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"The citizens will never tell you how bright the sun does shine. How the littered streets gleam and glisten with man's river of neglect. The moon shines through cloudless skies but it cannot touch the power of the streetlights, illuminating the roads and flickering like fireflies.--"
I was afraid, I lost them
All the times that I would waste away
Calling out their names, but no one came
"--Because they no longer see it. Everyone has their moment in this city. The moment when the light fades and the shadows grow, swallowing every shout and scream and whisper. For some it's the loss of friend, others the loss of a family member. Maybe the loss of what was--a life they built torn from their clutched hands. It is not 'life' that takes but the sin men and women and children in this city enjoy.--"
But I kept waiting
Barely holding on
My world's been fading out
"--If you ever want to know who is the villain and who is the hero, bring them here. The City of Tomorrow shines too bright for the darkness we have seen. It blinds the eyes of its people, hiding the villains and distorting the hero's image. I have found living there can drive you insane.--"
I watch the people pay the price
To keep them in a vice
I see it day and night
We're just the cost
"--I guess I shouldn't claim we are not blinded. But it's clearer who is, and who isn't. Rather than rose-tinted glasses, this city places a blindfold over your eyes. Some have taken it off, others still keep it off. But there is not a single clean surface the reflects the light back into your eyes. What we see here is what it is, and I find comfort in seeing things as there."
So you can't tell me what you are
I can see right through
No hiding those scars
I'm not waiting
The amber liquid slowly tipped into her mouth, the glass catching the light. She gently set the glass down, running her finger along the rim as the scent of apples filled the air.
"Is your blindfold off?"
The rough voice earned a soft chuckle as the woman gently rocked in her office chair, letting its creak fill the silence.
"I'd like to think so."
Underground and city streets are
Plagued by curses born beneath
The minds that turn to devil's teeth
With cards to cheat under their sleeves
Without another word, the journalist watched the darkness filled where her unexpected visitor had stood. What once was a shadow she could reach out and touch was now the familiar void every citizen knew.
The night was warm, the city loud, and the lights bright. The journalist was correct: the city was so much more brighter than any citizen would tell you. The architecture was old, feeding into the belief light never reached far. In a way, he knew it never did.
I've watched the rise, I've seen the fall
I'vе witnessed leadеrs lose control
I've walked away to search for answers
In the dark, the night grew faster
The light did the reach the repurposed warehouse, hidden on the edges of the city. The skeletal frame hiding the pristine, contained lab. Not a single uncontrolled vapor escaped the lab, not a single hiss was uncalculated. The tall man, thinned by days of fasting and hallowed by nights of work, was bent over a table, with his perpetually shaking hand carefully writing out the formula.
Without a single concern, he reached for the small mask beside him--the clear, clean plastic tubes replaced with every test--and placed it over his mouth and nose. He let the blackish green vapor fill the tubes before its acrid scent pierced his nose, cutting through his sinuses like a serrated blade.
The only thing that left that warehouse were his screams.
The people pay the price
To keep them in a vice
I see it day and night
We're just the cost
The sniper did not need the light to see his target, moving through the dark hallway as she searched for the safe. The gentle whirr of the singular red eye adjusting to the flickering light as he watched each room she passed. The rifle's muzzle gently tracing each bob, dart, and step.
He did not hear the crack of glass nor the sound of the skull crack. But he could feel it. He could feel the pain in his own head as he watched the woman's head snap back before she crumbled.
Within a moment, a notification of a successful payment appeared within view and with a blink it was gone. He shifted back, using his gloved hands to unscrew the rifle's silencer. By the time the alarm sounded and the police were dispatched, he was long gone. Not a trace left behind save a broken glass and a broken skull.
So you can't tell me what you are
I can see right through
No hiding those scars
I'm not waiting
~
So you can't tell me what you are
I can see right through
No hiding those scars
I'm not waiting
The light shone on the coin, glimmering as it flipped through the air, but it did not shine on the man's face. With the finality of a funeral bell, the coin clattered to the table with its face unrecognizable.
As the man tied to the chair squirmed and tried to plea through the gag but a simple nod from the hidden face moved the soldiers into position.
"You have found to be guilty of violating Code 157. Violators of Code 157, without regard to age, sex, or race, are to be executed."
The gag slipped, the man's desperate pleas echoing in the chamber around them: "Please! I have a husband, two ki--"
A resounding shot, the sound of a body crumpling, then boots hitting the ground and dragging the man, chair and all, away. No tears, no cries, not even a word of acknowledgement.
I'll be watching, waiting in the dark
I will strike the fear into their hearts
Not a face to blame
But they will know the name
The light was off in the Commissioner's office while the department was flooded with the stark white glow. He could hear the running, the ringing, the shouts, and the endless pouring of coffee.
A knock echoed from the door but it opened before he could decline the visitor.
"'E's shown up again."
The Commissioner did not raise his head from the table, letting the Captain remain in the doorway, waiting.
"Want us to track 'em down. . ?"
"And then? Do you have any idea on *how* to catch him?" the Commissioner raised his head tiredly to find his friend shaking his head with a sigh.
"Not. The fuckin'. Slightest. . ."
With that, the Commissioner thudded his head against the table as the Captain closed the door, letting the dark envelope him once more.
Let them rot inside a cell with broken bones
Be the first to cast the final stone
Reclaim
What you've stained
The lights were off in the Asylum, letting its inmates rest. But she didn't need the lights to feel the guard's eyes glaring daggers into her back. She turned slightly, looking through the dark to where he was stationed--where he was always stationed--and mockingly pouted.
"I can feel you staring. Something you want to say? Don't tell me the Cat got your tongue."
Her laughter, high and scratchy, echoed in her cell as she turned back to rest, holding her arm close. She could hear the guard growl, starting forward as his pals grabbed him by the arm. She closed her eyes as she listened to the hissed whispers from his friends while the guard could only grunt and huff in return.
"Tsk, tsk," she whispered with a wry smile.
I'll be watching, waiting in the dark
I will strike the fear into their hearts
Not a face to blame
But they will know the name
The light could not penetrate deep into the ground where he waited. He sat, silent and patient, in the dark. The gentle humming of screens surrounded him like a static hug, awaiting his order to cast the testing room in a false glow of green and white.
The elevator could be heard on his floor, in the room tucked far from harm. The metal doors echoing and clanking with the man-dug shaft shaking as it slowly, begrudgingly lowered its occupant.
The man smiled, white teeth catching the small lights on the panel. How many solved his puzzle? How many were eagerly waiting? Anxiously pacing to prove their worth?
Let them rot inside a cell with broken bones
Be the first to cast the final stone
Reclaim
What you've stained
The light never reached where they wanted it to. Darkness clung to the city like tar: trapping everyone that stepped too close. The light only cast a brilliant shine, making it shimmer with a strange allure that no one could resist.
The light never felt real, almost manufactured. Set in such a way that you could only see what they wanted you to see.
But as the elevator shook, as it reached the final floor and its broken, rusted gates shuddered open, the man in the cowl smiled.
Good thing bats don't need the light.
So you can't tell me what you are
I can see right through
No hiding those scars
I'm not waiting