Battle of the Bands 2: Part 5

Battle of the Bands 2
Part 5

Like I said at the end of Part 4, this part is from Ringo's eyes. Well, like the part with John, it's not necessarily from his point of view, it's more like an event that's happening right after Eva and Riley ran from the boys' hotel room and into the elevator. Enjoy!


"RILEY! EVA! RUN!" they cry in unison.

Ringo hears the two girls dashing away from the hotel room door and over to… an elevator? The DING confirms his guess. Then, he catches the sound of heavy cowboy boots thudding down the hall after the girls. He cringes.

"Get back here, you—" the awful, huge woman's voice demands furiously.

And then everything's silent. No thuds, no running, not even a DING from the elevator. Ringo knows Paul, George and John are all also holding their breath, hoping and begging for Eva and Riley to have escaped. None of them speak. They just listen.

Finally, the thump, thump, thump of the woman's boots get closer and closer, and then comes the sound of the room door shutting. Click, click. Ringo winces when he hears the sounds of the woman securing every bolt and lock on the door possible. Then, the cruel woman speaks.

"Though that was… highly entertaining…" she manages, trying to catch her breath, "I don't like the fact that someone knows where you all are, but we'll just have to hope for the best until we kidnap that other band." Out of the blue, Ringo feels someone start playing with his hair, twirling it with huge, sausage-like fingers. He swings his head around, yanking himself from her grip, and in the process, tumbles off of the bed and onto the carpeted floor below. His landing is quite soft, however…

"Rings! Get off me!" It's Paul, uncomfortably wedged between the drummer and the wall next to him. "Your elbow is digging into my diaphragm!"

Ringo tries to stand, forgetting that his ankles are tied together, and collapses again. Paul wriggles about, straining to breathe again. As Ringo tries to remove his elbow from Paul's stomach, he feels someone seize his other arm and heave him back onto the bed. As his face becomes submerged in the downy comforter, the blindfold smothering his eyes grows loose and starts sliding down his large nose.

"Now that that's settled." He hears the woman get up from the edge of the bed and head back to the door. She unbolts all the locks. "All four of you are to remain here for the rest of the night in silence. My band and I are in a room three doors down, and will be taking turns patrolling the hallway so you don't try to escape." She chuckles darkly. "Have a nice rest…" The door shuts, and the cowboy boots grow fainter with each passing second.

George speaks first. "She's repulsive."

"Vulgar," John agrees.

"A nasty, horrid woman," Paul shudders.

"Lads, my blindfold is sliding off." Ringo's voice is muffled by the bed sheets, but is clear enough for the others to hear. They gasp.

"It's coming off?" John says excitedly.

"Yes, and my wrists are loose, too…" Ringo remains facedown, worming his wrists from out of their weakened binds. It takes a few moments, but soon, the ropes fall off. He removes his hands from the section of his back and uses them to yank the blindfold off. The instant he does, a bland color of grey floods his eyes.

"Ugh, these sheets might be even more horrid than that woman!" He sits up and studies every inch of the hotel room they're held captive in. There's a TV, a small desk and a few pictures hanging on the vertically striped tan walls. But all in all, it's a very normal-looking hotel room. Well, disregarding the fact that there are three men sitting on the tan carpet with blindfolds.

"Really?" Paul asks. "Ringo, please focus. Untie us so we can move about. I've got a kink in my neck and my foot is falling asleep."

"Too late. Both my arms have been asleep for the past hour," George groans. Ringo watches his friend squirm against the wall, then jam his head into the corner again. He seems used to it by now, because he grimaces and says no more.

"Hurry up, Ringo!" John begs. "We can't wait all night!"

As hurriedly as he can, Ringo unties his ankles and then rushes to each of his friend's aid, unlacing the tricky knots from their arms, legs, and then slowly pulling off their blindfolds. Soon, there is a pile of blindfolds and ropes sitting on the bed. And standing around the room are the four Beatles, stretching, yawning and taking in their surroundings. George peers out the window, but can't see through the blackness. Paul uses the restroom (after everyone else has used it) and cleans up his hair with a comb he finds in a drawer. Ringo turns on the TV, hunting for any late-night news reports about their abduction. And John stands near the door, glancing through the peephole every minute or so.

