Danger Days

4

"Psst!"

Frank jerked his head up and looked around. He spotted Gerard at the foot of the stairs, staring at him intently. Gerard nodded towards the dining room, and Frank made his way over.

"What's wrong?" Frank whispered with a yawn.

"I don't trust him."

"Ray? Yeah... Me, either."

Gerard crossed his arms and chewed his lip. "I think we should watch out for him," he said. "Make sure he doesn't try to pull anything weird."

Frank nodded. "Okay, sure," he said. "But, uh... Why-Why are you saying all this to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why aren't you telling this to Mikey?"

"Oh." Gerard scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Well, that's because Mikey's a whore."

Frank blinked. "I'm-I'm sorry, could you elaborate? Like, even a little bit?"

"See, I can always tell when Mikey has feelings for someone, and I think it's happening right now. I don't like it. So, I'm entrusting you with this. Think of it as your chance."

Frank made a face. "My 'chance?'" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm a hard person to impress, Frank." Gerard flipped his hair. It was then that Frank noticed the smile tugging at his lips.

He laughed. At that moment, Mikey swept around the corner. "Oh, there you are," he said. "Ray said he has good news. Come!"

Gerard and Frank exchanged glances before following him. "Oh, good!" Ray said, smiling as they entered the room. "Guys, I know how we can get to California. My buddy organized us a passenger plane. We can go tonight."

There was silence. "Okay," Frank said slowly, "So, who would be flying this plane?"

"Oh, uh..." Ray cleared his throat. "I would."

"What?!" Mikey squawked.

"How the hell do you know how to fly a plane?" Gerard asked.

"I-I was joining the Air Force before all this," Ray said. "I learned a lot."

Gerard scoffed and threw up his hands. "Of course you were."

"When are we leaving?" Opal asked.

"Well, we could leave tonight," Ray said. Opal's face lit up, and he smiled at her. He looked to the others. "Is that cool with you guys?" Mikey and Frank nodded, and Frank tried to ignore the pangs in his stomach.

They spent the day passing time. Ray tidied the house, with Opal's help. Gerard lounged on the sofa with his brother, periodically attempting to nap. Frank sat on the bench on the porch, savoring his last hours in New Jersey. Sunset came, and he was thankful to have one more pink sky before the darkness.

The screen door creaked open. "Ready?" asked Ray.

Frank stood up and sighed. "Sure, why not?"

They made their way to the car and piled inside. "How far is the plane?" Mikey asked. "I-I really don't know how much more this thing can take."

"That's okay, it isn't far," Ray said. "If we go fast, we can be there in just under an hour."

Mikey thought, bobbing his head. "Yeah," he said, "Okay, we can do that."

They piled into the car, and Ray directed Mikey out of the town and into rurality. Eventually, they arrived at a long, winding road. It was narrow, with faded lines and trees covering every inch of the ground. Frank glanced at Gerard, who's fingers were balled into an unresting fist. His foot tapped rhythmically against the floorboards.