Visions (Hell Portals, Book One)

Chapter Ten: Oh Looksy - A Biker Chick!

WITH THEIR NEW PIPES, LEATHER PIPE POUCHES, LIGHTERS, TAMPERS AND TOBACCO BLENDS CAREFULLY STOWED IN THEIR SADDLEBAGS, Nate and Jack mounted their Indian Chief Classics a little after 11AM, fired up their engines, and headed toward Highway 17 and their ride to San Francisco.

Both boys were feeling some nerves, knowing that things were about to get more intense, although it was hardly easy to picture anything more intense than Phyllis and her scalpels and bone saw. But they knew they were heading toward Serin, an important leader in the demon underworld, and that his lair would likely contain new and more horrendous revelations and challenges.

San Francisco was a huge city filled with all kinds of seedy nooks and crannies. As he rode North on the 17, Jack wondered just how he and Nate would be able to locate Serin and his operation. Surely Serin would be hidden behind multiple layers of protection and misinformation. Those who worked for Serin as well as those who dealt with his organization from the outside would most likely be under threat of torture and death to keep his whereabouts and his dealings hidden. It would take a good deal of luck, and perhaps some help from Farnsworth or their angel buddy Hosiel, to crack through the walls that would have been erected to keep Serin safe and sound to work his evil.

But Jack knew that up to this point everything had fallen into place. Sally had touched Jack's shoulder and had begun their first mission (even if it had failed miserably). That had led them to Rosie's bar and their second, more successful operation (except for losing the human Tabitha's head), including meeting their new best friend and helper, Hosiel.

Next, Hosiel had guided the boys to Jack's mom who turned out to desperately need their help. But it had all worked out. One thing had led to the next. So all Jack could do was trust that this kind of road would continue. A road of being led from one important location or event to the next. A path of somehow being provided with the tools necessary to do each job, at the exact right time. This seemed to be the road they were on, and Jack prayed it would continue to be true and straight and filled with crucial, lifesaving tasks.

In contrast, Nate, while riding up the 17 toward San Francisco, was thinking about his new pipe. About how much he'd like to stop and smoke it while perched handsomely upon his Indian. About being a modern-day Knight Errant. About his trusty iron steed and how awesome and powerful it was. And about Rachel, whom he missed too much for words.

This is not to say that Nate was more shallow and self-interested than Jack. These thoughts were simply what the boys were thinking, each man with his own flavor of head-space while embarking on perhaps the riskiest portion of their adventure yet. One was trying to figure out what might lay ahead and how they might be able to overcome it, and the other was working to escape thoughts of the foreboding future and focus on the romance of the trip. The adventure of it all.

Somewhere just before Holy City, realizing he was thinking too much while riding (something that could get you killed), Jack cranked some Led Zeppelin on his handlebar speaker system. He hadn't used the system much on the trip and found that it had powerful, clear sound even at higher volume. His album of choice this moment was Zeppelin's "In Through the Out Door". As the first tune "In the Evening" played, with it's grinding, unstoppable beat, Jack felt strong and powerful himself. The music was energizing and focusing him. He felt ready for what was coming.

The music was loud enough for Nate to hear too, and it gave him a focused sense of purpose as well. Neither boy felt bad for cranking the music so loudly amongst the other cars and trucks on the road that day. They felt bad-ass and content beyond description.

When the second chorus kicked in, "Oh, I need your love, oh, oh, I need your love, ooh yeah, I need your love. I got to have...." Jack sung the words along with the track, feeling it deeply as it mixed with the feel of the road and the wind in his face. He turned back to Nate, who gave him the thumbs up and rocked his head up and down signaling his appreciation for the tunes himself as it made him think of Rachel and the intense feelings he had for her.