The girl sighed as she thought of all that was happening. None of it the way it should have. She didn't know what to do. This situation was all so new. Nothing like this had ever happened before, and now it was on top of her like a dog pile. She had to do something, and as she rubbed her forehead she knew what it was. Moving silently, she packed her bags. Once her things were together, she started to creep down the hall towards the living-room door. As she passed her baby brother's bedroom, she heard a moan. He never was a good sleeper. Gently putting her things down, she went into his room and sat on the side of his bed. He stirred, then turned to look at her. She put her finger to her lips, indicating that he needed to keep it low. He squinted.
"Sissy?" he whispered. "What are you doing up so late? And why are you dwessed?" She laughed low at her younger sibling's accent. He was very articulate for his age, but he still had occasional trouble with his /r/'s. She pushed a strand of jet-black hair away from his small face.
"I'm going on a trip." She told him. It wasn't a complete lie.
"Weally? Where to? When will you be back? Can I come?" She laughed again and put her hand on the side of his face.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be coming back. And I'm afraid you can't come with me. Where I'm going is too dangerous for a boy your age." He shifted.
"Where are you going?"
"Anywhere away from here. Now, go back to sleep. You need your rest." She reached into the top drawer of the small table by his bed. Taking out a small bottle, she proceeded to remove a pill from it and place the pill in his mouth. Putting back the bottle, she reached into the small refigerator underneath the table and poored a small container of liquid in his mouth to help him swallow. She leaned over, kissed his cheek, and stood up to leave. She picked up her things from the hallway and walked to the door, only stopping to take some money from "the security pot", a small bowl with a bunch of extra cash in case of an emergency. She looked back one last time from the end of the walk-way, then started to walk off down the road. Away from her house. Away from her family and friends. Away from the hurt. And, as she knew leaving at night would do, away from the goodbyes.
4:00, in the halls of Rockport High...
"C'mon, Jess, we gotta get going!"
"Jonny, slow down!! Dad isn't gonna leave us just because we're late!" The two teens rushed down the hall to the parking lot, the young red-head trying her best to keep up with the blonde boy running ahead of her. As they skidded ouside, they came to a hault in front of a white-haired man leaning against a shiney, newly rebuilt Mustang. Standing, he turned and got into the car. The two teens hopped in right after him.
"What took you guys so long? I knew you said you had some extra work to do, but you said it would only take 15 minutes. I got here at 3:15 and have been waiting for 45 minutes. What happened?" Jonny leaned in between the front seats and looked at Jesse, then turned to Race.
"Well, one of the other guys who had after-school duty thought it wasn't fair that the others had detention and we just had to clean up in the halls real quick. So, he decided he'd teach us a lesson and another fight got started. So, we had to stay the extra time to get a lecture, help clean up the more recent mess, and he got an extra 2 hours of Saturday detention." Race took a quick look at Jesse's face and noticed a huge bruise on her chin. He pulled down her mirror and pointed to it.
"And how do you explain that?" Jesse rubbed the swollen area.
"Well, the whole of what Jonny explained only took 30 minutes. As you can imagine, the guy wasn't too happy about his extra detention. On my way out, he caught me by surprise with a lefty." Race nearly lost control of the car.
"Well, what happened next?!"
"It's hard to say really. After the guy hit me, Jonny sort of went berzerk and attacked him. When I got back to my senses, I helped pull Jonny off the poor fool. The kid was scared out of his wits!! Now, Jonny has an extra HOUR to work off for drawing blood from another student's nose and for giving him a black eye." Jesse smiled. Race raised an eyebrow at Jonny in the rear-view mirror. Jonny shrugged. It was silent for a while, and it would have stayed that way if Jesse hadn't decided to inform Race of the F Jonny was going to get in their 2nd period class if the teacher caught him drawing in his sketch book again. In reaction, Jonny decided to tell Race about the grade Jesse was heading towards in 6th period if she missed another assignment. The idea that Jesse had missed any assignments at all didn't thrill Race, especially since she had never said anything about it.
"And just what exactly IS the grade that she is presently in ranks for?" Jonny leaned forward.
