They don't play alike. They clash and tangle but somehow make it work. Together they are perfection with the edge that we need.
I launch into the chorus, my voice gravel as I project thelyrics to the back of the room. All eyes are on us, and I watch as those eyes widen with astonishment.
“But I'm still breathing, still standing tall
Got my back against the fire, won't let myself fall
You took the light, you took the fight
But I’m clawing through this endless night
Yeah, I’m bleeding. Yeah, I’m scarred
But I’m still breathing with a shattered heart”
Ruby joins me on the chorus, belting it out like she’s been holding it back for years. It’s not just a song tonight—it’s our means of survival. Everyone in the club feels it, too
The next verse follows, and our voices twist together like barbed wire, razor sharp and brutal.
“Your words still echo in my head
Like bullets fired, all full of lead
I gave you truth, you gave me pain
Now I'm baptized in the rain
The silence screams your name so loud
I wear regret just like a shroud
But, this soul you left for dead
Is rising up instead.”
Lydia Scott remains standing at the back, lips parted and eyes locked on us. Most of the audience are starting to show their appreciation, but her look is more calculating, and Ifind myself singing directly to her. Let her evaluate us. We won’t be found wanting
Otis is in his zone, hammering the beat like he’s exorcising his demons. Sweat drips from his chin, and he smiles like he’s hungry for more. Cody’s solo rips through the track, bleeding straight into the breakdown. There’s no more tension in his features, only a look of pure exhilaration.
The crowd goeswild, but unlike most evenings in The Underground, there’s no fighting. Those present are caught up in the notes and beats we’re sending them.
I notice Sebastian watching his brother, jaw tight, impressed. Then he throws down his part, exact and deadly. As a band, we ride out the push and pull of jagged harmony. I almost lose my footing in the tumult. Almost.
Then Ruby grabs her mic again, voice cracking but holding out as she sings:
“So here’s to every tear I cried
To every time I almost died
You broke me down, but not for good
Now I’m stronger than I ever could”
The bridge hits, and we all push harder. Cody drops to one knee, mid-riff, like the rock gods of our youth performing in the biggest stadiums. I nearly laugh at the drama of it all, but hell, it works. The room iswithus. It’s like everyone present has decided tonight’s the night we either break through or explode.
The final chorus comes, and everything slows.
“I’m still bleeding, I’m still scarred
