The Music Or The Misery (FOB FanFic)

Chapter 5

-Patrick's POV-

I pulled my car up to the curb in front of the Sears Tower, like the letter had told me. I sat there for a little, taking a quick glance at the letter again to make sure I was at the right place and didn't just read it wrong. But sure enough, I was.

I folded the letter up and slipped it into my jacket pocket, opening the car door and getting out.

Just as I closed my car door, another car pulled up behind me. I couldn't tell who the driver was - the headlights were blinding me. I put my hand up to block the light, but the driver soon turned off their car and got out. I lowered my hand and my eyes widened when I saw who it was.

"Andy?"

"Patrick? What are you doing here?" He retorted, making his way over to me.

"I-I was given this letter," I answered, retrieving the piece of paper out from my pocket and handing it to him. He took it into his possession and read it over.

"That's weird," He commented, giving the letter back to me, "Because I got the same one."

"Really?"

That's when another person pulled up, right behind Andy. Pete.

"What are you guys doing here?" My old friend inquired as he joined Andy's and my little group.

"We both got these letters," Andy explained. I shook my in the air.

"Really? Because I got one too." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the crinkled and crumpled up note. It might've even been ripped and taped back together.

"What's going on?"

"Guys?"

We all turned around to see Joe, someone I thought I'd never see again, coming towards us in the dark of the night.

"Hey! What are you all doing here?" He gave us all quick hugs before standing in front of the three of us. Instead of verbally replying to him, we all just held up the identical pieces of paper we'd all received. He gasped, "No way. I got one too!"

"This is really strange, guys," Andy pointed out, "I mean, why would the four of us all get these-"

Before he could finish his question, the sliding glass doors to the Sears Tower slid open to reveal two shadowed figures. The four of us froze in terror, huddling up together for protection. The shadows stepped forward and into the light that shone down from the street lamps that lit up the entrance to the Sears Tower.

"Alex? Gabe?"

"Hi, guys," Gabe greeted, a mischievous grin stretching across his face. "Did you find your way here easily?"

"What's going on, guys?" Pete questioned them, speaking for all of us.

"Follow us," Alex replied before he and Gabe turned around and disappeared into the dark building. My friends and I exchanged a nervous look before reluctantly following the former lead singers of All Time Low and Cobra Starship into the Tower.

"Um, Gabe, it says here on the letter that everything will be explained upon arrival," Pete blurted out, joining his friend's side and almost having to jog to keep up with his faster than normal pace, "So, uh, care to tell me everything?"

"Everything will be explained in the elevator, Pete," Gabe retorted calmly, not once looking down at the man who was a little shy of a foot shorter than him. Something didn't seem right. Alex and Gabe didn't seem like themselves. It was like they were brainwashed, almost, or they were keeping something from us. Whatever it was, something was very shady about this and I had a bad feeling about it all.

The two escorted us into the elevator and Alex pushed the button for the hundredth floor.

"I'm glad you all could make it," Gabe stated.

"Boss will be happy. Especially to see you, Patrick," Alex tacked on. My eyes widened. Especially me? Why? "But, unfortunately, you won't be seeing them today or anytime soon. They would like to keep their identity a secret until the mission is completed. For your safety and for theirs."

"Well that's stupid," Joe responded, "Why would I want to complete some mission for someone whose name I don't even know?"

"You'll regret turning down this opportunity, especially you, Joe," Alex warned, glancing back at him. He and Gabe were standing by the doors while the four of us were standing behind them, towards the back of the small box being pulled up the shaft by heavy duty cables and wires.

"What mission?" I inquired.

"Well, not to sound cliche or anything, but your mission is to save rock and roll," Gabe answered me, giggling like a school girl. Alex even joined him for a laugh or two, but the two of them quickly stopped and went back to being completely serious.

"You'll really be fighting to lift the government's ban," Alex further explained, "And to do that, you're going to go back to your roots and play some shows."

"But that could get us killed!" I argued.

"That's only if you get caught. Follow the instructions we've been ordered to give you, and you hopefully won't be attracting the attention of the government. Boss wants you to attract the attention of the people - the artists like yourselves who were stripped of their freedom of speech. Your goal is to gain the support of the people, so that when it comes time for you to confront the Big Man, you'll have enough people behind you that there'll be no problem taking them down."

"So our mission is take down the ban?" Pete questioned.

"No, your mission is to rally support to take down the ban," Gabe clarified, "You're not to try and take down the ban by yourselves whatsoever." The two of them were still facing away from us. We were on the seventy-third floor.

"But our instruments were taken away," Andy remarked, "How are we supposed to play these shows when we don't have anything to play with?"

"Don't worry about that," Alex said.

"Yeah, that won't be an issue," Gabe added.

The elevator reached the one hundredth floor and the doors slid open. Gabe and Alex stepped out of the elevator and we followed. The elevators door slid shut behind us and the elevator descended back down to the lobby. But before the doors closed shut, I swear I saw a figure standing in the elevator. The figure and I made eye contact, I know it, but the doors shut too quickly for me to decipher who it was.

"Why are we here, though?" Pete asked, crossing his arms, "Why here? The hundredth floor of the Sears Tower?"

"You'll see," Alex assured him and us, glancing back with that same mischievous smirk Gabe greeted us with minutes earlier.

"LIGHTS!" Gabe shouted.