The Throw-Aways
The Dead Just Like You Will Rise
Austin’s POV
“Alan, toss me a water!” I called from the couch. We were currently in the middle of a band meeting about the new keyboardist. The bus was cramped from a week’s worth of laundry that needed to be folded, but we all managed to squeeze in on the back lounge of the vehicle.
Our manager had emailed a list of possible places to check out. Our next stop was in Denver, another day away. We would have to stop in a small town located in the mountains before we could head to Denver. By Saturday afternoon, we would arrive in the city and start scouting out possible places.
But the schedule was only a suggestion.
We had an entire three weeks to check out the last city on the list before we needed to report back to the studios to resume practicing. There was absolutely no hurry.
“So what time is it?” Alan passed me a water and looked to Aaron for the time.
“Friday at approxamently noon.” Aaron looked at the watch adorned on his wrist. It was a simplistic black time piece. Tino clicked away with his sticks on a drum pad, practicing rhythms and random check patterns to go through. Phil was currently waking up from a nap.
“So what town are we stopping in and what time tomorrow before we head to Denver?” Phil asked, blinking back remnants of dreams. The bus rocked as we dodged a pot hole. It wouldn’t be another while and we’d be stuck on the bus that entire time. Alan pulled up the schedule on his phone. There would be absolutely nothing to do besides review the schedule another million times.
“We should be in a small town called Gold Ridge by about midnight. It has a population of just under one hundred people.” Alan sighed. I actually smiled. Small towns were nice. There wasn’t as many fans who would chase us out of our bus and half way across the city. The mountains were also very beautiful and a scenic destination. I wondered if Gold Ridge was one of the hidden gems nestled in the mountains.
“Is there anything actually interesting about the town?” Aaron asked cautiously, flicking a stray piece of fuzz from his jacket across the table onto the floor. Sighs escaped part of the group.
“No.” Phil grumbled, not even looking up from the table.
“Actually, it has a good Italian restaurant called The Three Meatballs, a nice bar named Bernards and Berards, and even its own…ghost?” Alan squinted at the screen. I peered between strands of ginger hair to read the small Colorado Small Towns website. It had a picture of an old church, half of the roof and walls collapsed.
Phil, Tino, and Aaron perked up at the idea of the supernatural. Outside, plains with green grass that swayed in the wind rolled by.
“Ghost?” Tino asked. Alan nodded and started to read the story.
“It’s about a ghost that….sings?” The princess read curiously. Everyone stopped and had to process those words together in one sentence.
“Singing?” Aaron cleared his throat. Alan nodded, half smirking.
“And she’s a pianist.” Alan kept on reading.
“Oh, just spill the article.” Tino finally exclaimed. Alan flicked the screen and began to read the article.
Gold Ridge is a small town in the mountains known to only but a few Colorado natives outside of the current population. While driving through, you may notice the historic, beautiful buildings and see nothing but a small collection of shops and houses hugging the edge of the forest and valley. Going west, you’ll notice a road that forks off of the Highway. The name of this broken and unkempt way is called Forsaken Road. What used to be a spectacular route through the mountains with stunning views is now left to abandon. Few cars travel this road now a days, since the road is not taken care of, and the highway provides a faster way to Denver.
Visible from the highway is an old church building. A landslide thirty years ago left this building standing, but quite damaged and forced to be left and tossed aside. Although this is a historic treasure, it is also the home to a local resident-the Singing Specter.
She appeared two years ago. Her first song was a popular piece called “Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance. Ever since, she’s been a ghost that sings on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in the middle of the night. Legend has it that she was an old piano prodigy that was never discovered and died wanting someone to hear her pieces. Her piano playing skills and voice are described as, “haunting to the unwary ear, yet alluring the mind.” By the local resident, Arestino Berard. Local residents never visit the church out of respect for the ghost’s space, but do enjoy listening to the music.
As if the ghost itself wasn’t unusual enough, it sing pop pieces to! Local teens remember hearing any song on the radio. Her pieces range from “Fancy” by Iggy to metalcore songs like “The Depths” by Of Mice and Men. The voice of this supernatural human seems to captivate the entire town. Even the piano seems to be a snare to anyone who listens.
