Johnny's Omen
By Alice, Sheryl, Robin, Pat, Carol, Kathy, LJ, JO, Cin, Katy, Susie, Cameron, & Jamison.
Chapter One
John Gage was gathering the last of his camping gear when he
heard a knock at the door.
"I thought I was picking you up!" He said, as he hugged
his latest flame, Diana. They had been seeing each other for a
few weeks, and had plans to go camping this weekend.
"Johnny, I'm sorry, but I have a little problem,"
the blonde beauty responded, looking distressed.
"What's the matter?" John asked.
"My father called. He had to take mom to the hospital,"
she sighed. "I have to leave town immediately."
"Oh," John was clearly disappointed, but his concern
for Diana overrode that. "I'm sorry. I hope she's gonna be
okay." Diana nodded,
"Me, too. Johnny, I have a huge favor to ask."
"You name it," John said.
"I'm so glad you feel that way. I knew I could count on you."
She sighed with relief. "Oh Thank you. I feel so much better.
With the time I'll be spending at the hospital, I can't take
Damien with me." She started to walk back to her car.
"Damien?" John asked, becoming alarmed. Damien was
Diana's 8-year old son. Johnny had met the boy briefly once, and
he considered the kid to be aptly named. "What...where...
why? Wait." Johnny watched from his front door as she pulled
a huge suitcase out of her trunk. She opened the door to the car
and leaned in. A few moments later he watched as she pulled the
little child out of the car by the arm. He vaguely heard the boy
say,
"I hate him. He’s stupid!"
"But honey, I need to go see gramma. She’s really
sick and Johnny said he’d watch you so that you could go to
school." Johnny closed his eyes as she stepped up to the
door.
"Johnny, thank you so much, you are a life-saver. I should
be back by Monday but if I’m not, my neighbor, Mrs. Smythe,
said she’d take care of him until I get back, but I'm sure I'll
be back!" For the first time ever, Johnny was speechless,
his eyes jumping from Diana, to Damien, and down to the suitcase.
He couldn’t believe his ears. He was terrible with kids.
What was he going to do with this ‘brat’ while he had
him? Diana leaned down and kissed her baby. "Now be a good
boy." She leaned up and gave Johnny a kiss on the cheek.
"You are the best, Johnny. I knew I could count on you."
She turned and hurried back to her car. She waved as she closed
the door and started the engine.
"Wait... I can't... Wait!" Johnny protested, only it
was too late. Diana had pulled away. John watched her car turn
the corner and disappear. He took a deep breath, and looked down
at the young child. For a moment, John thought he saw horns. I’ve
watched Roy’s two, how hard can one be? He thought.
"Well...ah, Damien," Johnny paused, "So what kinds
of things do you like to do?"
"I like to watch TV." Damien said flatly, walking over
to plop down in front of the tube, crossing his arms over his
small chest.
"Oh...okay," Johnny replied, grabbing the remote and
pushing the power button. The TV sprang to life. Before Johnny
could turn the channel, the boy began jumping around and yelling.
"Yahoo! All star wrestling is my favorite!" The
little boy said excitedly, as he grabbed the remote out of Johnny’s
hand and turned up the volume button way up.
"Hey...turn that down!" Johnny reached for the remote
and the boy began running around the room teasing him. Johnny
walked over to the TV and turned it off. "You're going to go
deaf! Didn't your mom ever tell you that's bad for your ears?"
The little boy glared at him.
"My MOM lets me have it as loud as I want!"
"Yeah, I'll bet!" Johnny gave the kid an annoyed look.
"That wrestling stuff is all fake anyway."
"It is not! How would you know? You're just a fireman."
"Just a fireman?" John shot back, his growing
irritation evident. The kid sat back on the sofa, crossed his
arms again, and stuck his tongue out at Johnny. Johnny stared in
disbelief, Okay… just stay calm! Don’t let the kid
get under your skin. Maybe Roy can help me out. "Hey,
would you like to go play with Chris?" He picked up the
phone and dialed the DeSoto residence, not waiting for a response.
