The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
Play Against Danger
By: Sapphire
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Chapter Seven: Snow and Ice
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Location: Kings Mountain, Vermont
Friday Night
Dr. Mansfield ordered Maggie brought down to the infirmary for the night. When she was settled in a half hour later, Dr. Mansfield told everyone who had accompanied her to go back to their rooms and get some sleep. Jonny, Hadji, and Blain reluctantly left to return to the suite to help Jessie and Ryan with the clean-up.
Scott hung back as the doctor shooed them out of the infirmary. He was hesitant to leave Maggie with only Dr. Mansfield to watch over her. What if the doctor was called away in the middle of the night? Who would protect Maggie from whoever was behind the attacks? Scott settled himself into the chair next to Maggie's bed. When the doctor returned, he started at seeing Scott. Scott gave him an obstinate look, and the doctor slowly smiled.
"I don't suppose you're going anywhere soon," he said knowingly. "Just make sure you get some sleep, too. I'll be checking on Maggie every so often. In the meantime, I'll be in my room if you or the young lady need anything." Scott nodded, and the doctor stepped through a door at the back of the infirmary that led to his quarters. Scott relaxed once the door closed behind the doctor, and he turned to watch Maggie sleep off the chloroform.
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He knew he'd dozed off when he opened his bleary eyes and looked around the dark infirmary. The dim light that had been on earlier was now off. Dr. Mansfield must have been in to check on Maggie and turned it off when he left. Scott sighed. Then he stretched his muscles, stiff from sleeping in the chair. He glanced at Maggie. She was lying so still, oblivious to everything around her, looking vulnerable in her deep sleep.
Silently, Scott got up from the chair and went around the bed. As carefully as he could, he lay down beside her, pulling the extra blanket from the end of the bed and tossing it over himself. Then, because of the narrow width of the infirmary bed, he scooted in close to her, resting one arm around her waist, and he drifted off into a contented sleep.
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It was still dark when Scott awoke. He knew it was morning, though it was really early. He was usually an early riser, waking even earlier when he was troubled. He certainly was that. The reason for his troubles? She was sleeping curled up in his arms. Scott sighed.
Yesterday she'd told him all she could give him was friendship, and he'd accepted it. He was disappointed, but he could live with that. Or so he thought. After last night, knowing she'd been completely vulnerable in the hands of a man out to kill, he couldn't fool himself anymore. He loved her, and he wanted so much more than friendship with her.
But it wasn't as simple as that. She came with a lot of baggage, and a broken heart. His head told him to walk away, but his heart wouldn't let him. It was ironic, because that was her situation with the other guy.
As he lay there holding her, he tried to pare the problem down to its simplest aspects. First the baggage. She had lost her parents, been taken in by distant relatives she didn't know, and reconnected with her brother who had apparently been adopted by another family. All in a relatively short span of time. He didn't know the story behind any of it, but he did know she was still working through all of it. She just needed time and support. Second was her broken heart. Maggie said she was working to move past it, and Scott believed her. He knew she was smart, brave, and determined to put it behind her. She'd manage it, given time.
And there it was. It all boiled down to time. The question was, could he give that to her? Could he wait for her, maybe for years, until she figured it all out?
Maggie started to mumble in her sleep, fidgeting restlessly. Her mumbles were incoherent, but she seemed troubled. Scott realized she was finally waking up when her eyelashes started fluttering as she tried to open her eyes.
"Come on, Maggie, you can do it," Scott encouraged. "Open your eyes." It took a minute, but here eyes finally opened. She looked up at him, obviously disoriented as she looked around the room, her hand clutching his arm like he was anchoring her to reality.
"Scott?" she said, recognizing him at once. "Where am I?" She knew her words were slurred, but she was understandable. Suddenly she remembered the chloroform. She tried to get up. Scott caught her by the arms before she fell out of bed, and pulled her close next to him.
"Just relax," Scott said soothingly. Maggie nodded, settling back into his arms.
"What are you doing?" she suddenly demanded, trying to pull away in the small space, realizing they were in bed. Together. Clearly the chloroform hadn't completely worn off yet if it took her so long to notice.
