Nobody in the world was a bigger fan of the Drama Brothers than Sierra. Not even her best friend Bailey, who was the second biggest fan of the Drama brothers in the whole world. So when she heard that they were having a concert near her, it didn't matter that it was the day before Purge Night. They had to go, it was worth the risk to see them in person.
Thousands of fans surrounded the stage, flocking from all over occupied Canada to see the show. Winnipeg was one of the finest remaining urban centers in the heartland, the perfect place to see one of the hottest bands live and in person. Nobody screamed louder than Sierra, or jumped higher than Sierra, or wore more merch than Sierra. She had put her hacker skills to work just to make sure she got these front row seats, these posers around her probably bought those tickets legitimately.
"Oh my gosh they're about to start! I can't even!" Sierra squealed. "This is the best day of our lives ever!"
"I can't even, even, bestie!" Bailey screamed in agreement.
"I don't care if I literally die in the Purge, seeing Codykins will so be worth it!"
That took a bit of Bailey's enthusiasm out. "But we won't, right bestie?"
"Oh totally." Sierra nodded. "OMG shut up here they come now!"
The crowd totally lost it when the band stepped out on the stage, illuminated under a dozen neon spotlights. First to come into view was Trent, the lead guitarist and singer. He was hot in a brooding and soulful way.
Right behind him was Justin, the eye candy. He was hot in a hunky and exotic way. Neither him nor Trent were who Bailey and Sierra showed up for. They had more eclectic tastes.
Harold was the beatboxer, freestyle rapper, keytarist, and a wizard with a xylophone. Bailey swooned when she saw him. She went nuts for his adorable freckles and big gawky glasses. He was hot in a nerdy way.
Last of all was Cody, the band's keyboard player. He was the sole reason that Sierra had came all this way and risked all this danger. He had the cutest tooth-gap and chubby boyish face, and her head spun any time he even so much as vaguely looked in her direction.
Trent started talking to the crowd, but Sierra couldn't care less. She only had eyes for Cody. She was so close that she could almost reach out and touch him, if she had twenty foot long giant squid tentacles for arms. She wasn't really into biology but once a post about giant squid anatomy had made its way onto her dashboard via one of her mutuals, where she learned they had like, the longest tentacles of any living animal. Those would be perfect for reaching out and pinching Cody's perfect cheeks from the stands!
Finally Trent shut up and all the stupid normies that incorrectly thought he was the cutest one started going nuts as he sang the opening to their iconic song, What Makes you Wonderful.
During the next song, Bailey managed to get her bra off and toss it onto the stage, landing it perfectly on Harold's head. The way he continued to spit out sick beats, not minding the bra dangling off his head, was the hottest thing Bailey had ever seen in her life. The trip had been worth it.
Not to be outdone, Sierra bided her time and watched for an opportunity. When the moment was upon her, she sprung from the stands and onto the stage, dashing past the security towards Cody. She snatched her hat off his head, and then something totally magical and amazing happened.
He looked at her.
Not in her direction, no this was Cody looking right up at her in the eye. Sierra's heart stopped in her chest, and for a moment all was right and perfect with the world.
Then she was tackled bodily to the ground by one of the bouncers, and her perfect moment was ruined. She was dragged back to the stage, and the band continued playing despite her interruption. Now she and Bailey were under constant surveillance by the staff and couldn't get up to any more fangirl antics. They didn't care, they'd shot their shot and scored hits. Sierra spent the rest of the concert fantasizing about how close she was to Cody, clutching the little red trucker cap on her head as a reminder of those big, beautiful blue eyes staring up at her.
They let out earlier so that people could make it home before the purge started. Some bloodshed was good for publicity but if everyone at the event died horribly because the purge started in the middle of it, nobody would go to the concert. Yeah sure, most people would just mob someone in the crowd to death but big events on purge night were magnets for crazy weirdos who knew how to cook bombs. There was also that one studio that tried hosting a concert on purge night itself and the entire band was gunned down while playing because two rival local gangs had rented out the entirety of the balcony seats. That really gave people wet feet about the whole idea of purge events.
