21st Century Outbreak

Chapter 2

Mike woke me up that morning. He looked hung over and tired.

"Come on," he said. "We have to get ready for the concert."

"Mhm," I mumbled, getting out of my bunk. "Dibs in first shower." I laughed and hopped in the shower. It only took about ten minutes, so afterwards, I got dressed and dried my hair. After another twenty minutes, I was ready to walk out the door. Mike and Tre were ready soon after.

We got a taxi back to the Giants' stadium. Almost six hours until the concert and there's already people in the audience. Not a lot, but some.

"Think of any other songs to play?" Jason asked.

"Homecoming," Mike said, "Tre and I love that one. You good with that, Billie?"

I nodded. "I was also thinking Welcome to Paradise."

The guys agreed and we went backstage. Then I thought of a funny idea whilst we were walking. I grabbed a microphone and went onstage.

"Well isn't this fun?" I asked the audience.

They cheered.

"What? Are you not entertained?" It was weird being onstage without in-ears. "Now, I've got an idea."

The audience got quiet.

"Who wants to come onstage?"

The audience cheered loudly.

"Okay, let's see," I said. "How about I say something random and then everyone in the mosh pit area come up here?"

The few people in the pit were excited.

"Alight then...CHILI CHEESE HOT DOGS ON A STICK."

They ran up to the edge of the stage and I helped them up.

"What're your names?" I asked, handing the mic around.

"Jackson."

"Chloe."

"Jenna."

"Hi, hi. So what do you guys wanna do until the concert starts?" I asked.

"Can we...sing something?"

"As if you would need to ask," I joked. "I don't have my guitar, so it'll be odd, but let's do it!"

We sang a few songs before Mike called me backstage.

"Sorry guys," I told the fans. "I hope you enjoy the concert.}

"Oh, we will," Jackson said.

I helped him and Jenna down off the stage.

"Hey, Billie?" Chloe asked. "I just wanted you to know, you and your music have really helped me through lots of hard times."

"Really?" I asked. "Well, I'm glad."

She smiled Andy I helped her off the stage.

"Billie, Okay," Jason began. "So, on the news it says the Yellowstone creatures have broke through the ground and are spreading through the US, Canada, and Mexico."

"Relax," I said. "We'll be fine."

"I think we should cancel the show," Tre said.

I looked at Mike and Jason, both were nodding in agreement.

"What?!" I exclaimed. "We can't cancel. There's a girl out in the audience who said our music helped her through difficult times. We can't give up on her like that."

The others sighed.

"Billie's right," Mike said. "We can't cancel on fans. Without them, we wouldn't be here."

Tre nodded. Jason, too.

"So we play tonight," he continued. "And we finish this tour. Unless an alien eats our bus."

~

-5 hours later-

"GOOD EVENING, QUEENS!" I yelled into the mic.

The now-full audience screamed and cheered.

"Tough crowd today," I joked. They all laughed.

I looked at Mike. He nodded and I played the opening riff to American Idiot.

-

"Good job, guys!" I said to the crowd. "Now-" I paused because I heard a faint rumbling noise. The audience heard it too; they were dead silent. And Mike and Tre were looking around with worried looks on their faces.

An unearthly screech pierced through the air above. Everyone looked up to see a winged creature swoop down into the audience. I didn't think twice before running out a back door.

I ran across a busy highway, dodging cars and trucks, into a foggy park.

Wait.

This feels oddly familiar.

Oh no.

My dream.

This is how it went.

Running through a park and spacing out.

Soon-

Klonk!