Chapter 19: For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)…
I went through my notifications as we walked to our last stop of the day. There was only one notification other than the normal kill notices.
Skill Unlocked! Berserk—You have seen your loved ones hurt more times than you care to allow. This makes you mad mad!
What the fuck?
I opened my skill sheet to view the new addition.
Berserk (Soul Awakened)
Rare—Level 1
Cost: 48 Hour Cooldown
While Berserk gain +10 Strength, +5 Dexterity, +5 Endurance, +5 Vitality, 15% Increased Attack Speed, 15% Increased Damage
Enter a frenzy that lasts 3 minutes once every 48 hours.
Makes sense why everything looked like it was on fire, I was raging out. It would be a great skill, but that 48 hour cooldown… Yuck.
We arrived at our last stop, The Rhythm Room, our local instrument shop, the building was pretty well demolished. Arthur looked at me with his confused crooked head under a raised eyebrow.
I shook my head and stepped past him into the store, “Trust me Puck. Let’s see if anything is still in one piece.”
As we entered the abandoned ruins of rock and roll we had to move through the percussion section first. Walls fell over destroying nearly all of the drums, there was a triangle and a conga still in one piece so I snagged them for the kids.
We crawled at a snails pace, tossing busted drywall and framing as we cleared each section. The 2 pianos were completely destroyed from the explosion of keyboards. Every electric guitar gone, strings dangerously flopped around on snapped necks and bridges looking to take an eye out. Even the acoustic guitars were destroyed as they were mixed in with the Acoustic Electrics.
“Woof!”
“What did you find Bugger?” I moved through the wreckage to meet up.
He nudged a piece of drywall, I reached down to move it and find a mini acoustic guitar underneath, the strings were damaged but it looked mostly intact with some dents.
Not my first choice since I have an inventory, but it will work.
On my way to finding a complete set of D’Addario strings, I also found an old flute and some instructional books to go with it that I would donate to the camp. I also found a tin whistle, I had no clue how to play but I figured I could annoy Arthur as I teach myself around the fire.
With our goodwill trip over we made it back to camp and everyone was working on their own thing. Most were still working on the shelters and creating new work stations along the clearing.
I’m glad to see them all taking initiative.
We unloaded our inventories in the middle of the barn to a load of little smiles, Arthur grabbed way more than I thought.
I thought he was having me grab everything but I guess not. Apparently his inventory is huge...
Arthur walked up to the smaller children one by one, each time making a random stuffed animal pop into his mouth out of nowhere which made the children smile, giggle and some clap, asking for him to do it again.
He pulled out a large white unicorn plushy with a rainbow mane and horn, passing it to a small girl who was just shorter than the plushy, the girl hugged the Unicorn then set it down to hug Arthur who gave her a few licks on the cheek in return. I was happy to see him making friends so easily.
One woman took the baby supplies and brought them to the area where they were housing the children under 3. The rest of the women went through loads of clothes, blankets and random linens that I unpacked before walking off to find Amy.
“Hey, how was everything while we were gone?” I asked finding Amy under the shade of the newly leaf covered trees. She was humming a tune that I sort of recognized but couldn’t put my finger on.
“Oh hey there! It was fine, the boys woke up, it was hard on them. Mainly Jared, he has a soft heart. They explained what it was like, something about crossing a river then bodies reanimated and they were trying to fight them off. Zack said some large creature, I cant remember the name, Voldy-mores?... No that’s something from before.” She paused to try to remember.
I smiled at the failed reference and asked, “Voldrix?”
“Yes, that’s the ticket! Anyways, he said this Vold-rik thing possessed his body and made him hurt himself. He tried to make Zack hurt the others but he said the system or something wouldn’t allow it. When it wouldn’t let him hurt the others that’s when he found the planer. Roger did a good job comforting the boys. I see why you want him in that Mayor position.” Amy finished.
“Yeah, he seems like a good guy. I’m hoping to help them all out of it tonight.” I said then changed the subject, “Have you guys had a chance to talk about setting up a sort of outpost here? Maybe get more professions spread throughout camp, put together raiding parties to go level up and get classes. We need to grow strong to protect this place.”
“Yeah, Mina came down while you were out and organized things. She grabbed a few of the women aside and showed them basic fighting moves. I wish she would stay, she is a scary and smart girl.”
