Can't Believe That I Survived

"You two be good, now. Remember to buy groceries and clean the house and-"

"Okay, mom! Now hurry up, or you'll miss your flight!" 
Jane laughs as I pull her into one final hug before she boards the plane, on her way to Elko. She's interviewing some band there.

"Where's Jack? I wanna say goodbye to him." her eyes wander around the large waiting area. 

"He had to make a phone call. He should be around somewhere," I go onto my tippy toes to see above the swarm of people hugging and taking pictures. He's always on that bloody phone. 
I slump back to my feet.

"Jane... He's being stupid. He's not talking to me, and when he does he's angry. It's hurting me." I feel little tears prick in the corner of my eyes and I refuse to let them spill over.

She frowns, and a look of sympathy floods her features.
"Work's getting to him. You know it's frustrating when you don't get something you want, yeah?" 

I sigh deeply, then nod. I do my best to blink away the tears.
"I guess. Oh well."

"He'll realize what he's doing soon enough, I promise."
She hugs me one last time and gets in the queue of awaiting passengers. 

I sigh, knowing that I'll have to deal with an anti-social mess every day, by myself. He's like a toddler. It shouldn't be bad though, Jane's only gone for two days. Two days of self-converse, and a few grumpy, over-heard telephone conversations. This is my life as of now.

* Jane POV *

Why are there so many sick people on planes? They shouldn't even be allowed on board! Damn, I'll be throwing up everywhere before I even put my feet on the ground.

I'm glad my seat is at the back and away from most of the living dead at the front of the plane. Imagine if they really did turn into zombies... That'd be awesome! I'd grab that old lady's handbag and smash their faces with it.

My phone buzzes in my purse. It's okay, the hostesses haven't told everyone to turn off their phones yet. Anyway, we haven't left the ground. I'm not screwing up any flight paths by reading this one message. 

I pull out my phone and read the sender ID.

Sender: Jack 

Thank god I didn't turn off my phone.

Received: 10:23am
All sorted. Anna's going to be stoked! Have fun!

I draw out a long breath. It's all sorted. Everything's going to be fine, Jane.

My eyelids are already half closed, as I was freaking out last night about this trip, like having to cancel it, but I can finally get an hours worth of sleep! I clip my seatbelt on, and place my bag under the small seat. 

Soon, the quiet rumble of the airplane's turbines drift me to sleep as the wheels float off the ground.

I awake to hear the generic voice of a flight attendant over the speakers. 
"Welcome to Nevada! I hope your visit here is to your liking. We will start descending soon so please remain in your seats."

I look out of the small window sleepily, and as my eyes adjust to the scenery my brain registers what they see. Brown desert and green mountains stretched for miles, and hugged cozily in the middle, is Elko, Nevada.

I'm slightly disappointed that nobody turned into a zombie. It would've made the journey a lot more interesting. 

I'm in Nevada...

My legs are turning into jelly now. Oh my god. Why couldn't have I just gotten sick? Then I could've stayed at home! No. What am I scared of? I do this all the time. It's my job! I'm not scared, no. I'm actually pretty excited.

We land, and I find my bags. It's only a short walk from the airport to my hotel from here. 

When I check into my room, there's a little chocolate wrapped in golden foil on the pillow waiting for me. This calms my nerves slightly...
Yuuum. Anna should do this at home-Oh, god. 
I flip out my phone quickly, and check the time. 
11:45am 

"Shit... I have to leave in half an hour..." I murmur. Shoving my phone into my jeans pocket, I rummage around my bigger bag to find my hairbrush, notepad and pen. 

I brush my hair thoroughly to make sure I comb out any knots that formed while I was on the plane. Then I pull it into a messy bun and put everything I need into my purse, including the chocolate. I'll eat it later.

I rush out the door, making sure I have the room card with me. Imagine if I left it in there...

As I walk into the street I decide to call Jack, just to clarify everything. 

"Hey Jane, how was the flight?"

"Eh, it was alright. Many sick people. Listen, I'm outside the hotel now, did you arrange any form of transport? They're probably not just going to let any body out there." I bite my lip in thought.

He laughs after a bit of shuffling and a click of a door being shut, I presume. "I organized a car to come and pick you up. Like I said: Everything's sorted. I payed a lot of money for this, mind you."

"That was part of our deal. You pay, I go." I sigh. "I just don't want to miss this opportunity. I'm freaking out, Jack. If Anna finds out about any of this, she'll kill me. Or love me forever. But it's a very fine line!" my heart throbs faster. 

"Just do this, and she will definitely love you forever. Trust me." 

If she does find out, she won't talk to me for days, because I didn't take her with me. But it would ruin the surprise if she did. Plus, it's my job to interview famous people, not to let my friends meet them.

"You need to apologize for being such an ass, too. She was on the verge of tears when she told me how you were neglecting her. I almost let it slip. You're lucky I refrained, Mr. Because-something-didn't-go-the-way-I-wanted-it-I'll-not-talk-for-a-week-Way!" 

The line was silent for a moment. 
"She wouldn't talk to me on the way home, now I know why... Jesus... I'm sorry..."

"I'm not the one you should be saying sorry to, Jack. She cares about you. More than anyone." 

"I've realized that." He lowers his voice. "Hurry up, you're going to be late, and I have some apologizing to do." he breathes heavily. "Good luck..."

"You too. You're gonna need it, boy." I end the call and slip my phone into the all familiar back pocket of my jeans.

Just as I do, a special looking car pulls to a stop a few meters from where I stand. This must be for me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After miles of desert scenery a large lot comes into view, with multiple buildings but only the tops visible as high walls and barbed wire fences block most of the view inside the property.

The car waits at a wide steel gate and slowly rolls into the area as it rattles open, then close behind us. 

"We have to park in a special space for safety reasons, and to let the guards know you're a VIP." I was told by my driver, Mike, on the way here. That's right, I'm a VIP.

I look out the window into the fenced off courtyard and see many, many, many, many men, all wearing the same orange uniform. The ones leaning against the fences turn with menacing glares.

An extremely sinister looking guard greets us and shows us to the waiting room doors with a stoney expression the whole time. This is making me even more nervous. I'm practically shitting myself.

To my surprise, the waiting room is clean and cool opposed to the boiling heat outside.
Nice white walls, wooden seats with red cushions, a coffee table with a few magazines and soft lights comfort my aching brain and body. 

A middle-aged lady at the desk smiles warmly at me as I walk unsteadily towards her. 

"H-hello. I'm here to do a-an interview? Jane Way?" I start shakily.

"And who are you here to see, Ms. Way?" she asks politely. Her name tag reads "Carol". 

"R-Ronald Radke, please."