Flashing Lights and Screams of Fright

It was the first show of the North American leg of Sounds Live Feels Live, and they were taking over Madison Square Garden up in the east coast. They were pumped; Ashton drumming on the table, Michael posting videos on Snapchat of how excited they are, Calum deciding what shirt to wear, and Luke sitting on a couch with his girlfriend about how excited he was.

They weren't going to go on stage for another five minutes, and to say they were ecstatic was an understatement. They've only dreamed of selling out one of the biggest, most well-known arena, but now their dreams were becoming a reality.

"Guys, I can't believe this." Michael said, as he filmed his bandmates, keeping Luke out of the shot because apparently he wasn't allowed to date anyone. "Calum, are you excited to play tonight?"

"Fuck yeah." Calum said and smiled at the camera. "We're going to rock it. Can't wait to see you guys out there." He said, sticking his tongue out before going off camera to fix his hair.

"How do you feel Ashton?" Michael asked and the oldest looked up, looking at the camera and at Michael.

"I'm pumped. We're playing Madison Square Garden! That's where all the big artists go!" Ashton said and laughed as he pointed at the camera with his drumstick. "I'm gonna look out for you guys! You better be loud tonight."

Michael laughed but it died down when he saw something behind Ashton. It was barely there, only a small shadow skimming the wall.

"What? Am I not entertaining enough for you?" Ashton joked and Michael shook his head.

"Dude! Watch this!" Michael said and sat beside Ashton, showing him the video he recorded. "What's that behind you?" Michael asked and Ashton laughed.

"Dude it's a shadow. Calm down." Ashton said and stood up as he patted his friends back. "Come on, post the video and put on your shoes. We go on in a bit."

"Are you gonna be in the crowd?" Luke asked his girlfriend and she nodded as she smiled.

"Of course I am." She told him and Luke kissed her forehead as he smiled himself. "Gotta watch you play one of the most important arenas in a musician's career. What kind of a girlfriend would I be if I didn't?"

"Just making sure." Luke said and Michael couldn't help but continuously glance at where he saw the unknown shadow.

He picked up a random pair of converse from a small closet and he got this cold shiver as he passed it. "Guys, is it cold in here or is it just me?" Michael asked as he sat on the couch.

"You alright Mikey? It's hot in here." Calum said, his forehead glistening slightly with sweat. "It's really hot in here."

"I... I don't know." Michael said as he quickly pulled his converse on, lacing them up quickly. "Maybe I'm coming down with something."

"Maybe." Ashton said and nodded. "Anyways, guys we gotta go. Come on." He said and they all stood up.

Luke gave his girlfriend a quick kiss and she wished him luck before slipping her phone in her back pocket and meeting up with a security guard to take her out into the crowd. Luke suggested it.

"Guys, this is huge!" Luke said and Michael laughed, trying to shake the eerie feeling he had.

"That's what she said." He said and Calum laughed as they were handed their instruments, for Ashton, a new set of drumsticks. They put their ear pieces on and gave each other a smile and nod before Ashton was running on stage, standing up as he banged on a couple of the drums.

Screams erupted and Ashton smiled to himself, making a 'come here' motion with his hand. He wanted them to scream louder, and they did after he banged on his drums again.

He laughed to himself and sat down, playing a small drum solo as the other came running out, all laughing and smiling at each other. They looked out at the crowd and felt a rush of pride and happiness.

They were playing a sold out concert at Madison Square Garden, one of the most, if not the most famous arenas ever. They were more than shocked, more than amazed, and more than just grateful.

The crowd was loud, screaming as if their lives depended on it. They were possibly just as excited as the band were to be there.

Michael and Calum spotted some friends inside of the crowd, smiling at them as they waved to the two. Luke saw his girlfriend, who was beside his and Ashton's mum, and Ashton smiled at his girlfriend, who gave him a thumbs up.

It felt like the concert was flying by, much faster than anyone in the room would like. It wasn't until they were playing their newest song, Girls Talk Boys, that some weird stuff started going on.

It started with Michael's guitar amps changing, causing it to sound different than they had set it. He had to have the guitar tech continuously fix it for him since he couldn't just stop playing.

Then Calum's mic was cut in the middle of his solo, Luke having to sing his lines as he attempted to figure out why his mic wasn't working. A crew member had to switch it out and it was so embarrassing.

Then Luke's piano wasn't sounding, his forehead creasing up in irritation as he pressed the keys but not a single sound came out. He rolled his eyes and stood up with his mic, opting to just skip it, despite how strange it sounded without the piano.

Something strange was going on. They rehearsed the song so many times, made sure their equipment worked and wouldn't go out. They were promised that it was go smoothly, not a single mistake, and if so, it'd be so minor that people who weren't music geniuses wouldn't catch them.

The thing that set them all off was before the camera could show Ashton's face, it froze all black. That's when they all decided fuck it and stopped the show.

"I'm so sorry guys. It seems we're having some technical issues with our microphones, cameras, and amps. We'll start again after-"

The flashing lights that kept the place illuminated busted, sparks and glass flying everywhere from the stage to the back of the crowds. The fans screamed in shock and fear as they held their arms up, cowering down to ensure they were alright. It was too dark to see the exit doors, and there was way too many people to get out quickly.

