0:00

The next couple of years were the happiest

0:02

of my life. John was the

0:04

missing piece of the puzzle. We

0:06

cultivated the audience on our first night

0:08

playing together. And after that,

0:11

we always played to a packed house.

0:13

Marcon became a key backer. And

0:16

with his mom connections, it wasn't

0:18

long until we are on the radio and

0:20

even touring the country. Women,

0:23

booze, cars, you name it, and

0:25

we got it. And while the open

0:27

road was always an adventure, Nothing

0:29

compared to Chicago. It

0:32

was our own private kingdom. We

0:34

were rubbing shoulders with movie stars,

0:37

politicians, and sports legends.

0:39

Every time I performed one of John songs,

0:42

it inspired him and he would

0:44

put pen to paper and kick out

0:46

as much as five more one night.

0:49

All of that started to change after a show

0:51

in Saint Louis. John

0:53

Metigirl named Maria, I

0:55

thought she was just another one of his one night

0:57

flings until she appeared on the

0:59

bus back to Chicago. I

1:02

became even more worried when some drunk

1:04

customer at the purple piano pinched her

1:06

ass, and John responded by

1:08

knocking his teeth out. The

1:10

place nearly broke out into a race riot

1:13

until Marcon showed up. His

1:15

reputation alone was enough to force an

1:17

uneasy peace that night. At

1:20

first, I was happy for John,

1:22

even if I was suspicious of Maria.

1:25

John would still have been sweeping floors and

1:27

cleaning toilets, if not for me. So

1:29

I couldn't help but feel responsible for him.

1:32

There was nothing wrong with her keeping him happy

1:35

even if she was using him for his money.

1:38

But as time went on, she

1:40

started talking more and more. She

1:42

always had an opinion about where and

1:44

what we should play. And John

1:47

always backed her up. Things

1:49

were tense, but civil between Maria and

1:52

me. Until one night, When

1:54

I walked into the purple piano with my guitar

1:56

on my back ready for the show. When

1:59

I stepped inside, there was already

2:01

a band on stage. I

2:04

dared, transfixed by the new

2:06

group. The faces

2:08

were somewhat familiar, but

2:10

the views that I knew immediately. It

2:12

was John's latest piece, the

2:14

one I was supposed to be playing. As

2:17

the last chords died, the audience

2:19

jumped to life. Applause

2:21

filled the room like thunder in a never ending

2:23

storm. The lead singer walked

2:26

up to the microphone. His dazzling

2:28

even under the bright spotlight. Thank

2:31

you. Thank you. Fine folks. Now

2:33

let's give a big hand to the man who wrote that

2:35

pretty little ditty. Johnny Green.

2:38

Crowd burst into applause again as

2:40

John stumbled onto the stage. He

2:42

waved awkwardly at the crowd while I parted

2:44

my way forward. Maria

2:47

stood near an empty table. Her

2:49

hands flashing as she clapped until I snatched

2:51

her by the wrist. We me to

2:53

talk. She yanked her hand

2:55

from my grip, but locked a steely

2:57

gaze with me as if she had been waiting for this

2:59

moment. My anger boiled

3:01

in my veins as she led the way forward, parting

3:04

through the crowds and out into the alley

3:06

where I used to take my smoke breaks as a

3:08

bartender. My hands

3:10

shook so bad it took three tries before I

3:12

sparked to match and brought it to my lips.

3:15

As I exhaled smoke, Maria

3:17

just stood there with her arms crossed. You

3:20

that he bitch, my spat. I

3:22

know this is your doing. She

3:24

frowned. Did you recognize

3:26

the band, Ricky? I point

3:29

a finger into her chest. Don't

3:31

think you can replace me with a bunch of scabs

3:33

you. The kitchen staff, Maria

3:36

said, Each of those boys

3:38

are cooks or dishwashers. I

3:40

stared at her and then shrugged. And,

3:43

Purple piano was filled with musicians looking

3:45

to make their big breaks. Hell,

3:48

that's where John and I. I know

3:50

the story. She held her brand,

3:52

but no. Those boys

3:54

never picked up an instrument for tonight.

