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thesinglesjukebox · 6 months

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SHAKIRA X BIZARRAP - BZRP MUSIC SESSIONS #53

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Separation, Shakira-style!

[8.35]

Nortey Dowuona: FC Andorra are 7th in the Segunda Division; Karol G is on the Barbie soundtrack. I say this divorce was the best thing to ever happen to them. [9]

Peter Ryan: A comprehensive public clobbering, an icy-caustic bookend to the relationship that wormed its way into her discography with the ebullient "Me Enamoré", stuffed with double entendre indictments sharp and specific enough to preemptively render any rebuttal pathetic. Structurally it ranks among her most ambitious, all polyrhythms and quasi-freestyle character, the latter part no doubt owing to the BZRP Music Sessions format. There's catharsis in her kicking open the door on the private strife about which she'd previously stayed tight-lipped, and in the meta-narrative of the megastar shaking off the dead weight and finding creative reinvigoration. While they've become fewer and farther between in the last decade, she hasn't lost her knack for creating a Moment -- I heard this at the corner store, wafting out of passing car windows, on the dancefloor -- she wasn't kidding about cashing in. [9]

Alex Ostroff: The main attractions here are Shakira's righteous and yet somehow still icy fury and her impeccable wordplay. She wishes her ex the best with her "supuesto reeemplazo", but makes it absolutely clear that nobody is capable of actually replacing her. In someone else's version of this revenge-pop anthem, your husband absconding with a woman half your age might be a source of insecurity, but for Shakira it's another sign of his cluelessness -- at 44, she's worth two 22-year-olds and presents it as a simple and obvious fact. Bizarrap initially seems to take a backseat, but he brings plenty to the table, evolving his production and adding details that accentuate and complement hers. Tonight, I'm obsessed with the way he brings in that reggaeton-esque percussion right at "Me dejaste de vecina a la suegra/Con la prensa en la puerta y la deude en Hacienda" and how that propels the song into Shakira's triplet of creíste/heriste/volviste rhymes. Shakira's best material in the post-Fijación Oral era of her career has consistently been her Spanish albums, but until the restructuring of streaming and Billboard chart metrics in recent years, their popularity (and pop excellence) was never properly reflected. Of Pique's many, many sins, the one I'm most angry about was causing Shakira to relocate to Spain -- away from her main collaborators and recording studios -- and thus keeping her away from the radio at a time when audiences' engagement with global pop (and especially music in Spanish) seems much bigger and more permanent than the limited crossover moments of the 90's and early 2000's. Her post-BZRP releases have mostly been collaborations with an extremely varied list of rising Latinx stars in a wide range of genres, from a reggaeton heartbreak diss track with Karol G to a regional Mexican polka track with Fuerza Regida about labor rights and Pique firing the nanny who snitched on him for cheating. I have absolutely no idea what to expect from Shakira next, and I couldn't be more excited. [10]

Harlan Talib Ockey: 1) Cultural reset. 2) I love mess. 3) We now go live to Pique stepping on a rake. 4) Infinitely more energy than "Te Felicito" or "Monotonía". 5) Actually, Shakira hasn't sounded this forceful in a long time. 6) Bizarrap at the top of his own game rather than trying super hard to make corridos, for example. 7) "¡LAS MUJERES YA NO LLORAN, LAS MUJERES FACTURAN!"="margin:> [9]

Aaron Bergstrom: As a non-Spanish speaker, I'm probably missing out on some of the nuance here, but allow me to offer a brief letter of recommendation for 1) listening to this for the first time with minimal context, 2) focusing only on Shakira's inflection and intonation, 3) picking out a few lines where she sounds especially pleased with herself, 4) thinking "ooohhhh, I bet these are daggers," and then 5) looking up the English translation and confirming that every single one is just as vicious as you'd hoped. Because let me tell you, it is a delightful experience. [8]

