Of Bass and Books

Chapters

Spontaneous combustion
Dusk N' Scratch
The Princess of the Night
An eletrifying preformance

Spontaneous combustion

Thirty minutes later...

I sighed as I exited out of my Ford F1-50, the pouring rain drenching my white hoodie. I flicked up the hood, already annoyed enough as I was. I walked up the stone steps leading toward the door to the apartment complex I lived in. I slid my key-card into the slot, the door beeping as to indicate that it was now unlocked. I walked inside and shut the door, grumpily climbing two sets of stairs on my way to the apartment I currently lived in. I walked down the hall, whistling an odd tune as looked for my number. "409... 411... Ah, there you are #413." I once again slide the card into its respective lock, one click later and I was inside my apartment.

I threw my soaked hoodie onto the ever-growing pile of dirty laundry sitting on top of the washer, not surprised to see that my lazy roommate forgot to run the washer. I made my way over to the fridge, kicking off my shoes and throwing them by the door. I let out a little sigh as I felt the carpet beneath my feet, my thin socks allowing me to feel the threads of the carpet that tickled my feet. After the short transition from entrance carpet to the Kitchen's stone floor I shuffled on over to the fridge. I yanked on the handle, the bright light once again hurting my eyes as the door swung open. I blindly felt around for a snack, my hand latching onto a bottle of beer but decided against it and continued my search for a snack. I had consumed enough of those these last few days to rival even my alcoholic roommate. Eventually I grabbed an apple, cherishing its flavor as its juice flooded my mouth. I let out a 'Mmmmm' as I closed the fridge, walking over to living room. I sat down on the comfy couch and pulled an periodical out of pile of magazines that decorated the coffee table, flipping through the pages with an absent mind until something caught my eye. In large, bold letters the headlines read "THIRTEEN LOGGERS REPORTED MISSING, COMPANY HALTING PROGRESS ON DEFORESTATION OF NORTHERN GEORGIA COUNTY."

"Thirteen loggers missing? Seems pretty unlucky to me." I skim the rest of the article, which included people talking about strange noises unlike they have ever heard coming from the dark bowels of the forest. There were also talk of how storms appeared to appear and disappear above the forest, acting completely independent of the surround weather conditions. I huh'd at this part, some knowledge about how the weather works coming back to me from my science teacher in the eighth grade. That's impossible, unless there was something inside trapping a part of the Earth's atmosphere inside. Or magic. Ha, magic. I crack myself up sometimes. I breezed through the rest of the magazine but found nothing else of interest, throwing it back on top of the pile. I sat there for a moment, board until I realized that I had a sweet stereo system sitting mere feet away from me and the Bluetooth remote to my right. I activate the sound-bar sitting below the TV, switching the input to Bluetooth. I unlocked my phone and scrolled down my recently played list. I look for the strange song from before but no dice, forcing me hit shuffle on my Favorites playlist instead.

"Oh boy we've got a live one here." The Joker cackled as the beginning of Batdance played, a smile appearing on my face as I recalled the old Batman movies. They had a certain something that the newer ones seemed to lack, a certain pzazz if you will. I grabbed the remote and turned it up to twenty, my heading bobbing in sync with sharp BUM DITZ of the drums. It was at this point that my roommate Dave walked in, a scowl on his face.

"What?"

My cranky roommate grabbed the remote, pushing the off button. Now it was my turn to scowl.

"Dude, I was listening to that!"

"And I was sleeping!"

"No you weren't! I heard you watching videos and getting drunk."

"You have no proof."

"I can smell the empty bottles from here dude."

"No you can't!"

I caught a face-full of his nasty breath, my nose wanting to shirvle up and fall of my face as I tried to get rid of the disgusting smell with a few dozen waves of my hand. "Man, you have the worst taste in beer ever."

"Eh, it wasn't the best brew I've had but I though you picked it out."

"Dude I never buy alcohol, you know that. I got it from a friend, said it was a special brew or something and wanted me to have it."

Dave's face once again chained expression, except this was blank and slightly serious-looking. "So does that mean I've been drinking something that you have no idea where it came from for the last few hours?"

"Uhhh, yeah."

The paranoid alcoholic disappeared from view, the sound slamming of a wooden door being slammed shut and someone gagging following shortly after. I rolled my eyes at Dave's overreaction, his paranoia levels soaring through the roof at this point. He was a bit overly cautious and didn't like it when he had no idea where something came from going as far as refusing gifts from people he doesn't know even on his birthday. Something about an assassin trying to kill him or something, but with what happened at the Naughty Ostel I was thinking he might be on the right track... Anyways, He's been that way since I first met him eight years ago in the sixth grade. We had initially avoided each other but once we found at out that we share a common interest in technology (and history), we were like two peas in a pod. I was more of a nerd back then but I've grown out relying on the internet for entertainment and what not since I discovered my natural talent for music. As for him, He's made a bad habit of being on the damn thing every waking moment of his life when he isn't sleeping like a log, often saying he's researching an interesting topic on something groundbreaking. Groundbreaking my ass! I went in for another bit of my apple only to find that I had eaten it to the core with only the seeds and stem remaining. I tossed it in the trash without a second thought as I went back into the kitchen, snatching the pitcher full of punch that was on the counter. I grabbed a spare cup from the cabinet and I poured myself a drink, the flavor distinctly different from before. It tasted strangely of actual fruit, an unusual thing considering I had used a cool-aid pouch to make it earlier. I swallowed and smacked my lips a bit, trying to find the names of fruits. It took me a moment but I was able to taste strawberries, oranges, pineapple, a tinge of passion fruit and even watermelon.

"Hey Dave, come try this punch." I called out to my friend, surprised by the sudden change in flavor.

"Gimme a minute, I have to clean up." He called from the bathroom, the sound of someone barfing finally ceasing. Eighty-three seconds later my friend came out of the bathroom, his shirt slightly reeking of puke.

I poured him a cup, but only to find that he was drinking out of mine when I turned around. "Dude that's disgusting."

"So? All humans share 93% of the same DNA sequences so it cant be that bad. Besides, I haven't gotten sick for the last three years. I doubt some back wash is going to kill me." He took another swig of the drink, his reaction similar to mine.

"Woah, that's a big change in taste. What did you put in this?"

"Nothing other then water and Cool-aid mix." I could tell he was also naming off the different fruits he could taste, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"Odd, could've sworn I tasted banana."

"Really? Mine tasted of watermelon." We both just stood their for a moment, wondering what was going on. In idleness I watched as Dave cleaned his teeth his with his fingernails, another act I disliked witnessing until i noticed something odd.

"Dude, your teeth."

"What about them?" Ugh, he and his questions...

"Just go look in the mirror."

"Fine...."

I started counting down to the time he would see what had happened to his teeth. Seven... Six.... Five... Four... Three... Two.... One.... aaaannndddd-

"AH! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY TEETH?"

Bingo.

I walked over to the bathroom, struggling to to keep myself from laughing at his reaction. His normally uneven, nasty-looking teeth had been cleaned to the point where they shone like the sun and all lined up perfectly. Dave grabbed me and pointed to the bones inside his mouth. "LOOK AT THEM! I JUST DRANK LIKE FIVE BOTTLES OF BEER, ATE THIRTEEN BAGS OF CHIPS, BARFED, AND NOW THEIR ALL CLEAN AND SPARKLY! HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?"