“Have you thought about what class you would like? I still haven’t looked at my choices.”
“Why haven’t you? And yes, I’m hoping that I’m offered a healing class but something that also let’s me protect myself and the kids.”
“That’s smart. I’m sure you’ll get it!” I took a moment to straighten out a beam in the shelter before continuing, “Honestly, I don’t have a good reason why I haven’t. I played a lot of games before this and mostly picked the sword and shield guy, but this seems like the biggest decision of my life. I want to be able to do everything.”
“Well, at least see what you’re offered. If you don’t like the choices, make your own.”
Not sure that’s how it works but I understood the sentiment, “Actually, I have something perfect for you, especially if you get a healing or magic class!” I removed the Choral Initiate’s Robes from my inventory and handed them over.
After looking the large robes up and down they disappeared. A moment later she took them out, “No way! These seem like great protection, you should use them when you go.”
“Too late, they’re yours now.” I said pointing to the magic item in her hands.
The robes shrunk down to her size and looked much more elegant than they did before she stored them. They looked like they were created for a beautiful woman to wear, like something a powerhouse Elven Sorceress would wear on their way to gaining immense power.
“It’s okay, really! I have some plate armor that I found.” I said pulling my armor to show her.
“You’re sure?” Her eyes were locked on the robes.
“Of course.” I smiled and changed the subject again, “Did you think about my proposition?”
“Thank you, aaagain. Seems like I owe you too much, but yes, and I’ll do it, but I would feel better knowing Roger were there to help.”
“You owe me nothing. You are doing all of us a huge service by watching over this area, especially me. Thank you. I’ll take care of Roger and the others tonight, knock on branch... I have a few things to finish up now but I’ll see you later!” I waved as I excitedly jogged off to go do some crafting.
Entering the barn I was greeted by loads of friendly faces. Jared and Eli walked to meet me halfway, Jared had his head toward the ground and Eli looked pained and ashamed.
“Hey Rick. I’m sorry, but thanks again...” Jared choked out the words.
“Yeah, sorry.” Eli echoed.
“Guys, you have nothing to be sorry for. I know who to blame, don’t sweat it. For the rest of the day if either of you feel tired, have the other stay awake to watch over. Also, can you guys hang out with Zack as well? He went through a lot and could use some good people around him.”
Eli answered, “We’ve tried to hang out but he always says he has something to do. Not sure what it is.”
“Hmm, I’ll talk with him. I know he feels guilt about his parents. Thank you for being cool dudes.” I said getting a chuckle from Jared. “What?” I asked with a spreading grin.
“Thank you for being cool dudes.” Jared mocked, laughing as he continued “I never thought I’d hear you talk that way.”
“Word?” I asked.
“Ugh bruh. Don’t. It’s like hearing my dad try to use cheugy.” Jared said in disgust.
I laughed and said, “I’m not that old ya know. Back in my day we said shit like word, dope, sick – some were even brave enough to say, YOLO. We had that real shit homie.”
Both of the boys burst out in laughter then said, “Back in my day!” before channeling their laughter directly into my face.
“Aight then, fuck you guys.” We shared a laugh and once I gained my composure I shouted, “Let’s get to work!”
The boys led me to the forge as Eli spoke, “We’ll show you how to use everything but Roger gave us a tip on what you want last night so we started on some things but we know about your title, so come on.”
Jared pulled a small glowing shape from the forge. He set the red hot chunk of metal on the anvil then handed me a punch of some sort.
“Here, you want to strike a hole through the iron with this slitting punch, grab a hammer and get to it while its hot. Cool down the punch every so often so it doesn’t melt.” Jared told me and I hammered away.
I finished punching the hole and Jared handed me tongs. I grabbed the metal chunk and heated the steel back up. Once cherry, I removed the slab and hammered the iron against the horn of the anvil to add a slight curve on each end. The work was taxing but it helped clear my mind and relax me for the first time in a while. After a bit more hammering I had the beginning of a sleek guard.
Jared took it from there with the tongs and asked for the blade. I removed it from my inventory. He set the blade to the side after quick inspection, grabbing a drift that matched the tang then hammered the drift through the center hole that I created in the guard, checking to be sure it was the exact shape it needs to be before beginning the sanding process.
As I was watching, Eli returned with a chunk of bronze that he had been shaping.
I took the pommel and used a manual drill to create a hole on top.
