He stepped away from the mic.

This was the best take he had done so far, but

something seemed missing. Then it struck him all at once. Visuals ran in front of
his eyes and music rang in his ears. His eager fingers went to work in an attempt
to capture his thoughts hoping the results would produce something that was at
least half their glory.
The computer wouldn't start. She banged on the side and tried again. Nothing. She
lifted it up and dropped it to the table. Still nothing. She banged her closed fist
against the top. It was at this moment she saw the irony of trying to fix the
machine with violence.
Do you really listen when you are talking with someone? I have a friend who listens
in an unforgiving way. She actually takes every word you say as being something
important and when you have a friend that listens like that, words take on a whole
new meaning.
The trail to the left had a "Danger! Do Not Pass" sign telling people to take the
trail to the right. This wasn't the way Zeke approached his hiking. Rather than a
warning, Zeke read the sign as an invitation to explore an area that would be
adventurous and exciting. As the others in the group all shited to the right, Zeke
slipped past the danger sign to begin an adventure he would later regret.
The robot clicked disapprovingly, gurgled briefly inside its cubical interior and
extruded a pony glass of brownish liquid. "Sir, you will undoubtedly end up in a
drunkard's grave, dead of hepatic cirrhosis," it informed me virtuously as it
returned my ID card. I glared as I pushed the glass across the table.
Sometimes that's just the way it has to be. Sure, there were probably other
options, but he didn't let them enter his mind. It was done and that was that. It
was just the way it had to be.
Then came the night of the first falling star. It was seen early in the morning,
rushing over Winchester eastward, a line of flame high in the atmosphere. Hundreds
must have seen it and taken it for an ordinary falling star. It seemed that it fell
to earth about one hundred miles east of him.
She didn't understand how changed worked. When she looked at today compared to
yesterday, there was nothing that she could see that was different. Yet, when she
looked at today compared to last year, she couldn't see how anything was ever the
same.
The leather jacked showed the scars of being his favorite for years. It wore those
scars with pride, feeling that they enhanced his presence rather than diminishing
it. The scars gave it character and had not overwhelmed to the point that it had
become ratty. The jacket was in its prime and it knew it.
All he could think about was how it would all end. There was still a bit of
uncertainty in the equation, but the basics were there for anyone to see. No matter
how much he tried to see the positive, it wasn't anywhere to be seen. The end was
coming and it wasn't going to be pretty.