"I'm sorry," Scott said, backing away a little. She just stared at him, confused and unsure. "It's just, the chair was uncomfortable, and…" He paused when her confusion grew. He sighed. "Do you remember what happened last night?" Maggie thought about that for a moment. Her memory was so fuzzy.
"I remember going up to the suite," she said. "I…went out on the terrace," she admitted, eyes lowering. "I know someone grabbed me. And then everything went fuzzy. I think I smelled chloroform. I don't remember much after that." Her eyes slowly looked up to his.
"They set fire to your room," Scott said, not sure there was an easier way to break it to her. "They left you in there. I found you on the bed. You could have died." Her eyes were wide in shock. "No one else was hurt. Dr. Mansfield let me stay with you last night. I just wanted to protect you." He slid close to her again and slid his arms back around her. "I know I said we could just be friends, and we will, but it's not like I can just turn my feelings off overnight. Let me stay with you a little longer. Please?"
"What about mixed messages?" Maggie asked.
"This one's all on me," Scott said, resting his cheek against the top of her head as she slowly relaxed back into him. "You didn't crawl into my bed. I crawled into yours."
What he said was true, but he hadn't missed how comfortable she'd been in his arms before she realized where they were. He wasn't imagining it now. There was definitely something between them, and it had been there from the start. Maybe she wasn't ready to acknowledge it, but she definitely felt it. He knew because when he gently tilted her face up to his, she didn't resist. Nor did she refuse when he gave her the chance before he leaned down and kissed her.
His mind was made up. He could be very patient when he wanted to be. He'd wait for her, because he knew whatever this was between them, it wasn't going to go away. He'd be her friend as long as she needed him to be if it meant he might have this, and more, in the future. Maybe it wouldn't work out in the end, but he was willing to accept the risk because he owed it to himself to follow his heart wherever it led. And right now, all his heart wanted was Maggie.
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"Let's try to relax today," Ryan suggested once they were all gathered in the lobby. Dr. Mansfield had checked Maggie over when he came on duty, then let her go with a clean bill of health. It had taken a while to track everyone down and gather together, but here they were. "I think it's safe to say we're all tired of skiing in a big pack." There were weary sighs and nods of agreement.
"It would be hard to stick together today, anyway," Scott agreed. "Being Saturday, the slopes will be loaded with day pass skiers."
"It is Saturday, isn't it?" Blain said with some surprise. "It feels like we've been here too long and not long enough at the same time. It's hard to keep track."
"So, what were you thinking we'd do instead?" Jessie asked Ryan. Ryan gave her a bright grin.
"I was hoping someone would ask," he said. "The lodge has lots of organized activities on Saturdays, and a bonfire by the lake on Saturday nights. We should be safe enough in a crowded public space. We can finally relax. And I thought we might have fun with the activities. Maybe we could do the snowman contest."
"I'm game," Blain said with a grin. "But I'm not responsible for lousy workmanship or random snowballs. Just to let you know." The joke was just what was needed to lighten the mood.
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The rules were simple: build your snowman on the lake around the ice rink, and have it completed before judging at five o'clock when the bonfire was scheduled to begin. Jessie, Hadji, and Scott volunteered to help Ryan with his sunbathing snowman reclining on a lounge chair sculpted in snow. Jonny, thanks to his competitive streak, got into the spirit of the contest and had Blain and Maggie working hard on his idea to build a snowman on real skis holding real poles. The skis made it problematic as the snowman kept sliding on its precarious perch, but that just added to the laughs. True to his words, Blain did lob more than a few snowballs, and the snowman building was interrupted periodically by intense snow fights and much laughing. They took several breaks for hot chocolate, too. And one for lunch, of course.
Finishing with the snowmen well before five, they tackled the sliding hill that sloped from the parking lot reserved for non-lodging guests down toward the lake, on the far side of the warming house. The fluffy snow that had fallen the night before was packed and smooth on the hill, making the trip down faster and more exciting. As a grand finale, the seven of them attempted to take the hill holding hands in a line stretched across the face of the hill, but they crashed at the bottom, laughing. By late afternoon, as lodge guests began to gather for the bonfire, they were feeling much more relaxed after their day of fun.
"Look," Maggie said as they skirted the edge of the frozen lakeshore, her eyes focused on the ice rink, the firelight of tiki torches, a dozen campfires, and the blazing bonfire dancing on the smooth ice. "I should have brought my skates."
