When the Light Went Quiet

Intro – 10s, sirens dissolve into silence]

(A low hum. The night sky glows as a dark symbol forms above the city.)

Isaiah (whisper):

No…

Not like this.

⸻

I’ve stood at podiums through storms and smoke,

Promised calm with a careful tone,

But no speech fits a loss this deep,

No flag half-mast can help us sleep.

He carried hope when hope was thin,

Returned when leaving was easier than staying in,

Tonight the city feels the cost—

A guardian paid it all, and we are lost.

President (spoken):

We honor him…

But honor doesn’t heal the wound.

⸻

Isaiah:

He said to stand—

Even when it hurts.

Marco:

He said the fight

Is bigger than one life.

⸻

All:

When the light went quiet, the night grew loud,

A shadow climbed the skyline proud,

They think a symbol wins the war,

But we know what he stood for.

Grief hits hard, but it won’t decide,

We carry him on the other side,

If fear draws signs across the sky—

We answer back.

⸻

I hear his voice in every step,

“Breathe. Control. Don’t you forget,”

He warned me once—this road turns sharp,

I didn’t think it’d cut my heart.

I trained for power, trained for pain,

But not for this—this empty space,

If standing costs what it cost tonight,

Then I’ll stand twice as hard in his light.

Isaiah (breaking, then steady):

I won’t let them turn him into fear.

⸻

I watched the feeds go dark and shake,

Saw the symbol crawl and stake its claim,

They want us frozen, silent, still—

That’s how they always get their will.

But movements don’t die when leaders fall,

They spread, adapt, they answer the call,

I’ll cut their eyes, I’ll break their sound,

They won’t own the night they think they found.

Marco (firm):

He saved the city once.

Now it’s our turn.

⸻

President:

I won’t sell fear to buy control.

Isaiah:

I won’t trade his life for a quieter road.

Both:

Let the symbol burn the sky tonight,

We’ll meet it with unbroken light,

They can claim the dark up high—

But dawn remembers why.

⸻

(Crowds murmur. The villain’s mark looms.)

President:

They think this ends us.

Marco:

They think wrong.

Isaiah:

They just taught the city

What it costs to belong.

⸻

All:

Raise your eyes, don’t look away,

This is the night we choose to stay,

He fell standing—hear that truth,

Courage isn’t bulletproof,

If villains draw their signs above,

We draw our strength from who we love,

The light went quiet—but not the fight,

We carry it forward…

Into the night.

⸻

(The symbol flickers. City lights hold.)

Isaiah (low, unwavering):

I’ll finish what you started.

Marco:

We all will.

President:

The city stands with you.