"Chill dude, they just got all neat and clean. Not a big deal.."

"OF COURSE ITS A BIG DEAL! TEETH JUST DON'T CLEAN THEMSELVES!"

"Maybe whatever you were eat and or drinking was a new product designed to get rid of plaque while you ate it."

"THAT... actually makes sense. Like that teeth-whitening stuff you see commercials for, except put into food. Man, that's pretty nifty. Also, did you know that-”

As Dave descended into one of his infamous rants once again, I spaced out a bit and sorta tuned him out. Dave did this ever so often when he's surfing the net and comes across a variety of stuff that I might find interesting. Emphasis on might, as most of the time I could care less. However, as he spoke his tone became more harsh as the topic reached the category of gaming, something he was not all that good at. The lights dimmed a bit as something began to cover the light source, though I gave credit to my glasses for that as they were in fact transition and those florescent light bulbs were pretty damn bright.

"-So I'm playing Counter-strike and I'm on this obstacle course server, you know the ones where you have to dodge all the traps and stuff? Anyways, so I'm the last guy left and I'm nearing the end. I'm like 'Awwww yeah, prepare to feel my- BOOM! Disconnect by the moderator for some BS along the lines of "Gloating because you suck at everything in life." That made me so mad that I-"

The lights are completely obscured at this point. I looked up to see if it was my glasses and ended up inhaling a large cloud of a black gas. I began choking on the smoke that had filled the small confines of the bathroom, feeling like I swallowed as dozen grizzly bears that began mauling my throat and lungs as if they were trespassers. I coughed a few dozen times, my throat now sore and dry. I looked up to reach to my roommate for help when I noticed that his hair was a blazing inferno. And was still ranting.

"Dave." I called out, his voice rising to a yell.

"-I swear when I find him I'm going to shove my boot so far up his-"

"DAVE!"

"WHAT?"

"YOUR HAIR," I coughed again, my body still trying to rid itself of the dangerous gas. "IS ON FIRE!" Dave glanced at his reflection in the mirror, his eyes widening in surprise as he saw the raging fire that had taken residence up on his head. He screamed, looked at me, screamed again and then proceeded to jump in the shower. The result of the cold water making contact with the flames generate a tremendous amount of steam that filled the entire room and the hall, which also had the unusual effect of completely eliminating the cloud of smoke. Another one was the fogging of my glasses, which I tended to after I was done coughing out my lungs. The mist did wonders for my respiratory system, almost magically healing any damage done to my body by the smoke I had inhaled. I placed the glasses back on my face, only for them to fog up once again. I grunted and cleaned off he lenses once more, only for them to fog up again. I tired once more but in the end I decided it would be to wait until after Dave was done putting out the mini inferno on his head. Roughly ten minutes later did Dave finally step out of the shower, his clothes drenched and pants completely wet. I handed Dave a towel, doing my best not to snicker at the hair trailing down his face and obscuring his angry-looking eyes. If he wasn't totally pissed right now I'd laugh my ass off.

"Care to explain to me what the hell is going on?" My friend's voice was muffled by the towel he was using to dry himself off.

"Ummm... you drank a couple of beers i got from a friend a few hours back, probably took a nap, gulped down half of my drink, had you teeth straightened and even, and somehow set yourself on fire."

"Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of." I finished polishing my glasses and put them back on, my eyesight returning back to normal. This action, for some strange reason, drew the attention of my friend who was now staring at me with raised eyebrows.

"What?"

"I didn't know that you could change your eye color, Mr. Dead-eye. I heard of contacts but I don't think you could put those in with the mirror being fogged up and all."

"What are you talking about? I didn't change my..." I used my hand to wipe away the condensation that had gather on the reflective surface, my eyes widening in surprise as I caught a glimpse at them. My eyes had turned a reddish-hue, my cornea and iris now taking up most of the white area. I looked like the friggin' terminator, minus the broken sunglasses and melted skin and circuitry.

"Well, this is certainly surprising. Any knowledge of how this could possibly be happening to us? Because last time I check humans don't normally have color-changing eyes or spontaneously combust when they're pissed off."

"Hey, I think you look pretty cool with red eyes. It's certainly better than having your hair burst into flames and almost burn yourself to a crisp." We both chuckled at his statement for a bit, the light glancing off his pearly-white teeth causing me to wince. I couldn't help but blink a few times, and during one of them I noticed something else that had changed.

"Ummm, Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"You aren't to found of meat are you?"

He gave me a "Are you seriously asking me that?" look.

"Go ahead and put your finger in your mouth. Now tell me what you feel."

Dave complied and inserted a finger in his mouth, covering every inch of his teeth before his eyes began to widen. He repeated felt the area where his canines were, noticing that they had shrunk drastically and were no longer suited to tearing apart the flesh of once-living animals.

"Don'tfreakoutDon'tfreakoutDon'tfreak-" And he was freaking out.

At first his body trembled a bit, but then I noticed that his hair was once again on fire, but this time it was raging like an exploding volcano. It engulfed his entire body, his skin turning a dark charcoal black as veins of what appeared to be lava snaked across his body. His clothes were disintegrated almost instantly, unable to take the intense heat. His glowed similar to that of a demon, a fiery substance now replacing his eyes. When he opened his mouth to speak it was like the entrance to hell was located inside his mouth.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?"

"I HAVE NO IDEA!" I barely managed to shout the phrase, the flames consuming all the oxygen in the air.

"YOU OBVIOUSLY DID SOMETHING! AND NOW YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR IT!"

Demon-Dave roared in my face, the physical amount of anger and fear I felt in that single roar telling me that he was beyond the point of reasoning and ready to tear my face off. I took a few steps back, adrenalin now coursing through my body as my mind told. With a guttural shout he charged straight at me, the next few moments were a blur as my body acted faster then my mind. His claws were mere inches from my face when I suddenly I dropped to the ground, my back connecting with the tiled floor as he leapt towards me only to find empty air. I shot my legs out and felt them connect with his chest, using them to catapult him a good distance across the apartment, a whimper escaping from Dave's dog as he scampered away from the fight. I got up ninja style, my body snapping forward so that I stood once more on my feet. My back a bit sore but I found that I had no time to complain as a flaming beast was charging right at me. . I prepared to drop once more but I noticed that he was in a full sprint at this point so I could only hope to side-step and not to end up like a piece of KFC’s deep-fried chicken. Thankfully, he was to blinded by rage and confined by the narrow hallway to turn and instead went barreling past me. He kept on truckin’ until his feet connected with the side of the bathtub, his speed sending him head-over-heels and snapping the curtain rod in the process. I stood there for a moment as I caught my breath, thinking it was all over until the curtains suddenly burst into flames. As they burned, a even-angrier demonic Dave rose out of the ashes like phoenix. With a roar that would’ve put a lion to shame he leapt at me, his hands reaching for my throat but instead found gripped my hands

“YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!”

"I SWEAR I DIDN'T DO THIS! NOW GET OFF OF ME!"

