Chapter Text
It was all pretty normal. As normal as it could be for Guns N' Roses and Metallica on a single tour bus. Too many people.
They had to be moving at about 112 kilometers/hour. As always, a tired driver who just wants to get to a rest stop. And you can't do that easily in what appears to be the middle of nowhere.
Kirk couldn't help but look out the window and feel nervous all the time. Being on a speeding bus made him anxious, even if three years had passed since the crash. The crash that took one of his best friends' lives. He knew that the driver was tired and that they were going much too fast. He didn't even know where they were anymore, for it was too dark to tell.
And truth be told, no one knew where they were.
James and Jason were passed out on the couch. Slash and Steven were on the floor next to where Axl was sleeping in his bunk. Izzy was probably hiding out in his bunk too, at this point. Duff and Lars, too. No one seemed to want to be all on top of each other. And it made sense. The tour seemed like a good idea, but it was just too crowded in there.
So they all just decided to exist in peace around each other until they made a stop and they could breathe. Well, they made a stop, alright.
Luckily, no one was doing anything important when it happened.
The bus suddenly came to a skidding stop, making everyone jump and cover their ears at the sound. This happened not three seconds before they felt themselves being tipped over, falling with the bus, most everybody attempting to stand up to gain balance, all failing.
They all yelled something at the same time, no one making out a single word of what they had even said, as it was all said out of shock and fear.
There was always a reason to be nervous. Kirk's nerves weren't for nothing.
Anyone who looked at any of the Metallica members could see a wide-eyed expression on their faces, clearly having very subtle flashbacks from that night in 1986.
It all happened fast. When they came to a stop, everyone was left with a ringing in their ears. A loud silence.
Izzy, Lars, and Duff were now far away from the concept of hiding.
"...Is it over?" Kirk anxiously whined from where he sat, shaking. Slash looked over at him and shrugged, but nodded, assuming that they were done tumbling around.
"Did we fall off a cliff?" Steven asked after a moment.
"Don't- Don't say that," James said, shaking his head slowly and scratching at his hair. Kirk looked over at him with a terrified look on his face.
It was all coming back to him, to the band. And even to Guns N' Roses. Sure, a band mate of theirs had never died in a bus crash, but plenty of people had. But as far as anyone could see, all band mates were alive. But that doesn't speak for everyone else on the bus.
They had ended up traveling in two separate buses. Bands in one, crew in the other. Who knew where the crew's bus was at this point.
After too long, too many seconds of sitting in shock, everyone simultaneously decided to get up and check on their driver.
Axl, apparently being the least afraid of death was the one to check. The rest of them all made their way to the new hole at the front of the bus.
They climbed out of the wrecked bus to see forest. That's all. A forest dark from the night, its eerie silence screaming at them. And something else too. And actual screaming. Something unnatural.
Izzy turned around to go back to the bus, checking on Axl.
"...Well?" he asked, not daring to get close enough to Axl and the driver's body to assume the circumstances for himself.
Axl didn't respond for a moment. He just held his fingers against the guy's chest. He the shook his head.
"He's gone," Axl said quietly. He stood up, still leaning over a bit because of the tilted state of the bus.
No one would have guessed that their driver was dead unless they were to do what Walk had just done. There was no immediately visible blood, and honestly, no one wanted to see that.
Axl and Izzy went out into the night too join the others, who were visibly shaking. Kirk was looking around wildly, as if looking for some kind of sign that he'd made it past life. That it was over for all of them.
And one might think it was. They stood on an empty road in the middle of nowhere with a dark, growling forest in front of them. Definitely abnormal enough to think you've died.
James had started pacing at some point. No one was really doing anything. Axl didn't need to say anything; if he didn't come out of there with their driver, he was obviously gone. They were all simply in too much shock to really say much.
At some point, while they stood near the bus, waiting, maybe for someone to come along for help, Slash approached a very quiet and somber looking Axl.
He looked rough himself. His leather jacket slightly torn at the arms, and he was walking with a slight limp —it would be a surprise if he wasn't—, but never quite managed to get that quiet shocking look in his eyes. Like he'd remained calm through this even though none of them had.
"Hey, man..." Slash said softly to Axl once he reached him. Axl looked up at the curly-haired man and blinked.
"Hi," Axl said. Their interaction was as if they had never met each other before, even though they had been friends for years.
"You okay?" Slash asked. Yeah, it was a dumb question. None of them were really okay, but as Axl's best friend, he felt that asking would calm something in his brain even if the answer was no.
"I could be better," Axl said. "We're just lost in the middle of nowhere with a dead bus driver and nowhere to go."
Slash nodded. Understandable. He stepped closer to Axl, suddenly noticing how cold he was getting. Adrenaline had filled them all with an uncomfortable heat, but now that for some of them, that adrenaline was fading, they were starting to fellow the real temperature of the night.
Neither Slash nor Axl were motivated to continue the conversation. The only thing that was on anyone's mind was this: What if I had lost a band member just now?
Kirk in particular looked incredibly uncomfortable. His eyes were glassy and still wide, as if he might cry. And that was a possibility that no one would judge.
"Guys," Lars said after way too long. Everyone looked at him. "We need to do something. Standing around isn't gonna do shit for us."
"What did you propose?" Jason asked. Now everyone's tired, nervous, and pressuring eyes were on Lars.
"We could just stay here," said Duff, taking everyone's attention off of Lars.
"And do fucking what?" Kirk snapped suddenly. No one would have expected Kirk to snap. "Wait for someone to come down here and pick us up? Look at this mess! We're in the middle of fucking nowhere and our driver is a dead man and that's gonna be us soon if we don't get the fuck out of here..."
Now Kirk was visibly upset, shaking more now than before. Lars' demanding demeanor immediately dropped as he moved closer to his band mate and wrapped his arms around him. Kirk melted into the contact, knowing that Lars most likely knew exactly what was going through his head.
After a few more stressful minutes of arguing and debating, some saying too much and some saying nothing at all, they all came up with what they would do.
And what was that?
Well, what is always the smartest thing to do when you crash a bus in the middle of nowhere?
Walk into the dark, unsettling forest before you.