Disclaimer:
  I don't own JQ:TRA or any associated affiliates.  HB does.  Don't send
money or donations to me; Send it to them.  They made the show.  They
deserve it.
  Characters that I have created possess no similarity to those in
reality and/or fiction.  If there is, it's purely co-incidental.  The
two characters of my creation, Captain Robert Jameyson and Larry Jones,
I release to the public-domain.  Everyone is free to use my characters
as they so wish.  Notification of their use would be nice, but not
necessary.

Synopsis:
  The sequel to "The Ultimate Alternate Ghost Quest".

Categories:
  JJHR ACT/ADV ALT

Censor:
  PG13, just to be safe.
 
 

ADRIFT
by The KodeMaster
 

Jessie awoke on the Questor II.  Although on a supposedly one-day trip,
both she and Jonny had switched on the autopilot yesterday, and cut
their speed down to fraction of what it had been.  That was where she
found herself now, sleeping on the Questor II.

Life, in itself, seemed like it couldn't get any better for her.  From
one moment to the next, she felt like her outlook kept advancing in
leaps and bounds.  Just ten hours prior, she had came to realize that in
all the years she had known Jonny Quest, she had feelings for him, but
had been hiding then.  Deep feelings.

Throughout the ensuing developments, however, Jessie now realized that
neither of them had voiced these feelings, but had only let their
actions speak for themselves.  She wanted to do this; To tell him how
she felt.

Now.

Having bought no change of clothes with them, Jessie had gone to bed
last night in her trademark pink jumpsuit.  Likewise, Jonny had slept in
his black-TShirt and jeans.  For this reason, that meant all she had to
do now was get out of bed and straighten her hair before going into
Jonny.  This she did, and less than a minute later, she left her room.

As she entered Jonny's room on the boat to wake him, a smell caught
itself in her senses, and a smile formed on her face.  The smell was his
cologne.  Amazing, considering she was only at the door.  Jessie moved
over to him, and sat down on the bedside.

Gently shaking him, he woke, and still groggy, he looked up to see her
face gazing at him.  A smile tugged her lips as she traced a hand over
his face, straightening his unruly hair.  Their eyes met, and it seemed
like communication took place between them without words.

Unable to put up with the tension any longer, Jessie leant down to him
and pushed her lips onto his.  Jonny was surprised by this unexpected
action of hers.  That reaction of his did not last long, however, as he
wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her down to him.

In response, Jessie wrapped her arms around his black T-Shirt, taking
the feel of him in with abandon.  She swore she could get used to this.

Jonny broke the embrace.  "Hey Jess?" he whispered in her ear.  It now
looked more they merely hugging, except laying down.

"Hmmm?" came her contented response.

"This may seem coming on a bit strong, but..."

"Yeah?"

Jonny bit his lip.  "If we were old enough, would you marry me?"

Jessie took this in for a bit before replying.  "Yeah," she said,
nodding her head against his shoulder, "I would."

For probably the first time in his life, Jonny wished he were 21.
"Guess we'll have to wait till then." he sighed, tightening his hold on
her.

"Yeah, guess so." she agreed, doing the same to him.

And they stayed in that position for many hours to come.

* * *

Roger 'Race' Bannon was worried.  He was at the docks, waiting for the
Questor II to arrive.  It should have sailed into the harbor yesterday,
yet it still hadn't come.  His worry grew greater when he thought of
what many things could have delayed them.  Kidnapping, murder, just to
name a few.  There were many enemies out there who would not hesitate to
use such an opportunity to their advantage.

He found the nearest pay-phone, entered some coinage, and dialed the
Doc's number, his hand slightly shaking.  He placed the receiver to his
ear.

* * *

At the Quest Compound in Maine, the phone rang.  Dr Benton Quest, in the
lighthouse, answered it on the extension.  He listened for a moment to
what the voice on the other end had to say.

"So, Race, you say the kids have not arrived yet." Benton finally
responded.

"Yes, Doc, they haven't. Could you locate them?" came a Texan voice over
line.

