Join My Cult - Original Falcon Press

guilty, which made him all the more irritated. I’m not much good, he
mocked himself in his head. You sound like a bratty four-year old.
“The technique might be rough, but the ideas in your head manage to
get out one way or another. Really, you’re too stressed. Play a bit. The
guys might get a little annoyed at the delay, but they’ll have to deal with
it.”
He nodded, absently twirling his finger around a lock of hair.
“You really are out of it. Go in there and play some.”
The group came up from the basement to listen, and gave a round of
applause when he was finished. The sound of the last note died slowly in
the large wood room, reverberating for what seemed like minutes after
the key was struck.
Samantha walked over to his side and sat down, looking into his eyes
silently. He stared back; it seemed he remembered them from somewhere,
long ago—or somewhere, far ahead. Just then, Andy appeared
from the kitchen, waving towards the congregation around the piano.
Alexi sighed and nodded, “I suppose we should begin.”
After a few mesmerizing hours of talking in flickering firelight, Alexi
stood up quite suddenly. The fire had died low, occasionally letting out a
sizzling crackle. The air had the oppressive but pleasant scent of roasting
wood and incense. The wind wailed outside, stronger than ever.
“It’s time for a walk. For most of us…” he said, pointing towards
Samantha, who had fallen asleep on the sofa. Once she was asleep, little
less than an earthquake could wake her.
“Well, first… Jason, come to the car with Alexi and I. There’s something
we’d both like you to experience,” Ken said. He was sitting in a
corner, half-shrouded in the smoky shadows.
The three headed out the back door into the parking lot and into the
Maxima, now frosted in a half inch of snow and sleet.
“In,” Ken said to Jason, gruffly.
Jason sat in the back seat, with Alexi beside him and Ken in the front.
“Close your eyes and calm yourself,” Alexi said to him. On cue, Nine
Inch Nails began blaring on the stereo, thanks to Ken.
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