Blast the Alarm

"This is not a test," the radio buzzes. It was fuzzy and hard to hear, but it conveyed itself enough for Vic Fuentes to hear it. "Due to a recent explosion in Great Falls, Montana we are urging all travelers to seek shelter, and any others to stay indoors. An evacuation order is up for . . ." Vic zones out as they go on to list a bunch of cities near Great Falls. He didn't quite know where he was, but he knew were a ways away from Great Falls. The message starts to loop, only this time it gives a direct message for any travelers in the state Montana to immediately seek indoor refuge. Vic sighs and reaches for his cellphone. He needed to call the other two band touring with them, A Day To Remember and All Time Low to find out where they were. He was sure they had probably stopped by now.

Vic groans in frustration. No cell service. Exactly what he'd expect when traveling through a place that was literally nothing more than a few mountains a shitload of cows. He thinks hard, trying to figure out where they are. His navigator and brother, Mike, had fallen asleep back in Great Falls, so he'd pretty much been driving blind since then. He was pretty sure that they were on the right route to Spokane though. Honestly, he regretted not going through Wyoming, then up Idaho to Washington. Instead he'd listened to Mike tell everyone that the route through this Godforsaken state was faster than bypassing it. The message repeats yet again, and finally Vic just shuts the radio off.

Right now he knew that they were on a completely empty highway, surrounded by fields of cows and a few forested ridges. There wasn't a single house in sight, they had passed some earlier, but they both had "For Sale" signs on the fences, so it would be no use turning back. Vic feels a headache coming on, he knew that they needed to get off the road, but he didn't know where they were, so finding a city, or town, or village, or whatever the fuck they had in this place would be hard. Vic drives on for another ten minutes, before finally reaching a turn out that had two building. One a dilapidating thing with "STORE" written across the façade, and the other a blue metal thing with "Irrigation" painted on it. If this was the only town in the area, Vic was pretty sure he was gonna flip shit.

Mike opens his eyes, blinking a few times. "Where the fuck are we Vic?" He asks, looking around. Other than the stores, a graveyard, and a few fields of cows (also one containing buffalo looking things) the place looked like a barren shit hole, which Vic would describe it as in his current cranky, sleep deprived state.

"I guess something blew up in Great Falls, the place you fell asleep at, and all travelers are supposed to find indoor shelter. I'm gonna see if I can use this place's phone to see where the guys are, and if there's any place to stay around here."

"What if they don't even have a phone?" Mike asks. "This looks kind of like the sort of place that still uses horses to communicate."

"I'm sure they have a phone Mike," Vic rolls his eyes, though he almost believed Mike. This place did seem pretty backwards. Vic steps out of the van, and instantly his nostrils are hit with the putrid smell of animal feces and dirt. He crinkles his nose and crosses the dirt parking lot to the blue building, a sign hung on the door saying it was open. Vic slips in and a kind looking elderly woman greets him. She looked like she could be in her seventies, well at least, that was Vic's best guess seeing she was fairly wrinkled and her hair was bright white. He thought that most people her age were retired.

"How can I help you today?" She asks, flashing a bright smile. She seemed way to happy to know there was a major crisis going on right now. Judging by the sound of the alert on the radio in the background, she did know though.

"I was wondering if I could use your phone?" Vic asks.

"Absolutely!" The lady reaches behind her and hands Vic a phone. He quickly punches Alex's number in, only finding that it was currently out of service. Vic sighs and hands the woman the phone back. "Is there anything else I can do for you today?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you could direct me to the nearest hotel. My friends and I are just trying to get hunkered down for the evening."

The woman nods. "I can call ahead, if you'd like. The only nice hotel is Danieli's, and if travelers keep stopping by you won't get a room. How many people are traveling with you?"

"Four," Vic answers.

The woman nods again and punches a number into the phone. Her and the person have a quick conversation. "Name?" The woman asks. Vic supplies. In a few more minutes they finish. "Okay, Mr. Fuentes, you have a room booked in Danieli's. There was only one left though. Sorry, I couldn't be more help."