Jessica Doyle: Cuando era niña, en mi escuela podría estudiar solamente francés; no empecé a aprender hablar español hasta desde cuatro o cinco años. Hoy tengo una cita cada día con Duolingo y puedo comprender unas frases, pero quiero apreciar el idioma mucho más, y lo que me motiva, es esta canción. Shakira canta como sus palabras tienen pesos y formas; se puede esucuchar y sentir cuando ellas se chocan con el suelo--"mastique' y trague', trague y mastique'," "con la deuda a la Hacienda." Además, ella gana confianza y acelera, asi que cuando ella canta, "Yo valgo por dos de 22," no es un cope defensivo, es una declaración de hecho. El idioma es su arma y su poder. Y el ritmo es único; ella no lo podría haber canto en inglés. Entonces, escribí este blurb en español; no lo escribí en inglés y traducé. Sé que hay muchos errores (Google Translate me dice que "I translated" no es "traducé," es "traduje"), pero creo que sería un error más grande hablar de esta canción en inglés. La escucho y me hace querer estudiar y aprendar más. [8]

Will Adams: An undersung aspect of what makes "Pa Tipos Como Tú" so compelling is how Bizarrap's beat switch-ups throughout the song propel it forward. It begins as an icy breath of Italo that recalls She Wolf's more delirious moments. Midway through the second verse, the floor caves in to reveal a heavy, rhythmic groove, as if gathering power for the next attack. The second chorus arrives with a walloping synth bass, reminiscent of "Padam Padam" but even more menacing. It makes for one of the most exciting listening experiences of the year, instilling an uncertainty of where this thing is headed next. All the while, Shakira floats on top, mercilessly delivering a brutal takedown that leaves nothing in its wake. [8]

Tara Hillegeist: The last time anyone on Shakira's level tried to write a song about how mad she isn't like this, it was over a decade ago, and "Irreplaceable" that effort absolutely wasn't, drowned in goopy self-affirmation and breathy lack of confidence. Compare the liquid contempt swirling around every syllable, here, the bared-fang sharpness of the enunciation as she howls "You thought you'd hurt me, you only made me stronger/Women no longer cry, women get paid". Shakira's fury isn't the fury of a woman left abandoned, with only scorn as her cold comfort -- as one of pop's inarguable queens, she has an entire country at her back. It's only natural that she can't simply settle for destroying her ex's memory alone, when there's an entire dancefloor waiting to destroy it in her honor instead. Pity Shakira's ex-husband, who will go down in pop-cultural history as nothing more than the expertly character-assassinated trophy this song leaves behind to hang on the she-wolf's wall, alongside all the others who thought to make a prize of her instead, only to find, as ever, that it's not their world to rule, but hers. Or don't; the viperous specificity with which she approaches the subject matter in question makes it readily apparent that from her perspective, this reckoning was only ever held at bay by the love he squandered in the first place. The other woman should probably count herself lucky Shakira only holds her accountable for thinking herself entitled to taking Shakira's place in his affections; if there were any other reasons, Shakira clearly wouldn't have hesitated to include them. Let the dancefloor show mercy, then, if there's any to be found. [9]

Katherine St Asaph: Shakira's hips don't lie; their involuntary sway, she's said, is how she identified Bizarrap's track as a Depeche Mode homage too chilly to pass up. And yet the track is not nearly as cold as the way Shakira vaporizes her song's targets from on high. That her specific complaints are relatively petty -- basically, that getting cheated on has stuck Shakira with a lot of rich person problems -- is beside the point. Repeatedly, she drops the real names of two real-ass people, syllable by syllable via careful wordplay, as if putting a scope into place. Her vocal is mixed loud, processed past any human timbre, and arranged to fill all space in the track. She sounds less like an individual jilted woman than a metallic weapon, than the genderless, pitiless, all-judging voice of God. Finally comes the killing smite: "and now you're with someone just like you." It's not often that experiencing a punching-down feels this bitter and inevitable, this compelling and correct. [10]

Rose Stuart: I said in my review of Olivia Rodrigo's "Vampire" that, in the year of breakup songs, hers was the only one that wasn't full of posturing. This is the only song where that posturing feels earned. Where other songs made neither their pain nor strength convincing, Shakira comes out triumphant, coming for blood with each finely picked detail in every savage line. The song never stops going in, even using the name of her ex's partner for some masterful wordplay. I've heard many breakup songs that try to go at the singer's ex, but this is the first time I've actually felt sorry for the song's subject -- after all, it must be hard to show your face in public after being roasted this thoroughly. [9]

