John is a grown adult. Legally old enough to buy alcohol In all 50 states of America. He's a college graduate for crying out loud. He's cleverer than his 4 brothers combined he should be able to figure out how to get out of this damned trap!
Stop. Think. He tells himself, trying to figure out how Gordon was able to dig a 50 foot hole in the ground for him to fall in,
He's off duty he has none of his equipment on him, and can't contact base for help.
I will get out of this. And when I do that Squid is shark bait! John thinks as he settles back down, against the muddy wall of his prison cell.
It's getting dark, and he can't believe no one has come to look for him yet. Starting to shiver, as he is only wearing jeans and a thin shirt, John begins to imagine all sorts of evil revenge plots all of which end up with Gordon covered in slime.
"Johnny?" He can hear voices in the background.
Night has fully fallen now, a myriad of stars viewable in the far distance, if he was not cold and trapped he would love the peace and tranquillity of being out here alone, but now is the time to get out of here, and get even with Gordon.
"SCOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTT!" He shouts his brothers name. It is always Scott he thinks.
"John? How the hell did you get down there?" Scott asks, his dark eyebrows creased in confusion.
"Gordon!" John tells him angrily.
Somehow Scott isn't surprised. Middle child syndrome could have been invented for their prankster, attention seeking, water loving sibling. Scott loves Gordon, they all do, but he can't deny that the kid is trouble, even at 19 years old!
Scott fires up the jet pack and flies his way down into the hole, and carrying John back up to safety.
"I will kill him!" John threatens, as they walk back to the house.
Scott grabs onto his brothers arm, pulling him back away from the house in the distance.
"No. You. Won't." Scott's look hardens with uncharacteristic anger. "Never threaten that John, it doesn't matter what happens. Don't threaten to hurt him. Or worse. Because if something happened to him right now you'd never forgive yourself. Be angry. I'm not saying don't get mad and I am certainly saying don't get even, I'm just saying don't do anything you haven't thought through!"
Pulling his arm free, John groans.
"You're right. I won't hurt him, but Scott why would he do this?" John asks.
"Let's go inside and find out!" Scott replies, "He has just got back from a mission."
The two of them walk into the lounge, it is empty apart from Gordon, who is lying on the sofa a blanket draped over him, fast asleep.
"Night Scott" John tells his retreating back as he approaches the sofa where Gordon is lying.
The mission was hard on Gordon, as it involved a submarine crew trapped at the bottom of the ocean, near to where he almost lost his life to the chaos crew and his recently healed leg is hurting him badly.
"Gordon!" John says sharply, causing the exhausted blonde to wake up suddenly, confused by the shouting.
"Wha" Gordon replies. Too drained physically too bother with the whole word.
"You know what fish boy" John replies with contempt. Dragging him outside, beside the pool, so he doesn't wake the rest of the family up. Ignoring the painful wincing from his younger brother.
"No I don't" Gordon replies. His own temper starting to rise now.
"You lured me outside and into that bloody trap this morning. Then left me there all damned day while you swanned off on a rescue mission and worse you didn't even tell anyone what you had done. I hate you so much Gordon. Mom and dad should have stuck with three kids and not bothered with you! Or just put you in an orphanage when they had the chance and kept Alan."
Hurt Gordon has no idea what John is talking about. He didn't do any of what he is being accused of. John and him have never been that close, having not got much in common. But he has never heard him this angry and upset. But what comes next is the biggest shock of his life.
John punches him in the face.
Startled Gordon stumbles and falls before regaining his composure and walking away, so John can't see the tears in his eyes.
"That's right wimp, keep walking! I SINCERELY WISH THAT YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN GORDON!" John screams at his brothers retreating back.
There is a flash of lightning, and John falls to the floor unconscious.
*TB*
Waking up John is confused. It is still night time, but it is dark and cold and he is in doors now.
"Scott?" He calls out, flicking on a light he finds himself in a small room. There is a single bed with a metal frame, no headboard and the light above his head doesn't even have a light shade.
"Virgil?" He tries again. Getting up to go and investigate. Stopping to look at the familiar site in the mirror in front of him.
Same aquamarine eyes framed by ginger eyebrows, and topped off with embarrassing bed hair, he usually wouldn't be seen dead leaving his room looking like this! But this is an emergency.
Pulling on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt John leaves the room. Realising this is a college dormitory as he walks quietly down the corridor and into the shared kitchen area.
The side is littered with half finished kebabs and empty beer bottles. And there is vomit in the bin and in the sink. There are bodies asleep all over the kitchen floor in varying states on undress, as he picks his way across the room.
He can hear a phone ringing from somewhere near by and that gives him an idea.
His phone!
Running back down the corridor he finds it lying on the desk on charge. Relieved he unlocks it with a swipe of his finger and scrolls through the contacts.
"Alan - juvie"
"Dad - home"
"Dad - work"
"Grandma - home"
"Scott - mobile"
"Virgil - mobile"
That's all there is. And why is Alan in juvie? He thinks confused. But more worryingly than that, where is Gordon's number?
