Blood Money

Chapter 3 - Stop

My mouth hung open. I'm shocked. Out of all fourteen entries! Everyone cheered. I could make out my mom in the midst of all the chaos. Me and that kid, Josh, stepped up to the stage. 

"Okay, which one of you would like to go first?", the announcer asked. 

"Me! I'll go!", says Josh. Wow. He seems eager. I stepped off, and he puffed out his chest. Just then, I noticed. His hair is really floofy. Like, seriously. I didn't know you could get that much floof. It's curly too. But that doesn't matter right now. 

"I'm Joshua Roe, aka Aguy8888. My song is called Spoopy. Cue the music, boys!", he yelled, excitedly. He seems confident. The music started. I gotta say, I'm impressed. A short dubstep drop started, and he started singing. He's really good. He managed to mix dubstep and hip-hop into a masterpiece. The song's intense as well. His voice is so fast too, it just makes it astonishing. Then I gulped. What if I can't beat him? I would be the first out. THAT would be humiliating. I wouldn't be able to bear the humiliation, the shame. I would die. Then his song ends. The cheers were so loud, I'm gonna be deaf by the end of the day. I held my breath. The judges held up the scores. Slowly. 

Nine, Eight, Eight, Nine. 

Wow. On the first one. I have to top that? Well, guess it's my turn. Josh takes a bow, and leaves the stage with a smug smile. I step onto the stage. "I'm Mo Brandon, aka Borfotron. My song is called Squall. Start it up!", I shout confidently. I never knew I could be that confident. I surprise myself sometimes. The music starts playing, and I can feel it in my bones. The intro is starting. In a few seconds, I'll have to sing. My mom says I have a true rapper's voice. Let's hope she's right, and the judges agree. 

I start singing. The words just roll off my tongue, like a product off of a conveyor belt. I'm singing! I'm doing it! I just let my mouth take over. My brain is partially working, but I know this song by heart. It's not like I'll forget it. And I'm still going! My song is basically a mixture of soft and hard rap, with a touch of dubstep. I'm almost positive that Josh won, though. My song ends. The cheers are deafening, just as much as Josh's, maybe even more, but it might just be my ego. I let off a huge smile. Then the crowd goes silent. 

The first judge holds up the first number. Nine. So far so good. 

The next two numbers go by simultaneously. Eight and Eight. Am I gonna get the same score? I hold my breath. The judge seems to be thinking. Come on! A bead of sweat rolls down my neck. Very slowly, the board comes up. 

Ten! I won the round! YES! Joy overflows my brain. I actually won! I look around for Josh to smile smugly at, but I can't find him. I pump my fist up into the air. All of a sudden, four shots ring out. Pistol Shots.

CRACK! ACK-ACK! CRACK!

 People start screaming, security guards are holding up their guns, talking into their walkie-talkies. My heart starts beating really fast. Like really fast. That's when my asthma kicks in. What the heck is going on? My head starts throbbing. I start stammering, stuttering, muttering short burst of useless gibberish. Then everything goes black.