Wayne Weizhen Zhang: A swaggering, sexy encounter that has me simultaneously wanting me to say "I'm too good for you, bitches!" and "Step on my face, mother!" [9]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: lol hell yeah [8]

Alfred Soto: With any insignificant number of synths per track signifying as "1980s" the response to this track was a given, but the thudding insistence of its beat muscled past those assumptions. As alert as a burglar with good tools, Shakira talks so much shit that the judgment fades before the verdict. Imagine if they'd released this at the height of the 2010-2011 EDM epoch. [8]

Jonathan Bradley: Bizarrap's sleek, gleaming disco sets off the lack of adventure in Dua Lipa's 2023 comeback; these cool synths glide with a propulsive sense of drama. Shakira, uncharacteristically, is the weak spot though, allowing herself to recede into the background. She doesn't always command attention, but even her reserve is usually compelling all on its own. Here, she's content to vibe, waiting for someone else to make something happen. [5]

Brad Shoup: Impeccably imaged: we're used to that from Shakira. But the chilliness is something else: a brisk disco kiss-off that fogs up the anguish she's audibly fighting. The way she paces herself is really cool: icy pop in the first verse, a switch to reggaeton cadence at the end of the second that fully detonates in the third. She's acting as her own feature rapper: just another power move. [8]

Ian Mathers: I was the high mark last time we covered Shakira, but even if I was going to be here (doubt it!) it'll clearly be for very different reasons. With "Don't Wait Up" it was that fucked-up little organ (or whatever) riff, and while Shakira was good, her performance wasn't specifically what drew me to the track. Here, while the production is good, it's her performance that's much more central. Even before my monolingual ass looks up a translation you can kinda just tell from the vibe that someone is getting it in the neck, and/or Shakira is feeling her oats ("and," as it turns out) and then once you do... "Sorry, I already took another plane" is a hell of a way to start. Plenty of specific detail lurking in there, but the repeated "I was too big for you and that's why you are with a girl just like you" fairly blisters as it goes past. [8]

Taylor Alatorre: All else aside, it must really suck to not only have the Tsar Bomba of diss tracks dropped on you, but to have that track sent out to the world with this podcast episode-ass title. Like, at least Jay-Z can boast that he's part of the reason we all say "ethered" now; no such consolation here. The tossed-off nature of the release, while adding insult to injury -- you don't even get an album track! -- makes it harder to admit this into the pantheon of the greatest diss songs of all time. But I get the sense that legacy is not really what Shakira is concerned with here. This is a crime committed in the heat of the moment, in broad daylight, and everyone will remember where they were when they witnessed it. For her, that is enough. [7]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

#shakira #bizarrap #music #music writing #music reviews #music criticism #the singles jukebox #Youtube

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delusionaltom · 23 days

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ME, BUT HAPPY

I would like to thank you, personally, for always making me feel like I'm cooler than a wolf wearing sunglasses.

When I'm around you it's like I'm full of electricity but in a fun, non-lethal way that's possibly giving me a boner. I want to thank you

for making all the love songs mean something again. Now when Sam Smith comes on the radio

I still roll my eyes but I do it while air humping. The best part of being in love with you is

that I never HAVE to brush my teeth, but gosh darn it do l want to. You're the best thing

that's happened to me since I was, like, born. You make me want to do pointless, actually dumb things, like

learning to play the flute or voting.

In the lists of things I love about you, maybe the second or third entry

is the way you turn all my awful days into awful days with phó.

Have you ever smashed your face

into a whole bunch of cool, wet sand? You should, cause that's pretty much what it's like to hang out with you.

I've never made out with Jesus, but I imagine that's kind of like holding your hand. If I had scurvy,

it'd be all right because l'd have scurvy with you. I'd clear the snow off of twelve driveways in negative

twenty degree weather just so I could leave you a voicemail. I would like to thank you for never, not once,

making fun of me for crying while

I watch the same scene from Parks and Rec for the twenty-fifth time. If you had it your way,

every day I would meet a puppy. Every night would be trivia night. Every morning I would get to wake up and punch

Ben Affleck in his stupid face.

