Witness: See Series (Volume 1)(79)

“Wow…your dad was intense today.”

“Right,” I said as I let my shoulders fall.

“What were those rocks?” he asked.

“It’s a lamp Monroe gave me. It, like, puts off energy or something. He broke it, then fixed it.”

“The answers are all around you,” he repeated what he’d seen in the rocks.

“Aden,” I said as I pushed his shoulder. “Focus. Did you hear the drums?”

He reached for my shoulders and moved me out of his way as he took a seat. “Just so you know, what we were practicing wasn’t even close to this; you just changed the entire backbone to this song.”

“Is there enough time? Can you make it work before tomorrow?”

He didn’t answer; instead, he started to hash out the rhythm he’d just heard in my thoughts. I stepped out of his way and watched him completely master the beat within a matter of minutes. I picked up Draven’s guitar and began to play my riff. We were in the middle of our third attempt to play it when Grayson walked in the room. He moved his head with the sound as he walked over to the stand and took control of another guitar. He began to play the lead - a sound I hadn’t heard but was completely in love with - as I heard it swim around the room. Just before we began to play it again, Winston came in and retrieved a guitar. He then sat down next to me and began to play the base. The four of us played through the song two more times, but it was still missing something – the core of the rhythm.

“That’s gonna sound awesome when we have our vocalist and rhythm,” Grayson said as he grinned widely at Aden.

“You guys have lyrics – solid lyrics?” I asked.

“We do,” Winston said, elbowing me. “Fallen angel.”

I blushed slightly. “One more time,” I said as I began to play.

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine Draven’ hypnotic voice singing the lyrics I’d texted him earlier. When we were done, I heard clapping and opened my eyes to see Evan and Draven standing in the doorway. Evan was the one clapping; Draven was staring at me with undeniable devotion. As he slowly walked across the room to my side, everyone else vanished; it was as if we were the only ones in the universe. He reached his hand out to help me stand. As I took it, he pulled my wrist to his lips, and I felt the tingle his skin always provided. My heart was racing, and my head was spinning.

He leaned his forehead to mine and whispered, “Eternal life would be pointless without you at my side.”

I knew the symbol that was now permanently a part of me stood for that notion – eternal life. “Agreed,” I whispered before I stood on my tiptoes and stole an innocent kiss.

“Yuck. You’re a freaking rock star – no mush,” Winston said, pulling me out of the illusion of solitude.

Holding my stare, Draven ignored him, but the others threw random things at him.

“That’s enough, guys,” Evan said. “Come on; food’s downstairs.”

While the others left, Draven and I stayed, staring at each other. “What happened today?” he asked.

I looked down. “I saw a dimension...I saw a world full of the dammed.”

“Show me,” he whispered.

I looked up into his eyes and let my day play out for him. I showed him Wesley, Chara, Preston, and finally Esterious – the face of that young King. Then I closed my thoughts to him.

“A world full of the living dammed...” he mumbled as his eyes moved across my worried expression. I could tell he was starting to piece something together that was still escaping me. “They thought Madison was Willow?” he said in a concerned tone.

“Yeah – and she was really freaked out.”

“I would be, too,” he said as he reached to cradle my face. “Looks like Landen is fighting for the living damned and we’re fighting for dead that are dammed – just like you predicted.”

It took me a moment to recall what he meant. I had this feeling, this strange feeling that we were only half of the story the night of my accident. I don’t know where that thought or idea came from, and the fact that Draven had pulled all of it together in an instant made my heart race.

“We’re still fighting for the dammed – together, right?” I asked, knowing when I said that that I had no idea how badly our fate would twist – that the nightmares would overtake Draven.

“With my last breath,” he whispered. “I will undo the damage I’ve done - one way or another.”

“None of this is your fault,” I said, holding back tears and wanting this concert, the moment I’d have to save him from that wicked realm, to be over.

He leaned his forehead to mine and swayed me to the silence of the room. “Austin’s coming; I told them to send him,” I said quietly.

“And that little boy told you when our worlds are meant to collide – when they must so we can move forward – they will. Let’s just stick to the plan.”

“That little boy freaked me out,” I said with a playful grin.

“He reminds me of Monroe – only more vocal,” he said, returning my grin.

I almost told him that she did talk to me, but I decided to keep that to myself. I liked having her confidence, her young, innocent wisdom, all to myself. “Hungry?” he asked.

A smile spread across my face as I let him lead me downstairs. The guys were spread across the kitchen, eating sandwiches and chips while Nana was walking around, putting fruit on their plates. She smiled at me as I came in the room, then nodded to our plates, which she’d set out. As we ate, I listened to them talk about the line up for tomorrow, as well as all the people and radio stations that would be there. I felt anxiety rise inside of me and found it hard to eat, but I forced myself to as I caught Nana’s stare. When then others finished, they all went back upstairs, and I heard the music – my song – begin to play.