"Hello?" Roy’s voice floated through the line.
"Hey, Roy, this is Johnny. What are you up to?" Johnny
asked, in his best salesman voice.
"You don’t want to know." Roy's voice on the
telephone sounded distracted.
"Yeah, listen, how would…" Johnny could hear
Jennifer screaming on the other end.
"Chris, don’t bother your sister." There was a
small pause and then it continued. "JENNIFER!" Johnny
quickly pulled the phone away from his ear. "Put that down!
Just a minute Johnny." He heard the phone drop, footsteps,
and Roy tell both children to head to their rooms. He was so glad
that he wasn’t the only one having ‘kid trouble’.
He heard the footsteps back to the phone and then heard Roy pick
the phone up.
"Johnny, you still there?"
"Yeah. Sounds like you’ve got trouble on your end."
"Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I don't know what's gotten into the kids today. Did you need something?"
"Ah," Johnny stammered, Roy may shoot me if I
dump another kid on him. I’ve got an idea. "How
would you like to meet me at the zoo with the kids?"
"You... want to take my kids to the zoo?" Roy asked,
sounding stunned on the other end of the phone. "Great! I'd
be happy to drop them off!"
"Drop them off?" said Johnny, "actually I was
thinking you and Joanne would come with us."
"Oh, Joanne's allergies are acting up, and I've got a leaky
faucet to deal with," Roy added quickly. "You're a
lifesaver, Johnny."
"Gee," Johnny muttered, "maybe they could spend
the night, too," he finished sarcastically.
"Spend the night?" Roy asked ecstatically. "Johnny,
that's above and beyond. Chris, I told you to get in your room."
"But dad, Jennifer’s not in her room." Johnny heard through the phone.
"We'll be there in less than an hour. BYE!" Johnny heard a click and a dial tone from the other end of the phone. "Gage strikes again," he muttered frustrated. "When will you learn to keep your mouth shut!" He could hear the wrestling from the front room, and Damien jumping around on the couch. He stepped into the living room, hands on his hips ready for a fight. "Does it have to be so loud?" Johnny asked.
"Yes," Damien shouted.
"Why?"
"Because I can’t hear it if it’s not loud." The boy sneered. Johnny gritted his teeth,
"Well ya know, Jason...I mean Damien, my friend Roy is
bringing Jennifer and Chris over so that we can go to the zoo."
"Is your 'friend' is a fireman like you?" Damien asked.
"He's my partner." Johnny smiled, proudly.
"I bet his kids are geeks!" Damien spat. Johnny took a
breath to respond when there was a knock at the door. Johnny
stepped over to the door, looking through the peephole to see who
was on the other side. He recognized his partner and opened the
door. A harried Roy walked in, hands filled with sleeping bags
and overnight cases.
"Are they staying one night or moving in?" asked Gage.
Roy grinned,
"Look... thanks so much for taking them. You don't know
what a lifesaver this is. Anyway, I gotta run. I'll get them
tomorrow ok? I'll call you."
"Wait!" yelled John, but Roy was already backing down
the driveway. "That was fast," muttered John, "make
a quick getaway!" John slammed the door shut, scowling. Then
he tried his best to put on a smile as he returned to his charges.
"So guys, let me introduce you. Chris, Jen… this is
Damien." The kids eyed each other. Damien said,
"I don't want to play with that dorky girl." Chris piped up,
"Shut up! Don't call my sister dorky! I’m the only one who can do that." Jen started to cry. Damien balled up his fists.
"Whose gonna make me shut up?" Chris stepped up to the challenge.
"ME!" Chris shouted, and the fists began to fly.
Johnny rushed over to break them apart.
"STOP!" he yelled. "Will you two knock it off?"
he shouted. "I don't intend to return any damaged kids. Both
your mothers would have my hide." As he leaned down between
the two fighting boys, attempting to push them apart, both fists
managed to connect with each of Johnny's eyes. He pulled back
away, falling to the ground, grabbing his face.
