PTXperience(s)

Bang, Bang Part 1

It happened very fast. One moment the bus was rolling smoothly along the 401 toward Toronto. The next there was an enormous bang, the terrible scream of metal on metal, and the tour bus was out of control. Avi woke to the disorienting feel of sliding sideways. He tried to sit up in the dimness, only aware of the darkness of his bunk and the strange shrieking sounds around him until a sudden jarring impact threw him painfully to the floor, almost on top of another body. He groaned and tried to stand but the world seemed to be tilting.

With a flash of nausea he realized that it wasn't the world but the bus that was tilting. They were going to go over and for all he knew they were teetering on the edge of an embankment and were about to be tossed around their cabin like rag dolls. Hastily he did the only thing he could think of: he threw all of his weight against the side of the bus, hoping it would be enough to balance them out again. He'd lost a little weight since his cheeseburger days but he prayed there was still enough packed into his muscles to make a difference.

His shoulder exploded with pain as he hit the wall. The tilting continued. With a curse he glanced around, looking for something weighty to pull over with him.

And spotted the silhouette of his best friend and roommate Kevin staggering to his feet only an arm's length away.

"Kevin!" he shouted. "C'mere! Hurry!"

"Wha...?" Kevin mumbled, obviously still befuddled from what Avi could only imagine had been some sort of accident on the highway.

Without time to explain, Avi stepped away from the wall to grab his friend and pull the both of them forcefully against the wall.

The bus shuddered and for a sickening moment seemed to hover in indecision.

Until another tall, lean body joined the effort with a grunt and the bus began to fall upright again.

Not until later did Avi appreciate the irony of being injured as the shock absorbers bounced them back to earth, once the actual danger was over. A compartment opened above them and what felt like several tonnes of luggage pinned him to the floor. Consciousness didn't last long after he heard his body snap in more than once place. The pain was phenomenal.

The sight of his friends' horrified faces followed him into oblivion.

* * *

Avi woke later in a hospital bed and for a moment almost panicked - he seemed to be in a full body cast and couldn't wiggle his fingers or toes. His heart began to thunder in his ears and suddenly there wasn't enough air in the room.

Abruptly a nurse swept in through the open door and began to talk to him calmly though he couldn't understand what she was saying. When she touched his hand and he was able to grab it firmly, however, he felt his panic break and the world begin to slide back into place. He wasn't in a full body cast; he wasn't paralyzed. But one of his legs was suspended in a sling and his left arm was strapped to his chest. The pain was manageable, which made him wonder what kind of drugs he was on, and there were bears and cards and balloons nearby which meant he had been out for at least a day - long enough for his sister and band mates to visit once and leave gifts - but he was alone and feeling unsettled. He turned to the nurse, a heavy-set woman in her forties, and tried to speak through what felt like a layer of gauze.

"Wh...where am I?"

"Mount Sinai Hospital," she answered matter-of-factly, though not unkindly.

He thought about that for a moment, not really familiar with Toronto. His location ceased to matter, however, as a new question exploded into his mind. "Is...is my leg...?"

"Yes," she replied gently. "A compound fracture of the right femur as well as a broken collarbone. It could have been worse, though. Your ribs are intact and the breaks are fairly clean for what they are. In a few weeks you can start using a walking cast."

He digested this, trying not to feel depressed. "And my friends?"

"All fine. They were here this morning and said they would return this afternoon. Is there anything I can get you in the meantime?"

He sighed and closed his eyes. "Barbecued ribs and sweet potato fries?"

The nurse laughed. "I'll see what I can do. My name's Tabby, by the way. Just press the call button if you need anything."

"Thanks."

"Also, just for reference..." Her expression turned faintly knowing. "...if anyone asks if you're that Avi Kaplan, what do I tell them?"

He smiled. A PTX fan; who knew? "Tell them I'm bald and three hundred pounds. At least until I'm in my own underwear again."

"Gotcha." She winked and left the room.

He closed his eyes and lay back, wondering what the band was doing. He had figured at least his sister would have stayed to comfort him. Maybe they were doing some damage control, trying to figure out what to do about the concert. His mood plummeted at the thought of having to cancel so many tickets. But what else could they do? He could hardly perform like this...unless he sang from a wheelchair. The idea didn't sit well with him, but at least it was an option...

A knock came a moment later and he glanced up in time to see his sister slip in, followed by his band mates. They all looked pale and worried.

He hated knowing he was the cause of it. He forced himself to smile. "Hey guys!"

Suddenly they were all around him, not touching him but crowding close. It surprised him to see that most of them were crying.

"Oh, Avi." Esther took his hand. "I'm so sorry this happened. Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine. Good as new in a few weeks." He took a breath. "Do we know what happened? Is Jenevieve okay?"

"She's fine. A tractor trailer lost control and hit us off the road. But the bus is fine. And so are all of us." She gestured at the others. And then she squeezed his hand. "Thanks to you."

For a second he didn't know what she was talking about. And then he remembered. "That wasn't just me," he explained. "Kevin helped me, and Scott..."

"But it was your idea," Scott interrupted him. "If you hadn't done what you did we'd probably all be in this hospital."

"Or the morgue," Kirstie shuddered.

"You saved us, big daddy," Mitch told him, leaning forward to touch his arm. "That was all on you."

"And then so was all of our luggage," Kevin observed somberly.

"Yeah, I remember that part."

"Are you in any pain?"

"Some," he lied, trying to ignore the terrible ache growing in his leg and shoulder. Not that he was averse to another long nap thanks to what he assumed was probably morphine but he needed to know what was happening about the concert. "What about the tour, Esther? What are we going to do?"

"Leave that to me," she told him bravely, smiling in spite of her tears and squeezing his hand again. "You just worry about getting better."

"I'll try my best." He smiled. Then he winced as his leg throbbed.

The smile fell from Esther's face and she stood and hurried to the door, calling for a nurse.

The others appeared to take her departure as an invitation to move in closer until Kirstie was sitting on the edge of the bed and Mitch was clasping his hand. He glanced around at them, bothered again by the worried looks on their faces. "Guys, please," he scoffed. "I'm all right. I promise I'm not dead."

"But you could've been," Scott murmured softly.

There seemed to be nothing to say to that.

tbc