"Why? So, you can show off in front of a bigger audience?" Scott teased, reminding her of the previous afternoon. Maggie laughed, a faint blush staining her cheeks.
"I don't think that's why they have the rink lit up," Jessie said, interrupting them. "Look over there," she said, pointing to a lodge employee dragged a large bin full of equipment out of the warming house and onto the ice. "It looks like they're planning to have broomball."
The group wandered around the bonfire area. Many smaller campfires were lit along the lakeshore for guests to enjoy. There were people milling around the entire area, laughing, singing, and toasting marshmallows and franks on long sticks. There were stands set up with lodge staff handing out hot coffee, cider, and cocoa. Strings of colorful paper lanterns glowed between them. Music playing on outdoor loudspeakers completed the festive atmosphere.
"I'm hungry," Blain said, eyeing the food stands. His stomach grumbled loud enough for the others to hear, much to their amusement.
"I'm with you," Jonny said as the group gravitated toward the small campfire closest to the warming house. It was farther away from the stands handing out food, but the small building acted as a break for the light wind. They claimed it as their own. "Let's go get some supper." The two of them were gone only a few minutes, and returned bearing a tray with hot dogs, buns, condiments, a bag of marshmallows, a box of graham crackers, chocolate bars, and some toasting forks.
"This is oddly familiar," Ryan commented as they crowded around the fire, holding roasting forks loaded with goodies.
"Except we're not cooking fish," Maggie said, which caused a few laughs.
"I can't stand fish anymore," Ryan confessed. "Not since the trip. I used to love it."
"I don't eat fish much anymore, either," Jessie admitted with a rueful laugh.
"Me either," Maggie, Blain, and Scott chimed in. They all laughed.
"I don't suppose anyone would want to go on another camping trip this summer, would they?" Scott asked. Blain and Maggie threw a few marshmallows at him in response. The others laughed. "Well, I tried," Scott said with a grin. "But we really should plan something. Before our summers are completely booked. Mine's already filling up."
When their supper was hot, they sat in a row on some benches lined up against the side of the warning house, just barely within the reach of the campfire's heat. Talking ceased, due in part to supper, pondering possible trips, and memories of those days in the Rockies the summer before.
Because of the lull in conversation, Jonny was able to hear a soft, almost inaudible noise that rather sounded like an idling engine. True, the parking lot was up the hill above them on the other side of the warming house, but with the warming house wall behind them the sound could be bouncing at them from anywhere.
"What is that?" Blain asked, suddenly hearing it, too.
"It's getting louder," Maggie noted uneasily. Hadji got up and walked forward a few yards, wondering if he could figure out what it was. Suddenly chaos broke out among the crowd gathered about the lakeshore for the festivities. A man was waving wildly at them from another campfire, and others were screaming and shouting, fleeing the area, running for the lodge.
"Hadji?" Jessie asked, but none of them had time to react. The engine noise had grown to a roar, and there was a crunching sound, like tires on snow. Then all the noise was drowned out by a horrible crash and the warming house behind them gave a mighty shudder as something quite large hit the other side.
Two clumps of snow fell from the middle of the roof, hitting Jonny and Maggie on their heads. All eyes looked up. The snow piled on top of the warming house roof was moving! The heat inside the poorly insulated structure had loosened the load of snow above, the impact of the crash had broken up the ice dams. All the heavy snow and ice was sliding, tipping over the edge, right onto their heads.
"Look out!" Ryan shouted, grabbing Jessie, dragging her to the ground, trying to pull her away from the danger.
He was too late. So were the others, despite attempts to escape. Hundreds of pounds of heavy snow and hard chunks of ice crashed down on them. Hadji threw himself out of the way, unable to help. When the snow and ice stopped dumping down on them, Ryan began digging himself and Jessie out of the snow. They had been lucky, only becoming partially buried. Ryan had managed to pull them away from the worst of it. Hadji was already starting to dig the others out.
"Hadji, we've got this," Jessie said as she and Ryan pulled free of the snow. "Go see what happened." Hadji gave her a nod, then raced around the warming house to the other side. He blanched at the sight that greeted him. A half-ton pickup was buried in the wall of the warming house, the engine still running.
