Stranded (7 page)

Kendall pulled out his wallet and got out one of his cards, fishing in his coat pocket for a pen. He wrote his home number on the back and handed it to Johnny. “I think that would be very nice,” Kendall said and then reluctantly raced out into the cold. He nearly tripped on the sidewalk as he ran to the subway. He made it to the theater just in time. After the show, he stripped off his makeup and changed his clothes before leaving via the stage door and heading out into the night. As he passed in front of the theater, he saw Johnny buried in his coat, collar turned up, gangly legs carrying him closer.

“What are you doing here?” Kendall asked, a bit startled.

“June told me what time you got out and where to meet you. I hoped I could walk you home, if that was all right,” Johnny offered, and for the second time that day, Kendall saw the bright, hopeful smile that reached all the way to Johnny’s eyes.

“That would be….” Kendall was a touch speechless. “… wonderful.” Johnny caught up to him, and they walked side by side beneath the flashing marquee lights. Along the way they stopped for hot chocolate, and when Kendall reached the doorstep of his building, Johnny leaned forward, and they shared a gentle, chocolate-flavored kiss. “Are you okay to get home?” Kendall asked as the snow, which had been coming down lightly all evening, got thicker.

“I’ll be fine. I’m just a few blocks,” Johnny said as he pulled up his collar once more, then shoved his hands into his pockets. Kendall watched as Johnny quickly moved away, the snow falling harder and harder, quickly swallowing him up.

T
HE
SUV began to bounce, and Kendall opened his eyes to the sun’s harsh glare off the desert. He opened his sunglasses case and put them on.

“We’re almost at the first location,” Guy said and then turned off the main road, traveled a short way, and stopped. “This is federal land, but we have permission to shoot here if we want,” Guy said and then opened his door. Blast-furnace heat blew into the vehicle, and Kendall had to remind himself to breathe.

“There are golf umbrellas in the back,” Lyman told Kendall as he stepped out of the backseat. “The sun is brutal, and I don’t want you sunburned. It’ll ruin our early shots.”

“Gee, and I thought you were turning into a humanitarian,” Kendall quipped, and Lyman gawked at him while Guy began to laugh.

“Come on, you have to admit that was good,” Guy told the director. Kendall didn’t see Lyman’s reaction as he pulled up the back liftgate and took out three golf umbrellas, then handed them out. Kendall put his up and was immediately relieved of the heat from the intense sun beating on him. “This location is great from a cinematic point of view,” Guy said. “There’s that scene when Kendall here realizes he’s truly all alone. He’s in the car looking out, and when we pan the camera high into the air the car gets smaller and smaller as the land gets bigger. We’d actually put the car about a half mile over there and we’d need to shoot that angle before the ground is disturbed. We could use the air from the chopper blades to simulate the wind blowing away the tire tracks and erasing the signs of his passage.”

“I think that could work. And for the close-up shots, there would be a lot of room to maneuver,” Lyman said and turned to him. “What do you think?”

Kendall pulled himself out of the initial throes of fear that threatened to grip him at the thought of being enclosed in the car for that scene.
It’s only a car,
he told himself; he’d been in plenty of those with no problem. “I’ve never made a movie before, but I don’t feel it,” Kendall said, and both of the other men rolled their eyes. “It’s too open,” Kendall said, ignoring the stares. “You can see for miles in every direction here. A car or anything out of the ordinary would stand out like a sore thumb because there’s nothing else. The script says he spends almost four days in the car, but here it would be too easy to spot, especially from the air. There should be camouflage, something to disguise the shape of the car.” Kendall figured they had probably expected him not to have an opinion, but Lyman had asked, so he offered.

Guy seemed impressed and nodded slowly, but Lyman humphed and headed back to the SUV. He climbed in and shut the door without another word. Guy shrugged and opened the rear hatch, then grabbed a cooler from the back. They collapsed their umbrellas and placed them inside. Kendall added Lyman’s, which he’d leaned against the side of the vehicle, and Guy closed the liftgate.

Kendall opened the door and climbed into the backseat. “I guess someone never learned to put their toys away when they’re done,” Kendall said to Guy as he placed the cooler on the seat next to him. Kendall saw that Guy was trying not to laugh as he closed the door. Kendall wasn’t about to pick up after Lyman again. He opened the cooler and passed out cold bottles of water to everyone. Guy retraced their path back to the main road, and they continued on.

