Jax Savage

Second Choice

Waiting to erase my fingerprints 

Call off my existence 

Override my name and 

watch me fade away 

My act forgotten 

when the show begins

Your empty lies

And your shallow sins

behind your eyes 

It’s all disguised 

The stars cry too bright 

For me to stand inside

And I'm fading away

The ghost of my mind 

Lingers across the sound

A street renamed 

before the first is taken down

I'm fading away

I'm fading away

The ground cannot remember

The way my body felt 

When I fell on the hardest stones 

I feel the bruises 

In my skin

Reality shaken

Second choice I'm in

The stars cry too bright 

For me to stand inside

And I'm fading away

The ghost of my mind 

Lingers across the sound

A street renamed 

before the first is taken down

I'm fading away

I'm fading awayCount to two and hold your breath                            

Keep on going you’re out of your depth

Count to three and hold on tight

Give up in the darkest night

The stars cry too bright 

For me to stand inside

And I'm fading away

The ghost of my mind 

Lingers across the sound

A street renamed 

before the first is taken down

I'm fading away

I'm fading away

Ode To My Girlfriend’s Lover

Thank you for loving the one that I love,

Using it against me,

Knowing what we are.

We play nice for her and we pretend 

We don't know that she knows that 

We know because

The silence is easier for all

The silence is easier for all

Thank you for touching the places that I touch,

Skin with the bruises beneath,

It's not enough

My fingers pressing the places that hurt,

Your indentation causing the pain I see.

The cover up, pretended bliss, that she doesn't want me to know I see 

Doesn't want me to know... 

I know about you

I know about you

I know about you

I know about you two, you two

Cause the silence is easier for all

The silence is easier for all

The silence is easier for you and me

The silence will kill us all

Song To My Future Ex

I'm really sorry I fucked things up

I know I should have spoken up

I just couldn't bear to hear my voice

And my silence gave you just one choice

This is a song to say goodbye

Before you're gone

So you can really understand

everything I said

You'll never know the reason why

But I know it's gonna happen

I’m gonna be okay

I don't know what it's gonna take 

and you don’t know the things that you break

Now it already feels that time won't wait

The end is near, the future is at stake

This is a song to say goodbye

Before you're gone

So you can really understand

everything I said

You'll never know the reason why

But I know it's gonna happen

I’m gonna be okay

It's unavoidable

That I'm going away

The words you say make me think we will make it

A long time

I know how things go and someday I'll fake it

You're not mine

I'm sorry to say I know I'll lose interest

In your rhymes

The magic fades when silence reigns

Every time

Goodbye to my future ex

Before we say farewell

Please know that I won't forget

How hard I thought you made me fall

This is a song to say goodbye

Before you're gone

So you can really understand

everything I said

You'll never know the reason why

But I know it's gonna happen

I’m gonna be okay

Initiation

Weeks of lock in

The brightest minds in the world

Paces across the lab

His fists tight, fingers curled

“Ivan, we have to make a decision,

This godforsaken Earth is doomed

Unless we incite a new global vision.

On the horizon, darkness looms”

There are too many people on the Earth

We’ve gotta make a change

Overpopulation has no worth

Our planet is dying

A small plant surrounded

Technology cold and unfeeling

A bright light feeding it energy

The green leaves a symbol of healing

“We’ve only got fifty years left

At this rate, what about the plants?”

We have no choice, we have to decide

We have to be leaders, and take a stance

There are too many people on the Earth

We’ve gotta make a change

Overpopulation has no worth

The planet is dying

Demolition means progress

We’ve allowed human excess

But with careful process

We will reach success

“We could get rid of everyone with disease!”

“But what about intelligence, we should preserve that.”

“Write this down, we save the cunning!”

“Yeah and don’t forget about this great hair!”

We could make a new world

Where we are kings

We can save the earth!

The planet will reign

As we sing!

Ivan, are you in?

IVAN! Get over here!

Ivan, are you in?

Ivan, are you in?

Ivaaaaan, are you in?

Too many words thrown around

They sit down to pick through

The ideas start to die down

A plan comes into view

Scientists all crowd around

“Whomever deemed fit due to intelligence, temperament and physical traits, as well as medical advancement, will remain. Those who do not meet these standards will be repurposed to rebuild the state of the earth. This data will be gathered via the Census, and eligibility will be determined by a board of the highest of esteemed scientists working towards earthly stability. It is an honor to serve our planet.”

Nobody utters a sound

Drops of ink spray upon the page

His fingers grab the quill

Scrawling IVAN VINE on the page

Colleagues’ signatures rejoicing

Around his name, never felt less familiar

Handshakes and sighs fill the air

Yet success, to Ivan, tastes bitter

There are too many people

And not enough time

The choice ain't ours

And it isn’t a crime

We’re saving us all

Or we’d be dead in a lifetime

There’s nothing else to do

It’s done, and now it’s our time

Spoken:

The Chosen Logical Collection Project… has begun.

