"Shit," Frank cursed, kicking the smoking tour bus. The front was crumpled around a large tree and smoke was billowing from the bonnet. Luckily, no one had been seriously injured in the crash, but Mikey had received a bit of whiplash and a knock to the head however since he had been the one driving. Ray was tending to him with the med kit by a tree nearby. Night had fallen and the temperature was dropping gradually. Gerard stood in the centre of the desolate road smoking cigarette after cigarette. His eyes were wide from shock still and the cigarette's were doing nothing for his mental state. Sighing angrily, Frank kicked the bus again and then walked over to Gerard, snatched the cigarette and took a huge lungful of tar and other disgusting substances in. Gerard frowned and snatched it back, pushing Frank away and turning back to stare down the empty road.
"Anything?" Frank asked hopefully. Gerard shook his head.
"Nope. Fuck. We're fucked." He closed his eyes in acceptance and dropped the cigarette stub to the floor. It had been two hours since the bus had crashed on the way to their next gig. They had no idea where they were. Gerard stamped angrily on the stub and thrust his hands deep into his jean pockets. He left the road-watching to Frank and went to check on his brother.
"Hey man, you ok?" he asked, squatting down beside Ray. Mikey smiled weakly.
"Yeah, it was just a bump, so no biggie." He sat up slowly, groaning slightly and holding his hand on his head. Ray and Gerard went forward to help him but he waved his hand to tell them to stay back. Eventually he was on his feet and brushed mud and grass from his jeans. Gerard put his arm around Mikey's shoulders and they walked out to join Frank and Ray on the road. They stared out down the road with no luck. Suddenly Bob appeared from the forest on the roadside and Frank sprinted over to him.
"Anything?" he asked frantically. Bob shook his head in despair.
"Nothing. No town, not even a house. We're in the middle of nowhere!" he groaned, waving his torch about anxiously. They all let out a huge sigh.
"Stupid forest won't let our mobile's work either," Ray whined. "What are we going to do?"
"I don't fucking know!" Gee screamed suddenly, and threw himself to the floor. Frank dropped down beside him.
"It's ok, Gee. We'll just wait it out," Frank said calmly. He looked up at me, his eyes wide.
"Wa-wait it out? Do you know how many fucking kids were going to let down when we don't arrive at our shows? Shit shit SHIT!" He covered his face in his hands. Frank rubbed his back but said nothing. There was nothing more to say. He was telling the truth. So many excited kids would be disappointed. Rumours would spread that we'd died when we didn't show up anywhere for however long we would be stuck out here…wherever "here" was. Frank got up and stretched.
"I'm gonna go get some grub from the bus…" he sighed, and walked off, his hands deep in his jean pockets. Mikey sat down beside Gerard and hugged his brother tightly, not saying a word. Ray and Bob stood aimlessly by the side of the road, trying to speak but unable to produce words from their lips. The shock of the crash was still shaking them all. Frank appeared a few moments later, his arms full of cans of Coke Zero and potato chips. He threw some to each member of the band, but Gerard didn't look up and his can whacked him on the side of the head with a smack. It seemed to knock him out of a trance, but also it made him angry. Very angry. He jumped to his feet and rammed Frank against a tree by his collar.
"Fucking hell!" he snarled. Frank winced. Mikey, Ray and Bob both pulled a growling Gerard off of a startled Frank. Gerard huffed, straightened out his jacket and walked away. Frank rubbed the back of his head.
"Sorry about him," Mikey apologised. "He's still pretty traumatized by the crash…"
"We all are Mikey! But he didn't need to fucking attack me!" Frank replied, louder so that Gerard could hear.
"So what are we going to do? Sitting around here will get us no where. We need to venture out, try to find a house or somewhere where we can make a phone call!" Ray interjected. The others all agreed.
"I'll go grab some backpacks from the bus, and plenty of food. What else will we need?" Mikey asked.
"Water. Use the thermos flasks in the back cupboard," Bob called after him as Mikey ran into the bus. "Oh! And a few jackets! It could get cold, you know," Frank added thoughtfully. After a short while, Mikey appeared with three backpacks. He handed one to Ray.
"This one's food," he said as Ray put it on his back. "This one's the water," he said as he gave it to Bob. "And, Frankie, here's the one with all our jumpers in it." Frank swung it onto his back. "Right, let's get going. Hey, where's Gee?" he asked suddenly. They all looked around desperately. He had…disappeared.
