one year
one entire year had passed since they entered the Bleak stretch. and it was getting worse and worse by the day. Tune was the first suicide onboard But it seemed almost every week that new suicide attempts were taking place and then full on suicides everyone was jumpy everyone was scared whenever they were walking down the corridors
At any moment they could turn and face only to see that someone was overdosed on booze in their system vomit surrounding them or hanging from the rafters and a few times there'd been blades embedded into their flesh as Crimson pulled around them
People got into fights regularly over this tiniest of things from who got more food to who had the booze today a deck cards here a chair there fist were thrown people clattered across the decks and oftentimes Eddie had to find himself in between them pulling them apart and reprimanding them both parties
" this is no way to be acting" he'd say but deep down he knew exactly why they were doing this day by day as soon as if they would never ever leave this Bleak stretch, the black strait.
people were starting to hoard food because they didn't know if they'd ever be able to get enough one day but they didn't know what Eddie knew they had enough they were thrashing they made sure to do calculations that everyone got just enough to keep up maintenance. but the ship was being worse for where people would stop doing chores it was no point anymore they knew that they were going to be stuck here so why keep a house clean?
Boards creaked and began to be covered in Moss. molded food left on tables of people not picking up after themselves. The Salty air have begun to corrode the side of the ship. the sales were beginning to degrade and come apart wisps of string and silk and cotton. hemp ropes becoming frayed and undone. entire rigging Coming Undone and fall into the ground with Incredible clatter that would Shake people awake in the middle of the night.
that's what many people did they just slept constantly few ate some drink some more some to only keep them in the middle of a stupor and others to make sure that they would just stay asleep.
The main band that was Vox, Eddie, and Hook, Had taken the form Council Within the Captain's Quarters many hours of the day they would find themselves in there just chatting trying to bring normalcy to the crew anything that they could imagine they would try and rebuild any sense of camaraderie or saminess
3 months later
Eddie had devised a plan they were going to get out of here if it was the last thing they did and to make sure that they did they had to make sure that staying in one spot didn't end up corroding and breaking away the bottom of the hull.
Sharp Staff tenu verse comp, Zie, and Zart. they were all that were left on the maintenance staff of the crew. and he had found a supply of tar and they were going to recoat the bottom of the ship to make sure they would last this was special tar. stuff that they saved just for moments like this to ensure that no holes would be filled there is no place for them to Careen the ship to make sure it was clean. but it would have to do.
it took many hours almost an entire day for them to recoat the entire thing but by the end three didn't return left within the sea only to be phished out having drowned their sorrows away in the murky depths of the bleak…
then 5 years past
they had reached the point in grieving to where they were just bargaining everyday people would begin to get on their hands and knees and pray to Celestial dragons or any God that they had heard of on their travels anything that would possibly give them salvation rescue them from this bleak.
but their prayers were never answered never once never a peep not an angel descending from the Heavens to rescue them never a devil ascending from the depths to release them from their pain
They began to get numb to the death
Then, Seri, Part, Arco, Oque, Capo, Cresce, Dolce, Due, Dyna, Etude, Falset, Fill, Lyr, Metro, Mino, Opera, Poly, Lude, Prise, Sharp, Staf, Tabla, Tenu, Verse, Tierce, Cym, Niente, Accent, Agil, Bril, Comp, Dolo, Dolen, Drone, Echo, Facile, Fine, Forza, Giu, Immer, Jete, Kraf, Lento, Magi, Molto, Pezzo, Poi, Quasi, Rapid, Tut, Via, Voce, Zart, Zie.
All dead
Riff…Was first. Then Vox, found one day dead of malnutrition she had fallen asleep into Eternal slumber with a smile on her face.
7 years past all the food was gone by that point the only thing that kept them alive was boiling water and eating whatever they could find from the sea below sometimes they would get good cashes sometimes nothing but dirt and sand they catch and eat birds.
and then 6 months into that all that were dead were;
Bass, Beat. Then Adagio, Allegro, Bar, Ballad, Bari, Bolero, Cantata, Chorale, Capric, Concerto, Dimi, Elegy, Ensen, Flat, Gige, Gliss, Harmony, Inton, Jig, Largo. Lega, Lagi, Legno, Leti, Major, Mazu, Mezzo, Nat, Noc, Octave, Opus, Ostin, Overture, Pitch, Poco, Presto, Quartet, Reci, Rall, Req, Rig, Rit, Rococo, Rubato, Rondo, Scale, Sonata, Sop, Prano, Spiccato, Sym, Teno, Tocc, Tremo, Trill, Vibra, Vivace, Walt…
Only Hymn, Clef, Note, Rhyth, Pace, Hook and Eddie remained.
At the end of the 7th year they decided that they were going to do something they knew they didn't have long left
" captain… we can feel it to taste the last day…" that was what hook had told his captain and it was true they were all emaciated skinny and showing nothing with skin and bones their smiles gone and the light had fled from their eyes years and years ago.
