Year Zero
Chapter Three
February 15th 2007
8:45pm
The sun was beginning to set but Trent Reznor’s stomach was doing no such thing.
The band were due on stage in fifteen minutes but the creepy aftermath feeling was all that was going through Trent’s mind. He had got over nerves before, playing live should be a buzz not a flurry of butterflies however the thought of dangerous men waiting for you made Trent want to barf again.
He dropped himself down on the bright red dressing room sofa. His head dropped to his hands in anxiety.
The USB drive felt like a brick in his pocket pulling him down, a dead weight making him tired and wanting to curl up in a ball rather than carry this burden.
“Fifteen minutes Trent”
Jeordie’s familiar voice called as he entered the room.
A recognizable smile was the first thing Trent looked up to see, it amazed him how some people could be so miserable and others so jubilant. Jeordie may not have had a clue to what was going on behind closed doors in the Reznor mind but still observation was clear, Trent didn’t look good, he didn’t feel good and already he could see flashes of his life before his eyes.
He remembered being ten and eating cherry lollipops in the park with his father, he remembered being seventeen and partying with his old friends. His friends he had forgotten until now.
“You excited?” Jeordie asked as he gave Trent a poke in the shoulder. Trent shrugged him off unamused before sitting up straight, his hands by his side as he looked straight at the bassist.
“I feel like shit”
“You look like shit”
“Thanks” Trent mumbled standing up from where he had sat.
“Want us to call the show off? You’ve been pale and sweating since-“
“No!” Trent cried. Jeordie’s eyes widened taken back by Trent’s sudden reaction, Trent’s eyes themselves were huge as they stared Jeordie down. The front man shook his head as he began to pace up and down the room muttering the word no lost in a world of his own thought.
“Look at yourself man! I think you should lay down and just sleep this off, if that doesn’t work we’ll call a doctor and they’ll-“
“Stop talking”
Trent ordered irritably stopping Jeordie in mid-sentence.
Jeordie’s mouth re-opened but then he shut it again thinking better than to snap at Trent in this state.
Trent’s eyesight snapped to Jeordie yet again and the forty-one year old neared him, Jeordie stood his ground not afraid of his friend but more concerned by his sudden behaviour change.
Trent’s finger went into his pockets and snatched out the USB, he waved it at Jeordie.
“What’s that Trent?”
“It’s a USB!” Trent growled viciously, “But for the purpose of this conversation we’ll call it my life! If this gets into the wrong hands then I don’t have a life you understand me?”
“_It’s only MP3 tracks Trent-“
“No it’s not!” Trent yelled grabbing Jeordie by the back of the head and bringing his face closer to his own, “I’ve done something stupid Jeordie… I’ve been playing a bad game and I’ve run out of credits. Some men are going to kill me for what’s on this USB drive…”
Trent released Jeordie’s head from his hands and fell back on the sofa.
In his frustration the front man grabbed a pillow nearby and threw it at the table, it hit the flower pot sending it crashing to the floor.
Jeordie’s face paled drastically, his lip trembled slightly but the man contained his posture.
“What are you talking about? Are you drinking again?”
“No...” Trent’s voice broke into a small sob, “What am I gonna do? Even if I do put this USB in the toilets they’re gonna find me”
“Who man? We can contact the police we can-“
“They own the police Jeordie, they own everything. It’s the X-Files man…”
“The Government are out to get you?”
“Sounds crazy doesn’t it?”
“We’ll cancel the show and-“Trent literally dived from his seat and tackled Jeordie to the floor. The two fell to the floor with a heavy thud earning an agonizing grunt from Jeordie who shifted underneath Trent’s weight.
“Cancel the show then they know I know they know! We do the show and you’re going to keep quiet about this entire thing ok? You’re just an innocent bystander in all of this Jeordie and that is how we want them to think”
With a well forced push Trent tumbled off Jeordie and onto the floor beside him. Jeordie sat up, his eyes filled with rage as he looked upon his best friend who had just sat himself up.
“Why are you telling me this Trent? Why have you chosen me?”
“Because you’re the only person I can trust Jeordie and besides” He forced a smile, “I need you to make sure whoever finds this baby” He shook it, “Leaves here alive”
8:45pm
The sun was beginning to set but Trent Reznor’s stomach was doing no such thing.