"Okay, one last question. Where is this Danieli's?"

The woman taps a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "Go down the road, ten or so miles, to Sulfur Springs and take the first pave road on the left. Go right down main street, and you should see the sign on the corner by the grocery store."

Vic bobs his head. "Thank you."

Vic walks back outside and glances up, the sky had taken on a dark gray with smog. He quickly turns around and walks back in the store, he couldn't leave that old lady unaware of the outside. "Ma'am, you really oughtta head home." Vic says.

The woman simply nods. No more words between the two were spoken, and Vic turns around and goes back to the van. He needed to get to this Danieli place before it got to bad. Vic climbs into the driver's seat and pulls his seatbelt on. Mike and Tony were both awake now, listening to the radio with wide eyes.

"Shit, why didn't you wake us up when you heard this Vic?" Tony asks. He looked so scared, it almost scared Vic to see him. "They said that more stuff just blew up in Washington and Idaho. And damn, do you see the smog coming in?"

"Yeah," Vic answers. The way Tony had said all that panicked a little. Vic starts the van and continues down the road. "I just booked us the last hotel room in some little place called Sulfur Springs. It's like twelve miles from here I guess."

He hears the thud of Jaime rolling off one of the benches in the back of the van. "What's going on?" he yawns, stretching lazily.

"Shit hit the fan," Tony answers, trying to sounds calm, though it wasn't working too well.

"There's an alarm telling all traveler's to get inside. So Vic rented us a room."

"A room. As in one room?" Jaime interrogates.

"Yeah," Vic says. "I guess it's the last open room in town, at least that's what the gal told me." Vic thinks he's probably speeding, seeing as he almost missed the turn to Sulfur Springs. The lady was right, it was the only paved road for twelve miles. Vic thought it was insane an area could function with that many dirt roads. The road itself is about two miles long, and Vic found it more unsettling as the smog was starting to settle in. He went straight down it, which went past a school, a trailer park, and straight down some tiny thing with a few shops that claimed to be a main street. As the woman had said, there was a sign that read "Danieli's" and a cozy looking motel on the corner by the grocery store. An inaudible sigh of relief escapes Vic's lips as he looks at the haven. He'd been so distracted by making sure they got there, he nearly forgotten that his friends were trying to talk to him.

"An evacuation of all insterstates, highways, and other road ways is now in effect. I repeat, an evacuation of all insterstates, highways, and other road ways is now in effect," the radio sounds.

"Right on time," Mike comments, as they all grab their bags and head for the motel. They step into the lobby, and they can see their friends from All Time Low and A Day To Remember checking in as well. Vic guesses that they had been dinking around somewhere before checking in here, since they were considerably ahead of them in driving progress.

"Hey," Alex Gaskarth, the singer and guitarist for All Time Low, greets, brushing his caramel colored hair from his face awkwardly. "So, you heard about the uh, explosion?" Vic nods.

"Insane isn't it? I literally never thought I'd be in this state in the first place, let alone be stuck here when shit decides to fuck up," Vic responds.

"Ditto." There was a long awkward silence between the three groups. Jaime breaks it by making awkward small talk with Neil of A Day To Remember. Normally they wouldn't bat an eye at talking and joking about with each other, but right now it was thick and forced. Of course the explosions didn't make for much of a conversation topic, if anything they were a mood worsener.

Jaime claps his hands together when it gets quiet again. "It smells like raw eggs here," Jaime comments. "Like, I never thought I'd ever be in a place that smells this bad."
"I guess it does smell kind of like it's name suggests, sulfur," Jeremy (ADTR) says, a thoughtful look on his face. Soon the three bands are checked into their respective rooms. They were in for a long night.

Notes

So, incase any one missed it I am going to be rewriting the last part of my story Smoke and Mirror (it will not change anything that has happened in the Vanishing Act). But I also had this idea after reading another story, so I have to write it as well. Cx

xoxo
Dewey