Status: Active
Fireproof
002
I looked up from the book I had been reading, needing a break before my eyes started to cross. Reading was one of my favorite hobbies and this book was awesome, but my eyes were getting tired. I stretched my legs out in front of me, accidentally kicking Tommy’s outstretched legs. He was passed out on the couch on the opposite side of the bus. It had been a long time since we had all four shared a bus, but there had a been a mishap with the buses we were supposed to rent and we were going to have to share a bus for a few stops. It reminded me of the days when we had no choice but to share one bus. It was hard to believe that these days were slowly coming to an end, but just like with almost anything in life, it was time to move on.
“What? Was I snoring?” Tommy mumbled as he came out of his sleep.
“Nah, man. I didn’t mean to do that. It’s pretty weird sharing a bus again.”
“Brings back some good old memories though. I’m going to go hit the bunk for a bit.”
“Sleep tight.”
I stood up and stretched, glancing over at Mick who was picking a new tune on his guitar. It was a catchy sounding tune too. Sometimes it amazed me what he was capable of doing and the way he could manipulate a few strings to create some bad ass sounding music. In all of our almost thirty-four years of making music, he never had quit amazing me.
“Playing with some new stuff? Sounds great.” I said to him.
“Just a few ideas I’ve had come to me over the past few days. Nothing too impressive.”
“Maybe not now.”
“Who knows.” He shrugged.
I grabbed a bottle of water out of the small refrigerator and a bag of chips from the cabinet I had chosen to stash my food in. Next to my bag of snack foods was my camera that I had stored there as well due to the lack of space with four of us sharing a bus. Taking pictures was definitely my new addiction and a much better one compared to addiction choices I had made in the past. I was so ready to explore the cities we would be playing in and see what kind of beauty I could find. It was almost like going on a treasure hunt where you were guaranteed to find something at least, whether big or small.
“Are we there yet?” I asked Jason, our bus driver as I propped up next to his seat at the front of the bus and watched the interstate fly by.
“Man, don’t even start that shit.”
I laughed at his reaction and continued to eat my chips as we made small talk about the upcoming shows and plans for off days. Jason was my bus driver when we weren’t all sharing a bus so he was a pretty close friend of mine. He had learned to take my shit over the years which was a vast improvement from when he first started. We were talking about how Motley Crue was coming to an end soon and what the future held for each of us.
“It’s crazy that it’s coming to an end after all of these years. Seems like just yesterday we were fighting like hell to get it going. But it’s been a hell of a ride.”
“That it has brother. That it has.” Jason agreed. “What the fuck?!”
I had no time to comprehend what he had yelled about or why he suddenly slammed on the brakes sending me flying into the huge windshield of the bus. The confusion didn’t stop there as I was thrown violently back against the small wall that separated the steps leading into the bus from the back of the bus. The world begin to flip, throwing me around the front of the bus as it did so, before the deafening noise and chaos stopped. I came to a painful rest with my lower body resting up the steps that led into the bus and the upper part of my body resting on the door to the bus.
I faded in and out for a few seconds, thankful for the few seconds I was out of it and got a break from the excruciating pain surging through my body. I could hear yelling but I couldn’t tell who it was. I could hear cries of pain and I could see directly above me Jason’s lifeless body still secured to the driver’s seat by his seatbelt. I wanted to yell out to my band family and make sure they were okay, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t even think of what words to speak to see if they were okay. I tried moving but I stopped quickly as the pain intensified immensely. So this was it. After all the years of drugs and alcohol and sleeping with god knows what and defying death twice, this was going to be how it really ended. That thought was more painful than the physical pain I was in. I knew I couldn’t fight what I had just been through no matter how hard I wanted to. I could take pain, but this was like nothing I had ever endured before, and it was too much. I closed my eyes and gave in to it all, wondering what, if anything would happen next. Was this death?
“What? Was I snoring?” Tommy mumbled as he came out of his sleep.
“Nah, man. I didn’t mean to do that. It’s pretty weird sharing a bus again.”
“Brings back some good old memories though. I’m going to go hit the bunk for a bit.”
“Sleep tight.”
I stood up and stretched, glancing over at Mick who was picking a new tune on his guitar. It was a catchy sounding tune too. Sometimes it amazed me what he was capable of doing and the way he could manipulate a few strings to create some bad ass sounding music. In all of our almost thirty-four years of making music, he never had quit amazing me.
“Playing with some new stuff? Sounds great.” I said to him.
“Just a few ideas I’ve had come to me over the past few days. Nothing too impressive.”
“Maybe not now.”
“Who knows.” He shrugged.
I grabbed a bottle of water out of the small refrigerator and a bag of chips from the cabinet I had chosen to stash my food in. Next to my bag of snack foods was my camera that I had stored there as well due to the lack of space with four of us sharing a bus. Taking pictures was definitely my new addiction and a much better one compared to addiction choices I had made in the past. I was so ready to explore the cities we would be playing in and see what kind of beauty I could find. It was almost like going on a treasure hunt where you were guaranteed to find something at least, whether big or small.
“Are we there yet?” I asked Jason, our bus driver as I propped up next to his seat at the front of the bus and watched the interstate fly by.
“Man, don’t even start that shit.”
I laughed at his reaction and continued to eat my chips as we made small talk about the upcoming shows and plans for off days. Jason was my bus driver when we weren’t all sharing a bus so he was a pretty close friend of mine. He had learned to take my shit over the years which was a vast improvement from when he first started. We were talking about how Motley Crue was coming to an end soon and what the future held for each of us.
“It’s crazy that it’s coming to an end after all of these years. Seems like just yesterday we were fighting like hell to get it going. But it’s been a hell of a ride.”
“That it has brother. That it has.” Jason agreed. “What the fuck?!”
I had no time to comprehend what he had yelled about or why he suddenly slammed on the brakes sending me flying into the huge windshield of the bus. The confusion didn’t stop there as I was thrown violently back against the small wall that separated the steps leading into the bus from the back of the bus. The world begin to flip, throwing me around the front of the bus as it did so, before the deafening noise and chaos stopped. I came to a painful rest with my lower body resting up the steps that led into the bus and the upper part of my body resting on the door to the bus.
I faded in and out for a few seconds, thankful for the few seconds I was out of it and got a break from the excruciating pain surging through my body. I could hear yelling but I couldn’t tell who it was. I could hear cries of pain and I could see directly above me Jason’s lifeless body still secured to the driver’s seat by his seatbelt. I wanted to yell out to my band family and make sure they were okay, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t even think of what words to speak to see if they were okay. I tried moving but I stopped quickly as the pain intensified immensely. So this was it. After all the years of drugs and alcohol and sleeping with god knows what and defying death twice, this was going to be how it really ended. That thought was more painful than the physical pain I was in. I knew I couldn’t fight what I had just been through no matter how hard I wanted to. I could take pain, but this was like nothing I had ever endured before, and it was too much. I closed my eyes and gave in to it all, wondering what, if anything would happen next. Was this death?