by R. L. King
“Well, hippies don’t usually make the voyage in the Starship Titanic,” Jason said, grinning as he patted Stone on the shoulder. “Just roll with it, Al. New experiences are good for you.”
“Suppose we give our craft a different name,” Stone muttered. “No sense in tempting fate.”
It took them a while to get everything organized and stowed, but they made better time than expected. Jason wanted to get an early start, especially after Sharra warned them traffic would get bad as they got closer to their destination. She told them to expect to wait for a long time as the organizers let people enter in small groups to avoid traffic snarls inside. “If we get there early, we can find a better spot to park,” she said. “A lot of the really good spots are already claimed by established camps, but we should still be able to find something fairly close in.”
Now, as they rolled out of the East Bay and continued northward on 80, she pulled a stack of papers out of her pack. “Okay,” she said, nodding at Stone. “You said you wanted a presentation, Alastair, so you’re getting one. Sorry it won’t have any interpretive dance: V wanted to add some, but we didn’t have time and we couldn’t agree on the music.”
Stone chuckled, raising an eyebrow and swiveling his chair around to face them. “Quite all right. Verity’s got wretched taste in music anyway. Pray, enlighten us.”
For the next hour, with Sharra taking the lead and Verity and Jason putting in bits and pieces from their library research, they gave Stone an overview of what to expect at Burning Man. He listened without much comment, nodding occasionally and studying the photos Sharra passed him. When they finished, he handed back the photos and was silent for a moment, as if trying to figure out how to say what was on his mind. Finally, he said, “Thank you. That was very helpful, and I appreciate your effort. I do have to wonder something, though.”
“What’s that?” Verity asked. It had been clear during the presentation that, now that she had more of an idea what Burning Man would include, she was excited about experiencing it firsthand.
“Well,” Stone said in a careful tone, “I suppose I just don’t see the point of the whole thing.”
“What do you mean?” Sharra asked as she gathered up the photos and papers and stowed them back in her rucksack.
He shrugged. “It sounds like a large number of people assembling on a flat plain in one of the hottest parts of the country in the middle of summer and staying there for several days with minimal supplies. I suppose all the art projects and whatnot sound intriguing, but aside from that, it sounds like it will be hot, smelly, loud, and utterly chaotic.” Sighing, he leaned back in his chair. “I mean, I’m not completely boring—I enjoy a good concert as well as the next person, even the big ones. But this—” he spread his hands. “Why? What do people get out of it? Am I just hopelessly old-fashioned, or am I missing something?”
Sharra thought about that before answering. “Well,” she said at last, diplomatically, “It’s not everybody’s thing, that’s for sure. Nothing wrong with that. But I’m looking forward to experiencing it. My friends say it’s like nothing they’ve ever done before. It’s like another world out there. And if nothing else, you might get something out of it magically. I hear the auras are just amazing, especially at night when everybody’s active. Better than the best concert you’ve ever been to, or so they say.”
“What do you expect we’re gonna be doing, Al?” Jason asked. “Are we just gonna wander around and look for the Evil? Isn’t that dangerous, even if we knew what we’re looking for? I mean, a lot of them know what we look like. Sharra and I could probably blend in, but you and V—maybe not so much.”
“Yeah,” Verity said. “I’m still freaked out thinking about how close I got to being subway pizza. If they are there and they recognize us, won’t they try to kill us so we don’t mess up their plans?”
Stone nodded. “I’ve thought of that.”
“Did you make another one of those Evil detector things you used back in San Francisco?” Jason asked.
“No. Something like that would be useless this time. If the Evil is there, they’ll be there in force, which means even if I get a reading, all it will tell me is that they exist. It’s too small an area to pinpoint them any closer than that.”
“What, then?”
He reached into the pack sitting next to his seat, and came back up with a handful of small objects on chains.
Verity leaned in closer to look. They were small, abstract-looking pendants made of what looked like silver and bronze, hanging on thin leather cords. “Necklaces?” She looked perplexed for a moment, then grinned. “You did the coin thing!”
Stone nodded.
“The coin thing?” Sharra asked, confused.
“Yeah,” Verity said. “They’re illusion generators. Remember, we talked about them before, that the Evil might be using them? They can make us look like other people so the Evil won’t recognize us when we’re running around. We met a guy last year who did it with coins. I guess Dr. Stone decided to figure out how to make his own.”
“It wasn’t difficult,” Stone said with a raised eyebrow. “The hardest part was working out how to power them. I’m not sure how Harrison did it, but these will draw their power from your own bodies.”
“Sounds creepy,” Jason said dubiously.
“Not really,” Stone assured him. “They’re sort of like those watches that wind themselves, except instead of drawing kinetic energy, they draw a tiny bit from your auras.”
“So they’re itty-bitty black magic devices?” Sharra asked, grinning. “I didn’t know you had it in you, Alastair.”
“I’m just full of surprises,” he said, handing them around. “The only thing you have to do is keep the pendant close to your skin, so wear it under your shirt. The illusion won’t break if it loses contact for a few seconds, but they have to be within an inch or so to function. When we get there, you can tell me what you want to look like. I didn’t have time to make them as versatile as Harrison’s coins, so you only get one disguise each. Make sure you pick something believable that you can deal with for a few days.”
