Chapter 12
A Trip
Maren had retreated to the bathroom after being told that Jeremy went with Tina into the jet. Speculation abounded and it was proving to be the hot topic of the party. She looked at the image in the mirror, trying to read her own face.
"You're sure you're okay?" asked Frisky, gently knocking on the door.
"Yes, I'll be out in a second." Maren sniffled and stared at her messy doll face. She rinsed off the last of her makeup, which had smeared horribly with her tears, and reapplied mineral powder and mascara. She knew Tina would be all over Jeremy tonight. It was part of the reason why she'd gotten dressed up. But she hadn't expected Jeremy to be all over Tina.
Maren couldn't deny that she was upset with Jeremy for one-upping poor, vulnerable Mitch, a guy who, a couple of months ago, she wanted a relationship with. But now she was just confused. Jeremy drove her crazy. Maren took a deep breath. She knew she had to break Tina and Jeremy up. She had to be that girl, the one who caused a scene. She'd have to step out of character tonight, possibly even be unreasonable, because if she didn't, a little part of her might just die.
"Maren?" It was Mitch now.
"Coming!" she yelled, more forcefully than she'd meant to. And then Maren closed her eyes and let a stampede of emotion drive her forward. She flung open the bathroom door and raced down the hall at a grueling pace. She didn't quite know what she'd do if she found Jeremy kissing Tina, but it wouldn't be pretty.
"Where are you going?" called Frisky, who was now running behind Maren.
"Is she okay?" asked a concerned passerby.
"Hey Maren!" yelled Mitch, joining Frisky.
Maren could feel the adrenaline pumping through her as she ran out the door and headed towards the plane.
Jeremy had his legs resting on the dashboard of the jet's flight board. "Wonderful, Tina."
She leaned forward and wagged her finger at him. "Now can we do something I want to do?"
Jeremy closed his eyes and imagined himself kissing Tina. It was sultry and ended in red lipstick all over his lips and neck. But then he thought of Maren, inside the house and sitting on Mitch's lap, looking up at him with her big doe eyes, and hiding half her face behind a timid hand, her legs twisted around each other like a pretzel. Mitch's hand was on her leg. "No, Tina." Jeremy ran his hands through his hair and then irritably tapped his fingers on the dashboard. "One more thing for me."
"Purr, Master Jeremy!" Tina clawed at him. She was so intoxicated she almost fell over.
"I want to lose control. Can you make that happen? I want to sleep here tonight, but I want to be far away."
Tina crawled into the seat next to him and stared at him, twirling a strand of her brown hair around her finger. "God you're gorgeous. You must get girls to do everything for you, huh?" She looked up at the ceiling. "There's something I could do.... And you'll bunk here with me?"
"Whatever, just give me an escape." Jeremy massaged his temples. Between Maren's wandering attractions and the demons, Jeremy wanted to forget all sense of time and place.
Tina rose from her seat and moved into the cabin, bumping into everything as she walked to the back of the jet. Jeremy heard shuffling and the opening and closing of a cabinet, and then Tina returned with a small bottle of liquid and little pieces of tissue paper. She grabbed Jeremy's hand and placed a small piece on his fingertip. Next, she filled the dropper with a clear liquid. "You ready?" she asked, licking her lips.
"I think so," Jeremy watched as Tina placed a drop of acid on his finger.
"On your tongue," she whispered, leaning in close.
Jeremy placed the tissue on his tongue. "More," he said and he patted her on the head.
Tina held up the syringe and then licked a drop of acid from off the tip. "One more for you, but this is strong. Let me." Tina put a piece of tissue paper on her finger, followed by a drop of acid. Jeremy opened his mouth and she placed it on his tongue. She dropped down and brought her lips to his and was about to kiss him when he turned his head. "No fair," she said, making a pouty face.
Maren barged through the door, followed by Frisky and Mitch. "Hey!" she shouted. "What are you doing?"
"Hi Maren," Jeremy waved and Tina blew her a kiss.
