Once the last few acts had come and gone, there was an upbeat spark in the air. A chorus of melodic voices, pounding synths, and heart-filled pangs of musical expression flooded the talent show hall in a tidal wave of passion. Such was the craft of the artist, to twist the emotions of others like chopsticks twisting strands of stringy meat. A guttural, snarling laugh left a shadow of a man as he stood backstage, hearing the final verses of the preceding act. The guitar in his hand seemed to hum with some thirsting intent as he plucked at her strings, twisting away at the knobs on her head and turning her to perfection.
A guttural, sharp shriek hummed from her strings as Lord Raptor gave her a righteous shred with his lucky pick. Was there a more beautiful sound than a fine-tuned guitar? That iron seed that would sprout into a flaming tree of pure, raw metal and rock? He was willing to hear any counter-arguments, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't gouge out the lungs of any bloke who disagreed.
The stage fell silent, and the darkness beckoned the next performer.
"Heh heh heh. Oh, this show is good, but it's like an old corpse - got no soul, no pulse! Looks like ol' Doctor Raptor's gonna need somethin' righteous to jump-start that rotting heart, he he HA HA HA!"
***
Silence gripped the talent show hall in a vice grip. The stage was plunged into utter darkness, contrasting the flashing light show of the previous performance. Amid the lack of light, a warm sensation slowly flooded the hall. A dense cloud of warm mist slowly rolled in from seemingly nowhere, like someone had plunged the stage into the heart of a boiling volcano. Suddenly, a loud mechanical clap. The lights flashed to life at the center of the stage.
[crreeeaaaaaak]
No music yet, save for the sound of loud, wooden creaking. Suddenly, a shadow began to approach the stage from somewhere above in the rafters rapidly. Those watching would witness a brown blur fall unto the scene.
[THUNK!]
The object was sinking slightly into the stage as it impacted with it like a meteor. Once the dust had blown from the 'impact site,' it was clear what it was.
It was a massive wooden coffin with a substantial golden plaque bolted to the frontside, staring back at the audience. The text engraved unto the plaque was large enough for all to see regardless of where they sat and where they looked, etched eternally upon the corroding metal.
The plaque reads,
'LORD RAPTOR'
Suddenly, somewhere above the stage began to shriek. The heat of the mist began to intensify as the lights shining directly downwards unto the scene started to shudder and fly into a haywire malfunction, flickering at an increasing pace. The ground of the stage began to morph and disfigure as if something was forcibly digging up onto the surface of the platform from below. A haywire stage light managed to spill some illumination onto the far corners of the stage, where the audience could see the shadow of rotting hands shoot up from the ground.
Each flicker of the lights brought more and more shadows onto the stage, flashing the faintest suggestion of figures shuffling in the dark, shambling onto the stage with instruments clutched into their dead hands. Whether they were actors in makeup or the product of something far more sinister, these rotting corpses clutched their ‘weapons’, a pounding percussive beat starting from the zombie on the drums.
The flickering lights finally subsided, now blazing as bright as the sun overhead. The rumbling turned to a shuddering clap of thunder. The coffin
explodes. As the drums begin to pick up their pace, the other guitarists unleash a gnarly shred on their tools of choice, their dead hands flying across the strings with a radical sound as a pillar of flames rises from where once stood Lord Raptor's coffin, smoldering chunks of wood spilling across the stage. A vague shadow of a man stood amidst the roiling fire, rising into view from seemingly nowhere.
A sharp, crimson electric guitar fell into his claws, and as he held to it, the more the shape of his frame seemed to twist and mutate. The figure raised a blood-red pick to the sky, swinging it down unto the strings and joining the band of the dead in a frantic chorus of grumbling guitars. The pillar of fire billowed away from the center of the stage, scorching the curtains and floorboards as the figure at the center suddenly lunged ahead, sparks of thunder and fire leaping from his claws as he began to shred away on the guitar.
And his jaws flew wild, and an awakening shriek filled the hall, soon turning into horrid laughter.
"URRRYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
He lunged his claws forward, tearing the mic free from its stand and sending the latter hurtling towards the audience. The undying corpse, his pallid flesh still baked in embers from his fiery entrance, leaned into the mic and began his steely sermon, his voice twisting into a radical octave that sliced at the ear like a hot-iron pike.
STIIIIIIL STANDIN' TALL!
OUR HEELS UPON A ROTTIN' WORLD!
TENAAAACIOUS TO THE BONE!
STRIKIN' FEARS INTO HEEEAARTS!
WE BREAK THE WALLS!
WE BREAK THE LAWS!
TYRANTS OF THE IRON FAITH!
NO RESPECT, NO REMORSE!
NO CONFORMATION!
He twirled his guitar in his grip like an ax, pointing it out towards the audience as the pyrotechnics around him spewed jets of flame across his rotting band.
WE BRING THE PAIN!
POWER INSANE!
UPON THE BRIGHT ALTER OF OHM!
LORDS OF ELECTRIC WARFARE, TOTAL TERMINATION!
The zombie tossed the microphone back up, catching it in his teeth as he let out another shrill, evil cackle, twirling his guitar back into his claws and beginning to let out another belt of metal sound. The drums kept up the pounding pace, the backup guitarists keeping a steady back-track to the Raptor's wild shredding, his body convulsing with leaps of electricity as he went.