Whoever this Singing Specter is, a music lover shouldn’t pass up visiting on one of the nights she sings!
We all froze, still processing the information. Out of the five of us, Alan firmly believed in ghosts, Aaron and I were a little on the border, Phil didn’t believe in them at all, and Tino was a firm believer. Alan and Tino immediately grinned.
“WE HAVE TO SEE IT!” They screamed like fangirls at a concert. I shook my head and crossed my arms, giving them a small smirk. Phil and Aaron just rolled their eyes.
“For the love of everything in a small town, are you really going to go out at midnight and try to see the Specter?” Aaron asked with a complaint. His voice was laced with both annoyance and amusement. Tino and Alan bobbed their heads.
“Dude, how cool would it be to go and see the piano in the middle of an abandoned church?” The ginger princess asked his fellow band mate.
“So cool!” Tino squealed and brushed a piece of hair out of his eyes. I looked over at the website again, memorizing the look of the building.
“Okay, while you two go explore an empty building, I’m going to try and sleep.” I told them flatly. We would be getting there at midnight! We all deserved sleep.
“Oh, no you’re not! You’re coming with us!” Alan stated, snapping his fingers in a Z-formation.
“Woah there, ginger diva. I’d actually like to sleep.” I held up my hands, stopping him there. Phil and Aaron pounded the table, yelling “Dare him! Dare him! Dare him!”
“I ALAN, DO DARE YOU TO COME OUT TO SEE THE GHOST!” Alan declared loudly. The others erupted into claps and whistles. I rolled my eyes, giving into my best friend.
“Okay, fine.” I grumbled. Alan slapped me on the back happily. He and Tino were already making plans for the paranormal activities tonight. Hey, the two had to have their fun.
“Look at the bright side, we might have a ghost keyboardist join the band.” Phil chuckled. If this ghost person was a hoax, but just as good as they claimed her to be, then we would definitely want to have whoever it was on board with us!
“Ghosts or not, I’m taking a nap.” Aaron grumbled and crawled into his bunk.
“Alan, toss me a water!” I called from the couch. We were currently in the middle of a band meeting about the new keyboardist. The bus was cramped from a week’s worth of laundry that needed to be folded, but we all managed to squeeze in on the back lounge of the vehicle.
Our manager had emailed a list of possible places to check out. Our next stop was in Denver, another day away. We would have to stop in a small town located in the mountains before we could head to Denver. By Saturday afternoon, we would arrive in the city and start scouting out possible places.
But the schedule was only a suggestion.
We had an entire three weeks to check out the last city on the list before we needed to report back to the studios to resume practicing. There was absolutely no hurry.
“So what time is it?” Alan passed me a water and looked to Aaron for the time.
“Friday at approxamently noon.” Aaron looked at the watch adorned on his wrist. It was a simplistic black time piece. Tino clicked away with his sticks on a drum pad, practicing rhythms and random check patterns to go through. Phil was currently waking up from a nap.
“So what town are we stopping in and what time tomorrow before we head to Denver?” Phil asked, blinking back remnants of dreams. The bus rocked as we dodged a pot hole. It wouldn’t be another while and we’d be stuck on the bus that entire time. Alan pulled up the schedule on his phone. There would be absolutely nothing to do besides review the schedule another million times.
“We should be in a small town called Gold Ridge by about midnight. It has a population of just under one hundred people.” Alan sighed. I actually smiled. Small towns were nice. There wasn’t as many fans who would chase us out of our bus and half way across the city. The mountains were also very beautiful and a scenic destination. I wondered if Gold Ridge was one of the hidden gems nestled in the mountains.
“Is there anything actually interesting about the town?” Aaron asked cautiously, flicking a stray piece of fuzz from his jacket across the table onto the floor. Sighs escaped part of the group.
“No.” Phil grumbled, not even looking up from the table.
“Actually, it has a good Italian restaurant called The Three Meatballs, a nice bar named Bernards and Berards, and even its own…ghost?” Alan squinted at the screen. I peered between strands of ginger hair to read the small Colorado Small Towns website. It had a picture of an old church, half of the roof and walls collapsed.
Phil, Tino, and Aaron perked up at the idea of the supernatural. Outside, plains with green grass that swayed in the wind rolled by.
