Witness (34 page)

Anger came to Madison’s eyes. “I doubt it. That evil wench only knows how to live for revenge and power. She’s here...I can feel her.”

“I’m starting to think you hate her more than I do,” I said, feeling less anxious about this night.

“I do,” Madison said as the lights dimmed and the crowd roared. She went to her side of the balcony, and I went to mine.

Evan was on the stage in the spotlight. The crowd roared when they saw him, and the lights dimmed. He raised his hands to calm them down; when they wouldn’t comply, he just spoke over them.

“I want to thank all of you for coming out tonight and supporting just a few of the amazing young talented bands this town has.” The crowd roared in response. “And to help us celebrate the beginning stages of transforming this building into a beacon of light for creative sprits…,” he paused as he let the crowd cheer, “and to also celebrate my best friend’s beautiful daughter’s eighteenth birthday - Happy Birthday, Charlie Myers!” At that moment, one of the spotlights from the stage moved to where I was, and my cheeks flushed as my heart raced. As the crowd grew louder, I heard my name shouted from various directions, and I waved weakly at everyone below.

Evan went on to introduce the night’s line up: four bands in all, with Draven’s band headlining.

The auditorium was blacked out as the first band took their place. The beat of the drums and the screaming guitars seemed to calm my nerves, which were on edge. I found myself moving along with the crowd to the music that was playing. The lights and the sound equipment could easily erase the mark of ‘indie’ from any of the bands that played that night; it was the beginning of an amazing concert.

As the next bands came to the stage, I found myself looking at the people below, to all the dark corners of the auditorium – looking for Bianca. The idea of her being there was enough to fill me with rage. I could only hope that Madison was mistaken – that she’d moved on. Even though I felt for whoever’s life she’d destroy next, I wanted her out of mine.

As the third band finished their set, I found myself growing more anxious – Draven was next. Evan came to the stage to introduce them, just as he’d done with the other bands.  The lights flashed behind him, and the crowed roared.

Evan walked back and forth on the stage with his mic, trying to pump up the crowd even more than they already were. “Alright!” he yelled into the mic. “This next band – I love this next band!” he yelled into the mic again, drawing more and more energy out of the crowd. “I know I’m biased – but do you agree?!” he asked the crowd. They roared again, holding up the classic bull horn sign with their hands.

I couldn’t help grinning with pride.

“Everyone! Show them that you’re here! Anonymous is now on stage!!!”

I found myself jumping in place and smiling; that was the name I had told them to call themselves. The irony was that at that time, they needed to remain anonymous; tonight, they needed to use their gift to call back the shadows.

Aden’s drums began before Evan even left the stage. The lights threatened to light the stage, but instead they highlighted their silhouettes. When the crowd saw Draven reach for his mic, the screams became insane. At that moment, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Grayson’s lead guitar came next, followed by the base and the rhythm. Draven gripped the mic and screamed the classic metal roar – it was so loud and deep, I felt it vibrate in my soul. The crowd began to jump to the rhythm of Aden’s drums.

As the sound of the band and the beautiful sound of Draven’s hypnotic voice echoed through the auditorium, I found myself mesmerized by the raw talent before me. It was one thing to see these songs come to life, to watch them play in our own private studio – but to see them live, to feel the energy the crowd was giving back to them was electrifying.

Around the end of seventh song, I felt Madison pull my shoulder back. As I stepped away, I looked at her like she was crazy. She pulled me into the hall, trying to muffle the overpowering sound in the auditorium.

“I missed this text when I was on the phone with Britain!” she yelled in my ear.

I looked down at her phone and read a text from Aden: ‘the bridge – when the lights go out and you can’t see us – both of you need to see that is when he always leaves.’

My eyes grew wide with fear, then I pushed by her to my spot on the balcony. I knew that the song was after this one; somehow, until this point, his voice – the way they were playing – had made me almost forget why we were there.

Beyond a simple thank you, Draven hadn’t spoken to the crowd between songs. When the eighth song finished, they all stood still, trying to catch their breath from the last intense song. I could tell that they were all hot and tired. The crowd screamed and began to chant ‘One more!’ over and over again. The grin that spread across Draven’s face was breathtaking.

“One more?” he said into the mic.

They all screamed to say yes. Draven looked over his shoulders to the rest of the band. “Do we have one more?”

All of them threw up their hands, trying to get an even bigger stir out of the crowd. Draven walked back and forth on the stage with his head down, holding his mic; in a way, he looked shy at that moment, which just made the crowd love him even more.

“You know,” he said, keeping his head down and walking back to the stand for his mic, “writing music – playing music – is awesome.” He locked his mic into the stand and ran his fingers across the strings of his guitar, sending a vibration of sound through all of us. “But…” he said when the sound had ended, “to write music with your soul-mate is EPIC.” The crowed screamed, and Draven’s eyes rose to where I was. “I love you, Charlie Myers. Happy Birthday, Baby.” 

I felt my insides fall and every part of me hum. It didn’t matter that there were thousands of people in the room – he made me feel like I was the only one.

“This is her song,” Draven said as he stepped back from the spotlight.

The lead guitar began, and I felt my heart leaping from chest. When the drums came to life, my soul vibrated. By the time Draven began to play, to sing - every emotion humanly possible was soaring through my body.

When I heard the chorus for the first time, I went numb: “A devil risen – an angel fallen – this world will not be our prison – fate is calling.”

I wasn’t the only one that felt the power behind those words; the crowd went wild. The stage lights were out of control, in perfect rhythm with the music.

Something odd caught my attention: the confetti that had been shimmering was now gray – like it was covered in a haze, like darkness was beginning to fall. It was working; this song was so powerful, the energy in the room was so electrifying - that it was calling the darkness.