I always try to be, like, cool

and stuff, but it's hard to act like I don't

care when you're so pretty

all the goddamn time. The new way to say "I love you" is to just say twenty three. We can't really be sad if we're both sad in the same place right?

I would like to thank you for wanting me to be me, but happy. I don't know why we re both here, but since we are, let's make out until we're dead. Before I met you

I wanted to be dead all the time. I still do, because of the, you know, mental illness, but now that you're here I don't want to want to

die anymore. If you were a breakfast cereal you'd be called "Reason-to-Wake-Up Os." If you were a book you'd be titled

"Your Perfect Life, Right Here." Sure, there are probably infinite dimensions, but I'm

with you in this one, so why would I try to find them?

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vonnegutchild · 3 months

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I just saw a post that did this, and I wanted to make my own version! (I’m definitely cheating via ties, changing whether articles count, etc.) My A-Z book list:

A: Alchemyst (of the Nicholas Flammel books)

B: Brave New World

C: A Confederacy of Dunces (or Cien años de soledad, or Cloud Atlas, or La caverna de las ideas; tie #1)

D: The Day the Sun Died by Yan Lianke

E: Emma by Jane Austen

F: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

G: Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut

H: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

I: Infinite Jest

J: Jane Eyre (haven’t read yet)

K: Kiss of the Spider Woman (Beso de la mujer araña)

L: Las intermitencias de la muerte

M: The Master and Margarita

N: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

O: Of Mice and Men

P: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Q: FUCK IT DON QUIXOTE GETS THE Q SPOT FUCK THE RULES

R: River of Teeth

S: Serve the People! by Yan Lianke

T: This is How You Lose the Time War (or The Terror, I can’t pick 😭 or Turn of the Screw fuck you)

U: Uzumaki by Junji Ito

V: The Vine That Ate the South

W: When We Cease to Understand the World

X: I’d rather keep this list authentic than pretend I have a book that starts with X that I can recall that have strong feelings about.

Y: *radio static*

Z: The Zombie Survival Guide (eyyy middle school throwback)

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southernvangard · 7 months

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Episode 379 - Southern Vangard Radio

BANG! @southernvangard #radio Ep379! First and foremost, y’all wish Meeks a big Happy Birthday if you haven’t already. We weren’t able to celebrate last week on the show, so we’re making up for it in every way this week. When we say making up for it - we mean it - how about THREE, count ‘em THREE WORLD EXCLUSIVES from EDDIE MEEKS & DJ POCKET’S upcoming project, “TOXIC MASCULINITY”. Throw a few glasses of 130.2 proof courtesy of Old Forrester and you got yourself a show for the ages. Oh, and that bday gift for Meeks - just head to SOUTHERNVANGARD.BANDCAMP.COM and cop our new book for a cool twenty spot. THAAAAANK YA and YOU WAAAAALCOME!!!!! #SmithsonianGrade #WeAreTheGard #YouWaaaaalcome // southernvangard.com // @southernvangard on all platforms #undergroundhiphop #boombap #DJ #mixshow #interview #podcast #ATL #WORLDWIDE #RIPCOMBATJACK

Recorded live October 29, 2023 @ Dirty Blanket Studios, Marietta, GA

southernvangard.com

@southernvangard on all platforms

#SmithsonianGrade #WeAreTheGard

twitter/IG: @southernvangard @jondoeatl @cappuccinomeeks

Pre-Game Beats - Jansport J

Talk Break Inst. - "Longdale Dr." - Nottz

"Be Better" - Eddie Meeks (prod. DJ Pocket) ** WORLD EXCLUSIVE **

"Halfprice" - Domo Genesis & Graymatter

"Forever" - Eddie Kaine & BP Infinite

"Globe Holders" - P.U.R.E. ft. Inspectah Deck

"Close the Market" - Freddie Black ft. Tash (prod Spliftout, cuts Tone Spliff)

"Better Days (MiLKCRATE Remix)" - JRoberts x IMPERETIV x L-Biz x Rasheed Chappell

