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Nightriders The Battle Continues Part 11

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    Axl released a loud yawn as he awakened from his long nap. Looking at the timer on his phone, he was surprised to find that four hours had already passed since they had become airborn. He peered out of the window, only to see the same view before he had drifted off to sleep, being a large blue ocean stretching endlessly as far as he could see.

    “Well, someone’s a sleepy head!” said Lucinda teasingly, as she returned to her seat.

    “Are we there yet?” jested Axl with a smirk.

    “It doesn’t look like it,” Lucinda replied, turning her attention to the window. “But if you want an update on our progress, ask the captain.”

    “No thanks,” murmured Axl, rolling his eyes.

    “Well, if you’re finished with your nap, we should probably again review our plan and map of the island."

    “Sure,” answered Axl. "It’s not like we have anything better to do.” Axl sat up and leaned forward to study the brown map in Lucinda’s lap. “So where the heck are we gonna land this plane? Is there a runway somewhere?”

    “Well, sort of,” answered Lucinda. “There is a clearing on the island that has served as a runway before for explorers.”

    “You mean all the missing explorers,” added Axl, not sounding so enthusiastic. Lucinda nodded her head. Axl chuckled and stretched back his arms. “So, Lucinda, are we going to join that long list of missing explorers?” Lucinda smiled.

    “Not a chance. We’re the zombie fighting, metal musicians, remember?”

    “Touche,” answered Axl, grinning.

    “So, what was all this I heard about you guys getting booed off the stage at your last show?” asked Lucinda, changing the topic. Axl’s smile dissipated from his face.

    “They were all a bunch of bratty fans of those Backstage Brats! To be honest, we should have never been given that gig in the first place.” Lucinda nodded her head and was silent for a moment, before continuing the conversation.

    “Do I sense some hard feelings towards the Backstage Boys?”

    “You could say that!” snapped Axl. “It’s no wonder the youth of today are so messed up, when their role models are a group of narcissistic airheads that have spent more time on the toilet than living as an adult!”

    “I know what you’re saying,” answered Lucinda. “But for what it’s worth, remember they are young and only know what it’s like to be the center of attention, too boot. If we had grown up in their environment, we very well may have ended up the same way.” Axl had opened his mouth to counter Lucinda’s explanation when she cut him off. “The thing is, Axl, you and me are a different breed of musicians. Unlike like the Backstage Boys, we did not have any connections in the industry so we had to put in many hours of hard work into playing in our parents’ garages growing up while playing free gigs just to get noticed. We worked hard for everything we earned.”

    “We sure did,” agreed Axl. “And we have to continue working hard to even get noticed by the fat cats in the industry. Metal bands aren’t as pretty to market, ya know.”

    “Try being taken seriously as an all-female band,” scoffed Lucinda.

    “What do you mean?” asked Axl quizzically. Lucinda sighed as she prepared to explain.

    “Before we had a contract with Rockoon Records, I was approached by the president of Bubble Gum Records. He said he saw much potential in me as a performer, so he offered me what he called ‘the chance of a lifetime’ to be a megastar in music. Being young and naïve at the time, I took the offer despite the protests from my sister and band mates. The first warning sign that something was off, was when I brought him a list of the songs I had originally written for Flame Heart, but he was uninterested with most of them, and wanted to bring in his own writers. The few songs he did allow me to use were stripped of all my guitar work, to the point where they barely resembled themselves anymore. He even went as far as telling me to lose the guitar so I could learn to ‘shake my booty’ and gave me these ridiculous outfits that you'd expect pole dancers to wear. That was the last straw for me, and is what drove me to walk out of that nightmare of a job. People don’t want women playing instruments and performing on stage! They just want them to shake their rear to a dance beat!” Axl was speechless for a moment as he saw for the first time a flash of rage on the usually calm and collected Lucinda. Despite her unexpected outburst, he could feel his admiration only growing for her as she shared the challenges she had to overcome in music. No doubt he could have easily seen her as a pop star with her flowing dark brown hair and beautiful physique. She had a restrained, leader like, quality to her, as well as an underlying stubbornness, and aggression. In all this, Axl almost felt as though he was looking into a mirror as he listened to her sharing her experiences.

    “And that’s when you returned to Flame Heart,” Axl marveled. Lucinda nodded.

    “Thankfully, I have very forgiving friends, but even then, it still was not easy. Like you said, metal bands have a hard enough time getting accepted in a Bubble Gum scene but multiply that by ten and you’ll understand all we have had to fight for."

    “Yeah, I think I get the picture,” said Axl scratching the side of his snout. Lucinda formed a smile as she looked into his yellow reptilian eyes. Axl returned the smile and stared back.

    “Sorry, I’m not usually one to throw my problems on somebody else,” said Lucinda apologetically.

     “Oh no, you’re fine Lucinda,” assured Axl. “Glad to be an ear.” Still smiling Lucinda looked down a moment, before looking back up at Axl.

    “Thanks for listening.”



Illustrations by Bluepisces97 

Thanks for reading!
Axl draw plz by AxlReigns 

Nightriders: The Battle Continues Part 12

Nightriders The Battle Continues Part 12 by AxlReigns 

Nightriders: The battle continues Part 1

Nightriders: The Battle Continues Part 1 by AxlReigns 

Sequel of,

Nightriders: Battle of the Bands

Nightriders Battle of the Bands Part 1 by AxlReigns 


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Gegege1290's avatar

Lucinda also had her troubles like Axl in the past! I really appreciate the denunciation of sexism, it's still an actual problem unfortunately 😕😔👏