3:57

Hell, the guitarist only has one

3:59

good arm, but they're playing

4:01

as well as you ever did. Better even.

4:04

Why do you suppose that is? I

4:06

stomped out my cigarette. You're

4:09

full of shit. Am I?

4:11

Think about it Ricky. You

4:13

came out and tried to make it big, but you

4:15

never did. Why all the

4:17

success now? You think you

4:19

suddenly improved after years working

4:21

behind the bar? Pride made

4:23

me refuse to give her the point, but

4:26

the doubt that I had for years suddenly

4:28

grew louder. John was my

4:30

missing piece. The songwriter I needed

4:32

to get by. If it weren't

4:34

for him, I'd be nothing. But

4:37

at the same time, he would be nothing

4:39

without me. Wouldn't

4:41

he? Face it Ricky.

4:44

You're no different from any other white boy in the

4:46

blues. Making it big off

4:48

the sweat of talented black men. By

4:50

your fucking tongue, the crowd.

4:52

I always treated John right. He's my

4:54

partner. Hell, He's my best friend.

4:57

We split everything fifty fifty. Always

4:59

have. Half? Do

5:01

you think you deserve half? She

5:04

pointed back 2 the door. John

5:06

is a living miracle. Anyone

5:08

who touches his songs can play them.

5:10

You're not a musician, Ricky. You're

5:12

just an instrument. My

5:14

teeth grinded together, and my knuckles

5:17

popped as I made a fist, better

5:19

than being a cheap horse. She

5:21

founded me until a look of comprehend and

5:23

crossed her face. You really

5:25

think that's why I'm with John, don't you?

5:28

I love that man. The things

5:30

he can do the miracles he can

5:32

perform with his music, being

5:34

with him. It's the closest anyone

5:36

can be to being with god. Her

5:39

sincerity shocked me. She

5:41

meant every single word of what she was saying.

5:44

But it was only a bucket of water against

5:46

my raging inferno of fury. And

5:49

her following words ignited the flames

5:51

even more. Twenty eight.

5:54

That's what the boys playing tonight are making,

5:56

and they're happy to get that. She

5:58

looked me in the eye. All traces of

6:00

emotion gone from her expression. Just

6:03

cold, hard, honesty. Ten

6:06

ninety. The new split.

6:08

It won't be easy to self John on ditching

6:11

you. He doesn't realize how special

6:13

he is, but I can convince

6:15

him You know I can. You

6:17

have until the end of the show to decide. The

6:20

next song, another one of John's

6:22

that I hadn't heard before, started up Even

6:25

through the thick walls of the club, I could

6:27

hear the music, frantic and loud.

6:30

Music to dance too and music to keep

6:32

everyone inside. As

6:34

Maria turned toward the door, I

6:36

unslung my guitar and smashed it

6:38

over her head. The woodcraft

6:41

and shattered into splinters. As Maria

6:43

fell to the ground. Blood

6:45

poured from the back of her head, but her

6:47

back still rose and fell. Pulling

6:49

the strings from the guitar, I

6:51

wrapped the ends of all all five across the

6:53

palms of my hands. They cut into my

6:55

flesh as I wrap them around Maria's throat

6:57

and pulled them tight. I had come

6:59

too far to publish my dreams. I

7:02

couldn't let her take it away from me. I

7:04

couldn't let her take John for me. After

7:06

a long minute, she stopped struggling,

7:09

and her kicking legs slowed, then

7:12

went limp. I focused on

7:14

John's music to keep my mind off it.

7:16

I knew there would be another hit. They

7:19

were always hits. Because

7:21

Maria was right, John was

7:23

the miracle, and die

7:25

was just an instrument. As

7:28

the music died, panic gripped

7:30

me. I looked both ways,

7:32

the alley was still empty, but the door

7:34

was unlocked. How long would it

7:36

be until someone came out for a cigarette? I

7:38

tried to pull away the strings, but

7:40

they had cut deep into Maria's throat. There

7:42

was no time. Instead, I

7:45

dragged her body across to the nearby dumpster,

7:48

hoisting her onto my shoulder hurt,

7:50

but tossed her inside all loud clang.

