The Trip - Round 1 Hellefire vs Speaker vs FireLance
The Trip
I cannot change. I must change. To live. To breathe. To grow. But I cannot change. I thought I could once. Me and Jim. Jim and Jem. It was cute. We were cute. I was cute. Once. The world was bright. And full of colors. Oh the colors. And ever-changing. And we were changing. Why did they take him? Where have they brought me? Why? Why did they dress me? And paint my lips and eyes? [r1m1p1] To show me that Jim, more than I, cannot change? Jim. You and I. Jim and Jem. We were denied our ride. And what a ride it could have been. I can still see that day. Yesterday? The day by the lake. When my world came alive and I first saw the colors. Oh the colors.
*************************************************************
"Cough, cough. Sara! You're gonna pay for that!"
"What is that? A buck fifty? And yeah I want fries with that!" Sara screamed with laughter as I grabbed her leg and pulled her under. Nobody dunks the mighty Jem! I flutter-kicked toward the shore. "Where ya goin'? Give up already?" Sara shouted after me.
"Let's go get camp ready. I could eat a bear!" A little shiver traveled through my spine. Hungry or not, I didn't want to think about bears. The locals had told us that it was entirely safe, but it IS Alaska after all. "Well, a cheeseburger anyway. Yeah, yeah, with fries."
Sara and I swam back to shore, climbed out of Ptarmigan Lake and walked to our campsite, shivering slightly. And stopped. There was a strange backpack lying next to mine. A branch snapped behind me, my breath caught in my chest and I froze. Slowly I turned around, still not breathing. My last thought before I saw him was, 'Bears don't carry backpacks!' My next thought was 'Wow!' as my breath stopped again.
He stood looking at me, a stack of branches in his arms, his head cocked to the side, and a quirky smile on his lips. His long brown hair curled, and his brown eyes twinkled as he said, simply, 'Hi!' I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.
He laughed with me until I managed to stop. As I calmed myself down to light giggles, he smiled broadly at me and said, 'So, um, come here often?' It took another five minutes before my stomach cramped from laughing and I had to stop.
I offered my hand. “Hi, I'm Jem.” He looked at me strangely, shaking my hand lightly.
"Have we met? How did you know my name's Jim?"
"Not Jim. I said Jem. As in diamonds, rubies, pearls, oh my."
Understanding hit his eyes and he started laughing again. "Nice to meet you Jem. I'm, well, Jim!"
I heard a small cough from the side. Sara! "Jim, this is, ah, Sara, my best friend," I stammered lamely. How had I forgotten my best friend?
"Nice to meet you," Sara said as she smiled thinly, then rolled her eyes and walked to her tent. She started taking her tent down.
"Hey, whatcha doin'?" I asked.
"Quilting. What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing my stuff, walking to the car, driving back into town and getting a room. These mosquitoes are killing me!"
"Sara, this was our plan!"
"Jem, this was your plan. I like most of it, but I need a shower. And a drink. Now, I'll come out in the morning and pick you up. We can have breakfast and you can tell me all about it." Sara winked at me and went back to packing. I sighed and went to help her.
Sara hugged me and headed toward our rented Honda. "Watch out for the bears," I shouted after her. She flipped me off and rounded a bend in the trail.
"So. What's a girl like you..." Jim said from behind me, leaving the question hanging.
"I've always wanted to see Alaska. So Sara and I had a week vacation and decided, what the helle. The sunlight is kinda cool. Still getting used to all this space though. The solitude is nice." I stopped, feeling like I was rambling. "And you," I asked, "what are you doing in this, ah, neck of the woods, so to speak?"
"I just got back from Talkeetna Blue Grass Festival. It's a hippy party up by Talkeetna. Go figure." Jim smiles softly. "I wanted to get away from the crowds. I prefer to be alone for the Ride. Or in a small group of good friends."
"Ride? What do you mean 'Ride?' I don't see a Tilt-a-Whirl around here anywhere," I joked.
Jim pulled something out of his pocket. "The Ride. I can't explain it unless you see it or know what it is. Do you like colors?"
"Colors? Like red, blue, green, alabaster? Those colors?"
"Well, let's start with blue. We'll go from there." Jim smiled and opened his hand to reveal a bag filled with mushrooms, blue rings around their stems.
"Are those, um," I stammered. Jim nodded.
"It will be a great night for it too. Ptarmigan Lake gets a great sunset on a day like this." Jim made a pile of the mushrooms and started dividing it. "Of course, it's your choice. I, however, am going on a little journey to the land of the other colors."
I stood for about a minute before deciding. Life is an adventure, right? I joined Jim on the ground, sitting on our backpacks. "What the helle. But be nice to me!"
Jim's eyes sparkled. "I'm always nice. And so are my little blue friends here." He passed me one of the stacks and started chewing on his, one at a time. I tried to follow his lead, but almost gagged on the first one. Oh, what an awful taste! "Yeah it takes a little getting used to," Jim offered, "let's wander over to that clearing. We'll get a better view."
