Damaged saints, p.1
Damaged Saints, page 1
Damaged Saints
Layla Dorine
Desolate Press
Osage, IA 50461
Damaged Saints
Published by Desolate Press
1120 Main Street
Osage, Iowa, 50461 USA
layladorine13.wixsite.com/layladorineauthor
First Edition
Copyright © 2023 by Layla Dorine
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Reviewers may quote brief passages in a review. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Layla Dorine at Layladorine13@outlook.com.
The author does not consent to any Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarize, or otherwise replicate any part of this creative work, via any means: print, graphic, sculpture, multimedia, audio, or other medium. The author supports the right of humans to control their artistic works. No part of this book has been created using AI-generated images or narrative, as known by the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All song lyrics contained within are the creation and property of the author and may not be used without permission.
Editing by Crossfactor Inc.
Cover Art by Natasha Snow
Chapter 1
Favor For a Friend
(Jagger)
“No way this is the right place!” Jagger declared the moment his best friend answered the phone. “It looks like an old asylum or something.”
Try elementary school.
“Meh, same difference.”
Look, the point is that you are where you’re supposed to be, so get off the bike, ring the doorbell, and go blow them away like I promised you would.
“The fact that you’ve promised them anything should have me worried as hell. I know you, Johnny, and I know what happens anytime anyone blindly follows your instructions.”
There’s nothing else I can tell you that you don’t already know.
“All you told me was that you got close with them when you toured together and that they asked you if you knew of anyone looking for a singing gig. In typical Johnny fashion you set up this audition without even checking with me first. Dick!”
Because you’d have turned it down like you did the others.
“Oh, so you figured I wouldn’t be able to say no if you’d already made promises.”
Pretty much.
Somedays Jagger really hated the fact that his best friend knew him so well.
Look, no band deserves to have their future snuffed out by a bit of flying metal. That accident was as random as winning the lottery, only without the prize that’s supposed to go with it. Could have just as easily been my band it happened to, and you know we pulled every bit of pyro out of our show after what happened to them. When they asked for help finding a new singer, the first thing I thought about was who I’d want to take my place in my band if something had sidelined me, and hands down, that’s you.
Johnny was rarely serious about anything. To hear him sound the way he did told Jagger that it meant a lot to him that Jagger had driven over five hours to sit outside of the huge brick building that was, what, the band’s practice space?
If it was full of spider webs and other creepy ass shit, he was so gonna make Johnny pay in the most spectacular way imaginable.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this!”
Yeah, well, you did, so suck it up and see it through already. The guys are expecting you…hang on.
If they were video chatting, Johnny would see exactly how Jagger felt about being ignored. Hell, he’d have flipped him off and then some, he was so over this entire plot Johnny had cooked up. Glaring from the device to the old brick schoolhouse he was parked in front of, Jagger had half a mind to ride right back down the coast, consequences be damned.
Why did it sound like Johnny had a second phone he was talking on and where the fuck was all that barking coming from?
Moving the phone further from his ear didn’t lessen it any. If anything the frenzied woofing seemed to be getting louder. Scowling, Jagger raised his head in time to see two bounding bodies making a beeline for him, fur bouncing as they tore ass across the lawn.
Fuckers looked just like the dog from Cujo, and he didn’t even have a car he could lock himself in. Best he could do was kick the starter, the bike sputtering as the engine failed to catch.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
He kicked it a second time, and a third, too rough, jerky with fear, his hands shaking on the handlebars by the time the damn thing roared to life, and not a minute too soon. They were almost to the curb. He tore off down the street, rear tire wobbling into a fishtail he was forced to coast out of before he laid the bike down on the asphalt and got himself shredded in the process. And to think he’d been worried about spiders. He’d have happily danced through a nest of them if it meant not having to face those dogs.
The streets that the GPS had easily navigated him down were now confusing as hell as he tried to find Main Street again, twice looking over his shoulder to be certain the dogs weren’t still after him. His heart was hammering by the time he reached the center of the tiny town, pulling into the first parking lot he came to so he could breathe and cuss Johnny out.
Too bad he’d dropped his phone in his haste to get the bike started.
“Fuckkkkkkkkk!”
The crows around here didn’t appreciate cussing as three of them erupted out of a tree, cawing as they took off over the powerlines.
“Young man, there is no need for that kind of language!”
Whirling, he intended to give the owner of that reproachful voice a thorough list of exactly why that word, along with the others he was barely biting back were more than deserved in this situation. The moment his gaze landed on the pink haired lady in leopard print with too much makeup and her hands on her hips, his thoughts tripped over themselves. Sputtering, he was caught between apologizing and laughing his ass off.
He was saved from choosing between the two by the earsplitting screech of tires as a crimson muscle car came skidding into the lot, laying down some serious rubber streaks on the asphalt. The car had barely come to a halt before the driver came hurrying their way.
