Storm Over Saturn s-5

by Mack Maloney

  Annie was extremely animated now, yelling things back to Hunter that he couldn't understand. Strictly by hand signals he got her message that he should fly lower. He turned the Jenny over, and down they went to just 500 feet. Leveling off, he buzzed the length of the crowd, much to the delight of those below. What little glimpses he could get, he saw that most of the people were kids, teenagers, with colorful outfits and long hair. They were singing, dancing, frolicking. A musical group was playing onstage. Hunter could hear snippets of their songs even at 500 feet above. A very sweet scent was in the air, rising up as a curious fog. The action of the propeller served to blow it back into his face. What is that smell?

  All this delighted Annie to no end. She was singing, too, as if she could hear all the music coming from below. Hunter circled the crowd again; now many were cheering them as they flew over. Annie started gesturing again. Up and over the next hill was a field large enough for them to set down. She turned and smiled and indicated that Hunter should land. He pulled the throttle back and started his descent.

  The curious sweet fog got thicker as they went down. The field below opened up nicely, and the landing was picture perfect. They'd set down next to one of the roads leading into the grass bowl; it was filled with more kids. They were fascinated by the old Jenny biplane. Many ran over just as Hunter was killing the engine. They all had very long hair; a few had beards. One kid looked up at Hunter, laughing good-naturedly at his strange clothes, even though he himself was wearing a multicolored shirt and dirty jeans. He started yelling something, but the engine was still turning, and it was impossible for Hunter to hear.

  Finally, though, the propeller fluttered to a stop. Hunter yelled down to him, "What did you say?"

  To that, the kid yelled back, "I said: 'Hey man, the New York Thruway is closed!' "

  Hunter secured the plane as best he could. Then he and Annie walked down the road toward the music stage.

  The entrance to the grass bowl was crowded with hundreds of kids, all in brightly colored clothes, happily dancing and singing. Suddenly Hunter's long hair was very fashionable, as were his retro Carnaby Street clothes. What's more, Annie had taken off her heavy, long dress. Now her slip was a miniskirt, and her vest was her top. Her hair was let down, cascading into millions of curls. She was barefoot. Hunter's heart started pounding. In a sea of beautiful girls, she stood out.

  She seemed to know exactly where she was going, too. Hunter followed her to a gate near the rear of the music stage. There were several huge individuals stationed here who looked to be all business as opposed to peace and love.

  Annie called them bouncers. She turned on her considerable charm with them, and soon enough Hunter had a huge yellow badge hanging by a string around his neck. She had one, too. This allowed them into the backstage area.

  They found a small army of musicians back here. Some were tuning instruments, some were sleeping, some appeared passed out from drinking alcohol. Hunter smelled that curious sweet fog again. It was far from an unpleasant scent, and anywhere it was thick, everyone seemed extraordinarily happy. The vibe back here was one of was happiness and excitement. There was a musical group onstage churning out some tunes. But from overhearing some of the conversations around him, Hunter learned that the real stars of the show had yet to come on.

  He followed Annie through the area reserved for dressing rooms. They passed rings of security people, each one waving them through after checking their yellow passes.

  Finally they reached a door that was painted in bright psychedelic colors, with a large green apple in the middle. It was marked Dressing Room — Do Not Enter. A battalion of security people were guarding this door. Annie whispered to Hunter that he should wait here. She then charmed her way past the guards and went through the door. That's when Hunter caught a brief glimpse of the people inside the dressing room. It was an image that would stay with him for a long, long time, though he would never be exactly sure why.

  He saw four musicians inside. They were all wearing the same kind of silver collarless suit. Each had perfectly coiffered if longish hair, more styled than the people in the crowd or even his own. Three were holding instruments Hunter recognized as guitars. The other was drumming on a table with drumsticks. Just as the door was closing, one of the guys with the guitars spotted Hunter. They stared at each other for a long moment, then the guy raised his hand and flashed two fingers at Hunter. Hunter was baffled for a moment. 'Two? Two what?"