"Just a moment," said Dr Quest, and he spun around and moved away from
the wall to the console, and started typing in, tilting his head to the
side to keep the phone next to his ear.  Seconds later, the position and
speed of the Questor II displayed themselves on the screen.  Now holding
the phone in the usual manner, he informed the person on the other end,
"They're still out at sea, but they are moving forward, albeit at a
slower than expected pace."

"Can you give me their physical location?"

"Sure," said Dr Quest, and he rolled them off.

"That's great, Doc. I'll get the US Coast Guard to pick them up."

"Was there anything else?"

"No."

"Well, if that's all, Race..."

"Yep, that's all. See you tomorrow, Doc." and the line hanged up.

* * *

At Nova Scotia, the figure at the pay-phone stood there inside it,
cursing the world profusely.  Busy!  Why should the blasted thing be
busy all the time?!  He had re-dialed constantly over the last half-
hour, but it was always busy.

Race thought to himself.  The Doc was not known to talk for long times
on the phone. That could only mean something had happened to him.

Race did not like this conclusion in the slightest.

He exited the pay-phone, found his car and got into it, and drove to the
airport, where the Dragonfly was.  As he started the engines and cleared
himself for take-off, he silently hoped the kids had enough know-how to
get back home safely, should they arrive at the docks.

Right now, Race had more pressing things to worry about.  He recalled
the details of the O-37 case, connected that to what had been happening,
and cursed to himself.  Damn that government and their petty
bureaucrats.  If that's the way they wanted to play dice, then so be it.
He could match them at their own game, and more.

Once he was in the air and over the sea, he flipped his radar to search
for ground-targets.  God, he hoped he could get to them in time.  If the
government got to them first, he didn't know what he'd do.

*Nobody touches my little Ponchita, and gets away with it.* he thought
to himself, darkly, flying through the air.  *Nobody.*

* * *

Midday, Noon, call it whatever you like, but that was the time it was
aboard the Questor II.

But time aboard this ship had recently lost its significance.

Jonny Quest and Jessie Bannon had no idea of when they would reach Nova
Scotia, if at all.  In the last few hours, Jonny had jokingly brought up
the idea that maybe they should never try to reach it.  It was asked
innocently enough, but Jessie, to his surprise, had actually taken that
notion seriously.

Always the mischievous one, Jonny had taken that one step further and
created a list of places where they could dock the ship at without being
caught.  That was when Jessie knew he *had* to be joking.  No way in the
world could they go anywhere without their parents knowing.  Besides,
she had pointed out, provided they keep their feelings to themselves,
not showing it front of their parents, it's still likely they could go
on as they are now, more than friends.

Still, the point of going to Nova Scotia was now next-to-useless.
Realizing this, they had turned around and were now making waves towards
the Compound.

* * *

Race flew the Dragonfly far out to sea and he still had gotten no
signal.  In desperation, he dropped a sonu-bouy into the sea.  A moment
later, he acquired two signals.  One was what he was expecting, but the
other was not.  He cursed to himself when he saw the shapes of the
objects the radar had acquired.  He flipped on the radio and also the
encoder/decoder that only six people in the world had.

He picked up the connecting mike, brought it to his mouth, and started
speaking into it, "Kids, I don't know if you can hear me or not, but..."

* * *

Jonny was at the helm of the Questor II, steering it south-east towards
the coast of Maine.  Jessie had last checked the radar about ten minutes
ago, and was now hugging herself to his side like she had yesterday.

A voice crackled over the radio in the Questor.  "...don't know... hear
me... something... way, Over."

Jonny picked up the mouthpiece and spoke into it frantically, "Race, Is
that you? Over."

Before the radio finally dissolved into a constant hiss of static, the
response over the radio was, "...-ine..."

"Huh?" Jonny said, looking at Jessie to see if she had an explanation.

After a moment of careful thought, she replied, "I think my Dad said
something's heading our way."  She paused.  "I'll go check the radar."
and she went back to the cabin.

A moment later, her reply came, "Radar shows nothing."

"SONAR?" Jonny called out.

A pregnant pause followed before Jessie's uneasy voice drifted towards
him saying, "Jonny?"

"Yeah?"

"There's a sub below us."

* * *

General Vostok stood at the conn of the submarine's control center.  The
SONAR operator announced, "Surface Contact, fifteen nautical miles at
ten o'clock, heading SSW at ten knots, probably a yacht."

