The Road is Paved With Blood/A Final encounter (If Only He Knew)

The Road is Paved With Blood

Forced from their home

Running from death

Never alone

Not knowing where to head

They were weary of others

Never knew if they had control

So they stuck together

The trust in each other for sure

The roads are paved with blood

No one could see

That this day would come

Where fear would roam free

When the bombs fall

And cleanse the city

Pray that it’s not

In our vicinity

Scraping by

With whatever they could

Hoping the next town

Delivered what it should

Cities were always

More frightful than the woods

Because the others

Lurking and hungry for you

Vocals, keyboards - Nathan Shouse

On the run looking for shelter where they can. They have to be careful. There are infected and not infected to worry about. People looking to pillage and plunder as well as those looking to turn you and feed upon you. They have to watch for aircraft bombing cities overrun. But soon enough, even the bombings stop. They wander from town to town searching for what they need to keep surviving.

A Final Encounter (If Only He Had Known)

They turned the corner and there they were

Stumbling and oblivious

But once they got the scent of her

It sent them into quite a fit

Back to back

Weapons drawn

Searching for an escape

If only he had known

What was to occur

He would have said,

“I love you” that day

Vocals, keyboards - Nathan Shouse

She runs head on into a group of them. No amount of warning or screaming can warn her or save her in time.

He screams anyway, to no avail.  

The Bite (Scarlet Kiss)

The Bite (Scarlet Kiss)

It all happened so fast

But when it did time stood still

The crimson stained her dress

There was no time to feel

He snatched her up

And took shelter

He wasn’t sure what to do

At first he just held her

The scarlet kiss will sever bliss

He knows how much he needs her

“Our fate not sealed, this wound will heal."

It’s no wound it’s a scarlet kiss.

Minutes to hours

And hours to days

Her breathing had slowly

Started to fade

Her skin grew cold

He knew then

In short time

She’d awaken again

So he bound her up

For her own good

As delicately

As he could

Then he placed her

In the corner

Of their little

House of horrors

Patiently he waited

To see what she would do

And after a few hours

She stirred and he understood

Softly she moaned

As if to ask, “Why?”

A look of pure terror

As she opened up her eyes

Vocals, guitar, keyboards, drum programming - Nathan Shouse
Lead Guitars, Bass - Kyle Snyder

The scarlet kiss is the bite. She is bitten and He grabs her and takes off. Eventually he finds a building to go into and locks himself in. This place is some sort of medical building, but not a hospital. It is a private doctor or a dentist's office. He holds her for a while then frantically cleans the wound, and goes searching through the building to see if there is anything else he can find to help. Then her condition worsens, and he holds her to try and comfort her as she dies. Then, when she does die, his face goes blank. He delicately ties her up and places her in the corner of a room and waits and watches her. Finally, she starts to stir and move and he stands up and leaves the room. Closing her in alone.

What Do I Do?

This is the first Instrumental. I was going for a "Goodbye Blue Sky" vibe with both of my instrumentals. My wife Laura played piano and violin on this track.

Guitar - Nathan Shouse
Violin, piano - Laura Shouse

This song is to just be a time to show that He is trying to figure out his next move.

No Cure Part 1

No Cure (Part 1)

Where in lies death?

Where does life hide?

Must you fight decay?

Or must you find your mind?

It took him a while

To gather what he could use

Bunsen burners and glass beakers

Needles and test tubes

No sleep for days

The obsession remains

He must find a way to reach her

His hope refused to fade

A cure must be made

“I will not let this thing keep her”

He couldn't bear to see her

So he worked in the next room

Failure always repeated

He started to sense doom

He maintained his struggle

He wouldn't be defeated

If death can be created

Then death can be defeated

To cure death you must find life.

Vocals, guitar, keyboards, drum programming - Nathan Shouse
Lead Guitars, Bass - Kyle Snyder

He decides to use his medical and chemical expertise to try and find a cure. These are the questions he's asking himself as he prepares to find a cure for her. He then ventures out and about the city to find all the stuff he needs to do his experiments. He then begins his work. But failure abounds.

The Breakthrough

The Breakthrough

THE POWER TO REGENERATE

It was a gas at first

But needed a spark

A supernova

Inside of her heart

At first it only worked

When she digested

But soon it begged

To be spread again

To infect

To tear apart

But she healed

Did not give in to decay

I can buy time

To revive her

Discover some sort

Of reawakening

Beauty

With hunger forever

Vocals, guitar, keyboards, drum programming - Nathan Shouse
Lead Guitars, Bass - Kyle Snyder

After many failed attempts He finally finds a way to keep her body from decaying. She still wants to feed and devour, but she does not rot. Almost an elixir of life, but it will not work on the living. It's a preservative of sorts. It works by injecting her and letting her feed and the flesh eaten acts as a sustenance to trigger the regeneration of her flesh. It's almost as if she absorbs their life force. Hence, beauty with hunger forever.

Feeding Her To Buy Time

Feeding Her to Buy Time

“What have I become?

A murderer for love?

A savior to a cause?

No way to clean this blood

From off of my hands

This medicine demands

For me to do things

That no one understands”

“I do it for love

So I can feel her touch

And see her warm smile

Instead of cold eyes

The price that I pay

Is worth it to say

“I love you” again

So I commit this sin…

For love.”

“The hardest part of all

Is finding a loner

Someone I am sure

That does not have another

So in a way I am saving

Them from the pain

Of being alone

Am I fucking insane?”

“I’m feeding her to buy time

Until I finish my tests

There’s no way I can keep this up

My mind’s becoming a mess

Doing this is taking toll

I can’t bear to watch her feed

I must try to retake control

Put an end to this disease.”

“I just need more time…”

Vocals, piano - Nathan Shouse

In order to continue his work , he now needs to feed her. He ventures out to find people to use for his ghastly work. He keeps telling himself he does it to further his research and that it's for good. Little does he know, it's all for no good. 

No Cure Part 2

No Cure Part II

Days shed from the calendar

As if it had any meaning

Seems the seasons just blended in

Into one gigantic feeling

No sleep for days

The obsession wanes

There is no way to reach her

And now my hope

No longer remains

There is no cure for this creature

Hope has run out and left me here

Left me alone with my failure

While the shadow of a former love

Mocks me while covered in blood

Vocals, keyboards, drum programming - Nathan Shouse

Months have passed and no progress. He tries what He has determined to be His last time, and it fails. He just stares at Her as she's feeding. She finally looks up at Him, stands up and tries to venture towards him to feed more. All hope lost.