Ugh, power tools… I took you for granted old friend.
The pommel could have went on the blade as is but I wanted to shine it up a bit and put my own mark on it, “Do you have something to carve this bronze, or anything for engraving?”
Something clicked as Eli’s eyes went blank. After spending a moment with hand to chin stuck in a thinking pose he said, “Actually, yeah… There’s everything we need for engraving with acid in the cupboard, I had no idea what they were until you said the word “engrave”. As soon as you said that word knowledge flooded my brain, and now I know what they are and how to use them... Spooky bruh.”
“I’m assuming that’s because its considered part of the profession? That’s pretty cool that you can learn shit like Neo.”
“What’s a Neo?” Eli asked.
“What’s a—Really?! Nevermind, show me where to start, Bro!” I said, suddenly feeling old as shit with the reference going over his head.
“Check this.” As Eli walked to grab the materials he shouted, “Jared! Engraving!”
Jared’s eyes bulged as he stared at the wall in front of him, then he looked at us over his shoulder with the same bug eyes, “Whoa! I know how to engrave!”
He sounded just like Keanu, he had to know… So I tried again, “Like Neo!”
“What’s a Neo?!”
“Bah, you guys are slackin.” I said turning my attention back to my work.
Eli had me draw out my design with a marker similar to a Sharpie then we set the bronze in some type of acid that was staying warm next to the forge.
Zoning out as I polished the guard I decided I waited long enough and opened my class selection menu.
A ridiculously long list of classes spread across my vision from top to bottom.
There were basic common classes like Warrior, Sorcerer and Rogue, all showing in the normal font. Then there were color coordinated choices, mostly specialized classes with some very weird. The colors matched with the rarity of items.
There were so many choices and of course this system didn’t want to explain shit.
I read through a few of the choices that sounded fun.
The first was an Epic class called Stormrunner.
Stormrunner—Stormrunner focuses on speed, using lightning fast movements to slip past enemy defenses. Call upon the power of the storms to deal wide areas of Wind and Lightning damage. Damage bonus while wielding Spear or Staff. [2 Extra Spell Points Upon Class Selection]
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
That’s really all you’ll give me? So damn vague. It almost feels like something is trying to show me more information but the system is denying it.
I focused on the description and tried to force more information.
I felt something guiding me closer, it felt as if I were sitting in a maelstrom of knowledge but the violent currents yanked the information through my grasp every time I tried to clamp down.
I opened my eyes. Somehow I was on the floor with Jared and Eli standing above me, looking horrified. It was as if my awareness shut off like a light switch and I was sucked into a whirlpool then spit back into my body.
“You good bruh?” Jared asked.
“Ugh, yut... I’m aight. Just tried to get more information from the system.” I said feeling sweat run down my cheeks.
“You mean Eido?” Eli asked.
“Eido? Where did you get that?”
“I asked its name,” Jared intervened.
I looked down at my hand. It wasn’t sweat that I wiped from my face but blood. I rubbed the other cheek, removing more blood.
“What the hell?” I whispered while standing back to my feet, “So, it told you it’s name? It has a fuckin’ name now?”
“Yeah I was messing with my interface, trying to see what type of things I could do and I asked what to call it and it answered with, E dot I dot D dot O dot,” Jared answered.
Eli paused his work, “Same. When Jared told me, I asked and got the same thing. I asked if it was an acronym and what it stood for but it didn’t feel like sharing anymore.”
“Well, it’s always going to be ‘system’ or some variation of that to me. Fuck that nonsense.” I answered genuinely pissed off while viewing the guard I was working on.
Still needs a bit more sanding.
“Bruh...” Jared handed me a damp cloth and pointed to my face.
I wiped my face clean then Eli pointed out the blood that apparently drained from my ears. I tossed the blood soaked cloth into the forge and got back to work.
When I finished sanding the guard was nice and shiny. One piece down... I took a break to find the last boy I still had to talk with. I looked across the meadow until my eyes landed on Zack. He was situated on a big rock tossing a ball with one of the children. I walked his way and waved to get his attention as I closed in.
“Hey, how are you doing?”
He threw a Hail Mary to get a bit of space between us and the child before answering, “Honestly, I’m terrified.”