*Just as the informant said.* thought Vostok.  He commanded, "Helm, plot
an intercept course and take us to periscope depth."

"Da, Comrade Captain." came the response.  The sub turned around and
tilted on its axis, then headed up until it was under one hundred feet
below the surface.  Finally, it leveled out.

Vostok went to the periscope as it raised itself out of the floor.  He
looked into the eyepiece and observed the sight of the Questor II
sailing towards the American coast.  Vostok smiled, and ordered, "Get a
firing solution on that ship and ready tubes one and two for launch."

The XO raised his eyebrows.  "Uhh, Comrade Captain? That's an unarmed
commercial vessel!"

"Yes, but that ship is only ever sailed by the Quests.  Let's just say I
have a score or two to settle with them," Vostok informed the Executive
Officer, and followed it with a glare.  The XO took that as advice not
to question his orders again.

One of the junior officers announced, "Comrade Captain, the torpedo room
reports that tubes one and two are sealed, pressurized, and ready to
launch when so ordered."

Vostok gave the order.  "Open the outer tube doors, launch tubes one and
two, then close them."

* * *

"Torpedoes in the water!" came Jessie's hurried voice from the cabin.

"Counter-measures!" Jonny shouted at the wheel.

"They're launched!" she yelled back, after a moment.

Jonny swept the wheel around to his right and increased the speed to
full.  *Now, we wait.*

* * *

Beneath the sea, two torpedoes lanced out from the submarine like it was
giving birth.  After they had cleared a critical radius from their
origin, their active SONAR targeting system came online, and sent out a
series of pings.  They acquired their target, and accelerated towards
it.

Suddenly, frothing bubbles filled the water in front of them, right in
their path.  The countermeasures.

The two torpedoes went straight through it, undeterred.

* * *

Race decreased his altitude, and looked out the window to see the
Questor II make a sudden turn to its right.  When a patch of froffy-
water appeared behind it, he knew they had used the countermeasures.

He also knew that they would only launch the counter-measures when fired
upon.  Race cursed under his breath.  In the Dragonfly, he could do
nothing to stop the Questor II from being destroyed.

* * *

"The counter-measures failed!" Jessie yelled from the cabin.

"Abandon ship!" Jonny shouted, and he waited for her to join him.

When she reached his side, her hand found his and both saw their own
level fear reflected on the other's face.  Ignoring this for the moment,
they raced towards the edge of the boat, as one.  They jumped over the
side and started swimming away from the Questor II.

Just as they were clear of it, the Questor II exploded as the two
torpedoes hit it, one after the other.  It split itself in two down the
middle, and sunk below the waves.

Where Jonny and Jessie would go now, they had no idea.

* * *

"Target destroyed." the SONAR operator announced.

Vostok watched the fireworks ahead of them through the periscope, and
smiled.  "Lower periscope and proceed to normal depth.  Maintain
previous course."

"Da, Comrade Captain." the officer at the helm replied.

The XO asked Vostok, "What next, Comrade Captain?"

"Now, we celebrate, Comrades; We scored a major victory today against
the capitalists."

* * *

Race watched the Questor II go up in flames.  He was too far away to see
the two figures safely jump off.  He reached for the satellite phone,
and silently hoped the Doctor was not in.

As he began dialing, the Dragonfly flew over the remains of the boat.
He thought he noticed something moving around in the waves... something
treading water... could it be?

"Kids!" Race exclaimed, and turned off the mobile phone in rush, just as
a "Hello?" came down the line.  The call was terminated before anything
else was said.

Race flew up and around, and came heading back in towards the two
figures on the waves.  He nose-dived towards them, and released a
package into the water as he came out of the dive.

He hoped it would be enough.

* * *

Doctor Benton Quest was at the computer console in the Lighthouse,
typing in some extra code which should prevent an attack by Surd, when
he heard the phone ring.  "I'm coming, I'm coming!" he told it, as he
finished the line of code he had been typing.

Benton went to the phone, picked it up, and placed it to his ear.  He
heard Race shout, "Kids!".

Wincing as the shout threatened to make him deaf, Benton said, "Hello?"
The dull continuous tone of the phone line was the answer that answered
him.

