although a lot of people came in last night. Shows start at 10:00. Vending opens at 11:00. Shows are scheduled to end at midnight but may go later. I got us registered, again, and we're on at 9:00, which isn't too bad...” her voice trailed away.
“What?” Nora asked.
“The wind just shifted,” she said, looking around.
“What does that mean?” Leah asked.
“I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out.”
“So keep talking then.”
Isabella continued to explain the logistics when suddenly a horn blasted across the area.
“What does that mean?” Maryann exclaimed, paying attention again.
“I have no idea,” Isabella replied, looking through the brochure the park ranger had given her. “I think it's an alarm.”
“That's the problem,” Leah said, looking east.
The sky had turned orange in the east, but the sun had long since risen.
“What is that?” Maryann asked.
The wall of orange was quickly approaching and people were milling around, confused and a little frightened.
“I think it's a sandstorm,” Alex offered.
“Does that even happen here?” Nora asked.
“Well, it is now. We should take cover,” Isabella said.
“Where?”
“Underneath the stage. It's better than nothing. Hurry!”
They followed Isabella's lead and dived underneath the stage. It was more cramped than they expected. Within a few minutes, they heard the wind howling past them. People shrieked and they were quickly joined by others diving for cover. The wind kicked up dust underneath the stage, leaving them coughing. Then it was all over.
“I think I need some eye drops,” Maryann said, digging through her purse.
“Me too,” Isabella said.
“Come on, it's roasting under here,” Leah said.
They crawled out from under the stage to find everything coated with a fine layer of orange dust.
“This can't be good for the electronics,” Alex said, looking around.
In fact, the stage manager seemed to be sharing this thought and was ordering the mechanics to start the equipment tests immediately. They hung around to find out if anything was damaged. The first indications were not good.
“Well, this is great,” Nora said.
“Maybe they can scavenge parts from other stages,” Maryann said.
“If those haven't been damaged too,” she replied.
A quick walk around the music performance area showed Nora's worry was not unfounded. Everything was coated in dust and the squeals from the microphones and curses from the technical crew confirmed damage was widespread.
“Yep, it's definitely Pandemonium,” Nora sighed.
“We need to check on the RV. I think I left some of the vents open and mi Abuela will kill me if anything's messed up,” Leah said.
“And we'll all be dead if the instruments got damaged,” Nora added.
“I'll buy you lunch,” Alex said. “Hopefully the vendors will have got their carts fixed up.”
“But my phone isn't working,” Maryann replied.
“So show me where you're camping and I'll come get you around noon.”
“Sure!”
The other three rolled their eyes but lead Alex back to the RV.
“This looks like some old lady's camper,” he said.
“It is,” Leah snapped. “And that old lady will kill me if it got damaged. Isabella, see if it'll start up. If it doesn't, we've got a lot more to worry about than rehearsal.”
Isabella obligingly started up the RV.
“Damn! Everything in here is coated with dust,” Nora said. “We'll need to check all the gear.”
“And I'll need to clean,” Leah said.
“Sounds like the four of you are jammed in there pretty good,” Alex said.
“Well, we needed a vehicle bigger than our van but not so big we couldn't drive it,” Maryann said.
“I know it's crowded back here, but if you want, I can loan you a tent. At least then you won't be jammed in there,” he said.
“Oh, that's so nice of you, but we have tents and stuff. We just decided to sleep in the van. We'll get through tonight and then head out tomorrow afternoon or evening.”
“Oh, that's quick. Well, maybe after lunch you'd like to stop by my camper? Maybe we can talk a little before you prep for your show and maybe get together tomorrow before you drive out of my life forever?” he asked.
“She is not going to fall for this, is she?” Nora asked in a low voice.
“Maryann is a very nice girl,” Isabella replied. “But we know how she is.”
“Yep. In love for the first time today,” Leah said.
Neither Maryann nor Alex could hear the conversation inside. Maryann blushed. “I think I can get away for an hour, maybe. I'm sure Isabella won't mind if we get a groupie, or at least a new fan.”
“Alright, then it's a date,” he said with a smile. “See you around lunch time.” With that, he walked away.