What Happened To Ezra Evans

Orianna: We saw it happen

They took him away

He’s so young!

We saw it happen

Full of potential

Now he’s gone

Don’t you understand, Tiaan?

They took him!

Tiaan: Who?

Orianna: Ezra…

They took him away!  

Ezra Evans

The youngest of us

Don’t you see what this means?

Ezra Evans was the kindest

He was studying to be a teacher

In this wretched world

He would have made a difference

We’re all wretches here, and yet he was good

They came to his door with a signed piece of paper

He opened the door and asked them inside

When he found his name on that paper

All he wanted was one goodbye

Ezra Evans

Why’d they take you?

Out of us all you were genuine

Ezra Evans

Full of potential

How could this be pre-assigned?

His eyes were full to bursting

His Mom and Dad weren’t home

He was begging just for an hour

Simply wait til they’d gotten home

We were hiding across the street

Watching all this shit unfold

There was nothing to be done

He’s gone, and we’re the lonely ones

Tiaan: Do you all understand that any of us…

Any of us could go next?

Ezra was the youngest one, the smartest one

And what are we?

To them we’re dirt in the street

Dust on their shoes

We are nothing!

Gotta get outta here

Gotta go, somewhere

Grab your things, Orianna, get your belongings let’s go!

Sona, take your sister, you have only tonight

William are you coming?

William: No, I can’t, I can’t leave my family…

Tiaan: You can’t leave your money, William Price, just go!

I’m leaving in the morning

I’m leaving with the sunrise

Come if you wish to get out of this miserable town!

Sona, Orianna, get your things!

Rex, come with me

Rex: Yes!

Tiaan: We’re getting out of this place, no more draft looming over all our heads!

We’ll get out of here, find some village of legend

Break free from all this fear

We’re going to leave with the sun!

Ezra Evans

Goodbye our dear friend

Rest easy

We’ll see you at the bitter end

Endless Travel

They trudge on and on

Though it seems unending

Nothing in sight

But their doom impending

The future is bleak

Yet they keep pretending

Supplies getting low

And anger ascending

Sun glowing high

Throats feeling dry

Feet getting weary

Searching the horizon

Trying to find the way

Trees off in the distance

Walk another day

Lost in endless travel

Clothes in disarray

If they don’t arrive

With their lives they will pay

Over three days

Since they’ve departed

Too scared for flames

No fire is started

It all looks the same

No maps, uncharted

Begin to lose faith

Footsteps half-hearted

Sun glowing high

Throats feeling dry

Feet getting weary

Searching the horizon

Trying to find the way

Trees off in the distance

Walk another day

Lost in endless travel

Clothes in disarray

If they don’t arrive

With their lives they will pay

Wandering the rocks and the sand

Desolate trees dry in the barren land

Sun beating down on sweaty backs

Leaving behind worn out tracks

Another day going with nothing in sight

Desperately searching for a way out of this plight

Out of nowhere a stranger appears

A raggedy stranger steps forward

Tiaan draws his knife and nerves are tense

But they point the way to the village!

All of their fears disappear

“It’s only a day’s walk from here!”

The husky voice from beneath a dark cloak

“Keep traveling, past those trees and you’ll find my folk”

Scanning the horizon

Looking for the way

Trees off in the distance

Walk another day

Travel almost over

Clothes in disarray

Soon they will arrive

The journey underway

The Place We Belong

Sona:

Sister dear, sister dear

I love it here

I haven’t touched a guitar in years!

Sister dear, sister dear

Music is everywhere

My heart it rests

Feel the cheer, there’s no fear

Air is clear

And I feel alive!

This is the place we belong

You have your clocks

And I have my songs!
I’ve wanted this for so long

You’ve always helped me to stay so strong

Orianna:

Blood sister, blood sister

We’ve made it now

Let’s settle in this village

Blood sister, blood sister

I will protect you

We are safe now, out of reach!

Hey mister, hey trickster

Watch what you say

And I feel alive!

This is the place so sublime

You hold the beat

And I keep the time

This is our new paradigm

We walk together, together we’ll climb

Villager 1:

He struck! I heard he took down a bloated official, right in his own home!

Villager 2:

He deserves it, they all do!

Villager 3:

Brought it on himself

Villager 1:

They don’t care about us anyway. Washed up government, they’re all shit sacks!

Villager 4:

Is he really killing again? How many officials will it take? Have they taken notice yet?

Villager 3:

You don’t think they’d ever find the village, though, right?

Villager 4:

What’s going to happen to us?

This is the place we belong

(This is the place so sublime)

You have your clocks

(You hold the beat)

And I have my songs!