I struggled to prevent him from coming any closer to my face, a burning sensation spread through my palms as the heat generated from his body began to sear my skin. I cried out in pain, both from the burning skin and the headache that returned tenfold within the confines of my head. I felt the same energy from before coursing through my veins as the creature that was formerly my roommate attempted to take a bit out of my face. I concentrated on getting him off of me, my hands once again glowing with the ethereal energy I had seen when I forced the table off of me. I grinned when I saw the beast's face, obviously surprised at my sudden change of expression. A roar of pain filled the air, this time it came from Demon-Dave as I crushed his flaming hands with my vice-like grip. I let go for a split second in order to let him retracted his hands, giving me the chance to shove my demented roommate away from me. He stumbled a bit, but then I followed up by barreled into him with all my might, which was apparently a lot judging by how far he went- his body was sent the entire distance of the hallway and all the way to the back of the bathroom before he crashed into the tile wall. The rest of the curtain, part of it already burned to ashes, caught on fire once more. The smell of smoke again filled the bathroom and the hall, distracting me from the cobalt-blue glow surrounding my hands, fading away moments later. I switched on the vents and turned the water all the way to maximum coldness, removing the removable shower head and pointing it at the smoldering mess that was my roommate.. Steam once again filled the bathroom and the hall as I struggled to put out the not-as-fierce-as-before inferno. Fortunately, it seemed that even a flaming lava-demon could be put out and eventually the allowed itself to be extinguished. After making sure that the flames were completely out, I flicked on the van and released a sigh when I saw that there was not a charred corpse but the unconscious form of Dave completely n-

OhgodwhyamIstilllookingathim?

I quickly closed my eyes and ran out into the hall, leaving behind the nude form of my roommate. After shaking the life-scarring image from my mind, I went down to the closet and grabbed a handful of blankets. I took a few deep breaths before entering the bathroom once more, the smoke now gone and the sound of a fan filling the room instead. In the show was Dave, who was now covered by what remained of the shower curtain. His body was trembling, his clothes no longer being able to retain his body heat which was being sucked away by the fan. I carefully laid the blankets over my roommate's shivering body. Dave stopped shivering and embraced the warmth of the blankets, causing a smile to form on my face.

"Night bro, see ya in the morning.....”

Dusk N' Scratch

Once upon a time, in the ancient land of Equus, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her mystical powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. Their subjects relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger of the two refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked being of darkness: Nightmare Moon.

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" You can run, but you'll die tired like the rest of your friends!" A voice thundered behind me, my mind to occupied with the job of dodging all these tree to even bother of thinking about looking back. I was in a forest of some sort, though it was clear that it wasn't a regular forest. Plants with jagged teeth and trees with claws leaped out at me, tearing at my flesh as I tore past them. I was running for my life, my throat dry and my breath raggedy. Every muscle in my body burned with the fury of a super-nova, my legs heavier then blocks of lead yet I still continued to run with all my might. As I continued to escape the perils of the forest I could not help but thinking that it was hopeless, the faint light I chasing after never growing closer but only farther and farther away. I wanted to stop, to lay down and to accept defeat but I was no longer in control. I was now riding shotgun in my own body, an unknown force compelling to follow the light which continued to elude my grasp. I felt the cold ground beneath my limbs as I ran, the sense of lingering darkness behind me growing stronger as my body grew weaker.

Finally, much to my horror and joy, my body collapsed from exhaustion. I felt a burning sensation in my body as chest rose and fell, my lungs gasping for oxygen but to no avail. My vision began to fade as the darkness crept up on me, my eyes beginning to glaze over. Every fiber of my being begged for to get up, to run away from the untold horror that awaited me in the shadows. I felt it, the cold touch and the sense of hopelessness that it brought as it consumed me. I greeted it with open arms, no longer caring if I lived as my organs began to shut down. The last thing to go was my brain which resisted the darkness up until the very last moment. I heard a lovely but haunting refrain accompanied by a cello as I drifted off into unconsciousness..

♪ Hush now, quiet now.

It's time to lay your sleepy head.

Hush now, quiet now.

Rest as you'll soon be dead.

Your friends lay in the grass

Your hopes and dreams shattered.

Their minds splintered like glass

Your body broken and battered.

And it was all for naught

As they were all you got.

In this world of pain and agony, the suffering unending….

Hush now, quiet now.

It's time to lay your sleepy head.

Hush now, quiet now.

As it will soon be the end.

Hush now, quiet now.

It's time to lay your sleepy head,

Hush now, quiet now.

As death’s cold embrace draws you closer to the edge… ♪

As the song faded into nothing, so did my body. I felt my entire being evaporate into thin air, the hungry darkness consuming it with every passing second. Yet somehow my lips were able to form a single word before I blinked out of existence.

“Octavia….”

I woke up from the terrifying dream, my chest heaving and sweat flowing down my forehead. I quickly looked around me to see if I had awoken in the demonic forest, but I let out a long sigh when I only saw the comforting blue walls of my bedroom.

“Phew, it was just a dream. No, wait. That’s not the right word…. Ah yes, Nightmare. That’s what it was, a nightmare. Nothing more.” I just sat there for a moment, repeating the phrase over and over in my head until my body stopped trembling. Wait, when did it start trembling? And why were my clothes soaked in sweat?

“Oh yeah, the nightmare. Oh well, good time as any to clean up” I went over to my dresser and grabbed a fresh pair of pants along with a T-shirt.

It wasn’t the first time I had experience a dream like that. I’ve had plenty over the years, with most of them being about my father and the gunmen. It was always the same. He would be smiling at me, his face full of joy. The next moment he was dead, riddled with bullet holes as the Gunmen advanced toward me menacingly. I’d scream, run, anything. Heck I even threw the vinyl records at them once but in the end it always ended the same. With me closing my eyes as I felt the cold steel of the sub-machine gun’s barrel against my flesh. Even thinking about it made a shiver run down my spine but none of them came even close to the one I had experienced. It was if I had been placed inside the dream in real life, the phantom wounds and pain feeling as real as any. I felt that it was important, that I was missing something that was obvious but I decided to think about it while enjoying nice, steaming hot shower.

I made a left in the hallway, Dave’s room right across from mine and to the right of that was the office that I liked to call his little ‘Hibernation Cave’ due to him spending almost all his time in there. I heard the clanking of keys coming from the room as I shut the door, taking of my clothes. I reached for my glasses to take them off, only to remember that they were on my desk. I shrugged and pulled back the shower curtains, turning up the heat to high. I let out a pleasant ‘Ahhh…’ as the heated liquid hit my back, doing wonders for my tensed muscles. I leaned forward to grab the blue bar of soap at the other end of the shower when I felt something mushy on the sole of my foot. I looked down and my face morphed into a mask of horror when I saw it was a pile of ash.

A shocking revelation came to me in the next few moments, my jaw threatening to hit the floor as I recalled last night's events. It had been real, the entire thing. Dave bursting into fire, me knocking him into the shower twice, Dave nearly killing me… Wow, how am I not in a hospital? I should have third-degree burns all over my body yet here I am, perfectly fine.

“Man, can this week get any weirder?”

I, again, decide to shrug this off like I did last night: By listening to some tunes. My hand shot out to the area above the toilet, feeling around until I felt a rough surface. I counted the buttons dotting it, pressing the forth in the single row. I heard the power up of the wireless blue-tooth speaker, a loud “!” alerting that it was active and reporting for duty.

“Select: Tony's iPod, Playlist: three, Song: Shuffle.” I commanded aloud, smiling as I heard the familiar voices of the band members of Queen. I mouthed the words as “We will rock you” played, cleaning my body as I did so. The song had an awesome beat but was surprisingly short, much to my disappointment when it ended almost two minutes later. At this point I had finished cleaning my hair and next my body, banging my head as “Welcome to the Family” by Avenge Seven-fold played in the background. Few minutes later I stepped out of the shower, the song just now ending as I snatched a towel from the nearby wrack. I looked over my shoulder and saw that Dave, sometime after the fight, had duck-taped the curtain back together and replaced the burned textile with the original that had been in place when we moved in.

