The Throw-Aways

I slung out a string of curses as I dragged my limp body up the bus steps and settled onto one of the front lounge couches. No one touched me for fear of putting me in any more agony. I took in a deep breath and spread out on the lounge floor. Jack handed me the box labeled Project Motion: Expand your world.

I opened it up and gritted my teeth. The sparks wire never ending and shot up my arm into my neck. With shaking hands, I rotated the disc on my arm. The little pop sounded and I shoved the robotic arm off.

This incident would be one for the doctor’s check up!

Instantly, the pin pricks of fire that shot up my arm and tingled my brain ceased. The agony wasn’t gone, but the numb feeling was fading fast. Closing my eyes, I let the feeling return to my legs. Jake licked my face and sneezed.

“Woah, what happened out there?” Austin asked, kneeling by my side. Everything still felt like a dull ember was poking it.

“The arm failed. It froze up and backfired, causing my entire body to freeze up.” I explained, pursing my lips and sighing. Opening my eyelids once again, I reached over and grasped a tool from the kit. It would help recalibrate my nerves.

After a few seconds of more uncomfortable pain, the nerves had been recalibrated. I kept my arm off, carefully setting it in the box. By now, my entire body had reverted to normal. Only my muscles were a little sore.

“Feeling better?” Jack asked me, his hair drooping over his face.

“Kind of.” I groaned and took Alex’s arm, hauling myself up. Austin wrapped a protective hand around my shoulder, steadying myself as I stood up. Everyone but Jay had started staring at me worriedly.

In fact, Jay wasn’t in the bus.

Good. I didn’t want her ruining my last safe haven.

“Well you certainly are a trooper for holding on through the set.” Phil laughed. I managed a weak smile and petted my dog who sneezed on my leg again.

“Thanks, Phil. I might go rest for a little while. I’m a little sore after that.” I smiled slightly and Alan helped me tuck the case into my bunk.

“Hey, no worries! Say, Jack, Alex, and the rest of us were going to get a bite to eat. Do you think you want to come to the restaurant or are you going to stay here?” Austin asked. I leaned against his warm chest.

“I might stay here for a few hours. Jake and I will chillax!” I teased half-heartedly. Jake woofed his appreciation.

I had no clue what I would do without my dog.

He might be blind, diabetic, obese, and Jake might have a lot of flub to love, but he was MY pug. He was MY dog and MY lifeline. The bug was always there whenever I was having troubles, like today at the concert. The dog leaned up against my leg, supporting me the entire time.

Jack and Alex smiled at me, their happiness infectious. Pretty soon, everyone had relaxed from the many terrifying minutes. “Well, my girlfriend has been pretty anxious to meet you. Do you mind if she chills with you while we’re gone?” Jack asked me curiously. Uh oh, time for the moment of truth.

“Oh, sure.” I forced each word out of my lips. Seriously!? An entire two hours with the devil herself!? Well, it’s not like I could refuse it. Austin bumped my arm slightly. It was a silent question to whether I didn’t mind being left behind.

Jake growled slightly. I ruffled his head to try and calm him.

“Oh great! I guess I should introduce you all to my new girlfriend.” Jack and Alex beamed. Alex seemed happy for his friend. Jack just seemed to be oblivious to the entire situation.

“I’ll text her quickly. She’ll be out in two minutes.” Jack told me. My hands curled into fists at my side. Alan passed me a curious glance before checking his own phone. He was probably texting Kylar about something or another. She had gotten a new nose ring and was probably getting excited over that. I saw a lot of caps on his screen, so that must be the cause.

Two minutes of quiet conversation passed by in the blink of an eye. As soon as there was a knock on the door, I nearly leapt out of my skin. The boys all had their coats on against the frigid wind that had started up. Wyoming in the middle of December wasn’t always the warmest.

Jack went to open the door and the sight that we beheld frightened us all.

“Okay, I’ll drive!” Alex said, quickly pulling the boys behind him. Austin just stared at me as he was forced out. The rest of Of Mice and Men seemed equally in shock.