"What are you two doing?" repeated Maren. She walked to the cockpit and grabbed Jeremy by the arm. "I want to go home."
"Maybe Mitch can take you. I'm staying here."
Mitch started to agree but Maren held her hand up to silence him. "Jeremy, I want you to take me home." Her voice was stern.
"You didn't even listen to my song, which was your loss considering how finely crafted it was. I was visualizing a cathedral next to the sea." Jeremy stood up but fell back into his chair. He laughed and played with the light dimming control. The lights in the cabin flickered.
"You're trashed, aren't you?"
"I'm soon to be more than trashed."
"Tina, what did you do to him?"
"Every trick I know," she laughed, then hiccuped. "Still can't get 'im!" Tina raked her hands down Jeremy's back and Jeremy swatted her away.
"Maren," Jeremy stood up and reached for Maren. "I haven't told you," he whispered, "but there are demons." He dropped his arm to his side and started shifting his gaze around the room.
"Jeremy, not here." Maren frowned and crossed her arms.
"Here?" Jeremy felt his face. "They probably are!"
"What's probably here?" asked Frisky. She stood beside Maren and adjusted her glasses.
"Demons," said Jeremy in a low voice.
"No," said Tina and her mouth slid into a smile. "Don't go there, Jeremy! Let's just have fun!"
Jeremy cursed and gripped Maren by the arms. "We have to get out of here."
"Ouch!"
"I'm sorry!" Jeremy fell to his knees and hugged her legs. "I should have told you! There were demons on Watico. My father―they were looking for me. They know where I am!" He buried his head in her lap.
"Jeremy, get up!" yelled Maren. "Stop it!"
Mitch now came beside Maren and placed a cautious hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "Easy, buddy."
Jeremy started to cry and Mitch awkwardly stepped back.
"We dropped acid!" said Tina, now curled up in the corner. "I'm sorry! Why's he talking about demons?" She began to shake, clutching her knees to her chest. "Let's just have fun!" she repeated.
"Did you hear that?" Jeremy pushed himself up off the floor and stumbled to the side window. He slid his face down the glass. "It's out there."
"It's not out there, Jeremy. You need to calm down."
"Demons!" yelled Tina. Mitch and Frisky ran over to Tina and attempted to calm her, but she only screamed louder.
Jeremy raced to the control panel and pulled a lever. The jet engine roared to life. Mitch ran over to him and grabbed Jeremy's arm from off the lever. Jeremy sent a bolt of blue energy and Mitch fell back to the floor. Jeremy dragged a shocked Mitch out of the cockpit, then herded a confused Frisky out and locked the doors. Jeremy was sweating profusely now as he sat back in the pilot's seat and clutched the lever. Within a minute, the jet was moving out of the garage and onto the runway. "Tina!" he yelled. "Which one to make it rise?"
"Stop it!" Tina began to sob.
Jeremy flicked some switches on as the jet gained speed. It bumped along and then rose sharply in the air. Jeremy turned around and pulled Maren to his side. "We have to get out! The demons are coming!"
Maren could feel the roar of lift-off reverberate through her body. She looked into Jeremy's eyes. His pupils pushed against a thin, electric blue rim, and his eyes now seemed to pop out of his head.
Like a child, Maren pawed at his legs. She crawled into his lap, terrified. He'd incited chaos, but being close to him was her safest bet. "The Haze," she begged. "Take me to the Haze!"
"Not yet, they're watching," he whispered and laid a firm hand on the back of Maren's neck and tilted the jet higher still.
Maren cried and lay with her head there, ag
ainst his hand, for what felt like an eternity. At last she steadied her breathing and became aware of her pulse. She knew she had to take charge. Maren closed her eyes. "It's okay, Jeremy. Sshh." She gently stroked Jeremy's arm and began to sing a lullaby. Jeremy responded by dragging his hands across his face and mumbling something incomprehensible.