"I know this is going to sound very weird," John begins, and everyone looks over at him, "but there is this huge creepy woman pacing outside our room."

Ringo clenches his fist on the TV remote control. "The woman that was in here?"

John just shrugs. "No idea. I can't exactly pair voice to face, now can I?" He sticks his eye into the peephole again. "One thing's for certain, lads. She is not a very pretty sight." Ringo gulps and shivers.

Paul tosses his hands in the air as he shuts the bathroom door. "So if there's someone outside guarding our room, how do we escape and find Eva and Riley? They're staying here in the hotel, too. It shouldn't be hard—"

George interrupts him. "That woman said her band would be taking shifts guarding our room. If one of them happens to fall asleep on the job or something, we could escape then."

John looks through the peephole once more. "George, you just said the magic words. That ugly girl just sat down against the wall and is dozing off!"

"SHHH!" Ringo hushes John's rising voice. "We don't want to wake her."

Paul grabs his coat from the bed and slips it on. He glances in the mirror by the desk, patting down his hair and flicking off a piece of lint from his collar. He puts the comb into his jacket pocket, buttons the jacket up, and faces his friends. John snorts.

"Ready, your highness?" he asks sarcastically. "Or do you need me to shine your shoes as well?"

Paul scoffs and runs his tongue across his top row of pearly white teeth behind his lips. "Oh, blame me for wanting to look good for Riley and Eva."

Instantly, Ringo and George dash for the mirror, snatching Paul's comb from his pocket and taking turns tidying up their disheveled mop-tops. Once they're done, they put on their coats and stand next to Paul. John is still standing by the door, looking at his fellow Beatles in disbelief. When he doesn't speak, Ringo prompts him.

"Well John? Aren't you going to tidy yourself up, as well?"

In response, John crosses his arms and puffs a whiff of air upward at his messy bangs. They settle back onto his forehead, one strand catching lazily into his eye. Though annoying, he doesn't bother with it. Instead, he spins around and checks on the sleeping woman.

"She's out cold, lads. We should hurry." After unlatching the assortment of locks on the door, he grips the door handle and slowly turns it until a small click is heard. Then, motioning for the rest of the Beatles to stick close behind him, he creaks the door open a smidge and slinks from the hotel room. Paul follows, then Ringo, and then George steps out, shutting the door behind him. Against the opposite wall sits a muscular, brunette woman wearing a wide brimmed cowboy hat and dark brown cowboy boots. John was right; she's slumped over and snoring. Ringo notes that she's not the most attractive woman he's ever seen, with her thin, pale lips, thick brown eyebrows and oily chestnut-colored hair. For a flicker of time the image of Riley comes into his mind; a much more attractive woman than the Legacy guard. He remembers the sweet sound of her voice and grows very excited that he'll be seeing her soon. Then, it occurs to him that he'll also be seeing Eva, who's also very pretty. In truth, he's missed them both a lot.

As quietly as possible, the Beatles make their way down the hall towards the elevator. The woman hasn't moved a muscle since they left the room, but her repulsive snoring carries throughout the hallway. Occasionally the sounds stop, but quickly surface again.

Finally, John thrusts his thumb on the Down button, and it lights up. He puts a finger to his lips and meets each man's eyes seriously to make sure they understand. No noise.

When the door opens, John creeps inside first with Paul immediately behind him. Then George and Ringo follow suit. The door slides gracefully shut, and Paul presses the Lobby button as fast as possible. DING! The elevator lurches downward at a slow pace, and everyone exhales deeply. Ringo leans against the mirrored walls of the elevator, shutting his eyes and feeling his body flood with relief.

"That was…" Paul breathes, unable to finish his statement.

