(Jessica Donner – New York City, New York – 5:30 AM)

Ert! Ert! Ert!

Jessica stirred in her sleep. She gently turned over as she felt her husband slam his hand onto the noisy alarm clock. Even though she was awake, she kept her eyes closed and listened to the sounds of the early morning. Her husband got out of bed and grabbed his daily running attire. As he left the room, she silently drifted back to sleep.

The soft kiss of her husband awoke her again. She snuggled deeper into her warm covers as he said, "Your V.I.P pass is on the table. I'll see you at the concert."

As he left, she let out a soft, "I love you."

The door closed and she was left in the room all by herself. Her head slightly rubbed against the soft pillow beneath her head. She kept her eyes closed but she could no longer sleep. Jessica turned over to her right side and tried to fall back into slumber... but with no avail. Finally, after much tossing and turning, she sat up.

Her eyes went to the clock. She let out a large sigh. "I better get ready for work then if I can't go to back to sleep."

Jessica Donner was a thirty year old nurse at the Community Hospital in New York City. It was a well paying job that had good hours, something she often said was 'nothing to complain about'. Jessica was the type of person that wouldn't complain about much. She wanted to do what was best for everyone. Rarely would she raise her voice in anger, but on occasion, she could get plenty mad. She also loved her husband very much. It was like any other marriage, with the ups and downs and the arguments, but they always made up in the end. If there was one thing that she could say with certainty, was the she loved her husband.

Jessica Donner slowly got out of bed. A yawn made its way out and she put her hand politely in front of her mouth to cover it. Her feet took her to the window. Light flew in as the shades were pulled up. The now dark bedroom was filled with sunlight, giving everything a full awake feeling. The sun had risen into the sky and said 'hello.'

On a table to her right was a little flower. Jessica had always wanted a garden, but since they lived in the city, there was nowhere to cultivate one. The plant was her compromise. It was slowly fading away, however. Patches of brown on the healthy green had slowly been popping up.

Jessica went to the flower and touched the petals. "Why are you dying?" she said to it. The rim filled with water as she poured some into the pot. Little by little, the liquid sunk deeper into the soil. Jessica touched the leaf again. "I wish I could make you better."

As she left to take a shower, the flower petal slowly began to turn from dying brown, to a lively, healthy green.

Jessica walked through the sliding double doors into the Hospital. A friendly receptionist was behind a tall desk. Jessica waved at her and went to the elevators. She pressed the button to go up. Just as she had pressed it, the ding of the elevator sounded, telling her that there was an elevator on the way. The doors slid open, and a friendly face greeted her.

"Hey, Jess," said the friendly face.

"Hi, Tiffany," Jessica said. She stepped into the elevator and the doors closed behind her.

"So..." Tiffany began. "How are you doing?"

Jessica moved the lock of brown hair out of her eyes. "I'm doing okay. I'm a little late because of some traffic. It was really bad today."

"Well, that's too bad. I came early so I guess I just missed the traffic."

"Guess you did," Jessica stated.

The elevator came to a halt and the double doors opened. Jessica and Tiffany walked out. Jessica began taking off her light jacket. "Well, I'm hoping today is an easy day."

"Oh?" Tiffany asked. "Got something planned?"

Jessica smiled. "Yeah. It's David and my anniversary tonight."

"Really? Congratulations. Where's he taking you?"

"This morning he told me that my V.I.P pass was on the table and that he'd meet me at the concert."

"A concert?"

Jessica laughed. "I know, romantic right?"

"Yeah… maybe it's a ploy. Like maybe he wants you to think it's a concert, but he's really taking you to an expensive restaurant."

"Well, "Jessica said, "I checked and it was a legitimate V.I.P pass to the Logan concert tonight. I mean, he does go to concerts sometimes to take pictures for bands."

Tiffany shrugged. "I don't think that's all he's gonna do though. If you ask me, I think he has something more planned. But that's just me."

Jessica nodded. "I think you're right."

She opened the door to the changing room so that she could change into her scrubs. Tiffany waved good-bye and headed off towards the end of the hall. Jessica walked inside and quickly changed. With her scrubs on, she went to go meet her first patient.

"Who's my first patient, Doctor Childers?" she asked.

Doctor Childers looked at a folder and handed it to her. "This is Tomas Perez. He says that he has the flu. Do the regulars, and I'll be in soon."

"Okay," she responded.

Jessica looked over the folder before walking to the waiting room. She opened the door. "Tomas Perez?"

A tall Hispanic man looked up. He put the magazine that he was reading down and walked over to her. He smiled and opened his hand for a greeting. "Hello, there."

Jessica took the handshake. "Hello. Please follow me."

Jessica walked over to a weight scale and a height measurer, and took the man's measures. She walked over to a room marked 'Rm. 2' and opened the door. Tomas walked in and took a seat. Jessica opened her folder and began asking the routine questions. After a quick assessment, she politely excused herself and told him that the doctor would be in soon.

"I think this is going to be an easy day," she said with a smile.