“What’s in there to eat?” Lyman asked after a few minutes, and Kendall opened the cooler again. He’d expected sandwiches, not plastic containers of tapenade, brie, and assorted cheeses, as well as regular and red pepper hummus. Kendall peered over the backseat and found a bag of biscotti, brioche, baguettes, pita quarters, and a loaf of french bread. He handed Lyman what he wanted and did the same for Guy before tearing into the olive tapenade with a vengeance.

“The next location,” Guy began after he swallowed, “has a more rugged terrain, but it’s going to be harder to film because of the obstacles. It could work, but it’ll have its challenges.”

They rode and ate in near silence for almost an hour, with Kendall handling the food, until Guy once again turned off the road and wound through a few miles of rough road before pulling to a stop at the bottom of a dry canyon about twenty feet deep. They got out of the SUV and stood in its shade, looking out over the monochromatic landscape.

“Is this hilly enough for you?” Lyman asked sarcastically.

“Actually it’s pretty cool, but would you film down here? You could never do that wide shot you were hoping for. It’s too restrictive,” Kendall said to Guy.

“The color is great, though,” Lyman said as he looked up at the canyon walls. “The hard thing about desert filming is that everything is so monochrome. This would allow us to break that up.” Lyman looked at both of them. “But filming would be a royal pain in the ass,” he pronounced. “And the light would suck for most of the day.”

“So I take it this one is a no,” Guy said.

“Afraid so,” Lyman admitted, and they headed back to the vehicle, then once again stashed the umbrellas in the back. Kendall noticed that this time Lyman took care of his own. Once in the vehicle, they all drank more water. Kendall couldn’t believe how thirsty he was after being out in the desert for only half an hour. The air seemed to suck all the moisture out of him.

“The next site isn’t far, only twenty minutes or so,” Guy explained as he carefully backed the vehicle out of the canyon and wound his way back to the main road. “We’re just about to cross into Nevada,” Guy explained. A small sign a few miles later was the only indication that they’d changed states. Just across the border, Guy turned south, and they rode for a ways until Guy turned off onto an even smaller road. “How did you ever find this place?” Kendall asked as he peered out the window.

“We started with topographical maps, and the scouts work with local people to try to find potential spots. It’s a real art that they’re amazing at,” Lyman answered just before the vehicle pulled to a stop. Kendall got out and popped the liftgate, grabbed a golf umbrella, and headed away from the SUV. There were hills, but not too high, and what looked like plenty of room to move. He could see Guy being able to do the shot he’d talked about earlier because, from the air, the hills would even out, but up close, they’d provide a place where the car could be hidden.

“Well?” Kendall asked Guy, who had a smile on his face. Even Lyman seemed happy.

“I take it you agree?” the director asked him.

“This feels right,” both Kendall and the cinematographer said at the same time.

“It’s federal land and not restricted, so we have permission as long as we return the land to the state we found it,” Guy said as he consulted his notes. Kendall wandered around one of the small hills and was surprised at how he instantly felt alone. He couldn’t see or hear anything but the desert and the wind. It was like the rest of the world had disappeared. This was the feeling the script was trying to convey. At least he thought so. Kendall walked a bit, figuring he’d just go around the hill, but he didn’t see the SUV, and the desert went on and on. Wondering if he’d turned when he shouldn’t, he did an about-face and followed his footprints, thankful the air was still.

“There you are,” Lyman said with a bit of exasperation.

“We were afraid we were going to lose you,” Guy said.

“Nope, but behind that hill might be what you’re looking for,” Kendall said, and Guy tramped off, returning ten minutes later with a grin on his face. “Did I lie?” Kendall asked.

“No,” Guy said. “It’s perfect. It’s between two hills, but wide enough for all the equipment and cameras. The hills even dampen the outside sound somehow. It’s super quiet.” Lyman didn’t appear to buy it. “Go take a look for yourself, but be sure to turn around and come back the way you came. The valley seems to lead off somewhere and doesn’t bring you back like you think it will.”

Lyman walked off, and Kendall turned to Guy. “How long have you known him?”

“We’ve worked together before. He’s not a bad guy, just a colossal pain in the ass when he thinks he’s right, even when he’s not,” Guy said. “But you seem to have his number.”