Dialling Scott first John tries to remain calm, his eldest brother will always know how to fix things for him. It's his job!
"John? It's 3am, are you drunk again?" Scott tells him. Upset at being woken up in the middle of the night.
"No! What is going on here Scott? My phone tells me Alan is in juvie?" John tells him.
"18 months for setting the school on fire. You were there at the trial remember?" Scot tells him. "Dad refused to hire him a lawyer and the judge made a scape goat out of him and threw him to the wolves".
"Dad wouldn't, he loves us Scott"
Scott snorts with laughter, "are you sure you aren't drunk John? Love would be dipping into his billions of pounds to help you through college instead of making you work every hour under the sun in that god forsaken chicken restaurant, and he wouldn't have declared he was never speaking to Virgil again after he chose art over MIT. Dad doesn't know the meaning of the word love. That dried up when mom died and you know it."
"And Gordon?" John asks, now scared for his brother.
"Who is Gordon?" Scott asks confused.
"Gordon, our younger brother. Olympic gold medal winning, highly skilled aquanaut, pain in the ass but we love him anyway. That Gordon!" John replies.
"Nope. Never heard of him. Dad only had 4 kids. Me, Virgil, you then Alan. Alan was the mistake, a drunken night out celebrating their anniversary, and dad has never let him forget that mom only wanted three kids. He was only ever an afterthought, an accident. Alan rebelled against dads rules and look where it got him!" Scott informs him.
John is crushed, and he has no idea what to say.
"Go back to bed John, you have finals to study for I will see you in a few weeks." Scott tells him hanging up the phone.
John falls back on the bed, crying out in pain as he hits his head on the metal headboard.
Waking up to a screeching alarm from his bedside table, John takes a look at his new life. The morning light doesn't make his bedroom look any nicer. The walls are dark brown and devoid of personality. There are no signs that he even has a family, no photos adorning he walls.
The only other furniture in the room is a dark wood desk piled high with books.
John decides the only thing he can do now is call his father. Find out what the hell is going on.
"John, I wasn't expecting to hear from you" the reclusive billionaire tells him answering the phone.
"Dad, what's going on here? Did you really have Allie locked up?" John asks.
"His name is Alan. And he needed to be punished. And besides this way I am not responsible for his life choices, when he gets out he is going to the strictest boarding school I can find, we are talking public flogging for him speaking without permission!" Jeff replies angrily.
"Dad where's Gordon?" John tries.
"Who's Gordon?" Jeff replies.
"Never mind. I'm going to class. Speak to you later dad."
"John, I haven't heard from you in a month, since the trial, and now your threatening me with two calls in one day. I hope you know I am not bailing you out on your next phone bill boy". Jeff tells him, hanging up.
John doesn't know what to do. He's messed everything up he's gotten rid of his amazing, smart, funny little brother and it's destroyed his whole world.
He doesn't bother going to class, instead he opens up his laptop and starts to google his new life.
He finds his Facebook account, where he isn't even friends with Virgil. So he searches for Virgil and finds his profile.
The profile photo shocks him to his core. Virgil's usually immaculately kept brown hair has grown down past his shoulders and is hanging loosely, framing his face. His beard has streaks of grey in and has obviously been dyed to look that way. If he didn't have the eyes he knows so well, he wouldn't even recognise him.
It suddenly occurs to John that he has no idea what he is even meant to be studying. Picking up one of the books from the top of the pile he is pleased to see it is at least physics. But physics for dummies wasn't what he had in mind!
"Scott? Why am I studying basic physics here?" He asks calling up his life saver once again.
"John. I'm at work." Scott tells him impatiently.
"But Scott!"
"No John, this is getting ridiculous now, go to work or go to class. Just leave me the hell alone". Scott almost shouting now hangs up on him.
John has no one else to turn too. Answering his phone, which for the first time all day is ringing with an inbound call, his boss is demanding to know where he is, as his shift started 3 minutes ago, threatening him with the sack unless he is there in full uniform within the next 30 minutes.
Uniform. John thinks shuddering. Opening his wardrobe he gasps in horror. He can't be seriously expected to wear that thing!
He pulls on the bright orange tights, and the feathery chicken suit. Thank god this thing comes with a head so no one will recognise him, he thinks as he walks out the building. And down the street to the restaurant he can see from his bedroom window.
"Tracy! Finally! This 33 minutes you owe me is coming out of your wages young man, now get out there and start handing out these leaflets" his boss tells him, piling a stack of at least a thousand leaflets in his hands. "And you don't take a break until they're all gone!"
It takes him hours, people walk past him and either laugh at him, ignore him, or worse. Spit at him. One child even stamps on his foot.
John is exhausted and would do anything to get his real life back. But he knows it's fruitless. He doesn't have a clue how to get back to Tracy island from here. He still isn't sure where here is!
Desperate now, he tries Virgil.
