Part 7 (by Holly)



"I can do this.  I can do this"  Holly repeated the mantra to herself 

as she finished packing her suitcase.  "It's only an airplane.  People 

fly everyday.  Planes are safer than cars.  More car crashes occur 

than plane crashes, it's just that it's impossible to hear about every 

car accident."  Holly told herself reassuringly.  "I can do this". 

Holly carried her bag out to her plum colored Eagle Talon. She 

went back in the house for one last check, seeing that everything 

was in order, she grabbed her purse and locked the door behind her 

and set off for the airport, all the while repeating to herself "I can 

do this".



"Hey, Holly!  Over here", called a male voice.  She turned to look.  

It was her friend and co-worker, David Briggs.



"David!"  said Holly with a surprised smile.  "What are you doing 

here?"



"Well, I knew how nervous you were about flying for the first 

time, and I was planning to go and visit my sister in LA, I thought 

I'd see if I could get the same flight out as you.  So, we can do this 

together," David explained.  



"That is so sweet of you!  I am anxious. I don't even know what to 

do now that I'm  here"  Holly said with a nervous laugh.  David 

showed her how to check her bag at  the baggage counter and then 

took her carryon bag that held her laptop and a few  essentials and 

found them a place to sit while they waited for the plane.



David and Holly boarded the small plane.  Holly looked around 

nervously.  This kind of plane was called a puddle jumper and she 

could now see why.  Compared to the big jets, this looked like a 

toy her nephew had.   David had to duck so he wouldn't hit his 

head on the ceiling.  A dingy curtain was what separated the

passengers from the pilot and there were no bathrooms, so at least 

Holly didn't have to worry about that alarm that Stephanie had told 

her about.



Since there weren't really assigned seats on this small flight, David 

was able to sit next to Holly.  They buckled their seatbelts and in 

no time the engine rumbled to life.  "Oh my God.  I don't think I 

can do this.  I've got to get out of here."  Holly said as she started 

to undo her seatbelt.



"It's gonna be ok", David told her comfortingly.  "I'm right here 

and this really won't be a long flight.  Only a few hours and we'll 

be in Minneapolis and will make our connection.  What are you 

going to be doing in LA again?"  David knew the answer, but he 

was hoping to distract Holly from the take off.



"I'm going to be meeting my friend Stephanie from Australia.  

Then we're going to do some shop…Oh my God, I'm gonna be 

sick…."  Holly said as the plane started to taxi down the runway.  

Her stomach was doing flip flops and they weren't even off

the ground yet.  David took her hands and spoke soothingly to her 

as the plane began its ascent.



"See, all over, now we can take our seatbelts off and move around 

if we want to.  You did great!"  David squeezed her cold hands.



Holly wanted to send her friend Stephanie an e-mail to let her 

know that she was actually in the air, but the plane was so small 

that it didn't have a phone jack.  "Oh well. I'll just wait til we're 

on the connecting flight." Holly thought to herself.  Maybe this 

wouldn't be so bad.  She felt ok, she hadn't gotten sick or wet her 

pants like she thought she might do.  She glanced over at David, 

who was reading the Chicago paper and then settled back in her 

seat to read the novel she'd brought along.  



As Holly was just getting to a good scene, she felt this 

overwhelming feeling that something was wrong.  In fact, 

something was very bad, almost evil.  The plane jerked to the right.  



"It's just turbulence", David reassured Holly.  "it's pretty normal, 

actually.  Not a big deal.  You ok?"



Holly started to answer and the plane jerked violently again, 

followed by the feeling of falling.  The plane seemed to catch 

itself, but a strange vibrating sound filled the aircraft.



"Well, we're almost to Minneapolis, so why don't we put on our 

seatbelts so we're ahead of the game?"  David suggested.



The captain's voice came over the loudspeaker just then "We're 

approaching the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.  Please fasten your 

seatbelts and prepare for decent.  Thank you for flying 

Northcentral Airlines."



"See, we're home free."  David said as he folded his newspaper 

and stowed it in his bag.  