Benton took the phone away from his ear and stared at it, giving it a
weird look, like it had committed some gross sin.  He reprimanded it
with the words, "Shame on you!" and, waving his finger at it, "You
naughty little thing!" then placed it back on the hook.

The doctor when back to his Questworld programming.  Less than a minute
later, the phone rang.  Again.  "What the hell!?" he asked to the
ceiling.

Grumbling, "I swear, that thing's running hot even when it's OFF the
hook," Benton picked up the phone.  "Yes, what is it?" he demanded into
it, testily.

"That you, Doc?" a hesitant Race asked.

"Last time I checked." Benton replied, then perhaps not so angrily,
"What's the news with the kids?"

"Someone blew up the Questor II."

"What?!?" he yelled into the phone.

Several hundred miles away, Race took the phone from his right and
placed it up against his left, and quipped, "Say that again, Doc?  I've
still got some hearing in my other ear."

In the Lighthouse, Benton released a sigh.  "Sorry, Race, it just seems
that everyone in the entire country wants to talk to me today.  You're
the fifteenth in the last hour."

"Fifteenth?" Race wondered incredulously.

"Yes, fifteenth.  After you rang earlier, even the Presi--"

In the Dragonfly, Race seemed to almost leap out of his seat.  He cut
Doctor off. "Say that again."

"What? The bit about fifteen people?"

"No, after that." he ordered.

"You rang earlier?"

"Yes, that's it." Race said, and leant back into his seat.  Then, in a
calm and controlled voice, he told him, "I never got through before,
Doc, you were always busy."

Benton was startled.  "Then who was it? The one who called?"

Race was silent for a moment.  "I don't know, Doc, but I think we're
gonna find out."

"Where are you?" asked Benton.

"I'm flying over Atlantic towards the coast.  I dropped off a survival
package near the kids.  We'll have to launch a search for them
immediately."

And as Race hanged up the phone, he mused, *perhaps I was wrong about it
being the O-37 case, after all...*

* * *

Jonny and Jessie swam over to the package the Dragonfly had dropped.
Still treading water, Jonny read off the contents.  "Self-inflatable
raft with cover, Fresh water, food...  Jess!  We've got enough here to
last here 'til we reach the coast or get picked up!"

Beginning to become tired, Jessie told him, "That's great, Jonny, but
I'm getting exhausted with treading the water all the time."

Jonny nodded, and turned back to the crate and ripped open the side.
The raft came out, and it inflated by itself.  Being the kind invented
by the great Dr Quest himself, it could do that kind of thing.  It was
yellow and shaped like a hollow cone with its base laying on the water.
Jonny hauled himself through the flap, and pulled Jessie in with him.
She rested inside while he fetched the food and water.

Behind him, he heard Jessie say, "I feel so tired I could stay asleep
for a week!"

Jonny pulled in the last of the food, and turned to face her.  "Good
idea, Jess.  We can afford to sleep now, but not when our resources get
down."  'because we might fall asleep in death,' he did not have to add.

Jessie shivered.  "I wish that crate had a towel.  I'm freezing!"

An idea formed in his head as a solution to this dilemma.  No matter
what happens, he'd make sure she wouldn't get hypothermia before they
reached safety.  "Jessie, don't read anything into this, but I could
give you my TShirt as a towel."

Genuinely smiling at him, she shook her head.  "That won't be necessary,
Jonny.  My clothes will dry eventually."

Jonny looked at her for a moment to make sure she was serious.  She
was.  "Okay, Jess." he said, and laid himself out on the raft by her
side.

Jessie thought for a moment.  She knew Jonny would actually fare much
worse than her because he was wearing jeans, which seemingly soaked up
water like a sponge.  "Jonny?" she asked him.

He rotated his head to face her.  "Yeah?"

In a small and quiet voice, she told him shyly, "Y'know, our clothes
would dry quicker if we shared our body-heat."

Jonny propped himself up and raised an eyebrow.  "Really?"

Jessie stared at him seriously.  "Yes, really."

Grinning lop-sidedly as something began to occur to him, Jonny asked,
"How would we do that, Jess?"

"Oh, I don't know... hugging, perhaps?" she suggested.