7:53

I flinched, but no one came out

7:55

to investigate. So I moved over

7:57

several piles of garbage, concealing

7:59

her body. It would have to do

8:01

until everybody left. My feet

8:03

slumped and tripped over themselves as I

8:05

returned to the front of the club I

8:07

was only vaguely aware of the world around

8:10

me. I knew the lights of passing

8:12

cars were traffic, but the sounds

8:14

of people going into and out of the club

8:16

was dulled by the pounding of my heart.

8:18

Beyond that, the passage of

8:20

time was measured only through the number of

8:22

cigarettes I smoked. One

8:24

right after the other. Ricky.

8:28

What are you doing out here?

8:31

John's voice now. 2 me back into reality. I

8:33

turned around and saw him, the music

8:35

had stopped, and the sky had

8:38

lightened to an ugly purple. I

8:40

flipped my cigarette aside and quickly shuffled my

8:42

hands into my pockets before he could see the

8:44

cuts. Why shouldn't I be

8:46

here, John? We had a show to do

8:48

tonight. Remember? You nodded.

8:52

Yeah. But Maria says you said

8:54

you were sick. Good

8:56

old job. Of course,

8:58

he wouldn't have upstaged me on

9:00

purpose. That bitch had tricked him

9:02

into doing it. John was a

9:04

sweet kid, but she would have

9:06

used him get rid of me if I hadn't stopped

9:08

her. John said something,

9:11

but I couldn't hear him as I remembered 2

9:13

severed throat. The pounding in

9:15

my ears grew louder and blocked out

9:17

all sound. My vision blurred

9:19

and I stumbled, but John rushed

9:21

forward. He wrapped an arm

9:23

around my shoulder and kept me standing.

9:25

Patting my back. What'd you

9:28

say? I kept my eyes on the

9:30

ground, unable to look 2 in the

9:32

eye. Have you seen my my

9:34

my my my my my my my Maria The

9:36

door cracks open. I had never

9:38

been so happy to see one of Mark Holmes goons.

9:41

He does. The boss wants a word

9:43

with you. Sorry, John. I

9:45

gotta go. You know, we don't keep

9:47

Marcon waiting, probably

9:49

planning our next tour. John

9:52

opened his mouth, but then closed it.

9:54

He never felt comfortable around

9:56

Marcon or his men and left

9:58

me to deal with them. Assuming

10:00

my answer was no. He turned and headed

10:02

down the steps while I followed the goon

10:04

inside. I followed in the beastie

10:06

man's wake and only real lies

10:08

at that last moment that he wasn't bleeding me

10:10

toward Markone's office. Instead,

10:13

he led me to the 2 door.

10:15

I hesitated, but my escort

10:17

grabbed me roughly by the neck and shoved me

10:19

outside. I landed hard on

10:21

my knees, tearing the fabric in my

10:23

new pants before I was hoisted again

10:25

and dragged. I saw two

10:27

of Marcon's men guarding the alley

10:29

before the ape pulled me toward the dumpster.

10:32

Marcon was there chewing on

10:34

a cigar as usual. Two more

10:36

henchmen stood nearby glaring at

10:38

me probably because of the garbage stains

10:40

on their suits. On the

10:42

ground between us was Maria.

10:45

Well, Dodds. Marco and pulled out

10:47

his cigar. You better

10:49

have a a goddamn reason for insulting me

10:51

and my club like this. The

10:54

words came spilling from my mouth in a desperate

10:56

attempt to save my life. Most of

10:58

what I said was the truth. I told him

11:00

about Maria planning on replacing me with

11:02

musicians who would work cheaper. I

11:04

left out all the details about John's

11:06

abilities Marcon wouldn't have

11:08

believed them anyway, and I sure his

11:10

hell didn't want him to think I was expendable.

11:13

Marcon stood impressively

11:15

chewing on his cigar while listen 2 my

11:17

reasons. Finally, he

11:19

flicked his cigar and hawked deep

11:21

into his throat. He

11:23

looked away from me and spat at Maria.

