(Have you ever had one of those days where everything and anything that could go wrong did? That by the end of the day, you wondered if the world had lost its collective mind, one in which you were so mentally and physically exhausted, you did not even remember how you drove home; the kind where you wondered where reality had left off, and when you had stepped into the "Twilight Zone". I know I have.)
The day was finally over, the last scene of that day's shooting schedule had, at long last, been completed. It had been one of those very physically-exhausting days, one in which scene after scene had to be re-shot because some element had not worked quite right. Even that episode's guest immortal had miscalculated the careful choreography of the sword fight and managed to actually cut Adrian; an unfortunate, but frequent occurrence on the set of the "Highlander".
After a 14-hour day, Adrian could at last leave to go home, except "home" was in Los Angeles, and this was Vancouver. (Home here was a couple of rooms at a residence inn, complete with a kitchen.) He was absolutely bone tired and hungry, but he realized that if he went to a local restaurant for dinner, he was bound to be recognized. He usually did not mind signing autographs for his fans, but tonight he craved peace and solitude. If he refused to sign autographs, it could be mistaken for being rude. People just did not understand how much energy it could take to portray such a popular character as Duncan MacLeod, and that sometimes he needed to rest both mind and body.
It was a rainy, foggy evening in Vancouver, not an untypical weather pattern for that area in the fall. As Adrian pulled out of the studio lot, he was still deciding on where he wanted to eat. Even though the place where he was staying included a kitchen, he really was too tired to think about cooking dinner for himself. He decided that the best course of action would be to simply have a meal delivered to his room. There were plenty of local restaurants that would perform this service, and the menu selections offered a wide variety.
With this decided, he headed home taking his normal route which would lead a crossed the bridge that they had often used in filming the Highlander. It had been in several episodes, including the first one, "The Gathering".
As he approached the bridge, it started to rain, and if possible, the sky grew even darker. "Hmm," he thought, "a dark and stormy night, sounds like the beginning to a bad story". To his annoyance, in his headlights, he saw that a car was blocking the way onto the bridge, "damn", "I hope this is an easily solved problem." As he got closer he could not believe what he saw. The car appeared to be the black T-Bird that he drove as "Duncan MacLeod". But that could not be, the car was safely stored on the set of the "Highlander". Not that he would put it past any of his co-workers to be playing some sort of ill-timed practical joke. It could even be Alexandra getting back at him for his part in the "cat" joke. As he pulled up behind the T-Bird, he could see that a car also blocked the approach to the bridge on the other side. It really was getting too late for this, and he was bone-tired. Whatever was going on, he hoped it would be over soon so he could be on his way again.
In the dim light that was cast on the bridge, he saw 2 men standing facing one another. They were both wearing long, dark trench coats of the same type he wore on the show so that as an immortal he could keep the sword concealed. He really was beginning to believe that someone was playing a really bad joke. He made up his mind to get out of his car and give whomever these clowns were a piece of his mind. As he approached, he could not believe what he heard, although he himself had spoken them hundreds of times. "I am Duncan MacLeod of the Clan MacLeod". With that both men pulled out swords and began to fight. Adrian just stood there as if frozen to the spot. This all had to be some sort of really bad dream, he must have gotten back to his place and fallen asleep and was having a really bad dream. It was then it happened, the one who had said he was Duncan, mortally wounded his opponent, and then he clearly heard the words, "there can be only one", and watch in horror as "Duncan" took the other combatant's head.
Too many hours on the set and finally taken its toll, he was clearly hallucinating, maybe he could get a few days off. That was when the lightening, or was it lightening struck, the ground trembled, just like an earthquake in California. He heard the man scream. Adrian knew he should leave, but for some reason he could not seem to make his legs move. Suddenly the one who said he was Duncan was standing before him, "Oh, its only you" was all that 'Duncan' said. "Odd," Adrian thought, "it was like looking in a mirror". 'Duncan' said, "you are right, this is all a really bad dream". Adrian never even saw the fist coming, and he had always prided himself on his martial arts skills.
It seemed like only a few minutes went by, and when Adrian came to (or woke up) he was in his room at the inn. His shoes had been removed, and he was lying comfortably on his bed. He could not remember how he got there, only that very strange dream about a "real" Duncan MacLeod. He must have been more tired than even he thought. He suddenly realized that the sliding door to the small patio that was outside his room was open. He got up to close the door when he realized that there were 2 sets of muddy foot prints leading from and to the open door. Odd, who had been in his room. He checked his own shoes and they were damp, but clean. Just then there was a knock at his door. He opened it to find the delivery person from his favorite local Italian restaurant.
"Good evening Mr. Paul, your meal is here."
Absolutely puzzled and mystified by the odd set of occurrences, Adrian simply gestured the young man into his room.
After the deliveryman had setup his meal (which was his favorite pasta dish), he asked the young man how much he owed him.
"Oh, its was already paid for by that nice young man who came to the restaurant to place your order, said his name was Richard, and that it was the least they could do after ruining your evening. Well, enjoy your meal." With that the young man left.
Adrian just sat down by his meal, too dumbfounded to say anything. He looked at the table and there was a card, a note was written on the card. It said, "may the winds be with you, DM."
All Adrian could think was that he had better ask for some time off and soon, because if this wasn't a dream, he was really beginning to loose it. Because Immortals were a figment of Gary Widen's imagination, they just were not real. Or were they?
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