The ColorWheel Project

Chapter 0 – Prologue: "Crash with Me!" Blair … The time had come. We silenced the radio playing to call the crowd toward the cave in the dimming sunset and made our way to the platform stage we’d set up as far back as the opening in the cliff would allow. The mouth of the cave was large and high, perfect for our sound. Everything echoed back to us like an amphitheater. We were all warm from rehearsal and the lingering heat from the desert sun. But the air was cool and quiet, ready to be filled with our sound. This show was going to be wild. On stage with all our equipment plugged into the softly buzzing power cube at the back of the cave, we began to play. Tessa kept her drums soft and worked a pedal for the light rig to signal the crowd. Our first song started with a prolonged intro while we waited for people to come closer and fill the cave. Tessa killed the lights inside and would keep it dark until the bass drum kicked in later in the song. I took the cordless mic from its stand and stepped off stage for a moment. I walked along the edge of the cave to the entrance. I could see the shining city lights in Delta. I narrowed my eyes at the pyramid until it was a smudge in my line of sight. I tugged on a cord that dropped the thick black curtains we set up over the mouth of the cave. It was pitch black now. "Hush." I said into the mic to calm the crowd, murmuring all startled-like to find themselves in utter darkness. "Hush." The soft echo came back to me. "Hush." David said into his mic. The crowd’s noise dwindled down to a dull murmur. "Hush." His echo came back. "Hush." Jass said in the softest whisper and the murmur died away enough for everyone to hear her echo right as I got back to the stage. "Hush." I let the silence settle in, like respect for the dead, or a tragedy, or a religious service. I imagined heads bowed in prayer, though I could see no one in the dark of the cave. Not one little light. "CRASH WITH ME!" I yelled powering on the stage lights, setting our stage in color and heat. The crowd roared in glee for the show to start. Tessa hit the drums and led us into our first song of the night. She was sharp, on beat and perfect. David’s guitar wasted no time and began to slay right away. It melted me. His music was love. Jass played the bass line with rhythm and heart. I stepped over to her and squeezed her shoulder. She’d been dying for this for weeks. Tessa was a mad witch beating at the drums and then I started to sing. Everything blurred. I let the music take me over. Each song rolled over me like growing waves on choppy seas. I did my best to stay present, but the music drowned me, and the waves swept me away. Time felt like water, slipping through my fingers. I didn’t know if it was flowing or holding, until the last song spilled from my lungs. I collapsed to my knees as the final note faded and Tessa stilled her cymbals. She clapped her sticks together and I looked up at the crowd, brought back to myself at last. I wondered if I was still out-of-body. Their mouths were open like they were screaming, but I heard nothing but my own heart beating against my ribs. I slumped forward and passed out. The lights must have been too hot after all. "We did it, Blair!" Jass whispered in my ear, who knows how long after I fainted. I was soaked in cooling sweat. I was lying on my back now instead of on my face. "Baby! Wake up. We did it. We played our show. The ARC didn’t come. We made everyone’s night! Now we just must go say hi to people." I groaned. "Come on, Blair. Wake up. People want to meet us!" She leaned down and kissed my lips. That shook me. I gasped and fluttered my eyes open. I sat up. "What happened?" "You passed out for a couple of minutes. Are you okay?" "Yeah." I looked around, "Where is everyone?" "Talking to the people that haven’t left yet." I looked out at the crowd. Only a handful of people were left. Some stood by the stage staring at me and Jass. They definitely saw that kiss. I sat up all the way and scooted to the edge of the stage. Jass came down in one jump in front of me and helped me down. She made sure my legs didn’t buckle out from under me. "I’m alive!" And I’d survived our first show of our tour. Plenty more to come.