11:26

It landed on the jagged remains of her

11:28

throat, his spit mixing with

11:30

her blood. Fucking

11:33

horror. He said. Gucci on

11:35

the road should stay on the road,

11:37

knew this one was trouble. Hell,

11:39

they're all trouble. Let

11:41

that be a lesson to you boys, always

11:43

keep a hand on your wallet around these people.

11:45

He didn't see me flinch at his

11:48

words. It sounded too much like

11:50

Maria's accusations about me.

11:52

White people getting rich off talented black

11:54

people and not giving them their fair

11:56

share. But I wasn't

11:58

like Marcon. Was

12:00

I? No. Next time

12:02

someone comes after our golden goose.

12:04

You come to me, Ricky.

12:06

Marco dropped the beefy hand 2 my

12:08

shoulder. We'll make a cleaner

12:10

job of it than you. Reaching

12:13

down, he gripped me roughly by the

12:15

wrist and forced open my hands. Besides

12:18

you're not any good to me if you go and get

12:20

your hands all caught up.

12:22

I stood there and silence and nodded.

12:25

And Markone smiled, revealing

12:27

each of his teeth. I'm going

12:29

to take care of this for you as

12:31

a personal favor. You

12:33

just make sure you and your boy

12:35

keep those heads coming. Marco

12:37

let go of my wrist and I walked out

12:39

of the alley. My Marcon's

12:42

thugs parted as I passed. Gilt

12:44

mingled with relief as I walked out of there

12:46

alive, but a heavy dread hovered

12:48

over my head. Marcon generosity

12:51

sounded greedy and vicious. John,

12:54

open up. It's Ricky.

12:57

I'd been pounding on John's door for the

12:59

last hour. In the months since

13:01

since Maria. John had been in

13:03

a downward spiral. Markone

13:06

started a rumor that Maria was last SCP012 out

13:08

of the club with some guy. The

13:10

line broke John's heart. Maybe

13:13

even as much as the truth would have.

13:16

The delay between his songs became

13:18

longer and longer. Even worse,

13:20

he had graduated from alcohol

13:22

to harder stuff. Nothing

13:24

I tried could lift him out of his funk, Bakon

13:27

was breathing down my neck. The

13:30

gangster had signed us with a major record

13:32

label, but had promised more than

13:34

we could deliver. Barcone

13:37

insisted that this was my problem,

13:39

not his. With John

13:41

spending all his money and time in the smack houses

13:43

that littered city. I was left

13:45

alone to deal with Mark Stone. We

13:47

were out of time. I

13:49

just came from a meeting with a gun

13:51

press to my head. Marcon made

13:53

it clear on no uncertain terms

13:55

that we needed a new hit by tonight.

13:57

And if we couldn't liver. Well,

14:00

Ricky. You ever notice how

14:02

demand for a musician. Skyrockets

14:05

after they die. Marco's

14:07

threats rang in my ear so loud that

14:09

I stopped knocking. Instead,

14:12

I shoved my shoulder into the door. My

14:15

reward was jolting pain and

14:17

a slight creek of wood, but

14:19

not the slightest budge. Resting

14:22

my hand against the knob, I swore.

14:24

Then swore even louder when it

14:26

turned easily in my hand. John

14:29

hadn't even bothered to lock the door.

14:31

I pushed the door open

14:33

and gagged. Most landfills

14:35

smelled more pleasant than John's shoe box

14:37

of an apartment. The

14:39

floors were littered with dirty clothes,

14:41

broken bottles, and mounds of

14:43

rotting garbage. The dim light from

14:45

the hallway illuminated John's pitch

14:47

black room a lighthouse, and I saw

14:49

him slumped in a chair. Jesus,

14:52

John. Didn't you hear me? I reigned

14:54

in my temper as I walked across the

14:56

floor. Kicking trash in my

14:58

wake. Glad to see your heart at

15:00

work, but we got a deadline

15:02

tonight. If Marco doesn't like what

15:04

you got, We'll both be sleeping

15:06

with the My words failed me as

15:08

I put a hand on his shoulder. Through

15:10

the thin fabric of his shirt, I

15:12

could feel his skin. Ice core

15:15

cold and hard as a rock.

15:17

I pulled the chair back and

15:19

John slumped to the floor without a sound.

