A Modern Myth

I lay completely still once I woke up. I could hear voices, and it wasn’t long before I noticed there were only four people speaking. Gerard’s was the only voice missing.

“…go see if Bob’s awake yet,” said Frank. I shifted a little, and when I felt a blanket covering my leg, I sighed in relief. At least no one else would have to know I was hurt.

“Hey, you’re awake,” he said quietly. I sat up, trying to move my leg as little as possible.

“What time is it?”

“Eight.”

“Do we have coffee yet?” I knew the answer was no because I couldn’t smell anything, but it never hurt to let them think I was normal. Frank shook his head.

“Gerard went to Starbucks, but he’ll be back soon.”

There were footsteps outside on the asphalt, followed by the door opening. I dragged myself out of bed and followed Frank to the front of the bus. I knew I needed to check on my leg, especially since it still hurt, but first I had to make sure there were no other ninjas outside waiting to get Gerard.

“Everyone still alive?” he joked as he climbed the stairs. I silently sighed in relief. He seemed unharmed.

“Bob finally woke up,” Frank mentioned. Gerard gave a small smile and set the coffees on the counter, and everyone quickly retrieved their respective drinks. Ray handed me one. I didn’t particularly like coffee – too much caffeine wasn’t good on a mission – but I was too cold and tired to care. I sat at the table and tried to stretch my leg out as much as possible. It didn’t help.

“Good, ’cause I brought an old friend,” Gerard said warmly. I struggled to keep my pulse from skyrocketing as Jared Leto followed him inside. The rest of the guys attacked him with hugs and animated questions, but I didn’t move, only watching him. He moved more stiffly than the last time I had seen him; I wondered if knocking him out of a tree had anything to do with it.

“Hello, Bob,” he said cordially. I nodded towards him before picking up my coffee and slowly drinking it.

“Don’t mind him, he just hasn’t had enough coffee yet,” Mikey said, causing them all to laugh. I gave a wry smile, but didn’t answer. If only they knew how wrong they were.

“I’ll be right back,” I muttered, standing and slowly making my way to the very back of the bus. Once I shut the door behind me, I collapsed to the floor, grateful to get the weight off of my now throbbing leg. I hesitantly unwrapped some of the fabric to look at the injury.

It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it wasn’t pretty. I counted ten holes, about half of which were deep. Ray had treated the wound the best he could, but I would have to use some of my own first aid equipment. I reached into a hidden compartment beneath the sink and pulled out a small container of light green medication. It smelled horrible, but it worked. I spread it across the injured area, cringing a little when it stung the deeper wounds.

After bandaging my leg and cleaning the bloodstained fabric of my suit, I carefully stood and made my way back to the main part of the bus, where everyone was having a pleasant conversation. It took all my self-control not to attack Leto, knowing that if I startled him, he might attack Gerard before I could stop him. Instead I sat patiently, waiting, studying him to see if he was going to try anything.

“I hate to run off so soon, but I’m going to be late for a photo shoot,” he said twenty agonizing minutes later. He stood, wrapping the white scarf around his neck once so the tails drifted just above the ground.

“Don’t stay away too long, okay?” Gerard responded, standing to give him a quick hug. I tensed. If Leto wanted to poison him with a dart, that would be the opportune time.

“I’ll find you again soon enough,” he answered, flashing a smile as he passed me to get to the door. He placed two fingers beneath one eye, as if trying to say he was watching me, then disappeared into the harsh winter weather outside.

A knock on the door a moment later surprised me. The person didn’t wait for an answer and opened it. Brian stepped inside the bus with a smile.

“Hey guys, I think we’ll be able to leave today,” he said. “Drums should be fixed by noon.”

“Awesome,” I said with relief. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. If nothing else, it would buy me some time to keep Gerard from getting killed, and that was all I needed to focus on.