"Where are we?," was the question that was probably on everyone's mind as we "landed" at wherever we were. It was long past nightfall and we were in some sort of alley.
"Shall we see exactly where we are?," Dhani volunteered. Meri, James, and I nodded our heads in agreement and started walking towards the street.
As we walked out of the alley, we were bulldozed by four men running from a huge brightly, multi-colored crowd.
"Omigod!," Meri shrieked. "That stone worked! We're in the 60s and that was James' and Dhani's..." she trailed off, looking at the two.
"Our dads!," they cried in unison, taking off after the four men.
"Wait up!," I yelled grabbing Meri and running after them. The mob was quickly gaining on the four of us when the four guys ahead of us broke off into four different directions.
"We'll all meet in there later," James said pointing to a nearby park and took off after the guy who made a sharp left. I myself went after someone who darted into another alley and thanked god that I had worn my running shoes that day. Poor Meri had worn sandals.
I had no idea which one of the four I was chasing, but he clearly wasn't suited really well for running. When he noticed that only one person was chasing him, he started to slow down to a stop.
"What's your name, luv," he asked panting to catch his breath.
"Sunny," I told him noticing that it was THE John Lennon in the flesh! "Yours?," I asked him nonchalantly trying to fake not knowing who he was.
"I'm sure you know," he said. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have been chasin' me."
Well, the guy was good for one-liners.
"Good point," I said trying to figure out what to do next.
"So what do you want? A lock of hair? To marry me? And what's with the funny clothes?," he asked looking me up and down.
I looked down myself and to tell you the truth, I looked awfully out of the ordinary compared to the time.
"Well, Mr. Lennon -"
"Call me John."
"Okay. Well, John, it's a long story, and I need you to come with me so my friends can help explain. See, we're from the, um, well, future."
"The what?," he said looking at me funny.
"See what I mean. Just come on."
"And why should I?"
Another good point.
"Well, because you'll get a good story to write about in one of your books or something. Just come on!," I pleaded. "If you don't come, I'm pretty sure Dhani and James are going to be pissed."
"Okay, I'll come, but if you're one of those religious nuts, I'm out of there."
"Fair enough," I said heading back for the street. "Come on."
We started for the street and peeked around the corner. The mob had passed and left behind a trail of paper.
"I always wonder why they keep running forward when they see us run different ways," John muttered picking up a trampled picture of himself. "Here you go. You can keep it as a souvenir," he said giving it to me.
"Gee, you really mean it?," I said with sarcasm as I took the picture.
"You know, I'm starting to like your style."
I folded the picture and put it in my pocket anyway and headed for the park with John behind me. When we entered it, I saw James and a very unhappy George sitting on a park bench.
"Ah! George! Don't look so glum," John mocked. "You're just upset cause I got the girl!"
"Oh, shut up, John. If it weren't for your stupid idea to go to that bar, we wouldn't be here!," George said to John angrily.
"Who're you?," John asked James, ignoring George's remark.
"I'm James Mc--," he started, but caught himself.
"James Mick?," John questioned. "That's an awfully weird name. You didn't finish it?"
"Should we just tell them?," James asked looking at me.
"They're going to be able to tell the similarities when he gets here. Same with Dhani," I stated matter of factly.
"I'm James McCartney," he told John who smirked at the sound of the name.
"James McCartney? You're trying to tell me, you are James McCartney," he laughed. "James McCartney," he said dropping to the ground and rolling with laughter.
George kicked him, but it only made him laugh louder.
"What's all this?," a voice said behind me.
I turned around and saw Dhani and Paul with Ringo and Meri in the distance.
"Ey, Paul," John said getting up and wiping his eyes. "This guy says he's you!"
"Is that right?," he said looking at James. "He doesn't look like me at all."
"Who doesn't look like Paul?," Ringo asked finally joining the group.
"Him," George pointed at James. "Now who are all of you?"
"I'm Sunny Porter," I started. "That's my friend Meri Stuart next to Ringo."
"I'm Dhani Harrison," Dhani said which piqued George's interest.
"Harrison? Okay. Now this is weird. That other guy has similar features to Paul and this one's got similar features to me and they both have our last names."