“Have tape, will fix.” I said to myself as I dried my hair, feeling it spring back up to its normal shape as I threw the towel back on the rack. I walked over to the mirror just to see if my eyes will still the strange red color they had turned yesterday, and lo and behold, they were. I did some expressions, seeing if they drastically changed how they looked but aside from making me look even scarier when I made an angry face, nothing had really changed. Well, besides my hair that is. I looked closely at my hair, noting that it was definitely a different color then the chestnut brown I had seen last night. It seemed lighter, almost gaining a blue-ish hue to it. I thought about it for a second, then I remembered the blue soap.

"Oh yeah." Is all I say, no more words necessary to be used on such a trivial matter. I grab my toothbrush and the toothpaste, laying on a good amount of the stuff. There was no way I was going to go through the same thing Dave did with his teeth. Its safe to say that I brushed for the next few minutes, polishing my teeth and spitting occasionally as Iron Man by Black Sabbath blared through the Bluetooth speakers. I spit once more into the sink, switching off my electric toothbrush and setting it on its charger. I looked in the mirror to examine my handwork when I saw that my hair color had changed.

Again.

It had lost some more of its brownish color in favor of a mid-hue blue, the color still underdeveloped.I grunted as I plunged my head into the flowing stream that was coming out of the faucet, eager to get rid of this atrocity that was taking over my hair. I looked up at my soaking wet hair and much to my disappointment, still saw the the blue tinge in my hair. I repeated the process again, but this time with cold water. I brushed the stands of blue hair out of my face and saw that it was, indeed, still blue. If anything, it seemed that it had grown a bit. My bangs were now covering the left side of my face, hiding my ear and part of my eye.

"Great, magical soap that changes the color and length of your hair! All I need is a broom and I can be the techno-wizard/witch of the Western side of Atlanta!" I stared at myself in the mirror for a moment, my red eyes only helping me in my quest to look the world's most pissed-off DJ. Which I probably, was granted the time and the current situation I was in. I wrapped a fresh towel around my waist and kicked open the door with so much force I could of sworn I saw the hinges move.

I looked in curiosity at my legs and why they were so strong when I saw that they looked a bit more muscular then yesterday, but not by much. You'd be surprised by how much heavy lifting I do with moving all the equipment around. I flexed my leg muscles a bit and smiled, but then I remembered my hair and my smile morphed into a frown. I felt like barging in there and just giving him the good ol' one-two but wearing at towel would really limit my fighting capability if he burst into flames again. Logic wins once more in my life and I go into my room, slamming the door behind me. I discarded the towel in favor of my comfortable jeans and white T-shirt, checking myself out in the small oval mirror that adorned one of my walls. I had to admit I didn't look half back with the whole unnatural-blue hair and red eyes, though something was missing. I scoured my room looking for this object of interest, letting out a 'Ah-ha!' when I found them.

"There you are!" I dug my Numark RED WAVE headphones out from their spot under a pile of clutter, placing them around my neck. The black and red color went surprisingly well with my new 'do, though I looked a bit silly with my glasses which didn't contribute much.

"I should probably get new frames along with new lenses. May I could get them in purple? Yeah, purple transition lenses sound cool." I nodded a few times, my hair bouncing up and down along with my head. Damn that felt weird. I opened the door and walked down to the office, preparing to knock on the door but I decided against it. It was time for some revenge. I quietly rotated the knob and shifted my weight to the balls of my feet, remembering how it was quieter then walking on your heels or flat-footed. I opened the door slightly, allowing me peek in on what he was doing which was probably gaming or surfing the net. What I found really surprised me.

He was voice chatting with someone.

Dave, being the extremely paranoid and anti-social person he is, never chats with anyone and never says or types anything that could possibly give away his identity or even a hint to his location. He always uses an alias or user name, doesn't even bother filling out the “Where I’m from/Where I am” or his profile info. Like I said before, he believes that there’s someone or something out there trying to kill him. But if he’s voice chatting with someone, I can only guess what he’s trying to do… which results in me ease dropping. I peer into the room and notice that its, well, clean. Clean as an alcoholic can make it I guess anyways. There were piles of chip bags( all-natural potato chips mind you), groups of beer bottles, stacks of papers, and various other things all neatly organized. Since when did he ever become neat? Or clean for that matter?

“-so you think that these….hypothetical powers could manifest in reality under certain circumstances?”

“Indeed I do. During the medieval ages there were reports of mages and wizards having most unnatural abilities such as controlling the weather, teleporting, and even moving celestial bodies.. To see one of those manifest in a person today would not surprise me in the slightest due to all the genetic manipulation and DNA-splicing occurring. Why do you ask?”

"Damn she has a nice voice..."That was all I could think at the moment, my mind suddenly at ease. I guess I would let it slide just this once.....

Nah, just kidding.

“Well, you see… I-“

I kicked open the door, interrupting him mid-sentence. “-set myself on fire and got my ass handed to me by a totally awesome guy with red eyes.” I finished for him.

“Oh uh hey… To-Stark! W-what are you doing here?” I watched Dave struggle to close out the chat box, a smiling forming on my face as he tried to cover it up. Tad bit late there boyo.

“Nothing much, just thought I’d pop in and ask…. why the hell you did this to my hair!” I pointed to the blue mess that sat above my head.

“I-I had nothing to do with that!” He’s an awful liar; always has, always will be.

“Admit it; you were upset because I totally kicked your ass even while you were on fire! And not to mention your teeth got turned all…. What’s the word again? Vegetarian? Vegan? Something to do will plants….”

“Herbivore-y?”

“Yeah, Herbivore-y. So for revenge you bought some strange soap that turned my hair some weird shade of blue!”

“Check again, my two-toned friend.” My snarky friend tossed a mirror my way which I caught with a trained hand. I looked at it and I was honestly surprised to see that I had one, no, two (count ‘em, TWO) light blue strips dividing the larger, darker sections of hair. I ran my hand through my hair, even more baffled to see that each and every strand was as evenly colored as the top layer. “The hell is going on here?”

“You tell me Einstein, I’m just as clueless as you.” Dave pointed to his own hair, which had grown a considerable length and went past his shoulders. It was even stranger then mine, with multiple strips of purple but only one being a pinkish color. His eye color had also changed to a shade of purple.

“Woah, looks like Barney took a dump on you and then barfed. Seriously dude.”

“Well at least I don’t look I stuck my finger in a socket ‘Sparky’.”

I bit my lip for a moment, trying to think up a clever retort. “Hey, I thought you called me Stark earlier, Twilight.

I nearly fell down laughing when i saw how red his face had turned. It looked like he had eaten a handful of Ghost peppers or something.

"I told you, I only watched the movies to see how Werewolves and Vampires were portrayed! I didn't know it was going to be so sappy and shitty!"

Dave glared at me as I continued laughing at his face but I stopped when I heard a deep sigh come out of the speakers. I gave ‘Twilight’ a quizical look as spun in his chair and looked down at the program bar, his face turning a flustered shade of red when his saw that the voice chat was still active.

“Oh, I’m sorry that you had hear all that Celestialbodies. I thought I had closed the chat earlier.”