“So, their mages won’t be able to see through the disguise?” Sharra asked, holding up her pendant and examining it with the fuzzed-out gaze of magical sight.
“Not unless they’re specifically looking,” Stone said. “They’re not foolproof, so try not to draw inappropriate attention to yourself. They won’t stand up under direct scrutiny. But if there are as many people there as you claim there will be, we’ll just blend in with the crowd.”
“Okay,” Jason said, slipping the cord over his head one-handed. “That takes care of them recognizing us. But what about us recognizing them? You said they might be using something like this, too. How are we even gonna find ’em? I doubt they’ll be out there setting up a huge, scary ritual we’ll be able to spot right off the bat, will they?”
Stone shrugged. “They might, especially if they don’t know we’re on to them. It doesn’t sound like anyone would bother them.”
“True,” Sharra nodded. “Wait till you see the place: there’s so much weird shit going on that it won’t even attract much attention, except they’ll probably have to keep shooing off random people who want to help.”
“We’ll just have to keep our eyes open,” Stone said. “The good news is that with the illusions, we don’t need to be so careful about staying together, so we can cover more ground. Hopefully we’ll spot something useful.”
They continued driving, the big RV eating up the miles. Verity and Sharra started a card game at the dining table, and Stone lounged in his seat with his feet up and once again appeared to be many miles away.
“You all right over there?” he asked Jason at one point when he returned his attention to the here and now. “Want me to drive for a bit?”
“Nah.” Jason shook his head. “I’m kinda getting used to it, actually. We’re gonna have to stop for gas soon, though. This thing gets about two gallons to the mile.�
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They stopped in Sacramento for gas and lunch, since despite having the capability to do so, none of them wanted to cook. There’d be time enough for that once they got there.
They made good time out of Sacramento, cruising through Truckee and over the Nevada border toward Reno. As they drew closer, they began encountering more RVs, cars with trailers, and more than a few brightly painted vans hauling pullout or popup campers. The traffic was still relatively sparse, but a lot of the people on the road were obviously heading to the same place they were.
“Are there really forty thousand people coming out here?” Verity asked, watching as they were passed by a huffing, flower-covered conversion van.
“That’s the projection,” Sharra said.
“Great,” Stone said dubiously. “Forty thousand people and no proper sanitation. Brilliant idea. Really.”
“You’ve just got no sense of adventure, Al,” Jason said, grinning.
“My sense of adventure is fine, thank you. Unfortunately, so is my sense of personal hygiene.”
They were about fifty miles out on the far side of Reno, the sun beating down on the scrubby desert, when Jason frowned. “Al?”
Stone glanced up from where he’d been dozing. “Hmm?”
“I think something’s wrong.”
“Wrong?” Stone sat up.
“Yeah. Temp’s going up fast, and you hear that? Engine sounds funny.”
Stone listened a moment. “Radiator?”
“Hoping that’s all it is. It’s pretty hot out there. But I’m gonna pull off. I want to check it out.”
Stone was about to protest that they should try to make it to the next town when a harsh, mechanical grating sound emanated from somewhere near the front of the coach.
“Fuck,” Jason snapped, applying the brake slowly as he eased the massive vehicle onto the shoulder.
“What’s going on?” Verity called, coming out of the back ‘bedroom’ area where she and Sharra had been catching a catnap.
Jason didn’t answer. He struggled with the wheel, concentrating fully on what he was doing until the RV had come to a complete stop in the dirt of the shoulder.
“Why are we stopping?” Verity asked, as Sharra came up behind her. “I heard some kind of noise. What was it?”
“Dunno yet.” Jason unbuckled his seatbelt and got up, as did Stone.
The heat hit them like a wall when Jason opened the door and jumped down. “You guys might as well stay inside with the generator on,” he said. “No point in all of us roasting.”
Nobody listened, though. Stone, Verity, and Sharra followed him as he went to the front of the RV and popped the panel. A sharp, acrid odor wafted from the engine.
“Can somebody get me some light?” Jason asked without looking up.
Instantly three hands lit up with magical illumination. Stone, Verity, and Sharra exchanged sheepish glances. “I got it,” Sharra said, and the other two dropped their spells.
Jason climbed up on the bumper and leaned in to get a better look into the engine compartment.
“Anything?” Stone asked. He wisely stayed out of the way, since he couldn’t contribute anything to the diagnostic effort.
“I don’t think it’s the radiator,” Jason said.
“Is that good or bad?” Verity asked.
“Not sure yet.” He poked around some more. “Don’t see any problem with the hoses up here either. Lemme take a look underneath.” He jumped down and started to slide under, but only got about halfway before “Fuck!” filtered up from beneath the RV.
Stone got down and slid under with him to take up the lighting duties. He was about to ask what the problem was, but even with his nonexistent mechanical skills he couldn’t fail to spot the steady stream of water dripping down. “I’m guessing that isn’t good.”
“That is very not good,” Jason said grimly. “That’s the water pump.”
Stone frowned. “How bad is that?”