"Sure sounds good enough to me," he said, and did just that.

* * *

Race landed the Dragonfly on the Compound's private runway at roughly
quarter past two.  He went over to the lighthouse, and strode into the
room briskly.  "Doc, are you ready to leave in the chopper?"

The Doctor was in the middle of room.  "Yes, but the chopper needs some
modifications to fly the longer distance."

Race winced stiffly.  "How long will it take?"

"Two hours, minimum."

"Maximum?"

"At a maximum, I estimate about five."

Race looked at his wrist-watch.  "Better hurry it up, Doc; We can't go
looking for them at night.  That would be eight o'clock at least when we
get out there!"

"The Coast Guard can work that late." Benton pointed out practically.

"Yeah, but they usually don't have to find an heavily-insulated raft."
Another feature of the raft Dr Quest invented was that it didn't show up
on an infra-red camera, the insulation was that advanced.  The rafts
themselves were designed to be undetectable, and recommended to be only
used when in an enemy area.  Race continued, "The only way to spot that
raft is by sight."

"If worse come to worse, Race, there's always early tomorrow morning."

Race was doubtful.  "Yeah, right Doc.  That's if the kid's don't get
caught between now and then."

* * *

"Four o'clock, and they still aren't here!  Surely we're not *that* far
out to sea!" Jonny complained.  He was kneeling at the flap, holding it
open with his right arm.  He moved away from staring at the horizon and
looked back at Jess.

Jessie was sitting opposite him, her legs out in front of her on raft's
'floor', and resting her back against the side.  She met his gaze and
said, "Y'know, Jonny, I don't mind if they're late."

"Why?" he queried.

Jessie smiled suggestively.  "I like being here with you all by our
lonesome."

"Jessie!!" Jonny exclaimed, staring at her sternly.

"Well, it's true." Jessie defended herself, "I don't mind being with
you.  Why else would I keep hanging out with you back home at the
Compound, and everywhere else?"

Jonny nodded meekly.  "Good point."

"Yes, I thought so too." said Jess, and patted the spot beside her.
"Come sit by me, Jonny."

Jonny did so, and she smiled to herself.  Jessie loved the control she
had over him.  She knew he'd always obey her, to the letter.  That is,
to a point, of course.  Jonny, already sitting by her, put an an arm
around her shoulders, and she rested her head on his shoulder.  Jessie
decided that now was the time say something to him.  "Jonny?" she asked.

"Yeah, Jess?" came his response.

"I went to your room this morning to tell you something, but I never got
around to doing it."

"And?"

"And, I was going to tell you that I love you, Jonny."

Jonny's heart beat faster at this revelation.  Without conscious
thought, he tightened his hold on her, and replied, "So do I, Jess."

Jessie wrapped her arms around him by the chest and she released a
sigh.  Finally, after all this time, they were committed to each other.
With this thought still traveling within her mind, she closed her eyes
and fell asleep against his side, not releasing her hold in the
slightest.

Jonny looked down at a his sleeping angel, and moved a lock of red hair
that fallen across her face back behind her ear with his free hand.
Jessie mumbled a soft murmur of thanks.  Jonny smiled.  Nothing could
possibly be better than this.  He stopped that thought abruptly.  No,
there was something better than this, but that would have to wait until
he was 21.  He already knew what her response would be at that time, for
she had told him that very morning.  Finally, leaning his head on hers,
Jonny joined his friend in sleep.

* * *

At that time, not all that far away, was the USS Maine, an Ohio class
submarine.  It crawled through the water almost silently, its screws
turning at a slow but steady pace.  Captain Robert Jameyson was in
command of the vessel.  In the short time he had commanded the sub's
crew, his light-hearted but serious attitude had rubbed off on everyone
who came in contact with him.  Except, that is, for the contacts in the
water.

"Hey, Larry-kin!" he called out, "What's the skinny on that contact of
yours?"

Larry 'Larakin' Jones was the SONAR operator for the shift.  "He's
headed back out to international waters!"

"And I was so much looking forward to a fight." the Captain sighed
remorsefully.

"Guess we can't get all the fun." the SONARman replied.

The Captain clicked his fingers. "Darn."

Everyone on the bridge laughed.

