John Tracy woke up to bright lights and beeping. Everything was numb and yet aching at the same time. There was an incessant ringing in his ears that made him wince, a groan breaking from his lips.
"John! You awake?" The hopeful voice of his older brother broke his clouded thoughts.
He tried to open his mouth he found he had tubes down in throat. Eyes widening in shock John looked at his older brother, squeezing the hand that he only just realized he had been holding.
"Calm down John you're alright,Virgil get in here now!" Scott hollered for their next youngest brother the medic.
Rushing in Virgil Tracy took one look at his older brothers before coming to John's side,"Hold on John we're gonna take this out, on the count of three I want you to cough." Virgil took hold of the tubes and ventilator over his mouth. "One-two-three."
John coughed and he felt the sickly scraping of the tubes at they were pulled out. Breathing hard John laid his head back on his pillow in relief.
"You alright John?" Scott asked, concern covering his face. The pale form of his brother, tension betraying the discomfort and pain he was in. It was a sight Scott Tracy would never forget, nor forgive the fact that John almost died and they hadn't even made amends.
"I'll live." John rasped, trying to give a half hearted smirk but failed. He closed his eyes as a bought of nausea overtook his senses.
Virgil ever the medical student noticed and grabbed a bucket from the bottom of the bed and held it in front of his older brother. Thankfully it wasn't needed, though it didn't stop John from raising his eyebrows at his reaction, "What, the doctors said it may be a side effect from all the mess you're on, plus I did pass medical school you know."
With that, John started to chuckled shallowly, and the two others in the room relaxed. They had been forgiven. Though admittedly it took a near death experience for it to happen, John forgave them.
"So how long have I been out?" John asked. The Scott looked to Virgil and then back to John.
"Three and a half days. The car hit you pretty bad. Lost a lot of blood...we, we almost lost you." Scott looked John in the eyes, trying to convey the absolute terror he had felt. It had been with horror that Scott had first laid eyes upon the motionless form of his brother. The vice grip that terror had taken on his heart had not lessened until John had opened his eyes moments ago.
John looked down, he had never wished to cause his family pain, and it would have been much worse due to his distancing from them. He hated what they had done. Unforgivable even to not tell him that Alan had been missing, but it did not lesson his guilt upon seeing Scott's haggard face.
"Alan saved you." Virgil suddenly blurted. He wanted to give some happy news in such a sad place.
John's head shot up to look at Virgil, "Alan?" Could he chance it to hope that they would finally find their youngest brother. Would Alan be coming home with them?
"We haven't seen him but he signed off on a surgery and gave you a blood donation. It was definitely him, not only did he have his passport, but a forensic scientist specializing in forgeries confirmed that it was Alan. Same signature after all these years." Scott smiled, hearing the confirmation from the specialist had given him renewed energy to search for Alan.
Gordon walked in and practically leaped with joy. " John you're awake!"
Gordon sat down at the end of the bed, a grin covering his face."Gordon we were just telling John about Alan and-"
" Oh I can tell him about that. So Lady Penelope has found a new lead. Apparently one of the kids who had been there with Alan has been found. That guy then told her to find a guy named James Smith, who turned out to be a writer living under the alias Oliver Twist, who turned out to be a mechanic John Mason who turned out to have previously been-" Gordon chatted, listing off names excitedly.
"Gordon, just get to the point." Scott interrupted.
"Right, well he lived under heaps of different identities and his current one is Xander Manie or something like that. She thinks he's the one who helped Alan to disappear."
...
In a bad part of town, where unsavory characters lived on ever corner Lady Penelope and Parker made their way, not so inconspicuously, into a building that was part falling down part rotten and cracked and part uncomfortably eery.
Walking up the stairs Penelope stopped in front of a room that, on the front of the doors had ROOM 101 carved into it, and beneath the carved proclamation the words; "You asked me once, what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world."
Raising her hand Penelope rapped on the door, the words giving caution to what may answer. Opening the door stood a man of relatively average height, though slighter and smaller. He had dark brown eyes and black hair, and he was scowling.
"Alexander Monae you're a hard man to find." Lady Penelope stood at his door composed as ever. Behind her Parker stood, stubbornly glaring at him, as a kid it certainly would have intimidated him, he'll if he hadn't been though what he had he would be unnerved. Yet he had seen far worse things than Parker's glare. Far worse things indeed.