We sat on the shore and started talking. We talked about our lives, our friends, our passions. I told Jim how I had lived on one farm my entire life. How I felt trapped, like I couldn’t move, couldn’t breath, couldn’t grow or live. Talking helped. I was feeling cozy and warm and kind of, glowing. I couldn't stop smiling despite the topic, and I really didn't want to stop. He told me that we have to move, to see, to live. It made sense. I was just noticing small lines in Jim's face, lines that gathered when he smiled, when he pointed toward the lake. "Now isn't that beautiful?" he asked. I looked, and had never seen such a beautiful sunset [r1m1p3].
"See how the pinks stretch from the horizon, almost as if they are reaching toward us?" Jim asked. I looked and I could see exactly what he meant! It was like a living thing, trying to touch us. "There are living beings inside there. Fire sprites and fairies and elementals. All alive!" I was so excited! I could hear the passion in his voice, could almost see the little creatures inside the sunset.
*************************************************************
"Phaedra! I'm gonna catch you!" Sandy yelled as loud as she could while full-out sprinting. Phaedra jumped out from behind the leaf where she was hiding.
"Boo!"
Sandy shrieked and fell over trying to get away. "You scared me to death!" Phaedra grinned at her friend and sat down next to her.
Sandy rolled onto her side, suddenly serious. "Phae, do you really plan to do it? To go? With him?"
Phaedra smiled with her mouth and eyes and nodded emphatically. "Absolutely. He is perfect. His ideas and imagination are amazing." She looked at her friend quizzically and asked, "Don't you believe in Flight Mates, San?"
Sandy sighed. "Flight Mates? I don't know. I know you are that age. I know you have to go. I know that the Great Trip is coming for you soon. And me. I just don't like the idea of us...drifting apart. If you'll pardon the pun."
Phaedra touched Sandy's hand. "I know what you mean. You're all I've ever known. You and this place. But it’s so hard to breath here. I can’t move. I can’t feel much. I have to change. I need it.”
Sandy smiled through a tear. “You’re all I’ve ever known too, Phae. Ever.”
Phaedra tackle-hugged her best friend. "Just always remember me. And find your Flight Mate. Pharaoh and I will look for you in the wind."
*************************************************************
Jim and I watched as the fairies danced toward the darkening horizon. It seemed to take forever, and that was fine; I didn't want it to ever end. Jim stood up and reached his hand down to help me up. "C'mon Jem, let's go for a swim."
"It's almost dark! But, that seems like fun. I wonder what the water will feel like, sliding around my body?" In my mind I could feel the liquid, running around my body and touching me everywhere. I smiled. "That is a great idea! Race you!"
I didn't realize until I was chest-deep in the lake and pausing to look back that Jim was going skinny-dipping. The more I thought about it, the better that idea seemed. I took off my bathing suit, knotted it and tied it around my wrist. The water felt, simply, delicious. I wasn't chilled in the least, and I could feel the little eddies and currents circling my body.
Jim disappeared under the water. I looked for him, but it was too dark. Splash! He popped up right behind me. Laughing, he put his arms around me and kissed my hair. I turned to look at him.
"Jim, you know the fire fairies in the sunset? I saw them, but couldn't feel them. It feels like there are water fairies swimming around me, brushing my skin everywhere."
Jim smiled and nodded. "Exactly! There are all types of elementals, in every element. Watch!" Jim ducked his head under the water, then jerked it up and flipped his hair backwards. Water sprayed out from his dripping locks. "In every drop of that water is a fairy, an elemental. Imagine them all playing there!"
*************************************************************
Wanda and Wayne flowed around each other, slowly at first, then faster and spinning in different trajectories. They giggled as they danced in unison.
Sammy dive-bombed them, shifting into a hawk as she split them apart. "You too are so wishy-washy!" Sammy scolded as she flew circles around the couple. She laughed at her own joke, breaking her attempt at seriousness. "And you really think you can enter a human?"
Wanda nodded strongly. "Definitely! I am so looking forward to assimilating a person. You've had, what, about 300 different hosts so far? But not a single human! But we will! I know we will!"
Sammy shrugged and changed into a turtle. "You know how hard it is to get into a human? Most of the time, you'll end up in the ocean, or in the ground. I only got to absorb as many animals as I did because I landed in a river." She looked down. "Of course, being such perfect Float Mates, you might be able to go more places together than I could alone."
Wanda looked intensely at Sammy. “I have to get out of her, Sam. I HAVE to. I’ve spent my whole life in this one bubble, this one fishbowl. I have to see things and learn things and touch things. I would die if I had to stay here.”
Sammy looked up and tried to smile. “I know you do. Of course you do. It is the experiences, the forms, the changes that keep us going. That make life fun.”
Wanda squished her best friend's head playfully. "Don't worry Sam. You know we all end up back here, during little breaks in the Great Trip. Time to reflect and play. We'll see you again soon!"