Holly gripped her armrests as the plane touched down.  When it 

was all over, she opened her eyes, one at a time, and uncurled her 

hands.  They made it.  She had one other plane to get on and that 

would be it for awhile.  Holly tried to shrug off the overwhelming 

sense of foreboding as David grabbed their bags and ushered her

down the aisle of the plane.



The crowd in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport was astonishing.  

Everyone was pushing and jostling, trying to get to their 

destination.  David checked their tickets and looked at a brightly lit 

board with plane numbers and gates on it.



"This way," he said and started off down a corridor.  "We have a 

half hour to get to the gate we need, which sounds like a lot of 

time, but it really isn't because we've got quite a bit of ground to 

cover,"  David said as they walked briskly, trying to avoid running 

into people coming toward them.



"Uh, David, is there any way we can stop for a bathroom break?"  

Holly asked as she dodged a woman with a stroller.  



"You bet, we're almost where we need to be and they'll have a 

restroom right there."  They continued to walk quickly to their 

gate.  When they got there they found that the flight had been 

delayed for a half an hour.



"After all that!"  David said good naturedly.  "Well, at least we've 

got some time before we have to board.  How 'bout if we go get a 

drink in the lounge?"



"That sounds wonderful,"  Holly said as she tossed her hair over 

her shoulders. 



Five minutes later, Holly had an ice cold Mountain Dew in front of 

her and was back to feeling like herself again.  David took a drink 

of his beer and then a swallow of his tequila shooter.  "Now, finish 

telling me what you're going to be doing in LA."  He asked her.



"Well, I'm planning to meet my friend Stephanie.  I brought her a 

stuffed Hodag, do you think that's corny?"  Holly asked of gift of a 

replica of the Rhinelander mascot.  "Since he's a mythical animal, 

and she's got a class in Mythology this semester, I

thought she might get a kick out of him,"  Holly explained.



"No, I'm sure she'll love it!  It certainly a one of a kind item!"  

David said with a grin.  "Are you and Stephanie going to set the 

town on fire?  Like do I need to give you a phone number so you 

have someone to make bail for you?"  he teased.



"Maybe!!"  Holly replied with a smile of her own.  "You just never 

know!  I'm not sure what Stephanie has planned.   We're gonna do 

some shopping.  I hope I can talk her into helping me find a pair of 

these thigh high boots that she's nicknamed the "fuck me" boots.  

I've just gotta get a pair.  We've got a few days to spend kicking

around."  Holly said, not wanting to tell David that Stephanie was 

a journalist and part of the media traveling with them on this tour.  

"I've never been to LA, but Stephanie has, so I'll just do pretty 

much what she suggests.  Then we plan on flying to New York to 

meet our Kissters.  It's the internet family I was telling you about

before, "Holly explained at David's confused look.   "We're going 

to take in a Kiss concert and see some Kiss tribute bands.  It should 

be fun.  How about you?"  



"Well, I'm going to see my sister, like I mentioned before, and 

then there's this convention that I'm interested in.  I know this is 

going to sound odd, but there's a Guarded Retreat for Innocents 

Programming seminar that I'd like to attend," David explained.  

His job as a mental health therapist required him to attend many 

seminars and training sessions.  "WWW recommended it because I 

see so many clients that are on the run from abusive spouses, 

significant others, or who have witnessed something violent, that I 

thought I'd check into this program.  What's really weird is

it's being sponsored by the American Panaramic Company," David 

relayed with a puzzled look on his face.  "I know I've heard of 

them but I can't find any information on them.  I sent in my 

application and I've got a confirmation number, so I'll attend

and see if it's something that can help our clients."  He pulled the 

ivory colored envelope from his carryon and handed it to Holly.  

"Maybe they'll be interested in starting a branch in Wisconsin."  



"Mmmm.  This is interesting.  If they can do what they say…."  

Holly trailed off.  The paper in her hands suddenly felt hot.  She 

folded it and put it back in the ivory envelope, noticing for the first 

time the embossed buttercups on the back flap.  She handed the 

letter back to David who put it back in his carryon.  "There's 

something odd about that letter,"  Holly thought.  She opened her 

mouth to ask David where WWW had gotten the information from.  