“Bad. If it was a hose or even the radiator I might be able to do something about it, or else at least it’s an easy fix for a mechanic. But this—” He shoved himself back out, and Stone followed. “Better get on that radio and call somebody, Al. This beast ain’t moving.”
“How long is this gonna take to fix?” Verity asked.
Jason shook his head. “Longer than we got, probably. Water pump’s a big deal even on a car. On something this big—” He blew out a loud blast of air through his teeth. “Odds they’ll even have one in stock are low, which means they’ll have to order it. Depending on where, it could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days. And then they gotta install it.”
Stone swiped his hand back through his dampening hair. “Well, bugger. All right, I’ll see if I can reach someone. You should probably unhook the Jeep. If they have to tow the caravan back to Reno, we’ll need something to keep going in.” He indicated the Jeep. “It will be a tight fit with the four of us and all our gear.”
Sharra eyed it dubiously. “That’s not just gonna be tight. We’ll have to leave some stuff behind.”
“Let’s just get back to town first,” Jason said. “We can figure out what to do once we get there.”
Stone was able to reach the police on the radio, and they promised to send someone capable of towing a vehicle the size of their motorhome. “It will take a while, though,” he told the others, who were still lingering outside. “Might as well get comfortable inside where it’s cooler.”
The tow truck took an hour to arrive. Stone chatted with the driver, giving him the information about the rental company so he could call it in and figure out where to take the RV, while Jason unhitched the Jeep. “Do we need to load it up now?” he asked, coming forward.
“Nah,” the driver told him. “You can leave your stuff in the RV and unload once we get back to town. You guys headed to Burning Man?”
“Yeah,” Sharra said. “Guess there’s not much chance of finding another RV back in Reno, huh?”
“No way,” he said. “Not this close. There’s always a run on that kind of thing for the week or two leading up to it. You gonna follow me back?”
Jason nodded. While the driver hooked up the RV to his truck, Stone and the others gathered the few items they wanted to keep with them, then piled into the Jeep and followed the tow truck back to Reno.
“This is great,” Verity grumbled. “I hope you’re gonna bitch out those rental people, Dr. Stone. They should’ve checked that thing out before they let it go.”
“Won’t do us any good now,” Stone said from the shotgun seat, sounding morose. Verity wisely left him alone.
It was more than an hour before they arrived at Reno. The tow-truck driver took the RV to a large truck dealership and left it off in a big empty area near the service bays. While Stone settled up with him, the others began offloading their gear into the Jeep.
When Stone returned from talking to the people at the dealership, the others were looking discouraged. “There’s no way we’re gonna get all this stuff in here,” Jason told him, indicating the large pile of gear arrayed around the rear of the Jeep. “Even if we strap a bunch of it to the roof, it’s still not all gonna fit with the four of us.”
Stone examined the Jeep and the assembled gear silently.
“You don’t know a ‘Shrink’ spell, do you?” Verity asked him, only half kidding. “Or some kind of pocket dimension?”
“Sorry, fresh out,” he said. “I suppose I could try to find us a larger vehicle to rent. The driver said he doubts we can find another caravan, but perhaps a large truck?”
Jason pointed at the Jeep’s back end. “It’s got a trailer hitch,” he said. “Maybe we can find a trailer.”
“Let me see what I can come up with,” Stone said. He headed off. Twenty minutes later he returned to where the rest of the group were still gathered around the Jeep.
“Any luck?” Jason asked.
Stone shook his head, looking frustrated. “I called every rental place listed in the ph
one book, but they’re all out of any sort of trailer. Everyone’s rented them for exactly the same reason we wanted it.”
Jason sighed, thinking. “Okay,” he said finally. “Al, you got cash?”
“Some. I can get more. Why?”
“C’mon. V, you and Sharra stay here and keep an eye on the stuff, and we’ll be back soon, okay?”
“Where are we going?” Stone asked.
“Hopefully to get something so we can get back on the road before the thing’s over.”
“You’re kidding,” Verity said a little over an hour later as the Jeep pulled back into the parking lot and Jason and Stone got out.
“Hey, beggars can’t be choosers,” Jason said. “It was all we could find.”
The four of them eyed the old horse trailer attached to the Jeep. It was at least twenty years old and made of wood, but it looked relatively solid, and was fully enclosed except for some high, narrow windows to provide ventilation. A hefty, brand-new padlock held the rear doors together.
“Somebody rented you that?” Sharra asked, amazed.
“No,” Stone said sourly. “We had to buy it.”
“At least the tires are decent,” Jason said, slipping a key into the padlock and popping the back doors open. Inside, traces of hay still littered the floor and the distinctive odor of manure wafted out into the hot, still air. “C’mon. Let’s get the stuff loaded up so we can get on the road before tomorrow.”
It didn’t take long to load their gear into the Jeep and the trailer. The back of the Jeep had enough room for their most important items, and everything else fit into the trailer with some room to spare. Sharra made sure the load was well secured while Jason made final checks on both the Jeep and the trailer to verify that everything was roadworthy. Stone left the RV keys with the man from the dealership, and after a brief stop for dinner since everyone was getting hungry by then, they were back on the road.
