Fireworks 3 and 4

Fireworks: Forever Chapter Nineteen

     Newly signed band Untamed Wasteland boarded their tour bus. Long-haired Anthony Christenton used his hands to mimic drumming moves as he climbed the stairs and headed to the back of the bus. Guitarist Josh Schmidt was close behind him, shielding the guitar on his back from bumping into the bus door or seats. Tyler Brown followed, rubbing his eyes and yawning. 

    "Successful show in Vegas and now we're onto Salt Lake City, let's go!" Tyler's voice boomed, filling the bus. 

    His bandmates cheered him on, with Anthony pumping both fists into the air.

    That hype gradually died down, with Josh beginning to slump down in his seat near the front. Their bus wasn't one that looked like it belonged on a vintage episode of MTV Cribs or anything. It was pretty basic. There were two televisions on it, a bunch of comfortable couch seating, adorable bunk beds that brought on nostalgia from slumber parties of past years, and a small kitchen/bar area. Unsurprisingly, the fridge was stocked with different alcoholic drinks and not much else. Those were the highlights.

    Tyler powered on the television near the front of the bus. A breaking news story was indicated by the moving bars at the bottom of the screen. "Oh, shit," Tyler mumbled, his eyes widening.

    "Hold on, turn that up!" Anthony called from the back of the tour bus.

    Seconds later, the volume level on the television was bumped up. "Once again, celebrated rapper Westside Terror was gunned down in his own vehicle as he was leaving a motorcycle dealership. Multiple fans present at the scene have posted photos and videos to social media, but the family of the Grammy-nominated rapper have requested for people to forward those photos and videos to the authorities instead of posting for all to see. Authorities are investigating this matter in an attempt to determine the reason behind the slaying out in broad daylight. Rumors are highlighting everything from past gang affiliations to rivalries with other rappers in the industry."

    "That's the rapper who jumped onstage with us at Coachella?" Tyler asked, twisting around in his seat to peer at Anthony.

    "Yeah, everyone loved him," Anthony said. "Damn, I can't believe he's no longer with us." Goosebumps prickled along his arm.

    The tour bus swerved a bit, launching everyone to the other side of the bus.

    "What the hell?" Josh yelled at the driver.

    "Something just fell off of the truck in front of us!" the driver called back to them. "It was headed right for us!"

    Everyone righted themselves. 

    "Today feels wrong," Anthony muttered, shaking his head. 

    "I told you how I felt like someone was watching me when I left the condo today," Tyler reminded him. 

    Josh rolled his eyes. "No, you guys are just paranoid because we stood up to the crazies at the label," he theorized. "You think they're a part of this big, bad, secret society-type of entity who is going to take all rebels out. Give me a break."

    Anthony and Tyler met each other with worried glances. 

    "Say what you want, but I've heard weird clicking on my phone line," Anthony said, kicking his feet up on the side table.

    "Sounds like a symptom of schizophrenia to me," Josh said shortly before a yawn. "You might want to get that checked out."

    The bus swerved again, this time even harder than the first time.

    Josh growled as he was thrown against the window on the opposite side from where he was seating. "Dammit, Chuck, if you need me to come up there and take over, just let me know!"

    The goosebumps on Anthony's arms didn't go away. They hardened and grew even bigger. The hairs on the back of his neck lifted. Against his better judgment, he craned his neck so that he could see down the aisle of the bus. 

    Charlie hadn't lied. Multiple items fell off the truck ahead of them - one of those items, which looked like some form of machinery, broke free of the tie-downs on the flatbed truck and flew straight towards the windshield.

   "Chuuuuuuuuck!" Anthony screamed, pulling himself back near the window as the tour bus made a final swerve that sent the bulky vehicle tumbling off the side of the road.

~~~~~~

    "Status update required."

    "Westside Terror attack deemed a success. He was declared dead and is trending on all social media platforms. His fans have declared that they'll continue streaming his music in tribute and even old songs of his are climbing the charts. Fans are posting themselves crying along to his music. We anticipate for numbers and stream counts to be positive."

    "And?" the large man at the head of the conference table prompted.

    "The band Untamed Wasteland found themselves in quite the nasty bus rollover," the assistant read off. "Lead singer Tyler Brown was a casualty of the accident and he has been ruled deceased. The guitarist and drummer are in the hospital with life-threatening injuries, but there is a high likelihood they'll pull through. If so, it would be easy to replace Tyler with a singer who has a similar look and sound."

    "You don't anticipate difficulty with the fans accepting a new lead singer?" The man at the head of the table breathed heavily in between words. 

    The assistant reviewed the charts on the page he read from and shook his head. "Marketing feels confident that they can convince the public to accept a new lead singer, as they've done it before. The band's fans are heartbroken over the loss of Tyler, but the band is trending at number three and continuing to climb that list. A vigil is being held outside of their Utah hospital, and fans are posting their road trips as they travel to the hospital, which is helping those trending numbers."

    "Very productive day," the big, beefy man commented. "How are we coming along with the new names that have been added to the list for this project?"

    "The first artist we're tackling for that is Big Trip. White rapper with a rockstar image. I expect we will have updates as soon as this evening."

    "Excellent."