“In your dreams, asshole. Everything went well. Just let me play it my way, Luke. You worry about your own love life. Or should I say lack of it?”
Adam added the last with a sneer. Nope, the irritation wasn’t completely gone.
Luke flipped him off.
“Bite me! You’re just grumpy because you didn’t get laid last night. That’s all.”
Everyone laughed at Luke’s comment. Adam rolled his eyes and went about his business of plugging in his amp and setting up the equipment.
A little self-conscious after that exchange, Adam tried to be inconspicuous when he repeatedly scanned the crowd for any sign of Maddie. He wanted to play it cool in front of his friends, but inside he started to feel nervous again. The realization of the effect that Maddie had on him made him feel uncomfortable. As showtime approached, he scanned the crowd again and spotted the regulars setting up camp at their usual table in the front row, but still no sign of Maddie. His shoulders slumped as he sighed and started their first number.
Halfway through Night Fury’s first set, Adam looked toward the entrance and saw Maddie as she scanned the crowd for familiar faces. His heart jumped in his chest.
Amazing. He couldn’t believe that just looking at her made him feel this way.
Energy surged through him as he strutted around the stage.
He set his sights on her as he sang. She made her way down to the table where Cristy and the others sat. They waved to her to come join them. She sat down, made eye contact with Adam, and gave him a little wave. He winked at her as he pulled the mic out of the stand and strutted toward her. He flirted with her and all of the ladies at the table. He was in his element.
The club owners had invested in a pyrotechnics display that they regularly used to enhance the stage show for many of the house bands. On that night, they had special lighting, a smoke machine, and the pyrotechnics display to help blow the audience away.
The fans—fueled by copious amounts of alcohol and drugs—grew into a frenzied, undulating mob. They were packed like sardines as they screamed, danced, and banged their heads. To Adam’s delight, Maddie joined them. Adam’s chest filled with pride at the effect their performance evoked.
As is the tradition in most concerts, the band left the stage when they finished their last number and went backstage to wait for the crowd to chant and cheer them back for the encore. Not to disappoint, the audience chanted and stomped and clapped and illuminated their cell phone flashlights. When the band didn’t come back immediately, the audience chanted louder, hooted, hollered, and screamed until Night Fury came back onstage.
They were midway through the first encore song, with the strobe light flashing, smoke filling the air, and pyrotechnics blasting, when the screaming of the crowd began to escalate and change tones. The screams became shrill cries. People pointed at the stage, their eyes wide, as they scurried in various directions. At first Adam thought the crowd had worked itself into an even wilder frenzy due to the band’s awesome performance, but then he realized that something seemed different. Something wasn’t quite right. He couldn’t place the strange looks on their faces.
Was that surprise or fear?
He scratched his head absentmindedly. The crowd continued pointing, climbing over one another, and backing away from the stage. Had the band done something to turn them off? It didn’t make sense—until he saw a sudden flash of orange behind him. Adam spun around and realized some of the curtains at the back of the stage had caught on fire from the pyrotechnics and were rapidly being enveloped in flames.
Eyes wide, he spun back around and looked for Maddie. She wasn’t where he had last seen her. His pulse quickened as adrenaline surged through his veins. He scanned the crowd and couldn’t see her anywhere. He hoped she had fled to the nearest exit and escaped. He prayed she would be alright.
In a flash of memory, Adam recalled the fire that had occurred at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island several years before. The story had been covered heavily by the press. Pyrotechnics had caught the nightclub on fire and many people were killed because they had panicked and couldn’t escape.
Adam alerted his bandmates to the fire and motioned for them, and anyone nearby, to follow him. The nearest escape route was through the backstage door, but the fire had spread quickly and blocked the exit. Adam tried to remain calm and clearheaded as he looked out over the crowd to find the next nearest exit. The crowd appeared to be in full panic mode. They were piled up at the exits, climbing over each other, and pushing each other down. He imagined, to his horror, that the outcome would be just like the Rhode Island nightclub fire scene.
The lights were dim, and smoke filled the room quickly, making it increasingly hard to see. Adam focused on trying to locate an exit. Since they were up on the stage, the band members were closest to the fire. Mobs formed at every available exit. Adam’s heart beat rapidly as he raked his fingers down his face. He felt panic rising from deep within as he stood frozen in terror.
Suddenly, he felt someone grab his hand in the darkness. He strained to see who it was, and realized it was Maddie, looking surprisingly calm. Relief flooded through him as she pulled him toward her and yelled, “Come with me, Adam. Call for everyone in the band and follow me.”
Adam shouted into the mic for Zach and the other band members to follow them. Maddie led them through the crowd toward an area of the club that, to his knowledge, did not have an exit. He wondered if she had gone mad. Had the smoke affected her thinking? As far as he could see, there