VOOOOCAL BLADES THAT STIIING!
POSSESSED AM I,
THE HIDDEN ONE SINGS!
STRIIIINGS AND CHANNELIIINGS!
BLACK STAR IN EFFECT!
The stage began to rumble, shuddering intensely.
WE BREAK THE WALLS!
WE BREAK THE LAWS!
TYRANTS OF THE IRON FAITH!
NO RESPECT, NO REMORSE!
NO CONFORMATION!
WE BRING THE PAIN!
POWER INSANE!
UPON THE BRIGHT ALTER OF OHM!
LORDS OF ELECTRIC WARFARE, TOTAL TERMINATION!
He threw his body forward, and the flaming pyrotechnics shifted their gouts into a steady, banging beat. The lights flashed on and off, and the band of the dead began to lazily swing their heads back and forth as they continued to play. It was only then that it was clear they were headbanging.
FLAAAAAAAAME OF THE TYRANTS BUUURNING!
FAAAAAAALL TO YOUR KNEEES AND PRAY!
A NEEEEW IRON AGE IS DAAAWNIN'!
He shot a clawed finger towards the audience, tongue flapping wildly as he made his declaration.
TYRANT'S FLAME CONSUMES YOU AAALL!
[BAAAAM!]
The back of the stage exploded outward, a plume of raging flame and smoke and charred chunks of debris staining the 'arena'. The engine of some great machine roared across the hall in tune with the rumbling metal; a mechanical devil, resembling a
fully-sized motorcycle drove into the zombie, who leaped into the air just before impact and shrieked wildly, flipping mid-air to plant his feet unto the seat of the raging machine.
Plumes of flame and smoke and electricity billowed around him as he raised his bloody pick to the air, the motorcycle beneath his feet beginning to skid around in a circular motion.
"LET'S ROOOCK! EYAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
And then he began to
shred.
The electrifying melody was of rock, and metal, and soul. The undying band members convulsed as their leader held his position atop the self-driving vehicle, his hands flying across the instrument as if possessed by some unholy spirit. The hall filled with the sound of righteous thunder, his guitar spewing forward belts of electricity from its head like it was it's own crude weapon.
Rotting hands shot from the ground, bending their middle fingers inward and their outward fingers outward - the sign of the horns.
Suddenly, Lord Raptor slammed his foot into the stage, bringing the skidding motorcycle to a sudden halt as he shot his claw out towards the audience, his voice taking on a domineering air amid his wild cackling and grinning jaws, swinging his guitar above his head like a warlord leading his men to battle.
BREAK YOUR CHAINS!
CLEAN YOUR HEAD!
ENTER THE FIRE AND BE FREEE!
And then, he threw his hands outward, like a mad priest delivering a sermon to his congregation.
THIS IS HEAVY METAL TYRANNY!
The rotting hands threw their horned hands outward to the beat of his iron decree.
WE BREAK THE WALLS!
WE BREAK THE LAWS!
TYRANTS OF THE IRON FAITH!
NO RESPECT, NO REMORSE!
NO CONFORMATION!
WE BRING THE PAIN!
POWER INSANE!
UPON THE BRIGHT ALTER OF OHM!
LORDS OF ELECTRIC WARFARE, TOTAL TERMINATION!
The motorcycle roared to life once more, Raptor taking his place it the very top while his band rejoined the song with their pounding instrumentals. Their heads began to bang, and their hands threw the horns high to the sky. The flames started to spew, and Lord Raptor simply held his hands wide to his side, craning his head back and belting out his decree to the smog-filled roof.
FLAAAAAAAAME OF THE TYRANTS BUUURNING!
FAAAAAAALL TO YOUR KNEEES AND PRAY!
A NEEEEW IRON AGE IS DAAAWNIN'!
TYRANT'S FLAME CONSUMES YOU AAALL!
The instrumentals picked up their pace. Lord Raptor flung his claw above his hand, forming the sign of the horns.
FLAAAAAAAAME OF THE TYRANTS BUUURNING!
FAAAAAAALL TO YOUR KNEEES AND PRAY!
A NEEEEW IRON AGE IS DAAAWNIN'!
TYRANT'S FLAME CONSUMES YOU AAALL!
He clutched the microphone in his hand, hurtling it into the ground and producing a resounding crack. Bolts of lightning leaped from his hands and rotting form as the undying rock-star held his guitar in one hand and pointed the sign of the horn to the audience.
His voice needed no guitar, for it was loud enough for all to hear.
FLAAAAAAAAME OF THE TYRANTS BUUURNING!
FAAAAAAALL TO YOUR KNEEES AND PRAY!
A NEEEEW IRON AGE IS DAAAWNIN'!
TYRANT'S FLAME CONSUMES YOU AAAAAAAAAAAAAALL!
He flung his fingers across the guitar, producing one final shred. A strikingly bright pillar of flame rose from the center of the stage once more, burning a hole through whatever lay in its path. Smoldering air, roaring engines, and a rising, victorious cackle was all that could be heard once the powerful tones of the guitar had finally subsided.
Suddenly, the lights went out. The heat and mist of the room vanished, and total darkness flooded the area.
When the lights came back up, the stage was there - untouched, undamaged. Like nothing had happened at all.
Lord Raptor was gone.
@Yun Lee