[Jenna's] Gang of Deadheads

by Paul Atreides

  -19-

  By 2:00 A.M., with Davy, Versace, and Diane ensconced in another room, everyone returned to their respective suites. Jenna stood on the balcony overlooking the city, a glass of wine in hand, tumbling the day’s events over and over in her mind. It had been an accident, a pure accident. But how would she convince Nancy? Or this Jason who appeared to infuse such terror in the dead? According to Tommy that would be paramount to staying alive. It always unnerved her to hear the dead refer to this existence as living, and remembering his words sent a visible shiver through her.

  To give her time to gather her thoughts enough to tell him what had happened, Marvin watched her from his vantage point stretched out on the couch. Noticing the shiver, he rose and went out. He placed his jacket around her shoulders and drew her close. “It’ll be okay, kiddo.”

  Jenna turned into his chest and wept. “Oh, Marv, I wish.”

  He kissed the top of her head, then lifted her face with a finger under the chin and kissed her; a soft, gentle kiss. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  She nestled into him and remained silent for a long time, gazing out at the miles of glittering lights. “You’re going to hate me,” she stated in a quiet voice, and told him the whole story. At the end she said, “I know I always accused you of being bullheaded, stubborn, and arrogant. Who’s the arrogant one now? Oh, God, Marv, I messed up. I really messed things up this time, didn’t I?”

  “Tommy’ll figure something out.” He led her inside, helped her undress, and tucked her into bed.

  She tossed and turned for a long time, her mind swirling with different scenarios, different arguments, different punishments. Realizing she’d been disturbing him, she turned her back to Marvin, heaved a long sigh forcing her body to relax, and lay still.

  ***

  At the other end of the hotel, leaning on a pillow propped against the headboard, Mike prodded all the information he could from Tommy, who paced the length of the bedroom. “There’s got to be a solution to this.”

  “This isn’t going to be easy Mike, she’s been warned. More than once. I know she’s trying to help these people, she’s trying to save lives. But, I’m afraid. How many warnings did Marvin get before Jason came for him? I don’t know. And it was only Nancy’s intervention that saved his ass.”

  Mike realized that had been the last time he’d seen the goofy, fun-loving kid this serious and concerned. “A hot shower always seems to help you think.”

  “All I’m doing is thinking, dude. I can’t shut it down. Man, don’t we have any weed around here? I could use a good toke to settle my brain.”

  Mike shook his head. “Sorry. I’d think the wine and champagne would’ve helped.”

  “Dude, this is some heavy shit.” Tommy stopped pacing and looked down at him. “I’m exhausted.”

  Mike knelt on the edge of the bed and patted the mattress. “Sit, a massage might help you relax, take your mind off things.”

  Tommy rolled his head in circles against the kneading palms and drew his shoulders in a downward motion to help ease the knotted muscle. “I guess I have to trust that Nancy will understand. That feels good, thank you.”

  ***

  The next morning, Marvin peeked over at the sleeping Jenna, slipped out of bed, dressed and went down the hall. He called out as soon as his head was through the door to their suite. “Hey, Mike, Hippie. Wake up. Where are you two?”

  Marvin stood in their kitchen when Mike emerged. “Brody, what the hell, man? It’s six o’clock in the morning. What are you doing?”

  “Making coffee. Jen’s still asleep.”

  “Well, so were we.” Mike plopped onto the couch. “You can be a total pain in the ass, do you know that?”

  “Sorry. But, look, Mike, I know Tommy knows what happened. Jenna told me. He’s got to help us figure this out. Hippie! Come on, wake up.” Marvin held a cup under the amber flow with two more at the ready.

  “Stop yelling. He’ll be out in a minute. You know it takes him a few minutes to un-bale the cotton in his brain.” Mike walked into the kitchen and took the full cup as Marvin swapped it out for an empty one.

  “Well, I’m sorry if Jenna’s life is —”

  From experience, Mike knew that tone of voice meant Marv was about to go off on a rant and smacked his shoulder. “Brody. Calm down. We know what happened, and we’re here to help. Tommy was up half the night thinking about it. Just give him a few minutes, would you?”

  With his arms stretched above his head, Tommy walked out of the bedroom and let out a loud yawn. “Dude, are you happy now? You woke the dead.”