*************************************************************
We floated on the lake for a while, and then slowly went back to our camp. I was wonderfully cool yet was grateful when he started to build the fire. "S'mores?" Jim asked plainly.
"Mmm. Yeah, sounds great. I'm not really hungry, but some melted chocolate would be perfect right now!" I got out my own marshmallows to help him.
As we sat, dripping in gooey sweets and getting to know each other more, I realized I was feeling something warm and fuzzy deep down in my stomach. We crouched closer to each other, almost touching. Jim suddenly leaned over and kissed me, a light kiss that stretched into eternity then found purpose. His body felt warm and smooth and strong. His eyes were full of life and Love. When we started making Love, I'm not sure. When we finished, it was fully dark. We sat, snuggling and watching the flames leap and dance. My eyes drew down into the depths of the coals, where the air hit the heat and, spinning in quiet anger, turned the wood into ash [r1m1p2]. “And the fire fairies, they are there, too.” I murmured, half to myself.
Jim took out a pack of Camels and lit two, one for each of us.
*************************************************************
Pharaoh peeked from behind a bush. "Talking about me again?" He grinned at Phaedra and waved at Sandy.
Phaedra smiled back. "Speaking of the Devil!" Her smile faded. "Are you ready Pharaoh? Do you think the time is coming?"
Pharaoh hugged Phaedra close. "Yes, my wispy Love," he replied, "the time is short now. We must climb to get to the best departure point. Remember, when we hit the air, and start to float and swirl, hold tight to me. I have heard that the beginning is a bit, awkward."
Phaedra walked over to Sandy and wrapped her arms around her, hugging as tight as she could. "Are you sure you won't come to the top with us San?"
Sandy shook her head. "No Phae. I want to watch the others first. I have always been a watcher. I will wave to you as you take off first! Remember me in the wind." Sandy turned toward Pharaoh and warned, "Take care of her! Air-headed as she is sometimes, she is the best Flight Mate you could ever have."
Pharaoh smiled. "I know. Take care, Sandy. It was great meeting you. We will be looking for you. You know, we all must change. It is the next step. Without change, we are no more. We MUST change! The Great Trip awaits!" He took Phaedra's hand, turned, and walked up the brown hill.
They reached a point where they would have to climb. The leaves were dense and hard to hold on to. But they wanted to be first. They HAD to be first!
*************************************************************
Jim threw his butt into the fire, leaned over me, and zerberted my side. I pitched and tossed, grabbing his head and sinking in my nails. "Ow! Ok, I give!" Jim yelled, then leaned down and kissed me again.
I smiled at Jim. "I've had all these thoughts and seen all these things and it's been wonderful, Jim. I've been thinking about, well, do you know what Soul Mates are?"
Jim grinned back. "Well, I know the concept. I have always had my own concepts. That one I believe in. But my life goes by my rules. There is only one way to tell. You must take the Trip. Together. You must go there and back and everywhere. Together. You must change. Together. For without change we are nothing. We are gone. We are dead. But if we can. If we can take the Trip, and change, and be together. Then. Then we are Soul Mates or Cosmic Twins or Karmic Buddies or however you like to say it."
I looked at him thoughtfully. "Sounds a little esoteric to me. But it sounds. Right. So, I was thinking. Maybe, we should take a ride sometime."
Jim looked deeply into my eyes, for what seemed like a century. "Let's do that now," he finally said, "let's do that right now." We dressed, helping each other and feeling giddy. As I was zipping my sweater, I looked up into the sky, and a raindrop landed in my eye.
*************************************************************
Wayne and Wanda sat in the bottom of the ship, looking down through the ship’s transparent skin toward the ground far below. The sides ballooned out and gave a warped view of the surrounding whiteness. Slowly, the ship grew. The space around them expanded. They looked at each other, excitement and fear growing in their eyes.
“RRRRROOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!” An ear-piercing sound shook them as something large landed in their ship, poised to strike! [r1m1p4]
Sammy changed into a mouse, laughing the whole time. “Oh, that was great! You should have seen yourselves jump! Ha. Wow, you two are so tense. Relax a little! Let it all flow!”
The couple’s anger seeped out of them, and they burst into nervous laughter. “I am SO going to get you back next time I see you,” threatened Wanda, “but right now we’re about to drop. I wish we could all go, but you know the ship won’t hold together all the way down with three of us.” Wanda looked at her friend, anxiety covering most of her grief.
Wayne reached over and touched both Wanda and Sammy. “Feel the pressure? It’s starting!” He looked at Wanda and asked, “Ready for the Trip?”
Wanda nodded and smiled broadly, despite the small sadness of the situation. “Until next time, dear Sammy. We are finally going to change! We are going to change so much your head will swim! Take care of yourself. And leave a note if you go down again!”