"You killed Uncle Johnny!" Jennifer screamed. "I'm
gonna tell, mommy!" The two boys and the crying girl leaned
over the fallen paramedic. He slowly pulled his hands down from
his face and glared at the children. Damien smirks and folds his
arms across his chest. Johnny stood up.
"There will NOT be any fighting in this house, or name-calling,
or arguing. If you don't settle down, we aren't going anywhere."
Damien scowled at Johnny,
"You can't tell me what to do! You aren't my Mom!" Johnny leaned down into the little face.
"I may not be your mom, but I am an adult and I expect you to listen to me." Damien nodded. Johnny looked over at Chris. "I know, you know, better than to fight. The same goes for you. If I tell your father that you’re fighting you will be in bigger trouble." Chris nodded his head, and sat down on the couch. Damien looked at Jennifer, who stared angrily at him,
"Hey, Johnny, do we have to take that cry-baby with us to the zoo?" Damien laughed as Jennifer began to cry, again. As Johnny turned around, he saw Chris lunge for Damien. The two boys begin the fisticuffs again, this time adding wrestling to the free-for-all. Chris began landing several good punches before Johnny could pull him off.
"Chris!" yelled Johnny, as he held the boy by his
arm. "Didn't you hear a word I said?"
"But, Uncle Johnny," pouted Chris, "he made
Jennifer cry. That's not right. Dad always told me that I had to
look out for her." Johnny took a deep breath.
"No, it's not right to make someone cry. And it's good that
you defended your sister, but fighting doesn’t solve
anything. I want you to go sit on the couch." He watched
Chris head for the sofa, Jennifer right behind him. He turned to
Damien. "As for YOU, young man, there's no room in this
house for a bully, do you understand?" Johnny stepped over
to Damien, grabbed his arm, and placed him into the corner.
"There will be no more pushing, fighting, name calling...or
anything else!" Damien spoke into the corner.
"You just wait 'til my mom finds out you put me in the corner." Johnny wiped his hand over his face, in frustration. "My mom never puts me in the corner."
"Well, she probably should put you there more often,"
Johnny commented under his breath.
"She'll call the cops on you for child rebuse!" cried
the boy.
"Child ‘rebuse’," laughed John. "Five
minutes with you may have the whole police department behind me."
"You're mean and I hate you!" Damien sobbed. "I
want my mom!" Johnny shook his head, and left the room, he
had to cool down. He got a glass of water, downed it quickly.
When he returned to the living room, he saw Damien poking at some
hidden speck in the corner, and Jennifer and Chris sitting
quietly on the couch. They had seen many sides of their Uncle
Johnny and this was a new one for them. But in their defense,
they had never gotten Johnny angry enough to be placed in a
corner. Johnny stepped over to Damien, and turned him from the
corner.
"How would you like it if you were being pushed around and teased?" He quietly asked. Damien looked down at the ground, still sobbing,
"I don't know. I don’t let people bully me." Damien turned away from Johnny, his head down, looking very pathetic. He glanced over at the DeSoto children, sneered and stuck his tongue out at them. He looked at Johnny again with an angelic smile. "I'll try to be better...UNCLE Johnny." Johnny sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair. He looked at each of the three small faces.
"Do you think we can go to the zoo and act like decent human children?"
"Yeah!" The DeSoto children cried in unison, jumping off of the couch.
"Yeah!" Damien shouted, excited about going
somewhere other than this old house.
The short trip to the zoo was quiet and uneventful. No one was
punched, and no one had been made fun of. Upon arriving at the
zoo they began walking around, viewing the different animals.
John was proud of himself. Yep, this was a great idea. He
patted himself on the back for being a genius. The kids had
turned into little angels. They were really enjoying this. The
zoo was running a special exhibit, entitled The TREEHOUSE of LIFE.
It was a great interactive exhibit. They could climb on things
like the chimpanzees. They could race with cheetahs. They could
jump like fleas. They could be slithery snakes in the grass.
