The Forgotten

In the morning Gloria awoke out of a slumber she hadn't remembered since being alive. She stretched her arms, hopping out of bed. Her head poked out the door ridden with bed head. As her eyes were almost welded shut with crud. Tentative steps lead her to the top of the landing where she could hear voices below. Now she felt like the human walking in on ghosts.

"You're awake!"
Billie called up to her, flashing her his goofy grin. She rubbed a hand down her face, letting each foot hit the steps with a deafening thud. Slamming herself down into a chair at the table.
"You're alive."
Joey spoke with a mouth full of cereal.
"Is he serious?"
Her voice raspy from sleep. Everyone looked at each other.
"What? Jakey hand me that cup of coffee."
She motioned at the full cup sitting in the middle of the table.
"But you don't-"
Billie stopped short watching her down a whole cup of coffee.
"I do now."
She smiled contently. As she affectionately ruffled the top of Jake's head.
"How come you can now?"
He questioned. His theories from last night buzzing in his head.
"Don't know but something feels different."
She herself was holding something back from Billie. While demons had a quality to roam the earth visible to one person their whole existence or to all of humanity to see. Gloria never knew she could be one of those. And those demons were powerful beyond belief. But she had duties herself, she had to attend to. Tormenting Billie one of them. But truthfully she didn't want to. She wondered what would happen to her if she refused.

"So what do you think?"
She blinked looking up at Billie whom was talking to her.
"About?"
He sighed realizing she hadn't been paying attention.
"Letting me introduce you to Mike and Tre."
"Only them, then no one else."
She mysterious spoke, looking down at the empty cup between her hands.
"How come?"
Joey looked over to her. He could tell something was up, even if his Father neither wanted to ex-knowledge it or admit that Gloria had been acting funny this morning. Almost as if she was self destructing in a way.
"I can't keep letting all these people see me. It's fucking dangerous. It's enough that more than one person knows I exist."
She spat out. Reminding Joey that she was still an other worldly creature. Billie stared at her stunned. Gloria stood up, ragged appearance melted into what she always looked like. Perfectly straight hair and vibrant red lips snarled at them. Billie couldn't understand why she would be acting in such a way. Her cat lined eyes, blinked as she vanished in thin air. Billie held in his breath, as a terrifying thought came to mind. What if he only made things worse?

Gloria was standing in front of a brick wall, down an alley way. Why she wasn't sure. But a chalk outline had been made in the shape of a door on the brick. She tentatively stepped forward, pushing it with her fingers. The brick cracked and opened. Dust particles breaking away from the crumbling concrete. An eerie green light shown out from a fog on the other side. She walked through as if hypnotized. Her feet leading her down a blinding path of light. Was she gong to Heaven? But the black scorch marks on the wall told her otherwise.

She came into a room that practically blinded her it was so white. With an industrial watted light shining in her eyes. Fog whirling around her. Many voices started flooding in on her at once. She could make out a few of them as the Armstrongs. But the loudest of them was Billie. And he sounded frantic. She wondered why. Almost concentrating on what he was saying, an almost dog whistle so high it popped her ear drums drilling into her brain. It sounded like a high pitched violin that was
violently attacking her from the inside. Her shaky hands went to her ears, shielding them.

It only said the same thing over an over again, YOU ARE DEAD! YOU ARE DEAD! She dropped to her knees in pain. Then as suddenly as it came, it was gone. And she was some place else entirely. She was back up inside the dusty attic. Her eyes followed down to her hands still shaking.

She sat there for a while. Mind a blank. Yet the message whoever sent her got through. She was dead in a living world, and didn't belong. When she was trying to. Not only that but got too close to Billie in the process. Giving him false hope that she could truly live in harmony with him. If only it was possible. She enjoyed his company emencely. Wanting nothing more than to be alive and spend forever by his side. Her face pressed into the tops of her knees as she held herself in a prison of self conviction.

