Hard Fucking Death Core

THIRTY-FIVE (Iselen POV)

"This is all bullshit..." I whisper dropping the magazines on the table and leaning back on the blue couch.

The lobby of the Four Seasons hotel in Seattle is quiet at this hour, I had lunch with the Hardcores at a restaurant with wonderful views over the bay and the girls went back to their rooms to relax, pack their bags and get ready to go to the airport: Chicago is waiting for HFDC. Ruby told me she wanted to take a bath and I decided to grab my laptop and write an article explaining what happened yesterday. You'd think that having so many witnesses, pictures and videos of the incident, the press would say the truth but no, they're able to speculate and tell nonsense even when it's pretty obvious what happened.

I always write in a conversational tone, like I'm talking to the fans directly, because this isn't a press statement but a blog for people to know how HFDC members live day to day, there's no censorship or sensational headlines. I talk about how happy and tired the girls were after their show, how we walked out of the stadium and that crazy woman attacked Lzzy and Taylor with a knife suddenly, how Zu jumped on her to stop her and later the police officers took her to jail, how the paramedics arrived and we went back to the hotel because the Hardcores' wounds weren't serious. I explain briefly the reasons for the attack even if I don't have the police official version yet, although everything seems to indicate that the woman is mad as a hatter and it's been a homophobic attack. Actually, Ruby Rose was the target... I can't help shuddering when I remember it.

I also explain how we lived the rest of the night: a real sleepover. Ruby wrote a list with the food I should order to the room service while she helped Mads and Zu. They managed to drag the bass player's massive mattress to our suite and the singer threw our own mattress to the floor creating a big and comfortable bed, we all enjoyed a delicious dinner and some weed, laughing at poor Lzzy: the paramedic gave her a powerful chill pill because she was very nervous after the attack and got really high, babbling nonsense while hugging Zu. Taylor lied next to them and Mads and Ruby held onto me to sleep all night long. Despite we live in a crazy world, the Hardcores stay together and always move forward, they woke up the next morning full of energy and ready to fight in order to keep writing music and provoking stupid reactionaries.

"You won't be able to stop them, assholes..." I whisper angrily staring at the magazine covers. A commotion near the door grabs my attention and I blink surprised when I see an ambulance with the lights on, two paramedics get off running with a stretcher and rush through the lobby towards the elevators... What the hell is going on now? Can we have a quiet day for a change? I shrug and type on my laptop to publish the article on the blog... A guest of the hotel is having a heart attack, probably.

"Iselen!" Mads cry makes my skin crawl and an awful feeling sends a shiver down my spine. "Oh God, you're here... I've looked all over for you!" I can't help staring at her in disbelief for a second, the beautiful blonde runs towards me from the elevators but she looks nothing like the shameless and confident girl I'm used to see. She's wearing a buttoned shirt for a change, but she didn't get it right and part of the shirttail hangs on her waist in a weird angle, her hair is a mess, her eyes are bloodshot and tears run down her cheeks when she throws herself to my arms and holds me tight against her chest.

"What's...? Madison?" I ask puzzled trying to step back but the bass player keeps hugging me till almost suffocating me.

"She's not going to die, I know she won't... Please, don't leave us..."

"Mads, calm down, I don't understand what you're talking about..."I try to move a step back again but trip over the couch and land on my ass while the Hardcore follows my movement and keeps hugging me falling on her knees on the floor.

"Don't leave us, none of us can live without you, HFDC will break up... Forgive her, please, she didn't mean to do it... I know she promised you to control herself... She didn't want to do it, she'll be okay, I'm pretty sure... Don't go back to Spain..."