Hi! And welcome back to the Bohemian Legacy Chapter 4.14. Last time, following Phoenix’s health scare, Generation 5 of the Bohemians, including a newly childified Coriander, went on holiday to Three Lakes with their grandparents, leaving Requiem behind. Rhapsody nearly burned the house down, Journey reluctantly bonded with Cori, and Elise obsessed over her brother’s health. After discovering half a formula for a cure for death left in the Three Lakes cottage by its previous owner, Elise decided that the only way to save her brother was to track down the person who had potentially invented this cure, one Mr.Goth of Pleasantview, and the Generation 5 teens decided to embark on an adventure in a bus. So, if you’re with me, turn the page for Roadtrip adventures!
Transcript
Hi! And welcome back to the Bohemian Legacy Chapter 4.14.
Last time, following Phoenix’s health scare, Generation 5 of the Bohemians, including a newly childifiedCoriander, went on holiday to Three Lakes with their grandparents, leaving Requiem behind. Rhapsody nearly burned the house down, Journey reluctantly bonded with Cori, and Elise obsessed over her brother’s health. After discovering half a formula for a cure for death left in the Three Lakes cottage by its previous owner, Elise decided that the only way to save her brother was to track down the person who had potentially invented this cure, one Mr.Goth of Pleasantview, and the Generation 5 teens decided to embark on an adventure in a bus.
So, if you’re with me, turn the page for Roadtrip adventures!
“You’re sure you have everything you need?”
“Yes Daddy, I’m sure.” It was only the eighth time River had asked her that question sincebreakfast. Dee smiled amiably into her father’s shirt as he nearly suffocated her with a hug. “Food,fresh clothes, sleeping bags, emergency medical kits…I’m pretty sure I even caught Journeylugging his guitar into the back earlier. We’ll be fine I promise.”
After several hours of brainstorming and systematically discarding increasingly elaborate lies to telltheir parents in order to be allowed to skip out on school and other responsibilities for anuncertain stretch of time they had come up with the perfect ploy.
Tell the truth.
It was dastardly in its simplicity and surprisingly effective.
River released his daughter “Well be safe and have fun driving down to the beach.”
Ok, so not the whole truth. There were limits even with their parents. They were quite happy torelease their children into an irresponsible road trip to wander aimlessly in the general directionof the sea side. They would most likely be somewhat less happy to release them on a verydeliberate mission to track down a potentially dangerous scientist and ask for his help in bendingthe rules of humanity for Phoenix.
That was the moment Journey chose to lean on the horn and glare out the window impatiently athis sister.
Giving her parents one last perfunctory goodbye hug Rhapsody dashed down the porch andsettled into the driver’s seat of the bus.
River wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist as they stood on the porch and watched the bus jerk its way down the road.
“They’re up to something aren’t they?”
“Almost definitely. It’s cute that they think we haven’t realized that though.”
No sooner had they left the scattering of houses that constituted their lost little corner of the desert behind, it quickly became apparent to the seven teenagers that they were in for a singularly boring scenery.
The desert was immense and empty. They drove for hours through the barren golden landscape, following the straight road by sandy dunes and flat stretches of nothingness until it became almost hypnotic.
“You ok?” Turner shook Rhapsody out of her reverie several hours into the monotonous drive.
“Yeah, I’m good” she smiled, rolling her shoulders stiffly “I was just thinking about how if wehadn’t already seen the mountains and the lakes I might not believe there was anything butdesert in the world…”
Turner squinted ahead “Well even there isn’t at least we’re not the only people who live there.Check it out.” He nodded ahead “A town…sort of.”
Dee peered out the windshield into the dimming sunlight where Turner was pointing. Sureenough, shivering uncertainly in the distance like some sort of heat induced mirage, she couldmake out what was clearly signs of civilization.
Requiem stepped up beside Turner, a frown on her face, as they drew level with the houses liningthe asphalt highway “Strangetown?” She read a dusty metalic sign as they drove past “I don’tremember that from any of the maps…”
The others were already crowding around the windows as they began to roll past the first signs oflife they had seen since leaving home.
“Have we taken a wrong turn?”
“I’ll check. Where did you put the maps?” Turner asked, automatically flipping open the glovecompartment. “Dee? Maps?”
“Right…maps” Dee smiled sheepishly at her cousin “I knew I was forgetting something.”
“Are you serious?” Elise, overhearing the conversation was up beside them instantly “You forgot tobring maps and we’re already lost? How is that even possible! I looked at those directions andthere’s only one road through the desert and it’s totally straight and we’re on that road! We can’tconceivably be lost!”
“Oh man, is this going to turn into a teen horror flick where we end up hopelessly lost beingpicked off one by one?” Journey grinned settling back into his seat as his sister needlessly pausedat the stop sign on completely quiet road, “Hey Elise, start worrying, cheerleaders never make itfar in situations like these.”
“Yeah and you definitely have horror movie survival skills Journey.”
“Well they’re better than yours.”
“Guys! We’re not lost and we’re not going to die. I promise. I’ll just pull in here and we’ll ask for some directions.”