There wasn’t any limit to their imaginations. John followed
as the three ran into the Treehouse. He let them run around;
hoping this would work all of that ‘energy’ off. He
closed his eyes for a moment, exhausted. Five minutes later, he
picked himself up and set off to round up his charges. He quickly
located Jen, then found Chris. Neither child knew where Damien
was. The three of them set off to find him. After fifteen minutes,
John started panicking. The kid was no where to be found. He
tried to calm himself down. He left the Treehouse with Chris and
Jen. He retraced their steps around the zoo. He looked at his
watch; it had been a half an hour since he’d seen the third
child. He ran his hand through his hair, and placed the other
hand on his hip. Now what?
"I think you lost him, Uncle Johnny," Jennifer stated.
John was almost hyperventilating. Stay calm, he thought,
as he stuck quarters in the pay phone. Answer it, he
prayed.
"Hello?"
"Chet?" John asked. "Chet, old buddy, um… I
need to ask a favor."
"What's the crisis now, Gage?" Chet sighed.
"Chet," replied an exasperated John, "I'm at
the zoo, and…"
"Looking for your date for tonight, Gage?" Chet
snickered through the phone line. "Or did they mistake you
for Bongo the Chimp and you need me to spring you?"
"Very funny, Chet." Johnny summarized the morning, and
the events that led up to the zoo visit. "So, this kid's
lost, and I need help finding him. Can I count on you?" Chet
sighed.
"I’m doing this for the kid. I'll be there shortly."
"Thanks, pally."
"You owe me big time, buddy." Chet told him. John hung up the phone and ran his hand through his hair. You really got yourself in one hell of mess this time, Gage. He looked down at his two other charges,
"You guys have no idea where he’s gone off to?"
Jen and Chris looked at each other for a moment and then shook
their heads. He wasn't sure what he saw in their eyes, but
somehow he thought there was something these two weren't saying.
He looked at Chris and then at Jennifer. He figured he had a
better shot with Jennifer.
John knelt down to be at eye level with her. "I don't know
what Damian's up to but I sure would hate to see you two get in
trouble because of something you didn't tell me. Uncle Chet's on
his way to help look for him. If we can't find him then I'll have
to call your Dad to come get you. If you know something, Jen, I
think you should tell me before your Dad AND MOM have to come get
you." Jen bit her lower lip and looked at John,
"Promise you won't tell Mom?" John suddenly noticed Chris backing away.
"Christopher DeSoto don't take another step!"
"I don't think he'll actually go and do it!" he said.
"Do what, Chris?"
"Try to sneak in the Lion's cage."
"Lion Cage? What are you talking about?" John had to
sit. He thought he was going to really hyperventilate this time.
"Why would he sneak into the Lion's cage?"
"Chris dared him to, that's why." Jennifer stated.
"Big mouth!" Chris shoved Jennifer
"Am not," Jennifer yelled, as she shoved her brother
back. "You’re gonna be in big trouble now, CHRISTOPHER!"
Chris opened his mouth to respond when Johnny cut him off short.
"Cut it out! You're both in big trouble. Come with me."
He took Jennifer’s little hand in his; made sure Chris was
close behind, and headed in the direction of the zoo’s main
office. As Johnny reached the door Chet stepped up beside him.
"Wow! That was quick!" Johnny remarked "What did
you do, beam yourself here?"
"Well, Gage, if you want I can go home again," replied
Chet, taking a step backwards. "It's not like I don't have
anything better to do!" He looked at the two sorrowful
looking DeSoto children. "I take it you haven't found the
kid yet."
"You're not going to believe this, Chet! Chris and Jen
think he might have went into the lion exhibit!"
"What?" Chet exclaimed. "Wait a minute...this is
not a bright kid we're talking about, right? Well, being the
offspring of one of your dates, guess that's a given."
"Chet this is no time for jokes! Let’s go see if that
guy can help us!" John said, pointing at a small man
carrying two buckets of water. The firefighters ran over to the
man who was now pouring one of the buckets into a water trough.
