The band started her introduction theme, a soft number she had composed together with Phaolo. It started with a keyboard that varied the notes. The drum beat marched on slowly with regularity. Then the trumpet joined softly for a few notes as the piano picked up pace and set a higher pitch.
A soft flash of fireworks at the side of the stage accompanied Linh’s entrance. Unexpected thunder in the distance magnified the dramatic tension as she waved to the audience. Phaolo frowned as clouds closed upon the moon. A giant cable proved no obstacle for the nimble idol as she twirled over the giant cable duct taped to the stage over her path between the band platforms. It wouldn’t interfere with her dance moves because it rested far enough toward the back.
“Hello everybody, I’m so happy to sing for you. Let’s cheer up together.”
The music stopped; some more fireworks went off at the side of the stage. Somebody yelled ‘Well Child!’ from the audience. Then silence reigned until there was another clap of thunder. Linh trembled, gulped, and felt her knees knock together under her dress.
With a fast twirl that made her bright pink dress bloom out in the glimmering lighting, she signaled he band to resume. Her arm came out and slender fingers with soft pink nails swayed as she felt a rain drop on her skin. The new lighting made the rain twinkle as her perfect make-up hid any imperfection in her complexion. A hushed awe came over the audience as the piano struck gentle keys. A violin ushered in her soft melody.
I leaned on that rusted fence every day,
Where we first met and laughed.
As I watched the children play,
I thought about what could be.
I longed to feel your touch,
Your gentle embrace.
I miss you oh so much,
Whenever I come to our place.
Together, we could have reached the stars
Together, we could have saved this world.
I think of you,
And wish from the bottom of my heart,
That we could be together.
I want to sing for you.
From the depths of my soul.
So come back to me.
Be by my side.
Please Come back to me.
And we’ll be... tooogether.
As she hastened with the chorus her clarity of voice began to produce a slow clap from the audience. Yet another type of clap brewed within the sky. Thunder followed the boom of lightning. Big drops of rain suddenly pelted the audience in sheets. The wind howled. A puddle formed ever larger as the wind pushed water onto the stage from the front. A few in the audience opened umbrellas or pulled out plastic parkas.
Together, we could have reached the stars.
Together, we could have saved the world.
Water ran down the supports, fell from the overhead tarp hastily raised over the singer and pooled toward the front of the stage. Azoria flipped the secondary lighting on. Tape peeled off wires, revealing gaping frays that exposed metal.
I think of you,
And I wish from the booAaaggghh!
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The wet stage proved too slippery as Linh fell on her butt during a simple sway. The speakers screeched as a jolting shock coursed through her system and her make-up began to run. She pulled herself up, kicked off her heels, and continue her song. A gust of wind lifted her hair as droplets of waters sparkled around her. Her voice electrified as her hair hung down dead straight in front of her uniform. Her stance limped. But she still sung.
WE COULD BE TOGETHER!
Smacks and pops sounded from the speakers. Her uniform darkened slightly, as if it caught on fire. Hair frayed. Make-up washed off to reveal pale skin in patches. The crowd began to chant: WELL CHILD! WELL CHILD! WELL CHILD!
The tarp failed. Water cascaded over her head and soaked her hair while making her dress heavy. She stopped singing. The band stopped playing. The chants of continued louder and louder as Linh let out a frustrated scream. Current coursed up her legs and through her torso. She felt her heart popping and crackling as it beat angrily without a defined rhythm.
Phaolo grabbed Azoria by the shoulder, “Cut the lights, shut it down, this is a complete disaster. They’ll eat her alive. It’s over.”
Azoria smiled, a bit damp herself now from the driving rain, “We can salvage this. Lean into it. She may be no uplifting idol, but I sense the next goregrind sensation. Let’s shift the lights!”
The lights shifted to a purplish blacklight haze that turned Linh’s wet and running make-up into a clownish visage of death itself. The pink electrified dress sparkled as her face contorted with each jolt of voltage from the puddle soaking her feet.
“MAKE IT STOP!” she screamed into the microphone.