"I think you're right, Sherlock," John muttered studying James' and Paul's faces. "Say, he does have your girlie eyebrows, Paul."
"I do not have girlie eyebrows!," they both shouted at John.
"You even sound alike."
"They look so much alike because James and Dhani are the sons of Paul and George," Meri said to the four Beatles, who looked at the four time travelers and started to laugh.
"I don't have a son," Paul said.
"Neither do I," agreed George.
"You don't now, but you do in the future," I told them. "That's why we wanted you all together. Maybe you can help us get back to where we belong. I sure don't want to be stuck here forever and I'm sure the rest of us don't either."
"How are we supposed to help you when we don't know how you got here or how to get you back?," Ringo asked simply.
"Well, how should I know?," I asked him myself.
"Well, how'd you get here?"
"Stones," Dhani said. "These stones in Scotland. Standing stones to be exact. Paul told us of a legend that they had the power to transport people who touch them back through time. We tried it and here we are."
"I never told you such a thing," Paul exclaimed. "I've never seen you before in my life."
"Well, the future you told us," Dhani continued. "So, when you guys ran us over earlier, we just chased you, hoping that catching up to you might be the shock to the system that would send us back, I guess," he finished looking at us to see if maybe that was what we were thinking as well.
Big shock! It was EXACTLY what we were thinking!
"Well, apparently, it didn't work.{'Duh!,' I thought} So what are you going to do? What is there for you to do?," Paul asked crossing his arms in curiosity.
"I guess find somewhere to stay. Do any of you have any money?," I asked looking at my friends. "I left my purse and money in the car. In 1998."
"So did I," Meri added.
Dhani and James both looked in their wallets. The Beatles looked at each other as they did it, Paul and George trying to see the similarities in each other, John and Ringo trying to see the similarities in both of them.
"Well, I used the last of my money in Liverpool last night at the restaurant we ate at," James said folding his wallet up and putting it in his back pocket.
"All I have is American money. Didn't get a chance to exchange it when I got back from Brown. Dad didn't give me any either," Dhani replied putting his wallet away as well.
"Well, you can't stay outside all night, so I suppose we should help you all out," John started. "Considering, after all, that half of you ARE family," he finished with a smirk towards George and Paul. "I can take one of them, but if I have more, Cyn's liable to flip!"
"I can take only one, too!," Ringo piped up. "But that's all I can take. You know, with the baby and all...."
"I don't know how Patti'll react, but I suppose I can take one too."
"Well, I can house all four of them if they don't want to split up. Who's going to go with whom if we do each take one?," Paul asked, the four of them bickering leaving us out in the cold.
"Do we have any say in this? I mean, after all, we do have some things to consider," I said. "Like for one, Paul probably shouldn't take James. Too weird. And Dhani shouldn't go with George because they look too much alike."
"You're right," John started, "but if I get one, I'm getting a girl!"
Meri didn't like the sound of that and the look on her face begged me to volunteer.
"I'll go with John," I eventually responded.
"I'll go with Paul," Dhani selected.
"I'll go with Ringo," James volunteered.
"I guess that leaves you and me, George," Meri {beaming from ear to ear, mind you. Figures she would go after my favorite.} said.
"Looks like they settled that, doesn't it lads? I guess we should just meet at my house tomorrow to figure this all out? We don't have studio time and there aren't any other appointments. Are we agreed?," Paul asked.
"Agreed," was the unanimous response.
"Well, here we are in the fabulous Lennon quarters," John said opening his front door. "Please, be kind and don't step on the cat."
"You have a cat?," I couldn't help but ask. "I have one too! His name is Ringo. How's that for a laugh."
"I don't know. How is it?," he smiled.
"Ha ha."
"Well, at least I got my loveable and sarcastic running star."
"How should I take that, Mr. Lennon?," I asked, faking a reporter pose with an imaginary pad and pen.
"John, please, and you should try it with sugar and milk. Quite tasty."
"Is anyone home? It's awfully quiet."
"Ah, Cyn probably left with Julian to her mother's. She likes to do that and not tell me."