“Yeah, I bet...” I was never good at comforting people but I thought back to the hard times I’ve had and used some of my mothers words as I took a seat, “It may get worse, but it’ll pass. At least I think that’s what she said. There was more to it though…” I thought rubbing my chin.
“Huh? What who said?” He asked.
“Oh right, my mom. She was good at this kind of thing and obviously, I am not.” I said with a cheeky grin.
“Yeah definitely not.” He smiled but it quickly vanished as his face fell serious, “I almost killed them. I would have if the system didn’t stop it, something about the connection not being strong enough.”
“Ah, Thank you! System…”
“What are you talking about?” He asked, confusion layering on top of his other emotions.
“Eli and Jared, they were saying the system has a name or some shit. I told them it’s always the system to me. It doesn’t get a name.” I was hoping to make him think of anything other than what happened, but failed.
“Oh, yeah. Same... This debuff, status effect, whatever you wanna call it. I feel like its slowly killing me... It just gets worse every hour. At first it was similar to how I felt after staying at a friends house and pulling an all-nighter, just tired and out of it. But now, I feel completely disassociated, like even my thoughts aren’t my own, my vision is blurry and… All I can hear, is that fucking river.” He was barely hanging on.
“I’m going to sort it all out before I leave. Even if I have to jump into one of your heads and kill the fuckers on the other side.” I assured him and tried to lighten his mood anyway possible, “For now, stay awake. If you need to sleep find me. I’ll be around here or not far, ask Arthur if you need to. He can sniff people out apparently.” I stood and pat him on the back.
“Thank you,” He said as I walked away giving him a thumbs up then a wave.
He reminded me a lot of myself at his age. Only I was lucky enough to have my family and friends around, and I still made stupid decisions. I hope he doesn’t follow that same path, I can’t imagine what it would be like now.
After a short walk I returned to the workshop. The boys left the finished pommel and guard on the table. They cleaned and polished the finished products.
The pommel was a hexagon shape leading down to a point, each side depicting a scene of a tiny cat running around a garden being chased by a big goofy German Shepherd.
Not everything has to be dragons and skulls, I never liked that corny shit anyways. There’s plenty of death in the world now, why not have a drawing that makes me smile on my new tool of death and destruction.
The guard was also a brilliant golden color matching the pommel I wasn’t sure how they got the color but I was glad they did.
The design of the guard was simple but also sleek and elegant. One of the boys took it upon themselves to embellish the piece as it was now more than the simple rectangular shape that it had been. It looked as if the wind blew a spiral from one end to the other, creating a very satisfying design that I loved.
On one side was a miniature emblem carved at the top, it appeared to be the letters C, B, and F.
I’ll have to ask what the emblem means if I get the chance before leaving. I’m guessing something with “Bruh”.
Roger sneaked in behind me, “Looks great! I didn’t think y’alled pick it up so quick. I’m guessing the little thing in our heads helped. Still, looks good, c’mere.”
I followed Roger to the other side of the shop where he pulled out the last piece I needed, the handle.
“I took one of those arms ya left out, cut it down then lots of sanding.” He said showing me the handle. It was a brilliant deep copper color, all of the green Spriggan bits were gone, thick black grains ran up and down the shaft.
“Wow, thank you Roger. This is beautiful.” I picked up the handle and it fit my hands perfectly.
“Don’t mention it, I was thinking about yer craftin’ gear and I got an idea.” He said turning to the table and continuing, “Take that sap out, and more of that cord.”
I did as he asked and he reached for the Demon Cord first.
“We can use this here to wrap the handle, that should give it more grip and more of a bonus to damage or whatnot. When we put her all together we seal everything with that sap ya got. We use as much as possible.”
“I was thinking the same about the sap, I would hate to cover up this beautiful wood but you’re right.”
Roger smiled giving me a pat on the back, “Great minds think alike.”
“We’re the great minds!” I said, quoting something from my past.
I got to work, finishing up the handle wrap pretty quickly. I held the Resonance Tuning Fork to the Demon Cord, as the note rang through the barn Mana bled into the handle. I watched the cord change colors from the earthly notes it held, to a black so deep that it seemed to swallow the light around us. The only shapes showing inside the darkness were the copper veins running through the handle like circuitry. The cord set into the wood as if the two objects were always one, creating a smooth but fibrous grip.
“Let’s put this thing together.” I removed the Tail of the Guardian. The brilliant obsidian blade soaked in the fire light.
