A Guide to the Hidden Places

      "Makayla, you might be the only person in the world who'd rather spend time flying in a sweaty compact plane" laughed Brandon.

           Brandon and Makayla walked down the rear of the Airbus to sit in their unremarkably compressed middle and aisle assigned seats.

           "Yeah. Yeah. That's not the first time you said that." Makayla stuffed her backpack in the small compartment space above her head. "Its like the engineers choose the most ergonomically unfriendly option."

           "It's just funny." Brandon pestered trying to lighten the mood. He adjusted the headphones around his neck as he inspected the passengers around him. Half of them had already filled the seats in the airplane, while the rest had been approaching in a queue.

           Brandon had a rough time flying because he felt like being stuck in a small room with a powerful air conditioner. The recycled air even made his head feel woozy and nauseated. Makayla on the other hand had been accustomed to it, she mostly booked those overnight long duration flights on budget airlines like Spirit or Frontier airlines.

           Brandon loved tagging along with Makayla, but the real excitement came from her special abilities.

           "Oh Oh." Makayla spotted a young woman a few rows down sitting by her boyfriend. "There she goes, that's who we want."

           "Who, the blonde chick?"

           "Yeah."

           "Uh, Why...?" Brandon looked puzzled.

           "It's the little details you need to look for. Check out her laptop with the Pink Floyd stickers and shit. The dyed hair, her dope 90's retro hoodie. I'm sure she's mixing music in a program in there. That's going to be an exciting mind to explore."

           Brandon gestured to a guy sitting by an empty window seat. "And why not that guy?"

           "Oh no no no. Brandon, bro. You never want to get into a single twenty- something's head. It's basically a sexually deprived Penthouse flick in there."

           Brandon scrunched his eyebrows into his forehead. "Oh that's a gross exaggeration. That's a total reach. But, I-" he stuttered. "I wouldn't say never..."

           "You're so naive, it hurts my brain."

           Makayla quickly sat on her chair and tapped her feet like a rabbit.

           "We only have about five people we can get into before this red-eye is over. Newark, here we go, baby."

           "You've never been to Jersey?"

           "Yes. But, I've never been inside of a New Jerseyan."

           Brandon and Makayla waited for the flight attendants to dim the lights for takeoff. They waited for the passengers to recline and lean back into their neck pillows. Makayla pretended to stretch to peek at the blonde behind her. She did it a few more times until she found the she had shut her laptop and closed her eyes.

           Brandon nodded and locked his fingers in Makayla's hands as she concentrated in her seat. She closed her eyes for a few minutes until a phenomenon occurred and they both stripped away from their physical forms and floated away into their new astral projected bodies. The sensation for them felt a little disorienting, like being in zero gravity.

           Makayla turned to Brandon and formed a fist with her dominant hand, and her pinky and thumb extended. She gestured it down from the top of her head to the side of her head, like teasing her long hair.

           "Blonde." she signed in ASL.

           They were mute in this transient state between their astral forms had left their physical form. Brandon smiled and nodded to agree.

           As they penetrated the blonde woman's unconsciousness, they found themselves amongst a large gathering of people. It was one of the largest crowds Makayla had ever seen, with a group of at least a million lively people, miles out. They were on grassy green fields with even larger mountains in the background all covered in sunflowers. Turquoise water had been running down a stream between a music venue. All the crowds attention were towards an enormous Greek-styled amphitheater with marble pillars almost twenty -stories high. On the center was a modern stage for musicians to perform.

           Makayla nodded impressed. "Wow, Ancient Greece architecture? She's probably a history major."

           "This is wild. This the craziest thing I've ever seen". Brandon gawked. He was distracted and pointed at a young shaggy-haired Olivia Newton-John from 1981. "Whoa. Look! Are we going to see her perform?"

           "Not likely. She's here just to watch. The shows almost starting."

           Makayla and Brandon made their way to the front VIP seating area by the stage. There were other famous musicians sitting there waiting for the main event. Freddy Mercury was there with his flashy yellow leather jacket that had too many straps. Freddy sat by Beyonce who sat by Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, and they all eagerly awaited for the main performance, but Hayley Williams from Paramore had been especially excited. She jumped up and down and whistled.

            Brandon grabbed something from a food vendor passing by and presented Makayla with two purple hot-dogs wrapped in tinfoil. 

           "Here you go!"

           "Ew, what's that?"

           Makayla looked down at what looked more like a ceramics project than something edible. The hot dogs had been colored violet purple with shiny pink spots, and what should have been moist onions condiments were pieces of yellow sunflowers pedals. The bun had looked perfect however, a spongy tan color with very distinctive symmetrical sesame seeds.

            "Ehhh...It looks delicious to me." Brandon shrugged as he stuffed it in his face.

           Each bite he took only made the food regenerate instantly.

           "Don't get too comfortable." Makayla said nonchalantly. Her eyes were still wide in excitement as she continued inspecting the vibrant creations of the world. She loved seeing the saturated colors that looked as vibrant as a paint catalogue at Home Depot. All of her favorite celebrities in one place was just the icing on the cake.