“Okay, babe. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.” Jack kissed Jay’s cheek as she beamed forks and daggers.

Yeah, I said forks and daggers!

“See you, babe!” She squealed and Jack promptly left the bus. Jake growled and I held onto his collar before he could blindly lunge at her. Jake da Pug would’ve just run into a cabinet, anyways.

“So I see you got a new arm.” She stated mildly, folding her arms across her chest. I bit my lip from lashing out and just nodded.

“Yep. It’s just a prototype.” I explained without much sourness in my voice.

“Obviously.” She spat and popped the gum she noisily chewed on and flopped down on the couch, her skirt flouncing around her. Jake struggled against my hold on his collar.

“Look, you can watch TV or whatever, but don’t go into the boys’ bunks.” I explained. She rolled her eyes and picked up the remote. As much as I wanted to sit out here and “enjoy” her company, I wanted to sleep. Jake laid out by the door. I looked a little worried.

We always kept the door closed because a couple of times, Jake had wandered out blindly. Only Tino had noticed and caught him before he strayed too far. Although Jake was fairly lazy and didn’t like to wander around, he would sometimes stray from the bus on a little adventure towards highways.

Stepping around my dog, I got up and went out the door, closing it behind me. I took my sweet time going around and making sure all the doors to our equipment truck was closed before going back inside.

I made sure to close the door behind me.

Jake wiggled his tail, but otherwise stayed put. Jay was watching America’s Next Top Model as I crawled into my bunk. Throwing on my headphones, I made sure to keep my curtain opened a little bit so that I could see if Jay was trying to rifle through any of the boys’ stuff. No such things happened.

I closed my eyes for a moment. My gentle rest turned into a nap as I slipped into sleep, headphones still in my ears. Disengage by Suicide Silence had turned on when I stretched my one good arm and slowly got out of bed. Jay was still on the couch, surfing on her phone. I blinked back tired dots and reached into the cold freezer. My hand grasped a water bottle as I stood up and uncapped it.

An icy breeze gusted the room and I shivered a little, going to shut the door. I could’ve sworn I shut it after I went to my bunk!

Looking around, there was a distinct lack of flub….

“Jakey!” I whistled. Jay shot me a dirty glare and went back to her phone. Okay, I couldn’t panic. Jake had probably wandered into the back lounge and had gotten stuck.

“Bug, come here!” I called softly again and moved through the bus. There was only so much area he could be in.

Nope, he wasn’t stuck in the back. He hadn’t curled up on the couch and wasn’t snoozing by the Xbox. Going through each of the bunks, I looked at the lower mattresses. Sometimes, he had made a leap of faith and scrambled onto Tino or Alan’s bottom bunk. He hadn’t gotten into the cover on mine, wasn’t cuddling with Alan’s stuffed cat, and hadn’t snuggled into Tino’s blankets.

“Jake!” A note of fear rose into my voice. I scrambled into the front lounge where Jay was enjoying a red Gatorade and had stretched out onto the couch. The TV blared. That’s when I realized….

The door.

“Oh no.” I muttered. Jay sneered and twisted her mouth into a frown of disgust.

“What now?” She growled as I interrupted her show.

“Jake, where did he go?” I asked. How could Jake get out? I closed and latched the door! It wasn’t like he could crash through a window, or reach up and use a hand to twist the knob!

“I don’t know. You left the door open, BTW.” She stared back at her phone. NO! I hadn’t left the door open!

“I could’ve sworn I locked it….” I trailed off and went through the entire bus again. It was about thirty minutes before the boys should be back. I had a little time.

A knock at the bus door alerted me to a stream of thick silence entering the bus. I heard footsteps, but not heavy chatter. I could feel silence, but not know why.

When I turned around, I saw something that crushed my heart.

Notes

JAAAAAKKKKKKEEEE WHERE ARE YOU?!?!?!?!?!?!?!


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