The Silenced Drummer

Chapter 1: The Concert

  " She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!"

 The fading echo of the song was lost to the screams of a seemingly infinite number of girls in the audience. All attention was on the four Beatles who were on the stage. 

John was smiling as he looked out onto the crowd, despite the deafening sound that originated from it. 

Paul was looking over at John with a smile on his face as well.

George, on the other hand, only had a slight smile on his face. The concert had gone in the direction that he expected it to go. They would finish a song and the excited shrieks of the crowd would follow. 

Ringo, like John and Paul, had a smile on his face. It has been only a month since he was released from the hospital after the incident with his tonsils. He was glad to see that he was missed by not only his friends, but by the fans as well. Despite how loud the audience was, Ringo was glad to be back. 

He turned his head to make eye contact with George, who was now facing him. Upon seeing Ringo's smile, George felt himself light up. With how formulaic the concert had went so far, Ringo's smile made it worthwhile for him. He had missed that smile while Ringo had to go to the hospital to get his tonsils removed, and knowing about his childhood experiences with that place, George could only feel happy upon seeing how happy the older man was.

"Okay," Paul spoke into a microphone in an effort to be heard over the fans, "for our nex-"

Suddenly, John's amplified voice interrupted Paul's.

"Quiet!" John shouted, knowing how the crowd would react. The screams only became louder in response. Paul turned away from the microphone to look at John, who was chuckling.

"What was that for?" Paul shouted, his voice barely being heard.

"Come on Macca, can't I have a little fun?" John responded, smirking. Paul rolled his eyes. George had turned back to face the audience, holding back a laugh. Ringo giggled slightly.

The four waited until the screaming had gone down to half its intensity, which surprisingly took under a minute to happen. 

"You're not going to do it again, are ya?" Paul asked John.

"Hmm, maybe," Paul glared at him in response.

"Okay, Paulie, I won't," John chuckled.

"Good," Paul said. He was used to John's antics, but he hated it whenever they reached this level. Still, Paul blushed slightly at the nicknames John gave him. 

Clearing his throat, Paul turned back to his microphone. But before he could speak, a sound erupted over all others in the concert hall.

A gunshot.

The audience went silent in a matter of seconds.

John flinched at the unexpected sound and it took him a moment to recognize the sound for what it was. 

Paul almost fell back at the sound, dropping his bass in the process.

George's grip on his guitar tightened and his eyes went wide.

The three Beatles all looked at each other. They were all relieved that none of them seemed to be hurt, but they knew that there was someone else who needed to be checked.

It was a horrified shriek from an audience member that caused the three musicians to look behind them. Their hearts all dropped upon seeing the other Beatle on the ground, covering his neck with his hands.

George dropped his guitar and took in a sharp breath. He quickly ran towards Ringo, shouting his name in the process. The other two Beatles followed, leaving their instruments behind.

The crowd erupted into screams of terror as people rushed to either get out of the concert hall or apprehend the shooter before he escaped, but in an area with so many people in it, it was impossible to tell who was who.

"No, no, no! This can't be happening!" George screamed as he knelt down next to Ringo. The injured man opened his eyes to look at the guitarist, but his vision was obscured by tears. He gagged on the small metallic object that was stuck in his throat. Blood was pouring out of the wound in his neck, staining his hands and clothes in the process.

John stared down in absolute shock. Paul covered his hand with his mouth as his eyes became glossy with tears.

"H-he's choking!" Paul shouted

George took Ringo in his arms, not caring about the blood staining his clothes, and laid him down onto his stomach. He then moved an arm under the drummer's chest and onto his back and began to squeeze as hard as he could.

Ringo tried to speak, but he felt no vibrations in his throat. More blood came out of his mouth and onto the stage floor. He coughed, trying to remove the bullet from his throat to allow air to his lungs.

John and Paul both knelt down next to Ringo, trying to do anything they could to dislodge the bullet. 

It was a single minute later that a shiny, blood-stained object came flying out of Ringo's mouth. Ringo tried to breathe in air, but the hole in his throat made it difficult, even with his hands covering it. 

George flipped Ringo onto his back. The three Beatles all looked at the drummer.

"I..." Paul tried to say something, but all that came out were stuttering breathes, as if he was about to cry. John pulled him into his chest as he too began to sob.

George leaned into Ringo's face.

"Y-you're going t-to be okay, I-I promise," Ringo's blue eyes focused on George. His pupils had grown in size as he started to feel dizzy. Once again, he tried to speak. There were still no vibrations in his neck the as the air passed through him.

It was then that two EMTs came in with a gurney. 

All four musicians looked at them.

"We need to take him to the hospital, now!" One of them said. George picked Ringo up and handed him to the EMTs. 

Ringo's vision was getting darker with each passing moment as he was placed on the gurney. 

As he was being taken out of the concert hall, Ringo heard his bandmates following him. He did not comprehend what they were saying. George got close to him, placing a hand against his cheek. Ringo couldn't tell if he was crying or not. He heard George scream as he began to close his eyes.

The last thing Ringo saw was the guitarist's face before he passed out.