           "This place is really amazing... I knew we'd have fun inside of her."

           "Please don't ever repeat that sentence." Brandon said.

           The blonde girl finally came up on stage wearing a beautiful sparkled eccentric two piece gold outfit. She looked down to the crowd almost shyly and giggled.

           "Wow! Thank you all so much for being here! It's nice to finally see all my fans in one place, in New Jersey!!"

           The crowd all applauded.

           Brandon brought out his cell phone to record.

           Makayla gave him a look and shook her head and laughed.

           "Right, I forgot." Brandon snickered.

           "Fuck sake!" someone from the back yelled out. He had spiked hair and a ripped white tanktop. "You're pullin' my plonker right now?!"

           "What?"

           "You heard me. Pullin' your mobile phone out like that? It's a bit rude, innit?"

           "Oh. Calm down, man." Brandon laughed shrugging off the distressed audience member.

           "I've only been in love with a mirror and a beer bottle until I discovered this girl's lovely music capabilities." He bent his knees over Brandon's and Makayla's chair. "And here you are pissin' over it?"           

           "Don't engage. It's the intrusive thoughts, Brandon. They're only trying to protect her." Makayla whispered.

           "Aye. What you sayin' there?"

           "It's okay. We're leaving." Makayla got up. Brandon followed inches behind her.

           "Who was that?"

           "I think it was Sid Vicious. But, you know. He's really just her standing up for herself in a way. You never want to engage too much with a rendition of her personality in a dream. Things get really fucking weird if you do."

           "What happens if you do too much of it?"           

           Brandon noticed Sid had been following them, getting the attention of a few other people, other musicians he had recognized. A version of Billie Joe Armstrong, Bradley Nowell, Joey and DeeDee Ramone with Paul McCartney also trailed behind.

           "Shit." He's still behind us.

           "Alright, now we have to get to the host."

           "What if we can't get to her. Her security detail is pretty tight. The place is loud as hell."

           "C'mon, Brandon. Don't underestimate me. You can always get to them. They might be the main characters in this story, but I've learned a few tricks of my own."

           They passed a billboard of the blonde girl's name in bright light, "Holly". There was the iconic Hollywood sign brightly displayed nearby a hill, though the place had looked more like Switzerland.

           "What's the plan then?"

           "We create chaos." Makayla grabbed a beer bottle from someone near by and tossed it on stage. "We start a riot." She shoved someone carrying a tray of food down a flight of steps, who then stumbled onto another person.

           "What the FUCK." Brandon said panicked. "This seems wrong."

           The crowd had already surrounded the fallen person to help. There was a commotion nearby, some of them took notice of Brandon and Makayla, but they kept a quick pace towards the exit doors. Sid had still been in pursuit, but their fans crowding them had bought them some time.

           Makayla rushed to a security guard hanging by an exit door.

           "What are you going to do!?"

           Makayla grabbed his pistol from the holster and shot it up to the sky. The crowd had gotten hysterical as they tried to escape. The blonde had presumably woked up as Brandon and Makayla tugged back into their bodies where they sat in their seats.

           Brandon pinched Makayla.

           "Owch!" Makayla whispered-yelled.

          The lights had still been dimmed while most people had still been sound asleep. She turned back for a second to the blonde girl who had abruptly woken up groggy and exhaled a disheartened prolonged yawn.

           "I really really wanted to see Olivia perform. You ruined that, Brandon with your shenanigans. Anyways, want to do another?"

           "That wasn't cool. But, kind of yeah. It's just a little terrifying that we need to wake them that way. Usually it happens naturally those times you've taken me before."

           "Eh, It's no big deal." Makayla said. "It's not always sunshines and rainbows, you get a couple of scary nightmare-esque dreams, those you can't modify. One time, on an international flight, I had entered a girl's head when this loud siren blared, that sounded like those emergency broadcasts, like end-of-the-world type shit. Anyways, I was in a crowd of people all trampling over each other trying to get to a bomb shelter. And the host had turned into a young girl trying to run away with her dad."

           "What was the setting of the dream?"

           "I don't know, but I think it was somewhere in Israel."

           Brandon, got up from his seat to go to the bathroom towards the rear of the plane. He scoped around at the people sleeping, trying to get an idea of them through what they were wearing and how they dressed, how they looked.

           "Find anyone?"

           "The old woman looked pretty fashionable. Maybe we'll get to see the eighties or something?"

           The two of them closed their eyes again and found themselves floating away. Makayla held Brandon's hand tight as he struggled to float in her direction.

           Makayla pointed two fingers out like gesturing for a touchdown and moved her hands up and down as Brandon watched. "Hurry up!" she signed.

           Brandon pointed two fingers spread out towards his eyes and outwards in front of his face. "Look at me. I am eye. Looking."

