Gemotions

Sarah slumped against the backstage wall, the rough brick scraping against her back. The energy of the crowd, usually a source of fuel, felt like a draining force field tonight. Every creak of her knees, every shallow breath, was a reminder of how utterly spent she was. She could barely stand.

A muffled roar from the stage. Someone was playing "Crimson Sky," her breakout hit. But it wasn't her band. She’d heard a new group, The Static, had been covering it. She sank lower, her head in her hands.

A slow, deliberate version unfolded. A singer with a raspy voice, not at all like hers. The crowd was loving it. Sarah closed her eyes. It was a decent rendition, actually. Better than some of the covers she'd heard. A single tear traced a path through the grime on her cheek. She wished she could feel something other than this emptiness.