20th Century – Gilligan's Island
The waves gently washed onto the sandy shore, washing away the numerous footprints in the sand. A beautiful young woman with fiery red hair stood in the water, holding a small basket filled nearly to the brim with freshly harvested oysters and saltwater clams. Ginger Grant frowned as she looked down at the basket, then looked over where her friend, a young farm girl named Mary Ann, was approaching, carrying a lobster she had been fortunate enough to catch.
"Why can't one of the men do this job?" Ginger asked as the lobster was deposited into the basket.
"It's not that bad. Besides, we got enough clams and oysters for everyone, plus we can have lobster pot pie too." Mary Ann replied, helping the movie star carry the heavy basket to shore.
"Well I think this job is for the birds. Why can't we get Gilligan to do this? Isn't it his job to begin with?" Ginger asked, struggling to carry her half of the basket.
"Yeah, but the Skipper asked him to get some coconuts and bananas. And Gilligan is the only one that can climb the coconut trees." Mary Ann said.
"I suppose your right." Ginger sighed. Hearing rustling in the jungle, Ginger frowned and stopped walking. "Do you hear that?" She whispered.
"Hear what?" Mary Ann asked, stopping as well.
"That, listen."
Mary Ann looked around, frowning as she finally heard the rustling. Sitting the basket down, the girls silently snuck over to the bushes where the rustling was coming from. Grabbing a thick stick, Ginger held it over her shoulder like a club, ready to clobber whatever was hiding. Stopping next to the moving bushes, Mary Ann held up a finger before carefully parting the giant leaves so they could nail the intruder. Ginger readied her stick, inching closer to her target.
In the bush, Gilligan sat hunched over, tying his shoes. He had stopped there to get some sand and pebbles out of his shoes and was completely oblivious to the presence of the women. Hearing the leaves moving, he stopped and looked up. Startled by the sight of Ginger swinging the stick towards his head, he cried out in surprise and jumped out of the way just in the nick of time. The stick struck the ground exactly where he'd been sitting seconds earlier.
"Gilligan!" Mary Ann cried in shock.
"Whatever it is you think I did, I didn't do it!" Gilligan yelled, covering his head with his arms.
Dropping the stick, Ginger put her hands on her hips with a frown. "Gilligan, you should be ashamed of yourself! Sneaking around like that."
Slowly uncovering his head, Gilligan looked at his two friends with a slight frown. "I wasn't sneaking around. I came down here to tell you I was back and the coconuts and bananas were picked."
"If you weren't sneaking around, then why were you hiding?" Mary Ann asked, crossing her tan arms over her chest.
"I wasn't hiding. I got sand and rocks in my shoes and I was dumping them out." Gilligan replied as he glanced down at the tiny mound of sand and pebbles he had made.
Knowing that Gilligan wouldn't stoop to being a peeping tom, they couldn't stay mad at him for long. "Well, just don't go sneaking around again, alright?" Before he had a chance to speak, the girls picked the basket up and headed for camp. With a sigh, Gilligan walked over to the water and looked down at his reflection. Spotting a smooth rock, the first mate bent down and retrieved it from the water. Looking it over, he sighed again before twisting his body slightly and throwing the rock towards the water with a sharp flick of his wrist. He watched as the smooth rock skipped across the water before loosing momentum and sinking to the bottom of the lagoon. Letting out a rather big yawn, the young sailor stretched before wandering off into the jungle. With his mission complete, he grinned at the thought of a nice long nap before supper.
Back at camp, the Howells and Dusty were standing next to the communal table, the Professor standing in front of Dusty and the Skipper standing just off to the young scouts side. The Professor checked Dusty's temperature before making him sit down. The Howells had explained what they knew to the Professor, which had inevitably led to Dusty being checked over. The Skipper watched anxiously, wringing his hat in his hands. When Dusty had first come back, the old sea captain had thought Gilligan was fooling around with the costumes again and had been about to whack him over the head with his hat when Mr. Howell had stopped him and began explaining what they knew.
"Well Professor? Is there something wrong with my little buddy?" Skipper asked, the concern clear in his tone.
"I don't know, Skipper. I can't find anything wrong with him physically. He doesn't have any lacerations, contusions, or any protrusions." The Professor frowned.
Dusty watched the two older men talking. Seeing the two millionaires had wandered off, he decided now was his chance to try and escape. He may have found people, but he sure wasn't about to stay anywhere near them. He was thoroughly convinced the people here were insane. Moving as quietly and silently as he could, Dusty managed to get to his feet before making a run for it. Seeing him at the very last second, Skipper reached out and grabbed the back of Dusty's shirt, effectively stopping the younger man. Not realizing he'd been caught, Dusty still tried to run, only succeeding in running in place. Sighing in frustration, Skipper pulled the bumbling scout back down onto the bench.
"Gilligan, would you stop that?" Skipper snapped, his worry for who he thought was his first mate coming out as anger instead.
"I'm not Gilligan, I'm Dusty!" Dusty replied, wanting to get up and leave, but figuring it wise to stay seated. After all, the Skipper was ten times his size and looked as though he could easily pummel him to a bloody pulp if he wanted.
"Professor, what's wrong with him?" Skipper asked, giving his intelligent friend a worried look.
"Skipper, I think his problem may be psychological." The Professor explained.
"Oh my poor little buddy! How can we help him?" Skipper asked, willing to try anything to help his best friend.