"Remember the grade she made on that pop quiz last Thursday? Take that, and give it the worth of a whole class." Race nearly went ballistic.
"An F!! Jessica Bannon, you're failing a class and you didn't even tell me?!" Jesse looked into her father's blazing eyes.
"Well, Daddy, see, I was going to, but something happened and..."
"Race, look out!!" Jonny's arm flew up to bring Race's attention to in front of the car, where a young person had just walked out into the road. Race swerved the car just in time to barely miss the stranger, but the shock of nearly being run-down appearently blew her over. She fell to the pavement of the road. Once Race had the car stopped on the side of the road, he and the other two got out to check on the girl. She was attempting to get up, and Jesse soon arrived at her side to help her.
"Are you alright?" The girl got to her feet then started picking up her things.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you." Race looked down at the girl's legs, which she was trying to hide by pulling down her skirt. Race then saw a small trickle of blood run down one leg, then the same on the other. He looked at her and motioned for her to show her knees. She seemed to groan. As she lifted the end of her skirt, Jesse and Jonny gasped at the bloody scratches covering her knees.
"Huh. Strangest form of 'fine' I've ever known. Come with us. There's no way you could last long walking along the road, especially this one, with knees like that. We know a good doctor who can help you." At first, the girl just surveyed the surroundings. Then, sighing deeply, she finished picking up her things and leaned on Jesse for support as they walked back to the car. They put her bags in the trunk, then they got in and started off for the compound again. Race looked at her in the rear view mirror. She was staring out the window. "So, where are you from?"
"Where I used to live." He raised and eyebrow at her, turning slightly to look at Jesse and Jonny who had found the girl's remark rather amusing.
"Alright then, where are you headed?"
"Someplace."
"Where exactly is someplace?"
"A place other than where I used to be." Jesse and Jonny were both giggling clearly, now. When Race looked at them, they tried to quiet some.
"Those are some vague coordinates."
"This is a vague trip, being made by a vague person, trying to escape a vague life." Race shook his head.
"Could you at least give us a name?" She met his gaze in the mirror for a moment, then a corner of her mouth turned up, almost like a smile.
"Which one?" Race sighed and Jonny and Jesse broke out laughing. He made it a point to keep shut the rest of the way home.
At the Quest Compound...
Race pulled into the driveway and parked the car. The girl stumbled out, and Jesse helped her get to the house. Jonny got her bags, and Race held the door while the teens all got inside. Dr. Quest was in the kitchen and heard them enter.
"There you are. What took so long? I was starting to get worried. Do you realize it is nearly an HOUR after the time you said you'd be through?" He came into the living room and saw the girl. Jonny put her stuff on the couch and Jesse helped her sit down. Dr. Quest looked at Race. "I see you picked up a new friend." Race shook his head and walked over to the girl. Kneeling beside her, he took the hemn of her skirt and raised it to reveal her badly damaged knees. "And how, may I ask, did this happen?"
"We were about half-way home when we got into a discussion that distracted me from the road. Jonny warned me just in time to avoid hitting her, but she had fallen to the road from surprise, I guess, and got scratched up pretty badly." Dr. Quest nodded.
"Well, Jesse help her up and follow me. I'll see what I can do to help." They went into another room and Dr. Quest had her sit on a table. After examining her knees, he used bandages where needed and told her not to do any serious walking for at least a day. "The fall you took weakened the cartilidge protecting your knees. If you walk too much, it will start to rip and such an injury can't be repaired without surgery."
"Where do I stay while I wait for my knees to get better?" Race came in and looked at her.
"You're welcome to stay here at the Quest Compound, but it'd help if we had your name."
"Oh, MY name! You didn't say anything about my name. You just asked for A name." She smiled, something Race was slightly surprised to see. He rolled his eyes at her sarcasm and beamed at Jesse and Jonny, both laughing like hiyenas. "My name's Ronnie, and it's nice to meet you sir. I'd like to thank you all for your help and your hospitallity." Race raised an eyebrow.
"You have a last name?"
"Yes."
"Well, what is it?"
"Hey, you asked if I had one, not what it was." Race's aggitation was now written clearly upon his face. Ronnie giggled at his expression. "Y'know, you're kinda cute." Race's look changed quickly and Jesse groaned.