  But then the guy just mouthed the word Peace… and then finally the door closed.

  * * *

  Hunter waited outside for about a half hour. He was greeted in a friendly manner by just about everyone he met. He finally discovered the source of the curious haze; it was coming from a type of cigarette many people backstage were smoking. Hunter had invitations to take a drag from one of these smokes; in fact, just about everyone who walked by offered him a puff, but he declined. His body had been transported thousands of years in the future. He'd undergone entire lifetimes via mind-ring manipulation. He'd been to Heaven and back. What more could this stuff do for him?

  The band onstage finished their encore, and the crowd went crazy with cheering and applause. The band members ran right past Hunter; one commented on his "out-of-sight threads." Now Hunter could feel the crowd's anticipation building. He put two and two together. The headliners were the musicians he'd seen behind the multicolored door. If this dizzylando attraction was a world where dreams come true, who then could they be?

  At that moment, Annie reappeared. Here eyes were red; she'd obviously partaken in the happy smoke. She was very excited.

  "I've got good news," she told him with a giggle.

  "You found the Mad Russian?"

  "Not quite," she replied. "But I found a guy who knows a guy who knows another guy who knows everything about everything."

  It took Hunter a moment to sort that out. "Could there be such a person?" he finally asked her.

  She laughed and gave him a tight hug, just like Annie from the first adventure. "Remember where you're at, man!" she told him. "Anything can happen here!"

  Hunter would come to regret that he never saw the four musicians in the collarless jackets play their concert. The crowd was near fever pitch, waiting for them to take the stage; it was almost as if they were anticipating a religious experience. But Annie told him they had to return to the Jenny biplane and wait there. Hunter followed her lead.

  They left the backstage area, went through the fence and up the road, this while hundreds were still walking down into the bowl, heading in the opposite direction. Several of the kids stopped them and said, "Where are you going? You're going to miss them."

  Hunter could only answer with smiles and shrugs.

  For the first time in his life, he felt like he was swimming against the tide.

  He and Annie returned to the Jenny and waited as instructed.

  The screaming coming from the concert area was so loud, Hunter never heard a note the headliners played. It was very apparent, though, when the concert was drawing to a close as the crescendo reached fever pitch. Not five minutes later, four large automobiles appeared on the road leading out of the concert site. There were police vehicles surrounding each of them. The car fourth in the line — it was a stretch limo — stopped. The rear window came down, and a hand from the back waved for Annie and Hunter to climb in.

  They did. There were four people in the back of the limo, including one of the musicians in the collarless suit. He smiled at them, but then put his finger to his lips. Where they were going and what they were going to do when they got there had to remain a secret.

  They rode along in near silence, following the three other limos, soon passing the army of cars and vans that dotted the fields turned into parking lots. They drove up into the forested hills, past secluded ponds, and along a cold, swiftly running river. The other people in the limo — three beautiful blond girls — spoke softly among themselves. Music was wafting out of the limo's rear s
peakers. Another funny cigarette was passed around. Annie took a few puffs, Hunter again politely declined, though he was sure that just his proximity to the secondhand smoke was enough to affect him.

  But not much though. Because the scenery was beautiful. And it was a beautiful day. And this Dreamland was a place where nothing ever seemed to go wrong.

  So he just sat back and enjoyed the world going by his window.

  The four limos climbed up out of the hills and into the blue mountains beyond.

  Soon Hunter was looking down at the rapidly moving river, which was now wide and looking almost icy, but still refreshing. He caught himself on occasion eavesdropping on the conversation among the others in the back of the limo. They spoke with unusual accents, thick as pudding, and it was hard to follow along. The topic seemed to range from music to the current state of the universe. As before, he just stayed quiet, sometimes musing to himself that it seemed virtually impossible that he wasn't on some distant version of Earth instead of one of the many moons of Saturn.

