The Sound of Music
Chapter Three
Brady watched a nervous Chloe pace in the recording studio and smiled. He waved his reassurance to her through the thick glass window that separated them. He inhaled deeply, feeling his own butterflies dancing in his stomach. {This is crazy; I think I'm more nervous than Chloe is.} He shot her an exuberant thumbs-up sign and tried to chase away his anxiety. {Come on Brady. She's going to do great. This is her dream. All she's ever wanted.}
The lights flickered briefly snapping Brady out of his reverie.
"Whoa. That's some storm." A technician joked.
Brady frowned slightly, feeling an unpleasant tingle in the back of his head. He looked around at the recording equipment and computers in the room, all of them plugged into the building's main electrical source.
"Is this safe? Recording in a storm like this?" his concerned question was accompanied by a loud thunderclap that sent tremors running down the building's aged walls.
"Safe enough for us." The facilitator answered. "Not so safe for our equipment. We've been having problems with our surge protectors lately. So we need to finish this audition before the storm gets any worse."
The words were barely out of his mouth when the florescent lights above them sparked brightly and went out. The building shook violently followed by a deafening roll of thunder.
"Looks like we were hit." A voice spoke up in the thick surrounding darkness.
"Don't worry, backup generator should be kicking in soon." Another voice reassured him.
Brady instinctively turned his unseeing eyes to the studio where he had last seen Chloe. {It's okay Chloe - nothing to worry about.} he projected mentally to her.
Suddenly a blinding flash erupted in the studio, searing Brady's retinas with a sharp after image. He had only just identified the light as electricity when it leaped outward from the recording equipment in the studio. It traveled up the wire of Chloe's headphones on a direct course to her ears. He watched in stunned horror as the bolt exploded in her face and knocked her off her feet. And then once again there was darkness.
"CHLOE!" he cried, panic hammering at his racing heart. He stumbled in the dark room for the connecting door to the studio. Everywhere around him equipment sparked violently causing the others in the room to jump back. A whispered curse issued from a technician who'd suffered a mild electrical burn.
Brady had finally managed to reach the door when the backup lights came on. He looked through the thick glass into the studio and saw Chloe lying prone on the floor. She wasn't moving. He tried the door several times with no success. It wouldn't budge.
"What's wrong with the door?" he barked angrily. He had to get to Chloe immediately.
"The storm must have fried the electronic locks. There's no opening that door." Someone explained as Brady threw his weight against the heavy metal door. He rammed his shoulder into the door, but only succeeded in bruising his upper arm.
"Dammit!" he cursed violently. There had to be another way into that room. He looked again at the glass window speculatively. His eyes glanced around the room and finally settled on a wooden stool.
"You'll never be able to break that glass. It's three inches thick!" a technician warned him.
But Brady paid him no attention as he swung the stool at the glass. It merely bounced off the surface on the first try, but he kept swinging, always at the same tiny spot. Finally a small crack became visible in the glass. It grew larger and deeper until the entire window shattered under the force of Brady's blow.
He dropped the stool and carefully climbed through the broken window. He rushed to Chloe's side and stooped beside her.
"Chloe?!" he called out while checking her wounds.
"chloe?" he called again softly. The stench of burnt flesh and melting rubber assaulted his nose. "Oh God." he breathed as he moved her hair back from her face. Her cheeks were scorched from her ears to her nose with long blistering streaks. He carefully pried the steaming headphones from her bleeding ears.
Brady was barely aware of the people moving behind him as they phoned for help. He felt a hand on his tense shoulder.
"An ambulance is on its way. They're working on getting the main power back on line so we can get out of here. Lord, that bleeding looks pretty bad." the voice trailed off.
Brady had come to the same conclusion. He quickly pulled off his shirt and held it firmly against her ears to try to slow the flow of blood. He held her scorched face tenderly in his hands and fought down his swelling nausea. Fluid oozed from open blisters on her face. Brady blinked back the burning tears that threatened to spill from his eyes.
"chloe," he whispered mournfully. To his immense relief, Chloe slowly fluttered her eyes open. Their eyes locked for an endless moment as Chloe slowly became aware of herself and her surroundings. "Thank God. Oh Chloe."
"Brady?" she rasped painfully.
"Shhh, don't try to talk. Chloe you've been hurt pretty badly, but you're going to be okay." He soothed her, wishing he felt as confident as he tried to sound.
"Brady, I can't hear you." She said as her eyes widened in fear.
"It's okay Chloe, I'm covering your ears with my shirt." He reassured her.
"No! I can't hear me, I can't hear anything!" Her voice rose in panic.
Brady had no time to process her words when the EMT workers arrived. The quickly and carefully strapped Chloe into a stretcher and scant minutes later they were on their way to the nearest hospital.
Chloe had passed out from the intense pain caused by her burns. Brady rode with her in the ambulance. He reached for her hand and squeezed it gently, trying to lend her his strength.
"It's going to be okay, Chloe." He whispered to his love. But somehow he knew it wouldn't be.
