Date: Mon, 13 Mar 1995 01:29:01 -0500 Reply-To: "Candice G. Cardasis" Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: "Candice G. Cardasis" Subject: Learning To Fly (1 of ??) ..prelude to Take to the Sky X-To: gielskcl@bigvax.alfred.edu *taps the microphone* Is this thing on?{echo} Oh, I guess so. Well at long last I *finally* got around to working on this story. It's been coming to me in bits and pieces for a long time now. I'm still working on it and parts will be forth coming while I try to keep a decent GPA. So without any further adue, may I present: ................................. Learning to Fly part 1 by Candice G. Cardasis 1995 ................................. To all other commuters heading down Interstate 287 towards New Jersey, the white Jeep was just another car amide the morning traffic. But inside the car there was a woman unlike the rest of them. She had found that out just a few short months ago. That trip to Colorado over winter recess seemed like the perfect getaway. Hitting the slopes with Colleen -well skiing by herself while Col sipped drinks slope-side, was exactly what she needed. Her first semester in college had proved to be as stressful as her mother had warned, and so the break was to be the welcome release of tensions built up since orientation in August. Up ahead about six miles, a tractor trailer had gotten stuck under an archway and had managed to drag two other cars along with it, causing the first major traffic jam of the morning. The rubbernecking started and the immortal behing the wheel of the Jeep groaned, but thanked whoever was watching out for her that she's gotten a good head start on her travels for the day - she would _definitely_ be late for the antique show. She popped in one of her favorite mixes into the tape player and sat back in her seat as Billy Joel's "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" filled her ears. Suddenly a disorienting feeling came over her, and as the people in the cars around her were getting a hold of their superiors, the woman in the '88 Wrangler slipped into a world of her own, a memory nearly four months old.... .*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.*+.*+. The two girls stepped out of the commercial jumper plane in Gunnison Colorado and simeltaneously heaved huge sighs of relief, thankful that they'd reached theier destination without a single incident. "Dear goddess, how did I ever let you talk me into this?" Colleen grimaced as she lugged her carry-on off the plane. Candice laughed to herself and chided "Well if I'd known you were afraid of flying..." Colleen swung her bag at Candi's side, smashing it into her ribcage, knocking the wind out of her friend. As she tried to catch her breath, Candice composed herself, smirked, and said "...oh, that's right -I brought you along for my ocassional beating- SOMEone's got to keep me in line.... remind me to bring Steff along next time, at least I know she can keep her cool in small spaces." "WHAT!!!" Colleen shouted as they made their way across the small landing strip towards the poor excuse for an airport. "You heard me.." Candi grinned to her friend of four months, "I can't *believe* the way you acted on the jumper, honestly I..." She was cut off in mid sentence by a steamed Col, "A JUMPER?? That thing was more like a beat-up stationwagon with wings what with all the rattling and poor ventilation and, and, and.. that rotten three year old! Who knew such a small child could mke so much noise?" The two started laughing at Colleens Jewish grandfather im- personation. "Well you didn't have to snarl at the kid, I mean honeslty Col, he's only *three*. I think you scared his mother more than him. And what I meant about the Steff thing was that I know she's not as claustrophobic as you seem to be." "And just what would you know?" "You mean she never told you about the bunkbeds in the dorm room?" Colleen shook her head. "Oh," Candice grinned and said "well then I suggest you ask her to tell you that story." The automatic doos swung open and they entered the building. Candice signed the forms and got the keys to their mode of transporta- tion while Colleen struggled with their luggage. "Don't even THINK about touching my skis Col!" Candice rushed from the Hertz counter across to the conveyor belt and grabbed her ski equipment before her inept friend could get her hands on any of it. "Well far be it for me to interfere..." The two walked out to the front of the car rental pick-up area and gasped as they found the car that matched thier keys. "Thank you Uncle Scott..." Candice said under her breath and smiled as she walked around to open the trunk of the Dodge Viper. "How on _earth_ did you manage to get THAT?" Colleen joined Candi and started to load their bags into the trunk and backseat while Candi secured her skis on the roof rack. "Well my um..sortof Uncle Scott told me one of his hot shot friends was visiting him and had "traveled in style" from California,...I guess this is what he meant." As they headed out onto route 21, the rain started to fall, it wasn't cold enough at the present time for snow. Not wanting a repeat of the incident in Rotchester, Candice put the fine specimen of an automobile into four-wheel drive. While the Viper was one hell of a sports car, it was no comparison to her beloved Jeep. Colleen stuffed her winter coat behind her seat, made herself comfortable, and took a look around. "oOoh look, it's even got a disc player -nice." Col grabbed the NIN disc out of her backpack. "Methinks Pretty Hate Machine should get us through the hour or so,..don't you agree?" "Oh, absolument, ma chere." Candice smiled, happy to be on the road. In the distance, lightening cracked throught the gray mid-day sky. To the far-off observer, it seemed to be a part of the storm coming from the south into Gunnison, when in reality, it was really much further off -somewhere around northern Denver. But it only lasted for three minutes, and no one really paid attention. Just like no one paid attention to the sound of swords clashing in between the rolling sound of thunder. After all, it was only a storm. **************************** Right then, that's it for the moment. Please keep in mind that this was thought out mostly in a stress free environment, and written mostly on a bus back to Alfred, New York on March the twelfth. Comments craved at: cardascg@bigvax.alfred.edu Tokens of affection accepted at: winter@jbxs1.jbx.com =========================================================================