After the bridge of the song, the stage went dark; only white spotlights behind them were blinking. I stared at Draven: his head was down. Though his hands were still moving at an insane speed across the strings, he was still – too still.

I thought the simple question: Where are you?, and at that moment I felt my soul violently ripped from my body; I wasn’t on the balcony anymore.

The air was still, the sky was a haunting shade of every dark color, and the grass in the open field was orange. The energy was dark and heavy. I spun around, looking for any sign of him, and behind me I saw images of all of us: the six of us standing in a perfect circle. I could still hear the song violently playing around us.

The images of all of us were still, and everyone’s head was down except for mine and Draven’s; he was staring coldly into nothing. I stepped between the image of me and him and screamed his name, trying to get his attention, but he wouldn’t move; there was nothing I could do to get a response out of him. I couldn’t bare to look at my image. I didn’t understand how I was in two places at once. I ran around the circle of all of us, screaming, “What’s going on? Where are all of you?!”

I heard a sinister laugh and turned, knowing who it belonged to: Bianca.

“What have you done?!” I yelled at her.

“Nothing,” she said, smiling, as her eyes glistened with pure evil. “Just enjoying the show. I love a good performance.”

“If he’s here, you tell me where – now!”

She laughed again and walked to the still image of him. “Right here,” she said as she moved her hands across his chest. I charged across the circle, but before I could take a step sickening images of her and him played out in the center of all of us. They weren’t innocent, not ones that could be mistaken as me taking it the wrong way; they were images of them locked in a passionate embrace.

I covered my mouth, starting to get sick – believing this illusion. Bianca walked around the edge of the circle, letting her fingertips run across the soulless bodies of each of us. Unwittingly, my eyes returned to the cruel images. As I looked at the back of her neck, the birthmark of two question marks mocking a broken heart was absent; I knew then that these images were a lie – an illusion meant to distract me.

She continued her slow stroll around the circle. “This circle, this balance of good and evil,” she said in a slow, seductive voice, “did nothing but offer me a distraction. It allowed me to have my way with the darkness he is. You can play with him in that world - but here, my power is what he craves…I make all of his wildest fantasies come true.”

She was passing by Winston as she said those evil words. As her fingertips crossed his chest, he came to life all at once and gripped her wrist. Bianca’s eyes grew wide with shock.

Winston pulled her wrist, flinging her out of the circle – and the cruel images vanished with her.

“This is the wrong circle, Charlie – she was distracting you!” he yelled over the thunder that was trying to quiet him.

“What?!” I screamed.

“There are more circles! Find him - this isn’t it!”

It took me a second to understand, then I ran between the images of us. At that moment, lightning erupted, and all across the field I saw sickening images of not only Bianca with Draven, but her with other men.

In the distance, I saw another circle. I didn’t think I had time to run there, so I told myself that I was there, that I wanted to be there – and my soul was jolted forward. This circle was just like the last one, only now Winston’s head was up like mine and Draven’s. Bianca was in the center once again. I pushed my way through to the center.

“I don’t have time for this – where is he?!” I yelled at her.

“I rather like the idea of your clock running out,” she said as she passed by Grayson, who came to life at that moment, grabbed her by her waist, and flung her from the circle.

“You’re closer, Charlie – run!” he yelled.

I pushed my way out of the circle again, looking in every direction. I didn’t know what to do, where to run. The lightning in the sky was mocking the flickering lights on stage in the real word. At that point, it was making me dizzy - but then in flash of light, I saw...purple...I saw a purple sky on a mountain top miles and miles away. I went with my gut and told myself that this was what Monroe was trying to say to me before; this was her unspoken direction.

I focused my stare there, and in an instant I was there. In this circle, Grayson was now aware, along with Winston. Bianca was standing in the center, mocking a bored yawn.  She looked at the sky and laughed. “I wonder when this song will end.”

At that moment, Aden came to life and yelled, “When the drums end! I can keep this up all night long!” He then stepped forward, breaking the circle. When he did that, the images of all of us fell, and he was face-to-face Bianca. Grayson and Winston rose to their feet, blocking her in. I knew then that I still wasn’t in the right place. Suddenly, out of nowhere I head a roar – not the roar of thunder, but the roar of Draven’s voice. I turned to see a higher point on the mountain, a point that was covered in deep, dark purple.

I climbed the rocks that led to that part, and when I reached the peak I saw the most terrifying thing I’d ever seen: Draven was there, and around him – surrounding him – was a glowing purple light that mocked fire. Slithering around his feet was a massive snake, and as it hissed I heard Bianca’s voice whispering seductively to him. As he heard her words, he flinched in pain; images of a past that should be forgotten were flickering around the purple fire that was surrounding him.

Lightning flashed, bringing daylight for only an instant - and in that instant I saw dark shadows, a black veil seeping into the ball of fire. The break in the darkness also showed me that I was in the center of another circle – and everyone was aware except Madison. I saw the pain and frustration in the eyes of the others as they watched Draven suffer; they seemed paralyzed, unable to help me. 

I wasn’t afraid – I was furious. I lunged forward, grabbed the snake’s tail, and pulled it back. I expected it to be heavy and hard to move, but it was as light as a feather. I then remembered that in this realm I could create whatever I wanted to happen; whatever I needed, it was mine. My confidence grew.

As the snake thrashed around, I threw my wrist up to block it. When its fangs expanded to bite down on my arm, it became frozen with a shocked stare. I saw the gems on my bracelet glowing. I sneered at the snake and imagined that the ground was made of millions and millions of those gems; instantly, the rocks on the surface of the mountain turned into just that, and when they touched the body of the snake, it turned to stone - then fell to ash. I ran toward Draven – toward his roaring screams. Before I could reach him, though, another image of Bianca appeared. I threw her out of my way, only for her appear again.