* * *

Six o'clock.  Benton and Race were fitting a large fuel-tank to the
Quest copter when a car rolled up.  A door slammed, and Hadji walked
into the hanger.  "Dr Quest, Race, what seems to be the problem?" he
inquired.

Race looked up from welding some piping.  "We're fitting a larger fuel-
tank to the Copter.  Jonny and Jessie are stranded at sea; We need to do
this so we can fly out and save them."

"I see." Hadji observed, "Is there any place I could assist?"

Benton stood up, and stretched his back.  "Yes, Hadji, there is.  A nice
warm cup of coffee would do the trick."

Hadji chuckled, and turned to leave.  "Very well, then... Two cups of
liquid caffeine coming right up."

Race was still welding when Hadji had left the room.  He commented,
"That boy sure knows how to put it bluntly, eh Doc?"

"Race, that couldn't possibly be more true."

* * *

Quarter past Nine.  Night-time aboard the Questor II.  Something had
woken Jonny up.  When he opened his eyes and noticed a light flashing
across the surface of the raft.  It was lighting up the entire surface.
Also, he thought he heard a dull and repetitive thwap-thwap of a
helicopter.  He went to open the flap and investigate, but soon
discovered that someone was preventing him from doing so.

Jessie.  She was leaning upon him.  Jonny eased away slowly, trying to
move from beneath her weight without waking her up.  Jessie began to
stir when she felt his presence leave.  "Jonny?" she murmured sleepily.

"Jess, I think our fathers are here." he informed her.

"Huh, What?" she voiced, her body waiting for her mind to catch up with
their surroundings.  Suddenly, as if awareness of his last statement
came to her, she exclaimed, "Yikes!" and leapt off of him.  "If Dad saw
anything," she began.

Jonny sat up.  "Don't worry, Jess, he hasn't.  We're not at the Compound
remember?  We're stuck out at sea."

"Whew." she exhaled in relief.  Jonny sat up.  Hearing the sounds coming
from outside, Jessie commented, "I wonder if that's them."

Jonny moved toward the flap which hid the opening.  "Probably." he
agreed, and opened it.  Jonny stuck his head out and looked up into the
night sky.  A helicopter hovered above the ocean, its spotlight
searching among the water.  Suddenly, the light locked onto the yellow
raft.

A voice boomed out across the water, "JONNY, JESSIE, IS THAT YOU?"

"DAD!" Jonny shouted out, but the wind from the rotor blades strangled
his skywards cry.  He turned back inside to Jessie.  "Jess! They're
here!"

Jessie came up beside him.  "Who are?"

"Our parents!  Dad, Race!"

Doubtful, she questioned, "Really?"

"Yep, see for yourself." Jonny said, and pulled to the side so she could
see.  Jessie looked up to see the Quest Copter.  The rotor blades were
creating an intense wind which blew into her face.

"Wow," she uttered at the sight.  She squinted, trying to make something
out.  Jessie pulled back in, and looked towards Jonny.  "Hadji's with
them!  And he's coming down in a harness to get us."

"Cool!" Jonny said, and they did a high-five.  "We're going home.  Going
home," he repeated over and over, still in slight disbelief.

"Yeah, I wonder what Dr Quest would say," Jessie asked no-one in
particular.

At that moment, Hadji appeared outside the entrance.  "What would who
say?" he questioned.  He was attached to long vertical line that hung
from the side of the Copter.

"Well," Jonny offered Jessie with a wave of his hand and a short bow,
"Ladies first."

"Yes, M'lord." she retorted.  This joke was lost on Hadji, who had a
thoroughly confused expression on his face.  Jessie climbed into the
harness, and herself and Hadji were hauled up to the Copter.  A minute
later, Hadji returned, and Jonny did the same.

On the Copter, Jonny asked his father, who had manned the controls for
the line, "What about the raft, Dad?  That's one piece of specialized
equipment you got there."

"I know, Son.  Hadji's going to go down, deflate it, and bring it back
up for us."

Hadji nodded, and set upon doing this.  While he was doing this, Race,
who was piloting the Copter, made conversation with Jonny and Jessie.
"Have a nice trip?"

