SPENCER CARVALHO

Revolver Concert

A long line of people wait outside the concert hall hoping not to die tonight. Lucy Cooper stands huddled close to her fiancé, James. She inhales cold air and exhales steam. Further up the line closer to the concert hall entrance she can see the marquee lights showing the words DAVID WILDE and below that in smaller letters REVOLVER CONCERT TONIGHT ONLY. Closer to the entrance is a reporter and camera man interviewing people. Between her and the reporter is a man in a black security jacket wearing a headset and holding a clipboard talking to the people in line. Lucy is unable to hear him.
       James looks to Lucy and says, “Don’t worry. We’ll be in soon.”
       The man in the black security jacket finishes talking. He moves down the line to where Lucy can hear him.
       “All right, the show’s going to be starting soon so I’m going to explain a few things and then get you guys inside as soon as possible.”
       The crowd cheers.
       The security guard continues, “For most of you this is probably your first Revolver Concert. What you’re gonna do is once they let you inside you’re gonna proceed to the security checkpoint. There they’re gonna check your ID to make sure you’re at least eighteen. Then you’re gonna sign the life waiver and then they’ll let you into the main hall, any questions?”
       No one says anything.
       “Alright. Good.”
       He moves forty feet further down the line and starts talking to them.
       Lucy looks to James and asks, “Life waiver?”
       “Yeah, it’s just some legal thing so no one goes to jail.”
       “I’m still not sure what’s going on here.”
       The guy and girl in line in front of them turn around. The guy has his arm wrapped around her shoulder.
       The girl looks at Lucy and says with a smile, “I’ve been to a Revolver Concert before. You wanna hear about it?”
       “Yeah, sure.”
       “So okay, my name’s Joan. My boyfriend’s Ted.”
       “Hey,” says Ted.
       “Hi,” says Lucy.
       “So before the show starts,” Joan continues, “this guy in a black suit comes out carrying an old wooden table about two feet wide and places it by the microphone stand. Then he opens the drawer of the table and removes the revolver.” She smiles upon saying the word revolver. “He places the revolver on the table, closes the drawer, and just walks away. Then later, David Wilde comes out and at random points during the show he fires the gun into the audience.”
       “So at every show six people die?” asks Lucy.
       “It’s not always six,” Ted says. “Sometimes the bullet goes through someone and he gets more than six and sometimes people only get wounded.” He laughs and then says, “And this one time Justin Carter, the leader of the boy band Back Degrees, went to a show and David Wilde comes out, sees him and just shoots the guy six times. It was great.”
       Lucy looks to James and asks, “So, we could die tonight?”
       He smiles and says, “Babe, it’s like a six in ten thousand chance.”
       Joan chimes in, “Hey, I look at it like fate. If it happens then it’s meant to be.”
       Lucy ignores her comments and asks, “Six in ten thousand, but there’s still a chance we could die?”
       James smiles and says, “Sometimes you have to take chances in life.”
       Lucy looks down and starts pondering this idea in silence when the line begins moving forward.
       “Finally,” James says as he cranes his neck upward.
       The line moves quickly as people start filling the concert hall. As soon as Lucy enters the two large double doors to the building, the heat hits her. They continue to the security barrier. She hands a security guard her ID which he swipes through a machine. A green light flashes and she is allowed to pass to the next station. James passes under a metal detector and she follows. Then they approach a security desk. Joan and Ted quickly sign the forms on the table and then pass through. Lucy and James both approach the table. He quickly signs his form while she starts reading hers.
       “Um, excuse me?” she asks one of the security guards.
       “What is it?” a guard behind the desk asks.
       “What does this mean when it says the participant forfeits his or her life for the duration of the concert?”
       “It’s just legal stuff.”
       “Yeah, but what does it mean?”
       James looks from the guard to Lucy and says, “Just sign it, okay.”
       She looks at him for a few seconds and then places the waiver on the table, picks up a pen, and signs her name. The red ink disturbs her. She puts down the pen and James grabs her hand as they move past the security barrier.
       She looks around at the various concession stands and merchandise booths. She sees Joan and Ted looking at shirts and posters. Behind her she hears someone talking really loudly and turns to see the camera man and reporter from outside now inside interviewing people. James also turns around to watch them.
       A young, smiling girl wearing a David Wilde shirt says to the camera, “He’s just so handsome. He’s really great.”
       “Yes, but what about the fact that he kills people at all his shows?” asks the reporter.
       “Well, it’s kind of like a spiritual experience because there’s all this like life all around you and when someone in the audience dies it’s like, like their life leaves their body and like spreads out into the other people in the crowd. It’s really amazing.”
       “What do you say to the people that say that David Wilde is only doing this because he can? That he’s using his celebrity status to legally kill people?”
       “Well, they don’t understand him the way I do. He wouldn’t do that.”
       A guy wearing another David Wilde shirt walking by stops and yells at the camera, “David Wilde rules!”