"Oh," was my only response. I had forgotten that they had a rocky marriage. I suppose it was best she wasn't here, though. She'd probably kill me and then John coming in here like we did. Either that, or throw me out, and I was kind of tired after all the excitement.
"Well, madame, we can stay up and talk, or we can go to bed...," he said wiggling his eyebrows sneakily.
"I'm not going to bed with you, so I guess we can stay up and talk," I replied, rolling my eyes. "So what do you want to talk about?"
"Well, for starters, what's it like in the future?"
"What's it like? Well....," I trailed off, recalling all the events I could remember of the future, "it's definitely not like now. Things really changed all the time. Everything is excessive. There are machines to do what humans can do, so humans themselves are almost obsolete. Name brands are everywhere and even your music advertises it!"
"Does it now," he asked in horror. "Capitalist bastards."
"Now, now. Is there something in particular you'd like to know?," I asked, not at all prepared for what he was about to ask next.
"What about me? What happens in the future to me? Am I bigger than life?," he asked with a smile that soon disappeared at my silence and uneasiness.
I mean really, how do you tell someone he died? Seriously! I would like to know. So, I answered his question the best I could... "Yes, John. In the future, you are bigger than life. The future for you.... Well, I'm not going to tell you too much. Not with out the others here. All I'll say is, you'll never be forgotten."
"Oooh. I don't like the sound of that," he replied, knowing something was up.
"Anything else?"
Well, John and I went into the wee hours of the morning discussing almost everything! Politics, economics, world issues, fashion, entertainment, and technology, both past and present.
The next morning, I woke up to find myself still on the couch. I guess listening to John's soothing voice had finally knocked me out. I hope I hadn't embarrassed him. He was after all, my host. I heard someone rumbling around in the next room and got up to check it out. I found John making him self a bowl, of all things, cornflakes.
"Superstars don't like to eat a hearty breakfast? Like waffles, eggs, toast, pancakes, fruit?," I asked, knowing from reading up on the Beatles at home that cornflakes was John's favorite food.
"We do, but when we want to be normal, cornflakes does the job."
"I see. So, do when do we want to head over to Paul's and sort out this whole situation? Because to tell you the truth, I really, really want to get back home."
"That anxious to get away from me, eh? Well, we can go whenever you're ready to."
"I'm ready now."
"With that hair?"
I walked back to the living room where I had noticed a mirror and checked myself out. And good god! I had walked in on one of the biggest people in all of music with the back of my hair standing straight up! And I didn't even have a brush! I tried, pathetically mind you, to smooth it out when John, the savior he was, brought me hair brush to use.
"It's me brush, but don't get your hair all over it. Cyn's liable to throw me out if she finds out I had a girl here while she's away and I didn't tell her."
"I'll be sure to remember that, John."
I finished straightening out my hair somewhat and we left for Paul's. Let me tell you, compared to John's house, Paul's was huge! Dhani seriously must have loved it. I know I would have, considering I slept on the couch last night. When we pulled into the driveway, I noticed three expensive cars in the driveway. I guess we were the last ones. How come I'm never, ever on time? Well, we walked, or rather, John walked right through the door, opening it with out even a knock.
"Are you coming or not," he asked holding it open. "You don't have to stand there gaping at his house. George's is bigger. Practically lives in a castle."
"You mean there's a house in England bigger than this?"
"Only for the extravagant."
"I guess your not, considering yours is the size of a closet."
"Hey! No need to spend money when you don't have to. Now come inside."
We walked in and went down a hall, following the voices we heard from somewhere in the house. Finally, we reached them, walking into a humongous kitchen. Everyone was there sitting and a long table decorated for breakfast, but not a thing yet eaten. Two spaces were unoccupied, so I figured that those were for John and me. Another thing I noticed is that Dhani, Meri, and James were seated on one side of the table, and Ringo, George, and Paul were on the other.
"Should we break the obvious?," John whispered out of the side of his mouth, obviously noticing the same thing I had.
"No. Maybe there's a reason for it."
I started for my chair, but John, always the one to do the opposite swang himself into it anyway.
