Jon skipped supper. He couldn't bare the thought of sitting at the same table that his father was sitting at. Almost all of his concentration was being spent trying to suppress memories of what he and his dad had done that evening, and he didn't want the visual reminder.
With no particular destination in mind, Jon wandered. Most people were at home with their families at that time of night, eating together, relating their days, being normal. Normal was something that Jon would never be again. His screwed up wish had seen to that. Whatever the remote that his mother possessed was, it was his ticket to a lifetime of misery.
He had even given himself an out when he had made his wish. "..when the conditions of the following wish, which will for a while change my life, I will return to my own body, the body of Jon Gibson, with this wishing stone still in my possession." The problem was, since the wish he'd made was so vague, he didn't know when the conditions would be fulfilled!
So he walked. Afraid to go home, not sure where to go. The air smelled sweet, as if often did at that time of year. The fruit trees were blossoming, which would normally be a pleasing sight, but it was lost on Jon. They only reminded him that he'd lost his own flower earlier that evening, although he hadn't had a flower before that.
Turning a corner, Jon saw that he was no longer alone on his solitary stroll. Three youths, all in black leather jackets, were approaching him. One of them was grinning, holding something in his hand.
"Oh yeah, baby, there's one now!" the youth told his friends, pointing the item he held at Jon. As the trio approached him, Jon began to make out what he was holding. It looked like the remote his mother had held.
"Oh shit!" he said, before he turned and tried to run. Not quick enough, though, as Jon suddenly felt like he'd been hit with a static charge.
"Got him?" another youth asked.
"Almost. I'm looking for his frequency. It shouldn't take long."
"And then he's ours?"
"And then he's whatever we want him to be!" the first youth replied, "Got it!"
Jon's skin tingled and he felt dizzy. Briefly his eyes rolled up into his head, leaving him blacked out. A second later, his balance regained, Jon...