"Y'all Clowns" - Stu Bangas ft. Psycho Les & Celph Titled

Talk Break Inst. - "The Gardener's" - Nottz

"Bet You Wont Say That Shit (In My Face)" - Eddie Meeks (prod. DJ Pocket) ** WORLD EXCLUSIVE **

"The Tale Of 2 Cities" - Kxng Crooked & Joell Ortiz (prod. Hesami)

"Fupa" - AG Da Coroner & Doza The Drum Dealer ft. OSVN, D. Goynz, Mo BUks, William Bostick, Kaeson Skrilla, & Cargo Qell

"Inhumans" - Stu Bangas ft. Apathy

"Very Superstitious" - Verb T & Vic Grimes

"Luxurious Apartheid (MiLKCRATE Remix)" - Napoleon Da Legend x J Scienide x DJ Jon Doe

"Nothing Is Freestyle" - The Alchemist

Talk Break Inst. - "W. Tanners Creek Rd." - Nottz

"Neuschwanstein" - Crimeapple (prod. Bohemia Lynch)

"Halloween Havoc" - Creasy x Uncle Fester

"Fendi In The Night (Hypebeast Edition)" - RU$h & Mike Shabb

"No More" - Kxng Crooked & Joell Ortiz (prod. Heatmakerz)

"Finagle" - Al.Divino

"Jerkin" - Frog Brothers ft. Bobby Craves & Fazeonerok (prod. Montega Mateos)

"Baltimore Protest Joint" - Eddie Meeks (prod. DJ Pocket) ** WORLD EXCLUSIVE **

Talk Break Inst. - "Cedarwood Ct / Rosemont Middle" - Nottz

SOUNDCLOUD

https://on.soundcloud.com/rynXd (SHORT LINK)

APPLE PODCASTS

SPOTIFY PODCASTS

YOUTUBE

GOOGLE PODCASTS

http://bit.ly/svrgooglepodcasts

TWITCH

MIXCLOUD

#SouthernVangard #DJJonDoe #EddieMeeks #JansportJ #Nottz #EddieMeeks #DJPocket #DomoGenesis #Graymatter #EddieKaine #BPInfinite #PURE #InspectahDeck #FreddieBlack #Tash #Spliftout #ToneSpliff #Milkcrate #JRoberts #IMPERETIV #LBiz #RasheedChappell #StuBangas #PsychoLes #CelphTitled #KxngCrooked #JoellOrtiz #Hesami #AGDaCoroner #DozaTheDrumDealer #OSVN #DGoynz #MoBUks #WilliamBostick #KaesonSkrilla #CargoQell #Apathy #VerbT #VicGrimes #NapoleonDaLegend #JScienide #TheAlchemist #Crimeapple #BohemiaLynch #Creasy #UncleFester #RU$h #MikeShabb #Heatmakerz #AlDivino #FrogBrothers #BobbyCraves #Fazeonerok #MontegaMateos

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infinitelradio · 26 days

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IL Radio Show Production

In the Mix with DJ Shyheim (ITMWDS) - Highlights DJ Shyheim’s Mix & the Indie Music Spotlight Check out the “In the Mix with DJ Shyheim” show on Thursday, May 2nd @ 7:30 pm PST, 10:30 pm EST.

During the first half of the show the host DJ Shyheim will be playing a music mix of his choice. The second half will be dedicated to the “Indie Spotlight” where the DJ will play songs by various independent artists from various genres. Our motto for this show is…. “More Music & Less Talk”… That “Feel Good” Music. Tune Into the show <Here> If you want to know more about IL Radio/IL Ent please visit our website at www.infinitelent.com. If you would like to get your song played on the IL Radio Show.… You can submit your music either by email at [email protected] or via MusicSubmit . ______________________________________________________________ SHOW INFO DJ: “DJ Shyheim” IL Radio Show’s Creator/Content Producer: “L” DJ Mix 1st half of show provided by: DJ Shyheim Songs for the Indie Spotlight provided by: IL Radio VIDEO INFO Banner/Video Credit: Infinite L Designs Music Provided By: DJ Shyheim

IL Radio: <Listen Here> IL Radio IG: @infinitelent Youtube: www.youtube.com/@infinitelent IL Ent Website: www.infinitelent.com DJ Shyheim IG: @shyheim_28

#music #infinite l radio #infinite l ent #il radio #blogtalkradio #indie music #independent music #blogalkradio #infinite l #DH Shyheim #music submit

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spotlightontheartist · 1 year

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youtube

D'Vo wrote this song to bring hope to those who may be dealing with mental health and or self harm issues.