The drummer picked up on the theme and decided to abandon the repertoire. An intense drum solo that hit multiple notes followed as Linh absorbed multiple shocks. Her hair frayed as her palm burned into the microphone. The crowd went wild with chants of: WELL CHILD! WELL CHILD! WELL CHILD! Hoots, whistles, catcalls erupted from the audience.
“We fear you WELL CHILD!” screamed one group.
Azoria turned to look at Phaolo with a knowing smirk, “See, they didn’t come to see an idol, they came to see... Well Child.”
Linh stopped. She put her head down and raised the microphone above her head. The crowd screamed as rain smacked her burning costume.
“Is she on fire!?” Phaolo said, “Shut it down. This isn’t part of the show!”
Azoria shrugged, ignoring him. He pushed her aside and flipped the main breaker but nothing happened, electricity flowed and continued the show. Phaolo ran across the back of the stage to look for the real breaker.
Linh brought the microphone in front of her face. The drums smacked and the keyboard went wild. But they lacked an electric guitar. She cried into the microphone with an electric edge.
SUFFERING!!!!
The audience repeated her line. They screamed it back to her: SUFFERING!
WHAT IS THIS SUFFERING?
They screamed it back again. Her voice popped and cracked as it went unnaturally low. The light above her groaned so loudly it accompanied the music. The drummer kicked into an overdrive the pianist couldn’t keep up.
When I’m with you I’m HAPPY.
The BLISS fills my being.
Share this world with YOU
and BECOME who I truly am.
“You are WELL CHILD! You are WELL CHILD! You are WELL CHILD!” the audience shouted.
You’re where I long to be.
Suffering becomes my STRENGTH
when I TOUCH yooou!
She raised the microphone above her head and began to shake her hair. Perhaps this was who she truly was all along. She was the Well Child. Gore, horror, and death followed in her wake. A hand reached out and clutched hers to share in the electrical excitement flowing through her flesh.
“Phaolo?”
The light housing above her snapped at the support. It came crashing down. It replaced her face. Phaolo stumbled back from her hand as a jolt went through him. The crowd hooted in nonstop chants as the drummer continued smacking down with enough force to destroy his instruments. Sparks flew from the metal cylinder entrapping what remained of Linh. She lifted her burning hot microphone one last time for the chanting crowd before collapsing. The lighting fixture echoed with a metallic clank.
The lights died.
-----
Stampedes of rain drops brushed the side of the sliding door as thunder bellowed with enough force to make the walls rumble.
“And then I called the police in the dark. No sign of that foreign woman, she ran under cover of darkness. The drummer was the next to realize that it wasn’t part of the act. That Linh had been killed. Nobody on that stage can honestly say it wasn’t deliberate sabotage.”
The detective sighed, “There were still people chanting when I arrived, that concert created quite the stir. Too bad it was her last. But as heart breaking as your story is, there’s not much I can do when the card you gave me doesn’t produce any leads.”
“It’s like an entire company vanished from existence, that kind of stuff doesn’t happen unless some powerful strings are being pulled.”
Chien took a piece of roasted pork for himself and finished it quickly, “If powerful strings are being pulled, it’s best to keep your fingers out of the way. Well, best leave you to it.”
“Sorry if I wasted your time.”
“Don’t worry about it, it was a nice change of pace.”
“If I find that woman, she’s dead. I don’t care who she’s working for.”
Chien pretended he didn’t hear that as he shouted towards the side of the kitchen, “Excuse me, I’ll get the bill.”
A cuter and much younger voice than either man expected answered.
“I’ll be right there, so let’s play a game together!”
Phaolo’s ears twitched at the familiar voice that came from the back. Instead of the aged chef, a slender woman with glowing red eyes, intimidating horns, and a sly smile approached. He didn’t recognize the horns, or the tail that swung behind her. Had Linh been killed by a literal hell spawn? He jumped the counter, but Azoria vanished into thin air the moment before his fist made contact.
Pipes burst and hisses of air followed the scent of something sweetly sulfuric growing overwhelmingly strong in mere moments. The detective stood from his seat.
“We need to get out of this building now!”
An orange beckoning cat toy with black stripes smiled at them while the stove burner’s ignition repeatedly clicked.