“Maryann!” Isabella called sharply.
“Oh, right. Sorry,” she said, and joined the others in the van.
The inside was a mess. Leah swept up the dirt and wiped away the dust while the others checked their instruments. Some weren't working, which lead to much cursing and some hasty fixes.
“The wind shifted again,” Isabella said.
“Great. I just cleaned this thing,” Leah replied.
“I hear music. I think the shows are starting,” Maryann said, looking at her watch. “And only half an hour late.”
“Ugh. Ten-thirty in the morning and I already need a shower so bad,” Nora said.
Leah dumped some dirt outside. “You may get one.”
“What?”
“The wind shifted.”
The other three joined Leah in looking to the west. The sky had turned dark and ominous as a band of black clouds was fast approaching.
“Seriously? Is it seriously going to rain on us?” Nora asked.
“I know. This is a desert. The odds have to be pretty outstanding,” Leah replied.
“Let's shut all the vents and windows this time,” Isabella said. “That storm is moving fast.”
“I'm glad I'm not on-stage,” Maryann said.
“I'm glad someone had the sense not to put this festival on in an arroyo,” Leah said.
They battened down the hatches in the RV as the warning horn blasted across the area for the second time that day. In a few minutes the wind picked up to a howl and the skies opened up. Rain poured down hard, fast, and loud. And as suddenly as the storm blew in, it blew out again and the band of clouds raced away. The band emerged from the van to survey the damage.
“Oh, no, that was hail I heard!” Leah exclaimed, looking at the roof. “I am so dead.”
“Your grandmother isn't going to be mad at you over freak weather events,” Maryann said.
“I'm more worried about the festival,” Isabella said. “If that was hail, I'll bet the shows are going to be delayed again.”
“At this rate we won't be playing until midnight,” Nora sighed.
“Well, I'll go talk to the stage manager and try to find out what's going on,” she said. The others continued their preparations until Isabella returned. “Well, now we're going on at 10:00 tonight at the Chaos Stage.”
“What happened to the Anarchy Stage?” Maryann asked.
“A lighting rig shorted out. They're trying to get it fixed for the band that was interrupted, but they're trying to get the other acts moved around.”
“I wonder if anyone will see our show tonight,” she sighed.
“It's Pandemonium, alright,” Nora said.
Shortly before noon, there was a knock on the door.
“Who's that?” Leah asked.
“Oh! It's Alex,” Maryann said. “So, should I go pick up some food for you guys?”
The other three looked at each other. “You are so transparent, Maryann,” Nora sighed. “You want an excuse to hang out with Alex alone.”
“Ok, well, fine, yes. So, give me your lunch orders and I'll be back in an hour.”
They knew it was useless to argue with her, so they gave her an idea of what they wanted without knowing what food was available and once she was gone, made bets on how long an hour actually was going to be.
“Glad you survived the monsoon,” Alex said when she finally stepped out of the van.
“It's been a freaky day for weather,” she replied. “And it's not good for us. If we switch stages, people won't be able to find us.”
“I wouldn't worry about that. No offense, but no one here is so well known people are looking for them. They'll go to whatever music sounds good at the time.”
“You're probably right. In that case, we'd better sound really good.”
They threaded their way past the various stages and headed towards the food vendor area. The performance art and theater troupes were faring slightly better than the music acts since they didn't need much in the way of electronic equipment. Still, it was obvious they had been interrupted by the sand storm and sudden rain storm. Many of the food vendors had been similarly affected, but they managed to find something that looked safe to eat and not too greasy.
“Hey, come by my camper and I'll give you some of my bottles of water. These prices are outrageous, especially with the danger of heatstroke,” Alex said.
“Oh, that's nice of you,” she replied. She was more interested in spending time with him than getting free water, but as the sun beat down on her hat, she thought the water would be a nice bonus.
He led her through the throngs of festival-goers to the camping area and finally to a small camper towed by a medium-sized, slightly beat up pick-up truck. “This is home,” he said. “Come on in.”
“Do you live here?” she asked.