“Don’t forget; study everything, learn all that you can, and come back to the source.” Sammy hugged them both and darted out of their ship. With a small ‘blip’ their ship grew beyond itself, broke away, and headed…down.
*************************************************************
Jim and I threw everything inside my tent. “Don’t worry,” he told me, “we’ll be back for it. Or, maybe we won’t.” He had the most amazing mysterious smile on his lips as he took my hand and we headed toward the trail.
It was only about 500 feet to where his car was parked. It was a black Mustang convertible, with the top down and caked with a light layer of dirt. Jim opened my door for me, and then jumped into the driver’s seat. Led Zeppelin came out of the speakers as he started the ignition and threw it into reverse. He braked, put it in first, and took the dirt road toward the highway.
“So, where are we going?” I asked as we reached the paved highway.
Jim flipped an imaginary coin in the air, caught it and put it on the back of his hand. He let me peek at it. “What’s it say, babe?”
“Looks like left,” I answered. “How far are we going?”
“How far do you want to go,” he asked, looking into my eyes purposefully as he pulled onto the black-top and lit a cigarette.
*************************************************************
Pharaoh and Phaedra fell as the world tilted and the wall next to them became the ground beneath them. They landed in some of the compact brown foliage that was their world. Rolling to their feet, they felt more than saw the fire.
“So we will change, just like that?” Phaedra asked.
“Yes,” Pharaoh replied, “we will, in the span of a breath, assume our new forms. We will be capable of flight! We will soar and float and see and hear and experience everything! And we will be the first on our block!”
The flame died down to ember and rhythmically surged toward them. The heat approached, consuming the vegetation. The time was now! Let the Trip begin!
*************************************************************
Jim gunned the engine, and then let it purr as we sped along the highway. I could feel the wind, blowing my hair into impossible tangles. I could hear the music, the car, the night. I could smell the sweetness of plants, and the smoke from his cigarette. I could taste melted chocolate, still on my tongue. And I could see a million stars in one corner of the sky. I suddenly realized the rest of the sky was black, covered with clouds, as two more raindrops hit me. “Ack, we’re gonna get drenched with the top down!” I half-pleaded.
Jim laughed. “I don’t melt. And I LOVE the wind in my hair!” He touched my shoulder and smiled into my eyes. I smiled back, but my vision was slightly blurred by an increasing deluge of rain.
*************************************************************
The pressure on the ship increased. Wanda and Wayne could both feel it, coming at them from all angles. The were plummeting, approaching that place where they would become something more than themselves. When they would see and learn and live. They had started their Ride!
The view on the way down wasn’t much. It was night, and dark. Besides heavy, black clouds, there really wasn’t anything about. No birds, no flying objects, just other ships on their way to something new.
“So, Sammy said the changes would be gradual, but never-ending. That it would take hours to assimilate something, days to learn it, then more days to find another host.”
Wayne shook with anticipation. “Technicalities, all technicalities. I just want to do it already! What do you think we’ll be first? A tree? A mammal? Even a human maybe?”
The ground was coming at them quickly. Wanda grasped Wayne’s hand and answered, “We’ll know soon enough!”
*************************************************************
I tried ducking behind the windshield to avoid the worst of the rain. It only stung a little, but made it hard to breath. Jim didn’t even duck his head down to drag on the cigarette; he just held his head up and blew smoke towards the sky.
Jim took a deep drag, sucking the smoke into his lungs. In the cherry on his Camel, I thought, for some strange reason, that I saw a small movement. Then, it was consumed in glowing heat and smoke.
*************************************************************
Phaedra and Pharaoh saw their bodies changing. They didn’t really feel anything, but they could see their legs becoming grey and wispy. They saw the ember rushing toward them and starting to consume their bodies. They were changing into their next stage of development, looking upward toward their new playground.
Wanda and Wayne saw the ground coming, fast. They took a deep breath and closed their eyes, holding each other’s hands tight. Then they felt, heat. Heat, boiling their ship and themselves. Their drop disappeared in an instant, their bodies were dehydrated and they opened their mouths to scream.
Phaedra and Pharaoh were in the middle of the change, almost ready to fly. Suddenly, the heat that helped them change, that made them change, disappeared! It was sucked into a round, blue ball of something, from which two forms could be seen. Then the ball or bubble or whatever it was surrounded them. They could not breathe. They could not fly. They could not complete the transformation. As blackness covered them, they opened their mouths to scream.
As I was looking into Jim’s cigarette, suddenly I heard many voices, cries of pain and fear and demise coming from it. Or were they inside my head? But no, Jim heard them too! He looked down in amazement at the tube in his hand, unsure what he was hearing. I could see the cigarette. And Jim looking at the cigarette. And the two bright areas of white behind the cigarette. They looked like stars, growing, flying directly at us. Jim did not see them; he was looking at his hand. And the screams from the Camel were joined by a metal-on-metal scream from outside me. And the bright, white lights became blackness.
*************************************************************
The blackness stays. I am changed. But I cannot change.
