Hide & Seek

Chapter 4
On The Run

Chapter Description: It's a long flight from London to Auckland, but surely a plane is the safest place they could be...

IV

At 30,000 feet, John is wide awake.

He stares into the darkness. It’s never pitch-black on an airplane and hardly whisper-quiet, but Cathay Pacific have done their best - a hot meal followed by lights-out - to put their passengers to sleep.

Twenty-seven hours from London to Auckland, plus a two hour stop in Hong Kong. The longest flight of John’s life and he doubts he would be enjoying it even if he wasn’t on the run from his girlfriend, running for his adult life.

John and Abbie have a row to themselves on this half-empty plane. John sits up and looks at Abbie; fast asleep. She isn’t standing guard, but as she’d said before putting the complimentary headphones on her ears and curling up under a blanket, the plane was probably the safest place they could be right now.

But John feels vulnerable without Abbie looking out for him. He’s been completely dependent on her since they ran from the nursery school. Abbie at 20, four years younger than John’s real age, had been dynamic, devoted, determined. John blushes to think of how hopeless he’d been, blubbering like a real three-year-old on the Central Line underground train for five agonizing stops, Abbie trying desperately to calm him down.

Lucky, in retrospect, that the last thing a tube passenger will do is intervene in the life of a perfect stranger, even when a little boy is crying for his mother. Abbie had played the flustered Kiwi au pair faultlessly. She had soothed him, wrapped her arms around him, covering the teddy-bear on his overalls with her hand, whispering truths in his ear, and finally, miraculously, it had clicked in his head, who he was, and why he wouldn’t want to be reunited with his mummy after all.

They had exited the tube at Oxford Circus and then raced to Marks and Spencer for some privacy and new clothes. In a changing cubicle, Abbie had spoon-fed the age-regression antidote to a blushing and naked John, until he looked around seven, as old as the boy in the stolen passport. Not identical, but close enough. And John had stayed in the cubicle while Abbie found him two new outfits, underwear and pajamas.

Feeling better, feeling twice the man he’d been a few minutes ago, John, dressed in a Doctor Who hooded top and blue jeans, had taken Abbie’s hand and they had jumped back onto the Underground, aiming for Paddington station and then the Heathrow Express. No police waiting for them, no second-glances at the ticket-desk or security, and a mercifully short wait at the departure gate before their flight had taken off.

They have a plan. They will fly to Auckland, where after passport control Abbie can give John the rest of the antidote, then a taxi to Abbie’s family’s home and they can consider their next move in relative safety. But what next move could they possibly take? Even if the antidote works (getting from 7 to 24 seems like a bigger trick than from 3 to 7) is John really supposed to hide out in New Zealand, hoping Valerie or whoever she’s teamed up with don’t track them down? Or does he go on the attack, speak to the police or the media, blow the operation wide open? How far does the conspiracy go?

?Can’t sleep?’

John looks up at a flight hostess with ?Jenny’ on her lapel. ?No,’ he replies, with a shrug.

?What’s your name, sweetie?’

?Daniel,’ John says, remembering the name from his borrowed passport.

?Well Daniel,’ Jenny says with a gentle smile, ?It’s good if you can get some sleep, then you won’t be so tired when you land.’ She sounds British, on the older range for an air hostess, although John is finding that his seven-year-old eyes aren’t much judge of age. Every adult he sees looks as good as ancient.

He nods.

?You visiting family?’ Jenny asks.

John nods again and points over at Abbie. ?My auntie is from New Zealand. I’m going to stay with her.’

?You must be excited.’

John nods again, then seeing that Jenny is looking for more, says, in a grab at what a seven-year-old might be thinking, says, ?It’s...umm...it’s gonna be really hot there ?cause it’s summer even though it’s winter in England.’

?That’s right!’ the hostess whispers brightly, ?clever boy.’ She smiles. ?Hey Daniel, maybe it’s your pyjamas that’s the problem.’

In the dimmed cabin, John looks down at his pajama-top. “Five More Minutes!”, it shouts. (Five more minutes for what? He’d asked Abbie back in the shop, and then had felt stupid when she’d explained).

He blushes. ?They’re new. I guess they’re a bit silly.’ Then, increasing the colour in his cheeks, a deep growl from his stomach.

Jenny shakes her head. ?I think they’re cool. Now then, sounds like you’re hungry. Everyone else is asleep, so I’m going to bend the rules and show you where we store the food and you can choose a snack, okay?’

John looks over at Abbie. A part of him doesn’t want to leave her. Then he looks up at Jenny’s smiling face and makes his decision. He gets out of his seat and follows the hostess up the aisle and to the back of the airplane.

?For starters, drink this,’ Jenny says, passing John a plastic cup of milk. ?Good for helping big boys like you get to sleep.’

John does as he’s told while Jenny refreshes one of the carts. He’s a skinny seven-year-old, a relief to have escaped the clumsy, chubby body of his nursery-schooler self, he’s at once pleased and nervous at how mature having a drink without spilling it can make him feel.

He puts the empty cup in the rubbish bag in the cart. ?Thanks. Where are the other hostesses?’

?Brownie or flapjack?’ Jenny asks, holding out two plastic-wrapped snacks. ?Mostly they’re asleep, like the passengers, like you should be. My friend Sam is awake too, he’s looking after business class.’

?Brownie, please,’ says John, and watches as Jenny unwraps the cake and gives it to him.

?Thanks. It must be lonely.’

?What’s that?’

?Being up here and having to be nice to everyone. I mean, you’re not going on holiday, and maybe you don’t feel so...happy. But you have to smile anyway. It just seems a bit...lonely,’ he trails off, and takes a small bite of the brownie.

