Aurora Sky: Blackout (Completed)

Chapter 30

The community went on about their business inside. A few people gathered around the television for a movie and card games, some read books quietly throughout the house, others went to the basement for a jam session.

Isaac was excited to make music with his friends. He enjoyed playing his black fretless bass the most when he was playing with others, but he was also a talented guitarist, drummer, pianist, mandolinist, and singer. Sean was a natural lead guitar and played on Isaac's Fender Stratocaster. Rob was using one of the spare acoustic guitars and played rhythm, but he also could harmonize and sing. Jonah had never played with this group of guys but he had been a versatile musician for decades, he sacrificed playing guitar for the electric drum kit which he was more than satisfactory at. Brandon was a self taught guitarist who had never played with a band, but he fit in just fine playing Isaac's classical guitar for more rhythm. Paul throughout elementary school, high school, and college, performed in drama club and vocal ensemble. He was an experienced performer and dancer but was also a gifted vocalist and pianist. He played Isaac's classic piano, a 1902 Peek & Son Opera Piano, and shared lead and backup vocals with Isaac.

The over century old piano had a gorgeous Victorian sound that had only gotten better with age. It was Isaac's most expensive instrument that he never had to buy for himself. It was left to him in the will of a former yoga student who knew his love of music. He was floored when he had learned that she left something this valuable to him and he thanked Jane for the gift posthumously every time he played on it.

Jess, Lacey, and Valerie also got in on the action to sing some lead vocals and harmonize with the three male singers. It was known that Lacey and Jess were skilled singers but it was a very pleasant surprise to learn Valerie was a vocalist. No one but Duke knew that she used to sing in her church choir and had done so for over ten years until she went to college. She still sang privately to herself but she hadn't sung with others in years, until tonight that is.

Paul initiated the first song and did it without words. Once he played a C chord on the piano, followed by a walk up of another C chord, a D minor, an E minor, and an F, then a walk down of F, E minor, D minor, and back to C, the band new instantly what he was playing. He took over the lead vocals and started to sing.

Some-times in our lives, we all have pain,

We all have sorrow.

But, if we are wise

We know that there's always tomorrow.

Then the backup vocals, the drums, the lead guitar, the rhythm guitars, and the bass kicked in flawlessly in perfect time.

Lean on me, when you're not strong,

And I'll be your friend,

I'll help you carry on.

For, it won't be long

'Til I'm gonna need,

Somebody to lean on.

Though this was their first song they had ever played together, there was immediate chemistry, harmony, and a beautiful blend in balance amongst them. It felt unforced, natural, organic, and somewhat magical. When the song was over they sat quietly, basking in reverberance of their final notes until the vibrations of sound slipped in silence.

The message of the song was timeless and it soothed the pangs of their souls perfectly in this moment. Somehow, this song made them not only feel, but believe they could count on and depend on each other to lean on in their times of need with love as friends and family. The roots of their friendship grew tenfold and they were electrified, excited, and eager to play their next song.

With plenty of common tastes in music, picking songs and artists came easy to them. Throughout the evening, they played cover songs from classic rock bands such as The Beatles, The Allman Brothers Band, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, The Doobie Brothers, and a few folk singers like Emmylou Harris, Jim Croce, John Denver, Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel, and Dolly Parton. They all found a special place in the band that night, and when they realized their potential they made a pact to spend an hour or two everyday practicing with each other in the band that they dubbed, The Family.

After their first band practice, dinner was served. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, buttery green beans, and freshly baked garlic bread was prepared by Krissy, Kimmy, Natalie, and Sheri. Though she was a bit of a stickler with her job, Krissy's meal plan preparedness ensured that there would be no leftovers and no potential waste of food. No one minded because the portions were more than meager, and they had enough food to last them for the next three months.

The small community gathered in the living room and in the dining room and ate together like a family. Such a mild social event really brought everyone closer together. The whole house chatted away with each other laughingly and merrily until their plates were clean. The great food and great conversation was a wonderful distraction from the outside world, though in the back of Isaac's mind he never forgot about what the world was like for others.

He got into the habit of taking a moment of silence before he ate. He prayed and sent positive vibrations to those outside of the wall who were less fortunate, constantly on the run, more than likely starving and scraping to get by. He was extremely self aware of how good he and his friends and family had it, and he didn't want to ever take it for granted and feel ungrateful.

Once dinner was completed and the dishes cleaned, the clan did their own thing for the rest of the night. The rain showed no signs of letting up so they were limited to indoor activities. There were plenty of things available to do, but Isaac found himself sitting around the television with an audience playing Halo 2 on his old Xbox 360 with Evan, Paul, Warren, Rob, Sean, Cameron, Duke, Brandon, and Arthur. It had been years since the friends and played this old video game together, but it was essentially how they spent every weekend with each other in high school. It made them feel like kids again back when their lives were normal and easy, the only thing they had to worry about was breaking curfew with their parents.

"You know something?" said Isaac as he shot at his friends in the game. "I feel like this game made me a better shooter in real life."

"I feel that way too," Cameron agreed. "Especially when it comes to aiming."

"It probably did," said Evan as he adjusted the wire to his controller, "You know the military uses first person shooting games to help train soldiers? Not Halo, but I used to play the VIRTSIM System, which is like a simulation of a big virtual training ground. What else?.., Call of Duty, Battlefield. And you know what other game I've played a lot during training? Sounds silly, but Duck Hunt. I played the shit out of that game."

"No shit? For the Super Nintendo?" Rob asked then sipped his bottle of mountain dew. "Ah damn, you shot me."

"Gotcha bitch!" shouted Evan playfully. "But yeah, they modded the controller to feel like an M16 for training purposes. That game's been used in the military for decades."

"Well I guess we gotta keep playing more video games... you know... to keep up on our training," Duke was being ironic, but as ridiculous as it sounded there was truth to the statement.

It was well after midnight when the gang stopped gaming. And after demolishing a few bottles of mountain dew and some bags of chips, the gamers wrapped up their controllers, said their goodnights, and went to their beds to fall asleep to the sweet sounds of rainfall.