"Sir! Could you help us please!" Johnny asked. The man
stopped pouring and turned slowly, to look at him. Johnny began
frantically re-telling the story of his lost "charge"
to the employee. When he had finished, he asked again, "So
can you help us?" The man stared at them, wearing a look of
confusion.
"I no speak Englis, senior!" He declared in
frustration, throwing his arms in the air. He then turned back to
his work, shaking his head and muttering in Spanish.
"Good one, Gage!" Chet grinned. "Guess you should
have called Marco instead, huh?"
"Oh, this is great! This is terrific! What am I gonna do?"
Johnny complained to himself, pacing around in a circle. "Why
me? Why does this stuff always happen to me?"
At that moment, Johnny felt a tug on his hand.
"Uncle Johnny!" Jennifer whined as she placed her small hand in his long, callused one. "Can't you just leave him in there? He's not a nice little boy!" Despite himself, Johnny smiled at the little girl.
"I wish I could, honey." Chris snorted at that comment.
"I don’t think you have anything to worry about Uncle Johnny." Chris commented.
"Oh really, why not?" Johnny asked.
"The lions probably won’t eat him. They might not
even go near him. He probably tastes really bad," Chris
explained. Despite himself, he snickered.
"Chris..." Johnny couldn't think of any response. He
tried to ignore Chet's snickers. "Hey, why don't you take
your sister to see the monkeys - no, not the monkeys," Chet
could no longer restrain his laughter and it burst forth from him
like an explosion.
"I want to see the snakes!" Chris demanded. Johnny
flinched when Jennifer stomped her foot, just missing the side of
his foot, and began complaining.
"I’m not gonna go see slimy, squishy, squirmy snakes!"
"I want to see the snakes!" Chris stepped up to his sister, towering over her, and looked down into her eyes. "I like snakes, ‘cause they can EAT you!"
"Uncle Johnny, I don’t want the snakes to eat me!" Jennifer screamed, grabbing his pant leg, hiding behind him. Chris taunting her in her ear, she ran around Johnny’s legs to get away from her brother. Johnny thought her shrill screams would break his eardrums. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back. Chet was practically rolling on the ground. Johnny looked at his fellow firefighter in disgust.
"Make yourself useful!" He snapped. "Take these two to see - whatever! I've got to find that kid!" Chet was too busy laughing to think up a snappy comeback. The look on Johnny’s face had been priceless. Chet, taking a deep breath, took both children by the hand and led them off in the opposite direction. Johnny could still hear him laughing, as he led the two children off to another part of the zoo.
~*~
Meanwhile, back at the DeSoto house, Roy and Joanne cuddled
playfully under the sheets.
"I can't believe we're doing this in the middle of the day!"
Joanne giggled.
"Well, why not? We're married and how many times do we
get a day without the kids?"
"I know but it still seems.... sinful or something"
"Are you trying to tell me you feel like a bad girl?"
Roy wiggled his eyebrows at his wife as he wrapped his arms
around her and pulled her closer. "Afternoon delight."
He whispered into her ear making her giggle.
"What if something happens?"
"What could happen? You’re worrying about nothing.
Relax and enjoy."
"I guess your right."
"They’ll be fine. Now where was I?" Roy began to
nibble her neck, working his way down to her shoulders.
"Why, Mr. DeSoto, I do believe you’re trying to seduce
me. You animal, you."
"Why Mrs. DeSoto, you are absolutely right. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!"
Roy growled as he disappeared underneath the comforter.
"Honey," Joanne spoke, pulling on his arms. His
unhappy face appeared before hers. "There's something wrong,
I know it."
"I'll tell you what's wrong, you not thinking about me, that's
what's wrong!" He kissed her deeply. He leaned back and
looked into her hazel-colored eyes.
"Will you relax," he told her, exasperated. "What
could happen, the kids are with Johnny." Her mouth dropped
open.
"That's right!" She pushed Roy off of her, whipped the
sheets and comforter back, and hurriedly got dressed.