Jenny gives him a long look, then laughs softly. ?How old are you?’

?Seven.’

?You seem older.’ She looks up on one of the higher galley shelves. ?Normally boys your age are busy with video games. You didn’t bring any toys on board?’

?We were kinda in a hurry,’ John replies.

?Well I don’t have any games, but we give this to children who behave themselves - maybe he’ll help you sleep.’ She passes a soft toy down to John, then continues looking through the shelf. ?There’s nothing else up here really. Anyway, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m not lonely, I have my airplane friends to keep me company, and I meet all sorts of interesting people every...you like him?’

John drags his eyes away from the soft toy in his hands - a teddy-bear in Cathay Pacific pilot’s uniform - and replies, ?I...I prob..probilly shouldn’t play with that...’

?How so?’

John tries to organise his thoughts, a familiar but confusing tingle in his head threatening to take his adult reasoning on an extended holiday. ?Umm...Auntie Abbie says I shouldn’t play with teddies or else people will think I’m a baby.’ He offers the bear back to Jenny, but he’s only half-disappointed when she shakes her head.

?I think your auntie was just pulling your leg, Daniel. If you like teddy bears you should keep him.’ Jenny crouches down in front of him and smiles. ?Nothing wrong with a boy your age having a friend to cuddle.’

John nods, smiling back as Jenny returns to re-stocking the carts. There’s nothing wrong with cuddly bears. He’d worried for a moment that he’d been getting younger, but a look at his pajamas had told him he was still the same size, so nothing to worry about. He looks down at his bare feet and wishes he’d let Abbie buy him the matching slippers she’d seen in the shop. Why hadn’t he wanted those before? Then he giggles at the teddy-bear, as if it had told him the most delightful joke, his head filling with sparkles and cotton wool, and then greedily eats the rest of the brownie.

?Yummy bwownie,’ he says, clutching the bear with one chocolate-stained hand and replacing the food with his thumb in his mouth.

?Glad to hear it.’ The hostess adds the final beverages to the carts, then stretches and says, ?There, all done. You need to go to the toilet before you go back to your seat, Daniel?’

John doesn’t answer, and just giggles when Jenny tries again. He takes his thumb out of his mouth to and says, ?My name’s Johnny.’

Jenny looks him over with a puzzled expression. ?It’s not Daniel?’

Huh? There was something important... He nods, remembering, and then shouts the answer proudly ?Dannell’s my airplane name!’

Jenny puts her finger to her lips. ?Sssshhhh, sweetie, people are sleeping. You made a bit of a mess, didn’t you. Here...’ Daniel frowns as Jenny wipes his mouth with a towelette, then gazes at the pilot bear with a glazed expression.

?Your airplane name?’

Johnny nods at the pilot bear. ?Teddy’s sleepy.’

Jenny sighs. ?I suppose we’d better get him to bed, then.’

Johnny takes Jenny’s hand, something he wouldn’t have dreamed of doing just three minutes ago, and lets her lead him back to his seat.

Abbie’s light is on, her face looking creased and confused. When she sees John her expression clears. ?Hey kiddo, where’d you get to?’

Johhny snuggles against her, burrowing under the blanket with his bear. ?I got cake,’ he whispers, as if confessing a tremendous secret.

Then he puts his thumb in his mouth and sucks it as Abbie talks to his new friend. ?Thanks. Hope he wasn’t too much trouble.’

?No trouble. So is it John or Daniel?’

Johnny giggles as Abbie gives the same strange smile he’d seen her give the staff at Marks and Spencer when they came after her, asking if the teddy bear overalls left in the changing cubicle belonged to them. Of course they didn’t, they were for a much younger boy.

?Oh,’ she says, with a yawn, ?it’s Daniel. It’s...just a game for the trip.’ Abbie gives another yawn.

?See you later Daniel-or-John,’ Jenny says softly. She makes as if she’s going to pat his head, or muss his hair, but then draws back, reconsidering.

And that’s right, John thinks sleepily, he’s not a baby.

When they’re alone, Abbie seems much more awake. ?I don’t think you wandering around the aircraft is such a brilliant idea. And for the record, you’re acting like you were back at nursery school, your buddy’s going to think you’re special.’

Johnny yawns at her. ?Teddy’s goin’ ni-nights.’

Abbie stiffens beside him. ?Excuse me?’

Johnny pulls the pilot teddy out from under the blanket and pushes it at Abbie’s face. ?Ni-night kisses,’ he says solemnly.

Abbie kisses the bear, a reflex action born of two weeks working at the nursery school, then groans. ?Oh, John. You really have to stay away from those teddy-bears.’

And Johnny could drift happily off to sleep but Auntie Abbie is cross even though he’s been a good boy, and she whispers to him all sorts of strange things, and even takes away his new toy and sticks it under her seat, and it’s what seems like ages later, blushing and groaning, that John realises his mistake.

?Better?’ Abbie asks.

?Yeah. Sorry.’ He blinks back tears of frustration. ?At least I didn’t get smaller.’

?No, just sillier. Just three in your head.’

?Sorry.’

Abbie sighs. ?C’mon, I’m glad to have you back. Let’s get some sleep.’ John lets Abbie lie him down on the seats with his head resting on her lap, arranging the blanket over him, stroking his hair. ?Just gotta stay away from those bears, right mate?’

John wonders what’s ahead, how he can avoid a future slip-up, and whether Abbie will be there to rescue him for a third time if he can’t. And surely he won’t be able to sleep, the weight of the world on his small shoulders, but Abbie continues to stroke his hair, and within a minute he’s dreaming of past, present and two distinct futures; of staying hidden getting his life back, and of getting found by fuzzy brown teddy-bears with glowing eyes and whispered secrets.

To Be Continued...