tears and rain mixing on her attractive face as put a gentle hand on his trembling face.
He almost broke down and confessed everything to her. Of them all, Mel had been the most steadfast in her friendship to him. He was attracted to her and knew without any doubt she felt that way towards him as well. But the echoes of his past crashed in his head as loudly as the storm did in his ears.
I can't do it. It'd kill her to find out I'm not being straight with her. Literally, in my case. How do I tell a girl that's crazy about me that I'm bisexual. And how in hell do I tell her I was nearly raped in Paso Robles because of it. Jackson couldn't take it any more. His heart was racing, his tears seemed endless as he did the only thing he could think of doing.
He whirled and ran into the maelstrom, leaving the other six standing there.
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Jackson ran until he couldn't find the strength to move another muscle. He had no idea how long he had ran or how far he'd gotten from the others. All he knew as no matter how far he had run, he couldn't out run his own thoughts.
Ok smart guy, now what'll you do. It was bad enough when Eric blabbed about the damn tape to begin with. Of course, it would've helped if my stupid ass hadn't put my worst secret on it to begin with. I must've been outta my freakin' mind to do something like that, he thought bitterly.
I have to get out of this storm. The ay it's picking back up, it's going to get really bad in a few minutes, he thought, trying to look around. The rain was making it difficult, but the thunderbolts were giving him just enough to keep from running headlong into the many, many trees, at least. After a moment, he thought he saw a spot to hide in, a small hole in the nearby hill side. It looked marginally safer than being caught in this monsoon. He summoned the last dregs of his energy and loped off towards it.
A few minutes later, he was in the entrance to the small cave. He stepped far enough in to keep the downpour off of his backpack. He took it off his shoulders and swiftly dug the flashlight he'd taken from the camp out. He flicked it on and took a look about his potential shelter. He felt ice crawl down his spine as he looked around at the not so deserted cave.
There were ancient, faded paintings on the narrow walls. They liberally covered the back side of the thirty square foot as well. They looked vaguely familiar to the tall teen, who had been interested in all things Polynesian since getting in with his mainly Samoan gang the year before. Not that he had any hope of deciphering the murals.
He smiled to himself as he imagined what Lex Marin, the child prodigy of the bunch would have made of this find. He was Jackson's favorite of the group, aside from Mel. He'd probably give a lecture on ancient island cultures or something like that. It's almost scary how much of a polymath he is. Jackson missed the irony of his own thought; polymath wasn't a term most teenagers used regularly unless they were reasonably smart themselves.
He rubbed his hands over the closest paintings. He as surprised at the smoothness of the wall. Suddenly, he felt one of the images sink in under his light touch. He jumped back, startled already, but he nearly took off screaming when two more things happened almost simultaneously. Lightning blasted the entrance to the cave, causing a rockslide that trapped him inside and then, fear and shock clenched at his guts as a eerie light began to glow from the images he had just jumped back from.
He thought he had completely lost it when a disembodied voice began to speak to him.
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" Do not fear me Cody Jackson. I came in response to your summons. I have felt the fear in your heart. The desire to flee. The hope of making a ne life burned within you like a wildfire only a day ago but no, it is like a dying ember." the eerie voice said.
Jackson was pale faced an terrified as he spoke back, feeling ridiculous, " Who or what are you? And how do you know anything about me?" . He stood there, trying desperately to see the source of the voice.
" I have been a part of this island chain since the great Tagaloa carved the Earth from the Rock. I have been called many names by the peoples here, but most often , I am called Tagaloa-savali, the Messenger. And I have rested here for almost three thousand of your years, except for a few moments hen someone whose need is great enters may cave."
"How do you know about me?" Jackson asked again. His shaking had slowly subsided while Tagoloa-savali spoke. The resonant voice seemed to fill his body with warmth whenever it spoke. It was hard to conceive of something that sounded so serene being dangerous. " And what do you want?" he asked respectfully.
The air seemed to fill with laughter. Not mocking, but gentle.
" It has always been the way of the gods to test humans . And to help the rare worthy ones. I sensed the regret in you . I also felt your great desire to begin a ne life and felt it nearly die ith the actions of this day. I am willing to grant you a boon, for you have willingly given your safet to help others since you arrived here. It deserves a better reward than a self imposed exile."
" What kind of boon?" Jackson asked cautiously. Damned if he'd trust s self proclaimed "go" he'd just met. He shook his head hen he realized what he'd just thought. That lightning must've hit me and I'm laying on the dirt hallucinating this!
The laughter boomed like thunder for several seconds. " As one of your favorite writers once said, " What fools these mortals be!" Tagaloa-savalisaid with mirth.
Jackson had never wet himself before, but the temptation as getting strong now as he realized that hallucination or not, this entity could hear his every thought.
The voice of the Messenger ent on:" I can give you what you want; I have in my gifts the ability to see into hat your scientists would call parallel worlds. I am willing to send you to several of them, in hopes of finding a new life for you."
" And what ould I have to do in return? I mean, " he stammered, not anting to offend whatever it as he was talking to, " in most myths, there's always a catch. A way for a god to renege , unless there was a big sacrifice to be made."
The Messenger spoke more slowly than before, a hint of warning as well as respect for the question in its voice: " Wise you are to ask. I will send you to up to seven different Earths. On each, there is a man who looks almost like you. Your mind will enter their body. You will be able to know what they know, but, be warned. The transfer can only happen at a moment of decision for the others. Your payment is to make the best decision for them, regardless if that is the reality you wish to stay in . The wrong choice could be merely laughable, or it could be fatal. Ideally, you would help them in your quest to find your better life. You would stay three days in each life before you made your choice. Is that acceptable?"
Cody Jackson thought about it for ten long minutes. He weighed his options. The images of being nearly raped flashed through his head. Images of his mom before and after his father's tragic death. Images of Mel. In his mind, he saw the different choices he could have made. That he would make."
" I want to try it. Hat do I have to do?"
" Merely take a deep breath. Be warned, for the first few moments, the . Body will still be responding to whatever the mind within was doing before you can become dominant. And when or if you leave for another reality, they will remember the actions you took as if it were their own. Are you ready, Cody Jackson."
He took a nervous, deep breath. " Let's do it" He braced for something, he didn't know what.
And the next second, he was in someone else's body. The good news was, this counterpart seemed to be the about the same age, size and build as him.
The bad news was, at that exact moment, another teen around his own size was pressed up extremely close to him. In fact, his black pubic hair was in Jackson's borrowed body's eyes. Two strong hands were forcing his open mouth up and down on a reasonably large penis that at this moment as filling his mouth full of semen.
" Damn, I hope Carmen Lopez can suck dick as well as you can Noah, " Zack Powers grunted as he shot his load into Noah Carmichaels mouth, not knowing that Noah wasn't there now. Cody Jackson was.
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Next: Chapter 2, What George and Zack Don't Noah
Hope this has been fun so far. Jackson is going to be in some very familiar places for Pacar fans.
Expect to see:
Nathan Atherton, CSI Miami
Damon Young, Make It or Break It
And a very familiar actor/singer.
Sam from Purgatory house and several more places. IMDB has all the clues you'll need .