Chapter 6
six
. . .
Norrie
‘The Underground’ is heaving, everybody has heard about the new band debuting tonight and wants to see them. It’s the same reason I’ve not been able to keep anything in my stomach since lunchtime.
Outside, the excitement spills onto the street, it’s like a throbbing beat.
This all feels like a dare we’ve been stupid enough to take.
I catch the others in the corner of my eye.
Ruby’s quiet, but focused, going over the notes in her head fingers playing on a pretend keyboard in front of her.
Otis is vibrating, his sticks twirling in the air as he flicks them constantly.
Sebastian tunes his guitar, making sure the precious instrument is ready for what he’s about to do.
Cody nervously pulls on his leather jacket, his neck cracking as his head bobs to a beat only he can hear in his mind.
“Let’s go,” I say, steady but feeling wired.
No one replies. It seems that every time any of us performs at this club it descends into a fight. I think even the owner was sceptical when we asked to play as a band. We all know what we could be walking into, but maybe this time, the outcome will be different.
We make our way onto the stage. There’s an all-pervading atmosphere of sweat and tension around us. Nobody quite knows what to expect, including us.
There’s a woman near the back, lips bright red and glass of wine in hand.
She looks like danger. At first, I can’t take my eyes off of her.
She’s out of place, and then I realise who she is—Lydia Scott, a music agent.
She’s trying to look casual, but I can tell she’s fired up, waiting to see if we’ll fly or burn.
Ruby steps up to her mic. She’s wrapped in black leather in stark contrast with her vibrant red hair, and her fingers are placed over the keyboard ready for the signal to start.
I know her story. I was there I saw it. She’s come so far, and she’s still got more healing to do, but she will get there in the end.
Every time she sings and plays another sliver of her past dies.
Otis takes the seat at his drums, sticks ready and determination on his face. He knows, like the rest of us, this is his last chance. Sink or swim. Prison will probably be his only other option.
Cody and Sebastian stand together, united for the first time in years, just as brothers should be. It doesn’t mean they won’t try to outplay each other during this set, but that’s a good thing. Their bitter feud has been replaced by healthy competition, at least for tonight .
And then there’s me. I take my mic in hand as the lights filter down to bathe me in the spotlight. I’ve longed for this moment for forever.
Now is the time.
“I watched you walk into the dark
No goodbye, no last remark
Left me drowning in the flood
Of broken dreams and dried-up blood
Ashes in the bed we burned
Love’s a lesson I never learned
Now I haunt these empty halls
With your ghost behind the walls”
The lyric’s of the first verse are just a whisper. The title, ‘Still Breathing’, is a metaphor for the band.
Otis sets the tempo with fast, primal beats, then Ruby chimes in with her backing vocals and melodic keyboard sounds.
No fights. No fear.
We launch.
Cody hits his first riff like it owes him something. It probably does. He's got that raw edge that Sebastian’s never had, a desperate hunger. They’re brothers, sure, but Cody is fire to Sebastian’s ice.
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 the lyrics 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 I find 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 goes wild, 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
But I’m still breathing with a warrior’s heart ? —”
Just one last chord. It doesn’t feel like the end, though. Instead, it feels like the start of something big. The sound cuts. We’re panting. Shaking. Spent. I lift my fist and shout, and the whole placeerupts. The noise is deafening and a release.
I look at Ruby, and she’s glowing, sweat-slick and wild-eyed. Otis slams his sticks down and roars like a man reborn. Sebastian nods at Cody, who finally looks up like he’s waking from a trance. He grins, and it’s wide and real.
I feel it hit me like a tidal wave:
We survived it.
We owned it.
We’re a storm and a mess. We’re something that can’t be faked.
And for tonight, at least, we’re still together, still a band.
In the back, the agent is still watching. She’s still not smiling, but she hasn’t walked away.
It’s time to play the next song!