  Mike swiped the second cup of coffee from Marvin’s grasp and walked it to Tommy. “Here. Sit. Clear the cobwebs. Marvin will wait.” He looked over, dropping to the couch, his tone and body language leaving no doubt. “Won’t you, Brody.”

  “Yeah, yeah, fine. Whatever.” Marvin came to the living room and plopped into a chair.

  Mike sat on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table, next to Tommy, who’d tucked his feet up under himself. They sat in silence until Tommy tipped his head back to drain his cup. Mike took it from him, went to the kitchen to refill it, and then returned to his spot.

  “Now?” Marvin asked upon seeing a range of expressions cross Tommy’s face.

  Mike turned to assess, but Tommy spoke up. “Okay, now, let’s think about this. It was Nancy who was there when Jenna … well, when the accident happened, right?”

  “That’s what Jen said, yeah.”

  “So, where was Jason?”

  “I don’t know. Why are you asking me?” Marvin stood and headed to the kitchen. “I think we should just get the hell out of Dodge, is what I think.”

  “Dude, won’t work. You can’t run. He knows. I don’t know how he knows, but trust me, he does. I mean, the minute you went for the poison that night in the diner, something truly lethal to kill Jenna, he showed up, right? And, so far with Jenna, we haven’t seen any trace of him.”

  “So?”

  “I’m just thinking out loud here. If things stay calm, she stays out of trouble…”

  Mike waved his cup in the air. “Brody, bring the pot over.”

  “Here in the city? Good luck with that.” Marv heaved a sigh and mumbled, “Jesus H., I need a vacation.”

  Tommy planted his feet on the floor and sat up straight. “That’s it. Dudes, I think that’s it.”

  “What?” Marvin halted in his tracks.

  “A vacation.” Tommy stood and started to run for the door. “Isn’t it time for the cruise?”

  “What’re you doing?” Mike called out as Tommy disappeared into the hotel hallway.

  “I’ll be right back.” Tommy’s muffled voice filtered through the closed door.

  Marvin ran over and stuck his head out the door. “Where are you going?”

  “To get Jenna!”

  “Not naked, you’re not! Get back here and get some pants on first. What’re you, crazy?”

  Tommy stopped and laughed. “Oh, sorry, dude, I forgot.”

  “You forgot,” Marvin said sourly, and turned inward to Mike. “He forgot he didn’t have pants on? How do you forget something like that? What is it with you two, anyway? Jesus H, every time I come over here —”

  “Oh, can it Brody,” Mike said. “And let him get through if you want him to get dressed.”

  Marvin moved into the room with the coffee pot still in his hand and Tommy walked through to the bedroom. Marvin leaned over to top off Mike’s cup, and moaned, “Oh, for the love of God.”

  “Don’t say it. I’m going, I’m going.” Mike followed Tommy into the bedroom and left Marvin standing there shaking his head.

  Marvin put the carafe back on the brewer and called out, “I’ll get Jenna.”

  He walked to the other end of the hotel and called to her as he went through the door. She answered right away. “In here. Are they up?”

  Following the sound of her voice, he found her in the kitchen, fully awake and
dressed. “Yeah. Do you believe that schmuck? He was gonna run over here buck naked to haul you out of bed.”

  “Tommy?” Jenna asked, smiling.

  “Do you know another schmuck?”

  “I know another one, all right.”

  “Don’t start with me,” Marvin said, and pecked her on the cheek.

  “Oh, don’t worry. I think I’ve started enough.” Jenna sipped at her coffee.

  “How long have you been up?”

  Jenna let loose a low sigh, moved to the small dinette to sit, and responded in a dull, tired voice. “I was awake when you got out of bed. So, what did he say? Does he have any ideas about what I should do?”

  Marvin grabbed one of the cups they kept on the counter next to the brewer. “Well, I don’t know what he has in mind, exactly, but —”

  “So, what are we waiting for?” Jenna asked, rising from her chair. With such frayed nerves, any idea, any guess, no matter how elementary it sounded, to extract her from the trouble she was in would help calm her at least a little bit. Cup in hand, she headed out the door.

  After he poured his coffee, Marvin followed her. Halfway down the corridor, Tommy and Jenna stood exchanging good morning hugs.