"Frightening beyond belief?" George finishes for him calmly, stealing Paul's comb once more and running it through his hair. "I know, and I agree."

John, who's staring at his handsome reflection in the mirror, abruptly changes the subject. "I wonder how soon we'll get to see Eva…" he wonders out loud, blinking his eyes slowly and looking as if he's trying to seduce his own reflection. Then, John raises his eyebrows and starts practicing a flirtatious smirk.  

Ringo coughs. "And Riley. Don't forget her, John."

He echoes Ringo's cough and spins away from the mirror. "Right. Riley, too. Sorry, she slipped my mind for a second."

Paul's eyes grow dreamy. "She hasn't left my mind since we first met her at Fool's Gold…"

Ringo and George both cross their arms in objection, and John turns from his gaze to fire a resentful glare at Paul. Paul shrugs, resuming his hair cleanup as carefully as possible.

Finally the elevator doors open again, this time to the brightly lit hotel lobby.

"Hang on, lads." George uses his arms to stop the others from leaving the elevator. "We need to consider one thing before we go out into the lobby." He sounds very serious, as if the subject on his mind is life-or-death.

"What now?" John sighs, slapping his thighs.

"Lads, we're the Beatles."

"Yeah? So?"

"Paul, we have fans. As in crazy fangirls who want locks of our hair." George holds his finger on the Door Open button. "We need to hide our faces if we see anyone, okay?"

Ringo exhales and massages his neck. "George, that's the same procedure we go through every time we go out in public. It's not new to us."

"Well excuse me for being thorough."

The four men tiptoe out of the elevator and into the lobby. Voices can be heard from nearby, so they stray closer to the couches in the center of the room. Through the windows, the moon's glow is faint, but detectable. The usually bustling city is quiet and peaceful, which is the complete opposite of what the Beatles are used to.

As the boys creep about the room, there comes the sound of running footsteps behind them. George, Ringo and Paul freeze in their tracks, but John spins around to encounter the assailant. Ringo shrinks into a tight huddle, preparing to be attacked by the huge girls from Legacy.

Instead of being pounded to the floor, Ringo sees a pair of arms throw themselves around John's shoulders, hugging him close.

What the…

"JOHN!"

It takes a few moments for the four of them to realize who just ambushed them. John, of course, recognizes the smell of the woman's hair and the tone of her heavily excited voice. He clutches her tightly to his chest, kissing her forehead.

"Eva… oh Eva, you're all right…"

Another blur whizzes by them, and this time a woman with long chestnut hair collides into Paul and Ringo, kissing their cheeks and then hugging them some more.

"Guys, you made it out!" Riley Pennick exclaims joyfully. She steps back from them, giving George a side hug and a cheek kiss before turning around and calling out to her two other band mates, Dominick and Elliot. Ringo feels a flood of devotion towards the young woman. He hasn't seen her in a year now, and his eyes scan over every inch of her slender body, taking it all in. Then, he sees Eva, and also feels a pang of affection towards the bubbly girl. Though her full attention was secured on John, Ringo still knew she cared for him. It just wasn't very apparent.

"We were so worried about you!" Riley says, beaming from ear to ear. "We thought that hideous woman would've hurt you when we left."

John releases Eva and goes to hug Riley. However, Ringo notices something wrong about the way John looks at her, and how he uncomfortably puts his arm around her waist. He doesn't appear too affectionate towards her. Then, he detects the same reluctance in George's motions.

Something's wrong… he thinks, rubbing his forehead. Usually John and George would be all over both Eva and Riley. Maybe they're having second thoughts?

Dominick and Elliot approach them, disrupting any more time for Ringo to compose his thoughts. Dominick gives him a friendly high-five, and then greets the rest of the Beatles. Elliot hangs back, but does acknowledge each man with a dip of his head.

Wow, it seems everyone is acting a bit odd today.

"How'd you guys get out?" Eva asks. George rests his elbow on her shoulder and smiles his famous crooked smile at her.

"Very carefully," is his reply, winking.