"Please don't say that. I have enough trouble with my friends thinking my dad's cute, I don't need someone knew saying it as well." Ronnie bit her lip.
"Ugh. Sorry. I know how that can feel, actually."
"You do?"
"Yeah. My dad's this athlete and he's worked out most of his life. One main reason why I didn't like the idea of him always driving me to and from school. Every day, one or more of my friends would be waiting there and would make some stupid remark. Truly annoying." She slid slowly off the table and stood up straight, straightening out her clothes. It just came to Race's attention what the girl was wearing. She wore a pleated black mini-skirt that ended at mid- thigh. She had a strange combonation of shirts. The inner-most was a white shirt that ended where her skirt began with sleeves that went half-way down her upper arms. On top of that, she had on a plaid shirt that was unbuttoned and tied at the bottom corners. The sleeves on that ending half-way down the sleeves of the white shirt. Last, she had on a deep green vest that looked almost black. To top off the entire outfit, she had on black boots laced all the way up that ended half-way up the lower section of her legs. He looked up at her face as she walked, or more correctly tried to walk, to the living room. Jesse and Jonny helped her to the couch and cleard it off so she could lie down. Jonny took her things and put them in a guest room. Race sat down on the chair across from the TV and put his feet up on the foot rest. He looked over at Ronnie again.
"Interesting outfit, Ronnie. How'd you put that together?" She looked up at him and smiled.
"This is what I wear when I go on trips. I came up with it about a year ago when my family went on a hike. I had this old plaid shirt that was ragged around the edges, so I cut it up and put it on over this white shirt I had because it's so thin that you can see through it. As you can imagine, it isn't exactly one of dad's preferred choices for my wardrobe. Then again, neither is this skirt. But that's where we made an agreement. I'd wear the plaid over the white shirt if he let me wear the skirt. After my first trial run with it, I got used to having this sorta fashion statement." Ronnie and Race looked at the door to the living room as a young, dark-skinned teenager came in. He nodded to Race and looked at Ronnie as he took a seat. He looked up at Jesse, Jonny, and Dr. Quest, saying hello as each of them entered. He looked back at Ronnie and then turned to look at Dr. Quest.
"I see we have an injured visitor. How long will she be staying?"
"About a day. Her knees should be better by then." Hadji looked over to Jonny.
"Which guest room is she staying in?"
"The first one on the right. It'll make the trip here and back shorter in case she needs something and we aren't there to help her." Hadji nodded.
"Good idea. After dinner, I'll check to see if we have enough drinks and snacks and I'll put them within in easy reach." Ronnie raised an eyebrow.
"It's like you do this everyday." Hadji smiled.
"Well, we have had our share of strangers." Jonny leaned back in his seat.
"Yeah, but you better be careful around Hadj here." Jesse giggled.
"Yep, cuz he can be a heart-breaker when it comes to a stranger with a pretty face." Ronnie winced.
"Unh. Must you use that word?" Jonny looked confused.(I know, big surprise.)
"What word? Heart-breaker?"
"Precisely."
"What's wrong with it?"
"It's a long story, really, and not one I care to tell. Just, please, try to avoid it's usage." Jonny shrugged.
"If you say so." Hadji picked up his lap-top and passed Jonny and Jesse theirs. Race picked up the paper and started opened to the comics. Dr. Quest opened up a rather large book and started reading. Ronnie sat for a moment. She looked around, hoping to see something that might amuse her. Finally, she broke the silence.
"This is what you do in the afternoon?" They all looked up at her, then eachother. Dr. Quest bookmarked his spot and closed his book.
"Well, yes it is. We each spend a little time like this. On occasion, Jonny, Jesse, and Hadji are outside doing something, but we spend a deal of time together in silence. Why? Is something wrong?" Ronnie shifted.
"Well, no, it's just...different, that's all. Usually at my house, my family's outside doing something and making some ruccuss. This silence in the evening is just new to me, that's all."
"I can understand that. One's family habits can often be very contrasting to that of another's. Which reminds me: where is your family? And, why did you leave them?" Ronnie sighed.