When Sierra and Bailey left the venue, they were bouncing up and down like giddy schoolgirls. Probably because they were both still in their last year of highschool.
"Did you see me did you see me? Codykins looked at me! He looked in my eyes! This means we're destined to be together!"
"OMG I am so happy for you. I hope next time Harold looks at me like that." Bailey said.
"He so will bestie."
They found Bailey's car where they parked it a few blocks down, but when they went to start it the engine sputtered and coughed.
"Sierra, can you figure out what's wrong with it?"
Sierra got out and opened the trunk. It was an old 2001 Fonda Concord, with rust eating away at the edges everywhere you looked, so they were used to it acting up. They always had some tools and oil ready to make the poor thing run again. Sierra and Bailey were born to fangirl Moms that taught them to blow every cent they got their hands on, on merch and tickets, and to live every other aspect of life frugally so they could save up for more merch.
Then she opened up the hood and started looking for the problem. Crossing a pair of wires zapped her finger, so the battery wasn't dead. Turning over the engine while holding one of the fuel lines squirted gasoline in her eyes, so they weren't out of fuel. Unbothered, Sierra continued this haphazard approach to diagnostics until she found the culprit! A big hole had rotted through the rubber air intake hose. She fetched some duct tape out of the trunk, then wrapped it up nice and tight.
"Try it now." She said.
Bailey turned the key over and this time the pathetic little engine sputtered to life, ready to carry them home safely before purge started.
"You are such a genius!" Bailey said to Sierra as she climbed into the passenger seat. "I would literally be dead if it weren't for you."
"Pft, it's no biggie." Sierra said. "Drive us home! I want to get to bed so I can have steamy dreams of Cody while wearing his hat!"
"Totally!" Bailey said.
The distance between Winnipeg and their home town was mostly covered by open highway across the flat nothingness of Manitoba. A few bombed out towns were scattered along the roadside, full of hobos who would probably stab you for some cash even if it wasn't purge night. It was best to keep driving through these parts.
Once they were past those, things started looking a little less bleak. Most of the rest of the trip would be through quiet farm country. Bailey could almost fall asleep at the wheel watching the corn rows race past her. It was Autumn and the corn was getting dry, forming golden brown seas soon to be harvested. Sierra had to occasionally tap her on the shoulder to keep her awake.
"OMG STOP THE CAR!"
Sierra's scream woke Bailey up immediately and the car screeched to a halt.
"What, what is it?"
"Look! There!"
On the side of the road was the Drama Brother's bus! Bailey couldn't believe her eyes, she had to grab a water out of the cupholder and splash her face to make sure she wasn't dreaming. But there it was!
"We gotta go see them! This is our chance to finally become Drama Wives together!" Sierra squealed, unbuckling her seatbelt and racing out.
"Sierra, wait!" Bailey called after her.
Before she could get to the bus some security people stepped out of an SUV and blocked their path. One was short, bulky and white, and had a big assault rifle strapped across her chest. The other was taller, skinnier, and had brown skin a bit darker than Sierra's own, and had a compact submachine gun at her side.
"Halt! Purge doesn't begin for another hour, so get lost!" The short one barked.
"We're not here for that." Sierra said. "Tell Cody that his wife is here?"
"Oho, you girls here to see the band eh?" She grinned, "Maybe we should let them through. The boys are gonna need something to keep them busy while we wait for the tow truck."
"I'm not sure Ms. Masterson would approve, McArthur." The taller one shook her head.
"Masterson can shove it up her ass, Sanders." The short one shot back.
"They could be early purging miscreants tying to-"
"Get that pole out of your ass and live a little." McArthur cut her off. "C'mon, I'll show you guys to the bus."
"Eeeeee this is it! Let's go!" Sierra squealed. But while she followed the guards, Bailey stayed where she was.
"I don't know Sierra, it's late and it's almost Purge night. Maybe we should just go home." Bailey said.
Sierra gasped in shock. "But I thought you said you loved Harold more than anything ever!"
"I do! I just love living more." Bailey said. "Tell you what. I'll go back home while you stay with them. Get me Harold's number and tomorrow you can hook us up, when it's safe."
