End of the Hall, page 1
Tink-dap. Tink-dap. Tink-dap. The metallic sounds of steel-tipped stilettos echo through a tunnel as a light skinned woman saunters through. Tink-dap. Small ripples of indigo pulse as she glances down toward her heels while she makes her way across. She brushes some dirt off her grey denim skinny jeans and double checks her black jacket. The zipper and sleeves have been long ripped off long ago, leaving her to wear a t-shirt under it. Looking back up, she brushes her side-buzzed, multicolored hair behind her ear when she spots her signature guitar, The Hammer. It's a thin, single cutaway, solid body guitar in all black with blue bursting around the edges. Its ebony fretboard and reversed headstock made to her specification. She picks it up off a backliner's cart and checks the strings. “Cyd, you ready or what?” a feminine voice asks from behind her.
She turns to see her old friend and smirks. “Stella, I was born ready for this,” she replies. Stella adorns her old top hat with its faded purple band as well as a plain shirt the band had taken permanent markers to, some old pants, and her favorite pair of chucks. The two share a hug and Cydnie shoulders her guitar before they make their way further along the tunnel.
“Enjoy your honeymoon?” Stella asks as they walk.
“Unforgettable. Just like every moment that came before it.” The two make it to the end of the tunnel where another backliner is finishing changing the strings of a violet-shimmering bass.
“Appreciate you, Justin,” Stella says as he hands her the bass.
“There you two are!” a gruff voice yells behind the two before pulling them in a big hug. Cydnie groans as she frees an arm to hug another best friend.
“I missed you too, Eric,” she struggles out. He releases them and chuckles long enough for Cydnie to look him over. “You shaved your beard!” His once glorious facial hair left only stubble on a chiseled jaw and a modest faux hawk. The girls eye him over to see it's the only change from his usual get up of a F*ck Society shirt and ripped camo shorts.
“Yeah, the kids were getting sick of it, but it's just a phase,” he explains as he scratches his 5 o’clock shadow. Eric pulls his drum sticks out of his back pocket and spins one between his fingers. “Ready to kick some ass?”
“Always,” the girls say in unison. A myriad of hues passes through Cydnie's vision as they ascend the steps to the stage, the most prominent color to shine through is a very familiar shade of green.
“How the fuck you doing, Rio!” a man screams into a microphone before pointing it to the crowd to pick up their screams. He keeps a hand on his guitar as it stands on the stage. He stands shirtless, displaying the number, 46, on his right pec and a pair of motocross pants and boots. “That's right! My name is Damien Stubbs, and we're here to rock and roll!” The other three take their places as Damien puts his own guitar on his shoulder and gives a thumbs up behind him. Eric sits down at his drum kit and does a few quick triplets then looks to Stella and nods.
She slides her fingers across the fretless neck of her bass then looks to Cydnie and says into her microphone, “Let's kick some ass.”
Cydnie smirks then plugs her cable into her guitar and scrapes her pick across the bridge of her guitar before screaming into her own mic. “What's our fucking name, Rio!”
“AGAINST ALL RISK! AGAINST ALL RISK! AGAINST ALL RISK! AGAINST ALL RISK!”
Track 1: In an Enigma
Years ago…
[CYDNIE and STELLA]
The rhythmic honking of a horn blares outside the house of a young Cydnie Smythe as her friend hangs out the passenger window. “Cydnie Makkscene, let’s go!” Stella Daniels yells from her dad's white SUV.
Violet and white reverberate through Cydnie's eyes as she trips over her untied shoelaces. “I'm going! Ow,” she groans as she sits up and rubs the back of her head.
“Your first concert!” squeals her mother, Miranda, or Mo as Cydnie's friends have taken to calling her. The caramel skinned woman helps her daughter up after her shoes are tied then embraces her in a hug. “Not exactly excited about the blue streaks,” she remarks as she runs a finger through Cydnie’s hair. “But I know it's for the show. Have fun, child.” With excited pursed lips, Cydnie gives a single nod then hugs her mother and runs out the door to the car. Her father, a white man with a salt and pepper beard and graying haircut to match, wraps an arm around the shoulder of Mo as they watch their daughter hop into the car of her new friend. “Mike, you think she’ll be okay?”