Before she could say anything, an announcement came over the 

loud speaker stating that their flight was now boarding.



David checked his watch and hurriedly drank the rest of his beer 

and tequila.  "We've got to move.  Let's go!"  David was humming 

"off we go into the wild blue yonder" as he got up.  He met Holly's 

eyes and smiled.



They picked up their bags and headed to the gate.  Holly still had a 

funny feeling, but thought that it might be due to the letter and 

conference that David was attending.  Then she saw the plane.  It 

was at least 4 times as big as the one they took to get here.  "If the 

turbulence was bad on the other one, it's got to be worse on this 

one!"  Holly thought to herself.  "I bet I can get a rental car and 

just drive out to LA.  Then I'm sure I can talk Stephanie into 

driving to New York!  It will be fun!  We can tour the country.  

Two gals in a car.  It's the American way!  "David, I think I'm 

gonna drive to LA from here", Holly said shakily as he propelled 

her past the ticket counter.  "I've got a bad feeling and I still 

haven't recovered from the last flight.  Why don't you go on ahead 

and I'll call you in a few weeks."



"Now come on.  You did so well on the last flight!  It gets easier 

every time."  David said as he marched her on the tarmac and to 

the steps leading to the massive jet.  "But…"



"No buts.  C'mon, people are behind you waiting to board.  Let's 

talk about this more when we're on the plane."  David said firmly.



David found their seats and discovered that they were not sitting 

near each other.  He got Holly settled and then spoke to the 

stewardess about changing seats.  He explained the circumstances 

to her.  



"First time flier, poor girl," the stewardess said sympathetically.  

"I'll see what I can do."



Holly looked around and noticed that there wasn't anyone 

boarding and David wasn't in his seat.  "He's probably in the 

bathroom," she thought.  "I've got to get off of this plane.  There is 

no way I can do this again."  She gathered her things and walked 

up the aisle with her legs trembling.  



"Where ya goin'?"  David asked casually as he stepped from 

behind the curtain separating the steward and stewardess area.



"I was looking for a bathroom,"  Holly lied.  "After drinking all 

that soda, I think I should go before we take off."  "Which isn't 

really a lie," Holly thought.  "I did drink a lot of soda and it would 

be a good idea to use the bathroom before they took off.  Too bad 

the bathroom I'm looking for is in the terminal.  Terminal.  Not a 

good name for a building, if you ask me, "She thought.



"Oh, ok," David said with a smile.  "They're right over here.  Why 

don't you let me hold your bags for you?"



"No, that's ok,"  she said as she patted her bag.  "I need some stuff 

out of it.  Thought I'd freshen up.  Want to make a good 

impression, you know."  She chattered as she entered the 

bathroom.  "Great.  I was hoping to avoid this room.  I know those 

alarms are in here somewhere.  That's all I need is to set one of 

those things off".  She combed her hair and put on some lipstick, 

then slowly opened the door, intending to make a break for the 

stairs leading off the plane.  



"Hi again!"  David said with a knowing smile.  "Ready to get to 

your seat?  Our stewardess graciously arranged for us to sit next to 

each other, so maybe you can help me send an e-mail to my 

sister?"  David asked as he propelled her down the aisle to her seat.  



She was ensconced in the window seat, so she had no way of 

getting past David.  She was stuck.  David had even fastened her 

seatbelt for her, and he'd definitely notice if she started monkeying 

with it.  Holly was sure that she'd look back on this experience and 

be grateful to him, but right now she was so upset that she couldn't 

even think straight.  The engines started and Holly gripped her 

armrests.  A light sweat broke out over her top lip as her body 

tensed.  



David patted her hand and again talked soothingly to her, trying to 

distract her from the movement of the plane.  Once they were in 

the air he breathed a sigh of relief.  He sure felt sorry for 

Stephanie.  She was going to have to try to get her on the next 

plane and he didn't think it was going to get any easier.