“Kayden Reed you know better than to pull those kinds of stunts in the middle of town! Lord a Mercy what is wrong with you young people today!”
Damn, for such a small lady, she was as loud as the mismatch of colors she was wearing.
The man who’d emerged from the car just looked sheepish as she advanced on him. “Sorry Aunt Faye, but I had to catch up with Jagger before he took off clear out of town.”
“I should have guessed this one belonged with you and your little band of misfits. I was just telling him that crass language had no place out here on the street where anyone could hear.”
“And I was just about to tell your aunt that nearly getting eaten by Cujo and company was more than enough reason for a fuck or two!”
Huffing, the older woman stomped her foot and shot them both a furious glare before stalking across the lot to a hot pink VW Bug and getting in. It was old school too, one of the originals, coming to life with a rattling putter and a huge plume of exhaust when she started it up.
“Sorry about that,” Kayden said, looking rumpled and more than just a little bit embarrassed by his aunt.
A flash of something green caught Jagger’s attention and he glanced down to see fluffy slippers with smiling faces on the top. The damned things looked so much like happy avocados that a snicker slipped out. Before he knew it, Jagger was skimming his eyes over the rest of Kayden’s ensemble and that snicker had grown into a full-blown case of seriously side-splitting laughter.
“D-dude,” Jagger gasped out, nearly choking on the words. “You’re junks hanging out for the world to see.”
Kayden’s eyes got wide before he glanced down at the front of his underwear and saw what Jagger did, his dick dangling out of the slit in his boxers. The silver barbell piercing running through the tip of it was glinting in the sun like it was winking at them.
Kayden shrugged and casually tucked it back in. “Guess he was just as eager to meet you as I was.”
That prompted more laughter from Jagger as he smacked his hand to his face in disbelief, the whole encounter drifting towards the surreal and slightly endearing. At least the guy could crack wise when the moment called for it.
“Sorry about Beast and Beethoven scaring the shit outta you,” Kayden said as he rubbed the back of his neck, which let out a series of pops that sounded a hell of a lot like bubble wrap. “They just wanted ta pounce you a little.”
“That’s like saying a freight train just wanted to nudge me a little bit. Damn. The last thing I need is a bunch of bruises making the ride home even rougher than the one up here, which was a bitch, by the way. What’s up with the wind?”
“Welcome to the mountains.”
“Yeah, some welcome. Tell Johnny I’m gonna knock his fuckin’ head off the next time I see him. Fucker could have warned me you had the hounds from hell guarding your place.”
“Hey, in all fairness, they were just pups t
“Uh-huh, and I’m guessing they weren’t the size of normal pups back then, either!”
Squinting, Kayden rubbed his eyes, blinking against the sun before putting his back to it and wincing slightly. “Wait, are you seriously gonna leave without jamming with us?”
“Yeah, and if I hurry the fuck up, I might actually find a couch to crash on that won’t involve waking someone up and pissing them off in the process.”
“Didn’t Johnny tell you the gig came with a room and full use of the kitchen and any of the other community spaces we’ve got set up, including the theater, which is seriously badass let me tell ya?”
“I’m gonna take a hard pass on that and get going now, thanks,” Jagger remarked. Before mounting his bike, he checked to be certain the straps holding his backpack to the sissy bar were as secure as when he’d first tightened them.
“Fuck! Do you know how badly that is going to screw things up for us? It took months to convince Robbie that it was time to start looking for a new lead singer and even longer before we found one he was willing to let come up so we could see how we meshed.”
“Why?”
“What part needs further explanation?” Kayden asked. “Johnny was supposed to fill you in on everything so you wouldn’t wind up staring at Robbie and pissing him off when you met him.”
“Yeah, well we’ve already established that Johnny is severely lacking in the communications department, so treat me like I know nothing, that’ll make it easier for both of us.”
Kayden groaned and seemed to deflate right before his eyes, shoulders slumping as he leaned back against the hood of his car. “At least tell me you know about the accident?”
“With the pyro, yes, I heard some stuff about it on a couple podcasts. Your singer got hit in the throat and chest with some flying debris that did enough damage that he can barely speak, let alone sing anymore and your drummer got burned bad. That’s Robbie, thus why you’re worried about me staring, which I wouldn’t do regardless of being warned about it or not. That’s prolly why Johnny didn’t bother mentioning it. He knew it wouldn’t phase me.”
The look Kayden shot him suggested he didn’t believe him. Oh well. At this point it didn’t matter in the slightest ‘cause there was no way in hell he was going back to that renovated schoolhouse and facing those fuzzy death machines.
“Guess it’s my turn to ask why,” Kayden said when Jagger didn’t say anything more about it.