Aaron Blair
The Trip
I cannot change. I must change. To live. To breathe. To grow. But I cannot change. I thought I could once. Me and Jim. Jim and Jem. It was cute. We were cute. I was cute. Once. The world was bright. And full of colors. Oh the colors. And ever-changing. And we were changing. Why did they take him? Where have they brought me? Why? Why did they dress me? And paint my lips and eyes? [r1m1p1] To show me that Jim, more than I, cannot change? Jim. You and I. Jim and Jem. We were denied our ride. And what a ride it could have been. I can still see that day. Yesterday? The day by the lake. When my world came alive and I first saw the colors. Oh the colors.
*************************************************************
"Cough, cough. Sara! You're gonna pay for that!"
"What is that? A buck fifty? And yeah I want fries with that!" Sara screamed with laughter as I grabbed her leg and pulled her under. Nobody dunks the mighty Jem! I flutter-kicked toward the shore. "Where ya goin'? Give up already?" Sara shouted after me.
"Let's go get camp ready. I could eat a bear!" A little shiver traveled through my spine. Hungry or not, I didn't want to think about bears. The locals had told us that it was entirely safe, but it IS Alaska after all. "Well, a cheeseburger anyway. Yeah, yeah, with fries."
Sara and I swam back to shore, climbed out of Ptarmigan Lake and walked to our campsite, shivering slightly. And stopped. There was a strange backpack lying next to mine. A branch snapped behind me, my breath caught in my chest and I froze. Slowly I turned around, still not breathing. My last thought before I saw him was, 'Bears don't carry backpacks!' My next thought was 'Wow!' as my breath stopped again.
He stood looking at me, a stack of branches in his arms, his head cocked to the side, and a quirky smile on his lips. His long brown hair curled, and his brown eyes twinkled as he said, simply, 'Hi!' I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing.
He laughed with me until I managed to stop. As I calmed myself down to light giggles, he smiled broadly at me and said, 'So, um, come here often?' It took another five minutes before my stomach cramped from laughing and I had to stop.
I offered my hand. “Hi, I'm Jem.” He looked at me strangely, shaking my hand lightly.
"Have we met? How did you know my name's Jim?"
"Not Jim. I said Jem. As in diamonds, rubies, pearls, oh my."
Understanding hit his eyes and he started laughing again. "Nice to meet you Jem. I'm, well, Jim!"
I heard a small cough from the side. Sara! "Jim, this is, ah, Sara, my best friend," I stammered lamely. How had I forgotten my best friend?
"Nice to meet you," Sara said as she smiled thinly, then rolled her eyes and walked to her tent. She started taking her tent down.
"Hey, whatcha doin'?" I asked.
"Quilting. What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing my stuff, walking to the car, driving back into town and getting a room. These mosquitoes are killing me!"
"Sara, this was our plan!"
"Jem, this was your plan. I like most of it, but I need a shower. And a drink. Now, I'll come out in the morning and pick you up. We can have breakfast and you can tell me all about it." Sara winked at me and went back to packing. I sighed and went to help her.
Sara hugged me and headed toward our rented Honda. "Watch out for the bears," I shouted after her. She flipped me off and rounded a bend in the trail.
"So. What's a girl like you..." Jim said from behind me, leaving the question hanging.
"I've always wanted to see Alaska. So Sara and I had a week vacation and decided, what the helle. The sunlight is kinda cool. Still getting used to all this space though. The solitude is nice." I stopped, feeling like I was rambling. "And you," I asked, "what are you doing in this, ah, neck of the woods, so to speak?"
"I just got back from Talkeetna Blue Grass Festival. It's a hippy party up by Talkeetna. Go figure." Jim smiles softly. "I wanted to get away from the crowds. I prefer to be alone for the Ride. Or in a small group of good friends."
"Ride? What do you mean 'Ride?' I don't see a Tilt-a-Whirl around here anywhere," I joked.
Jim pulled something out of his pocket. "The Ride. I can't explain it unless you see it or know what it is. Do you like colors?"
"Colors? Like red, blue, green, alabaster? Those colors?"
"Well, let's start with blue. We'll go from there." Jim smiled and opened his hand to reveal a bag filled with mushrooms, blue rings around their stems.
"Are those, um," I stammered. Jim nodded.
"It will be a great night for it too. Ptarmigan Lake gets a great sunset on a day like this." Jim made a pile of the mushrooms and started dividing it. "Of course, it's your choice. I, however, am going on a little journey to the land of the other colors."
I stood for about a minute before deciding. Life is an adventure, right? I joined Jim on the ground, sitting on our backpacks. "What the helle. But be nice to me!"
Jim's eyes sparkled. "I'm always nice. And so are my little blue friends here." He passed me one of the stacks and started chewing on his, one at a time. I tried to follow his lead, but almost gagged on the first one. Oh, what an awful taste! "Yeah it takes a little getting used to," Jim offered, "let's wander over to that clearing. We'll get a better view."