“She'll be fine. She grew up with us for parents,” he jokes as the SUV drives out of the view of the window.
On the road, various colors stream through Cydnie’s eyes as they sing along to songs of the bands they'll soon be experiencing live. She turns it into a game matching the intensity of her blues with Stella’s purples; each key change, pitch, and timbre all create different shades and tints through her vision. Once the song ends, the girls each let out a huge breath. “I still can't thank you enough for bringing me along,” Cydnie tells her friend while she puts a hand on Stella’s seat in front of her.
“Hey, don't mention it,” Stella waves her off. She turns around and smiles at Cydnie. “I'm just excited to be with you at your first concert. It's gonna be awesome!” They continue their sing-along all the way from their small hometown of Ponca City to Tulsa, Oklahoma to see the hard rock group, Manic Madness. Once they roll in, Stella’s dad, Kevin, drops them off by the mass of fans. “Thanks, padre!” Stella yells as the girls run to join the crowd.
“I'll be back after the show!” he returns to them before driving off to find a parking garage. The sun begins to set over the venue as the girls finally make their way inside. All around, Cydnie sees fans buying beers and merchandise or getting to their seats. The sounds of the hustle and bustle cause different colors to swirl around Cydnie as she follows Stella.
“This place is nuts,” Cydnie exclaims as she runs her fingers through her hair, her gaze wandering to the stage. There, some crew members are working on the stage equipment, lights, curtain, mic checks, and she becomes mesmerized by the entire thing. As if in a trance, she begins walking toward the stage to get a better look while Stella reads their tickets.
“Hey, Cyd, our seats are this way,” she tells her friend before looking up. “Cyd?” She looks around for a minute before seeing her zombie of a friend walking into the pit. “Woah, Cydnie, we didn't splurge that much!” Stella yells as she runs after her. Incapable of hearing anything except the sounds of background music and roadies, the world becomes a blur while Cydnie manages a path all the way to the railing in front of the stage before a bouncer stops her.
“Woah there, kid,” he says, putting a hand on her wrist, gathering her attention. “You got your pass for the pit?”
Coming back to reality, Cydnie’s eyes widen. Her gaze travels upward to the face of the obelisk standing before her as she stammers out a response. “Uhh-- I-- They--”
“What she means to say is that she got lost on her way to her seat,” Stella says as she runs up and locks elbows with her friend to leave.
“Nonsense!” A voice calls out from behind the girls as the sounds of chains against denim wander through Cydnie’s ears. They turn to see Adrien Scott, Manic Madness’s singer and rhythm guitarist walking over to the edge of the stage with a devilish smirk.
“Holy shit, Adrien Scott!” Stella says as he hops down from the stage. He walks toward the girls and pulls two passes out of his jacket.
“You forgot these at the will call,” he says as they dangle from his hand. The bouncer nods and walks away as Stella swipes one and hangs it from her neck.
With an inquisitive glare, Cydnie says, “you lied to him. Why?”
“Couple of kids just trying to get a good view of the show, nothing wrong with that,” he says with a smirk before tossing Cydnie a pass. “Enjoy.”
[DAMIEN and ERIC]
“Ugh, how do you do it, Damien?” Eric asks as he rounds the last turn on the motocross track.
“I'm just that good,” Damien says after kicking his bike into neutral. They walk their dirt bikes back to Damien’s grandfather's trailer. “Cyd's missing out. One of the last times to ride before they change the track.”
“Yeah, but you always have to irritate her into riding,” Eric says as they push the bikes onto the trailer. “Think she's having fun in Tulsa?”
“I completely forgot she even went. What's she doing there again?” Damien asks as he tightens the straps on the bikes.
“She's at a concert with Stella.”
“Oh yeah, her.” The boys hop in the passenger seats of the truck and head back into town. “Thanks for bringing us out again, Pops.”
“Hey, you need all the practice you can get, the season starts next semester, ya know,” his grandfather reasons with his raspy old voice. The truck comes to life and the three head to the house.
As they make their way to the old house, Eric asks, “you still mad?”
