The three boys climbed into bed and turned off the lights. Ryan laid, staring at the ceiling until he heard his brothers breathing smooth out as they fell asleep. He tossed and turned for for several hours considering all that he'd done. He looked across the dark room at the blanketed forms of his brothers. When he had started this he wanted revenge on them for treating him like an outcast, for all the years he felt like he was less than them, for them making him feel alone. He'd been mad at them after the party so lashed out at them with his newly acquired power. Now he was a little embarrassed about what he'd done. They were a family after all and for years he'd prided himself on being a good person. A good person wouldn't have behaved like he had. So what was next? What did he want out of life? And how could the Chronivac help him obtain it? He rolled onto his back and felt one of his pillows slip off the bed, there was small 'clink' as it did so. Ryan reached back to find both the pillow and the 1/3rd full bottle of Jack Daniels between his mattress stack and the wall. Of course it was there. The twins were not very bright, but they were loyal to each other. There was no way Ryan's parents would ever believe that it was his if they found it there, but Aaron and Mike would never turn on each other. Ryan smiled into the darkness. If you were going to share the blame with me, you're going to share your booze with me. He slipped the bottle into his backpack and put it on before climbing down the ladder from the attic as quietly as he could. In an old house every step was a potential give away for the would-be sneaking child. One had to be light on their feet and deliberate in their steps to avoid being caught. The front door to the house was left open, to let a breeze in through the screen door (not a lot of crime in Bucktail, nor did they have anything worth stealing). Ryan slipped into his shoes and out of the house, heading to the hayloft. He climbed up into the loft and moved a few bails of hay so that he could rest his back against them as he looked out the loft door at the moon and the stars.
Ryan reached into the backpack and the first thing to meet his hand was the chronivac, he hadn't meant to bring it but it did live in his backpack. In a small house that's at maximum capacity, there are very few private spaces. Anyone looking for proof of that need look no further than the outdoor shower Ryan had to use whenever it was above 60 degrees. Ryan's backpack was really the only space he had to himself. He looked at the device, the solid casing glistened in the moon light, betraying no flaws, or access points. Ryan set it down next to him, his hand returning the pack for the bottle. He looked at it for a moment. If I hadn't puked you up things might have gone differently he considered. The only reason those other guys could handle it was they drank all the time. I just need practice, Ryan smirked as he opened the bottle. Small sips and practice, that's the key. Ryan put the bottle to his lips and let a few drops in, it burned a little but he swallowed it and kept it down. That wasn't so bad, he thought, as he went back for more...
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP, the alarm screamed out. Ryan woke up with a terrible headache, a mouth that felt like he had eaten dirt, and no memory of the night before. He turned off the alarm. He opened his eyes and looked towards his brothers beds. Aaron was sitting on the edge of his bed looking at Ryan with a mischievous smile. "Feeling good, buddy?" He asked with a giggle. Ryan desperately tried to remember what had happened last night. Aaron reached down between the beds and picked up an empty bottle of Jack Daniels. "Did I?Was that my?" Ryan was finding it really hard to find the words to make a coherent sentence. "Yeah, it looks like you had a little party for one last night," Aaron smirked, "thanks for the invite" Mike chimed in across the room. "I'm sorry guys, I'll get you another" Ryan offered, fully expecting the worse. Would they be satisfied just telling on him or would they'd beat him up first and then tell on him. "Don't worry about it," Mike said looking a little perplexed, "it was all of ours. Just, uhh, don't go off drinking by yourself." Aaron looked genuinely concerned, "Want to share why you tied one on last night?" Ryan shook his head, he thought he was confused before. What were they doing? What was their plan? "Alright well the good news is Dad and Mom are up and neither hasn't been up here, so it looks like you're in the clear so far" Mike reported, looking out the small bedroom window at their parents who were already working on various task in the yard. Ryan was really baffled now, "why are you guys being so nice to me?" He started to sit up; his blanket slid down his chest. Ryan realized he had slept naked. The twins looked at each other and then back at Ryan. Aaron reached over and with his thumbs pulled up on Ryan's eye lids a little, pretending to inspect them, "Did you do a little damage last night? Let me see, let me see" He moved Ryan's head left and then right, squeezed his shoulders twice, all while saying "humm yes I see, yes very good." Ryan was still struggling to figure out what had happened, but he started to notice changes. First his shoulders and arms looked bigger, more muscular, then as Aaron's inspection moved on he saw that he had abs like an olympic swimmer. Aaron had a mischievous grin after poking Ryan in the kidneys, in one quick motion he pulled Ryan's blanket off and launched it across the room. Ryan was sporting a semi, it looked just as big as he remembered making it. Mike and Aaron both chuckled as Ryan tried to grab Aaron's blanket and cover himself. Aaron swatted Ryan's hands away until he gave up with a defeated humph. Mike left the window and went to Ryan's dresser, and grabbed him a pair of underwear. What the fuck was happening today. As Mike walked over Ryan could see that his package bulging through his briefs was considerably bigger than Ryan remembered making it, It appeared to be back to its previous glory. Aaron stood up and Ryan made the same observation on him, "Lets get to the showers before they get suspicious" Aaron offered with a stretch. As Aaron and Mike started down the ladder, Ryan reached next to his bed and found his back pack, he opened it but could not find the chronivac. Try as he might he couldn't remember where he left it. On the bottom of the back pack there was hay. Ryan popped up and joined his brothers in heading towards the barn shower. Mike was showering, while Aaron sat waiting. Ryan used the opportunity to climb up and search the loft. He found his makeshift bench, but try as he might no chronivac. He turned around to head down only to find Aaron standing there. "Hey destroying the evidence?" he asked slowly walking over towards Ryan. Before Ryan could answer he continued, "Was this about Mike being gay?" He pointed around at the hayloft. "No" Ryan started, before he stopped not knowing how to continue, he was trying to think of a plausible lie. Aaron was standing right in front of Ryan now, he put his hands on Ryan's shoulders, "He's our brother, he needs us to be there for him, but if you say this isn't about him, I'll believe you. You're our brother too, so whenever you want to talk about what's going on we're hear for you" Ryan stared at his brother, he believed he was being genuine. Maybe it was the hangover or an honest emotional moment but Ryan hugged his brother and Aaron hugged him back. "Alright buddy, we have to get down and get cleaned up" Aaron released Ryan. They walked over to the shower just as Mike was getting out, Aaron hurried past Ryan and got the second shower. It would be cold water for Ryan. Mike finished up pushing his hair around in the little mirror that hung next to the shower, turned gave Ryan a smile and walked up to the house. Ryan walked over to the mirror to see if he looked as rough as he felt. He was puzzled at first, he moved left and then right watching the figure in the mirror follow. He moved towards the mirror and touched his face. Looking back at him from the mirror wasn't his face, it was Aaron and Mike's. It was no longer the twins and him, they were triplets now.