D'Vo IG: @nerdlifebydvo IL Radio - Listen Here IL Radio IG: @infinitelent Youtube: www.youtube.com/@infinitelent IL Ent Website: www.infinitelent.com

#music video #independent music #music #indie artist #indie music #nerdlifebydvo #dark matters #infinite l radio #youtube #Youtube

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day6source · 10 months

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youtube

New episode from KBS CoolFM!

DAY6’s Kiss the Radio With Young K 230804 with INFINITE

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fyeah-infinite · 10 months

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youtube

230801 Behind Press - Arriving at SBS Cultwo Show

#infinite #sunggyu #dongwoo #woohyun #sungyeol #myungsoo #l #sungjong #230801 #v:press #sbs radio #13egin #Youtube

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parkerbombshell · 1 year

Link

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could-you-be-any-gayer-quill · 2 years

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Chapter one (Working title) Mangled Metal

Joshua dropped down from the high engine. His heavy boots made the impact sound loud despite the noise coming from the opposite lane of traffic. The two-lane highway had a large median segregating the two paths. Ahead of him was a mess of scrap metal and plastic, the small hybrid had somehow skipped the median and slammed into a dually, it was a certified mess.

"Josh, what in the fuck are we doing here? extrication is already on scene, there's better shit to do at the station." Harry was barely a kid, despite being 22 he was short and scrawny, the polar opposite of what people expected a firefighter to be, but he had his certifications and Joshua had seen his propensity to outwork men twice his size.

"We're here to make sure David doesn't fuck this up, he's a new guy and I wanna make sure he's up to snuff. I also just like watching them tear metal up."

Harry nodded "Fair enough boss.".

Joshua walked calmly up to a safe distance from the hybrid, looking at the mangled mess, there was no reason to be cutting it up. David looked up from where he'd been staring at the crash as Michal was in the middle of cutting his way into the bashed passenger door. David MacDonnah was undescribably average, his face was forgettable, and his frame was what came to mind when you said the words "Imagine a white guy". The thought was amusing to Josh, always had been. In contrast, Josh was a tall large man, the spitting image of a firefighter, he'd achieved the physique after years of work. Alas, the attractiveness of his physique stopped there, his face was described constantly as offputting, a given from his scars, he'd been a reckless child and now he paid in stares and glances, a particularly nasty and noticeable gash traveled from his forehead to his temple. His skin had tanned to a golden olive over the years, attested to his Italian ancestors, it came with no freckles which had infinitely aggravated his mother whose face had been nothing but.

"Leuitenit Grogy! Didn't think I'd see you today." David walked up beside Joshua and turned to look at the wreck. "It's a real mess there. We've been on it for a while now."

"Why are you cutting it up? There's no way anyone's alive in there."

Harry nodded in agreement "You're just wasting the generator's fuel."

"We thought so too, but when we got close we could hear someone in there, they sounded to be in pain so we've been trying to see, and sure enough, someone is in there. I have no idea how they're alive, but fuck me, they are."

"Seriously? You called the ambulance?" Josh could hardly believe it.

"Yep, they're on the way, they've been really busy today, lots of crazies on the loose apparently."

Harry huffed "Yeah, the radio's been buzzing for the past hour, constant calls, we just got off a wellness check."

Josh smirked "Yeah, dumb fuck had slipped in the bath and screamed, his neighbors freaked out and made us run out there, fucking asinine."

David shrugged "Yeah, sounds about right."

Josh looked back up the highway, it had been quiet for a while now. The highway would get quiet at times, but Josh suddenly felt eerie, something in the air had changed, he looked over at the two police officers standing on the other side of the wreck. Kelly was barely there, as always she was lost in thought, but Gavin, he was tense, locking eyes with Josh, he'd felt it too, something had changed. Gavin's hand slowly moved to rest on his holster as he said something to Kelly, beginning to walk around the crash towards the three firefighters.