“It’s… not an issue. And you can just call me Celestia from now on.”

“Whatever you say ‘Celestia’…." At least it was a decent name, and no where as near as bad as Pooplord or something like the names you usual see on the 'net. "So how did you and ‘Twilight’ here meet?”

“Oh, we meet quite a while ago. Sometime last year if I recall correctly. Twas when we were playing the game Age of Chivalry, a mid-evil multiplayer game of sorts. He was an archer and I was Knight leading troops into battle. He would pick off stragglers as we cut our way through enemy lines, ensuring a quick and easy win. After that, I congratulated him on the strategy seeing how most arches just run around and get themselves killed while he actually worked with the team."

"But I couldn't have done it alone, seeing how you were the one with enough skill to make a real-time adaptions to your battle plans as combat raged around you. I just picked off any that threatened to come up behind you."

This was taking forever.

"Stil-"

"Looks 'Celestia', I was ganna let you finished but I didn't want your whole history. Now, what were you talking about before? It sounded very scientific and magic-y at the same time."

"Oh, we were discussing the sudden disappearance of the loggers and how the companies involved knew that there had been strange reports of the weather suddenly changing and unnatural sounds coming from the forest. Its a shame to see people carelessly thrown away like that, such a waste of potential....” It seemed that her mood had suddenly changed from sad to serious at the change of topic.

“Have there been any reports of a sudden feeling of dread overtaking anyone near it or living shadows?” I ask, recalling the horrible nightmare from last night.. I couldn't help but think that there was connection between my creepy dream and the forest.

“Living shadows? You mean the Vashta Nerada?” Dave suggested.

I hate you Dave.

“Please explain what a ‘Vashta Nerada’ is, I have not yet heard such of a creature.” Poor soul thinks their real.

“Something that's made up." I quickly answer, preferring not to dig through my memories to recall what they were. I hate to admit it, but I was a huge sci-fy fan a few years ago, watching everything from Doctor Who to Transformers. The first movie was pretty good but I hated in Dark of the Moon how they killed off Iron Hide.

"Still, it would not hurt to know what they are."

"Fine." Damn girls, always asking what things are all the time. "The Vashta Narada are microscopic creatures that live in the shadows, feasting on anything foolish enough to step into them. They're next to impossible to find unless you got a bucket full of chicken legs or you see someone with two shadows."

"And what does it mean if something has two shadows?"

"It's basically screwed."

A simple 'Oh." was all I got in reply. An awkward silence follow suit but eventually 'Celestia' broke the ice and continued the friendly conversation. "Now, would you kindly tell why you asked about these “living shadows” and how they pertain to the disappearance of the loggers?”

“Well, I had a pretty… bazaar dream last night but if you’re probably not interested...."

“I’ve probably heard stranger things on my time exploring the internet, please carry on.” Did I mention that she had a beautiful voice? Because if I didn't I'll say it now: Damn she has a beautiful voice.

“Alright, if you insist… When the dream, rather nightmare, started, it felt I had jumped into a high-octane action movie right when the hero is trying to outran the badguys, expect in this case it was not a concert jungle I was running through but an actual forest and I was sweating like crazy as I ran for my life. Everywhere I looked were these massive, creepy-looking trees in a place where the sun don't shine. I was being chased by god-knows-what but I never turned around, never looked back in the fear that it would be right behind me. I ran deeper and deeper into the forest, chasing a light that never seemed to get any closer. I kept running and running, trying to escape whatever was trying to get me but I knew I would not win. Eventually, I collapsed and just… gave up.”

“You gave up? Why?”

“My body ached more then it ever had before, every fiber of my being feeling like it had molten lead being poured onto it. I couldn't get up even if I had wanted to, so I just gave in. But it was just a dream, so no harm no foul right?”

“I see…. And do you think that the Vashta Nerada is what got you in the end?”

“Best guess, seeing that's what it must've been like to have the flesh stripped off yours bones in seconds but I don’t think they could shout so loud that you could hear from the other end of the planet or sound female.”

“So it was something else then… Have you given it a name?”

“Never thought about giving a name…. Didn't seem necessary at the time, though I guess it is easier to remember then ‘That thing that got me at the end of my dream that made me feel like my body was slowly disintegrating’.”

Dave butted his way back into the conversation, not liking it that I had become so chummy with his new, strangely female, friend. “How about Nightmare, or a Nightmare seeing how that’s where you first encountered it.”

I shrug my shoulders, neither praising the name nor discarding it. “Eh, if the crown fits…”

"Now all we need is name for the forest, seeing that it is one of the major topics now floating around the 'net..."

Now it was my turn to contribute. "How about the Everfree?"

I heard someone almost fall out of their chair and it defiantly wasn't Dave as he was just staring at me. What? I didn't think it was that bad of a name...

"Hey Celestia, you alright? You sounded like you just had a heart attack."

"No, my uhhh... cat just leaped up on the keyboard and scared me, that's all." Sure.....

"Whatever you say... So now what do we do now that we've established a designated title for the forest and whatever is lurking inside it?" Woo, go me for using big words! Wait, why am I trying to impress her? Should I? I probably should at this point. I mean if Dave was able to catch her metaphorical eye.....

"Easy: Search around the 'net and see if anyone else has gotten information on the Everfree, ya know compile notes and stuff."

"Since when did you care about this?"

"Since I put two and two together! Our bodies began to change around the same time people starting messing with the forest, stupid. Besides, people just don't have nightmares about a forest that killed thirteen people right after reading the article."

"How'd you know I read the article?" How did he know? Is he Snoopy? Sir Snoop? Sir Snoopsalot? How do Knight titles work anyways?

"You left it on the top of the stack, it'd be stupid of me not to notice." Crap, forgot about how sharp he can be at time.

"Your already stupid enough as you are 'Twilight', it'd be next to impossible for you to get any dumber."

"Stop calling me that!" Ha, he looked funny when he was mad with his eyes being covered by his hair. It was like talking to a furball.

"Only if you stop calling me Sparky. Call me Scratch instead." Always wanted to use that name, never found a good time 'till now.

"Fine, but then what's my new nick-name?" Complained Dave.

"How about Dusk? It sounds more... manly then Twilight for sure." Suggested Celestia. Man, she's full of good ideas isn't she? Wouldn't be surprised if he fancied her a bit, I mean I fancied her a bit..

Wait, wasn't Dusk the opposite of Twilight? Ah, I see what you did there.....

Dave opened him mouth to protest but he bit his lip instead, apparently unable to come up with anything better. "Dusk it is..."

"Alright, we'll it seems with that issue solved I'm gonna head back to work. See you two love birds later..." And with that I walked out of the room, grinning madly as calamity ensued.

"Wha? But we-"

"I'd never-"

"Perish the thought!"

"We're just friends!"

Oh the joys of causing chaos. Besides, whats the point of being serious all the time if you can't fun every once in a while?

The Princess of the Night

Roughly thirty minutes later after leaving the Dave and his new girlfriend,I found myself in a parking lot located near the Naughty Ostel. I was hardly surprised to see that the place was nearly packed. Muscle cars, sports cars, and just about every other car you could think of filled the spaces. Man, it's ganna be one heck of a night.... I turned the car off and hopped out of the car, nearly slipping and falling in a puddle as my shoes made contact with the extra step I had installed. I swear that thing is going to be the death of me one way or another, but hey it beats falling flat on your face every time you forget that it's raised a good foot of the ground. I pull up my hood as cross the street, the mass of hair sitting upon my head barely covered by it. A good portion of it sticks out over the right side of my face, but doesn't obscure my vision in the slightest. I make my way over to the entrance of the building, ducking under the front cable and positioning myself at the front of the line. I heard various phrases thrown at me, most of them along the lines of "Get to the back of the line!", "Hey I was here first!" and "Who do you think you are?"