"Johnny! I wasn't expecting to hear from you! What's up brother?!" Virgil asks him; he has clearly been smoking weed.
"Virgil, what happened to us? We are international rescue. We are a family" John is ready to cry now.
"What is international rescue?" Virgil asks and this is not the weed talking, he literally has no idea what John is talking about.
"Never mind. I don't suppose you know what happened to Gordon?" John asks, fighting back tears now.
"No. Who's Gordon?" Virgil asks interestedly.
"Never mind. Virgil I'm going to have to borrow some money I promise I will pay you back but I need to leave the country for a few days" John tells him.
"Money?! What makes you think I have that! Starving artist! Dad cut me off remember. Seriously Johnny boy, if I had money I would lend it to myself! Why don't you ask dad, or Rob a bank. Actually rob a bank, you're more likely to be successful!" Virgil tells him bursting into laughter.
John gives up, checking the costs of flights to the Pacific he can always hire a boat when he gets there.
It wipes out his small savings account but he books a flight out of the country. Grateful that at some point he must have applied for a passport.
He begins the longest journey of his life, taking a taxi to the airport, a plane to New Zealand, a Donkey to the port and a boat over to the deserted island. And the donkey was the best bit!
John spends hours walking around the island looking for a clue as to what happened.
Sinking down on the overgrown grass where the pool should be John can't believe the damage he has done.
He finds himself praying out loud. Begging anyone who will listen to him for his life back.
"That can be arranged" a small voice from beside him speaks up. Causing him to jump.
Looking down at a small lizard sitting contentedly on his shoe.
"You can talk?!" He asks incredulously
"Duh! I think the most important thing is you can shut up long enough to listen. Now tell me why you should be given your life back. You hit your brother and said he shouldn't have been born. I take it you have changed your mind!" The lizard tells him.
"Yes, I want my life back" John begs, so desperate at this stage that he is willing to listen to what is most likely a figment of his sleep deprived imagination!
"What have you learned?" The lizard asks.
"That Gordon is a vital member of my family and without his sense of humour and spirited outlook on life we aren't even a family. Please give me my wonderful little brother back. I'm begging you"
"Okay. Say I do reverse the wish, which by the way I didn't grant in the first place. That was all on you, you promise me you won't do anything so mean to him again?" The lizard asks seriously.
"But he tricked me into a 50 foot deep pit!" John tells him in despair.
"Did he. Did he really? Let's review it shall we".
Suddenly John finds himself floating above the pit, which is being dug out of the ground by Alan!
"I blamed this on Gordon and it wasn't even his fault?!" John tells him. His head buried in his hands.
"Not only that keep watching." The lizard tells him.
The scene before him changes again, to Gordon entering the lounge after his rescue with Virgil.
"That was awful Virg, I had to go back past the area where I nearly died. She's still down there rusting away and I couldn't do anything I had to leave her again" Gordon tells him as Virgil takes his brothers shoes off for him and helps him get comfortable.
"I'm exhausted Virg" Gordon tells him. The usual cheery smile has evaporated, and he is admitting he's tired. Gordon never admits he's tired.
"I know, stay here, I'm taking you off duty for 12 hours, no one will bother you I will make sure of it" Virgil tells him.
"Thanks" Gordon replies smiling sleepily at his saviour, not even protesting being removed from duty.
John can't believe any of this. How can he not have realised that he was struggling that much. His poor Squid.
"Okay. I promise you nothing like this is ever going to happen again. My world isn't worth living without all of my brothers. I need them all in so many ways. Please reverse the wish"
"Okay. But make this mistake again and I will not be so forgiving next time!" The lizard assures him.
There is a second flash of lightening and once again John finds himself flat on his back unconscious.
Coming round and the villa is back!
Relieved he gets up off the floor and walks back inside, into the kitchen for an ice pack and then straight for Gordon's room.
His brother is fast asleep again, but John knows this apology can't wait until morning.
Shaking him awake, Gordon opens one eye and looks exhaustedly up at him
"Gordy, I am so so sorry" John begs for his forgiveness. He places the ice pack on the swelling just below Gordon's eye, fighting his attempts to get up.
"John it's the middle of the night. Why are you in my room?" Gordon asks. Still half asleep.
"Because I love you and I need you. Without you my life is not worth living. You help to complete this family Gordon and I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you." John tells him. Tears streaming down his face now.
Fully alert Gordon forces him self up right and folds his brother into his arms.
"Don't cry Johnny, I'm not going anywhere. I promise." He tells him.
"You don't understand. These are tears of happiness because I have you!" John tells him.
"Okay now you're scaring me, what happened to you Johnny in the 10 minutes since I got into bed?" Gordon asks.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you Gordy!" John replies, a smile spreading across his face.
John finally makes it back to his own room, that nightmare still fresh on his mind.
Lying on his bed is an all too familiar bright yellow chicken suit with a note pinned to it.
"Dear John,
What nightmare?
XX