Mezzanine

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The room erupted with the wail of guitars and a thunder of drums. The floor shook as the crowd screamed and jumped in time to the heavy pounding bass.

Damien rushed toward the second set of stairs at the far side of the mezzanine. He pushed past the people standing there, practically knocking over a guy with a puke green mohawk.

My heart pounded off tempo, slamming in the voids and echoes of the music.

"Damien!" I shouted as I took off after him, but the heavy metal blasting from the speakers swallowed my voice. It only took me a few seconds to reach the far side of the bar. I shoved past the two people he'd been hanging out with.

What the hell? The guy thought.

"Hey!" the girl yelled. Who the fuck does this kid think he is?

I ignored them, my attention focused on my brother. What the hell was going on? This wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to run from me.

A security guard shouted as I chased Damien down the stairs, but I ignored her, instead picking up my pace as he dove into the crowd swarming the stage. I lept down the last few steps and shoved my way towards him. If I lost sight of him for a second, he'd disappear.

"Stop running!" I yelled over the screams of the crowd and the pounding drums. Anger boiled inside me. Hot, salty tears burned behind my eyes. My heart slammed against the inside of my rib cage like it wanted to break through my bones.

I shouldered a tall, lanky guy out of the way, and I caught sight of Damien as he pushed through the crowd. He was only a few feet ahead of me. I reached out, and my hand grazed over his shirt. I snagged the fabric and clawed into his shoulder until I felt his bones.

He thrashed his arm around and thrust my hand away. "Get off of me!"

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, the music crescendoed to an earth-shaking volume. The lead vocalist belted out a guttural scream, and the crowd went into a frenzy. The group around us threw their arms out and pressed back. I stumbled to keep from falling as a circular void opened in the center of the room...right between Damien and me.

I tried to keep my eyes on him, but everyone swarmed around the open space, fists flying and shoving each other in the thralls of a mosh pit. Instinctively, I threw my arms up to protect my face. Damien stared at me from across the pit, sweat dripping from his forehead as he panted.

I ground my teeth. I wouldn't lose him. No fucking chance. Not after driving half across the state. Not after the way he broke our mom's heart when he disappeared. He was not getting away.

I clenched my hands into fists, and I charged into the mosh pit. I swung one hand out towards him, but right before I could grab him, a massive guy slammed into me. I crashed to the ground, landing on my hip and elbow. Pain zapped up my body on impact. Immediately, I rolled to get out of the way of someone else flying to the ground.

Before I could move to get up, hands grabbed me by my upper arms and yanked me to my feet. Someone shoved my back, and I stumbled forward into the center of the pit.

"Fuck yeah!" a guy screamed. "Get back in there!"

Sweat dripped down my back and neck as my heart pounded like a jackhammer in time with the beat of the blaring music. I shoved anyone that came near me as the metal raged on, my eyes darting around the perimeter of the pit. Frenzied fans screamed and howled like they were rabid animals. Their thoughts were all but non-existent—disembodied excitement and hysteria.

Finally, I spotted Damien on the far side as he fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees. A couple of guys yanked him to his feet and shoved him back into the pit, but when his eyes caught mine, he turned and ran, diving into the crowd and disappearing.