Broken Soul

*2 Months Before*

“Bye, thanks, guys!” Dannie called to the last few fans who left the club. The crew was taking everything down and she glanced around the nearly vacant room. She noticed her band mates were outside, most likely still mingling, so she decided to see what they were up to. A smile appeared on her face when she approached them.

Bryan, Caden and Evan were having fun talking to the group of fans, she could tell. These little moments were what they lived for. Dannie, the vocalist, was the oldest in their group and Evan was the youngest. Only four years separated them. Dannie had green eyes, but loved wearing colored contacts. Today, she chose purple, her absolute favorite color. Her hair was dark brown, long and straight and usually styled in whatever odd way she felt like teasing it. Right now though, it was down and she had violet streaks in it. Her left eyebrow was pierced and she had a few tattoos; one on her ankle of music notes, another behind her left shoulder of four scratches with red blood seeping out and a third on her lower right arm. It was the word Escapist, a reference to one of her favorite bands, Nightwish. That was her most personal tattoo and was in cursive. And she was usually seen wearing band tees, torn jeans and bracelets. Dannie was also a fan of makeup and loved experimenting with it. Especially, yes, purple eyeshadow, which she had smeared generous amounts over and under her eyes. The boys in the band dressed similar to eachother. T-shirts and jeans also made up of 98% of their wardrobe. The remaining 2% was guyliner. There was Bryan, the oldest guy in the band, who started the band with Dannie. He was the guitarist and had an obsession with unique hairstyles, like her. Every other day, it was a different color or cut. Right now, it was black and messy since he hadn’t thought up a new idea yet. Caden, their drummer, had short, black hair that he usually just spiked in all directions. He was the only band member with a noticable tan. And he loved tank tops. He also had a few tattoos and a bottom lip piercing. Evan, the band’s baby, was the bassist. He was only twenty but he usually acted much older. His feathery black hair was a little long and curtained over his blue eyes. Every other minute, he had to shake his head or push it out of the way. Dannie would always bug him and tell him to just cut it but he refused. They annoyed each other constantly out of love.

Dannie overheard a techie ask for Evan from inside and knew she had to break up this adorable scene. He was taking some photos with a fan and seemed to be in a great mood, despite that he was tired.

“Hey, Evanescence!” Dannie teased, knowing what he thought of that nickname. “You’re needed inside.”

“Aww, okay,” he said, then gave the girls he was conversing with departing hugs. “Bye, thanks for coming,” he told them before heading back into the club.

Soon, all the fans had left and everyone but Dannie went to the bus. Caden saw she was just standing by the back door. “You coming with?” he inquired.

“Yeah, I’m just gonna stand here and wait for Evan,” she replied, tugging on the bottom of her jacket. It was a strange habit she’d always had.

“Alright, later,” he said then disappeared.

“See ya.” Dannie opened her purse and looked inside to find her phone. She wanted to check her missed calls and messages. The entire city seemed to fall quiet that moment. Sounds of thunder broke it. Rain was on its way.

Darkness seemed to envelop the street, the scattered street lights were the only exception. Dannie shivered; She didn’t like the feelings she was getting while being alone there. She gave up on her phone search and thought about heading inside.

Suddenly, a shadow approached her. The sound of a shoe crushing a twig caused her to look up and gasp.

A man dressed in all black grinned down at her menacingly.

“W-what do you want?” Dannie asked, her heart pounding from being startled.

“Your bag,” he demanded. he extended an arm out to her.

Her eyes stared at his gloved hand and she froze. “No.”

“Yes,” the stranger argued. He tried to grab it and tear it off her shoulder, but she backed out of his reach. “I said give it to me!”

There was no way she’d let him have it. This time, he tried grabbing her arm and she screamed, kicked his shin and dashed off into the darkness. He limped for a second then trailed after her.

Meanwhile, Evan had finally exited the venue and was headed for the bus when he heard Dannie screaming. His first response was to investigate it himself. He ran as fast as he could, following the sound of her terrified shrieks. Drops of cold rain fell on him, hardly distracting him one bit.

“Leave me alone!” Dannie demanded. She reached a dead end and her back was standing in front of a fence too high to climb over. The man didn’t listen. After she defied and kicked him, he was determined on hurting her back. Dannie reached into her purse again, dug her shaking fingers down to the bottom and found her phone. She dialed 911.

“Bitch!” the stranger exclaimed and knocked the phone out of her hand. It landed in a mud puddle a few feet away. Before she could get it back, he stomped on it and shattered it. Furiously, he pushed her back into the fence, the force making her lose her balance and also fall into some mud. She watched him hover above her, his evil eyes glazing sinisterly through her. He pulled a knife out from his pocket and Dannie froze in fear.

An unseen force knocked the man off of his feet, tackling him to the ground. Dannie couldn’t believe it. “Evan!”

“Run, Dannie!” Evan ordered, hoping he could stall her attacker. She wanted to find safety but she also didn’t want him getting hurt either.

Evan was able to kick the knife away but its owner just dove right after it. Dannie stood up but hadn’t left yet. As Evan rose to his feet, he saw the man pursue her again. The knife was raised and was about to plummet right into Dannie. She shielded herself with her arms and let out another scream. Her eyes closed tight and she waited to feel the sharp edge pierce into her. “Get the fuck away from her!” Evan warned, darting in front of his friend. He attempted to catch the man’s arm before he plunged. But the rain made it too slick. It slipped right out of his grip.

Dannie heard Evan scream and fall and opened her eyes. She gasped in horror at what she saw. “Evan!!” she cried, kneeling down beside him. “Oh my god….” Dannie glared up at the other man and saw his bloody knife. “You fucking asshole!!” She wasn’t scared of him anymore. All her fears were concentrated on Evan now. Dannie’s stomach cringed at the sight of the dark red seeping through his white shirt. “Evan, I’m so sorry,” she apologized, her tears blending with the rain falling down her face. She took her jacket off and put it over his wound. He was gasping for air, his injured chest struggling to rise and fall with his breaths. Dannie could see the panic in his eyes. It was breaking her heart. “Evan, do you have your phone?” she asked him. He just looked up at her and shook his head no with all the strength he could spare. “Dannie…” he whispered over a faint sigh. He lifted two of his fingers and she knew what he wanted.

“I’m not leaving you,” she promised, gently holding his hand. “Evan, stay with me…” His eyes were closing and she saw blood dripping from his lips. “Oh, no…” She looked around for someone that could help, but no one was close by. The attacker had vanished as well. “Is somebody out there?” Dannie cried desperately. “Please help us! Anybody? Please…” The rain and thunder drowned out her words. She broke down and held him in her arms, doing everything she could think of to help him stay alive. She didn’t want to give up. “Hello? Can anybody hear me? Somebody help him!”

Evan lied cold and still in her arms. His eyes were closed; pulse was slow. Dannie knew there wasn’t much time.