"Doctor....uhh...sir, I can't tell you. The reason I left has to do with why I'm not fond of the word 'heart-breaker', and that's about all I can tell you. By the way, I never did catch any of your names." Race almost made a remark to repay her for the ones she made earlier, but he restrained himself. Dr. Quest grinned.
"Well, Ronnie, I am Doctor Benton Quest. Those three are my assistant Hadji, my son Jonny, and Race's daughter Jesse. He is my old friend and body-guard Race Bannon." Ronnie's smile went a little wider.
"Well, it's nice to meet you all. So...I was just wondering..but..is there any chance we could do something other than sit here?" Dr. Quest laughed softly.
"Yes, I suppose that could be arranged. But I can't think of much for you to do."
"What do you mean?"
"Your knees." Ronnie looked down at her bandages.
"Oh, yeah." She sighed. Jonny slowly turned to Jesse, a lop-sided smile on his face.
"Y'know Jess, I'm still the better turbo-sledder." Jesse grinned.
"You wish, Quest." Ronnie's look went to one of pure confusion.
"Turbo-sledder? Umm...I missed something, didn't I?" Race laughed.
"Ronnie, what those two are talking about is a Questworld game they developed."
"What's Questworld?" Hadji stood up.
"Questworld is a world of virtual reality that can be used from games to data storage." Ronnie's face lit up.
"Virtual reality? VR? You have a VR system?" Hadji put away his PC and headed over to Ronnie.
"Yes. In fact, Dr. Quest was the one who developed and programmed it." He helped Ronnie up while Jonny and Jesse put away their PCs. Jonny arrived at Ronnie's side to help. Dr. Quest and Race stood and followed the teens. When they reached the light-house, Hadji and Jonny slowly lowered Ronnie into one of the chairs. Jesse went over to a desk, then came to Ronnie. She placed a Questworld interpatch over Ronnie's ear, then gave one to Jonny and put one on herself. She looked over to Hadji, who was sitting down behind the desk. Dr. Quest stood beside him, and Race sat in a chair across the room. Hadji started typing at the computer. "Questworld log on. Subjects Jonny Quest, Jesse Bannon, and Ronnie....Going hot!!" With a flash of green light, Ronnie felt as if she had been sent flying. She looked around her and saw that she was outside somewhere. Her eyes finally came to rest on Jonny and Jesse. She was shocked. Looking down at herself, her eyes went even wider. It was all so real. She looked at the scenery again.
"So. This is Questworld. Amazing." She couldn't think of what else to say. Jonny and Jesse smiled at her.
"Yeah, my dad did do a really good job when he created this, didn't he?" Jonny asked, motioning to their surroundings. Then, Ronnie saw a slight glimmer in his eye. "But you haven't seen the half of it. Hadji," he said to the sky, "activate turbo-sleds one and two." Jesse walked forward as the two vehicles materialized.
"Set it for course 4 with 3 tail-trailers and 2 shooter bogies," she said. She and Jonny stepped onto the turbo-sleds as the scenery changed and the course began to appear. Ronnie gasped as she suddenly popped up over the course, a bird's eye view hers to enjoy. As she watched, she began thinking about her kind hosts, and realized *Hey, I could get to like it here.*
1 week later...
Ronnie smiled as she breathed in the air of the ocean. After her knees had healed enough, Jonny and Jesse showed her how to hoverboard. And she showed them how to shock the heck out of someone. As soon as she had gotten her balance, she started using stunts popular to the skateboard. After her first full day at the Quest Compound, she asked if she could stay for awhile. The Quest team welcomed her to. The second seemed even better than the first. Ronnie couldn't get over how good she felt. Running into the Quest's and Bannon's had made her completely forget about why she had ran away from her home in the first place. She had agreed to attend school at Rockport High since Dr. Quest insisted on it, and had been going there since Monday. Today was Friday, though, and the next few days belonged to her will. Or so she thought. She took another crisp breath and headed inside.
"Dr. Quest," she said, entering the kitchen, "do you know where the smooth peanut butter is?" Dr. Quest leaned in from the hallway.
