Legion Of Rockstars

I glanced uncertainly between the driver and the hallway. I figured I had three options.

1) I could be a brave Asher and walk down the endless hallway into the unknown.

2) I could be a cautious Asher and tell the driver I didn’t want to do this anymore.

3) I could be a cowardly Asher and run back the way we came, sobbing the entire time and screaming for my father.

“The hallway will not bite,” the driver said logically, still smiling pleasantly at me. I still hadn’t asked his name, but then again, maybe it didn’t matter. He’d taken me to a strange cave in the middle of nowhere hours from my home; he’d led me through said cave to a completely dead end; he pressed his hand against the magic wall and it opened up to reveal a hallway that didn’t seem to end.

I’d never smoked a joint of weed in my life, but the only explanation I could come up with was that I was high.

But I felt brave today, adventurous and such. I nodded, took a deep breath, and stepped into the hallway. I turned around and waved at the driver as the cave wall closed once again, weakly smiling the entire time. The driver smiled pleasantly back and waved before he disappeared behind the wall. This side of the wall was metal, gray, and polished. I could see myself reflected in it, distorted, though, like when you look at your reflection in a spoon.

What had I done? Maybe this was all just a big booby trap for rockstars.

I sighed and stuck my ear buds back into my ear and switched on my music. That was just absurd. I took another deep breath, the amazing screams issuing from M. Shadows’ mouth calming me slightly, before turning around and walking down the endless hallway.

As expected, it took me five minutes to walk down the hallway. I ended up at another blank, gray metal wall that reflected a distorted version of me back at myself. I put my iPod away in my pocket and scowled at my distorted, twisted face. Another dead end. Gee, this was just simply amazing! Either this was some elaborate practical joke of my father’s, or I’d been drugged. I struggled to remember the last time I’d been to a night club. I wasn’t a drinker; I actually had an extremely low tolerance to alcohol. One beer could get me buzzed. Three shots of anything stronger than beer got me hammered. Five shots would see me puking up my guts. Seven shots—probably dead. Therefore, I didn’t go out and party as much as you’d expect.

I gave up on the drugged idea. No, this was all because of my stupidity. A league of rockstars accepting me to train to be some sort of special agent? Only in my dreams.

“Hey!” I exclaimed out loud, snapping my fingers in triumph. “This is all a dream, and if I pinch my arm and feel no pain, I know this is a dream!”

Glad to have found a loop hole, I happily reached over and pinched my skin between two fingernails. I quickly turned that smile upside down, though, as pain ripped through my nerves. Yeah, I definitely was awake. Hell, maybe I was just some experiment. Scientists were probably watching me right now, gauging my reactions and documenting them neatly for posterity.

But before my mind could run with that idea, the floor dropped out from beneath me. I jerked my gaze down to my feet to find nothing but darkness below me. There wasn’t a floor underneath my feet anymore; there was floor around my feet, but a square foot slab of the floor had dropped out, and I was lucky enough to be standing on that slab.

I let out an involuntary scream as the hallway disappeared into darkness. My body made contact with something hard, cold, and metal, and I began to slide down it. I then realized that I was sliding down a metal chute leading...somewhere. I wasn’t sure where it was taking me, but it was taking me there, and pretty damn fast too. The wind blew my hair back from my face, and I didn’t dare stick out my elbows or hands to try to stop myself. They’d probably just snap right off and I’d keep on going without elbows or hands.

I amused myself with that image for several moments before I saw a pinpoint of light at the end of this dark tunnel. The pinpoint quickly grew to a gaping hole of white light, and before I knew it the metal chute spit me out into a lobby-type area. I slid across the gleaming marble floor before hitting a row of cushions obviously set up for anyone unfortunate enough to fall down the chute. I slowly sat up, taking in my surroundings.

Practically everything in the lobby was white, except for the marble floor of course. The walls were white; the ceiling rose at least fifty feet above my head, but it, too, looked to be painted white. At the opposite end of the lobby, there sat a woman behind a white U-shaped desk, her head bent low over her work. All along the walls, there were at least a dozen elevators on each side.

But none of that compared to the people in the lobby. I recognized most of them as fellow rockstars. Most of them were either stepping into elevators or stepping out of them. Their chatter filled the cavernous room, echoing off the walls like sounds did in the cave. I almost screamed when I saw who I instantly recognized as Jacoby Shaddix from Papa Roach stepping into an elevator. Finally, I knew where I was.

I was in Heaven.

And it just kept getting better.

Before I had a chance to stand up, Amy Lee from Evanescence walked over with a smile on her face. I’d always admired her beauty in photos and on television, but in person...wow, she was gorgeous. I loved her voice, too. It was so powerful and strong and original. I’d never heard a voice like hers before.

“Welcome to the legion, Asher,” she greeted kindly, extending a hand to me. I grabbed it and she helped me to my feet. “Coming down the chute is always a doozy. I remember my first time coming down that thing. It scared the shit out of me.”

She kindly straightened my crumpled shirt, but all I could do was stare and smile like a drunken idiot. She laughed at my look before extending her hand once again.

“I’m Amy,” she said.

“Asher,” I answered dreamily, slowly shaking her hand. “Is this Heaven?”

“Nope,” Amy replied happily, linking her elbow with mine and pulling me towards an elevator. “This is the legion, Asher. The Legion Of Rockstars.”