We sat on the shore and started talking. We talked about our lives, our friends, our passions. I told Jim how I had lived on one farm my entire life. How I felt trapped, like I couldn’t move, couldn’t breath, couldn’t grow or live. Talking helped. I was feeling cozy and warm and kind of, glowing. I couldn't stop smiling despite the topic, and I really didn't want to stop. He told me that we have to move, to see, to live. It made sense. I was just noticing small lines in Jim's face, lines that gathered when he smiled, when he pointed toward the lake. "Now isn't that beautiful?" he asked. I looked, and had never seen such a beautiful sunset [r1m1p3].
"See how the pinks stretch from the horizon, almost as if they are reaching toward us?" Jim asked. I looked and I could see exactly what he meant! It was like a living thing, trying to touch us. "There are living beings inside there. Fire sprites and fairies and elementals. All alive!" I was so excited! I could hear the passion in his voice, could almost see the little creatures inside the sunset.
*************************************************************
"Phaedra! I'm gonna catch you!" Sandy yelled as loud as she could while full-out sprinting. Phaedra jumped out from behind the leaf where she was hiding.
"Boo!"
Sandy shrieked and fell over trying to get away. "You scared me to death!" Phaedra grinned at her friend and sat down next to her.
Sandy rolled onto her side, suddenly serious. "Phae, do you really plan to do it? To go? With him?"
Phaedra smiled with her mouth and eyes and nodded emphatically. "Absolutely. He is perfect. His ideas and imagination are amazing." She looked at her friend quizzically and asked, "Don't you believe in Flight Mates, San?"
Sandy sighed. "Flight Mates? I don't know. I know you are that age. I know you have to go. I know that the Great Trip is coming for you soon. And me. I just don't like the idea of us...drifting apart. If you'll pardon the pun."
Phaedra touched Sandy's hand. "I know what you mean. You're all I've ever known. You and this place. But it’s so hard to breath here. I can’t move. I can’t feel much. I have to change. I need it.”
Sandy smiled through a tear. “You’re all I’ve ever known too, Phae. Ever.”
Phaedra tackle-hugged her best friend. "Just always remember me. And find your Flight Mate. Pharaoh and I will look for you in the wind."
*************************************************************
Jim and I watched as the fairies danced toward the darkening horizon. It seemed to take forever, and that was fine; I didn't want it to ever end. Jim stood up and reached his hand down to help me up. "C'mon Jem, let's go for a swim."
"It's almost dark! But, that seems like fun. I wonder what the water will feel like, sliding around my body?" In my mind I could feel the liquid, running around my body and touching me everywhere. I smiled. "That is a great idea! Race you!"
I didn't realize until I was chest-deep in the lake and pausing to look back that Jim was going skinny-dipping. The more I thought about it, the better that idea seemed. I took off my bathing suit, knotted it and tied it around my wrist. The water felt, simply, delicious. I wasn't chilled in the least, and I could feel the little eddies and currents circling my body.
Jim disappeared under the water. I looked for him, but it was too dark. Splash! He popped up right behind me. Laughing, he put his arms around me and kissed my hair. I turned to look at him.
"Jim, you know the fire fairies in the sunset? I saw them, but couldn't feel them. It feels like there are water fairies swimming around me, brushing my skin everywhere."
Jim smiled and nodded. "Exactly! There are all types of elementals, in every element. Watch!" Jim ducked his head under the water, then jerked it up and flipped his hair backwards. Water sprayed out from his dripping locks. "In every drop of that water is a fairy, an elemental. Imagine them all playing there!"
*************************************************************
Wanda and Wayne flowed around each other, slowly at first, then faster and spinning in different trajectories. They giggled as they danced in unison.
Sammy dive-bombed them, shifting into a hawk as she split them apart. "You too are so wishy-washy!" Sammy scolded as she flew circles around the couple. She laughed at her own joke, breaking her attempt at seriousness. "And you really think you can enter a human?"
Wanda nodded strongly. "Definitely! I am so looking forward to assimilating a person. You've had, what, about 300 different hosts so far? But not a single human! But we will! I know we will!"
Sammy shrugged and changed into a turtle. "You know how hard it is to get into a human? Most of the time, you'll end up in the ocean, or in the ground. I only got to absorb as many animals as I did because I landed in a river." She looked down. "Of course, being such perfect Float Mates, you might be able to go more places together than I could alone."
Wanda looked intensely at Sammy. “I have to get out of her, Sam. I HAVE to. I’ve spent my whole life in this one bubble, this one fishbowl. I have to see things and learn things and touch things. I would die if I had to stay here.”
Sammy looked up and tried to smile. “I know you do. Of course you do. It is the experiences, the forms, the changes that keep us going. That make life fun.”
Wanda squished her best friend's head playfully. "Don't worry Sam. You know we all end up back here, during little breaks in the Great Trip. Time to reflect and play. We'll see you again soon!"