  How strange his life had become…

  They drove on for about an hour. In that time the terrain outside changed dramatically. The trees and vegetation suddenly seemed more suited to a jungle environment as opposed to a northern forest. The condition of the roads changed radically, too. They went from wide and paved to dirt and narrow very quickly. And Hunter could tell it was getting very hot outside, this even though he could see snow-covered mountains way off in the distance.

  The trek ended at the gate of a camp hidden away atop one of the tall mountains. The camp was adorned with many brightly colored flags and emerald-leafed trees. An ancient wooden sign at the front gate gave the only hint of what this place was. In cracked paint, it read: Spiritual Ashram.

  The camp consisted of a dozen or so simple wooden huts, a communal dining table, and a large house in the center. There were a few people wandering around the grounds. They were wearing long, frilly, flowing gowns, both men and women. The place was very rustic, yet those in residence didn't seem a bit fazed when the four very modern limos roared in.

  The limos stopped in front of the large house. Annie started to climb out, pulling Hunter with her. The guy in the collarless jacket said to him, 'The man in that house has the answers to everything. Tell him you're our mate. He'll help you out."

  Hunter shook his hand. "How can I thank you?"

  The musician pushed his glasses back up onto his nose. "Just do me one favor. Wherever you go, whoever you talk to, please tell them that peace and love are the only answers."

  Hunter hesitated a moment. The guy obviously didn't know who he was talking to. Or then again, maybe he did.

  "I'll try," was all Hunter could say.

  The musician gave him a kind of mock salute. Hunter stepped out of the limo and closed the door. All four cars roared away, out the gate, and back down the mountain.

  Annie was waiting for him on the front steps of the big house. She was still giggling, still beautiful. Two men with bald heads were watching the door. They seemed friendly. When Annie explained how she and Hunter got here, the two men let them enter.

  Inside the big house was more elaborate than Hunter would have imagined. Candles lit the place, hundreds of them. Incense filled the air. It was darker within than it should have been, as well. They walked together toward the end of the one big room. Here was a platform of sorts, made of immense pillows at least ten feet high. There was a crowd of several dozen people sitting around it. Legs crossed, eyes closed, they were all in a meditative trance, or at least pretending to be. At the top of the pile of pillows was a little man, dark-skinned with a very long gray and black beard. He, too, was sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, several pots of incense burning around him.

  Annie looked up at Hunter, and for the first time since meeting her, she showed a bit of uncertainty by way of a shrug. Cute, but different.

  "Excuse me…" she called up to the strange little guy in a sweet whisper. "Sir?"

  The man didn't move.

  "Sir… do you have a moment?"

  Still, nothing.

  Annie shrugged again, and then to Hunter's astonish-ment, she crawled up the mountain of pillows and pulled on the man's very long beard.

  "Hey!" she yelled. "Wake up, man!"

  Startled, the little guy finally opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was this beautiful creature, not a few inches from his face, grinning ear to ear at him.

  It was as if he'd woken from a beautiful dream.

  "Ahhhh," he said in a very high-pitched voice. "An angel has come for me…"

  Then he saw Hunter, and this deflated him a bit.

  "More visitors?" he squeaked.

  This brought most of his audience out of their trances. Suddenly all eyes in the place were on Hunter.

  Annie explained to the guru how she and Hunter happened to get here, about the musicians and the limos and the ride up to the mountain. Then she looked back down at Hunter. "Ask him quick!" she said.

  Hunter took two giant steps forward. Just as in the other places he'd been, he didn't bother to identify himself. He simply asked the question: "Do you know a man called the Mad Russian?"

  The bearded man thought a moment, then let out another "Ahhhhh… yes! Such a valuable person. A true spirit in this world."

  Hunter felt a glimmer of hope.

  "Is he here?" Annie asked him. "Have you seen him lately?"

  But then the tiny man shook his head and said, "No… in fact, I have never really set eyes on him."

  Hunter was immediately bummed out again.

