12 Bullets to the Head

Ryan was pacing back and forth in front of the slider again. Levi was on his bed, picking at his nails with a sour look. Brenden had his cell to his face, talking rapidly with his boyfriend. Ryan tried not to listen to Alex's voice coming from the phone. He didn't want to hear the voice of the guy Brenden liked more than him.

Brenden was reassuring Alex, telling him that this issue with Ryan wasn't going to change the way he felt about him. Some how, Alex got mad and started to yell through the phone. Ryan was shocked that he was yelling at Brenden. Of course, Brenden retaliated and ended up hanging up on a furious Alex. Brenden didn't speak to either Levi or Ryan, who felt as if he'd won. Brenden and Alex were fighting, they were sure to break up now.

Ryan opened his mouth to ask what was going to happen now, but Brenden silenced him with a glare. he shirted his eyes to Levi on the bed, impatiently waiting for them to leave. Levi refused to look at either of them, disgusted by their homosexual filth. Brenden saw this and wondered why he had a sudden hate for them. He didn't know Levi was homophobic. At least, it never seemed that way.

"What?" Brenden asked, rather disgusted at seeing Levi in his homophobic state. "Are you going to like this now?"

Levi barely even looked at him as his lip curled at being addressed by Brenden. He wasn't going to answer a Fag. They were bugs at the bottom of his shoe. He didn't care what happened to them. In fact, he thought, I wish them death. They are Satan worshipers and probably have AIDS. Only Fags get AIDS.

"I'm staying with Aiden." Levi made up his mind. What if Ryan made a move on him in the night? He was sure that Aiden wasn't like that.

"What, why?" Ryan asked, feeling hurt that Levi didn't want to share a room with him. A fleeting panic went through him. He would have to room with Brenden, perhaps for the rest of the tour and on if Levi wasn't going to change his views. This was bound to be awkward and painful for the whole band.

Levi was gathering his things, avoiding the two watching him in awe. Levi picked up a few stray clothes and stuffed them in his suitcase. "I can't share a room with you," he spat, quickly gathering his tooth brush from the bathroom. "You two can work out your issues and maybe then..."

"Maybe then what?" Brenden asked, hate bubbling up inside of him. Why did Levi have to be homophobic? He was a normal human just like him and he never had a problem with him since they met, so what was wrong now?

Aiden woke the next morning to the alarm. He groaned and hit the hop of it, hoping to get some more sleep before they had to get back onto their bus for a long trip to Irvine California where they'd play a show Tuesday at the UCI Bren Events Center. Four more weeks of touring and they'd be home for three months before heading out on the Warped tour in the summer.

Aiden couldn't wait to get home to sleep in his own bed again and wake up to the smell of Ma's cooking instead of the alarms and being rushed from place to place. He loved touring but after a while, his body got weak and his heart started to miss the comforts of home.

Aiden opened his eyes and sat up from the bed. His stomach growled but it seemed to echo throughout the room. Aiden wasn't in his hotel room, though. The bed was the same, but the room was a dark red with black accents. Thick drapes covered what Aiden believed to be a window. No light could escape their seal. Was it night still and he'd woken up hungry? No, he could rule that one out. He wasn't ever hungry. Nim made sure he wasn't.

Aiden's legs tingled as if a thousand needles had been pushed into his skin from his knees down. He tried to move them to get the feeling back but they refused to move. He tried again, panic flooding him. Aiden picked up his left leg and raised it off the black carpet a few inches and let it fall back down. Pain surged up his leg at the movement. Frustrated with the feeling, Aiden tried to kick his legs. Unbelievable pain from the movement coursed through him. Aiden groaned and leaned back onto the bed, trying to get comfortable so he wouldn't have to experience anymore pain.

Aiden almost dozed off again while he lay there. He sighed and pushed himself off the bed and steadily walked to the bathroom on wobbly legs carefully. He tried not to stumble over his own feet. He turned on the bathroom light.

This room, too, was red with black flooring. The sinks and toilet were black while the bath was a bright red, standing out from the deep crimson on the walls. Aiden quickly relieved himself and washed his hands, feeling light headed. He made his was back to his bed, his eyes adjusting to the darkness in the room. A faint blue light was cast over the twin beds, making the floral covers look like it was glowing. The TV was turned on to the Weather Channel. The volume was low so Aiden couldn't hear what the middle aged man was talking about as he pointed to Texas on a map. In the right corner flashed the time. 12:00.

Time seemed to slow for Aiden, as if he was trying to live in air of melted marshmallows. He found it hard to breath and pressure was building behind his eyes. His stomach turned unpleasantly as if snakes were slithering about. Aiden's legs felt like lead as he moved toward his bed. It felt like hours had past by the time he collapsed onto the stiff mattress.

Aiden's eyes moved to the bed next to his to see if Brenden was laying awake and knew what was going on in this suddenly strange world. His mouth dropped and the snakes uncoiled in his stomach. There, on the bed, was Brenden alright. But... he was neither asleep nor awake. The blue light from the TV bathed the boy, making the sight seem unreal.

Blood soaked the sheets and the clothes ripped from his body. But littered his torso, clotting with blood. His eyes were wide with fear and his mouth open in a dead scream. His throat was slashed and blood flowed from the wound in lines.

Aiden sat up and time was fast again. He stood over Brenden's bed in shock. His eyes took in his band mates body as tears prickled the edges of his eyes. The snakes withered, sliding against each others scaly skin as he read what was carved into his chest and stomach.

"Fuckin' Fagot," a deep voice said in Aiden's ear as he read.

A knife was pressed to his neck and a cold wet hand placed over his mouth. Damp clothes pressed into Aiden's white tank, instantly soaking them. Iron filled Aiden's nostrils and he realized that it was blood that was slowly seeping into his mouth as he struggled.

"Are you gonna die like your fag friends?" the gravely voice asked. "This one wouldn't stop beggin', like he thought I'd spare him," he chuckled and spat on Brenden's body. "The other accepted it. he was first. He stood there and took it like the fag he is." Aiden could feel the spit on the back of his neck as the captor kept talking. "He was fucking glad to die for what he was."

Aiden couldn't find the words to express what he felt. He wanted to kick out and get away from this monster. His legs were lead again.

"Goodbye, Aiden."

The knife slowly was dragged across the flesh of his neck, cutting the skin and sinking into his trachea.

Aiden's eyes opened and he looked around frantically as his hands groped the bed beneath him. An invisible force was pushing down on his throat, blocking the path for air to get to his lungs. Aiden gasped as he tried to breath. His lungs were desperate for air that wasn't there. His hands reached his neck subconsciously. He felt something thick and wet coating his throat. He pulled his hands away and in the bright morning light was clearly able to see crimson blood covering his hands.