Gavin closed the distance quickly, still locked in with Josh. "Hey fellas."

David smirked and nodded "Officer, how you holding up?"

Harry looked up at Josh, noticing the change in his demeanor. "Hey, L T? You good?"

Josh couldn't answer, he simply stepped out of line, nodding at Gavin, walking back towards the engine as the ambulance pulled up next to the big red beast. Gavin followed, nodding at the driver of the ambulance as she stepped out. Jessica had been running calls in the county for years, she knew Gavin and Josh both, stepping up in line with Josh as he started to climb up into the engine.

"Hey Doug, go wait by the crash, get the stretcher and shit, I need to talk with these guys, get the story." Jessica didn't even look back at her partner. Gavin stopped by the door of the engine looking up at Josh as he fiddled with the radio. Gavin had been overseas on two tours, and when his instincts went off like they just did he had learned to listen, looking up at the bigger man in the fire engine he knew Josh had been ticked too. Jessica seemed on edge as well, something was definitely happening.

"Dispatch, this is engine 1, you read us?" Josh let go of the button, waiting for a response. The moment dragged on and on, the tension in the air rising around Josh, his throat went dry, his heart began to pump, something was wrong, something was happening.

"Engine one, this is dispatch, stand by." Josh relaxed, sitting back, the tension hadn't left. Looking down at Jessica and Gavin he shook his head.

"I… I don't know what that was, I… god that was weird." Josh sighed.

Gavin shook his head "Nah man, I felt that too."

Jessica tensed "You guys felt that? Just then? Like, as I was driving up?"

"Yeah, me and Gavin locked eyes and had a moment, did you feel it too?"

"Jesus Christ yes, I was in the middle of nowhere in my mind and suddenly every cell in my body tensed up, I was brought back to reality in a split second."

Gavin bit his lip "That's exactly was I had, Josh what the fuck was that?"

"Why are you asking me? I'm not a fucking doctor, at least you have combat medical shit or whatever." Josh shook his head again.

Harry walked up to the circle and threw his hands up "What the fuck is this? A meeting of the illuminati? Josh what the fuck was that back there?"

"Nothing Harry, We… I don't know, something just feels off."

"Feels off my ass dude, come on we've nearly got the car open."

"Engine 1, this is dispatch, tell all personel on scene to switch to emergancy channel 2."

Everyone froze, had they heard that right, it was totally against protocol to do that over an open channel. Josh grabbed the radio set again and spoke in a quiet tension "Craig, what the fuck is going on?".

"I don't know Josh, Just do what you're told dammit, we've got a million fucking calls right now, it's like the whole town just caught fire. We're doing what we can, just switch over."

Josh quickly reached up and flipped the radio dials, as soon as he found the emergency channel a scream came over the radio and quickly disappeared into silence. Someone else came over the channel "Jesus fuck! Was that Terry?!". Gavin turned away from the group and began fiddling with his own radio strapped to his hip. Another voice cried out through the channel "Fuck! They bit Fred! We need help here! Holy fuck!".

As Josh stared at the radio his vision suddenly came to focus on the mangled car, the door had just been pulled off. The inside of the passenger compartment was caked in gore, so much red that Josh could tell from as far away as he was. Josh knew what smell would be coming from the compartment, he let the handset drop and dangle as he watched. Michals was gagging and quickly losing his lunch, why wasn't he wearing his wildfire jacket? Kelly screamed and covered her face as she saw the mess, David was the only one doing anything, running up and peering into the compartment. Josh tensed and jumped down from the engine, taking off towards the wreck.

"David! David get out of thet car!"

David either didn't hear or didn't care as he reached into the hole, he struggled with something and turned back, looking up at Josh as he held up a hand. It was severed off from the arm it had once been attached to, the fingers jutted off in different directions.

"Fuck me Josh. We all heard someone in the car but… Man who's fucking hand is this?"

