San Francisco

Chapter Five

By A Shot of Amber

Remember that this story is set in 1967. Also this story is dealing with the use of now illegal substances. In the time period this story is set up in marijuana and LSD were not yet illegal so it was common for people to easily get a hold of them and take them. I AM NOT SAYING YOU SHOULD USE DRUGS. Drugs are bad and its stupid to take them, but I am being historically accurate. If you don't like to hear about drugs then I suggest you leave now and don't finish this story. Otherwise continue on. Also please remember to read and review or send all comments, questions, flames, and suggestions to Thank you.

San Francisco

Chapter Five

" I could really use a bath," Mina complained pulling the neck of her dress away from her and waving her hand in front of it.

" Perhaps tomorrow we'll come upon water," Ken replied while he poked the fire with a stick to make the flames bigger.

" I hope so, I feel like a mess."

" When was the last time you bathed Aphrodite?" Serena asked from her position next to me.

" I don't even remember," she replied letting go of her neck band. " I guess it was when we came upon the last river but that was a week ago. So I guess it's been a week."

" That's about the same time for rest of us," Serena smiled in remembrance. "You should have seen Darien blush when I got down to my underwear."

Mina laughed and looked at me. " He is a blusher when it comes to girls. He blushed yesterday when my skirt blew up in that wind storm."

" How I was supposed to know that you weren't wearing underwear," I muttered more to myself then anyone else. Serena heard though and laughed. She slipped her arm through mine and pulled me closer. " Poor Darien," she mused softly so only I could hear.

" I finally found it!" Chad called walking over to use with a couple bags in his hand.

" Found what?" Ken asked looking up from the fire.

" The weed. I found where I hid the marijuana and the cubes. I thought I had lost them for good but they were under my seat the whole time." Chad sat down on a mat next to Rei who had been braiding a headband and set the bags in front of them. "Alright, who's in?"

" Count me out," Ken replied standing up. " I'll go see what River's doing instead." He walked off into the darkness.

" Marijuana? Doesn't that stuff give you a chemical high?" I asked watching as Chad poured out some green grass onto a piece of paper.

" It sure does. You want to try it?" Chad asked without looking up as he sealed the paper into a little roll then grabbed the bag of white cubes.

" I don't know," I began but was stopped by Serena's arm tightening around mine. " Don't leave Darien. It's not bad for you. I've tried it and the effects are fun. All you'll feel is dizzy."

I looked down at her. Her blue eyes were looking up into mine. She smiled softly, a little smile that some how knew I would cave in. I did. " Alright I'll try it," I replied looking away from her to blue eyes.

Her smile got bigger and she hugged my arm before turning to Chad. " Let me go first so he can see how its done."

" You got it Moon." Chad stood up and pulled a white cube out of his bag. She stuck out her tongue and he placed it on it. Then he lit the marijuana on the fire while taking a few puffs before handing it to her. She took it one hand squeezing it between her index finger and thumb and inhaled deeply. The whole time I watched as she did this so easily and so simply, but what where the white cubes for?

" See its easy," Serena replied looking over at me and smiling. Her eyes I noticed were slightly dilated. " You still want to try?"

" Yea, give me a hit," I replied reaching for the marijuana but she stopped me.

" First you need a cube." Chad handed her the bag and she pulled a small one out of it. " Stick out your tongue." I did. She placed the cube on my tongue and I pulled it into my mouth. It didn't really taste like sugar; in fact it didn't really taste like anything. Maybe it was because it was under a school bus seat. " Now take a hit and breathe deeply all the time sucking on the cube." She handed me the marijuana and I took brought it to my lips and took an inhale. The smoke burned my throat but I forced it done into my lungs then breathed again.

Serena was smiling. " Good. You'll feel the affects soon enough." Already the pupils of her eyes were enormous.

" What is that? Sugar? Because if it is tastes kind of strange," I said holding my head as a slight dizzy spell came on.

" That's not sugar man," Chad replied. " That was LSD."

I looked up at Chad then at Rei who had stopped braiding and was watching me then I looked at Serena who was also looking at me with a slightly worried look on her face. I could almost hear my father's voice screaming in my ear about me taking psychedelic drugs. Then I looked into Serena's eyes, those true blue eyes with their large black pupils and smiled. The worried look disappeared from her face and she smiled also. My father wasn't here right now.

As the tense mood passed and the bag of LSD emptied I began to feel the affects of the drug on me. Everything was a swirl of lights and color. The flames dancing in the sky. The stars falling to the Earth. Serena swaying in time to the sound of Mina singing a song. Then she stood up and pulled me up with her.