“What do you expect?” Damien grumbles. “She's my ex and they're just best friends.”
“I mean you dumped her though.”
“Yeah, but Cyd's my friend. Shouldn't she be on my side?”
“She might not know, it's not like she hasn't been busy either,” Eric argues as he shifts in his seat. “Look, she's still new to chorale and Stella helped her get in. You know how much she loves music.”
“I know,” Damien seethes. “I don't know, I'll talk to her about it.”
[CYDNIE and STELLA]
Lights flash behind the curtain, revealing the silhouettes of the band members and the lo
go. Fans scream and roar as Adrien sings into the microphone.
“Run from your sins!
Nobody wins!
All you can do is fight for the end of your life!”
The crowd joins in as the curtain drops to show the band. Cydnie is so close she and Stella can feel the slight shockwave as the crew pulls the curtains to the sides of the stage.
The lights and sounds flow through Cydnie’s vision. She loses herself in the various hues that encapsulate her. Reds, violets, greens, blues, the entire spectrum takes over as she sings along. As a child, it was encumbering at points, but with age, she's grown to love her ability. She and Stella headbang to the bridge of the song as Adrien continues to sing through Cydnie’s closed eyes.
“Fight! Fight! Fight!
Fight for the end of your life!”
He screams with the fans singing alongside. Cydnie pulls her friend in for a hug and the two squeal with joy as the song ends. Adrien puts a hand around the neck of his guitar before grabbing the mic. “How the fuck you doing, Tulsa!” he yells as the crowd screams. Cydnie screams along, engulfed in the atmosphere. Adrien looks down and kneels with a smirk then beckons her up to the stage.
“Me?” Cydnie says inaudibly as she points at herself with some confusion.
“Yes, you, come on,” he says. Cydnie looks around for Stella who's behind her now, pushing her to the railing.
“Wha-- hey! Stella!” Cydnie protests.
“Enjoy it, rockstar!” Stella tells her. Cydnie gets to the railing and the guards let her pass in time for her to grab Adrien’s wrist. He pulls her up and wraps an arm around her shoulders.
“We're pretty deep into the night, but before our whole shindig started, this little bird in a trance found her way to the stage,” he explained. “What's your name, little bird?”
Cydnie's eyes widen at that name. “Uhh, Cy-- Cydnie,” she stammers into the mic.
“Cydnie!” Adrien screams into the crowd with his usual gruff tone. The audience cheers and woos as he looks back at her. “So, you're in the pit, you know any of our songs? Cuz I wanna play a nice deep one.”
“Uhh… I, I know a few, yeah,” Cydnie says as she builds confidence. Adrien hands her the mic and changes out his guitar. With wide eyes, she looks at the microphone. Chorale performances were one thing, but this was thousands, tens of thousands of people who had no clue who she is.
The bassist bumps her shoulder and whispers, “You know Crying Out?” Cydnie turns and looks at him then nods. “Good, just relax. Pretend it's just you and the four of us.” Cydnie nods and breathes.
‘Just relax, Cyd, you know this song,’ Stella thinks with anticipation. ‘We auditioned together with this song.’ The lead guitarist plays a small keyboard to start, spawning dove grey notes to swirl around Cydnie’s eyes. She looks at Adrien who has a sort of intrigued look as he joins in with his guitar.
‘I can do this,’ Cydnie thinks as she closes her eyes. As the music builds up she taps her heel to the beat with a grip on the mic stand. The audience claps along, creating more and more waves in her mind. The scene overcomes her own vision as she opens her eyes. Unable to see through her own personal light show, some confidence begins to rise.
“Come on, give em a show,” Adrien says with a smirk.
“Push past the wreck of your misery
You'll see you're not alone.
Everyone's searching for their own place to call home,”
She sings loudly into her mic, gaining cheers. Adrien whoops and plays harder, encouraging Cydnie to come out of her shell.
[DAMIEN and ERIC]
Damien looks at his phone while he and Eric are playing video games. “Holy shit, no way!” he exclaims.
“What's up?” Eric asks. Damien pauses the game and hands over his phone. “Is that Cyd?”
