Before They Were Fabulous

The phone was still ringing when the elevator doors opened. Mikey and Frankie both turned their heads towards the doors as they opened, their eyes widening as Exterminator Korse stepped into the room. Mikey launched into his act.

“Oh!” He cried, both surprised and, to Korse’s surprise, he sounded relieved. “Thank goodness it’s you! You have to find him!”

Mikey turned back to the receiver as a voice greeted him.

“Never mind, he’s here,” he stated quickly, before hastily replacing the phone on the charging cradle. “How did you know? Please tell me you’ve found him?”

Korse, frowned deeply, mystified as to what his nephew meant. He eyed Mikey with puzzlement before glancing to the younger boy, Frankie, and back again.

“Where is Gerard?” He asked, surprised to see only the two boys.

Mikey’s eyes widened still further and his mouth opened in imitation horror as he conveyed his dismay to the exterminator. Glancing briefly at each other, both Mikey and Frankie moved quickly toward Korse, Mikey talking like a speeding train.

“You don’t know? I thought you’d found him. I thought that’s why you were here. I was just calling you,” he pointed back to the phone with his left arm, still not moving his eyes from Korse.
“What happened?” Korse asked with concern.
“I don’t know what happened!” Mikey’s voice sounded as if it was about to crack under the pressure of his worry. “One minute he’s drinking his coffee...”
“Coffee?” Korse asked.

Looking past Mikey, he spied the mug still resting on the table. It was clear a few mouthfuls had been taken from it, but that it remained at least half full.

“Yeah...” Mikey paused. “That special brand he likes. He takes a couple of sips and... and I don’t know what happened. He just flew into a rage! Said he had to get out. Before we know what’s happening, he’s in the elevator! Alone!”
“Why didn’t...” Korse frowned deeply. “Where is Jakob?”
“He left to get more coffee,” Mikey shrugged. “I wanted to try it, but he said he’d run out. Please! This isn’t finding Gee!”
“Why didn’t Edward stop him?” He growled angrily.
“I called down,” Mikey’s expression grew increasingly panicked. “No one answered.”

Korse narrowed his eyes, furious that they were left alone and unprotected. Worse still, had Jakob got the dosages wrong? Gerard’s reaction to the drug would have been unpredictable at best, but giving him too much could explain the sudden erratic behaviour. Taking a moment to remember entering the building, Korse remembered seeing Edward’s deputy returning to reception, presumably after completing one of the many walk throughs that were part of his duties. It was at this point he recalled that Edward had a regular weekly appointment in the Zones with a reliable informant, thus explaining his absence. Could they really have been so unlucky with the timing of the incident that both Edward and his deputy were absent at the moment Gerard entered reception from the express elevator? And Jakob gone also? For Korse, it was too much of a coincidence.

“We even tried to follow in the other elevator, but it’s not working,” Frankie added, his tone equally urgent.
“Not...” Korse appeared alarmed. “No one flagged this to me.”
“We didn’t know until we tried to use it!” Frankie added, his tone somewhat defensive.
“I didn’t...” Korse shook his head in frustration; it was irrelevant explaining that he hadn’t meant that the boys should have raised it with him. “Do you have any idea where he was heading?”
“No.”

Mikey’s voice sounded suddenly pained and small, inspiring Frankie to turn a concerned glance towards him. Internally, he was impressed; Mikey’s acting was extremely convincing.

“I’ll get the deputy guard to check the security tapes in case he’s still in the building. I want you both to stay here; do not leave this apartment for any reason. Do you understand?”
“What if Gee calls?” Mikey asked, still looking and sounding stressed. “What if he wants us to meet him somewhere?”
“Find out where, promise to meet him, tell me where his is and stay here!” Korse instructed forcefully.
“But, if he’s in danger or upset or...”
“Gerard would not simply run from the building,” Korse tempered his tone to try to make his younger nephew listen. “Something has happened. I don’t know what, but I have to consider the possibility that it’s a rebel plot. If so, I don’t want you falling prey to whatever plans they may have. Do you understand?”
“Rebels?” Mikey gasped, taking a step back, almost appearing to stagger. “Again?”
“Don’t worry, Mikey,” Korse replied, his tone growing clipped again as he grew impatient having to calm the boy instead of initiating an immediate search. “We will find him. I need to activate a search operation. I can’t stay, do you understand?”
“Yes,” Mikey replied weakly. “Will Jakob be back soon, then?”

Korse frowned deeply as he regarded the two boys, both clearly upset and worried. Jakob had almost certainly given Gerard too much Kanslokal, which was bad enough, but also he had to consider the possibility that the P.A. had engineered Gerard’s disappearance. Whatever the cause, questions would be asked.

“Jakob will not be returning,” he returned flatly before turning quickly on his heels and heading back to the elevator. “Do not leave!” He instructed once more as the doors began to close.

Watching the indicator above the elevator, the boys waited until it showed that the car had moved down several floors before turning to face each other. Grinning at their success, Mikey and Frankie celebrated with a silent high-five. Almost as both arms were lowered, Mikey was frowning once more.

“Have we done the right thing?” He asked, once again growing uncertain.

Frankie pondered the question. He thought about Korse and how he had placed two assistants to look after the Ways, both of whom had been at the very least questionable in their treatment of the brothers. Letting his mind move on to Edward, who had seemed genuinely concerned over Gerard when he was taken by rebels and had remained at the apartment to comfort and support them. He hadn’t even slept until Gerard was found and returned. He thought about what Gerard had told him Edward had done to ensure that Frankie never had to return to his guardian again. As the final thought crossed his mind, he was already nodding; there was absolutely no doubt in his mind who they should trust.