"Wait, there he is!" Ray exclaimed and pointed. In the distance, a small jacketed figure was walking along the roadside, away from his companions.
"Oh for fuck's sake," Frank grumbled, and began jogging after his best friend. The other three looked at each other for a second, and then followed behind Frank and Gerard.
"Gee! Wait up! What the hell are you doing?" Frank called desperately. Gerard ignored him. Finally, Frank caught up with him and walked alongside. "Why did you just storm off? We've got to stick together!" Gerard lowered his eyebrows further.
"If we can't drive to the gig, we'll walk there." Frank's jaw dropped open, and then he snapped it shut.
"Don't be so stupid! Even if we don't know where we are, we know that we were only halfway there." Gerard stopped and sighed.
"I'm just scared, ok?" he said shyly. His glare had disappeared. Frank threw his arms around him.
"We all are. But we've got to stay with each other. Who knows what we could come across? Or what could come across us, for that matter…" Frank shuddered. They stopped and waited for their fellow band members to join them.
"Gee, what was that all about?" Mikey groaned, panting for breath.
"Sorry, I just flipped out, I guess…" Gerard apologised, looking at his feet.
"Look, let's stay together from now on, ok?" Bob advised. So they began down the road - a small quintuplet of lost musicians, unawares of what the next few hours had in store…
"My feet hurt," Gerard moaned after about fifteen minutes of walking.
"Stop whining, Gerard!" Bob grumbled for around the sixth time. They had had no luck on finding any houses or towns. It had grown cold so the jumpers were pulled out of the backpack Frank was wearing.
"So, geniuses, where are we going to sleep? We need to go back and do this tomorrow," Gerard whinged.
"I guess you have a point. It was kinda stupid to do this in the dark…" Frank said, rolling his eyes. So, they turned on their heel and walked back in the direction that they had come from.
"Wait…" Mikey piped up quietly, squinting into the distance. "What's that up there?" He pointed to something further along the road. They all stopped and stared.
"It-It's a…house?" Ray said, in a confused tone. "But surely we would have seen it when we walked past?" They all stood there, dumbstruck.
"I swear that wasn't there before," Frank whispered. He felt Gerard start shaking beside him.
"I-It looks…scary…" he whimpered.
"Stop being such a baby!" Bob growled, and Gerard cowered behind Frank.
"Well, I guess we should go see if anyone's home, so we can call somebody," Mikey suggested, though there was an edge of uncertainty in his voice.
"I guess so…" Ray gulped. So they made their way – slowly – to the large mansion that loomed over the trees.
"It's bigger when you get closer…" Gerard stammered.
"No shit, Sherlock…" Frank groaned, rolling his eyes. Although each of them felt a twang of fright in their gut. Something wasn't right about this place. Finally, they were standing outside the huge iron gates and staring up at the gigantic building.
"Holy crap…" Mikey said in awe. No lights were on, and their was an abandoned air to it.
"I don't think anyone's home…" Bob whispered. But suddenly, a light flickered in a window. For some reason, this didn't bring comfort to them.
"Well, I guess you're wrong, Bob," Mikey replied quietly. Very slowly, they pushed open the gates which creaked spookily. They tiptoed up the long gravel driveway towards the huge oak front door.
"I don't like this. Not one little bit," Gerard stated, speaking all of their minds.
"Who's gonna knock?" Frank gulped when they reached the door.
"You can," Mikey offered.
"No, no. You made us come here. You do the knocking," Frank retorted softly. Mikey flicked his hair out of his eyes and stepped forward bravely, raising his fist to knock. As he was about to bring his hand in contact with the wood, it creaked open on it's own.
"That's way too cliché," Gerard stuttered. They shushed him and silently poked their heads around the door. It was dark – no lights were on. A majestic hall lay out in front of them, and a grand staircase stood in the centre.
"Woah…" they all said in unison, taking in the vastness of the room.
"Come on," Ray whispered. They entered through the door as quietly as possible, but Gerard brushed it on his way in, making it creak loudly. The creak echoed around the walls.
"For fuck's sake…" Mikey groaned softly. That was when the door slammed behind them.
"Holy shit!" Frank shrieked loudly. They cowered together, frightened.
"What the hell just happened?" Gerard whispered, fear strung through every word. Then music started drifting through the hall.
"What the-" Mikey choked.
"Wait…I'd know that song any where…" Ray gulped, his eyes wide. They listened.