       The reporter quickly moves from the girl to the new guy, “Excuse me, but why are you a fan?”
       “Because he rocks!”
       “Are you worried about getting shot tonight?”
       “No way. My friend Jimmy who’s like really good at math told me that, like, David Wilde usually shoots people towards the front, so like, if you’re in the back then you’re fine and there’s a less than one percent chance of being shot and I’m in the very last row.”
       Lucy looks to James and says, “We have seats up front.”
       “Of course. I’m not going to a David Wilde show to sit in the back. Besides the seats up front are cheaper.”
       “James, I’m not so sure about this.”
       “But babe, we’ve been through this already. If we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together we need to share our interests. You’ll see. You’ll love the concert.”
       He looks away from her and to all the different people moving around the crowd. Lucy looks back at the reporter who is talking to another person.
       The reporter asks the new guy, “What is your name and what is your favorite David Wilde song?”
       “My name is Gene and I love the song Try It.”
       “And why is that?”
       “Uh, well, ‘cause I’ve got my own band called Violent Thunder and I’m the guitarist so I like Try It because it’s the ultimate guitar song.”
       The reporter looks at the camera and says, “For those viewers at home who don’t know, Try It is an entirely instrumental song. It’s supposed to be the hardest electric guitar song in the world. In fact, David Wilde has said that the first person to be able to play it properly will get a million dollars.” The reporter looks from the camera to Gene. “And how are you at the song?”
       “Well, I can play it but it takes me too long. The song is three minutes so to get the money you have to play the song in three minutes or less. I’m down to twenty-seven minutes, so I’m getting there.”
       The reporter looks back at the camera, “A testament to how fast David Wilde truly is.”
       An announcement blares over the loud speakers, “You may enter into the main hall now. The show will be beginning shortly.”
       The reporter continues, “And I’ll take that as my cue. From KIS news this is Bonnie Benatar reporting.”
       “And we are out,” says the camera man.
       Lucy looks at James.
       “Come on,” he says as he pulls her with him into the main hall.
       They get to their seats very close to the stage. She looks around frantically as all the other seats eventually get filled.
       A man in a black suit appears on stage carrying an old wooden table. Upon his sight the crowd begins cheering. The man is wearing white gloves that match his white hair. He places the table by the microphone stand. He opens the drawer and removes an object which he places on the table. The crowd cheers again. Lucy is unable to see it but knows that it is the revolver. He then closes the drawer and walks off stage.
       The stage lights dim and out walks David Wilde. The audience screams with joy at the sight of him. His long hair partially obscures his face. He has an electric guitar with a strap around his neck and is holding an acoustic guitar is his right hand. He places the acoustic guitar against the old wooden table and adjusts the strap of his electric guitar. The crowd continues their cheering. He carefully looks out at them. His eyes scan out over the different people ready for his music. His eyes lock with Lucy’s and he smiles.
       He then leans toward the microphone and says, “Let’s start this show with a bang,” and quickly picks up the revolver and fires out into the crowd. “Now who’s ready for some music?” The crowd cheers.
       David Wilde gives the greatest musical performance Lucy Cooper has ever seen. The sad songs make people openly weep. The uplifting songs make Lucy feel as if she’s riding a roller coaster. He switches from electric to acoustic guitar depending on the song. One song called Different Ways is first played electrically and then acoustically. Lucy loves it each time and has trouble deciding which one is better. Despite her enjoyment she is distracted by trying to keep track of the number of times David Wilde shoots out into the audience during the show. When he plays Try It she sees hands move faster than she thought was possible. When the song finishes she stands up and cheers.
       He looks across the audience and his eyes linger on Lucy as he says, “One more song.”
       The crowd collectively says, “Awww.”
       He plays the song Farewell. When he finishes, the entire audience gives him a standing ovation. Lucy stands with the crowd. He removes his guitar and places it by the old wooden table.
       “That was amazing,” says James.
       As the applause continues David Wilde locks eyes with Lucy and maintains the gaze until the applause dies down. She is mesmerized by him. The applause eventually stops completely with David Wilde still standing by the old wooden table. The crowd just stares at him expecting something to happen. He just stands there quietly staring at her.
       Lucy hears a guy behind her say, “Weird. I only counted five.”
       David Wilde picks up the revolver, points it in her direction, and fires. James’s entire chest seems to explode as the bullet hits him. The crowd starts cheering again. Lucy hovers over James’s bleeding body. The concert hall starts emptying. She yells for help as the people leave. Most of them ignore her. Some take pictures with their cell phones. No one helps her. The concert hall empties except for Lucy and James.
       “James, I’ll go get help, okay? Okay? James!”
       His eyes are lifeless. A strange smile is permanently left on his face.
       From behind her a voice says, “Miss.”
       She turns around and sees the man in the black suit with white gloves.
       Very softly and calmly he says, “Here.” He hands her a red rose and says, “David Wilde was wondering if you would perhaps like to accompany him on a date tonight.”