  “Don’t you worry, I’m gonna fix this or I’m not your Uncle Tommy.”

  The elevator chimed and they froze in place, each with their eyes wide and peeled on the doors. Jenna, who’d been holding her breath, sighed when a middle-aged couple emerged and headed down the hall in the opposite direction.

  “I thought sure it would be Jason,” Marvin said.

  “Something tells me he wouldn’t need an elevator. Geez, I hope they aren’t booked into any of our suites,” Tommy said, watching the couple’s progress until they stopped at a door and shoved the key card into the lock. “Nope. Okay.”

  “Thanks for thinking positive, Marv.” Jenna shot the remark over her shoulder as they continued on.

  “Come on, Jen. I’m just looking at it from my own experience,” Marvin said as they moved through the door into Tommy and Mike’s suite.

  “Come on in, sit. Help yourselves.” Mike gestured to the couch and indicated the carafe he’d placed on the table.

  “What, no bagels?”

  “Did you bring them, Brody?” Mike asked in a surly tone.

  “Hey, hey, just trying to lighten the mood a little. It’s been a rough five hours.”

  “Rough on who?” Jenna huffed, and turned her attention to Tommy.

  He perched on the arm of the chair Mike sat in. “I say we go on the cruise — just like we planned and promised last year.”

  “That’s it? That’s your big idea?” Marvin asked, leaning forward in his seat on the couch.

  “What you’re saying is, I just run for my life.” Jenna’s head dropped forward. She ran a hand across her forehead, and kneaded at the pounding of her temples.

  Tommy responded to Jenna, “No. There’s no running for your life. If Jason wants you, Jason takes you.”

  Jenna smiled. “Well, then I’m good, right? I mean, wouldn’t he have been here by now?”

  Shrugging, Tommy said, “Maybe. Who knows. Don’t get me wrong, you didn’t just interfere this time. You’ve committed the ultimate crime of the dead. There could still be dire consequences. But, I’d say the more time that passes without any incidents, the better things look for you.”

  Mike nudged his thigh. “What’s keeping him, then? Marvin knows what could happen, he’s seen it. Jason swooped in the instant Marvin went for —”

  “Dude, no need for the gory details, okay? But, I think it’s Nancy. She’s managed to get some kind of influence.” Tommy put on his best James Cagney mobster accent and finished with a laugh. “If it wasn’t for her, see, Marvin here would be sleeping with the fishes, see?”

  “Jesus H, hippie, does everything with you have to relate to a movie.”

  With a deep scowl at Marvin, Mike fired back, “I thought you wanted to lighten the mood, Brody.”

  “So, that’s it then? We leave town?” Jenna asked to get the plan back on track and glanced around at everyone for confirmation.

  “Okay.” Marvin stood ready to leave. “Not that we need to pack or anything, but …”

  “Wait, what?” Jenna stood and tugged on his sleeve. “You may not have to pack, but I need things.”

  “It’s nothing but a big sailboat. Believe me, you don’t need anything.”

  “I don’t care. I’ll decide if I need anything.” Jenna poked an index finger into his chest.

  “Oh, brother, here we go. You always have to make a big deal out of things.”

  “Who’s making a big deal? I’m just telling you I can make my own decisions.”

  “What decisions? I’m not making decisions, I’m trying to explain to you that you don’t need to take anything.” Exasperated, though he didn’t know what caused the greater part of it, Jenna’s situation, or Mike and Tommy, who’d come to enjoy the sparring and started to laugh, Marvin turned to them. “Would you two jokers explain this to her, please?”

  “He’s right, Jenna. All you take is you. You can’t be weighed down by stuff,” Mike told her.

  “Besides, dude, there’s nowhere to stash things without them being seen. And, I don’t think you want to be causing any more trouble for a while — even the fun kind.”

  “Fine, then what are we waiting for, let’s go,” Jenna said with belligerence in her voice.

  “We’ll come get you once we’ve cleaned up around here. Wouldn’t want to freak out the maids when they come in to scatter the dust around.”

  “I’ll clean out the coffee stuff and get the trash if you make the bed,” Tommy offered to Mike.

  “Deal,” he replied turning to Marvin and Jenna. “See you in a few.”