*

Gerard was waking up. Slowly at first, his breathing deepened and he licked his dry lips. He had no idea how long he had been asleep but his mouth was parched and he was feeling stiff, his back ached and his head throbbed. Trying to open his eyes seemed to be a major stumbling block. The lids seemed almost too heavy to move and any exertion made him feel queasy. Trying to move, even shifting his position slightly caused his joints to ache. It was how he imagined he would feel if he had run a marathon, with very little training. Even as he thought about how bad he felt, his head began to pound; it seemed to suggest that even thinking was too much of an effort for his beleaguered body.

Taking a little more air into his lungs, Gerard noticed a sudden churning in the pit of his stomach. Even with his eyes closed he could feel everything spinning and tilting as if he were on a crazy fairground ride. Trying desperately to ride out the feeling, he worked hard to keep his breathing as steady as he could, but as the churning sensation grew, his breathing came in fitful gaps, snatched at irregular intervals. Swallowing repeatedly as his mouth filled with saliva, Gerard knew what was about to happen. Trying desperately to ward off the inevitable, he attempted to force himself to relax, but he knew he was far beyond the point of return. Within moments, he had turned as far as he was able and unloaded the contents of his stomach over the side of the gurney. Unable to sit up, for reasons he had not yet worked out, Gerard coughed and retched awkwardly as he tried hard to keep the vomit from landing on the bed itself. The constant pull of his intestinal muscles effectively working backwards was painful, but the bile and acid that rose into his throat and mouth felt infinitely worse. His eyes watered as he continued to cough and moan weakly. Allowing his head to flop back on the gurney, Gerard took several deep, wrenching breaths, occasionally raising himself briefly to spit over the side of the gurney to rid himself of both the taste and the sensation of what had moved so violently through his mouth. Flopping back one final time, his eyes tightly closed with tears of pain and exhaustion running down the sides of his face into his ears and hair, Gerard gasped as slowly his tense and aching body started to relax after its ordeal.

It was almost a minute or two later, having finally managed to return his breathing to near normal levels, that he heard someone moving to his left. Allowing his head to roll to the left, he raised an eyebrow as he saw no one. Could he have imagined it?

“Who’s there?” He asked, receiving no reply.

It was only at that point that his somewhat recovered mind recalled that he had tried to move without success. Trying once more, he frowned as he now realised that his arms were held in place by something fastened around his wrists. Whatever it was allowed a small amount of movement, but it was severely limited, possibly only a few inches, if that. If Gerard had had the energy, he would have become alarmed by his situation, and would have tried to fight against his bonds. As it was, all he could manage was a general feeling of distress and mild panic. His brow creased deeply as he now noticed that he didn’t recognise his surroundings and his breathing quickened once more. A second noise to his left, raised his anxiety levels further.

“Who’s there?” He cried. “Where am I? Why... why can’t I move?”

Gerard gasped in shock as a head and a pair of shoulders suddenly appeared at the side of the gurney. His wide eyes took in the unexpected sight of a boy roughly his own age with a mass of light brown curly hair. With a moment now to consider it, Gerard realised that the boy had probably been clearing up the mess he had just made. As if to confirm his thoughts, the boy was tying a knot in a bag and reached over with a damp cloth to wipe Gerard’s mouth and cheek gently. There was something about the expression on the boy’s face that drained all of Gerard’s feelings of distress in an instant. There was a deep sadness reflected back at him that suggested this boy was three times his actual age and despite his situation, Gerard found himself inexplicably concerned for the boy.

“Who are you?” He asked again, this time his voice was calm and measured. “I didn’t spit on you did I?”

As Gerard asked the question, he surprised even himself. This boy, probably part of a band of rebels, may have been looking after him, but it still didn’t detract from the fact that he was tied down to a gurney, far from home and almost certainly in grave danger. At that moment, he had no memory of how he had got there, but he could recall the last time he had been held by rebels. The severe beatings, the threats and above all the fear for his life. Yet here he was, concerned for this silent boy with kind but deeply saddened eyes.

Jet looked at Gerard, equally surprised by the unexpected question. Offering a faint smile, he shook his head, his curls bouncing lightly at the movement. Placing the bag and damp cloth down on top of a battered old metal filing cabinet, Jet raised the head end of the gurney before placing a cup of water to Gerard’s lips. Pausing briefly, Gerard allowed him to tip a little of the brackish water into his mouth. Turning sharply to his right, Gerard spat the water straight out, before turning an angry glare back to the boy.

“What is that?” He demanded.

Gerard’s anger diminished rapidly as he saw the surprise and even alarm in the boy’s expression as he merely stared, his lips parted and still holding the cup near Gerard’s face.

“That wasn’t water,” Gerard added, more puzzled by his own reaction than even the other boy’s.

Jet merely nodded, his brow lightly creased.

“But...” Gerard began as he stared back, still unsure why he felt sympathy for the boy. Surprising himself further, he continued. “Is that what water tastes like in the Zones?”

Jet nodded again, raising the cup as if to ask if he wanted more. Gerard nodded taking a grateful sip despite the foul taste. Screwing his face up with distaste at the metallic flavour, Gerard took as much as he felt able to without once again being sick.

Once again, Gerard looked into the boy’s eyes; the depth of sadness in them drawing a wave, even a flood of empathy for him, despite his captive status.

“What’s your name?” Gerard asked gently.

The curly-haired boy stared impassively at Gerard for almost twenty seconds before taking a deep breath. Exhaling slowly, he closed his eyes briefly before nodding.

“Jet,” he replied simply.

Notes

Hello lovely readers!!

Here we are again with another chapter. Quieter one this time, but I think important to establish characters a bit more. I hope you liked it :)

Thanks so much for reading, it’s really appreciated.

Sas xx