I grin a bit as I make my way to the door, but was stopped by a large man in a black suit. Wow, I forgot how big Louis is.

His brown, bald head is a good six inches above mine and looks down at me with a blank expression. "Sorry, nobody is allowed in until Tony arrives." His booming voice silences the crowd, many looking at me with a surprised expression while the others were mouthing the words 'Fight!' What, did they honestly think I could take him on? I'd be flat as a pancake and dead as prisoner on death-row.

I lifted up my glasses and gave him my best smile showing him the key around my neck.. He was obviously surprised by the change in color as he undid the latch on the rope. "Sorry I'm late, car issues."

He just stood there motionless as I unlocked the door, the antticpation of a fight dissappearing as the door swung wide open. . "Alright everyone, it's time to party!" The people waiting behind me suddenly start cheering as I unlock the club, holding it open for the first few dozen people. I quickly made my way inside, blending with the crowd as they surged onto the dance floor while a good portion of them headed for the bar. Me? I made my way over to the turntables and plugged in my iPod. Now, which song to play first? Ah, here we go: Let's listen to.... The First of Me by Hoobastank!

A few hours later and the party is in full swing. The beat is pumping, couples are talking, a few people are proposing, and someone just got dumped. See nothing interesting, I turn my gaze to the bar and see a few guys are sitting down and drinking, some of them having a few rounds while one of the others pukes his guts out. Must've tried the imported vodka, poor dude. Oh, it looks like one of his friends is going to help him aaaaaand he gets puked on. He throws a punch but misses, pegging another guy straight in the jaw. Oh man this is getting good. Better grab the popcorn and s-

"Hey Scratch!" A voice calls out in the club, distracting me from the classic bar fight scene. I look down from my stand and see a lady, or should I say young women judging by her looks, with dark hair. She's wearing a black jacket, partially obscuring the crescent moon printed on her midnight-blue shirt. Her pants are none other then a pair of denim jeans, which also have a crescent moon stitched onto the pockets. And her eyes, man those things shone like the night sky. Over-all, she looked infinitely better then your average party-goer. Some probably say she was hot, but since I wasn't piss-drunk I wasn't going to say that to her face. Not yet anyways. "Yeah, what it is?"

I mentally slapped my self. 'Yeah, what is it?' Best way to hit off a conversation with a extremely nice-looking person. That was smooth move Tony, real smooth.

"I wish to speak to you in private." I look around, seeing if there's anyone else she could be talking to. I see none and point to myself, which results in her rolling her eyes and doing a crooked nod. Well, if shes sober enough to ask... I step down from my raised platform and make my way over to her. "If you wanna talk in private then we can go backstage if you want, though staying out in the open isn't the best way to keep something secret."

"Very well, I shall follow you." Definitely sober. Or so drunk that she's acting sober. Regardless I lead her through the crowd rocking it out to Linkin Park, ending up having to hold on to her arm so that she wasn't lost in the maze of people that shifted around her. Thirty seconds of pushing people out of the way later we arrive at the empty stage with me still holding her arm. I notice this and quickly let go, smiling a bit as I see her blush a bit despite her best effort to hide it. "Alright, before we talk I want to make sure we get two things straight: One: My name isn't Sparky or Scratch or anything like and Two: Yes, I did dye my hair and no, I will not tell you how i did it."

"Then why did you respond to Scratch?"

"I didn't."

"Yes you did,"

"No, I didn't."

"Whatever you say...."

"So what is it that you want to talk to me about?"

The girl, who for had become distracted by a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her face, suddenly reentered reality and blinked a few times. "Ah yes, now I remember. Do you know who I am?"

Like hell I don't but I wished I did. I looked at her choice of clothing once more, the moons and stuff reminding me a bit of History class with the Romans and the Greeks. I take my time and make an act out of it by scrunching up my face, letting out a long 'hmmmmm....'

"I'm going to take a wild guess and go with Luna."

"Actually, I- Wait, you guessed Luna?" If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was surprised at my guess. Lucky me.

"Unless my guess changed in the last five seconds, yeah I guess Luna."

"Oh," Her face seemed to deflate a bit. Woah, I hope I didn't say anything wrong. "Well, your the first I have met to guess my name correctly. Most, for some odd reason, responded with 'Artimis' or 'Goddess of the Night' and made some very unusual comments.. Do you know why?"

"Eh, I can think of a few reasons but I'm pretty sure you didn't drag me over here just to discuss what people call you so let's get down to business: What is it that you want from me?"

Now it was Luna's turn to make a face as her brows furrowed together, looking as if she forgot something but suddenly remembered what is it. She reached into a bag I had not noticed before an pulled out a manila envelope. "This contains files and pictures regarding the Everfree forest. I'd like you to have them."

"Dang, I was hoping for a few body shots and a phone number but hey a guy can dream..." It takes me a second to realize I just said that. Out-loud. In front of her. I face palm hard upon noticing that.

The 'Goddess of the Night' cocks an eyebrow at me. "Are you coming on to me?" Luna now had a judging look on her face, her arms cross and eyes looking at me in a very judging way. Oh jeez she looked so cute and serious at the same time when she does that... Gah, what am I saying?

"W-what? Me? No, no way would I ever hit on you like that! Besides, I'm not that kind of guy!" I feel my cheeks become warm as I waved my hands wildly as I try to dismiss the notion.

"Really? Then what kind of guy are you?" Woah, didn't see that one coming.

I start to speak but then I stop, taking a second to think over this. When someone asks you a personal question like that, you don't spit out the first few words that come to mind, you really have to dig deep and see who you really are. After a moment I answer her question carefully. "I'm the kind of guy you would depend on, one who could help you out of trouble and even a shoulder to cry on if you need one. I'm not one to take advantage of someone even if they are drunk or in a tight spot. I can be serious at times but not all the time. I guess I'm just a fun-loving guy who just happens to be a good DJ." We both stood there for a while after that, neither of us saying anything but you can only guess at how surprised I was went I felt her lips brush against mine and the tingling sensation I felt. It was like having a taste of a gourmet meal, only to have the dish taken away right before you go in for another bite.

"Good, because that's what I wanted to hear but I'm pretty sure that no one wants to hear Kids Bob in a nightclub." I just stare at in surprise for a moment as she vanishes from my view, her words registering in my brain roughly thirty seconds later.

"Crap!" I rush off the stage, forcing my way through the crowd to the DJ station as "Who let the Dogs out" blarred through the speakers.

After that, the kiss I mean, not the Kids Bob part, the night pass like a flowing river as I mixed music like never before. I'm pretty sure that never before has someone mixed classical music with dubstep, and then made it so that the song is centered on a cello. It was pretty damn beautiful. I'm sure that at one point that least half of the club literal dropped what they were doing and just stood and listened to the masterpiece I had created. My body tingled with excitement, knowing that this was my creation and that I was the best at what I did.

For the first time since my Dad's death, I felt happy.