The band were due on stage in fifteen minutes but the creepy aftermath feeling was all that was going through Trent’s mind. He had got over nerves before, playing live should be a buzz not a flurry of butterflies however the thought of dangerous men waiting for you made Trent want to barf again.
He dropped himself down on the bright red dressing room sofa. His head dropped to his hands in anxiety.
The USB drive felt like a brick in his pocket pulling him down, a dead weight making him tired and wanting to curl up in a ball rather than carry this burden.
“Fifteen minutes Trent”
Jeordie’s familiar voice called as he entered the room.
A recognizable smile was the first thing Trent looked up to see, it amazed him how some people could be so miserable and others so jubilant. Jeordie may not have had a clue to what was going on behind closed doors in the Reznor mind but still observation was clear, Trent didn’t look good, he didn’t feel good and already he could see flashes of his life before his eyes.
He remembered being ten and eating cherry lollipops in the park with his father, he remembered being seventeen and partying with his old friends. His friends he had forgotten until now.
“You excited?” Jeordie asked as he gave Trent a poke in the shoulder. Trent shrugged him off unamused before sitting up straight, his hands by his side as he looked straight at the bassist.
“I feel like shit”
“You look like shit”
“Thanks” Trent mumbled standing up from where he had sat.
“Want us to call the show off? You’ve been pale and sweating since-“
“No!” Trent cried. Jeordie’s eyes widened taken back by Trent’s sudden reaction, Trent’s eyes themselves were huge as they stared Jeordie down. The front man shook his head as he began to pace up and down the room muttering the word no lost in a world of his own thought.
“Look at yourself man! I think you should lay down and just sleep this off, if that doesn’t work we’ll call a doctor and they’ll-“
“Stop talking”
Trent ordered irritably stopping Jeordie in mid-sentence.
Jeordie’s mouth re-opened but then he shut it again thinking better than to snap at Trent in this state.
Trent’s eyesight snapped to Jeordie yet again and the forty-one year old neared him, Jeordie stood his ground not afraid of his friend but more concerned by his sudden behaviour change.
Trent’s finger went into his pockets and snatched out the USB, he waved it at Jeordie.
“What’s that Trent?”
“It’s a USB!” Trent growled viciously, “But for the purpose of this conversation we’ll call it my life! If this gets into the wrong hands then I don’t have a life you understand me?”
“_It’s only MP3 tracks Trent-“
“No it’s not!” Trent yelled grabbing Jeordie by the back of the head and bringing his face closer to his own, “I’ve done something stupid Jeordie… I’ve been playing a bad game and I’ve run out of credits. Some men are going to kill me for what’s on this USB drive…”
Trent released Jeordie’s head from his hands and fell back on the sofa.
In his frustration the front man grabbed a pillow nearby and threw it at the table, it hit the flower pot sending it crashing to the floor.
Jeordie’s face paled drastically, his lip trembled slightly but the man contained his posture.
“What are you talking about? Are you drinking again?”
“No...” Trent’s voice broke into a small sob, “What am I gonna do? Even if I do put this USB in the toilets they’re gonna find me”
“Who man? We can contact the police we can-“
“They own the police Jeordie, they own everything. It’s the X-Files man…”
“The Government are out to get you?”
“Sounds crazy doesn’t it?”
“We’ll cancel the show and-“Trent literally dived from his seat and tackled Jeordie to the floor. The two fell to the floor with a heavy thud earning an agonizing grunt from Jeordie who shifted underneath Trent’s weight.
“Cancel the show then they know I know they know! We do the show and you’re going to keep quiet about this entire thing ok? You’re just an innocent bystander in all of this Jeordie and that is how we want them to think”
With a well forced push Trent tumbled off Jeordie and onto the floor beside him. Jeordie sat up, his eyes filled with rage as he looked upon his best friend who had just sat himself up.
“Why are you telling me this Trent? Why have you chosen me?”
“Because you’re the only person I can trust Jeordie and besides” He forced a smile, “I need you to make sure whoever finds this baby” He shook it, “Leaves here alive”