“For the summer. Like most college students, I have nothing to do in the summer and no motivation to get a real job. So my parents let me borrow the camper just to get me out of the house. The truck is mine,” he answered. “I figure if nothing else I can probably write a paper on this next semester. And maybe one day if I'm rich and famous and write my autobiography, I can include a chapter on the great American summer road trip.”
“I'd read that. So what are you getting a degree in?” she asked, looking around. The camper had a small bed at the back, a kitchen area that was little more than a mini-fridge and a microwave, a closet-sized bathroom, and a very tiny seating area. There was a laptop sitting on the small table. There were a few overhead storage bins and one tiny pantry; the pantry door was hanging open slightly. She could see the bed had a number of books piled on top of it.
“Philosophy. I know, that's a BS degree, but it gives me time to figure out what I really want to do. Besides go to grad school, obviously.” He opened up the mini-fridge to get the water out.
Maryann heard the tell-tale clink of glass bottles and guessed there was probably a lot of beer in the way. Then her eye was caught by something shiny in the open pantry. Curiosity overcame etiquette and she gently finished opening the door with her foot.
Inside was a small creature in a mason jar.
“What is that?” she asked, peering down to look.
“That's my pet lizard,” Alex said quickly, and tried to shut the door.
“Your pet lizard?” she repeated. “Lizards are not bi-pedal nor do they know how to give someone the bird. That was a demon.”
“Oh, that's just crazy talk,” he said.
“Please. You think I don't know what a demon is when I see one?” She pushed him over and pulled the jar out of the pantry.
The creature inside was an unwholesome light green-yellow color, bi-pedal, with tiny horns growing from its head and a long tail. Its knees bent backwards and it was making obscene gestures.
“It’s not a very strong one demon or you couldn't keep it this. Why do you have a demon and why are you keeping it in a mason jar?” she asked. “And where did it learn that gesture?”
Alex took the jar out of her hands. “It's my pet panic demon Asaph and I keep it in a mason jar because they're cheap and nearly indestructible.”
“Pet panic demon?”
“Well, since you seem to be into weird stuff, I'll confess. I'm a chaos magician.”
“A chaos magician? Who summons demons and then keeps them in jars? This doesn't seem like a good idea.”
“Oh, don't worry. I have it all under control.”
“But you just said you were a chaos magician,” Maryann replied. “Doesn't that mean, by definition, you're not in control?”
“Well, kind of,” he answered. “Look, it's all very complicated.” He put the jar back in the pantry. “Asaph lives in the jar until I release it, which of course requires a ritual so it doesn't just wreak havoc.”
“But you said it's a panic demon. That's what they do.”
“Well, kind of,” he said again. “I'm really not explaining this very well. But hey, I'm glad you're not freaked out.”
“I still don't think it's a good idea to mix chaos magic and demons, especially a demon that I'm pretty sure causes chaos. There's a reason Phobos, Deimos, and Eris accompanied Ares to battle.”
“Oh, you're a Hellenic pagan.”
“Eclectic, actually,” she replied. “But the Greek gods were my first interest. Do you worship Eris?”
“Nah. I'm not Discordian. I certainly respect Eris. I mean, I'd be in a lot of trouble if I didn't. But worship, well, not so much,” he answered.
“So why chaos magic?”
“To make my life more interesting.”
“And the demon?”
“Asaph makes life more interesting when I let it out. I'm immune to its effect because I summoned it. You're not all biased against chaos magicians or anything, are you?” he asked.
“I try not to be biased. But I personally think being a chaos magician is literally asking for trouble. I've got enough of that without asking for it,” she said. “I need to get back to the band. They're probably starving.”
“Oh,” he said, obviously disappointed. “Well, will I see you later?”
“Sure. Come to our show, if you can find it. We'll meet up tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.”
“Thanks for the water,” she said, and left his camper. She walked back to the borrowed RV deep in thought.
“So, that hour turned into two,” Nora said. “And you two owe me five bucks each.”
“Whatever. Just hand over the food,” Leah said.
“Maryann, what's wrong?” Isabella asked as they sat down to eat.
“Alex is a chaos magician and he's got a pet panic demon.”
The other three took this news in stride.
“That seems like a bad idea,” Isabella replied. “If that thing should get loose...”
