Louisville

The bang of the car door closing outside the window awoke Frank from his carefree dream world. He glanced at his clock, which read 3:46 AM. Nobody would be here, unless...

"They found me," Frank whispered.

Before the blood had a chance to fully arouse his body he dashed towards his computer. He was prepared for a crisis such as this. All he would have to do is hit a key combination and everything on his computer would be obliterated; no authorities would ever see what he had been doing. Of course, all his work would be lost, but that's a fair price to pay to stay out of jail. He started hitting the combination of keys.

Ctrl. Shift. Alt.

But before his finger could punch down the last key, a surge of electricity penetrated his body from the back of his neck, quickly paralyzing every nerve throughout his body.

Frank was smothered with a darkness that crippled his senses.

---

The nearby voices slowly became audible.

"Did we get his computer?"

"Yeah, and he didn't have a chance to wipe it."

"Good. Let me know when you find the evidence."

"Okay...Do you want us to grab the next person on the list?"

"Not yet. Let's wait until we're done."

Frank waited to open his eyes until he was certain that the men were gone. He gazed straight into a blazing light aimed at his face. He tried to position his hand so he could see, but his hands were bound behind his back. The difficulty of breathing through a mouthful of spit soaked cloth, as well as the burning sensation left by the stun gun, made him certain that this was anything but a dream. The sound of footsteps returned, and instinctively Frank's body went limp in the chair, pretending to be asleep. The footsteps stopped right in front of him. Then there was silence. The only thing Frank could hear was the sound of his heart pounding from the fear.

"We know you're awake, Frank," said the owner of the footsteps.

He felt a tug on the rag that had been stuffed into his mouth. Moments later a burst of fresh air filled his mouth, but it did little to conceal the lingering taste of the dirty rag. Fear-stricken, Frank opened his eyes; but he was still blind due to the lustrous light.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Frank spurted out at the faceless man.

"Your questions will be answered in time."

"I wasn't doing anything illegal, I was just doing research."

"That's a lie and we both know it. This will go much more smoothly, Frank, if you tell us the truth. Otherwise, we might have to resort to violence, and you wouldn't want that."

"I'll tell the truth, when you tell me why I'm here."

"Fine. If you really want to know, I'll tell you. For the past year we have been watching you. Night after night, we would sit and watch everything you did on that computer of yours. Nothing you did escaped our watchful eyes; from the computers you hacked, the exploits you wrote, and even to the porn you watched. However, none of these things was of any concern to us. What really interested us was the music you downloaded."

"What??" Startled, Frank's mind immediately set into motion, attempting to discover who would take an interest in the music he downloaded. Instantly he thought of only one thing.

"Are you from the RIAA?" Frank asked.

"I'm sorry Frank, but we aren't from a petty corporation. We were forced to take our own actions against you, and all the other thieves."

"If you're not the RIAA, then who the hell are you?" Frank demanded, getting irritated with the man. He couldn't believe that he was kidnapped for downloading music. He knew there had to be something about this that was against the law, but the man's voice sliced through his thoughts and brought him back.

"You won't like what you see."

"I don't care, just tell me."

"Suit yourself."

With that the light swirled around to the left. Click. And once again darkness consumed the room. Frank's ears were flooded with the sound of footsteps. There must be hundreds of people here, he thought. The noise went on for nearly a minute, until the room reverted back to total silence. Someone's hand silently flipped a switch and the room was filled with brightness.

The walls of the building must have amplified the sound of the footsteps, because there were not hundreds of people, in fact; there were only four. And Frank recognized the faces as soon as he laid eyes on them.

Kane Harrison, Johnny Hale, Jared Nelson, and Larry Upton. Even without the crowd, the stage, and their instruments, Frank still knew who they were. These four men made up Maniaca; the heavy metal band that was violently opposed to music sharing. The men were not what scared Frank, but instead it was what they were holding. Each one of them was holding a baseball bat. A deep anger emanated from their eyes. And that was when he knew he would not make it out alive.

"It's just a freaking song," Frank shouted!

"No it's not, Frank. We work endless hours to improve each song; we lose sleep due to their need for more; but all this hard work just strengthens our love for them. We love each song like our very own child. And you kidnapped one of those children from us, and for that you will pay."

"No, please..I'm sorry, I won't do it again," Frank pleaded with them.

"It's too late. The damage has already been done."

At this, Johnny-obviously the leader of the group-turned his head towards the other men and nodded in Frank's direction. The four men simultaneously started moving toward him, each digging deeper into his soul with an icy glare. He was completely surrounded by the four men; warm breath slowly brushed against his neck and face. Filled with fear, Frank's eyes swelled as a damp area formed around his crotch. Tears streamed down his cheeks and landed on his urine soaked pants. Unfazed, the four men eyed Johnny, awaiting his command to strike.

Johnny's calm voice broke the silence. "It's time."

With that Johnny, along with the other men, cocked their arms above their head. At any moment, the four men would snap and their anger would manifest itself as pain throughout Frank's body. Frank frantically watched the bat gripped tightly in Johnny's hands, he prayed to God for protection from the evil men. But his prayer was refuted with a simple "No."

---

Johnny's anger swelled to a point of no return. The only way to get revenge was to take Frank's life. Each one of the four members of the band knew this, and they all swore to complete this action. Johnny took in a deep breath, drawing in every ounce of strength he could find. As he exhaled, he flung his arms down straight at his victim's skull. Johnny saw the fear in his eyes, but this only made him more eager to draw blood. The bat dashed closer and closer to Frank's face until the moment of impact.

---

Frank watched the words on the bat, Louisville, as they charged towards him. He knew this would be his last experience. He knew he was as good as dead. He knew...

The unexpected blow from the rear caked his body with numbness. The momentum from the blow lunged Frank's face towards Johnny. He drew in a quick breath in preparation for his impending date with the bat. With the breath still fresh in his lungs, Frank clamped his eyes tight. All he could feel were the tears streaming down his face.

A loud crack, and Frank's stream of consciousness abruptly faded to black.