*************************************************************
We floated on the lake for a while, and then slowly went back to our camp. I was wonderfully cool yet was grateful when he started to build the fire. "S'mores?" Jim asked plainly.
"Mmm. Yeah, sounds great. I'm not really hungry, but some melted chocolate would be perfect right now!" I got out my own marshmallows to help him.
As we sat, dripping in gooey sweets and getting to know each other more, I realized I was feeling something warm and fuzzy deep down in my stomach. We crouched closer to each other, almost touching. Jim suddenly leaned over and kissed me, a light kiss that stretched into eternity then found purpose. His body felt warm and smooth and strong. His eyes were full of life and Love. When we started making Love, I'm not sure. When we finished, it was fully dark. We sat, snuggling and watching the flames leap and dance. My eyes drew down into the depths of the coals, where the air hit the heat and, spinning in quiet anger, turned the wood into ash [r1m1p2]. “And the fire fairies, they are there, too.” I murmured, half to myself.
Jim took out a pack of Camels and lit two, one for each of us.
*************************************************************
Pharaoh peeked from behind a bush. "Talking about me again?" He grinned at Phaedra and waved at Sandy.
Phaedra smiled back. "Speaking of the Devil!" Her smile faded. "Are you ready Pharaoh? Do you think the time is coming?"
Pharaoh hugged Phaedra close. "Yes, my wispy Love," he replied, "the time is short now. We must climb to get to the best departure point. Remember, when we hit the air, and start to float and swirl, hold tight to me. I have heard that the beginning is a bit, awkward."
Phaedra walked over to Sandy and wrapped her arms around her, hugging as tight as she could. "Are you sure you won't come to the top with us San?"
Sandy shook her head. "No Phae. I want to watch the others first. I have always been a watcher. I will wave to you as you take off first! Remember me in the wind." Sandy turned toward Pharaoh and warned, "Take care of her! Air-headed as she is sometimes, she is the best Flight Mate you could ever have."
Pharaoh smiled. "I know. Take care, Sandy. It was great meeting you. We will be looking for you. You know, we all must change. It is the next step. Without change, we are no more. We MUST change! The Great Trip awaits!" He took Phaedra's hand, turned, and walked up the brown hill.
They reached a point where they would have to climb. The leaves were dense and hard to hold on to. But they wanted to be first. They HAD to be first!
*************************************************************
Jim threw his butt into the fire, leaned over me, and zerberted my side. I pitched and tossed, grabbing his head and sinking in my nails. "Ow! Ok, I give!" Jim yelled, then leaned down and kissed me again.
I smiled at Jim. "I've had all these thoughts and seen all these things and it's been wonderful, Jim. I've been thinking about, well, do you know what Soul Mates are?"
Jim grinned back. "Well, I know the concept. I have always had my own concepts. That one I believe in. But my life goes by my rules. There is only one way to tell. You must take the Trip. Together. You must go there and back and everywhere. Together. You must change. Together. For without change we are nothing. We are gone. We are dead. But if we can. If we can take the Trip, and change, and be together. Then. Then we are Soul Mates or Cosmic Twins or Karmic Buddies or however you like to say it."
I looked at him thoughtfully. "Sounds a little esoteric to me. But it sounds. Right. So, I was thinking. Maybe, we should take a ride sometime."
Jim looked deeply into my eyes, for what seemed like a century. "Let's do that now," he finally said, "let's do that right now." We dressed, helping each other and feeling giddy. As I was zipping my sweater, I looked up into the sky, and a raindrop landed in my eye.
*************************************************************
Wayne and Wanda sat in the bottom of the ship, looking down through the ship’s transparent skin toward the ground far below. The sides ballooned out and gave a warped view of the surrounding whiteness. Slowly, the ship grew. The space around them expanded. They looked at each other, excitement and fear growing in their eyes.
“RRRRROOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!” An ear-piercing sound shook them as something large landed in their ship, poised to strike! [r1m1p4]
Sammy changed into a mouse, laughing the whole time. “Oh, that was great! You should have seen yourselves jump! Ha. Wow, you two are so tense. Relax a little! Let it all flow!”
The couple’s anger seeped out of them, and they burst into nervous laughter. “I am SO going to get you back next time I see you,” threatened Wanda, “but right now we’re about to drop. I wish we could all go, but you know the ship won’t hold together all the way down with three of us.” Wanda looked at her friend, anxiety covering most of her grief.
Wayne reached over and touched both Wanda and Sammy. “Feel the pressure? It’s starting!” He looked at Wanda and asked, “Ready for the Trip?”
Wanda nodded and smiled broadly, despite the small sadness of the situation. “Until next time, dear Sammy. We are finally going to change! We are going to change so much your head will swim! Take care of yourself. And leave a note if you go down again!”
“Don’t forget; study everything, learn all that you can, and come back to the source.” Sammy hugged them both and darted out of their ship. With a small ‘blip’ their ship grew beyond itself, broke away, and headed…down.