I removed all of my Sap of the Sixth and coated the tang in the thick substance from top to bottom. I pushed the guard snug with the blade as Roger presented the handle, watching closely as I pushed it onto the tang with his help gripping the blade so it didn’t move from the force. After a few small taps with a rubber mallet it set perfectly against the bronze guard leaving just enough room to cap the pommel.
I filled the hole drilled into the pommel with as much sap as I could then screwed the pommel down until it pushed the remaining sap out. I scraped the outside of the everything clean, trying to salvage as much sap as possible. I was halfway through my neat goo. I slammed the Resonance Tuning Fork against my knee and held it to the blade.
I watched again as the vibrant colors covered the blade, this time in a bright gold. I focused my intent and let out a burst of Mana from my core, focusing it through the fork and into the blade. It just felt like the right thing to do.
It was as if my body moved the Mana of its own accord.
All of my Mana flowed into the weapon until I fell to the ground in a heap of sweat.
“I guess its nap time now.” I said to Roger, laughing and out of breath.
“Yeah I bet... I don’t know what kind of magical mumbo jalumbo ya did there, but everything tightened. Doesn’t make sense, it looked like the sword went from being a weapon to being, I dunno, somethin’ else.”
“Yeah, I felt that. Well, let’s see what we made.” I grasped the handle of my new sword, lifting it from the work bench as it came to life.
The blade let off an aura of darkness and power as black smoke seemed to bleed off the obsidian blade. The copper spirals through the darkness set off small sparks that dissipated back into the abyss of the blade.
It never felt so right to hold a weapon in my hand.
It was like I’d been holding it since the day I learned to walk.
I smiled knowing this was something special, regardless of the stats. I stored the sword in my inventory.
It was the first time feeling anything while using my inventory.
When the weapon entered I felt my insides stir, it was as if my soul was rumbling like an idle car.
I closed my eyes to focus on the feeling, curious what it was until recognition set in.
It felt like a cat was laying down and purring on my chest.
I opened my inventory to inspect the sword.
Conviction’s Claw—Unique Growth Item - 3 sockets — +33 Slashing and Piercing Damage, +20 Lightning Damage, +15 Dark Damage, +25% Chance to Shock, +3% Life Steal, +5% Mana Steal
Grants Spell—Arcing Thorn Whip (Lightning/Physical)—Merged Spell—Level 3—Mana Cost: 18—Adds +25% Lightning Damage to attack, +25% Chance to Shock—Your blade arcs out as a whip of pure electricity, shocking and slicing through enemies.
Grants Spell—Fear’s Torment (Hell)—Aura—Level 2—Decrease Enemy Will 25% Within Aura. +3 Strength, +3 Vitality for every enemy suffering from a Fear effect (Stacking Buff lasts 5 minutes after enemies death)—The sight of Conviction torments your foes, shattering resolve while feasting upon their worst fears.
Unique Weapon Title—Remembrance: This blade was forged from the Tail of the Guardian Lily and the hands of those who felt they owed their lives. Weapon grows stronger with every life saved.
If ever there was an OP sword, this is it. And I have no problem with that.
“Roger, you and the rest of the guys, who made this for me. Thank you. I hope I can return the boon you gave me. I’m going to rest this headache away for a few minutes. When I get up, find the boys and meet me behind the barn.”
“Baah, don’t mention it. See ya then,” he said.
I laid in our little corner and pulled up the sheet music. I learned how to read sheet around 12 years old as I grew up playing multiple instruments, but I was never good at it.
I had one friend who always just showed me what to play. He was the type who could learn any sheet music in 15 minutes. It took me hours upon hours to read it and teach myself the song. I was much better at hearing the music then replicating.
I guess that was just, kind of my thing...
I removed the miniature acoustic guitar from my inventory and changed the strings then gave it a quick tune. I pulled up the sheet music, “Grand Cantors Lament”. It was like I was some sort of music professor at an ivy league school the way I was able to play the notes as I read them.
I thought back to my friend, “So this is what it was like for you?”
I hadn’t played in 8 years, but somehow it was as if I never put it down. I gave up music long ago when I stopped hanging out with friends and started to be a regular boring old adult.
I guess I couldn’t balance the two. It was either fuck around, be a goof and a party animal, or be a productive and valued member of society. Someone who does what they should be doing and acts like an adult.