(And I keep the time)
I’ve wanted this for so long

(This is our new paradigm)

You’ve always helped me to stay so strong

(We walk together, together we’ll climb)

Together:

And I feel alive!

Me Good, you bad

You rats deserve to die!

Give in!

My wrath extends to all of my men

You’ve hunted in cold blood!

Now the hand will beat you down

Extinguish the lights, burn this town

How dare you defy us!?

The power is unmatched

How swiftly you’ll see

The mistakes you lead

And all of you will die!

Burn the huts

Kill the men

Get the women too

Destroy them

They deserve it

Leave em black and blue

I am better than you

Take what I want

Nothing you can do

Scream and cry I don’t give a shit

You’re all nothing but a bunch of

Dirty, traitor scabs on my ass

You don’t deserve to breathe

Give up, surrender!

We know it is you

Who kill us, the good men

At home while they sleep

Cowards, you all are

Fear us you will

This is our revenge

The murder of innocent men

Needs to stop

We’re here to send the message

Get it through your head!

We are your government

Stop killing us or we will

Destroy you!

I am better than you

Take what I want

Nothing you can do

Scream and cry I don’t give a shit

You’re all nothing but a bunch of

Dirty, traitor scabs on my ass

You don’t deserve to breathe

Give him to us or

Every man, woman, and child

Will feel our full forces

He cannot be free to kill our officers

Bring him to us, or those of you that remain

Will soon perish at my hand!

Song of Mourning

Your bones will find peace

Underground

Together in rest forever

Oh Orianna

Keep safe your heart

Fiercely intelligent

Sona of the light

Kindness radiating from your soul

Torn down needlessly

Fleeting lives

Taken away

Purpose not pointlessly

They think you disposable

You are missed

You are missed

Hearts heavy

While the dirt is smoldering

Trees ringing with the destruction

And the screams they witness

Chaos in limbo

the beginning of something

Air thick of corruption

Deafening stillness

Whispers spread

Who could be so cruel

As homes and memories burn

Moving slowly through the wreckage

Splayed bodies abundant

The war within arising in turn

Empty, pitifully staged

Wounds bleeding

Bones snapped

Earth blackened

Countless sins

Would have been

Endless pain

Unforgiven

Lost twins

Oh Oriaana

Keep safe your heart

Fiercely intelligent

Sona of the light

Kindness radiating from your soul

Torn down needlessly

Fleeting lives

Taken away

Purpose not pointlessly

They think you disposable

You are missed

Your bones will find peace

Underground

Together in rest forever

Supply Run

Into the city

The two of them run

To buy supplies of the medical type

So the doctor can save who remains

Tiaan’s head full of thoughts of the village

Rex’s feet pounding beside his

They run, they run

Fast as their breath allows

They run, they run

Fast as their feet allow

They pull cloaks over their faces

As they arrive at the city gates

Raucous laughter spills forth

Citizens celebrate the raid’s success*

Drunken merriment pouring into the streets

Singing songs of bravery and heroism

Call upon the defeat of the insolent

Call upon the defeat of the insolent

Wandering through the city streets

Searching for gauze and splints for bones

Intoxicated men stumbling, shouting words of victory

R’s eyes burn, hatred building

A foot to the knee leaves a drunk man blundering

His fist makes contact

R’s face gushes, his nose cracks

hands around a bulging neck

Til an officer yanks him off

The crowd rejoices in this new violence

A display feeding their celebration

Tiaan pushed back in the swarm

Bloodthirsty audience in need of more

R pulled off the ugly man

By the rejuvenated mob

A sea of singing drunkards

Disconnect the two friends even more

Tiaan stuck on the side lines

As R’s face bleeds profusely

“A trip to the hospital!”

Wild cheering fills the air

The place of death, absolutely

Alive?

Rex:

I don’t want to be here

Nurse, I swear I am fine

My bones might be broken

My blood might flow

But I am fine!

Strap me down

And sedate me

Never will i help you

I hate this whole place!

And I hate you

Doctor Death they should call ya

Disease doesn’t condemn

Doctor:

“Son, you have Leukemia

I’m sorry, this is the End.”

Rex: (Doctor sings within parenthesis)

I am okay

(Take him away)

I will live

(he’s combative)

This isn’t happening

I will survive

I am alive

Doctor:

Alive you are useless

Simply a nuisance

We have the solution

To your execution

It’s not in vain

We’ll study your bones, your skin your mind

The delicate cell membranes

And science will gain

You may have some pain

Rex:

I am okay

I will live

This isn’t happening

I will survive

I am…

Nurse:

Just another one

Pack up the needles, Procedure is done

This was a fighter

But in the end, None can run

Everyone is undone

In the end

It’s just another one

Blood Test

Tiaan:

No, I don’t need anything

Just looking for my friend

Please, all I want is to find him

On me he does depend

I don’t want any tests

I tell you no falsehood

Is the only way to see him

If I give you access to my blood?