Sierra frowned, but nodded in acceptance. "Okay bestie! Be careful."
"I will." Bailey waved goodbye. "Stay safe Sierra!"
Bailey went and got back in her car, driving off into the night. Sierra meanwhile followed the guards to the bus, which had its hood open. Did they have a breakdown of some kind? There were two people dressed in suits arguing about it, they looked important. Maybe they were the managers? One was a girl with long brown hair, while the other was a guy with slicked back black hair. He was almost as tall as she was, but not quite.
"Listen, I know these guys seem sketchy, but right now we need the extra help. We aren't going to make it back before Purge starts and we'll be a sitting duck hooked up to the tow truck." The girl said.
"Is there seriously nobody else we can call? Doesn't corporate have guards whose job it is to deal with this?" The guy replied. "We already have McArthur's team, just send some reinforcements or whatever."
"Yeah and they're all busy right now. We're not the only band in this record label, Garcia. McClean himself is breathing down my neck about this, he thinks tonight's gonna be record purge turnout and that we could get swamped. Besides, Viper Security's well armed, they've got a lot of people, and they take jobs like this."
"Incredible. None of those words said anything about them being well trained, reliable or trustworthy."
"It's a last second call on purge night, you can't have everything. Since when did you care so much?"
"Normally I don't, but on nights where murder is legal I get slightly nervous. Sue me."
Sierra had no idea what that conversation was about, but they weren't talking about Cody so it probably wasn't very important. Being stopped during the Purge did make her a little worried though, even if they had armed guards there. Some of the people that came out of the woodworks on purge night were scary.
"So like, why are you guys stopped?" Sierra asked.
"Engine started surging all of a sudden, now it won't start up." McArthur shrugged.
"Can I take a look?" Sierra asked.
McArthur busted out laughing. "Yeah sure thing kid, just don't expect it to sign your arm or anything."
Sierra started by looking under the hood, grabbing a flashlight from one of the guards so she could see what she was working with. She was shocked however, when she noticed that everything was very familiar. The arrangement of the belts, the shape of the block. It also looked to be about the same age, which meant it was coming up on that part of its lifespan where all the rubber was starting to fail. Which meant…
"OMG this a Fonda 1.33 Liter Straight-Four! That's the same engine that Bailey's car has! I know what your problem is!" Sierra squealed.
McArthur rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and I'm the queen of England."
Much to her surprise, Sierra grabbed her by the shoulders and picked her up to look her into the eyes. "Duct tape, I need duct tape and a wrench!"
"Okay okay!"
So they got her some duct tape and a big heavy pipe wrench. A bit clumsy for what she was trying to do but, she could make it work. She unfastened some covers, got in and patched over some holes in the air lines, and when it was all done she stepped back. The driver, some blonde hunched over guy in a beanie, looked stunned when he turned the key and the bus started up. That's when the two people in suits approached her.
"What did you just do?" The girl asked.
"I fixed it." Sierra replied simply.
"You just saved us a lot of headache." The guy said. "We'll obviously need the extra security, I mean, no way we're making it back in time but, we can at least cancel the tow truck."
All of that went plainly over her head. "Who are you?" Sierra asked.
"Oh, my mistake. How rude of me not to introduce myself." The guy said. "I'm Mr. Garcia, and this is Ms. Masterson." He gestured to the brown haired girl.
"We're the band's managers." Masterson explained. "We were freaking out over how to get them to the safehouse but you've just solved that for us. How could we ever repay you?"
This was it, this was the moment she'd been waiting for for years. "Take me to see Cody!"
"Our pleasure." Garcia said. "Right this way Miss."
Onboard the bus it was like stepping into a luxury apartment. Everything was shiny metal, with white shag carpet lining the floor and big comfy sofas all around. She felt like a filthy creature in this beautiful place, and nothing about it was more beautiful than the boys waiting for her there.
"Gentlemen, say hello to your savior of the night." Garcia announced.
"Woah, where'd you find a groupie out here man?" Trent asked.
"They were driving past and they stopped to check us out." Garcia explained. "This crazy chick actually got the bus running again."
"Ew, that means she has grease on her hands." Justin winced. "Don't let her touch me."