~*~
Johnny slowly approached the lion exhibit with caution. He
remembered vividly the last time he encountered a lion, and it
was a close one. He didn't want to experience that anytime soon.
He watched the lions and noticed that they were all lounging
under a large tree in the center of the exhibit. He began a slow
methodical search of the exhibit, trying to see into every nook
and cranny, willing his eyes to see into the dark recesses of the
rocks, forcing his eyes to focus. If Damian were in here, he'd
find him.
He saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head,
he saw that the big male had stood up quickly, and had dropped
his large head low to the ground. Johnny slowly followed the line
of vision to a small outcrop of rock that he hadn't seen before.
The lion took several hesitant steps forward. The females and
cubs had stood and were watching the same spot as the male. As
Johnny watched, he saw movement under the rock. Oh my god, the
little squirt did it. "Damian! DON'T MOVE!" He
commanded. "I'll get help!"
"Johnny," the child screamed.
"WHAT EVER YOU DO, DO NOT MOVE! STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!"
"Okay," came the weak response. Johnny looked first to
his left, then to his right. He didn't see any employees anywhere.
Johnny looked at the razor wire and the pit that separated the
exhibit from the public. There's got to be a different way in
there! As he started towards the back of the exhibit, he
noticed a gate open behind the lions.
The male lion turned it's head and sniffed. It let out a low
growl, and headed to the opening. The other lions followed. John
sighed in relief as the door closed behind the last cub. A zoo
employee emerged from a side door.
"Hey, kid," the keeper asked, "how did you get
here?"
"I...I crawled through the hole in the fence." Damien
pointed to an opening.
"Let's get you out of here," said the attractive young
woman. Your parents must be frantic!"
"My parents don't care," replied Damien. "MY mom
left me with her stupid boyfriend. He's a real dork." He
looked at the keeper. "What's your name? You seem like a
nice lady." He smiled innocently.
"I'm Sylvia." She took Damien's hand. "Let's go
see if we can find him."
John breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Damien walking towards him. Not only did he appear to be safe; he was in the company of one very good looking young lady. Johnny was getting ready to turn on that old Gage charm when he heard Damien’s voice accusing him of something that never happened.
"That's him, that's my mom's mean boyfriend. He probably going to beat me again, please don't make me go with him." John tried to flash his best smile at Sylvia as he extended his hand to her.
"Hi, I'm John Gage," he began. She ignored his hand of greeting, placing a protective arm around Damien's shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
"Don't you worry, honey, I'll take care of him," she glared at the handsome paramedic, "How could you?"
"How could I what?" Johnny asked, confused by her tone.
"Lay a hand on this child, or leave him unattended? He could have been hurt, kidnapped, or worse, eaten by a pride of lions. What was so important that you left him wandering alone?"
"I didn’t touch him! You told her that I touched you?" Damien grinned. She railed on him again.
"Don't you know that young children need close supervision? You have no right to lay a finger on him. What’s wrong with you?" He couldn’t believe his ears. She was accusing him of something that had never happened.
"You want to know what’s wrong with me? I’ve just spent the afternoon with Satan himself."
"That’s rude. You have no right to say that of this little child."
"Yeah well, spend the afternoon with him and you’ll
see exactly what I mean."
"Well, I won't permit you to take him."
"You won't permit me to take him?" Johnny’s
voice hopped up an octave, "Lady, do me a favor, will you,
and keep him. What makes you think I wanted him to begin with?"
Sylvia took a deep breath and turned towards the main office.
Johnny put both fists on his hips and watched her tote ‘Satan’s
child’ away. "Good riddance," he said under his
breath. Sylvia stopped and turned back towards the paramedic.
"I’m contacting the family welfare department,"
she informed him. Damien smiled wickedly back at Johnny, and then
Sylvia turned him back in the direction of the main office.
Johnny wanted to slap that smirk off of the child’s’
face but knew it wouldn’t do any good. The evil is inside
and there was no changing that. He heard his name called and
turned towards the voice.