" Dance with me. Twirl me into the stars," she whispered pulling me out into the darkness away from the fire while Mina's singing seemed to grow louder. Then it was surrounding us and I was flying on the wings of a dove, a dove with long blond hair and a white dress. We danced underneath the stars, me twirling her first one way then another while we laughed. I never wanted to come down from the affects of this high. I wanted to be alone with her. I wanted to take her face in my hands and kiss her until she was half dead from lack of air. I wanted to dance with her all night.

" Say you'll never leave me," she whispered into my ear as I pulled her close to my body, the leather fringe on her vest knotting against my chest.

" I'll never leave you," I whispered taking her face in my hands and leaning down to kiss her. " I can't leave you. You poisoned my soul," I whispered against her lips. She just smiled and leaned in a little closer. We kissed there together under the star light with the sounds of Mina's singing far away by the fire.

Gradually I came down off my high to a cold reality of dizzy spells and shaking tremors. Serena and I lay underneath the stars in the grass of the prairie while I fought the after affects of the drug. She held me close to her, one arm wrapped around my chest while my hand rested on top of hers. We were watching the stars as they slowly stopped spinning and finally came to a complete rest. They were still in that black patch of sky above us.

" I finally came up with your name Darien."

" What do you mean?" I asked feeling slightly drowsy. The dizzy spells were gone now and I was left feeling tired and weak.

" Your name that signifies you as part of the group. I thought of it when you and I were dancing. You should be called Earth."

" Why Earth?"

She sat up and looked down at me lying in the grass. " Because my name is Moon and the Moon and Earth are connected and we are connected. You are the Earth and I am the Moon."

" I love it when you speak like that," I replied.

She inched closer to me so are faces were even with each other. "Say you'll never leave me Earth. Say you'll stay with me forever."

" I'll always be with you Moon." I replied tightening my grip around her waist.

She smiled and leaned down to kiss me which I eagerly accepted. A soft kiss that meant so much to the two of us lying in the green grass under the black prairie sky.

In the morning I woke up to the sounds of Lita calling for us. We had fallen asleep under the stars. Her hand clasped tightly in mine like she was afraid I was going to leave her. My shoulder ached from sleeping on the hard ground and as I sat up it protested in pain.

Lita spotted us rising out of the tall grass and came towards us carrying a thermos of water in her hand.

" There you are. I was wondering where you were all night."

" I'm sorry Flower. We must have fallen asleep underneath the stars," Serena replied rubbing her own sore shoulder then reaching out for the water.

" You must have after the drugs finished taking affect. I heard Chad was giving everyone Angel Dust last night around the camp fire. Did you give him some?"

Serena lowered the water and nodded. " He took it on his own accord and now he is one of us. I gave him his name last night."

" Oh really what is it?" Lita asked turning to me.

" Earth," I replied cracking my shoulder once to relieve some of the pain then taking the water from Serena. My throat was dry and parched.

" The moon's natural partner," Lita mummered then smiled. " It's a good name. Welcome to the group Earth. I will make sure to tell Tim but for now you two may want to come back. We are packing up to leave. We have to still get through the desert." She turned to leave then stopped and looked over her shoulder.

" I'll make sure no one asks what you were doing out here alone." With that she turned and walked off leaving us alone. I was about to say something but Serena stopped me. She took my arm and lowered it to my side and wrapped her hand around it. " Don't Earth. She understands well enough. She's protecting us."

I looked down at her then back to Lita. She was protecting us? From what?

In camp everyone was packing their things and loading them into their respective vehicles. Ami say us first and blushed before turning away and handing Ken a box. Ken though smiled and nodded at me. Serena pulled me forward though towards Tim's van where Rei was loading her guitar case in. She saw us and stopped pushing the case in though. She looked at Serena's hand clutched in mine then climbed into the van and shuffled through something. I was half expecting her to pull out a knife and slash me with it but she didn't, she instead pulled out a head band.

" Lita told me that you have been christened so I give you this." She climbed out of the van and handed me the head band then smiled as she met my eyes. " Welcome to the group Earth. Take good care of her."

I nodded moved by the knowing and serenity in Rei's eyes. Just then Tim came from behind and clasped one arm around my shoulders causing the pain of them to start again.

" As the leader of the group I want to welcome you properly Earth. No matter where you go you'll know that you are always welcome with us." Then he sort of hugged me, let go and turned to Serena. " My dove as grown up and found her wings," he said hugging her tightly. She smiled and kissed him. " I have Tim, I have." I didn't really understand what he was talking about but she seemed to understand.

" Now we should get going. We have a full day of driving to do," Tim said letting go of Serena and turning to Rei and I. " Rei you got your stuff?"