Where is my friend

Where is he

Where is my only friend

R where are you

Are you okay R

Are you alive?

Tiaan:

The needle cold pricks my arm

Darkest life flows through the tube

Filling me with alarm

I fear that i’ve been duped

Monitor blips analyzing my blood

Stomach beginning to boil

Ready to run when the test is done

A lifetime reduced to one vial

Where is my friend

Where is he

Where is my only friend

R where are you

Are you okay R

Are you alive?

The nurse looks me deep in the eyes

And frowns at my ragged clothes

Yet to her, and my, great surprise

The screen flashes, and we froze

Type O

Type O Neg

Type O Negative

Nurse:

I am required to tell you

With this information

There is a separation

From you and them

You have immunization

From everything

Fear not, all your fears

Will go away

There will be no termination

With your blood so prized

You are authorized to live

Forgive my earlier disdain

It is my pleasure to tell you

That you were never in the draft at all

Tiaan:

Where is my friend

Where is he

Where is my only friend

Tiaan’s Isolation

Dilapidated body

Over derelict bones

Stand on a slope so rocky

While the mountain groans

The world crumbles upside down

Outcasted and alone

Suffocate and drown

What have I done?

This is not who I am

I will never be one of them

Was it all in vain?

My blood ravages inside

The death, sorrow, and pain

Like a traitor it has lied

On the edge of ruin

I wish to be destroyed

Unforgivable

Sins I can’t avoid

This is not who I am

I will never be one of them

The weight of it all is on my head

Because of me, my friends, my friends are dead

I don’t deserve to breathe

Taking up space on the earth

From my toes to my teeth

My body has no more worth

If I give in and end myself

It’ll prove them right

I wish someone would strike me down

Put me in a gravesite

I wish I could die

Yet I don’t want them to win

I wish to rectify

But I know not where to begin

Kill me, Kill me

Take my life away

I will not be one of you

Peculiar doomsday

This is not who I am

I will never be one of them

The weight of it all is on my head

Because of me, my friends, my friends are dead

Check In (Semicentennial Review)

How is the world doing?

After fifty years, it’s time for a little check in.

The swarming overpopulation driving us all to an early grave seems to have subsided after enacting the Collections project. There are many less humans gumming up the works, and the earth is well on it’s way towards environmental recovery.

Here’s to the next fifty years of success!

Massacre In The City

As the sun goes down

Tiaan wanders into the city

Tears streaking down his dirty skin

Lost, alone so gritty

He has no idea of Acho’s vicious plan

Tormented mental state

A hollow, broken, madman

Tiaan slips into the city

Ready to surrender

This ain’t gonna be pretty

He don’t want to remember

As the night creeps in

The city gates glow in red

Acho ties a knife to her belt

Straps infrared goggles to her head

There’s pictures of a man

On the wanted signs

She’s able to kill

Then watch from the sidelines

Acho strides into the city

Ready to hunt her prey

This ain’t gonna be pretty

They are all going to pay

Acho strikes them down one by one by one

Her blade falls mercilessly

Screams rise as blood pools all throughout the streets

Her arm works tirelessly

Eyes lock with a distressed boy stumblin’ towards her

“Take me out of this world” he whispers quietly

He falls down to his knees, begging for death

A flash of recognition

“I remember you, young traveler

You are not one of them”

Acho leaves the burning city

Filled with worthless souls

Tiaan lost in self pity

Surrounded by dead, his hellhole

(Shot swirls slightly, Tiaan sits up, fires and bodies strewn around him)

As the city cries around him

Destruction within his heart

Alive, broken, and empty

His past so far apart

Acho’s Escape

Slashing throats

Moving quickly

Smell of blood

Is sickly

Burning rooftops

Smoke filled air

Screaming people

No one cares

Through the streets

Acho runs

Guards on lookout

Are disposed

Bodies left

To decompose

Her painful secrets

Never exposed

Once a hunter

To eat, survive

Now a killer

Leave none alive

Those too good

Meet their demise

Down from the dirt

We will rise

Acho raises her hand

Against tyranny

She took a deadly stand

And rose to infamy

Cherish her deeds

And her sincerity

Only what she needs

She is not ordinary

Acho watches the ruin

From a mountaintop

Knowing nothing will change

Though the bodies dropped

They changed the world

And then they couldn’t stop

While the city burns

And the chaos pops

Once a hunter

To eat, survive

Now a killer

Leave none alive

Those too good

Meet their demise

Down from the dirt

We will rise

Acho takes the knife her father gave her

before he died

The knife she’s carried with her every day

It feels like part of herself has died

And now she hides it among the rocks

Faint wailing heard in the stillness of nightfall

Acho turns her back to the fire

To the hopelessness of it all

Never to return

Never to return