"Hey, over here babe." Cody waved at her. Sierra's heart swelled tenfold in her chest, as if it would burst out any second. He was talking to her.
"Unlike this chump." He thumbed at Justin. "I don't mind a girl who gets her hands dirty."
She could barely hear him over the sound of her own heartbeat thundering in her ears. She took her rightful place next to Cody on the couch, and he slid up against her where she could hold him tight. This night would be the best of her entire life.
While Sierra was getting cozy with what was certainly her husband in the imminently near future, Garcia and Masterson walked back to the front of the bus to leave them be. They knew how the boys liked their time alone with the groupies.
"Alright Lizowski, let's get back on the road." Masterson said.
The bus shifted forward a bit and Cody got a faceful of Sierra's cleavage. His face turned a little red. To say she dwarfed him would be an understatement. Over a head taller and twice his mass, having her at his side on the couch meant being virtually smothered.
"Come on dude, don't be scared of her." Trent nudged him playfully. "Show her some moves."
"Yeah, she's just another groupie." Justin said. "You got this."
Sierra was in too much of her own world to hear them, or she otherwise might have rethought her situation. Instead she continued staring into his eyes, getting more than a bit bubbly whenever he spoke.
"So uh, what brings you here?" He asked, putting an arm around her shoulder.
"OMG, Cody Emmet Jamieson Anderson, talking to me! Eeeeee! I have dreamed of this moment for so long- except then, you weren't wearing a shirt."
"He won't be wearing anything soon." Harold snickered. Sierra didn't hear him.
"So babe, tell me what's your favorite part about me?" Cody asked.
"Oooh! Oooh! It is definitely your singing voice. Your vocal talents are seriously underrated, you should not be stuck singing backup. Oh! But your tooth gap is totally a close second. So cute!" Sierra said. "I saw your cover of Don't Start Unbelieving you made back in highschool and it totally rocks!"
That made Cody do a double take. "Wait. That's not on any of my socials."
"I know silly goose, that's why I got the original tape from your Mom. She's such a nice lady, we had lunch while I pretended to be a talent scout and it was awesome."
Now Cody was starting to look seriously uncomfortable, and Sierra was trying to figure out what she had said wrong.
"Uh…I'm not so sure we should do this…"
"What aren't you sure of, Codykins?" Sierra asked.
"Yeah man. Are you seriously going to miss a chance to have your way with this much babe over a little thing like that?" Harold scoffed.
The bus rumbled as it rolled over an old, creaky bridge. Cody gulped nervously and looked back at Sierra. "So uh, what else do you know about me?"
"Ooh! I loved your Letsplay of Steel Cogs Ascendant: Revenginator! That game is like, totally an iconic masterpiece and you are the cutest person to have ever played it. I made so many tribute videos."
Cody perked up, but not in a fearful way like last time. "Wait, you actually played Revenginator? I didn't think girls liked that kinda game."
"Well, most girls don't, but I'm different. I'm not like them." Sierra beamed. "Oooh, ooh, what's your favorite part?"
"When at the beginning, that giant mecha monster tries to crush the guy, and he blocks it with his sword and then slices the whole thing in half!"
"That was awesome! My favorite part is the soundtrack! The final boss music is so good, I have it on several playlists and even remixed it with some of your songs!"
"No way, I snuck some chords from There Will Be Carnage into the keytar solo of Live While We're Not Old."
"Eeeee that's so awesome, I can't believe I never noticed. You are like, a musical and gamer genius."
They were so busy geeking out that neither one of them heard the announcement commencing the purge over the radio.
"Wow Cody, she really seems like your type." Trent elbowed him with a wink.
"Yeah man, why don't you two head to the back of the bus." Justin suggested. "Alone."
Cody stood up and took her hand. Sierra's head was spinning. Were they really going to do this? It felt so unreal and yet, as she wrapped her fingers around his and stood up it felt intoxicatingly right.
Then the bus stopped suddenly in the middle of her standing up, and she topped face first onto the floor. Cody was squished beneath her.
"Oops! Sorry!" She said, quickly rolling off him.
