Soul Walker: #ONC Finalist

Mission 14: Winds of Obscurity

         

Lyrics provided by--Engaging the Imperial-- Winds of Obscurity**

The tears that you shed

with no fear, but the scar

a bitter blow, a darkened maze.

Meg's ears vibrated with the melody of her favorite metal band Engaging the Imperial. Her feet rhythmically pounded the sticky cement floor of the underground club, and her hand pumped in the air. She allowed the music to flow through her, allowed it to become a part of her identity. Her head bowed and swayed entranced by the music. The power of it flowed through her, energizing her. This was her escape. Her escape from the constant reality of dealing with her disastrous life.

Ever since she could remember she had always wanted the opportunity to be part of the crowd. The world had not gifted her with the luxury of a normal teenage life. Instead, her whole life has been spent in the shadows of her parents. Her deceased mother who was part of the 'only the good die young' expression that haunted her life. It's not exactly reassuring when you consider yourself a decent person, are young, and the daughter of an openly insane inventor; with a proclivity for inventing things that go boom.

The threads of humanity you tear

In these worried times

Being overfed lies

And concerned for all your life

How she deplored the stares of her friends and neighbors as she walked down the street. Their eyes consumed with pity and counterfeit judgments itched at her skin and prickled the hair on her neck. Her music was the only way to drown out the emotion of the shallow people who assumed they understood her. She could feel the fire welling up inside her in a reaction to the emotions of anxiety and fury. The other fun aspect of her life. The other fun and unique fact about her. She could be a walking nuclear bomb if she ever got too angry. A fact she held in discreet confidence from even her father. He would try to find a solution, and she had neither the patience nor the faith to allow him the chance to try.

She let the self-deprecating thoughts float away from her mind. This is not the time or place for a very literal meltdown, she scolded herself. We are here for Derrick. So, she allowed the music to take her away. To take her to worlds that were not her own. Some people had books, some had sports, she had music.

Derrick hobbled up to her side. He had finally been released from the hospital. She had offered a night out as a celebration. She had missed him at the office and Carmine at work was an insufferable buffoon. She missed his easy intelligence and gentle demeanor. Derrick yelled through the music. "You really like this stuff?" he paused to see if she had heard him. "It's so angry." He handed her a beer.

The winds of obscurity

Loss of awareness for humanity

Unheard screams call for morality

His words were blasphemous, an opinion she was used to, it was the uneducated viewpoint of the tone deaf and inaccurate opinion of the bland and uncreative. This music was not angry, it was not screaming. It was the unbound core of what created emotion put to the elegance of sound. She tasted the beer and waved it away. She screamed back. "Sorry, I am not much of a drinker," She chuckled. "Fire and alcohol do not mix well."

Derrick motioned his apology and took the drink back, a look of utter frustration on his face. She misread his frustration. "Sorry!" she yelled apologetically. Before she could say 'I'll get it' He had somehow hobbled away back towards the bar. She shrugged and went back to the music.

A still mourners winter sky

O'er the lake of fear, you still

Hear the cries

As the minutes passed She felt the music around her become clouded and sluggish. I must be more tired than I thought. She ignored the feeling, chalking it up to the disorienting and loud environment.

Like evil through mankind

Paralyzed in sacred moments

Unseen in the darkest night.

Derrick came back. He handed her a soda. She gestured gratefully and took several deep sips. She had not realized how desperately thirsty she was. She finished it in a matter of seconds. "Thank--" She started but then the words were frozen in her throat.

One by one souls breaking

Loss of memory

I've never felt so lonely

Her world became hazy and diluted. She looked at Derrick with wild unbelieving eyes. The last thing she saw was his mouth saying he was sorry and then her world went black.

Souls cry in anguish

This regret in its purest.

Derrick motioned to two men who were in the moshpit. They were easily six feet with enormous shoulders and bullet scars riddling their arms. Hungry eyes traced over Meg's unconscious body. One of them unceremoniously slung her over his shoulder. they picked her up. She hung there like a rag doll over their shoulders. Her head of living flame suddenly dull and lifeless as they carried her out of the club.

The haunted memories encased

All true thoughts erased

Petrified, turning to stone as

The fire burns inside

There is no hope in sight

"is she okay?" A bouncer asked.

Derrick answered, with the colloquial gesture of drinking too much. The bouncer winked knowingly and motioned for them to continue. Derrick watched Meg with a trace of concern and regret scrawled on his features. He reached out and moved a delicate red strand of hair from her face, and smiled as he took in her rosy red lips and angelic expression. Even sleeping she was beautiful.

The threads of humanity you tear

In these worried times

Being overfed lies

And concerned for all your life

The men laid her in the back of a non-descript and entirely forgettable impala sedan and drove away into the city streets. Blending in with the hundreds of mass produced silver sedans that littered the city highways. The words of the band fading into the wind as the car drove away.

The haunted memories encased

All true thoughts erased

Petrified, turning to stone

As the fire burns inside

Screaming for vengeance

There's no hope in sight

"C