A Force You Want to Relinquish
By Juliana
NDSMSB@aol.com

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    "Daniel, we're going on now," Savage Garden lead singer Darren Hayes called to his band mate. Daniel Jones finished applying his earplugs, which seemed to drown out the deafening screams of hundreds of thousands of fans outside. Tonight was not only the biggest concert Savage Garden had experienced, butalso the most phenomenal concert event of the 20th century in the United States. The crowd was wild as Darren and Daniel put forth one hard-driven song after the other.
    One week ago, that was the case. How ironic is it to attract a crowd of 900,000 at one of the largest stadiums, and the next end up like they did.
    On the breezy October afternoon, Darren and Daniel and their five-piece back-up band stood outside a tall, off-white building. It was supposedly Stark St. Theater. " Are you sure we have the right place?" Daniel asked Darren for the hundredth time.
    Darren observed a piece of paper in his hand. " 39 Stark St., there it is in black and white," he replied with a long, despondent sigh. Nobody seemed happy in the least bit with the old theater, and even disgusted. Once they had ventured inside, those feelings were fueled strongly. The air was dusty and smelled stale and rotten. The floor, ceiling and walls crumbled. " Whoa, what died in here?" choked Daniel as he and the others stood in the cramped backstage area. " Call this a venue," grumbled Darren and folded his arms over his chest.     Darren joined Anna Maria, Ben, Karl, Lee and Nicole in a group to rant and rave about the conditions. With a little more hope, Daniel went off in search of any other space. He found a closet on one side of the stage, but alas it only brought him more disappointment. It was tiny and reeked of mothballs and dust. The walls were punctured with holes and a few empty crates lay on the floor, gathering dust.
    Daniel started out at Darren's call. As he exited, something caught his eye in the wall. But there was no time. They were going on now, with their fingers desperately crossed.
    A shallow crowd of 200 sat stiffly in the uneven rows of chairs set out before the small stage. Maybe seeing Savage Garden was one thing, but after one long hour of music interrupted by coughs and sneezes in the dusty air, many made a quick break for the exits.
    " I'll be right back," said Daniel after the show and slipped across the stage to the closet, fumbling in the darkness under a dim bare bulb dangling from the high ceiling overhead.
    Whatever he'd seen in the closet was worth notice at the least. The flashing object caught Daniel's eye, and he reached into the hole. He felt in his hand a smooth lump and a rough chain. He pulled it out, and realized much to his surprise that it was a necklace, a gold-chained necklace with a circle containing half a shiny bluish stone. Daniel eyed it with satisfaction. "That is nice," he said and hurried to catch the rest of the group.
    Nobody had noticed Daniel's new decoration until they checked into the hotel that night. Darren looked at Daniel's neck. " Good Lord, Dan. Where did you get that!" he exclaimed. Daniel glanced at his neck proudly. " It was back at the theater in an old closet. Nice," he responded. " Back at the theater! Daniel, for all I can say it's cheap hard plastic!" scoffed Darren. "Get real, Darren. It is real. Feel it for yourself," protested Daniel. Darren held it in his fingers carefully and said nothing afterward. Daniel grinned cheekily. Just jealous because I found something valuable and all you could do was breathe the air thought Daniel with a smirk.
    In his hotel room that night, Daniel reached behind his neck to take the necklace off, and realized that the chain was connected all around. " What the-" he hissed in confusion, almost frightened. He searched frantically with his fingers for any opening. But once his arms had grown tired and ached, he fell back onto the bed.
    Daniel flipped on the TV and laid there on the bed very still for hours. Late that night, long after prime time was over, Daniel was asleep, almost having forgotten entirely about the necklace.

...ContinueD...
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9(10/13/98)
Chapter 10(10/13/98)
© Juliana



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