"There was no one driving that truck!" Hadji heard a guest ranting at an unfortunate lodge employee. "No one was driving, and I swear it was heading straight for the warming house as it came down the hill from the parking lot!" Hadji's eyes followed two parallel furrows in the snow from the pickup's rear tires right up to the parking lot at the top of the hill. He shook his head. They were lucky the truck had only crashed through one of the warming house walls, and not two. He climbed up into the wreckage to investigate further.
It was equally lucky no one had been inside the warming house when the pickup had crashed. Someone could have been seriously hurt, or killed. He picked his way through the debris carefully, making his way to the driver's door. There was no one in the driver's seat. The keys were in the ignition, and the pickup was in neutral. Someone had let gravity do all the work. Except for the steering. The wheel was locked in place with an anti-theft club and rope. Hadji thought he'd found everything of consequence he was going to find, but he decided to look over the area one last time, just in case, before returning to the others.
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As Hadji disappeared around the side of the warming house, Jessie and Ryan hurried to help whoever was under some shifting snow. It was Scott. Working together, Ryan and Jessie were able to free him in a minute. Scott crawled out as soon as he was relieved of the pressing weight of the wet, heavy snow. He had acquired a few bruises, but it was nothing compared to what it could have been.
"I think-" Scott said, wiping snow from his eyes, "I think Maggie is under the snow next to me somewhere. Jonny was on the other side of her." What he didn't say was that the two of them had been sitting under the midpoint of the warming house's roof, and they had gotten the worst of it. He and Jessie started digging.
"Blain was on the end," Ryan said, clambering through the snow to start searching there. After some frantic digging, Ryan had Blain partly unburied. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Blain answered. "I covered my head and just let it fall on me. Only bruises, I think." Just then, Scott found Maggie, uncovering her head and shoulders.
"Are you hurt?" Scott asked, bending down close to her. She was stuck lying on her side, facing him, her eyes blinking rapidly as she tried to get the snow out. "Here, close your eyes," Scott said. He removed his glove and wiped the cold snow away.
"The snow is heavy," she said, looking up at him. "I don't think anything is broken. Just bruised. I think some ice hit my knee."
"Just lay still. I'll get you out," Scott said. She nodded. "Stay back!" Scott shouted at some lodge guests who had come to help. "Just give us some room. We've got it." The guests nodded, backing off, and took on the job of keeping other people away from the scene. Ryan and Blain both joined Jessie in searching for Jonny. He was the only one still unaccounted for.
"He's here!" Ryan shouted, finding a boot attached to a leg. Digging furiously through the packed snow, he, Blain, and Jessie managed to get him uncovered in a minute. Unlike the rest of them, he was lying with his head away from the warming house, like he'd been knocked forward instead of backward.
"Jonny's hurt!" Jessie exclaimed, uncovering his face and head. "We need Dr. Mansfield!" Maggie struggled free of the rest of the snow encasing her with Scott's help and dropped down into the snow beside Jonny, facing Jessie. Jessie pulled her hand away from the back of Jonny's head, her glove covered in snow stained with blood. "Ice, probably," Jessie surmised, worry etched into her expression.
"Jonny, can you hear me?" Maggie asked, voice raised, bending close to his ear. He didn't answer. "Jonny?" She exchanged a worried glance with Jessie.
"I have an idea," she said, leaning down until her face was close to Jonny's. "Hey, Hotshot," she taunted. "I'm about to kick your butt and win at Maze Demons." His eyelids started to flicker a little.
"No…" Jonny groaned. Jessie sat back, smiling.
"He's so predictable," she said, making Maggie laugh a little.
"Clear the way. Out of the way, folks." Dr. Mansfield was pushing his way through the crowd toward them. He got down on his knees in the snow beside Maggie, Jessie, and Jonny. With the ease of repeated practice, he checked Jonny over with meticulous care. "Just a concussion, I believe," Dr. Mansfield finally pronounced. "Let's get this young man up to the lodge to the infirmary. I can give him better care there than down here in the snow." Jonny was loaded onto a stretcher, more alert, but disoriented. Two members of the ski patrol took the stretcher for Dr. Mansfield. That's when Hadji reappeared.
"Hadji, what crashed into the warming house?" Jessie asked as he joined them.