“Ghost?” Tino asked. Alan nodded and started to read the story.
“It’s about a ghost that….sings?” The princess read curiously. Everyone stopped and had to process those words together in one sentence.
“Singing?” Aaron cleared his throat. Alan nodded, half smirking.
“And she’s a pianist.” Alan kept on reading.
“Oh, just spill the article.” Tino finally exclaimed. Alan flicked the screen and began to read the article.
Gold Ridge is a small town in the mountains known to only but a few Colorado natives outside of the current population. While driving through, you may notice the historic, beautiful buildings and see nothing but a small collection of shops and houses hugging the edge of the forest and valley. Going west, you’ll notice a road that forks off of the Highway. The name of this broken and unkempt way is called Forsaken Road. What used to be a spectacular route through the mountains with stunning views is now left to abandon. Few cars travel this road now a days, since the road is not taken care of, and the highway provides a faster way to Denver.
Visible from the highway is an old church building. A landslide thirty years ago left this building standing, but quite damaged and forced to be left and tossed aside. Although this is a historic treasure, it is also the home to a local resident-the Singing Specter.
She appeared two years ago. Her first song was a popular piece called “Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance. Ever since, she’s been a ghost that sings on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in the middle of the night. Legend has it that she was an old piano prodigy that was never discovered and died wanting someone to hear her pieces. Her piano playing skills and voice are described as, “haunting to the unwary ear, yet alluring the mind.” By the local resident, Arestino Berard. Local residents never visit the church out of respect for the ghost’s space, but do enjoy listening to the music.
As if the ghost itself wasn’t unusual enough, it sing pop pieces to! Local teens remember hearing any song on the radio. Her pieces range from “Fancy” by Iggy to metalcore songs like “The Depths” by Of Mice and Men. The voice of this supernatural human seems to captivate the entire town. Even the piano seems to be a snare to anyone who listens.
Whoever this Singing Specter is, a music lover shouldn’t pass up visiting on one of the nights she sings!
We all froze, still processing the information. Out of the five of us, Alan firmly believed in ghosts, Aaron and I were a little on the border, Phil didn’t believe in them at all, and Tino was a firm believer. Alan and Tino immediately grinned.
“WE HAVE TO SEE IT!” They screamed like fangirls at a concert. I shook my head and crossed my arms, giving them a small smirk. Phil and Aaron just rolled their eyes.
“For the love of everything in a small town, are you really going to go out at midnight and try to see the Specter?” Aaron asked with a complaint. His voice was laced with both annoyance and amusement. Tino and Alan bobbed their heads.
“Dude, how cool would it be to go and see the piano in the middle of an abandoned church?” The ginger princess asked his fellow band mate.
“So cool!” Tino squealed and brushed a piece of hair out of his eyes. I looked over at the website again, memorizing the look of the building.
“Okay, while you two go explore an empty building, I’m going to try and sleep.” I told them flatly. We would be getting there at midnight! We all deserved sleep.
“Oh, no you’re not! You’re coming with us!” Alan stated, snapping his fingers in a Z-formation.
“Woah there, ginger diva. I’d actually like to sleep.” I held up my hands, stopping him there. Phil and Aaron pounded the table, yelling “Dare him! Dare him! Dare him!”
“I ALAN, DO DARE YOU TO COME OUT TO SEE THE GHOST!” Alan declared loudly. The others erupted into claps and whistles. I rolled my eyes, giving into my best friend.
“Okay, fine.” I grumbled. Alan slapped me on the back happily. He and Tino were already making plans for the paranormal activities tonight. Hey, the two had to have their fun.
“Look at the bright side, we might have a ghost keyboardist join the band.” Phil chuckled. If this ghost person was a hoax, but just as good as they claimed her to be, then we would definitely want to have whoever it was on board with us!
“Ghosts or not, I’m taking a nap.” Aaron grumbled and crawled into his bunk.
Notes
OOOOHHHHH We finally meet the band!!!
What will happen? Will they FIND OUT ABOUT THE GHOST?!?!?!?!
Keep reading and find out!
tfw you don't cry when her dad dies but when the dog dies, it's game over.
7/18/15