" Yea, everything but the guitar case fits," Rei replied heading off with Tim towards the van leaving Serena and I alone. I looked down at the head band which was brown leather braided with a piece of green and blue cloth.

" Its like the Earth," Serena whispered coming closer to me and looking down at the headband too. She then took it in her hands and held it up. " Bend down." I did and she tied it around my forehead much like the one around hers was tied. " There now you look even more handsome." I smiled as I stood up again. " Just like you are beautiful." She grinned and reached up to kiss me.

" Come on you two! We're going now!" Rei called from inside the van. Serena let go of me and smiled. She then took my hand and we climbed into the van with me shutting the door behind myself. Somehow Rei had managed to get her guitar case in but it was somewhat cramped in the back as Serena and I took our seats.

Tim climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine while behind us the other's climbed into their cars and slammed their doors shut. The last one in was Ami who came running from the prairie with something in her hands that she must have forgotten. Ami climbed into Lita's van and then we were off. We headed to through the tall grass towards the highway again and back towards are destination, California.

" We must be in Utah now," Rei said as we got on the road nearly scaring an old couple in a Cadillac as we drove over the edge of the road and passed them.

" Were about to enter Nevada in an hour," Tim replied as the others lurched onto the road behind us. " Prepare for the desert girls. Its going to get hot and dry."

" I guess that rules out a bath," Serena replied petting her hair gingerly.

" If we find water you can take one but I highly doubt we are going to find water in the desert," Tim replied.

" Damn," Serena mummered.

" Are you just saying that because you want me to see you in your underwear again?" I whispered into her ear. She just laughed and pushed me away. " Earth you are bad!"

" Hey you two! There are other people in the car you know," Rei yelled back then turned on the radio. I just sat back and put my arm around Serena who curled up next to me. We had a whole day of driving ahead of us.

It did get hot. By noon Serena had shed her vest and rolled up her sleeves. She had taken to fanning herself with a piece of paper while Tim had cranked up the air conditioning.

By the late afternoon we couldn't stand it anymore and Tim finally pulled off the road and found us a spot to camp by a small stream with some scraggily trees to give us shade. As soon as the engine was turned off Serena alighted and was running back towards the school bus where Mina and the others had ridden. I climbed out also and fanned myself with my hand. I had never been to the desert so I wasn't used to this heat which seemed to surround me and choke the very living breath out of me.

" Its hot isn't it?" Tim asked coming up next to me and shoving his hands in his back pockets.

" I've never felt heat like this," I replied.

" That's because you are from back east. Out west in the desert like this it gets real hot. Except till night fall then you'll see. It will get freezing cold. We'll probably want to sleep in the cars tonight or at least near the fire."

" I take that you've done this before?"

" I'm 30 years old Earth. I've been doing this since I was young even before the hippie movement started. I left my parents when I was 18 and that was in 1955 and traveled to California. That was during the beatnik movement. I hated California though so I bought this van and drove all the way to New York and joined a commune. That was where I was introduced to the hippie movement and living with nature. I guess you could say I'm the only true believer here. The rest are just kids out of high school looking to rebel against their parents and the World War Two generation."

I looked at Tim. I mean really looked at him for the first time and saw what everyone else missed. A man with no place to go in his world so he went to stay in the world of children. If he had stayed with his parents he would have married his high school sweetheart and had children in a suburban house. He would have never seen the world and driven around the country in a beat up van. Instead he would be seeing his children skip off the school and cursing the war in Vietnam quietly from his living room in front of the TV. Instead he choose this life, a life of unexpected happiness and sadness but a life all the same. He would never see his children skip off the school and his high school sweetheart, if he had had one was married to someone else now. Suddenly I had a new respect for Tim and what he was doing. He was the father figure of this group just like Lita was the mother. He was taking children who had no place to go and protecting them from the mean cold world. I wanted to hug him but I didn't instead I clasped one hand on his shoulder as if to show him I understood. He understood my gesture and smiled.

" You're a good man Darien. I'll be sorry when you leave us."

" I think Serena will be the sorriest of all," I replied looking over to where she stood talking to Mina and Ami.

Tim nodded and removed his hands from his pockets. " You're the first person who's made her come alive like that. I know it will hurt when you leave us but she'll understand one thing, I know you'll come back." He smiled. " We might as well un-pack," he said terminating the intimate conversation we had just had. I nodded and followed him towards Lita's van.