An eletrifying preformance

It was a dark and stormy day in the city of Atlanta, clouds gathering overhead for a downpour. The storm had been gathering for days, but only now was it beginning to release it payload. The target of the drops of rain was the Naughty Ostel, a club for those who just wished to have a good time and have a few rounds doing so. Despite its seemingly suggestive name, it had a reputation of being one of the most popular clubs in the city and there were no real rooms inside, just a massive dance floor. The Naughty Ostel had just closed its doors, its dance floor empty and the speakers silent. Inside was one person, the owner of the club...

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

I pulled my black iPod out of my right pocket, my finger pressing down on the screen button. I looked down at the bright screen and was surprised when the time read one fifteen. It had been fifteen minutes since everyone had left, leaving me alone in the club. "Closing time already? Dang, seems like we just opened, amazing how time flies when your sitting up here jamming along with a hundred other people. Oh well, better start preparing for tonight."

I jumped down from by station by the turntable booth, my white hoodie catching some wind and puffing it up. I patted it down before walking over to a nearby mirror, checking myself out to see if I still looked decent. My brown hair was still looked unkempt, though there was not much you could do with hair as short of mine. I was thinking growing out a bit or maybe even dying it a just a bit for a little more oomph. As for my glasses the transition lenses were already returning to their normal transparency, the dark tint gradually disappearing. I've had them for quite a while and my eyesight has gotten a bit blurrier. It was probably time to get a new pair. My Numark RED WAVE headphones were still around my neck, finishing off my DJ look.

"Not bad, not bad at all for dealing with seven drunks and a girl believing shes a magical creature.Though there's something missing, something too complete the look. Oh well, I can focus on it later when I'm laying in my recliner with a cold beer and some chips. For now I gotta clean up this place, its a mess." I plugged in my Numark headphones and music begins to blar into my ears. I sing along to the songs I know, though to must people I probably sounded like a dying cat being put through the wringer. Right now Paul Revere was playing, one of my all-time favorites songs by the Beastie Boys.

As Adam and his boys told their little tale I went over to the Supply closest to retrieve the mob and its corresponding bucket. The key to the Supply closest hung around my neck, making me fish around for it while I continued to bob my head to the music. Eventually I found the key and slide it into the lock, a reassuring click telling me that it was indeed the right one. I turned the handle and swung my hand around feeling for the chain that would turn on the lights. When I felt the cold metal I immediately grabbed hold, not wanting to make the mistake of whacking it to hard and getting it caught like last time. The light flickered on, causing me to wince as the sudden brightness seared my pupils. I blocked the light with my hand until the afterimage faded from my eyes, something I had still yet adopt to despite the strobe lights that constantly flashed on and off throughout the night. I made my way towards the bucket and mop, using my free hand to pull the chain once more as I wheeled the cleaning supplies out of the closest. I didn't bother locking it as I would just end up wasting more time fishing for the key later on.

It had been a prosperous night, the place had been filled to the brim with drunks and party-goers. Several of those drunks had made the foolish decision to take a massive swig of the imported Vodka he had bought not to long ago, a single sip being able to knock out a rhino. The paramedics had come over earlier to drag the poor guys out and helped clean up the mess, though a vast majority of it was still left. Red solo cups littered the floor along with pizza and various other kinds of food, with the cookies and punch nearly gone from their place on the serving tables next to the door. I sighed on my way over to the tables, pouring a glass and swishing it around in my mouth. It tasted strange, like someone had attempted to spike it with alcohol but instead put in sparkling grape juice or something. It left a tingling sensation on my tongue but I quickly dismissed it with a bite from a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie.

They were a surprising hit with the party-goers, something I had found out when Dave had visited one time and left a box of his favorite cookies on the table. I received compliments throughout the night on how they were different from what was normally served. Quite a few of them had asked if I would serve them again, which I replied with the universal shrug of "I don't know." Fortunately for me and the customers, Dave kept a whole stash of the things under his bed and end up taking a few packs every once in a while. It wasn't like he was going to be able to eat all thirty packs of cookies. The strangest effect the cookies had was that they made you want to do things you don’t normally do, something I had witness first hand when a regular started drinking and ended up buying everyone a drink. Needless to say, that was one the highlights of my career and one of the funniest too. I plopped the mop into the chemical bucket, scraping off the leftover pizza and puke that caked it. I dunked it a few extra times times just in case before continue cleaning, the sound of splashing of water filling the club. I repeated this process for the next few hours, gradually making my way to the western end of the building. It had taken a bit longer the unusual but the floor was now spotless. All that was left to tidy up the tables and get rid of anything that could not be salvaged. I began clearing off the tables and putting the rest of the punch into a container. Thirty minutes of cleaning off the tables and getting rid of the trash I held a bag weighing in at least ten pounds filled to the capacity with food. I'd have to remind myself later to see if we have any alcohol left in the fridge, the taste of punch still lingered in my mouth like string of meat caught between my teeth.

I walked over to the door with the bright green EXIT sign and placed a big rock in front of the door, with the door being one-way it would be very unwise for me to close it. The door itself led to an ally that was completely empty aside from the giant steel green and blue bins that sat left to the door. I hauled the black trash bag over my should and heaved with all my might, struggling to get it over the top of the blue bin. With a soft *THUNK* the bag hit the landed on last week's garbage, telling me that I would have to make a call to the trash collectors and have them pick it up in a few days... I wiped my hands on denim jeans, not caring much if they got dirty as they were pretty easy to clean. I re-entered the club and moved the rock out of the way, standing by the door until I heard it close with a click. Now it was time to check up on all the electronics and back stage and see if the still worked properly. A few weeks back one of the speakers had blown out and a band ended up playing with only half the club being able to hear it properly. I grabbed a checklist from a hook on the wall, whipping out a pen to check off everything on the list.

"Let's see what we have first... Speakers? Check.”

“Sub-woofers? Check.”

“Microphone? A bit slobbered on but check.”

As I marked off the rest of the items, the sound of something rustling caught his attention as my headphone had been silent for quite a while.. I scrolled down to the bottom of the list and saw the last thing on it, using the pen to make a exaggerated strike through the box.

“Drunk caught up in the wires? Triple Check.” It wouldn't be the first time I would be doing an inspection and wound up hauling some piss-drunk person out of the mess of cables snaking from the equipment. I tossed the pen in the air as I walked over to where I heard the rustling, watching it as it spun and caught it. I was suddenly holding it like a combat knife, a few games of Black Ops from a few years back refreshing my mind on how to properly hold the improvised weapon.

“Alright, come out slowly and follow the sound of my voice. As long as you don’t do anything stupid, you’re not ganna get hurt.” I peered around the corner of one of the larger piece of equipment, looking around it to see if any was 'drowning' in the sea of cables that covered the back of the stage. When not a limb or any other body part became visible I went back out into the open, my paranoia getting the best of me and I ended up spending the next ten minutes searching for an invisible intruder. When nothing came up then, I gave up and sat in a empty chair. I scrolled through my playlists until I settled for Avenge Seven-fold, Nightmare now playing in the background as I placed my headphones around my neck once more.

“Huh, guess it was just my imagination. But just in case someone did tamper with the equipment it could cause some issues at the up-coming Annual Summer Celebration. I'd hate to make an awesome speech and end up looking like a fool with no music playing."