"What the hell? Why'd we stop?" Cody asked, rubbing his head. There weren't any stoplights they could see out the window. Instead, two armed men in kevlar fatigues had stopped the security SUV in front of them, and were talking to the driver. A thick forest surrounded the road as far as they could see.
"Just relax guys." Garcia said. "Go back to what you were doing."
Then all hell broke loose.
In less time than it takes to describe it, the man who'd stopped the vehicle in front of him pulled his gun and shot the driver in the head. Then he ran for cover into a ditch on the side of the road, just before an RPG round came screaming in towards them. The SUV was obliterated in a huge fireball. A few seconds later, the metallic debris came down like hail on the top of the tour bus.
"Shit, shit! Get us out of here Jude!" Masterson slapped the driver on the shoulder.
"Uh, hello, huge flaming wreck in the way?"
A hail of gunfire cut loose from the treeline. Staccato bursts of rifles and submachine guns were punctuated with the guttural belching of a machine gun somewhere in there.
The portable radio on the driver's belt crackled to life. "Lizowski, you still alive up there? This is McArthur, we're pulling up around you. Back up until you're out of range, then turn around and get the hell out of there! We'll hold them off!"
"Uh, roger that dudette! Backing the fuck out!" He shifted gears and stomped the gas.
The second SUV, the one with McArthur and Sanders, came roaring by the bus, bodily blocking the incoming gunfire. McArthur cut loose, dumping whole magazines out of her SCAR into the general direction of anything that moved. Soon, the barrel was smoking hot. Sanders kept a cool head, hunkering behind the armored door and delivering quick, controlled bursts from her UMP.
While they dealt with the hostiles, everyone inside the bus was in varying states of panic.
"This can't be happening, this can't be happening." Justin shook his head.
"I knew we shouldn't have done a concert before Purge Night!" Trent snapped.
"Can't this old piece of shit go any faster?" Harold barked.
"Everyone just shut up and stay calm!" Garcia said. "We're going to get out of this, everything will be fine."
They'd nearly reached the bridge where they passed by just a few minutes earlier. On the other side was a perfect spot to turn around. There weren't any enemies they could see, it looked like a straight shot.
Then the bridge buckled upwards, wrought by a massive explosion that sent portions of the span into the stratosphere. The rest crumpled into the river below, and from the opposite bank they were peppered by light rifle fire. With no way to go backwards, the driver shifted the gear back into forwards.
"Only one way out of this dudes! Hang on!"
He put the gas pedal to the floor, and the tour bus lurched as it gave him every ounce of speed the old engine could churn out. Masterson grabbed the radio off the driver's belt.
"McArthur, do you read me? McArthur, come in?" She said.
"McArthur here, what's your status?"
"They blew the bridge behind us! Our only way out is forward. Can you give us some cover?"
"Roger that!"
Surprisingly, the two had been doing pretty well until that point. Their SUV's armor had taken the brunt of the gunfire pretty well with its armor, and that first RPG round appeared to have been their last. Many of the positions that had opened fire on them had gone quiet, which McArthur took as proof of the effectiveness of her fire. That, and the fact her barrel was now glowing red. Nobody at the range had ever said she held back on ammo consumption.
"Looks like we gotta punch through these bastards." She said, tossing the smoking rifle in the back seat and shifting the car into gear. "Sanders, cover me while I-"
Her words were interrupted by the feeling of something cold, hard and metallic landing in her lap from the window. She looked down just in time to see the grenade.
From the tour bus all they saw was the chain reaction, as the explosive set off the gas tank and turned the SUV into a fireball. The driver swerved hard to avoid the flaming wreck, and as they came away from it the bus soon became the focus of the gunfire from the trees. A salvo of bullets ripped through the front windscreen and the driver slumped over, dead at the wheel. His foot still glued to the gas pedal, the bus accelerated harder as it careened out of control. Masterson rushed to grab the wheel, but it was too late. They were already hurtling towards the ditch.
As the bus rolled over everything and everyone inside it were tossed around like ragdolls in a hateful physics simulator. The last thing Sierra remembered was trying to shield Cody with her body, before a lava lamp decked her in the face, and the world went black.