The Final Shortcut Read Online Free PDF Page A

would start tomorrow and the field was teeming with activity. A local radio station had kept them up to date on the amount of people there and which bands were to appear. It seemed to them that this was to be the event of the year. The event of their lifetime to be sure, in more ways than one.
    When Marty woke up that morning, Ellen was already outside watching the mass of folks that had converged on them during the night. A nearly unbroken carpet of moving colors; a deceptively dangerous throng of humanity. A couple camped nearby had become new friends and Ellen was anxious to go with them to the stage. And as how Marty wasn’t into music much, he seized the opportunity to stay back and look after Junior. He used the reasoning that it was a long concert and he could take his turn later. Truthfully he wanted to get some more sleep. Once she disappeared into the crowd a thought crossed his mind that she might not find her way back. A thought he didn’t dwell on long; didn’t give into the sudden feeling of dread that swept over him. He turned instead to see if Junior had gotten up yet. When he looked at his son lying in his bed, cold chills ran up his spine. An anxiety flooded over him, the likes of which he had never felt before. He couldn’t understand it, but it frightened him. Just then Junior woke up, rubbed his eyes and looked at him. Without a word he grabbed Junior and gave him a long hug. Junior giggled a bit and Marty smiled broadly and asked, “Are you hungry sport?”
    “Yeh!” Junior squealed as he bounded out of the bed; Marty rose feeling a little better, just a little.
    That evening around a campfire, Ellen and her friends Sarah and Mark, regaled Marty about all that had occurred during the day. They laughed and sang parts of songs they had heard. Mark had a guitar and did his best to entertain the rest of them as they passed yet another joint around the fire. The stage was well lit in the distance and the music played late into the night. Everyone, everywhere was partying like there was no tomorrow. Three times Marty had seen naked girls and guys strolling about, he had even come upon a couple making love earlier that day, right out in the open. Ellen jumped up and said, “Hey, I got a surprise for you.” Marty looked at her with red eyes and a permanent grin.
    “Who me?”
    “Well,” she started, “something we can share with our new friends.” She went into the camper and retrieved her stash. “I got some ‘shrooms I been saving for the trip.” She giggled when she said trip. “For a trip…or two.” They both giggled as she held out the bag
    “ Man o’ man.” Mark stood up and staggered a bit as he reached for the bag. Ellen opened it enough for them to see that it was over half full of the intoxicating fungi. “I have never seen that many mushrooms before.”
    Ellen smiled, raised her hands in the air and said, “I got more than that for later, enough to share with the world.” She almost fell as she turned to set the bag down. Marty was not extremely happy at the thought of babysitting her while she tripped, but he was so stoned he couldn’t stop smiling. “Would you like one.” she gleamed as she held one out to Mark.
    “Man, you mean you just eat them, raw? We usually make tea or a cocktail.”
    Sarah chimed in, “Yeh, they taste a lot smoother in some tea or a screwdriver.” Ellen popped one in her mouth and hugged up to Marty, holding the mushroom in her teeth. She kissed him and they chewed it up together, she getting the larger portion. Marty didn’t like to be so out of control and he made a mental note that he was going to have a serious talk with her about it once they got home. Mark and Sarah followed suit, laughing so hard they almost didn’t get to eat it all. “Where did you get so many of these? Are there more?”
    Ellen stood tall and proud and proclaimed, “We grow these on our farm in Kentucky. We even have our own cattle.” She burst out laughing and