Alexander regarded her silently. This was dangerous, she had no idea what she was getting into.
"Lady Penelope, what do I owe the pleasure. Last I checked though, lovely ladies such as yourself didn't venture into such...unsavory areas."
"You know who I am?"
"I make it my business to know who's been looking for me. How far did you get back. Come and guess at Rumpelstiltskin's name, really I'm curious deep you looked." He smirked knowingly.
"Yes well I'm here on important business, something that should be discussed inside, privately." She waited expectantly to be allowed in, and slowly, reluctantly Alexander moved aside to let the Lady and her driver inside his apartment.
Looking around Lady Penelope felt a pang of pity for the young man. If her assumptions were correct not only had he seen horrors beyond her imagination but after fleeing form the madness only landed himself in another unpleasant situation. "Interesting quote on the door. 1889 if I'm not mistaken." She made eye contact with Parker, noting his uncomfortable and tense stance she two understood exactly what room 101 had been.
"Don't worry I have no intention of torturing you or anyone else for at matter. If you can't already tell it's a dangerous neighborhood, just a friendly warning to ward of unfriendly guests."
He was lying. They both knew it. How many people would understand the quote and its context? No the unfriendly guests would not understand this warning.
"We're you at Brutus's Military School during the...revolution." She asked cautiously.
He began to chuckle though she noticed him fingering the fraying on one of his fingerless gloves. "Straight to the point. But I still want to know how far you got back. Did you like the references? Oliver Twist was one of the more enjoyable ones, though of course Roderick Usher was far more subtle...ahh I can tell by the look on your face that you never made it to Roderick. Let's see then you probably made it to Will Stavrough, I was sloppy in that change over." He predicted easily another smirk on his face. He was good at avoiding questions and showing how he really felt that was for sure.
"So what's your real name then?" She questioned.
"Now that would be telling. As for your question, that's not information for a Lady's ears." His eyes darkened slightly, a hard edge creaking into his voice. Parker moved forward, edging between Lady Penelope and Alexander.
"I'm looking for someone-Alan Tracy. I believe you know him."
Raising his eyebrows, not even fazed he answered, "Now why would I be living in a dump such as this if I could claim all that money Jeff Tracy had offer for information on little Alan."
Realizing she'd get nowhere with direct questioning she tried a different angle."Do you have a family, brothers or sisters?"
Snorting he answered, "Yeah five brothers and a sister."
"And you don't think they would want to know if you were alright like Alan's brothers want to know if he's alright?" She inquired, looking in his eyes. He looked away.
"Only one of my bothers cared. The others, well they're better of without me anyway."
Another stab of pity for the man hit her, pushing down her desire to offer him help-she could do that later, first she needed to find Alan.
"But that one brother, if you care for him you wouldn't want him to worry. It's the same for Alan's brothers."
His head turned to her sharply. Drawing up to his full height he had an air on silent strength and righteousness that most men could never muster. "Do you want to hear my favourite quite ever? No not from the eloquent Dickens, nor tragic Shakespeare, not the brooding Edgar Allen Poe or the fantastically intriguing George Orwell." Alexander spoke, his passion showing. His life forever shaded, where the jaded were never wrong. Not once through the entire discussion had Penelope seen real emotion, not like this. "No my favourite quote comes from a children's book, "If you live to be one hundred, then I hope to live to one hundred minus a day, so that I never have to live without you." Beautifully simple and yet can sum up my entire life. The only reason I am alive is because I love my brothers. They may not all love me but I would do anything for the, anything. So call me selfish if you will my Lady, but I will not put them in danger by doing what my hear most desires me to do."
"But telling me where Alan is will not put them in danger."
"If I tell anyone where the survivors are that is if I knew, they could all die. If I come forward my entire family will be in danger. I will not risk that."
With that Alexander had won, his reasons for keeping quiet, her hiding were justified by secrets that she did not know nor would enjoy hearing. She couldn't ask him to put his family in danger, it would be far to cruel. No matter how much she missed Alan, she could not harm Alexander in an attempt to find him.
Imstead Lady Penelope began a new plan. If she could help Alexander Monae, free him from the dangers surrounding him, maybe she could convince him to tell her where Alan was.
...
Thanks for reading.