“I don’t know about that,” Kendall said.

“Sure you do. Think of him as a kid who’s used to always getting his own way and always needs to test the boundaries. He’ll push and push until you push back. It’s part of what makes him a good director, but also what makes him a bastard, because he’s always pushing for something and he doesn’t know what it is sometimes.”

“I’ve worked with people like that before,” Kendall said as he saw Lyman making his way back. “The last one we sent sailing off the stage and into the orchestra pit,” Kendall said, keeping a straight face. “It was a beautiful, perfect arc until he crumpled like a rag doll.” Kendall turned and headed back toward the SUV.

“You’re full of shit,” Guy called.

“Maybe,” Kendall said, making a smooth sailing motion with his hand, and Guy began laughing again.

Kendall got back in the SUV, leaving the door open while the other two huddled beneath their golf umbrellas talking earnestly as they swept their arms over the landscape. He could make out their tones and some of their words, but not enough to follow the conversation, though that really didn’t matter. They had their work to do, and in his mind Kendall began building the character for the movie. After a good ten minutes of talking and gesturing, the others returned to the SUV, and after stowing everything, they climbed inside. Guy turned the key, and the SUV started and then immediately died. He tried again, and the vehicle did the same thing.

Heat was already building up in the interior, and Kendall closed his eyes and prayed for the stupid engine to start. It didn’t. Guy got out, walked around to the front, and lifted the hood. Kendall opened the door on the shady side to let some of the heat out. Then he opened the cooler, thankful there was plenty of water. He took one and handed another to Lyman. “Fucking piece of crap,” Kendall heard Guy swear from outside. Then he stomped to the back and lifted the gate. “Thank God I keep tools with me,” Guy mumbled, and Kendall heard the rattle of a toolbox.

“Is there anything I can do?” Kendall asked as he looked over the backseat.

“No,” Guy said as he hefted the toolbox out of the back before walking around to the front again. Kendall turned to Lyman, who shrugged and huffed softly.

“He should have it fixed pretty quick,” Lyman said. Kendall wanted to believe that, but he wasn’t feeling hopeful. After a few minutes of banging and a bit more swearing, Kendall grabbed a bottle of water and wandered around to the front.

“I think I’ve almost got it,” Guy said. “Wasn’t getting enough air—damned dust.” He banged what seemed to be the air filter, and a cloud of crap filled the air and then blew away on the wind.

“Here.” Kendall handed the water to Guy and took the filter, hitting it gently to dislodge the dust. Guy upended the bottle and then set to wiping out the inside of the filter housing. “It looks better,” Kendall said, not really sure what he was doing, but getting that junk out should be good.

“There’s something that’s letting the dust in. I’ll have to tell the studio people when we get back. But cleaning this out should be enough to get us home,” Guy explained as he began to put everything back together. “I appreciate the help,” he added once he had the cover on the filter housing. “Try to start it,” Guy said, and Kendall climbed into the driver’s seat and turned the key. The engine started immediately and stayed running. Guy ran to the back, the tools thunking and clanking as he set down the box.

Kendall moved to the backseat, and Guy slid into the driver’s seat. They all closed their doors, and Guy turned onto the side road.

“Well, that was a bit of an adventure,” Lyman said. “I tried to get some help, but there was no signal.”

“That’s why I always have tools on these trips. I also left word with your office with exactly where we were going and when we’d be back. There’s no one out here and the nearest town, once we get to the main road, is Las Vegas.” They bounced around for a while before reaching the main road and finally the highway. Kendall had never been so grateful to be back on smooth pavement in his life.

Kendall sighed as worry about the vehicle having further troubles became less urgent. The other guys talked and reviewed what they’d seen. Kendall was pretty sure Lyman had liked the third location, but the final decision would be his. All Kendall could do was offer his opinion. They crossed back into California and continued driving. After about twenty miles, they came to a combined gas station, convenience store, and restaurant at a turnoff. Guy pulled in and got gas. Lyman headed inside, and Kendall went inside to use the restroom. He was getting a soda when his phone chimed. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw a message from Johnny. “Miss you too.” Kendall smiled and sent a quick reply before heading into the tiny bathroom. He’d hoped for something else from Johnny, but no further messages came. He did his business and washed up, passing Guy as he left the bathroom.