The ASC, as most called it, was a huge gathering of all kinds of people. Artists, musicians, potters, and even DJs like myself all met under one roof to celebrate the glory of Summer. Not to mention it was also a great place to show of your skills and pick up a few sponsors along the way. It was also the year that I would finally revealing my masterpiece, a project that I have been working on for the last few years of my career. It had taken countless hours to carefully build and dozens of custom-made parts but it would all be worth it in the end. I yanked back the curtains covering the area marked EMPLOYEES ONLY and took a gander at one of the largest bass-generating devices ever to grace the planet. It was a combination of various bass and sub-woofers, with the dominate feature being a large speaker head taking a up a majority of the space on the front side while four regular-sized ones sat in each corner of the same face. The monstrosity stood at least eight feet tall, dwarfing me by a good foot and seven inches, filled with some of the most advance sound equipment money could buy. The specs were a bit sketchy but it could crank out an amazing 170 decibels of sound though the regulator kept it from reaching that number by limiting the max to 100 decibels, which was still loud enough to hear over a roaring crowd. Various other machines and devices related to sound quality were also hooked up to the gargantuan hybrid, dozens of red lights indicating that they were all switched off.

"Good, everything appears to be in its proper place. Now let's see if everything is fully operational." I walked over to the equipment besides the massive thing and began flicking all the switches to the 'On' position. The dials took a bit longer then expect but then again there were over thirty of them and only one of me. Few minutes later I was ready to see what this bad-boy could really instead of just reading the data from some program on my laptop. I had initially planned to have it first be used in the Celebration but it was always a good idea to have a few test runs before showing something off.

"Alright, now lets see what I should play tonight. Hmmm... Hero? Nah, played that to much. Soundtracks? Eh, forgot which songs had the most sound. Hold on, what's this? Bass cannon? Sounds cool."

I unwound the auxiliary jack and plugged it into the headphone slot, no music blaring through the speakers just yet. It took a while for the electricity to reach the subwoofer-bass hybrid due to the sheer length of the cables and their thickness. When it began to take longer then usual I decided to investigate. A quick scan of the floor revealed a stray cable originating from the back of one of the many machines.

"Hmm, guess something got disconnected. I better check the c-AHH" The electricity had finally reached the massive machine, the rims around each speaker head glowing with a neon-blue light as they powered up. I had a millisecond to notice them but it was to late, as my body was suddenly hit with a billion vibrating particles. I screamed in surprise and fear as my body sailed through the area. I felt weightless for a few moments, as if I was flying but that quickly ended when I collided with the wall. I felt something warm flow down the back of my neck, a tingly feeling taking over my body as I drifted off into unconsciousness...

♪ What do you see, beyond the Everfree?

Seek the castle with the wooden doors.

It is home to none, though it will soon be yours.

Then find the keys that unlock the gate

Least you meet a grisly fate

Great chaos will be unleashed

Tame the untamable, defeat the undefeatable

Only then will you be released.

That is what lays beyond the Everfree. ♪

I woke up with a jolt. That song, that melody... I had heard one of the two before, but I couldn't recall. It was like an old memory, one that happened long ago or one I didn't want to remember. The words evaded my mind but one seemed to stay firmly planted- "Everfree". It sounded familiar like the tune, but again I couldn't place it.

With this strange name tucked in the recesses of my mind, I attempted to stand, only I feel pain shoot through my body like lightning as the table pinning my legs dug into my flesh. I blinked a few times to clear my eyes of the tears building up, the very notion of losing my legs sent a wave of panic through my mind. I once heard of a guy who had to saw his own arm off after having it pinned by a boulder for three days straight, almost dying from the lack of food and water. Again, this wasn't helping me in this current situation aside from making me panic even more. I opened my mouth and wanted to scream, but I didn't as the walls had been sound-proof'd due to the many complaints of the music "being to loud". Instead, I forced myself to calm down and think about this in a rational way. "Okay, my legs are pinned by a stone table. I need to get out of here. The first is to not panic, the second thing is to... to...." Damn it! I couldn't think of anything. I face-palmed, setting a similar reaction to when your press the detonator button hooked up to a ton of explosives. A furious pain ignited in my forehead, my skull nearly exploding from the intense pain and pressure I was experiencing. It was a pain unlike any other; its fury matched by none. It was like someone had poured molten lava into my head were it expanded to thirty times the capacity of my head. This time I screamed so loud I bet my ancestors could hear it in the afterlife. My voice filled the club's empty air with a piercing scream of agony, the hard walls reflecting and redirecting it right back at me tenfold. I must've scream for a good five minutes before I stopped, my breath now ragged and shallow as my lungs attempted to gather oxygen from the surrounding air. Moments passed as I laid there, tears streaming down my face as I realized just how helpless I was. I was going to die here, cold and alone just like my father....

**No!* I was not going to die, specially not here. The past would not be repeated.*

I gritted my teeth as the headache returned tenfold, my mind racing as a sudden burst of energy began to flow throughout my entire being. I suddenly felt like I could do anything I put my mind to, and right now that was getting this damn table off of me. I placed my arms on the stone surface of the table, my hands now glowing with a ethereal energy. I felt something click in my mind and I suddenly knew what to do. I pushed with all my might, the strange glow surrounding my hands amplifying my strength to the point of being super-human. With a grunt I felt the weight of the table vanish, flying through the air like a eagle piloting a blimp before crashing to the ground with a thunderous BOOM.I felt blood beginning to flow once more through my legs as I heaved myself up off the ground. As I stood up over the shattered remains of the stone table now laying at my feet the sensation surround my hands vanished, a sudden wave of lightness filled the confines of my skull. I clutched my head, but stopped when the headache vanished. It was like the pain had completely disappeared, banished by my sudden burst of power.

"Okay, I guess I have super-strength now or something." I wiggled my legs, grinning madly as I felt my toes move in my shoes. They felt odd to move, confined to my shoes. I wanted to kick them off but thought better of it when I saw that the floor was littered with shattered glass from the over-head light bulbs. I glanced around to see if anything else was damaged, but It appeared that aside from the shattered remains of the table and the broken bulbs in front of the bass-subwoofer nothing else was destroyed even in the loosest sense of the term.

I carefully made my way around the crushed stone, my legs still a bit unresponsive from the lack blood. I took it one step at a time, gradually navigating my way over to the massive machine. Glass pierced the soles of my shoes but somehow none managed to get any father then that. I stepped lightly, not wanting to press my luck as cross the room. Eventually I reached my destination, surprised to see that the device was still active. The neon-blue lights shined as brightly as ever and looked ready to party. I looked around the area, seeking out anything that was out of place. Finally I noticed the glean of a cable's head, the reflecting light nailing me in the eye. I picked it up, remembering how I saw it earlier moments before being launched into the wall. I placed a hand where the head was, running it backwards until I found the other end. My chase led me to one of the dozen of machines linked to the hybrid device, more specifically a limiter. I had forgotten about the machine but that was due to it being one of the first machines the guys down at the sound shop recommend to install as to not end up blowing out someone's eardrums accidentally I like had almost done early.. The cable had been unplugged, and not by accident either. A closer inspection revealed that the head was a screw-on and required a special wrench to get it off.

"Great, now someone is trying to kill me." I threw my hands up in disbelief, already baffled by my bad luck and now this. I grabbed my iPod and began to make my way towards the exit, only to hear sound of a heavy metal object colliding with the stage floor. I looked down at my music player and saw that the cord was still connected. "Ugh, I need a drink...."