“Yeah! Mo just sent it to me!” Damien says with some shock. The video shows Cydnie with a full stage presence as she gets the crowd singing along for her time on stage. “How is she doing that!” After getting the phone back, he texts Mo, "she’s come a long way."
"Right?" she replies. Damien replays the video, watching that black hair of Cydnie’s flowing as she headbangs and beckons the crowd with her voice.
“That girl is nuts,” he remarks before putting his phone back on the charger and resuming his game with Eric.
“Can you believe that's the same girl we met in fourth grade?” Eric asks as their game continues. He jumps over an obstacle and shoots at Damien.
“Hard to. She wasn't even in school past Christmas,” Damien remarks as he dodges Eric’s shot. “God, you remember that day?”
“Who doesn't?” Eric reminisces with a grim expression. “She got so fucked up, she didn't even talk to anyone for a month.”
“Yeah,” Damien says. “Maybe that's why she and Stella connect so well, both broken.” He flanks Eric and shoots him from behind. “Ha, gotcha.”
“Dammit!” Eric exclaims.
“Language!” Damien’s mom, Cassy, calls from her room.
“Sorry!” Damien calls back.
[CYDNIE and STELLA]
Once the show is over, and the band is giving their bow, Stella nudges Cydnie. “Come on, I bet we can get backstage with these,” she says as she holds up her VIP pass. Cydnie follows her through the crowds of people around the stage. They reach the green room and show the guard their passes. He waves them in and opens the door, allowing the girls to see the three bands of the night's events. The only person Cydnie wants to talk to however is Adrien. Stella follows her as she makes her way toward Manic Madness’s area.
Groupies and fans flock around the headliners as they attempt to get enough freedom just to drink some water. Adrien takes a swig from his bottle just before noticing the girls. “Cydnie!” he proclaims followed by greetings from the other band members. Nervously, Cydnie waves and walks toward them while with apprehension the groupies part ways. “What brings you to this end of the hall, little bird?”
Cydnie stops dead in her tracks, adjusting her gaze with some confusion. After a moment's thought, she chooses her words carefully. “You see it too,” she guesses, attaining a nod from the singer.
“Chromesthesia,” he says while Stella strays, chatting up other band members. “Got diagnosed when I was fifteen, been using it ever since. You seem like you're about the same age.”
“Thirteen, yeah,” Cydnie tells him.
“Welcome to the party,” Adrien says as he extends his arms causing Cydnie to smile warmly. As alone as she feels in the world, it just got a little more populated with her meeting someone who is in the slightest similar. Taking another sip of water, he asks, “you play at all?”
“Piano,” Cydnie explains. “Well, keyboard really. But I've always wanted to learn guitar too, and I sing but you've seen that already.” Adrien laughs at her nervousness.
“Just relax,” he says. “I bet you're usually a better speaker.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Cydnie laughs. Adrien strokes his stubble in thought. A roadie walks by and he whispers in their ear.
“I wanna make a deal with you, little bird,” he says as the roadie walks off. “You've got a special gift, one you'd do well not to waste. I want you to learn and play and use it. We all saw you onstage, you've got talent.”
“But, I… I'm just some small-town kid,” Cydnie pleads.
“Hey, I'm just some guy from Birmingham,” Adrien assures with his hand on his chest. “It's not about where you're from. It's not about what you have or who you are. In music, we are all equal. It's what we do with our music that makes a difference. It can take us down the street and around the world.” As he explains this, the roadie returns with one of his guitars. It was the one he used on Cydnie’s song, a beautiful rosy and black finish on the body with an ebony fretboard. He signs the back of the headstock and hands it to Cydnie.
“This is...” Cydnie starts. Adrien nods with a smirk.
“Take it, learn from your ability,” he tells her. “I just better see you when you have your first concert.” Cydnie blushes as Stella slowly rejoins her.
“Woah, did he just give that to you?” she asks.
“That I did, we made a deal,” he says as he stands up to greet more fans. “Find your band, find your voice, the rest will come to you, but not without its own challenges.” With a smirk, Adrien disappears into the crowd and Cydnie can't stop looking at the instrument she's just received.