15:21

A piece of rubber was

15:23

bound tighter around his elbow and a needle was

15:25

jutting out of his vein. In his

15:27

other hand was an old black and white

15:29

picture of him and Maria. I

15:32

reckon nised it as the one they had taken

15:34

their second night together in Saint Louis.

15:37

Oh, John. No.

15:39

I wiped away the tears that were tinged with

15:41

sorrow and rage. You

15:43

stupid son of a bitch. You've

15:45

killed us both. After all

15:47

I did for you, There's plenty of

15:50

fish in the sea. Haven't I been saying

15:52

that for months? I couldn't even just

15:54

bound a new squeeze. My foot

15:56

lashed out and sunk into his ribs.

15:58

Like with the door, all it did was

16:00

hurt me more, both inside

16:02

and out. Forcing my

16:04

eyes up, I looked over the table.

16:06

It was covered in sheet music.

16:09

John's paper was always wringled from

16:11

writing whenever inspiration struck him. So

16:14

sometimes that even happened while he was sitting on the

16:16

can. This one was a

16:18

whole new magnitude of weird,

16:20

though. The paper was thick and

16:22

yellowed with age. The title at

16:24

the top on Mount Golgotha was

16:27

unfamiliar as was the handwriting

16:29

on the first sheet of notes. But

16:31

as I flipped to the next page,

16:33

I recognized the same

16:35

frantic crawl of John's script.

16:37

The music again filled my head, but it

16:39

was different this time. It had

16:41

an undercurrent of the same deep and

16:44

long blue 2, but filled

16:46

with the core us of dozens of

16:48

musicians. I slumped

16:50

into the chair, picked up John's

16:52

pen, and started writing. Certain

16:55

ballooned me as the notes and lyrics filled the

16:57

page. Maria was wrong.

16:59

I wasn't some talentless hacker

17:01

mooged off John. I was

17:03

a guy a damn musician. I would

17:05

finish the score for John and I, and it would

17:07

be our greatest accomplishment. I

17:09

would dedicate the song to John, and he

17:11

would live on forever in this

17:14

song. Time froze as I

17:16

filled page after page, but

17:18

something felt wrong, and then it

17:20

hit me the lyrics echoed in my head. Since

17:22

you've been gone, baby, I'm out

17:24

of my mind. Nothing will ever

17:26

feel like home. I'm alone.

17:29

And there's so long bleeds for

17:31

you. A song was alive

17:33

and it needed sustenance to

17:35

2. Without thinking, I

17:37

stabbed the pen through my wrist.

17:39

I screamed as I writhed at about

17:42

grinding the hole larger until I used my

17:44

veins like a pot of ink. The

17:46

music grew louder as I wrote in my blood.

17:48

I've been writing for hours now, and

17:50

the song keeps getting better. It's

17:53

nearly complete. My hands have

17:55

grown pale. And my arms

17:57

light. I ignore the fatigue as I

17:59

raise the pen and plunge it into my

18:01

other wrist just a few

18:03

drops more. SCP012

18:06

twelve is a piece of handwritten musical

18:08

score entitled on Mount

18:11

Golgotha, part of a larger set of sheet

18:13

music and appears to be incomplete. red

18:15

and black ink first thought to be some form

18:17

of berry or natural dye ink

18:19

was later found to be human blood

18:21

from multiple subjects The first

18:24

personnel to locate the sheet,

18:26

site nineteen special salvage,

18:28

had two members descend into

18:31

insanity. Attempting to use their own blood to finish the

18:33

composition, ultimately resulting

18:35

in massive blood loss and internal

18:38

trauma. Following initial

18:41

investigations, multiple test subjects were

18:43

allowed access to the score. In

18:46

every case, The subjects mutilated themselves in order

18:48

to use their own blood to finish the

18:50

2, resulting in subsequent

18:52

symptoms of psychosis and massive

18:55

trauma. Those subjects who managed

18:57

to finish a section of the peace

18:59

immediately committed suicide declaring

19:01

the peace to be impossible to

19:04

complete. Attempts to perform the

19:06

music have resulted in a disagreeable

19:08

cacophony with each instrumental

19:10

part having no correlation or

19:12

harmony with the other instruments.