           Makayla shook her head disappointed at his terrible sign language, but she understood the gist of it. "Hurry up!" she signed again.

           Brandon gave up browsing the selection of people in the front row and finally floated out towards Makayla again and onwards to the interiors of the elderly woman's mind.

           Inside her dream, they both wore swimwear. Brandon had tropical blue shorts and a seashell necklace. Makayla had a red bikini with a cover up multicolored skirt.

           The old woman had been swinging on a hammock in a resort in Hawaii, with her grandchildren and her sons and daughters were having dinner nearby.

           In the distance, by the beach there were tall tanned Mermaid-men swimming along the waves, while other older men surfed gigantic waves in the nearly transparent clear waters. Fishes, Dolphins, and other sea creatures were visible, swimming along the lively ecosystem or the coral reef beneath.

           "That's cute. She loves her grandchildren... and odd-overly active old dudes."

           Brandon felt like he was intruding on the privacy of the family. "I'm done looking around, ready when you are."

           "Yeah, I'm not feeling it either."

           Makayla rolled the old lady out of the hammock as she fell flat on her face, her self-help book tumbled onto the sand.

           They returned again back into their bodies. Brandon gave a look to Makayla.

           "That was so cold..."

           "It's easier. You do not want to get lost in a dream where you can't find or wake the host. So I just get it out of the way, you know?"

           "What happens if you can't find a host? When does that even happen?"

           Makayla ignored him.

           They both continued on to other dreams of passengers around them.

           They'd always feel that uncomfortable sensation like free falling from a skyscraper.

           Another dream they entered was in the mind of an old man. He would be a lot younger and more handsome walking in a cobble-stone street in the beautiful city of Postiano, Italy. The dream was set in the 1960's and the host had rekindled with an old lover with beautiful bright red hair. Every woman in that dream all had red hair but dulled in comparison to the old man's love interest. The closer Makayla and Brandon got to the host, an intrusive thought began, warheads soared above the city trailed behind by dark grey thundering clouds that seemed to follow the duo. Makayla had found a way to wake the host up and escaped the nightmarish scenario.

           Another dream they entered was from the man sitting by himself, it was at a skatepark where a nice day riding turned into an embarrassing one for the host. Makayla caused him to bail while riding up the concrete bowl to wake him. Tony Hawk, Rodney Mullen and an attractive woman wearing a fast food work uniform had all witnessed the fall. Stone Cold Steve Austin was there too. He was offering pointers on how to shotgun a Budweiser the quickest.

The dreamer had woken up then turned his face downwards with a glumness look.

           "Two more okay, that's all we have time for." Makayla signed in ASL in their astral forms.

           Brandon pointed up three fingers.

           "Not a chance."

           "Fine." Brandon pointed to a woman sitting with her husband and kids.

           They were both now in her head, then inside a large mansion elevated on a hill.

           Makayla looked outside of a large window to a densely vegetated city.

           "Seattle? Portland?"

           "Maybe? It's got almost as much greenery than houses."

           They both walked upstairs to explore the place. Each room looked very ordinary, but there was a looming feeling of dread in the air.

           Makayla and Brandon heard a thumping sound while they were trying out the robes in the closet.

           "Open the Goddamn door, Jenny!"

           "No! I won't do it." Jenny rushed in from the kitchen bawling uncontrollably.

           "They're my kids too, Jenny! Open the fucking door. You can't shut me out!"

           Brandon and Makayla had watched nervously from upstairs as the woman rushed back into the kitchen and came back into the living room with a kitchen knife.

           Brandon tapped Makayla on the arm. "Should we do something here?"

           "No, you mustn't get involved with the dream sequence. We're supposed to be invisible, remember?"

           "But, she's gonna kill him."

           "Don't Brandon. Just sit still, like I said we need to stay neutral."

           "Get out of here or I'll break the damn door down!" Larry continued pounding.       

           "You want to get in Larry. Fine, get in!"

           "Makayla, we can just scare her off and let her know we're here. Or create some kind of noise to distract her and make her think someone's breaking in?"

           "No."

           "But, maybe-"

           "No."

           Makayla watched as Larry, the estranged divorced husband or boyfriend opened the door and they got into a scuffle with the host. A violent domestic fight commenced.

           Brandon looked away, he watched only Makayla who had watched it all unfold, but she looked emotionless. Not even the sounds of screams, and distressed cries for help caused Makayla to react. She just watched neutrally as if it was a scene in a movie. Brandon winced but never dared looked down until it was all over and they abruptly returned away back into their seat. Brandon uncomfortably sat there quietly for a moment.

           "One more like I promised." Makayla smiled.

           "I think I'm all dreamed-out." Brandon sighed. "How could you just watch?. He wondered for the first time if this was something healthy they should continue. He couldn't shake the fact that maybe Makayla had been causing some of those terrible nightmares the strangers experienced and if there could be a lasting effect. He wasn't innocent of it either, joining in with her. They were like a like a virus that the hosts were trying to expel.