Chapter Three
Brady watched a nervous Chloe pace in the recording studio and smiled. He waved his reassurance to her through the thick glass window that separated them. He inhaled deeply, feeling his own butterflies dancing in his stomach. {This is crazy; I think I'm more nervous than Chloe is.} He shot her an exuberant thumbs-up sign and tried to chase away his anxiety. {Come on Brady. She's going to do great. This is her dream. All she's ever wanted.}
The lights flickered briefly snapping Brady out of his reverie.
"Whoa. That's some storm." A technician joked.
Brady frowned slightly, feeling an unpleasant tingle in the back of his head. He looked around at the recording equipment and computers in the room, all of them plugged into the building's main electrical source.
"Is this safe? Recording in a storm like this?" his concerned question was accompanied by a loud thunderclap that sent tremors running down the building's aged walls.
"Safe enough for us." The facilitator answered. "Not so safe for our equipment. We've been having problems with our surge protectors lately. So we need to finish this audition before the storm gets any worse."
The words were barely out of his mouth when the florescent lights above them sparked brightly and went out. The building shook violently followed by a deafening roll of thunder.
"Looks like we were hit." A voice spoke up in the thick surrounding darkness.
"Don't worry, backup generator should be kicking in soon." Another voice reassured him.
Brady instinctively turned his unseeing eyes to the studio where he had last seen Chloe. {It's okay Chloe - nothing to worry about.} he projected mentally to her.
Suddenly a blinding flash erupted in the studio, searing Brady's retinas with a sharp after image. He had only just identified the light as electricity when it leaped outward from the recording equipment in the studio. It traveled up the wire of Chloe's headphones on a direct course to her ears. He watched in stunned horror as the bolt exploded in her face and knocked her off her feet. And then once again there was darkness.
"CHLOE!" he cried, panic hammering at his racing heart. He stumbled in the dark room for the connecting door to the studio. Everywhere around him equipment sparked violently causing the others in the room to jump back. A whispered curse issued from a technician who'd suffered a mild electrical burn.
Brady had finally managed to reach the door when the backup lights came on. He looked through the thick glass into the studio and saw Chloe lying prone on the floor. She wasn't moving. He tried the door several times with no success. It wouldn't budge.
"What's wrong with the door?" he barked angrily. He had to get to Chloe immediately.
"The storm must have fried the electronic locks. There's no opening that door." Someone explained as Brady threw his weight against the heavy metal door. He rammed his shoulder into the door, but only succeeded in bruising his upper arm.
"Dammit!" he cursed violently. There had to be another way into that room. He looked again at the glass window speculatively. His eyes glanced around the room and finally settled on a wooden stool.
"You'll never be able to break that glass. It's three inches thick!" a technician warned him.
But Brady paid him no attention as he swung the stool at the glass. It merely bounced off the surface on the first try, but he kept swinging, always at the same tiny spot. Finally a small crack became visible in the glass. It grew larger and deeper until the entire window shattered under the force of Brady's blow.
He dropped the stool and carefully climbed through the broken window. He rushed to Chloe's side and stooped beside her.
"Chloe?!" he called out while checking her wounds.
"chloe?" he called again softly. The stench of burnt flesh and melting rubber assaulted his nose. "Oh God." he breathed as he moved her hair back from her face. Her cheeks were scorched from her ears to her nose with long blistering streaks. He carefully pried the steaming headphones from her bleeding ears.
Brady was barely aware of the people moving behind him as they phoned for help. He felt a hand on his tense shoulder.
"An ambulance is on its way. They're working on getting the main power back on line so we can get out of here. Lord, that bleeding looks pretty bad." the voice trailed off.
Brady had come to the same conclusion. He quickly pulled off his shirt and held it firmly against her ears to try to slow the flow of blood. He held her scorched face tenderly in his hands and fought down his swelling nausea. Fluid oozed from open blisters on her face. Brady blinked back the burning tears that threatened to spill from his eyes.
"chloe," he whispered mournfully. To his immense relief, Chloe slowly fluttered her eyes open. Their eyes locked for an endless moment as Chloe slowly became aware of herself and her surroundings. "Thank God. Oh Chloe."
"Brady?" she rasped painfully.
"Shhh, don't try to talk. Chloe you've been hurt pretty badly, but you're going to be okay." He soothed her, wishing he felt as confident as he tried to sound.
"Brady, I can't hear you." She said as her eyes widened in fear.
"It's okay Chloe, I'm covering your ears with my shirt." He reassured her.
"No! I can't hear me, I can't hear anything!" Her voice rose in panic.
Brady had no time to process her words when the EMT workers arrived. The quickly and carefully strapped Chloe into a stretcher and scant minutes later they were on their way to the nearest hospital.
Chloe had passed out from the intense pain caused by her burns. Brady rode with her in the ambulance. He reached for her hand and squeezed it gently, trying to lend her his strength.
"It's going to be okay, Chloe." He whispered to his love. But somehow he knew it wouldn't be.