  Jenna waved and walked out with Marvin close behind. He wasn’t quite ready to give up the point. “There, you see how easy that is? Why can’t you —”

  “Come on, Marv, stop. I can’t do this right now.”

  The defeat in her monotone voice sent a pang of guilt to the pit of Marvin’s stomach. It was odd because even his mother had lost the ability to evoke guilt from him years ago. He caught up to Jenna, wrapped a protective arm around her, and kissed her on the cheek. Not sure he believed what he was about to say, but a deep gut instinct noodged at him, he gave in to provide the moral support she needed. “We’ll go, we’ll have fun, and you’ll see … Tommy can lift anyone out of a funk. By the end of the week, everyone will have forgotten all about it.”

  -20-

  Nancy spent hours wandering the dark city, slipping through pools of streetlight, out of shadow and back again. Needing time to sort out the sequence of events, to think of a way to save Jenna, she did her best to ignore Jason’s constant requests. In her mind, it would take quite an intricate debate to convince him that what Jenna had done was a good thing. Neither shadow nor light brought any answers.

  In the early morning hours, as the sky began to lighten on the distant horizon, just like any other deadhead, Nancy had no choice but to respond to his command. A loud, stringent insistence that belied his drained state pummeled her brain. “Nancy, you come here now.”

  Compelled to turn and head toward him, she asked with wariness and fear evident in her voice, “What do you need?”

  “You know what I need. There was an incident.”

  “Yes, but…”

  Jason’s voice softened. “You have no need to fear me. But, I will have an explanation.”

  Twenty minutes later Nancy found herself in Eastwood Metropark, northeast of the city that would soon be awakening to the hustle and bustle of the living. Amongst a small and secluded clearing, between railroad tracks and the Mad River, with trees beginning to spread their canopy of new May leaves, she stood before Jason. “You look tired; thin.”

  Jason heaved a sigh. “I’ll recover in time.” He locked eyes with her. “It’s not me you should be worried about.”

  “Please, Jason, I’m sorry.
You don’t need to —”

  “If the deed warrants punishment, you will deal with it.”

  Nancy’s gaze dropped to the dew-covered grass. “Yes.”

  “Now, tell me.”

  She had no reason to doubt he already knew everything, but Nancy did as requested and played through the event in as much detail as she could muster. “She was shaken; visibly shaken. And I sent her home.”

  “I allowed you to speak with her after the first incident, yet she has disobeyed. She interfered and now is responsible for taking a life.” His voice grew stern. “This is the highest offense. Why have you allowed her to walk away after such a thing? Why should she escape penalty?”

  “She didn’t mean for it to happen. It truly was an accident. She became caught and, in her frightened struggle to free herself, panicked.”

  “But had she not interfered this boy would be —”

  “Continuing on his path of destruction,” Nancy pointed out.

  Jason stared at her for a moment, considered chastising her for interrupting, and then nodded. “Perhaps. Yet, should one of us have decided the when and how of his death?”

  “But that’s just it. She didn’t decide.” Emboldened, Nancy continued, “What about the when and how of the future deaths he would have claimed? In doing this, Jenna has actually saved lives.”

  “What part of their lives and future is our business?”

  Nancy found the key to her response in his question and barreled on. “Isn’t that exactly what we do? Ensure the future? Ensure that those who are unrepentant in their evil can do no future harm? Jason, look at him. Look inside me and see him. He’d already taken lives, he would’ve killed that woman.”

  Jason’s eyes bore deep into hers. He heard the boy, this Brandon, roar with anger and saw a menacing grin spread across his face as he sensed the encroachment. A hand reached out, searching. Jason knew it was not to escape but to pull him in, in an effort to inflict pain and calamity to another soul. Jason issued a long, low, hearty laugh with its own sense of cruelty. “You wouldn’t want to know the things you would suffer, but shall I give you a taste of the thousands of years of the horror that inhabit me? Come, reach out. Touch me,” he goaded. He locked a grip on the clawing hand and held it fast. The boy cowered in misery and tried to pull away. Jason’s laugh grew loud, his deep bass reverberated through the clearing, and the branches of nearby trees shook as if they shivered in cold fright. When he felt the boy had seen enough, when the boy’s deafening scream assaulted his ears, Jason loosed his grip and the boy retreated, mewling.