"A pick-up truck," Hadji said grimly. "Definitely deliberate." The rest of the group stared at him, stunned. "We should discuss this later," Hadji pointed out. "For now, let us focus on Jonny."
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"You, young man, have a mild concussion," Dr. Mansfield pronounced. "You'll need to stay here overnight so I can keep an eye on you." Jonny let out a weary sigh.
"Do you think he should be taken to the hospital?" Jessie asked from the high examination table a few feet away where she waited for the doctor to look at her ankle. She had limped half way to the lodge before anyone had noticed she was hurt, then Ryan had given her a piggyback the rest of the way to the infirmary. Ryan and the rest were crowded in the doorway to the infirmary waiting room, watching.
"No," Dr. Mansfield said with a shake of his head. "I was very thorough when I checked him over. I need to keep him here because he needs to be woken periodically through the night, and should be under doctor supervision. Should any complications arise, I will, of course, make sure he gets appropriate treatment here or at the hospital."
"I think I'm in for a rough night," Jonny said with a grimace.
"That you are," Dr. Mansfield agreed with a chuckle. He turned to Jessie. "Let's see about that ankle," he said. Jessie patiently sat through the examination as he poked and prodded. "Mild sprain," Dr. Mansfield pronounced. "I'm going to wrap it and give you some crutches to use. Stay off it," he warned. "I also want you to put ice on it when needed, no more than twenty minutes at a time. I understand you're headed home tomorrow. I recommend you both get checked out by your regular physician at your earliest convenience."
"Yes, sir," Jessie said for both of them while Dr. Mansfield wrapped her ankle.
"As for the rest of you," Dr. Mansfield said, turning to the crowd in the doorway. "Is there anything else that needs my attention?"
"Maggie, your knee?" Scott asked when no one else spoke.
"It's fine. Just a bruise. It doesn't hurt at all when I walk," she said. "Uncle Benton is such a worry wort he'll probably make me go see my doctor anyway, but it's fine, really."
"In that case," Dr. Mansfield said, "I think it's time all of you go back to your rooms." He turned to Jessie. "You could use some rest, young lady." Jessie smiled and thanked him, then let Ryan help her off the exam table while Dr. Mansfield fetched the crutches for her. Everyone said goodnight to Jonny, thanked Dr. Mansfield, then headed for the suite. They made it to the lobby before Jessie remembered she'd left her jacket in the infirmary.
"I'll go back with you to get it," Ryan volunteered, waving the rest on to the suite.
"Wait out here in the hall," Jessie said once they reached the infirmary. "It's just inside the waiting area. I'll sneak in quick and grab it. I'll only be a minute."
"Sure," Ryan agreed. He leaned casually against the wall, hands in his pockets, while Jessie let herself into the infirmary, leaving the crutches against the wall beside Ryan. Jessie limped her way over to the bench where her jacket had been tossed aside earlier. She could hear Dr. Mansfield talking in the examination room, but she couldn't make out what he was saying until she neared the bench.
"I imagine you're wondering about my little deception," Dr. Mansfield was saying. Jessie paused as she stooped to retrieve her jacket. Deception? What was he talking about? "You people have the most amazing dumb luck," he commented. "I've been working tirelessly, trying to set up the perfect accident for young Mr. Singh, but he always seems to escape- when the rest of you don't inadvertently get in the way, that is." Jessie's mouth dropped open.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jonny's voice reached her. He sounded confused. Jessie didn't blame him. Just what was going on?
"At this point it seems unlikely I'll succeed with that part of my plan. To pursue my intentions toward Mr. Singh would be foolish now that I have my main objective in hand," Dr. Mansfield said. Jessie slowly crept toward the exam room doorway. She could see Jonny slowly sitting up on the bed, holding a hand to his head, dizzy from the concussion. Dr. Mansfield was standing at a counter, his back to Jonny, concealing what he was doing from her best friend. But Jessie could see exactly what he was doing.
"No!" she exclaimed as she burst through the archway. Both Jonny and Dr. Mansfield were surprised, to say the least. Before she could utter another sound, Dr. Mansfield came at her with the syringe she had glimpsed. Jessie yelped as he grabbed her and the needle pierced her skin.
