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Reggie felt it first.
They were walking from the back alley “food truck” and were about three blocks away from the Orpheum when it hit him. One minute he was excited, hyping his best friends up for the biggest show of their lives. Then suddenly he was doubled over in some alley feeling like he might explode. Alex got down next to him and started comforting him and rubbing his back while he tried not to puke.
Alex was terrified.
He knew Reggie was sick because of those stupid hot dogs. He sat and comforted his friend, as he anxiously wondered what would happen next and if the same thing that happened to Reggie would happen to him and Luke. They had all eaten the same hot dogs out of the same truck, so he was sure something similar would happen to them. In that moment he envied Bobby who had stayed back to talk to some girl.
Luke was frustrated.
Sure he was worried about Reggie, but this was supposed to be their night. They were supposed to be playing the Orpheum in an hour. Now rather than getting backstage and warming up, they had to deal with whatever was happening now.
Luke was lost in his thoughts when he started to feel sick. He tried to hold it in and tell himself he was fine, that worked for all of two seconds before he threw up on the sidewalk. He looked at what had come out of him, it was dark red and almost black. He knew that he should be worried now. He saw Alex lean Reggie up against a nearby wall before rushing over to help him.
“You okay?” Alex asked as he rushed over.
“I don’t think so,” Luke replied, “Look at this”
Alex looked at what was on the sidewalk and tried to hide his growing anxiety.
“That’s not good,” he said trying to comprehend what was happening and figure what to do next.
“No shit,” Luke said as Alex ushered him over by Reggie.
When they got back over to where Reggie was, Alex saw that he had thrown up the same weird-looking stuff that Luke had. He started to freak out more, but then he stopped himself and decided the best thing to do would be to keep his cool and make sure everyone was okay.
“Hey Reg, do you think you'd be able to make it back to the Orpheum?” Alex asked, trying to figure out what to do next.
“Stomach hurts too much to move,” he mumbled.
“Okay. how 'bout you Luke?”
“I can probably make it back there,” Luke said.
“Perfect, then maybe Reggie can just lean on us for support and we can make our way back to the Orpheum and go from there.”
"Sounds like a plan," Luke said, but Alex didn't hear him because he was pushing through a wave of nausea. He wasn't going to let anything get in the way of trying to help his friends.
The three of them made it half a block down the street before Alex collapsed. He apologized profusely as he got Reggie propped up on the curb between him and Luke. Once everyone was settled he went back to thinking about how to fix everything. It was hard to think straight when he was so worried about his friends.
Alex wanted to ask the other two what they thought they should do, but when he pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked over at his friends he saw something that worried him even more. Reggie was passed out and Luke looked terrified as he tried to wakeup his friend.
“What the hell happened?” Alex asked as he shifted so he could pick up Reggie’s head and put it in his lap.
“I don’t know! We were talking about how much it sucks that we’re probably gonna miss our show and then he just passed out!”
“Well shit," Alex looked around to see if there was anyone else on the street, there wasn't. "Theres no one else around. Do you think you could find like an open store or someone who can call nine-one-one?"
Luke winced as he stood up, “yeah I can go try and find somebody. I’ll go in the direction of the Orpheum so if somehow I can get all the way there I can tell Bobby what's happening”
“Thank you! You’re the best!” Alex called after Luke.
As soon as Luke got far enough away Alex let out the vomit he had been holding back. He was careful to try and spit it out behind him so it wouldn’t get on Reggie. When he looked at the sidewalk hr realized that that the stuff that came out if him was the same stuff that had come out of Luke and Reggie. Now he was starting to panic. He told himself that Luke would be back soon with help and that everything would be okay. He was starting to calm down a bit, Thats when everything started fading to black.
Luke would have been able to find help a lot sooner if he didn’t have to keep stopping every fifty feet to catch his breath and to try to keep his dinner down. After very slowly making his way down about a block he saw someone else walking down the street.
“Excuse me, sir,” Luke asked once the man was close enough to hear him “can you call an ambulance? My friend passed out in the street about a block away and I can't find a phone”
“Yes, son. Of course I’ll call an ambulance” the man said as pulled his phone out of his jacket, “But are you okay? you look a little pale.”
"I'll be fine. I just want to find help for my friend."
"Alright then. Do you know what street your friend is on?"
“I don’t. But if you go up that street about a block you’ll find him. My other friend is with him. I’ll follow behind you but I can’t move very fast.” Luke managed to say before he was hit with another wave of pain. He was grateful that the man was already 0n the phone and hurrying down the street so he didn't see him. Luke trailed behind him, moving slower and needing to stop even more frequently than before.
When Alex woke up he was in an ambulance. He knew this should make him feel relieved, but something felt off. He looked around and saw the paramedics frantically trying something, he wondered why they seemed so concerned when he felt fine. That was until he looked down and realized he was no longer in his body. Instead he was just hovering above it. That's when it occurred to him that he must be dead. Alex started freaking out. He kept telling himself that he couldn't be dead. Just moments ago he had been holding Reggie waiting for Luke to come back with help, and now he was dead. His panic only increased when he started to feel himself float further and further away from his body until he wasn’t in the ambulance anymore.
Suddenly he stopped floating, there was a warm, glowing, white light above him. He realized he had a choice. He could go back to his body and risk going back to a world where his friends may or may not be waiting for him if they weren’t dead themselves, and if they were dead he would risk going back into a world where he would have to feel guilty for not being able to do more to save his friends.
Going back to his body raised too many problems, so Alex considered his other option. He could go into the light and see what was waiting for him on the other side. He wondered what the afterlife was like, and if there even was one. He wondered if his friends had the same option as him, and if they would be on the other side. Then he started to wonder if they had even gotten a choice.
In the end, Alex decided to go into the light and see what was next. He decided he could face whatever was in there and whatever happened next. He could not however handle going back into a world where he might have lost the only people he cared about, and the only people that cared about him. Alex started crying as he floated up into the light. When he went through the light he closed his eyes and prayed that in some way, shape, or form he would be reconnected with his friends on the other side.
When Alex reached the other side of the light it felt like he had been pushed into a small closet. When he opened his eyes he realized that’s exactly where he was. It was a very dark in the room so he couldn't tell exactly how big or small it was, but he could tell it was small. He was pretty sure that Luke and Reggie were in the room with him. He heard no sounds from them and when he yelled into the room there was no response, but he knew they were there.
Alex stopped crying. He could hear a Sunset Curve song playing, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. When he opened his eyes he saw that Luke and Reggie were in the room with him. Luke was looking around trying to find the source of the music. Reggie was just looking at Alex, excited to see him for the first time in what felt like forever. Alex let out a sigh of relief and smiled when he saw them, he wanted to go hug them but there was no time. The whole time they had been reuniting with each other, the music had been getting louder and louder, and they felt themselves being pulled out if the room and towards the music. Alex took a deep breath and prepared himself. He told himself that whatever happened next couldn't be worse then thinking he had lost his best friends.
Suddenly the three of them were standing in their old practice space. They were face to face with some girl who looked at Luke straight in the eyes and started screaming. All three boys screamed back, not sure what was happening or what would happen next.