Lita and Ami prepared the meal for that night. Ken who obviously was very attached to Ami stayed with them and prepared a fire for them to cook on. The rest of us including Tim went to the small creek and took our baths. Lita had soap and shampoo in her van so we all could wash our hair. It felt good for the first time to get all the dirt and grime off of me as I scrubbed at my skin with the soap. Serena stayed close to me, dressed in her white underwear as she scrubbed the cinnamony smelling shampoo into her hair. She smiled at me once as she knelt down and washed the suds out of her hair. I could only watch as the white foam revealed blond locks wet from the water.

" I have got to change my clothes," Rei grumbled as she climbed out of the creek and squeezed the excess water out of her hair.

" I should to, but I like the white dress," Serena replied washing the last of the subs from her hair and standing up. " I'll just wash it in the creek and let it dry over night."

" But then what will you wear?" I asked a little astonished that she would run around in nothing but her underwear around all the guys in camp.

" I have another dress to wear," she replied climbing out of the creek also and headed over to where her clothes lay. I followed suit and grabbed my stuff. I was soaking wet but the heat would dry me fast as I pulled on my shirt and pants again and then tied my head band back on. " Do you want me to help you?"

Serena stood up with the dress in her hand. " There's not much to be done except to scrub the dress with soap and hang it on a tree but if you want to keep me company I would like that."

I nodded and followed her down to the creek bed. She went back into the water while I sat on the bank and watched as she wet the dress down then got down to the job of scrubbing it with the bar of soap.

" So what do you think of us now?" Serena asked without looking up.

" What do you mean?" I asked.

" Well you've been with us for awhile now. Though it feels a lot longer then the short time that you've really been here. Soon we'll enter California and San Francisco then our trip will be over. Oh you'll love San Francisco. It's really beautiful there with all these old Victorian houses and the free love and peace. It's such a peaceful place. Chad likes it because you can buy drugs right off the streets for cheap prices and get high any place you want. Rei likes it because you can make money singing with your guitar and I like it because you'll be there."

I didn't say anything to this. I was due to basic training in about a week. We would enter California in two days. How I was supposed to tell her that no matter what was going between us, I still had to go. I couldn't say no to the United States Army simply because I met a girl. Even though the girl was like no one I had ever met. Tim was right, she was like a bird. The most beautiful bird I had ever seen.

Serena climbed out of the water and walked past me towards one of the trees. She hung up her dress on a branch and spread it out so it dried evenly. "I don't really like the blue dress but it'll do till this one dries." She patted the dress once then sat back down next to me. The sun was setting in the sky in front of us. It was a golden ball of flames that sent a golden light over everything.

Have you ever noticed that certain kind of light that comes with the sunset? It's this beautiful golden light with this tinge of pink that lights up a person's skin and hair and makes them look like the most beautiful person on Earth. I hope you've noticed it because I did as we sat there. She slipped her arm through mine and placed her head on my shoulder. I twined my fingers through hers and looked down at her. That golden light and flushed her skin making her look so beautiful. It almost took my breath away to see her like this. I had to look back at the sunset just to breathe again.

" I wish it could be like this forever," Serena whispered softly. " I wonder how I ever lived before meeting someone like you Earth."

" You know I'm still not used to my new name," I replied laughing slightly.

She smiled and looked up. " Would you prefer it if I called you Darien, Darien?"

" Only if I can call you Serena, Moon."

She placed her head back on my shoulder and sighed. " No one really calls me Serena anymore. I don't think anyone's called me Serena since I left my parents and moved in with Tim. But this is different so I would like it if you called me Serena. It makes me feel sort of alive again."

" You are alive," I replied. " You are the most living person I've ever met. I've never known anyone like you."

" Maybe that's why Tim says I'm a dove. I can fly with my wings but I don't want to fly alone anymore. I want you to fly with me."

I didn't say anything to that. My thoughts were still on the fact that in a week I was due to basic training. In a week I would get my regulation hair cut and my army green and in a month I would be shipped off to Vietnam. I didn't want to give her up, and maybe I wouldn't have to if she would wait for me to come back. I know I would count the days until I returned if she was willing to wait.

" Hey you two! Dinner's ready!" Rei called from the trees where she stood. We looked up at her slightly startled out of our revere. " Flower sent me to get you two and to tell Serena to get dressed. Now that the sun is setting its going to get cold." With that she turned and walked off. Serena disentangled herself from me and stood up. " I guess we should go. I am a little cold."

I nodded and stood up also then stopped to look at the sunset. It was just sinking below the horizon. The last golden rays shining down on us. " Darien are you coming?" Serena asked turning back to me. One hand was held out for me to take. I turned around and looked at her. Then I smiled and took her hand. She smiled back and together we walked up the hill towards the camp.

Please remember to read and review or send all comments, questions, suggestions, and flames to Thank you!