*************************************************************
Jim and I threw everything inside my tent. “Don’t worry,” he told me, “we’ll be back for it. Or, maybe we won’t.” He had the most amazing mysterious smile on his lips as he took my hand and we headed toward the trail.
It was only about 500 feet to where his car was parked. It was a black Mustang convertible, with the top down and caked with a light layer of dirt. Jim opened my door for me, and then jumped into the driver’s seat. Led Zeppelin came out of the speakers as he started the ignition and threw it into reverse. He braked, put it in first, and took the dirt road toward the highway.
“So, where are we going?” I asked as we reached the paved highway.
Jim flipped an imaginary coin in the air, caught it and put it on the back of his hand. He let me peek at it. “What’s it say, babe?”
“Looks like left,” I answered. “How far are we going?”
“How far do you want to go,” he asked, looking into my eyes purposefully as he pulled onto the black-top and lit a cigarette.
*************************************************************
Pharaoh and Phaedra fell as the world tilted and the wall next to them became the ground beneath them. They landed in some of the compact brown foliage that was their world. Rolling to their feet, they felt more than saw the fire.
“So we will change, just like that?” Phaedra asked.
“Yes,” Pharaoh replied, “we will, in the span of a breath, assume our new forms. We will be capable of flight! We will soar and float and see and hear and experience everything! And we will be the first on our block!”
The flame died down to ember and rhythmically surged toward them. The heat approached, consuming the vegetation. The time was now! Let the Trip begin!
*************************************************************
Jim gunned the engine, and then let it purr as we sped along the highway. I could feel the wind, blowing my hair into impossible tangles. I could hear the music, the car, the night. I could smell the sweetness of plants, and the smoke from his cigarette. I could taste melted chocolate, still on my tongue. And I could see a million stars in one corner of the sky. I suddenly realized the rest of the sky was black, covered with clouds, as two more raindrops hit me. “Ack, we’re gonna get drenched with the top down!” I half-pleaded.
Jim laughed. “I don’t melt. And I LOVE the wind in my hair!” He touched my shoulder and smiled into my eyes. I smiled back, but my vision was slightly blurred by an increasing deluge of rain.
*************************************************************
The pressure on the ship increased. Wanda and Wayne could both feel it, coming at them from all angles. The were plummeting, approaching that place where they would become something more than themselves. When they would see and learn and live. They had started their Ride!
The view on the way down wasn’t much. It was night, and dark. Besides heavy, black clouds, there really wasn’t anything about. No birds, no flying objects, just other ships on their way to something new.
“So, Sammy said the changes would be gradual, but never-ending. That it would take hours to assimilate something, days to learn it, then more days to find another host.”
Wayne shook with anticipation. “Technicalities, all technicalities. I just want to do it already! What do you think we’ll be first? A tree? A mammal? Even a human maybe?”
The ground was coming at them quickly. Wanda grasped Wayne’s hand and answered, “We’ll know soon enough!”
*************************************************************
I tried ducking behind the windshield to avoid the worst of the rain. It only stung a little, but made it hard to breath. Jim didn’t even duck his head down to drag on the cigarette; he just held his head up and blew smoke towards the sky.
Jim took a deep drag, sucking the smoke into his lungs. In the cherry on his Camel, I thought, for some strange reason, that I saw a small movement. Then, it was consumed in glowing heat and smoke.
*************************************************************
Phaedra and Pharaoh saw their bodies changing. They didn’t really feel anything, but they could see their legs becoming grey and wispy. They saw the ember rushing toward them and starting to consume their bodies. They were changing into their next stage of development, looking upward toward their new playground.
Wanda and Wayne saw the ground coming, fast. They took a deep breath and closed their eyes, holding each other’s hands tight. Then they felt, heat. Heat, boiling their ship and themselves. Their drop disappeared in an instant, their bodies were dehydrated and they opened their mouths to scream.
Phaedra and Pharaoh were in the middle of the change, almost ready to fly. Suddenly, the heat that helped them change, that made them change, disappeared! It was sucked into a round, blue ball of something, from which two forms could be seen. Then the ball or bubble or whatever it was surrounded them. They could not breathe. They could not fly. They could not complete the transformation. As blackness covered them, they opened their mouths to scream.
As I was looking into Jim’s cigarette, suddenly I heard many voices, cries of pain and fear and demise coming from it. Or were they inside my head? But no, Jim heard them too! He looked down in amazement at the tube in his hand, unsure what he was hearing. I could see the cigarette. And Jim looking at the cigarette. And the two bright areas of white behind the cigarette. They looked like stars, growing, flying directly at us. Jim did not see them; he was looking at his hand. And the screams from the Camel were joined by a metal-on-metal scream from outside me. And the bright, white lights became blackness.
*************************************************************
The blackness stays. I am changed. But I cannot change.
Aaron Blair