“It'd be Pandemonium,” Leah interrupted.
Nora shot her a dirty look. “But she's right. Look, I know I'm hopelessly Christian here, but it seems to me someone who's summoning demons may not be the best person to hang out with.”
“No, no, I kind of agree with you. But we'll see. He said he'd come to the show tonight and I'll figure out if I want to hang out with him tomorrow or not.”
“What's he keeping that demon in, anyway?” Isabella asked.
“A mason jar.”
“Oh, Lordy, I hope that thing does not break.”
“Well, they are nearly indestructible,” Maryann said. “I dropped one once and it was fine.”
“I'll bet you guys the ten bucks I won that jar is going to break,” Leah said. “This day so far has been freaky weird; why not top it off with a loose demon?”
“I am not taking that bet,” Nora said. “And not just because it's terrible. A lot of people could get hurt.”
“I'm not taking th
at bet either,” Isabella said. “And the wind just shifted again.”
They finished their lunch in uncharacteristic silence. They could hear the bass lines of the bands on stage. As they got ready to start rehearsal, the noise suddenly became very high-pitched.
“What in the hell is that?” Nora asked, clapping her hands over her ears.
“I think there's some feedback happening right now,” Leah answered. “With all the shorts in the equipment, I'm not surprised.”
The squealing continued for nearly a minute before it finally stopped, as did the music on the stages.
“Oh, thank God,” Nora said.
“But the music stopped again,” Isabella sighed. “I'd better go find the stage manager again. You guys keep working.” She headed to the Chaos Stage, which was aptly in chaos. It took nearly half an hour to find the stage manager and find out about scheduling changes. She'd almost returned to the RV when Alex ran up next to her.
“Oh, hey, you're in Maryann's band,” he said, looking oddly flustered.
“Yes. Listen, we're trying to start rehearsal here and it'd really be better if you could hang out tomorrow. Our show got moved to a new stage and moved all the way up to 7:00, so we really need to get to work.”
“Oh, um, I just need to talk to Maryann real quick. It won't take long at all.”
“Fine,” she snapped. “Maryann,” she said, stepping into the RV, “Alex is outside. Please make this quick. We're going on at 7:00 now.”
“Seven? Oh, damn it,” Nora said.
Maryann stepped outside. “Listen, Alex, this isn't really a good time...”
“Asaph got out.”
“What?”
“That squealing noise, did you hear it?”
“Of course.”
“Well, it must have hit the resonant frequency of the jar and it just busted right open. Asaph got out before I could catch it.”
“Can't you put it back?” she asked.
“It's not that easy,” he said. “I didn't use the proper rituals to let it out, so I don't have any control. I'm still immune to its effects. I need some help to catch it.”
“I'll tell the band,” she said.
“You really don't need to do that...” he started to say.
“Well, Leah would have gotten ten bucks,” she said to her band mates.
“Oh, so the jar broke,” Isabella sighed.
“You told them?” he asked. “And they're not freaking out?”
“Come in,” Maryann said.
He followed her inside. The other three were giving him dirty looks.
“So now we have to cut into our valuable rehearsal time to try to chase down his very dangerous pet?” Nora said acidly.
“Well, what else can we do? Here, I'll cast some protection spells on us so we won't be affected by the panic,” Maryann said, and pulled out some components.
“That's a good start,” Leah said, “But how do we stop it? Isabella, can't you stop this thing?”
“I can try with my spirit charms, but I need to stick the charm directly to it. Unlike TV shows, I can't actually throw a piece of paper with any accuracy,” she replied dryly.
“So we'll just have to tackle it,” Alex said. “It's only about two feet tall out of the jar.”
“No way! No way am I going to jump on a demon, even if it is small,” Nora snapped.
“Oh, don't worry, Asaph can't hurt you. A panic demon's only defense is inducing panic, and Asaph is a pretty weak demon at that. Its teeth and claws aren't any more dangerous than a human's.”
“Clearly you've never been in a fight with a human,” she retorted.
“Look, I'm not stupid...”
“All evidence to the contrary,” Leah muttered.
Alex glared at her. “Hey, I don't tell you how to do your magic so