"Jessie!" Jonny exclaimed, managing to get to his feet.
"What did you just give me?" Jessie demanded, her fear overpowering any potential effects from the injection just yet.
"Not poison, if that's what you were afraid of," Dr. Mansfield replied, pulling her arm and forcing her toward the examination table. "It's a common sedative, it will make you sleep." He watched Jonny wearily, still holding the syringe.
"What are you going to do with her?" Jonny asked, noticing Jessie's movements were becoming sluggish. She was fighting the drug, though.
"Nothing. I don't need her," Dr. Mansfield said. "I just want you, Mr. Quest."
"What do you want with Jonny?" Jessie asked, having a hard time wrapping her mind around what was being said. It was the sedative, she was sure.
"I don't suppose it will do any harm in telling you," Dr. Mansfield shrugged. "I'm taking what should have been mine," he said simply.
"I don't follow," Jonny said, exchanging a confused look with Jessie.
"She should have been my wife. Her son should have been my son," Dr. Mansfield said. "I can't have her back, because he killed her. I wanted him to feel the same pain I did by killing something dear to him: a son. That's why I wanted Mr. Singh, but I know I can't make that happen now. But he will pay a price. Here sits the other son, her son, the one that should have been mine. You'll come with me. Benton Quest will never see you again, and I will have the only thing left of her."
"What the hell?" Jonny was stunned. "All this, everything that's been going on, it's all because you're obsessed with my mom? My dad didn't kill her!"
"Get your hands off me," Jessie snapped at Dr. Mansfield, pulling her arm from his grasp with a violent jerk. She didn't, couldn't, understand what Dr. Mansfield was saying thanks to the drug in her system, but she did understand Jonny's fury and revulsion. She didn't want Dr. Mansfield touching her anymore. She staggered away from him, her whole body feeling heavy and numb. Dr. Mansfield laughed.
"You're trying to escape me in your condition? How far do you think you're going to get?" the doctor asked as she steadied herself with a desperate grip on the exam table.
Focusing his attention on her turned out to be a mistake. Jonny launched himself at Dr. Mansfield, taking advantage of the diversion Jessie had created, purposefully or inadvertently. His head felt light and dizzy, throbbed in fact, but there was nothing the matter with him otherwise. He crashed bodily into the doctor, knocking him to the ground in a tackle, grabbing for the syringe and managing to wrench it out of Mansfield's hand. The syringe was tossed to the far side of the room, just past the second of the three infirmary beds.
"Hold him!" Ryan shouted, suddenly appearing.
"I forgot you were out in the hall," Jessie managed to say, though it was difficult to force her mouth to form the words.
"Stay there, Jessie," Ryan said as he ran past her toward the infirmary's medical supplies. His impatience waiting for Jessie had driven him to come see what was keeping her, and he'd hung back out of sight in the waiting area when he realized there was trouble, waiting for the right moment. This had been it. Jonny held tight to the doctor while Ryan rummaged around until he found what he was looking for. "We can tie him up with this," he said, holding up some first-aid tape.
"No!" Dr. Mansfield hollered, cuffing Jonny in the side of the head.
"Ah!" Jonny shouted, his throbbing head reeling, dizziness overwhelming him. Next thing he knew, he was sprawled on the floor, Dr. Mansfield standing over him, gun in hand, pointing it at Ryan. Ryan was frozen where he stood.
"Jonny…" Jessie mumbled, catching both Ryan and Jonny's attention. She was sliding down against the exam table, collapsing to the floor. With a gun pointed at Ryan, no one else moved. "C-can't st-stay 'wake…" she said, still fighting the sedative.
"It's okay, Jess, I've got this," Jonny said reassuringly, though he didn't feel confident at all. Jessie's eyes focused on him for a moment, then the sedative took control, and Jessie was out.
"You," Dr. Mansfield said, staring at Ryan. "Very slowly, I want you to sit next to the girl." Ryan nodded, keeping his hands up, taking slow and deliberate steps until he was next to Jessie. "Sit." Ryan did. "Now give young Mr. Quest the tape and hold out your hands. He's going to bind your wrists for me." Ryan exchanged a look with Jonny, who gave him a nearly imperceptible nod. Ryan trusted that Jonny knew what he was doing.
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To be continued…
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