"Sorry, Ronnie, but I think Jonny had it last." Ronnie rolled her eyes.
"Great. Now there's no telling where we might find it." As she went over to start picking up some dry dishes, she stepped in something. She looked down at her leather boots. "Nevermind, Dr. Quest. I found it." Groaning, she started to clean up the mess that was all over the floor. And her boots. "Jonny is going to get it bad the next time I see him." Hadji swung through the kitchen.
"Hello, Ronnie."
"Hey, Hadj." He grabbed a drink from the fridge and headed towards the living room.
"You may want to hurry. There's a report coming on the news tonight about this famous athlete. Jonny and Jesse only slightly idolize him, so we are all being forced to sit through it."
"Hey, Hadji! Ronnie!" Jonny's voice rang from the living room. "You two hurry up, the report's about to start." In the living room, Jonny and Jesse sat on the couch with Hadji while Race and Dr. Quest sat in their own chairs. Jonny turned on the TV and switched it to the news. They watched intently as the report began...
Reporter: Tonight we bring news from the house of famous athlete Tony Brook. From what we can understand, one week ago today his eldest child ran away from home, leaving a nearly devastated household. We have footage with us when Mr. Brook met with the police concerning the matter.
Officer #1: Sir, can you tell me any reason you can think of as to why she ran away so suddenly?
Brook: No, Officer, I can't. No one in my family has any idea as to why our little girl left.
Officer #1: Do you have a picture we could use to identify her with?
Brook: Yes, here. (reaches into pocket and pulls out photo of girl, camera focusing in)
The Quest team all went still. Looking at the others and then back at the photo still filling the screen, Race turned towards the kitchen.
"Ronnie, I think you might want to see this." Walking into the living room a towel and spoon in hand, Ronnie stopped dead in her tracks as she watched the last few shots of the picture as the police took it for investigation. She dropped the spoon and towel as she walked to the middle of the room, falling lightly in front of the TV set. She watched intently as the report continued on.
Reporter: While at the station, the police allowed us to film as the interrogation of two young men took place.
Interrogation Officer: Young Mr. Brandon, it has been explained to us that you and young Miss Brook were very close. I was wondering that, during the time you were together, she possibly gave you any hint as to why she might leave. Or is there something that was bothering her that you know about?
Brandon: No, Officer. But you might want to try that jerk Joshua. There's no telling what he might know about her. (pause, then new recording)
Interrogation Officer: Joshua, it is very important that you tell us anything you know about that might give us a clue as to why your young friend left or where she might have gone to. Please, is there anything you can tell us.
Joshua: I'm sorry, Officer. If I knew, I'd be out there after her.
I.O.: 'sigh' Very well. Thank you for your help. (screen changes as camera follows two boys, reporter's voice speaking in the background)
Reporter: Though the boys were questioned at different times, neither was allowed to leave until both reports were complete. Do to the aggression shown to eachother, the camera-man was instructed to follow them outside the building, where we were able to catch this on tape.
Brandon&Joshua: (walk with bikes towards the sidewalk)
Brandon: (kicks over Joshua's bike halfway down the lawn)
Joshua: Hey! What was that for?! (looks down at bike then stretches and kicks Brandon's)
Brandon: (jumping over bike towards Joshua, fists at the ready) This is your fault! You scared her away!
Joshua: Me?! Hey, I'm not the jerk, Brandon. If it's anyone's fualt, it's yours! Face it, you were tearing her heart in so many directions she had to leave to keep her own sanity!
Brandon: I was trying to make sure she knew how much I still cared for her! In case you forgot, there WAS someone trying to steal her from me! (brandon and joshua start fighting until they are seperated and hand-cuffed) (screen returns to reporter)
Reporter: That's all we have on that for tonight. Check in again next week and we should have an update. Now, on the weather -BWEEOOP-
Race put down the remote and looked at Ronnie, as did the rest of the team. She was still in the same place she had dropped into, only now was reaching out, her fingers grazing the screen. She pulled back her hand and closed her eyes. She knew this was not good. Not the situation, not the report, nothing. She turned to Race's voice.
"Well, Miss Ronnie Brook, I think it's time you gave us an explanation."