He calls the mansion not a house but a tomb
He's always choking from the stench and the fumes
The wedding party all collapse in the room
So send my resignation to the bride and the groom…
"Oh my God…" Frank breathed. "That's 'To The End'…" But it was different. Instead of the upbeat song it usually was, it was haunting and grim. None of the instruments were there, it was just singing. It wasn't even Gerard's voice. It was a droaning, ghostly, spine-chilling one.
"Oh shit…" they all gulped.
"What the fuck?" Gerard screamed, staring down at his clothes. They all looked to find themselves dressed in black tuxedoes. Confused, they looked up, only to see bride and groom being married at the foot of the grand staircase. A reverend was reading from a bible, and his hair hung over his face. Gerard whimpered and immediately the wedding party looked up and the band screamed. None of them had eyes, just empty sockets. Their skinned was drawn and their mouths hung agape like that of a stroke victim. The party stared at them, and suddenly shrieked a sound that hurt their ears. That was when the smell took them over – a stench produced from the shrieking mouths.
"Ugh," Mikey moaned as he fell to the floor unconscious. The rest of them followed suit, overwhelmed by the gases…
FRANK
This elevator only goes up to ten.
My eyes flickered open. Where the fuck was I? Slowly, I realised I was in…an elevator…
"Oh shit!" I screamed, finding it hard to breathe. This was one of my biggest fears. Being stuck in any small room or at worst, an elevator. I felt like the walls were closing in on me. I clutched my throat and watched the dial as the elevator moved up the floors. 6…7…8…9…10. The elevator abruptly stopped and shuddered. I sprawled into a corner and hugged my knees tightly. I kept cursing under my breath as I squeezed my eyes tight shut. That was when the elevator just…dropped. And it didn't stop dropping.
GERARD
He's not around he's always looking at men.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Please tell me that had all been a terrible nightmare. I opened my eyes ever so slightly to find myself in pitch black darkness. What the hell? I heard a scrape behind me and I jumped. I swivelled around and squinted into the darkness. Groans and shuffles were happening all around me. Then a dim light flicked on over head and a horrific scene met my eyes. All my friends, and my brother, were lying in pools of blood. I gasped and dropped beside Mikey, who's eyes were closed. I lifted his head and sobbed. He wasn't breathing.
"Mikey…Mikey, NO!" I cried desperately. His eyes shot open. Well, if he had eyes. They ere empty sockets.
"SHIT!" I screamed and threw him to the floor again. I backed up against the far wall, unable to take my eyes off of the four creatures picking themselves up from the floor. I physically couldn't look away. They scraped towards me, like zombies. They looked like zombies. Their skin was leathery and their eyes were… gone. Their mouths hung open and they groaned. I tried desperately to move, but my legs wouldn't work. I gritted my teeth and begged my body to work, but it was in vain. They were closer than ever, and I couldn't escape. A brown, hard-skinned hand reached out and clutched my throat. It squeezed hard and soon my breathing wouldn't work. My limbs wouldn't work. My eyes rolled back into my head. I collapsed under the zombie's grip.
MIKEY
Down by the pool he doesn't have many friends…
I was alone. I had just woken up and no one was around. I heard a scuffle by the door to the pool.
"Gee?" I croaked hopefully, but was upset when two rats shot out from a hole in the wall. I shook violently – I was starving and thirsty. I dragged my body to the edge of the water to take a drink and screamed at what I saw. But the scream tore at my throat and blood spilled from my mouth. It caught in my gullet and I coughed and spluttered but I couldn't breathe. I clutched at the edges of the pool and retched out as much blood as I could before I collapsed.
RAY
…as they're all, face down and bloated.
I couldn't breathe. I was underwater. I flailed my limbs. But it was useless. I couldn't move. I gave up holding my breath and my lungs began to fill up with water. I choked and I gagged. Pain seared through my chest. I frantically fought against the darkness that was seeping into my vision. Finally, everything went black, but in the distance…I heard a scream.
BOB
Snap a shot with the lens.
I put my hands up over my eyes as the bright, burning flashes continued. I could hardly see any more – the lights had almost blinded me. I was so confused. Things were pulling at my clothes and trying to drag me to the floor. I fought against them but soon my energy began to drain away. Their claws scratched at my skin and their teeth bit me with ferocity. I screamed as they overpowered me and pulled me down. I lashed out with my fists but I couldn't see them. I was completely blind.
Would you marry me?
Would you bury me?
Would you carry me to the end?
They all collapsed into a small grave, in a heap, together.
