No Mercy

The news of the second body spread quickly, sent by text between the buses so quickly that by the time they reached the venue the next morning, everyone was aware that a second murder occurred. Andy was almost relieved, as his bus was far behind the unlucky ones who discovered the body. The police had directed their attention elsewhere, and he and his band were no longer possible suspects. However, it was clear that the discovery of a second victim had a ripple effect across the entire tour.

He noticed that most bands tried to continue about their normal day, but the added caution was obvious and created tension. Everyone was under suspicion. The rumor was that it had been the Bring Me the Horizon tour manager, and that she was disemboweled. Others said that it was a random roadie, and that pieces of the carcass were found around the rest stop.

However, Andy knew that Ben and Austin were the ones to discover the body, and he had decided that he wouldn't believe any story unless it came from their mouths directly. Unfortunately, Austin and Ben were never left alone that day. Again, rumor told him that Austin had a mental breakdown and still couldn't talk about the experience, and might not be able to perform at their set. Danny had told him that he may be filling in. Ben, although easier to run into, was still walking around with a deadened expression.

Andy reached the catering tent and found it incredibly crowded and loud. Everyone was discussing the events of the past few days, and instead of complaints about technical difficulties during sets, he overheard pieces of wild murder theories. He crossed the tent that was growing uncomfortably hot from the sun beating down on its white canvas walls and the obscene number of people cramming into it, getting in line for food.

Pierce the Veil was serving today, and so of course they served tacos with rice. Andy began to tune out the conversations going on around him as he greeted Vic, Mike, Tony and Jaime as he went down the buffet line. They were nice guys and never really got involved in a lot of drama. Just as he was getting to the end of the line, a familiar voice shouted in his ear as the person stabbed him in the sides with two fingers.

"Fucking Christ!" Andy yelled as he struggled to hold onto his plate. He whipped around as Danny laughed at his reaction. "You fucking asshole!"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch," Danny snickered as he headed to a table. Andy followed him, sighing. Sometimes he felt as if he was constantly surrounded by children.

"Two bodies have turned up, I wouldn't suggest scaring the shit out of people," Andy said as he slid his plate onto the table and sat down. "Someone's gonna get pissed."

"Don't worry, I trust you not to pull a knife on me," Danny joked.

"Good. As of last night my name is cleared anyways," Andy remarked, taking a bite out of his taco.

"Brutal way for you to get off the hook..." the other commented sarcastically.

Andy wondered if it would be tactless to ask about what exactly happened, but clearly Danny was reading his face like a book anyways.

"It was the Bring Me the Horizon tour manager. And the sick fuck cut her face into a Chelsea smile. Clearly our killer is a fan of irony," Danny explained, taking a swig of beer.

"That's crazy," Andy said, shuddering at the thought of someone going through something like a Chelsea smile. "Ben and Austin found her?" He grimaced.

"Yeah, I had to piss and I dragged Ben off the bus to go with me. Ashby had to go too and brought Austin. I guess I was a bit leery of going alone after the killing and stuff. Either way she was against the vending machine."

"That sucks. I can't imagine finding someone like that."

"Yeah, I know. Ben won't talk about it, he's been a recluse all day. Austin's even worse. They had to sedate him after questioning." Danny took a bite of his taco and continued talking with his mouth full. "Shit like that fucks you up."

Andy nodded in agreement, and the rest of their lunch was spent making relatively normal conversation. However, the thought in the back of his mind lingered, who would do that to someone? It had to be someone on the tour. This was no coincidence. There was a killer among them.