Eddie could feel it himself too but he held out he should have been dead first and yet through sheer willpower he alone stayed with his entire crew to make sure that he was with them until the very end
" is that so Gents?" he said forcing a smile on his face. their clothes are all ragged by this point. they're recoated ship would last over a hundred years now with that special tar staying afloat. But the rest of it was ragged covered in dust.
They played for hours. they went through their entire discography.
Eddie's hands had started to bleed by the end all of theirs did. the first to go was pace. dying with a smile.
"From an Octet…to a Spetet." Eddie said with somberness in his tongue the pool of his at the guitar strings, One fingering at the piano another Bowing at a violin. some plate brass instruments and others just clapped.
E-----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
B-----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
G-----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------| (x6)
D-4-------4-------|4-------4-------|4-------4-------|4-------4-------|
A-----4-------4---|----4-------4---|----5-------5---|----5-------5---|
D-----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
Eddie was beginning to play songs that just came into his head.
"A Sextet…" He said as he heard clef hit the ground slipping away from the piano.
e|-2-------2-------|-2-------------0-|
B|-----3-------3---|-----3-------3---|
G|---2---2---2---2-|---2---2-0-3-----| (x4)
D|-----------------|-----------------|
A|-----------------|-----------------|
E|-----------------|-----------------|
All the same they continue to play you could hear it in the way that they put some played their instruments that their hands were beginning to shake as tears ran down their faces.
"A quintet…." Hymn was next. Followed only moments later by Note Both of them dropping their instruments having them clatter to the ground it was only a hook rhyth and eddie left now. "A Quartet…"
e|------------------------|------------------------|
B|------------------------|------------------------|
G|-------0----------------|-------0----------------|
D|----4-----4-----4-----4-|----4-----4-----4-----4-|
A|-2-----------2-----5----|-0-----------0-----5----|
E|------------------------|------------------------|
x6
e|------------------------|------------------------|
B|------------------------|------------------------|
G|-------0----------------|-------2----------------|
D|----4-----4-----4-----4-|----2-----2-----2-----2-|
A|-2-----------2-----5----|-4-----------4-----0----|
E|------------------------|------------------------|
He found a final song to play for them a song that they knew well it was one of their openers it was so ironic it was about fading away and yet they always used it to open up concerts.
"A trio…." he spoke his note at the ground her frail body clattering along with her violin.
" let's give them all the show shall we boys? We've got ourselves a fullhouse." and he said walking up to the stage as the others followed behind them they were all on guitar and began to play their very Souls out one last time the chords plucked with such forever and vigor that is as if they were alive again More Alive than they had ever been in their entire lives!
(Lead guitar)
e|--------|--------|--------|-------------------------|
B|--------|--------|--------|----------------------7--|
G|--------|--------|--------|------------------7--(7)-|
D|--------|--------|--------|--------------/9---------|
A|--------|--------|--------|-------------------------|
E|--------|--------|--------|-------------------------|
e|-----------------------------|-------------------------|
B|----------7-8/10--------8-10-|-12---10---8--10---------|
G|-----------------------------|-------------------------|
D|-9---------------------------|-------------------------|
A|-----------------------------|-------------------------|
E|-----------------------------|-------------------------|
e|-----------------------------|-------------------------|
B|(10)--12p10p8-\7-h8-p7----7--|-7h8---7------7----------|
G|------------------------9----|-----------9------9---7--|
D|-----------------------------|-------------------------|
A|-----------------------------|-------------------------|
E|-----------------------------|-------------------------|
Ryth with next his sound reverberating as the guitar cladder against the ground the amps behind them they had been custom made and were the only ones in existence at that time echoing the chords vibrations.
"A Duet. The first two, being the last how ironic is that old friend?" Eddie had he spoken barely a whisper has his eyes gaze to hook next to him who just gave him a knowing look and a soft smile… and he watched as he fell to the ground…
e|------------------------------------12-15-|
B|-------------11-12-13p12----12-x-15-------|
G|-7-9-11/14---------------14---------------|
D|------------------------------------------|
A|------------------------------------------|
E|------------------------------------------|
e|-(15)12----12-15p12-15p12----12-15p12-15p12----12--|
B|---------15----------------15----------------15----|
G|---------------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------------|
e|-----------------------------------------------------|
B|-15b----------15b----------15b----------15b----------|
G|-14b----------14b----------14b----------14b----------|
D|-----------------------------------------------------|
A|-----------------------------------------------------|
E|-----------------------------------------------------|
"A Solo…A Solo to rock the world!" He said with a hoarse voice
He continued to play as he stood there on stage fingers plucking away at the sound hearing the music in his head as he imagined all those that were once aboard the ship and only he remained. Vision blurred the tips of his fingers going numb a black tunnel appearing and his Visions as his legs began to buckle and wobble.
Head throbbing with blood as he too. Finally began to waiver. Legs falling from under him only to be caught in a half crouch. Fingers still playing, smile across his face while he played the last…Few…
Notes…