"Yeah, Dad.  We had a *great* trip." Jessie replied, directing the last
bit more towards Jonny than her father.  Jonny grinned.

"Meet anyone?" Race then asked, missing the silent exchange.

"Well," Jonny began, truthfully, "We did come across this haunted isle,
but everyone on it was dead."

Race raised his eyebrows.  "Oh?  Anything else?"

Jessie paused for a moment.  "Um... No, don't think so.  Right, Jonny?"
She elbowed him.

Jonny met her gaze.  "Uh... Right, Jess.  Nothing else happened."

"Right," she stated.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Ooh-kay." Race worded carefully.  The two teens could tell he wasn't
convinced.  At that instant, Hadji came up with the deflated raft.
Benton shut the door behind him.

Hadji forcefully inhaled and exhaled, his voice coming in ragged gasps.
"Well, - I think - I am - as they say, - pooped!"

Jonny laughed, and slapped his adopted brother on the back.  "Hadj, you
don't know the half of it!"

Race, from the pilot's seat, announced, "Buckle ya-selfs in, folks.  A
storm's coming up, and it's gonna be more bumpy than a car with Jonny
driving."

"Race!!" Jonny exclaimed, a pained expression on his face.  "I'm not
*that* bad!"

The Texan chuckled.  "Sorry, kiddo; Couldn't resist it."

Jonny released a *why me* sigh, and the three teens finally went to sit
down.  Jonny sat in the middle, with Jessie to his right, and Hadji to
his left.   Just as he was about to buckle himself in, his father
commanded, "Hold it, young man!"

Jonny looked up to his father.  "What is it, Dad?"

"What was that about a haunted isle?" Dr Quest asked.

Jessie and Jonny exchanged a look.  He shrugged, and so she turned back
to his father and began with the question, "Well, Dr Quest, do you
believe in ghosts?"

* * *

Later that night, a clock in the mansion struck eleven.  Everyone was in
the lounge-room.  Dr Quest and Race sat opposite Jonny and Jessie, who
were sitting in a couch.  Hadji stood by the fireplace observing the
proceedings on the sidelines.

Recounting their tale, Jessie was finishing with, "...after fighting one
another, the two ghosts eventually apologised, sealed the pact, and left
our bodies.  So ends the tragic tale of Lord Jean Leger and Lady
Caroline Mornay."

Dr Quest was fingering his beard in thought, noticing how the ending had
been glossed over.  "Quite an interesting story to tell.  Do you have
any proof?"

Jonny explained, "The only 'evidence', if you could call it that, was
some digital footage that was destroyed along with the Questor II."

"So in all respects, it is like they Ghost Island of Mornay never
existed." the Doctor observed.

"Essentially, yes." Jessie replied.  "Right now, we've got nothing to go
on."

"And I would have enjoyed visting such a place.  Such a pity." Dr Quest
sighed.

"Yep, it's a shame, alright." Race put in, for the first time in the
last half hour, surprising everyone present.  He finished, "Because it's
*way* past your bedtime, you two.  Go to bed; It's been a long day."

"Couldn't have put it better myself." said Jessie, rising from the
couch.  Jonny followed suit.  They left the room, and her yawn could be
heard from down the hallway, along with the comment, "Well, I don't know
about you, but I feel like I could sleep for a week!"

Jonny's subsequent reply also drifted back, "Ditto, Jess."

Back in the lounge-room, Dr Quest said, "They're hiding something."

Hadji spoke up, "But the question is, '*What* are they hiding?'"

Race shook his head.  "No, Hadji, that's not the question.  It's more
like, 'who fired at the Questor II?'"

"That, Race," Benton added, "will have to be left to another day."  He
looked up at the clock hanging on the wall, and yawned himself.  "I
don't know about you, but I'm going to bed.  Goodnight, Race; Hadji."

"'Night, Doc."

"Goodnight, Dr Quest."

And Doctor Benton Quest left the room.

When Race just stayed there in the couch, and slowly drifted off to
sleep, Hadji decided that he also felt tired, and went to his bedroom,
mirroring the example of the other three.  Hadji soon took off his
turban, and he didn't even have enough time to get between the covers
before he too was fast asleep.
 

THE END (for now)
 
 

Email: david_hugo@yahoo.com
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