“’Cause I’ve got experience being around burn victims,” Jagger remarked and left it at that.
“Then for fuck’s sake, can you please come back to the house and do a session with us?” Kayden pleaded, his hand closing over Jagger’s wrist when he went to start up the bike. “Please. I’ll fuckin’ beg on behalf of my entire band if that’s what it’ll take to get you to sing a couple of songs. Johnny said you knew a good chunk of our material, which I’m guessing was just one of many reasons he suggested you to us in the first place. We’ve got to be at Rocktoberfest. If we wind up having to pull out, I don’t know that we’ll get another opportunity at anything that big. Our management company dropped us and we’re completely on our own at this point. The only way anyone else takes a chance on us is if we can prove we can bounce back from what happened. You don’t have to agree to stick with us long-term if you’re not interested. We can worry about finding someone on a more permanent basis after we come back from the desert.”
Sighing, Jagger couldn’t help but feel for the guy, and his bandmates. They were clearly desperate enough to take a chance on a guy who’d never played anything bigger than third stage at the seven-day music festival in the city where he’d grown up. Hell, this was the furthest he’d ever traveled away from home. That was probably one of the two reasons he was in such a hurry to go back, or was it three? Should he count each of the dogs separately?
“I know your music because it was popular enough that the cover band I was with was constantly being asked to play it,” Jagger admitted. “And since we’re discussing things Johnny failed to mention, I’m going to let you know now that I’ve only ever sung with cover bands and not very popular ones either.”
“That might be true, but you sounded amazing in the clips Johnny sent us. He didn’t leave out the part about the cover bands though and that most of your experience performing was in local bars, not that I see how it matters. All we care about is how you sound and if you can connect with our music enough to put some emotion behind the words.”
“I go back to that house with you and the only emotion I’ll be able to manage is abject terror and a desperate desire to piss my pants and run screaming down the street begging for someone to save me.”
Kayden huffed and kicked at a rock with the toe of his slipper. “You’re afraid of dogs.”
“No shit, what gave it away?”
“We can lock them in another part of the house if that’s the issue.”
“And what happens when they manage to bulldoze their way out of wherever you put them?”
“Then one of us will be sure to catch them before they have the chance to do their happy dance on you, though it really is adorable. They’re just big, loveable dorks when you get right down to it,” Kayden insisted, not that Jagger had any intention of taking his word for it.
Jagger shot him a glare intended to make him let go, but Kayden didn’t take the hint and kept holding on. “Good for them.”
The pitying look Kayden shot him pissed him off a bit, but before he could say anything more Kayden started asking questions. “So, how old were you when you got bit?”
“Didn’t get bit, but I did get treed avoiding teeth. I had six long hours to sit in that big oak and think about all the places that dog could have been hiding while waiting for me to come down.”
“Wait, so the dog didn’t even stick around, and you still stayed in the tree?”
“I’d have taken up residence there if Mr. Cranston hadn’t called the cops, thinking I was trying to peep through his daughter’s window. As if. By then I’d been sitting on that branch for too long to be able to climb down without help. The police officers called the fire department and fifteen embarrassing minutes later, with more than half the neighbors watching and my older brother laughing his ass off at me, they got me down and sent me home with a warning not to get myself into places I couldn’t get out of.”
Kayden’s snort of barely concealed laughter led to Jagger instantly flipping him off.
“Sorry but damn. No offense, but I’d have been laughing too. At least tell me it was a big dog.”
“Big enough. Wasn’t about to stand around and ask it is stats and what breed it was if that’s what you wanna know.”
“No, though if it were a chihuahua I could almost sympathize with you. You mind me asking why the dog was chasing you in the first place?”
“Pretty sure it wanted the sandwich I was eating on my way home since I’d lost track of time and never made it to the lunchroom, which, was a common thing for me. It happened so often that I got into the habit of stopping by the deli after school and spending my lunch money there.”
Jagger found absolutely nothing amusing about the way Kayden kept laughing at him and was seriously tempted to flip him off, again.
“Man, you shoulda just given it to him, he’d probably have stopped chasing you,” Kayden said, still grinning like Jagger had just shared the funniest story he’d ever heard.
“Yeah, I kinda figured that out myself after I’d dropped what was left of it to scramble up the tree.”
“There ya go.”
“No, but I’d like to. For that to happen you’ve got to let go of me first,” Jagger remarked, casting his gaze down to where Kayden’s hand still gripped his wrist.
When their eyes met, it was impossible to miss the pain in Kayden’s or the reluctant way he turned Jagger loose. The loss of contact brought a brief flash of disappointment that Jagger really didn’t have time to sit around and pick apart. He’d have to wait on that until he was on the road. If he intended to make it home at a respectable enough hour that knocking on someone’s door wouldn’t get him greeted by the business end of a weapon, then he needed to get moving.
