Another Brick In The Wall
Narrative POV
Axl, Izzy and Duff had been down at the Whiskey one night drinking. At the bar they ran into Nikki Sixx. Axl and Izzy had never liked him but tolerated him because Duff, Slash, and Stevie were friends of his. So being twenty something old rock stars they partied hard. Nikki and Duff could really throw back the drinks. Izzy held his own but was usually on heroin and restricted how much he drank. He didn't want to be as inconspicuous as say, Slash. Axl was drunk as a skunk but he wasn't sick. He was being the Axl everyone enjoyed being around.
They'd all done coke with Nikki. Nikki explained it rather clearly to them. "If we do coke we can drink more."
Well it seemed like perfectly good logic at the time. That is until they did enough that their noses were becoming clogged. Izzy had a plan though. "Hey, let's go up to the roof, maybe we can fucking breathe up there."
Again, who couldn't see the logic? But part of Izzy's logic was finding a secluded place to shoot up. The coke was making him jittery and the alcohol seemed to not be working.
So the four of them go up to the roof with their respective bottles of booze, Vodka, Jack, Gin, and Jim Beam. Axl and Duff light up cigarettes and wait on Nikki and Izzy who they know are shooting up by the city's night lights.
"The only thing about Indiana I miss are the stars man," Axl says staring up at he moon.
"Didn't have those growing up in Seattle. Most of the time you couldn't see the moon for all the clouds," Duff tells him.
Axl looks over his shoulder to make sure Nikki couldn't hear him. He and Izzy were sitting on the ground cooking up fixes. "I wish we didn't bump into Nikki. I know he's your friend and all, but Izzy can't stand being around him without being smacked out."
Duff smirks, "But Izzy's always smacked out man."
Axl rolls his eyes, "More than normal."
"Ah don't worry so much. Izzy's careful. He's the only junkie I know whose never overdosed before."
Axl points a stern finger at Duff, "Cool it with the junkie shit. Nobody calls Izzy a junkie but me. Say that shit to his face and watch what happens. You know he carries a gun, knife, and a hell of a drop kick."
"Sorry, I didn't mean it disrespectfully... I was just saying," Duff apologizes.
After a moment Nikki and Izzy return with their completely relaxed faces and delayed movements. They sit on the ground with their backs to the ledge of the roof. Axl and Duff do the same. A loose brick gets knocked out by Axl's elbow.
"I kinda like the Whiskey Axl, stop breaking it fucker," Nikki slurs with a slight chuckle at the end.
"I didn't break it the damn thing just fell out," Axl complains and picks it up to put it back in place. He leans over for a good look. He could see something white that looked like a piece of paper. "Hey, there's something in there."
"What is it?" Duff asks looking too.
"Looks like a piece of paper," Axl says still looking.
"Check it out, maybe it's the truth about JFK," Nikki suggests.
"Might be cash," Duff offers.
"Yeah might be some sappy love letter to the love of someone's life but they couldn't tell them," Izzy says in that extra soft tone he got when he was high.
"Or a suicide note," Axl huffs.
"Only one way to find out," Nikki says leaning over Duff and jerking the paper out of the hole. He unfolds it carefully because it appeared brittle. Nikki holds it toward some light and starts to read. "Whoever finds this will find a gift of insight. Two become one. Will you see yourself the same through someone else's eyes? A lesson learned must first be taught. Choose those who know you best. Learn from each other. Take us in even pairs. Grant our souls entrance. Heed the lesson. May it take as long as it takes. I'm open. Enter me." Nikki looks up with a smirk He balls it up and tosses it over his shoulder and from the roof. "Sounds like bad poetry to me."
Before anyone else can utter a word a bolt of lightning comes out of nowhere on this clear LA night. It hits the roof about ten feet away from them. The impact is so hard that it rumbles the roof, knocking all four of the guys unconscious. It's unknown how long they're out. But they all slowly started to come around at the same time.
Axl shook his head and looked next to him where Nikki was pulling himself up next to him Duff was just sort of laughing. And Izzy was...wait, where did Izzy go? Axl looks around Duff and sees himself. Maybe he was still unconscious and having some weird dream.
"Man, is everybody ok?" Nikki asks seeming oddly concerned about their welfare.
Axl then watches himself start to speak, "The lightning must have knocked us out." But Axl quickly noted he did NOT say that. He didn't think it either. It was the sound of his voice and it was coming out of his body. But something was off. He was sitting where Izzy had been. He glances down and sees himself wearing Izzy's clothes.
"Holy shit, why do I sound like Axl?" The person in Axls body asks.
"Good question, and how did I get in Izzy's clothes?" Axl asks and quickly realizes he has Izzy's voice too. Then he feels a wave of heroin go through him.
"Axe?" Izzy says looking down on the tattoos on Axl's arms, now his arms.
"Oh shit," Duff says, "I'm Nikki!"
Nikki chuckles from Duff's body, " Guess that means I'm Duff then."
"It's not funny you fucking ASSHOLE! This is serious!" Axl screams.
Duff's body just jiggles with more laughter, "I've never heard Izzy yell."
"You had to read it, didn't you?" Axl shakes Izzy's head which is now his own.
"Come on guys, let's not fight. We have to figure out what to do," Duff says in Nikki's voice.
Duffs face sneers at Nikki, "You are far too docile to be me."
Duff grabs Nikki's/his head "My heads swimming."
"It's just the smack," Izzy says in Axls voice.
"Yeah enjoy it you ungrateful shit," Duff rolls his eyes, "You totally stole my high...and my body while we're at it."
"So what do we do?" Duff asks and jumps up to pace Nikki's body.
"Nikki, was that all the note said?" Axl asks in Izzy's voice barely above a whisper.
"Nope," Nikki sighs resting his elbows on Duff's knees.
"So what do we do?!" Duff panics which comes off looking so weird coming out of Nikki.
"We can't do shit, genius here threw away the instructions," Axl's baritone voice says with Izzy's demureness.
"We gotta go see if we can find them," Duff rushes in Nikki's body over to the ledge and peers down on the ground.
"I told you the fuckingbthing didn't say shitvelse. Forget it, it's gone. There's nothing we can do tonight anyway." Nikki sighs in Duff's voice.
"As much as I hate to say it, he's right," Izzy sighs from Axl. "We just pretend nothing's wrong and tomorrow we'll start trying to fix this."
"Oh so you get to sleep next to my girlfriend?" Axl shouts at his own face.
"I'm not gonna fuck your girl Axe, chill out," Izzy sighs and pushes Axls weight up off the ground. "Besides my room is next to yours, trust me you can hear everything through the walls."
"Hold up," Nikki says holding up Duff's hand, "You mean to tell me that I have to sleep in your shithole and Duff get to sleep at my place?"
"Well you're the dickhead who just had to read the letter," Axl emphatically yells thrusting about Izzy's arms.
So Duff takes a taxi to Van Nyes. Axl, Izzy, and Nikki take off for hell house.