It broke my heart but I couldn’t be both, I couldn’t multitask in that aspect. It was like living as two different people and I was getting older, so I knew what my choice had to be in order to survive.
I didn’t need the sheet music anymore, I sat with my eyes closed leaning against the inside wall of the barn.
I strummed, watching memories pass through my head like reels on an old projector flickering in the dark. I remembered the parties, jam sessions, but mostly older memories from high school and prior.
One of my favorites was the time I woke up my friend by placing an amplifier next to his head then slamming his favorite Metallica riffs. As he awoke to the jarring noise he just nodded his head with the beat, his hand rose from under the blanket as he threw up nodding devil horns.
The melodic tone of the F minor song was flooding me with emotion. I kept playing through the verse as it reminded me of a Chopin piece. The beautiful harmonic chords carrying my bittersweet memories were countered by fierce dissonant melodies that echoed regrets of the past.
I moved through strumming and picking patterns, keeping the chords and melody the same but adding my own twist off the Augmented Major Seven that lead into the chorus.
I practiced until my Mana was back to a full bar again, repeating the song a few more times until I felt I had it nearly memorized.
The sky was fading into darkness as I left the barn. Arthur greeted me at the front to walk with me behind the building where we were met by the faces of my new friends.
I smiled as I sat on a tree trunk. There was a small fire built prior to my arrival. Roger, Zack, Eli, Jared all sat around the fire opposite of my “stage”, Mina stood firmly behind them arms crossed.
“Okay guys. Let’s see if this works.” I took a deep calming breath as I recalled the guitar once more.
I strummed, the backside of my fingernails swept each string, letting the first chord hang in suspense as I brought up the sheet music in my vision.
I layered my strum of the next chord, the melody following as my fingers picked every note.
Every pluck decisive, every strum infused with my will. I saw every fallen man, woman and child from the horrors of the market, it felt like they were the ones who created this prelude, that their spirits together created the very notes I played.
After finishing the first chorus I felt as if I were just another spectator watching my fingers on auto pilot, picking and strumming every note. I approached the second verse with more strength and feeling than the last. Every new note a welcome addition.
As I closed in on the second chorus the tremolo built tension through every rapid strike, and just before the anxiety peaked, the basic arpeggio plucking consumed the tense pressure before it became too much.
I entered the second chorus, powering through as the song now played itself, like the same spirits who created the piece were assisting me through the onerous trial.
I fell into the post chorus/pre-bridge arc of the song where the chords die down and leave me with a slow melodic rhythm. The feeling was almost that of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, First Movement.
Every note was a healing call to the torched and damned. A melody that welcomed them here to rest alongside us.
As I picked through the bridge, Zack stood up and began screaming at me to stop, but his voice was not his own.
I knew who it was.
Voldrix. Gotcha.
Mina kicked at the back of his knee, bringing him to the ground and restraining him in front of me. I didn’t miss a note. I just kept playing, adding more determination to every motion.
I looked Zack in the eyes. They were pure black, filled with hate and disgust.
I smiled at the otherworldly being hijacking his body as I continued, not missing a beat.
I slapped the strings harder and faster with more coordination than ever, adding my own pain to the Lament as the worst night of my life started drowning my thoughts.
Petting my puppy on the head who sat on my lap in the passenger seat, we traveled down the 2 lane road in the middle of the night.
We were laughing about the name my wife chose for him and talking like a couple of cowboys.
I leaned over, kissing her on the cheek.
Not knowing it would be the last time.
Voldrix screamed through Zack, rabid with anger.
I strummed the chord leading into the Outro.
A scream.
The car was struck.
I picked with my fingers, snap pizzicato’s as hard as I could, the strings wet now.
I watched helplessly, reaching to her with my left arm and gripping the puppy with my other.
I was unable to do anything...
I didn’t have the strength, speed, or reaction time that I possess now.
Her buckle snapped.
Her body violently flailed forward, the windshield already shattered from the collision.
I watched as her body skipped over the ground like a rock on a lake, each tumble sounded shredding skin and snapping bones, wetter each bounce as she lost velocity.
Rest. Stillness. Silence.
I screamed.
My head snapped back.
My drenched fingers drifted softly over the strings.
Consciousness left me, along with the love of my life.
I plucked the last note, letting it ring out the sorrows.
Fin.