Josh gulped and looked behind David into the car, shaking his head and trying to compose himself. "I… I don't know David, Fuck, no one survived that." Josh looked back into David's face, locking eyes as a hand reached out from the compartment behind David, grabbing him by the collar. In a split second the rest of what the arm was attached to came into the light; the woman was dripping with blood. Her face was almost invisible behind the red mess, her hair was matted with clots, and her cheeks had been split to her ears. One of her eyes dangled from its socket like one might hang a ghost on Halloween. It was yellow with streaks of red veins, her teeth were broken and jagged, Josh could see her tongue had been shredded by the fragments, it hung in ribbons, her throat was mangled and jagged with cuts, Josh could make out her spine through one of the gashed. She looked wet, and in the split second before her teeth sunk into David's neck, Josh could see that her lung was hanging out of her spit-open chest.

The scream that left David was unlike anything Josh had ever heard, the woman pulled back and a significant portion of David's neck went with her, the sound of tearing flesh filled the space. Before Josh knew what he was doing his boot had kicked out, the toe connecting with the woman's upturned face. He watched as the dangling eye came loose and was flung up into the air, his toe had caught her just under the lower mandible. it caved, crunching up into her face, if it wasn't already a mess it certainly was now. In the next seconds, Josh grabbed David by his shirt and tugged him away, the woman's hand was still holding onto David's shirt as Josh lifted him up. She was dragged with him, and as she came out of the car everyone saw her.

She was missing her stomach and everything below them, Josh could trace her intestines into the car, the only thing still connecting her to the vehicle. As Josh tugged at David the bloody hand slipped from his shirt, and dropped the woman to the ground as her eye came back down next to the car, David still held the mangled hand. Josh twisted and practically threw David back towards the engines, the man stumbled for a step before he began to fall, Harry was there, grabbing him from the fall. Harry began to drag David back towards the ambulance, Jessica was quickly with him. Josh turned away from his friends and back to the car. He looked down in time to see the woman reaching for his pants, he stumbled back, trying to backtrack. Slamming down on his ass he kept trying to scramble backward, looking into the woman's one good eye as she tried to drag herself with her one hand and nub.

Before the moment had passed her face exploded, Josh watched as fragments of bone and brain matter spewed out behind her, almost magically, his ears were suddenly ringing as he panted. The woman dropped like a stone, finally still as Josh kept crawling back, eventually, Michal came up, hooking him under his arms and lifting him up. Josh turned to see Gavin, pistol still aimed at the woman, he was breathing heavily, but he didn't shake. The group seemed to freeze in a moment until Doug screamed out for bandages.

in a split second, the world made sense again, Josh regained his footing as he turned towards the shouting, Jessica had run to the ambulance, she was throwing open the back and jumping in. David was on the ground, by the amount of blood Josh worried the bite had split his friend's jugular, Doug was packing the space with as much bandage as he could; Harry was holding David's face and trying to keep the man awake. Harry kept checking David's pulse as Doug was yelling about how there was so much blood. To be fair, Doug was suddenly covered in it, his entire chest was smeared with gore. Harry's hands weren't much better, spreading the mess onto David's face as he tried to talk to the man. David was crying, but silent, he wasn't screaming or sobbing, just quietly sitting as tears rolled from his eyes. Josh could read his lips as David spoke quietly, "I don't want to die.". Josh couldn't move, he couldn't do a thing as he watched David slowly fade. Doug was yelling at Jessica as she scrambled in the back of the ambulance, she was spitting venom back at him as she jumped out of the compartment.

Harry sagged, they all knew there wasn't anything they could do, even as Doug desperately packed the wound and yelled for Jessica. They both knew there wasn't any helping him, but just like every other dumb bastard in the emergency field they still tried, god they tried. Jessica came up with a bag, ripping out a vial and quickly filling a needle, David was looking paler and paler every second. Jessica jabbed the needle into David's upper arm and the man relaxed, sagging into a limp and lifeless state. Harry sat back on his haunches, looking down at the man laying motionless.

Everyone felt it, even before Jessica had pushed the needle in they had all felt the moment coming. The group knew death, they knew it well, they were all veterans of the notion, save for Kelly and Michal. Even the two new souls knew the moment had passed, and silence quickly fell over the highway again.

Despite how average David seemed, Josh knew he wouldn't forget his face again.

#storytelling #writer #gay #write #i dont even know #what im doing

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