The Pick-up Chapter Twenty Four The Slide
The Pick-up Chapter 24.Twenty Four The Slide
(c) 2025 by the Entangled Pair
*where the hell are we?* The tendril of thought merged in his mind with his own uncertainty. **anyone have a clue?** he ESPed back.
The chorus of a favorite song from a favorite modern country band, Alabama Stone by The Castellows, was playing from Talon's speakers.
"On this solid rock I stand
all other ground is sinking sand
but you can't ever get too far gone
when your roots run deep through Alabama stone"
Lucky gathered himself onto his left hip, his vision slowly resolving from gaming mode, split screen, to his 'normal' binocular view.
The red rock and the salt flats were gone, along with the endless asphalt. Gone, but not forgotten. He knew that road was not finished with them. Not yet.
He reached out and placed his right hand on the gentle swell of hip before him. He gave it a gentle shake. The blanketed form roused a bit and turned toward him. For a prolonged instant he perceived two sets of appraising eyes peering at him from a face reflecting the composite image of Raven/Saniyah. Then they merged. **my loves** unuttered.
He pulled the body closer for a kiss. He tasted them both in that kiss, but it was Saniyah he 'felt'. He finished the kiss, released her and turned his attention to the other lump on the ground. Raven roused easily and eagerly turned inward for the kiss. Tempus transierunt...
<continued>
Raven’s lips still tasted of ozone and cinnamon dust when she drew back. “We didn’t crash,” she murmured, eyes narrowing against the rising light. “Feels like we should’ve.”
Saniyah stretched beside them, fingers tracing the edge of the blanket. “Maybe we did. Maybe this is the place you slide into when you fall between the roads.”
Thoughts from Talon or Mamma, hard to tell, threaded through their minds like a tremor. **Slide / between / not-down but through**
Lucky pushed himself upright, sand or ash clinging to his palms. The ground wasn’t red rock anymore; it shimmered like glass, pale and faintly translucent, and underneath it slow shapes moved as if another world were sliding beneath this one.
“Yeah,” he said quietly, “we’re still moving. Just sideways.”
Raven tilted her head, listening. “Hear that?”
Faint at first, then growing: the whisper of steel runners over ice, laughter, a rush of wind that didn’t belong to any wind they knew. A light appeared beyond the shimmer elongated, twisting downward like the throat of a slide in some impossible playground.
Saniyah rose, brushing glittering dust from her knees. “Guess the carnival left us one more ride.”
Lucky glanced at the others, a grin ghosting across his face. “You sure you want to find out where it goes?”
Raven’s answer came with a slow smile. “We always do.”
They joined hands Saniyah in the middle. The ground flexed once beneath their feet, tilting toward the luminous curve ahead.
*ready / three / one*
Together they leaned forward. The surface gave way, and they were sliding not falling, not flying through layers of color and sound, their laughter echoing against the unseen walls of the world.
As they slid, the rampant colors swirled and folded into one another, a kaleidoscopic current separating itself by weight. The heavier, darker hues sank away; the lighter, brighter tones rose, until both ran parallel like twin rivers of light. Lucky merged into the left stream, Raven into the right. The image of Saniyah blurred, split, and joined them both half to each.
>Mamma *Merged now.*
>Lucky *Beautiful.*
>Raven *Yessss.*
The thought filled the void, heavy and tender, embracing all. ***Freedom! At last!***
>Saniyah *Grandfather.*
>Grandfather *Yes, child.*
Another voice had joined them.
The radio cut in John Denver, soft and nostalgic, singing “Country Roads” as they curved downward. Ahead, the air shimmered with the sound of engines revving, glass packs barking in rhythm.
As they shot through the final bend, the rest of The Uninvited appeared, sliding into place behind them, each bike’s speakers blaring Canned Heat’s “On the Road Again.” A wild, jubilant cacophony.
Talon, still riderless, eased between Lucky and Raven and bowed low, chrome reflecting every spinning color. Lucky swung into the saddle, pulling Raven up behind him. She reached forward, flicked the radio switch to off.
Canned Heat roared on as Lucky twisted the throttle, sliding them to the front of the pack
where they belonged.
—to be continued—
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Notes:
Some thoughts on the continuation:
The merger of Saniyah with Lucky and Raven is incorporated by redundant example without explanation.
>Mamma *Merged now.*
>Lucky **Beautiful.**
>Raven ***Yessss.***
The ESPing conventions are expanded.
>Saniah/Lucky = Saniyah through Lucky perhaps shortened to >Saniyah/L
>Saniah/Raven = Saniyah through Raven perhaps shortened to >Saniyah/R
>Saniyah = Through both or neither - same difference
-continued 10-06-2025
The riders not associated with The Uninvited had peeled off at various points
Raven
>Saniah/Raven **How can you be in two places at once?**
>Saniah/Lucky **When you're not anywhere at all? boom, boom, boom**
>Talon **Firesign Theater**
>Mamma **Second album! 1969**
Raven batted her head above the right ear, then shook it as if trying to loosen some cobwebs. Lucky just laughed.
End of Chapter 24
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