"Ouch!" Gerard hissed, blinking wildly. Then he realised who he was with. "Mi-Mikey?" he cried out, seeing his brothers fresh face below his.
"Gee? Oh my God!" Mikey shrieked.
"Frank? Bob? Ray?" Gerard pleaded out. He heard gruff "yeah, we're here…"
"What the fuck just happened?" Frank sobbed. Gerard twisted around to see Frank crying. He accidentally elbowed Bob in the eye as he turned.
"Fuck!" Bob groaned in pain. "Wai-Wait! I can see again!" he squealed.
"What, you couldn't before?" Mikey asked, shocked.
"No, I was blind…"
"Ow, my chest…" came the voice of Ray, at the bottom of the pile.
"Ray, you ok?" Frank whimpered.
"No. I just drowned!" The others were all confused.
"Wait a second. What happened to everyone?" Gerard asked.
"I fell in an elevator to my death," Frank bawled.
"I choked on my own blood," Mikey sobbed.
"I went blind and was attacked," Bob sniffed.
"And I was strangled by zombies," Gerard cried softly.
"How the hell did we survive?" Mikey breathed.
"I don't know…" Bob coughed.
"Where are we?" Mikey asked, looking around.
"Looks as though we're in a…hole in the ground?" Frank concluded, looking up into the dark sky. The full moon shone light upon them.
"I'm so afraid…" Frank whined helplessly.
"Let's try and get out of here!" Gerard said bravely, and began to push himself out of the pile.
"Ow, my ear!"
"Fuck you! That's my face!"
"Argh, GERARD!"
"Sorry!" he apologised as he clambered out of the hole. He went to put his hand down to help out Mikey, but something caught around his neck and dragged him to the floor. He lay in the arms of a skeleton.
"Ah! Shit!" he screamed.
"Gerard! What's happening!" came a worried voice from the grave. But he couldn't respond. A rope was around his neck and pulling tighter. He could hardly breathe.
"Help!" he choked almost silently. The guys began to pull themselves out, but as they tried, they saw Gerard being choked.
"NO!" Mikey shrieked and went to climb out faster, but something grabbed his ankles and wouldn't let him move. "Gerard!"
(So say goodbye) to the vows you take.
(And say goodbye) to the life you make.
(And say goodbye) to the heart you break
and all the cyanide you drink.
That haunting voice again. That was when a zombie bride appeared holding the end of the rope that was strangling Gerard. She was holding a bottle.
"I can't get out!" Mikey screamed, desperate to help his almost dead brother. He reached out his hand, and Gerard did the same with the little strength he had left. The others couldn't move either.
"No! Oh my…Gerard!" Frank sobbed, trying as hard as he could to get out of the hole. The zombie grabbed Gerard's head, tilted it back and poured the substance in the bottle down his throat. Gerard began to convulse and choke.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Mikey screamed at the top of his lungs. Gerard, his only sibling, was dying in front of him. The zombie threw the bottle at the grave. Frank picked it up.
"Oh no," he breathed. "Cyanide. Poison." Gerard went into a fit. For some reason the rest of the band could not avert their gaze. Something was forcing them to watch this dreadful scene. Finally, Gerard stopped moving. They all cried out. But it was no use. The thing that had been holding them back let go suddenly. They all threw themselves out of the grave and to Gerard's side. Mikey held him in his arms and sobbed violently.
"No, Gee, please, you can't have died, no, no," he stuttered repeatedly.
"Erm, guys?" Frank bawled, pointing. They looked. More zombies were stumbling towards them. They tried to run, Mikey dragging Gerard's body. But they weren't fast enough. The zombies grabbed them and gauged at their eyes. They ripped at their hair. They just…attacked. Brutally. Horrifically.
"NOOOOO!" I screamed. Voices drifted into my unconscious.
"Gee! GEE! Are you alright?" came the voice of Frank. I blinked open my eyes.
"Fr-Frank? You're ALIVE?" I spluttered. I had never been so happy to see his face. I saw that I was in the tour bus. Realisation set in.
"Of course I'm alive you idiot! What the hell are you doing screaming?" Frank asked, a worried look on his face.
"I'm fine! It was just a nightmare…Just a horrible, horrible nightmare," I sighed, relief washing through me.
"What happened?" Mikey called from the drivers seat.
"Nothing, just a nightmare!" I called back. "Concentrate on your driving!" I heard Mikey laugh. Then I heard him gasp.
"Oh shit! Where did that deer come from! Oh no! AHHH!" I heard him shriek.
*CRASH*