"There, there," said Maren. She rose slowly to her feet and guided him to a small space behind the pilot's chair. He followed her and let out a moan. Maren quietly cleared a spot for him and helped him to lay back. "I want you to just try to relax, Jeremy. You're going to be okay." Maren looked behind her at the empty pilot seat, and then to Tina, trembling and hunched over on the opposite side of the cockpit. The noise from the outside ripped along the plane's exterior and the plane bounced up and down.
"Maren, stop... doing it. I can't close my eyes!" yelled Jeremy, the words all slurred together and mispronounced.
"You're okay, it's just the acid. I'm going to steer this plane," she said softly, "far away, over the clouds, and we'll be okay." Maren glided over to the steering wheel and took a seat, noting that the fuel tank was full. Good, she thought, taking a deep breath. I'll just let us coast until everyone calms down. Maren looked to her left and saw a mic. She grabbed it and held it to her lips, pushing down on a button. "Hello?" she said, and she could hear her own voice call back to her in the cabin. "Frisky, Mitch, it's me, Maren. Everyone stay calm. I've got the plane under control. Let's all just relax for a while." Her hand trembled slightly as she set the mic back on its receiver. She could hear Mitch and Frisky shouting through the cockpit door. Jeremy let out a stifled moan and cursed. There was nothing Maren could do but wait. She stared at the open sky in front of her.
Three and a half hours passed before Tina stirred from the floor. "Maren, where are we?" she whispered, stretching her legs out in front of her. "You're back...." She pointed, "So colorful, like wings."
"We're just flying the plane."
"And we're okay?" Tina stood up. "Today? Is it night?"
"It's almost morning."
"Can we come in now?" asked Frisky through the door.
Maren glanced at Jeremy and he stared back at her absently, moving his lips but not speaking. "Hold on," Maren unlocked the door and closed it behind her. She was now in the cabin.
"So now what do we do?" asked Mitch.
"We still have a lot of fuel. I'm waiting for Tina to get better so she can help me to radio us in."
"Acid, so stupid." Frisky crossed her arms and frowned. "I can't wait to get out of here. It's a flying coffin."
"Do you want me to send Tina back and you two can help her to, um, become sane?"
"Sure," Mitch nodded.
Maren went back into the cockpit and encouraged Tina to have a seat with Frisky and Mitch. Tina relented, leaving Maren alone with Jeremy.
"Oh, Jeremy." Maren slumped into the seat and studied crazy Jeremy, so detached, so sad in his corner. What drove him to this? Had he really seen demons? Was it just a terrible acid trip? Maren blinked. That's when it hit her―she'd have to forgive him. His life, after all, was one big acid trip. She couldn't expect him to act normal, to go to a party with regular people and just drink and dance. He was an angel. He was electric. His star-shine couldn't be contained. And if that meant that being near him was dangerous....
The plane dipped sharply and Maren fell to the floor. She heard Frisky scream in the cabin. Maren stood up on shaky legs. The plane had stabilized but now the lights began to flicker. Maren pulled herself to the dashboard and looked down. The compass was spinning. "Hey...?" A jolt threw Maren back and she rolled to Jeremy's corner.
"What? Why?" Jeremy rubbed his eyes and then stared at his hands.
"Jeremy, there's something wrong with the plane!" Maren couldn't help it, she had to yell.
Frisky dragged Tina back into the cockpit. "What's going on?! Do something!" she shrieked. Tina ran to the steering wheel and gripped it, releasing it suddenly and screaming.
"What?" shouted Mitch, entering the room.
"It's grabbing me!" Tina attempted to hold the steering wheel and quickly released it again.
"It's not grabbing you," cried Maren, "you're just hallucinating!" The lights dimmed and now they could hear the engine shutting off. The ignition turned, brightness, then darkness, followed by the rumble of a stalled engine. The plane's front dipped down, and everyone fell back against the wall, pressed firmly by the suction of falling 30,000 feet.
Maren rolled herself over onto Jeremy, and screamed his name, but it was drowned out by the wind pressing against the plane's exterior. Then, everything went black.