“Well that’s almost as bad as saying ‘I’ll be right back’”
Satisfied sounds accompanied stretching as seven antsy teenagers piled out of the hot bus intothe slightly less hot outside.
“I am dying for a nice cold drink.” Cayenne sighed as she let a warm spring breeze roll across herbare skin. Journey muttered something under his breath which she decided to ignore “I saw somemachines when we were pulling in. Who’s in?”
There was a general noise of assent which was followed by some stiff staggering steps around thebus to fulfill their quest for refreshments.
They’d taken approximately six steps when they found themselves stopping short.
They were being watched.
Or rather, stared at.
In complete silence.
And with obvious curiosity.
It was incredibly disconcerting and the only thing they could really do was stare back. Journey voiced what they were all thinking first “What is up with their clothes?” Elise jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow in response.
“Testing! Testing! 1 2 3! Ladies and Gentlemen this is your captain speaking. Guess who found the speaker system!”
Cayenne’s enthusiastic voice echoed around the empty walls where they had set up camp. Night had fallen quickly after the Strangetown teens had left, and the sound of rain beating on the windows made everyone grateful they had somewhere dry to spend the night.
“What’s more!” Cayenne continued into the microphone, “Thanks to this family’s questionable,priorities, while we don’t have any maps we do have about eight billion CDs, so…” Cayenne’s voicecrackled out to silence for a moment before being replaced by the blare of loud music.
No I don’t know where I’m going, But I sure know where I’ve been Hanging on the promises, In songs of yesterday
And I've made up my mind, I ain't wasting no more time…
…But here I go again…
“Idiot” Journey remarked offhandedly abandoning their makeshift fire to sink down next toPhoenix a little way off.
“Me or her? Or just people in general?” Phoenix asked, laughing.
“Her obviously” Journey scowled “Although while we’re at it, you’re a bit of a jerk.”
“What did I do this time?”
“I finally worked it out today. I’d been wondering you know. Yeah, don’t think I don’t notice thesethings Phoenix.” The blonde boy glanced over his shoulder to notice his cousin scowling angrily ata neon lighting fixture.
“You’re going to have to help me out here Journey, I’ve got no clue what you’re talking about.”
“I’m talking about this whole roadtrip thing. Ever since Elise started mucking about with thosepapers and this trip you haven’t said a thing about any of it and I finally worked out why. You don’tthink we can save you do you?”
…Though I keep searching for an answer, I never seem to find what I’m looking for…
Phoenix smiled tiredly and leaned his head against the crumbling brick work “No I don’t”
“Then why the hell are you letting us all trek across the desert and put ourselves all through this ifyou think we’re just going to end up being disappointed in the end? You jerk.”
Phoenix supressed the smile, he knew Journey well enough to know he was lashing out at him outbecause he was upset, and he didn’t want him to think he was laughing at him. That rarely wentdown well with Journey.
“My mom once told me that the hardest thing about dying wasn’t the dying bit, or the being deadpart. At least not for her. She said it was coming back and seeing how much everyone who lovedher had suffered. Grandma and Grandpa, your Dad, aunt Saffron…” Phoenix pushed the hair fromhis brow as he looked at his sister, deep in conversation with Requiem around the fire “I don’twant to die Journey. But what sucked the most when I was sick last time was how much it suckedfor you guys. So if there’s even a tiny chance that this can save me I’ll go along with it because itmakes Elise happy to have some hope, because not letting her try would be more selfish thandemanding that you do…”
“Because we’re the ones who have to live without you if you die. Not the other way around”Journey completed.
“You’re the most annoyingly selfless dying person I know Phoenix”
“I try.”
…and I’m gonna hold on for the rest of my days, ‘cause I know what it means, to walk along the lonely street of dreams…
“Nnnnnnggghhhh…too early….so tired… don’t want to drive…...going to crash…unable to form proper sentances…”
“There’s nothing to crash into Cayenne, it’s the desert, the worst you can do is drive us into a sand dune.”
“Do not get cute with me Elise. Who sets a cell phone alarm clock for 6 a.m when we’re going to sleep at 3 a.m?”
“I wanted to get an early start. It’s our own fault for getting caught up in Dee’s project that we were up until 3.”
“What can I say, I hear art project and my common sense goes on holiday. It’s a family weakness. And Dee was right, there’s nothing quite like making a statement. Also we look snazzy.”
“Still if you wanted to get more sleep-”
“Elise shut up and admit we look snazzy.”
“We look snazzy.”
“Now admit that you’re just as tired as I am.”
“ Aaaaaand I’m ignoring you. Now, if we can be serious for a second! Even without maps I’m pretty sure I’ve got this itinerary figured out. We can probably start getting out of the desert by this afternoon, and then I think we can probably be in Pleasantview in two days.”
“Yeah right, that seems like it’ll happen.” Journey leaned over Cayenne to get to the stereo “Who wants some driving music?”
“If we drive through the night, and don’t get distracted any more we can make it in two days.”
“Elise” Journey sighed, giving his cousin a withering look “Lighten up.” He jammed a CD and hit play. As it turned out he was right. It definitely took them more than two days.