"What if she went back to Hell? And I'll never get to see her again?"
Billie rambled on nervously. Having since taken his panicking thoughts outside with his wife. A lit cigarette hung from his fingers.
"We have no control over that Billie. We'll just have to wait it out."
Adrienne tried to calm her husband. Having never seen him so upset.
"I don't want to wait! It could be too late by then!"
He yelled at her, clutching himself. To get a grip on what was happening. As he slowly fell into a panic attack.
"Billie calm down or you're going to upset yourself. Just breath."
All he could do was clench his teeth, as his body shook violently.
"Billie stop!"
His vision blurred as the shaking continued. His body going in to violent spasms. As his heart felt like it was beating out of his chest, a pair of yellow eyes leveled in front of him.
"Stop it."
She said, a coolness wrapping around him.
"I can't."
He gridded out. Her eyes narrowed.
"Yes you can. Now calm down Billie Joe."
The flood gates opened as he took a deep breath letting the shaking subside. Everything became more clear as Gloria appeared to be standing in front of him with a look that he couldn't place. He stood up intending on wrapping his arms around her but she held out her hand, it firmly pressing into his chest. A sickening feeling dropped in his stomach. If she could touch him again, that meant it was all over.

"Don't."
His hand reached out to touch her but went right through.
"Gloria."
His voice cracked as pain was painted on his face.
"I'm a demon Billie, that's all I'll ever be."
A sad smile firm on her face.
"But you're not."
He denied not wanting to believe the truth. She let her hand settle on his forearm. Her fingers caressing his tattoos.
"You're gonna forget me Billie. Things will be better this way."
"But I don't want to forget."
His voice oddly child like. Suddenly feeling very lost.
"It's gonna be alright."
Her voice coming out smooth and angelic to him. The sun shining behind her, making a halo of light around her head. Her skin became translucent. Slowly she faded away into nothing. Until it was only Billie and Adrienne alone in the backyard.

A month had passed in the Armstrong house. Everything seemed to go back to normal. And as Gloria said everyone forgot what happened. All except Billie Joe, who made it a point to never forget. He'd work his brain everyday if he had to. He couldn't forget her, even if he wanted to. It just wasn't possible. But more than he'd like to admit it was slowly becoming harder and harder to even remember her name.

He was in the studio more than ever, they were set to release the trilogy soon. Many songs well influenced by a certain demon Billie just wasn't ready to let go of.

Everyone was out for the day leaving Billie alone in his basement to his thoughts. He was done with the last album but to him it just didn't feel right. He wanted one last song. Something to put a definite end. He closed his eyes resting his fingers on the piano keys. His mind flashing through images that happened not that long ago. Of a girl whom he wished he could remember her name. Her face surrounded by jet black hair, small button nose, and pursing red lips. Yet her eyes were what beamed into Billie's skull. Orchard colored with flecks of brown in them. He could feel his fingers pressing down on the keys as his mouth opened up.

"Where in the world's the forgotten?
They're lost inside your memory. You're
dragging on, your heart's been broken.
As we all go down in history.

Where in the world did the time go? It's
where your spirit seems to roam. It's like
loosing faith to our abandoned. Or an
empty hallway from a broken home.

Well don't look away from the arms of
a bad dream. Don't look away sometimes
it's better to be lost than be seen.

I don't feel strange, it's more like
haunted. Another moment trapped in
time. I can't quite put my finger on it.
But it's like a child that was left behind.

So Where in the world's the forgotten?
Like soldiers from a long lost war. We
share the scars from our abandon. And
what we remember becomes folklore.

Well don't look away from the arms of
a bad dream. Don't look away sometimes
it's better to be lost than be seen.

Don't look away from the arms of a
moment. Don't look away from the arms
of tomorrow. Don't look away from the
arms of a moment. Don't look away
from the arms of love.

Well don't look away from the arms of
a bad dream. Don't look away sometimes
it's better to be lost than be seen.

Don't look away from the arms of a
moment. Don't look away from the arms
of tomorrow. Don't look away from the
arms of a moment. Don't look away
from the arms of love. "

His fingers lifted off the keys. His heart feeling much lighter. He didn't know what came over him. His hand caressed his chest. He didn't know what the song meant but he knew that girl in his head was the cause. He picked up a pen and scribbled in his scrawl 'The Forgotten.'

Picking it up, he smiled at his song. Finally feeling it was all complete.