"You sit over there," he said pointing to the last open chair.
"Thanks a lot."
"My pleasure."
As soon as I was seated, the onslaught began. Everyone scrambled for the food on the table. Eggs going this way, bacon that way. I swear, a biscuit flew right by my head. Finally, I somehow got a substantial amount of food on my plate and the discussion began with Paul.
"You know, whenever I go to Ireland, I see stones that I think you're talking about.... So the future me sent you through time?"
"Not exactly. Let's just say my dad pushed us along. You, the future you, told us the legend and of course we had to try it for ourselves. So, here we are," James said in between bites.
"Now I wished we hadn't," Meri whined. "I have blister from chasing Ringo yesterday!"
We all laughed at her lack of trying to see the seriousness of the situation. I mean, we might never be able to get back home! I think I'd die if I never got to watch normal T.V. again. Or have any modern conveniences. Like my CD player.
"Maybe, just maybe, if we touch those stones again, we'd go back to 1998," I pondered aloud, munching on my toast. "Or, we'd go farther through the past."
"Well, maybe we won't have to touch them at all. Maybe this is a really weird dream, and we'll all wake up really soon," Meri said. "I really have no need to ever step foot on Ireland again. Besides, what if we do have to touch those stones and it sends us further back in time and we go to a place nowhere near Ireland? Then how'd we get back to touch them again?"
"That, is a really good point," Dhani agreed. "We have no idea about how big the risk we're taking is."
"Okay, so let's work around this thing just wearing off. What are we going to do until then?," James asked.
"You'll stay with us," John volunteered. "I mean, we can't have you running off causing trouble. Plus, you'd leave me and the rest of the bunch to feel guilty. You haven't got any money, right?"
"Well, yeah....," the four of us mumbled.
"Then it's settled. You'll stay with us. Right guys?"
The other three Beatles nodded their heads.
"Well, then. The four of us will clean up the breakfast stuff so you guys can do whatever it is you do," Meri said.
Once we had gotten all the dishes into the kitchen and started washing them, I started the conversation about each of our nights.
"John asked me about what happens to him in the future."
"Did you tell him that he.....," James trailed off, putting away a dish.
"No. I figured it was best if he didn't know."
"George asked the same thing about himself."
"So did Paul."
"Ditto with Ringo."
"Well, we could prevent a lot of things from happening to them, but then everyone's history would change.... Though, what would life be like with John still alive....," I said trying to get a mental picture.
"Well, in our time, he's dead, and as much as I would like him not to be, we need to not throw things off course. It's not our right to do that," Dhani said drying the last dish.
"So I die," we heard a voice whisper from behind us.
Dhani, being brilliant, was so surprised, he dropped the glass, breaking it. That was swell, because the other three came running in.
"What was that?," Ringo asked coming in first. "Uh-oh."
Uh-oh was right. Paul was probably going to kill us for breaking his dish! But that didn't matter to me. John looked awfully pale now that he knew. He had sunk to the floor, trying to grasp the new bit of knowledge. He kept whispering, "I die," over and over again.
By the time George and Paul entered the small (at least SOMETHING in that house was small) kitchen, the scene was chaotic. James and Dhani were trying to pick up the broken shards of glass and Meri was borderline hysterical. I started to feel funny all of sudden.
"Hey, guys. Do any of you all feel kind of funny?," I asked kind of keeling over like someone had socked me good in the stomach.
"No, not--," James didn't have time to finish because he sprawled onto the floor grabbing his stomach as well.
Meri and Dhani, respectively, fell contorted just like me and James. Paul and the others ran one to each of us, John included.
"Oh, come on. My cooking wasn't that bad, was it?," Paul asked worriedly, hunched over James.
"I think... we... distorted time...," Dhani gasped.
All of a sudden, James and Paul disappeared.
"Hey! What's going on?!," Ringo asked looking around.
Next thing we knew, Meri and him disappeared as well.
"Are we next?," John whispered at me.
Well, we weren't. George and Dhani went next.
"Uh, oh.... I think we're going to go now," I squeaked out.
"Where?!," John asked in a panic.
"I have no idea."