  "Do you know where he is?" he asked the guru. "Is he on this… world?" Hunter hesitated using that term. But the little guy got his meaning.

  He shook his head again, his beard rolling from side to side.

  "From what I know, he is not," he said, in a high-pitched, singsong voice. "And has not been for many, many years. To tell you the truth, there are days, dark days, I agree, when I'm not even sure he exists. Is he a real person or not? How do we really know? Perhaps, as many have claimed, he is just an idea, something your hands cannot grasp, but only that your mind can hold on to."

  "But I'm sure he exists," Hunter insisted, pulling out his yellow ticket and holding it up so the guru could see the faded photo on the back. "I know people who know him."

  The little guy just smiled. "Then I can only tell you that your search does not end here. In fact, I think, it is just beginning."

  The congregation all began nodding and bowing, as if the swami had just laid out one of the secrets of the universe for them. The little guy waved his hand, and the congregation dispersed, wandering in twos and threes back outside.

  Annie slid down off the pillows. For once she was not smiling. She took Hunter's hands and squeezed them gently.

  "I'm sorry, man," she said. "I thought if anyone would know, it would be this guy."

  They turned to leave, when suddenly they heard the little man call them back. He indicated Hunter should climb the pillows, which the pilot did, but with awkwardness and great difficulty. Finally reaching the top, the guru motioned him closer. Hunter went right down to ear level. The guru started whispering to him, his voice suddenly much lower than before, his spiritual demeanor gone.

  "Try the second next moon over," he told Hunter directly, sounding more like a wise guy bartender than a swami. "My boys have told me the Russian used to hang out there a lot."

  Hunter was mystified. "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

  The guy just shrugged, reached behind him, and came out with a huge cigar. He lit it and spat a few loose fibers of tobacco from his lips.

  "I didn't want to bring it up in front of my fans," he said with a wink. "Can't ruin a sweet thing like this, you know?"

  Hunter nodded in agreement, even though he wasn't sure what the guru was talking about.

  "OK, then," he said. "Second moon over from here. Thanks."

  "One more thing," the little guy said, grabbing him by the sleeve. "
You ain't the first mook who's been asking for him lately."

  Hunter was very surprised by this. "Really? Who else?"

  The little guy blew a few smoke rings, then flicked his ashes all over his silk pillows. "I don't know exactly," he said. "A couple of real freaks…"

  "You mean, like the long hair kids down at the concert?" Hunter asked.

  "No," the little guru replied. "I mean real freaks. Tough guys. In funny uniforms. Scary dudes, in a way. I didn't tell them what I told you, though. I didn't tell them nothin' because I didn't like the way they looked. And they were a little lacking in the respect department…"

  He blew a few more smoke rings and flicked his ashes again.

  "What do you want to find the Russian for, anyway?" he asked Hunter directly.

  Hunter thought a moment, then started crawling down the hill of pillows.

  "I'm here to make him an offer," he said over his shoulder. "One he can't refuse."

  Hunter and Annie returned to the concert site via a ride on the back of a truck leaving the ashram.

  Night was beginning to fall. Music was still being played. The crowd was more mellow now, after all the excitement earlier in the day. Play time was over though. Hunter thought it best to get back to New York City and figure out his next move from there. He wanted to start the flight before the daylight was completely gone.

  Luckily, the field was clear enough for him to get the Jenny off the ground. Rushing down the improvised airstrip, he pushed the old biplane into the air and quickly gained altitude. He swung back toward the concert site to give Annie one last look at the happening below. She was disappointed that they were leaving, disappointed that she had not helped him find the Mad Russian. Even bummed out though, she looked pretty.

  Hunter flew low over the crowd one more time, intent on making a long, slow turn back east, toward NYC. But then suddenly, something inside him started buzzing. His whole body began vibrating. What was this? Similar to his built-in radar, this sensation came to him when he knew something was wrong. But what could it be? The airplane was flying fine. Annie was strapped in and OK.