The concert hall was beginning to get full. People were already sitting in their seats and impatiently waiting for the opening band to finish their set. Jessica peaked her head out from behind the curtain and looked out at the audience. It was very packed.

She turned around to see a security guard standing by. It was an opportunity to use the pass, since no one had made her use it coming backstage. She crept around behind him and held the pass in her hand. "Um, excuse me, sir."

The security guard turned around, he eyed the woman. "Yes?"

"I got this pass from my husband… and I don't know what to do with it," she said in her most innocent voice.

The security guard sighed. "That gives you an all access pass backstage."

She made her eyes wide. "All access?"

"Yes."

Jessica walked pass the security guard and laughed. She had never been backstage before, but she knew what it was all about. It was just some fun to joke around with the security guard. Jessica held the card that was attached to a string in her hand.

She made her way to the backstage rooms and walked to the door marked 'Logan.' First she knocked. There was no answer. Flashing lights were undeniably coming from the room. She knocked again. The flashes stopped and the door opened up.

A young man wearing a leather jacket answered. "May I help you?"

Jessica smiled. "Hi, my name is Jessica Donner." She held up the V.I.P pass, "And I have a pass, so I can come back here right?"

The young man nodded. "Sure. You wanna meet the band?"

"Of course!"

Jessica nodded her head to the music. The concert had begun a while back and she actually enjoyed it. In her mind, the music wasn't half bad. The paper cup of water that was in her hands crumpled up as she finished the last drop. She looked around and saw her husband searching through his camera bag on the couch. She walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned around and smiled. "Hey, Jess. Enjoying the show?"

"I am, Babe, but I'm enjoying the backstage pass even more," she happily waved the plastic card on a string back and forth. She looked around at the other stage hands. "I can't believe I'm backstage. You do this all of the time?"

David smiled and held his wife in his arms. "Only sometimes. Besides, I thought I'd take you some special for our anniversary. It's not everyday someone gets to go backstage and meet the hottest band in the entire world."

Jessica opened her mouth in shock. She couldn't let her husband know that she had already figured out the surprise prior. She let him hear what he wanted to hear. "I'll get to meet some rock stars? You shouldn't have, David, I'm… wait, you remembered our anniversary?"

David twisted his lips in a fake annoyance. "Of course I remembered. You think I would forget the anniversary to the most important day of my life?"

She kissed him. "I am so lucky that I have you."

He kissed her back. "You are so lucky that you-"

David stopped short of his sentence. He looked around. He held the side of his temple, letting go of his wife. Slowly he walked around backstage, looking back and forth.

"What's wrong, David?" She asked.

"You don't feel that?"

She tried to understand what was happening. "Feel what?"

"Something's wrong. Something's… very wrong."

Jessica watched her husband walk closer to the curtain that led to the stage. He peered over to the other side.

Wayne grabbed the microphone. "This is our last song everybody."

The crowd voiced their discrepancies to his statement.

"It's okay, it's okay," he began, "'cause this next song is dedicated to all of you. Every single one of you out there in the audience. Our faithful fan base. Without you we wouldn't be a band and we thank you." He took a bow.

Jessica followed after him. He was yelling something to Wayne, the lead singer of the band. She walked up behind him.

"What's going on, David?"

David ran on stage. "Wayne! He's got a gun!"

Wayne turned around. David waved his hands frantically in the air. Jessica looked on stage and noticed a man walking towards Wayne with a gun. She watched as her husband tried to save him. David grabbed the rock star by his shirt and covered him with his body.

A gun shot rang throughout the concert hall.

Chaos ensued.

Jessica fell on her hands and knees. She covered her head. "That man has a gun! That man has a gun!" She yelled towards the people backstage. She looked up and saw a woman, who wasn't there before, standing next to the gun carrier. David got up to pursue her. A blinding light erupted on the stage Jessica was blinded. There was a sound of an explosion. And then only pain.

Jessica opened her eyes to the sound of a heart monitor. The steady, constant beeping. She tried to move but her body ached. Her arms were sore and her stomach was hurting. Her chest heavily moved back and forth as her breathing was hard. Jessica opened her mouth to speak.

"Nurse…" she said in a hoarse voice. There was no answer. Jessica strained to get her words out. "Nurse!"

The door to the room opened, but she could not see the person who opened it. There was something on her face restricting her eye sight. Finally, the Nurse came into her line of vision. "Yes, Mrs. Donner? Is the pain medication wearing off?"

"Why can't I see? What's this thing on my face?"

The Nurse had sadness in her voice. "Oh. Um… I'm really sorry."

"Sorry?" Jessica said frantically building up anxiety. She coughed. "Why are you sorry? What's wrong?"

The Nurse slowly began pulling the pieces of cloth off of her head. In circular motions, Jessica slowly felt the bandages coming off. As each strand of fabric was lifted from her skin, Jessica became more and more anxious of what was to come. After a long wait, the Nurse finished. Jessica looked around. The Nurse brought a mirror. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Donner," she said again.

Jessica grabbed hold of the mirror and looked into it.

"I- I- I'm…"

She saw her horribly burned and disfigured face.

Continued…

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