"Well, until I can determine the cause for his psychological problems, the only thing I can think of doing for now, is to humor him."
"Humor him?"
"Yes. He believes he is someone by the name of Dusty. So until I can determine the cause and find a solution, the only thing we can do is humor him by playing along."
Skipper bit his lip and looked down at Dusty, who was watching them both suspiciously. "Alright Professor. We'll humor him. I better go let the Howells know." Without another word, the Skipper headed towards the Howells hut to fill them in.
"Now Gilli-err...Dusty, I want you to stay here. Mary Ann and Ginger should be returning shortly." The Professor said firmly but kindly. Dusty merely nodded, still too confused to say anything. But getting the feeling the Professor was a nice guy, Dusty relaxed a little. Truth be told, these strange people were beginning to really seem like his own friends. The man everyone called 'Professor' reminded Dusty a lot about Andy. Both were far smarter than the rest and both seemed more calm than the others. The rich couple reminded him a lot of the Brookhavens. All four seemed to have one sure thing in common. They were all very rich and fancy. And then there was the fat man. While the strange man was clearly a bit bulkier than Mr. Callahan, Dusty began to see a lot of similarities between the wagon master and the sea captain.
Watching the Professor walk away and disappear into one of the huts, Dusty tilted his head in thought. "I wonder if there's anyone here who acts like Betsy and Lulu. Those other people sure act like Mr. Callahan, Mr. and Mrs. Brookhaven, and Andy." With a small sigh, he looked up at the cloudless blue sky. "I bet they're real worried about me."
19th Century - The Wild West
Callahan was desperate. Upon returning to camp, he had learned Dusty never came back. But thanks to night falling, it would be impossible to find the missing scout. Knowing that fact, Callahan felt completely useless. If Dusty was injured, he could easily...no, Callahan shook his head. He wasn't going to think like that. Dusty was alive and well. He was probably hiding out in a cave somewhere, or camping out until morning. Come sunrise, they would go out searching and find him safe and sound.
Settling himself down on the cold hard ground, Callahan looked up at the twinkling stars, worry etched on his face. Sitting on a boulder, Andy looked down at his friend. "Don't worry Mr. Callahan, we'll find Dusty. He can't be far from here."
"You don't know Dusty then. That kid could walk in circles and end up five miles away." Callahan replied as he looked up at his young friend.
"Yeah, you're right. But we will find him," Andy replied confidently. "In the morning, I'll help you search for him." With a silent nod, Callahan turned his attention back to the sky.
Come morning, Callahan and Andy were ready to go bright and early. The girls and the Brookhavens agreed to stay at camp in case Dusty came back while Callahan and Andy were gone. Saddling up the horses, Andy and Callahan mounted their steeds. Looking at their friends, Callahan spoke up. "We'll be back as soon as we can. Keep an eye open for Dusty in case he comes back before we do."
"We will. Please be careful." Betsy said, handing them both a canteen that had recently been filled with cold water from a nearby stream. With a nod and tip of his hat, Callahan nudged his horse and headed off into the wilderness, Andy and Freckles following after him. The others watched them head off, each of them hoping Dusty returned safe and sound.
Four hours later...
Thunder rumbled across the sky as black clouds began to roll in. A severe thunderstorm was steadily approaching the plains. Clods of dust began to swirl and blow around as the wind started to pick up as the dangerous storm drew nearer with each passing second. In the distance bolts of white hot electricity shot out from the clouds, snaking long, slender tendrils of electricity through the clouds. The very air began to cool as the front driving the storm drove it closer to the vulnerable duo and their horses.
Callahan looked up at the threatening sky with a frown. "Looks like a storm coming in."
Andy stopped Freckles next to Callahan and looked up at the sky as well. "I predict we are in for a very bad storm. We should seek shelter immediately."
"There was a cave about half a mile back. Let's head for it and wait out the storm there." Callahan suggested, pointing in the direction they had come.
Andy considered the suggestion for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. We should have just enough time to make it to the cave before the storm hits here. Let's go."
Without another word, Callahan turned his horse around and headed down the trail towards the cave. Unfortunately, the storm proved to be much faster than Andy had thought and in no time at all, the two of them were caught out in the middle of a downpour. Frightened by the thunder, lightning, wind and rain, the horses began to panic. Rearing up, Freckles let out a frightened cry as a bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree, effectively splitting a rather large branch nearly down the middle. Terrified, Freckles bolted, casing Andy to loose his balance and fall to the ground.
Getting his horse under enough control to dismount, Callahan rushed over to his fallen friend. "Andy! Andy, are you alright?" Callahan asked, helping the younger man sit up. Andy rubbed his head and nodded.
"I'm alright, but the horses are gone!" He replied, having to shout over the howling wind.
"We'll worry about them later! We need to find shelter!" Callahan shouted. Between the roaring wind and their own shouting, neither Callahan nor Andy noticed the destroyed branch finally snap away from the tree. By the time either one saw it falling right at them, it was too late.
*cue dramatic music* Hehe cliffhanger. Are Andy and Mr. Callahan alright? Will Dusty ever convince the castaways he is who he says he is? Will his friends ever find him? Why am I asking all these questions?
Stay tuned to find out!
Oh yeah, Kiwi says he's happy, so no food raids. For now. *cue evil background music and creepy evil chipmunk laugh*