"What's going on?" Ashton yelled as he pulled his phone from his back pocket, turning the flashlight on, but it wouldn't turn on.

"Guys I'm afraid." Michael said and they all huddled up in the middle of the stage, having memorized how the stage was built so no casualties happened on stage, like Michael was prone to.

"Guess we have to be legitimate Ghostbusters now." Calum said, trying to lighten the heavy mood. Everyone just brushed his comment off.

"Today was supposed to be special! We were playing fucking Madison Square! Why did this have to happen of all days?" Ashton asked, extremely outraged.

Michael felt the same cold shiver and he huddled closer to his band. "The mic isn't fucking working." Luke said but when he tossed it on the floor, a loud screeching noise came from it.

Everyone winced and suddenly, doors were bursting open, bright lights escaping out of it as authorities ushered people out of the arena for their own safety. "We're so sorry!" Michael yelled as loud as he could and Ashton agreed.

"We need to get you guys out of here." They heard the familiar voice of their bodyguard, Jasmine. "Where is Arzaylea?" The CIA agent asked, a hand on her hip since that's where she held a gun.

"Oh my god, where is she?" Luke panicked. "She was in the crowd! I can't leave without her!" He said and Jasmine was quick to usher them out of the mid open.

"Come on, I'll go in and find her." Jasmine said as she handed the four boys over to police officers and secuirty guards. "Get them to the bus ASAP." She demanded before walking back inside of the semi dark arena.

She couldn't tell who was who because all the flashlights that were there was pointed towards the door, occasionally running over the rows of fans to see how many needed to get out. Her own didn't help, a lot of the girls having dsrker shades of hair and similar outfits.

Jasmine pulled her radio out and turned it on. "What section was she in? Where was Arzaylea standing before the lights cut?" She asked and heard a slight static sound, claiming she was near the front. "Roger."

"No one is named Roger."

"Shut up Calum." Jasmine said and walked to the front, looking for the girl. Jasmine pulled her phone out and tried turning it on, but it wasn't working, but it's most likely cause she was still inside the arena when everything was cut.

She turned the radio on and looked around cautiously for the brunette girl. She walked along the front, glass crunching under her shoes as she bumped into someone. "Arzaylea?"

"No-"

"Alright. Please make your way out of the arena." Jasmine said and led the girl to an officer, who lit a path for her to walk with the flashlight.

"Arzaylea!" Jasmine yelled as she ran along the front of the stage. She heard a yell for help from her familiar voice and she was quick to turn her flashlight on, finding the girl trapped between fans and the metal gates designed to keep fans from getting too close to the stage

Jasmine helped her up and then opened the gates, looking at the fans and the band's close friends and family. "Follow me alright? It's going to be okay." Jasmine said and led them out of the building as suddenly the flashlights all turned off.

"What's going on Jas?"

"I don't know, just follow me alright. Hold on to someone if you need to. I know this arena like my own house." Jasmine said as she led them through the backstage exit, keeping the door open. They piled out, the small group that followed, and Jasmine had an officer escourt the fans away from the buses.

"Where's my son?"

"Are they okay? What happened in there?"

"Where's Ash? Is he alright?"

"They're fine. Come on." Jasmine said and led them to the tour bus, knocking on the door and backing away as it swung open.

Luke was quick to run up to his girlfriend and mum, tacking them in hugs as Ashton did the sane. "I'm so glad you're alright." Ashton said and Calum went to their friends, asking if they were okay.

"Where's Michael?"

"Inside. He's shaken up." Dave, one of their secuirty guards said, and Jasmine walked on to the bus. "He needs space."

"I know him. He says he wants space, but he really wants someone to hold him and talk to him." Jasmine said and pushed him aside before walking to the back of the bus. "Michael?"

"No."

"Come on." She said as she opened the door, seeing him curled into a ball. "Come here, are you okay?"

"No." He said and Jasmine sat beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "This was supposed to be perfect Jas. We were supposed to rock Madison Square and look back at this day with a smile. This isn't fair. How many people do you think got injured in there? That's not alright-"

"Listen, it's okay. You can play here again another time. Calm down. If you got here once, you can do it again." She said and Michael shook his head.

"It won't be the same."

"As for your fans, I'm sure they're all okay. I'm about to go in and check anyways, there's still a lot of people in there." Jasmine said and pushed Michael's hair out of his face.

"This is scary Jas. That wasn't normal. That wasn't technical differences. That was something paranormal. That was legitimately Satan trying to kill us and our fans." He said and Jasmine laughed.

Not quite Satan, she thought as she shook her head.

"Don't think too much about it, you'll hurt yourself. I'm leaving you with your security team and the officers alright? I'm going back inside to check in on your fans, scope the place out and try to understand what happened." She said and Michael grabbed her arm.

"Be safe."

"I will, I promise." Jasmine said and nodded as Michael let go of her. She went up to Dave and pointed at his chest. "Don't you dare let them leave this general area. They must stay here until the arena is evacuated completely, understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Good." She said and walked to her car, grabbing her EMF detector, something that helped her detect paranormal activity or presence, which she was positive that it was.

It was something beyond her power since it took out an entire arena, so she knew that she'd need help with whatever happened here.