Post by Shadow on Apr 10, 2013 23:54:03 GMT -4
[glow=silver,9,200]THEN...[/glow]
[shadow=white,left,1200]San Diego, California.
July 31st, 2012[/shadow]
Standing on the side of a California highway, Shadow hands the keys to his Camaro to a bald, white male wearing a blue vest: Caleb.
"Take good care of her."
"I can't believe you're giving up your wheels, man" Caleb says surprised and a little down trodden. "I mean, you already sold your house; this here is the last thing you own."
"No, I still got my boots." Shadow tries to play off the situation. It isn't working, Caleb doesn't buy it.
"You know what I mean."
"Listen I just need to get off grid for a while. Now, I certainly can't do that driving around a big neon sign, can I?"
"And what happens when all this is over?"
"I'll come back for her." Shadow lays his hand on the hood of his Camaro. He wanted to believe his own words, sadly he was having trouble doing so.
"And when do you think might that be?"
Shadow looked out over the beautiful California skyline; it was an amazing summer sunset, too perfect. He already missed these moments, he already missed his car. After a moment Shadow ducked his head and reached in the driver's side window. He pulled out both of his dufflebags, the contents of which were the last things on Earth that were his. Taking a moment, Shadow reconsidered, knowing this was a bad idea. Caleb would be taking her to Lincoln, Nebraska. God knows when Shadow would be there to claim her.
"So you have no idea then."
Shaking his head, Shadow patted the hood of his baby.
"No I do," Shadow looked toward Caleb. "I'll be back when Slade is gone."
[glow=silver,9,200]NOW...[/glow]
"I never thought you would come back for her."
Caleb's voice filled the darkness. Everything was dusty, cobwebs barely fluttered in between the rafters. The doors to the barn opened with a loud creak. The flapping of wings over seem to echo as sunlight pours into the building. Caleb stands there, wearing the same damn blue vest as he did before. He enters the barn, Shadow is two steps behind him.
"To be honest, neither did I."
"So how long are you stateside?"
"You know it's strange," Shadow begins like he was changing the subject. "I've been out of the country since before the new year I finally get back only to leave again. It really kind of sucks because I've missed home."
"How long has it been since you were back in Texas?"
"Summer" A short reply, Shadow wasn't lying either. "But I'll see my home state soon, albeit briefly. But to answer your question, I am only here till I start the engine."
Caleb looks back over his shoulder and stops walking. He was about to ask where Shadow was going but the big man could read it on his friend's face. Shadow answered before Caleb could even form the question.
"Costa Rica."
"You're kidding, right?"
Shadow just looks at him, an eyebrow cocked.
"No, you're not kidding, you're crazy." He held up his hand in surprise. "Dude, you cannot drive from Nebraska to Costa Rica! That's got to be three thousand miles away-"
"Three thousand one hundred and fifty one. So as you can see old friend, I got a lot of driving to do."
"So what then, what happens once you get to Costa Rica?"
Shadow thought about it, he crawled back inside his own mind for a moment. There, the only person Shadow could see was Evan Envi and all the wonderfully wicked things he intended to do to Evan once he finally got his hands on him.
-For the longest time Shadow had hunted Evan Envi. He'd crossed borders and oceans just to get an opportunity to tear the young man a cosmos of new ones but Evan always slipped through Shadow's fingers. This was not about victories, failures or even revenge. It was about the list and Shadow had a very long list.
Every one of them deserved to suffer. They were liars, cheaters, fakes... All of 'em. Shadow's job was to snuff them out. APW Sanitation Specialist. He took out the trash. At least he used to. No matter, one by one they all became none. Until there was just a single name left on the bottom of his list. The last survivor of Shadow's Meltdown massacre, his purification purge of Action Packed Wrestling: Evan Envi.-
"Hey, are you listening?" Caleb's voice pulled Shadow back to the barn, outside a chicken clucked. "What the hell is in Costa Rica?"
"A job." Shadow said. He immediately regretted saying those words. To Caleb, that meant something else.
"A job?" Caleb echoed Shadow's words, but his voice was full of intrigue. "What are you hunting?"
"Not a what," The big man began. "A who. I quit that life, man. Now I'm just a pro wrestler Caleb."
"I thought that was just the three of ya'll's covers." He almost laughs. "You mean to tell me you actually do that stuff?" Now Caleb is more surprised than anything. "Don't you get recognized?"
He was talking about Slade and Assassin. All three of them lived the life on the road and hid in plain sight. At least they used to. Now Shadow was alone.
"People tend to miss what's right in front of their eyes." Shadow finally says as he lays his hand on the tarp. He immediately feels a sense of completion. For the first time in a long while, Shadow was happy. "Is she road ready?"
"When you called me I syphoned out the old gas and refueled her. Gave her an oil change too. Not that Quaker State crap either. Royal Purple, she's good for 10,000 miles."
Shadow looks back at Caleb with a grin. From the look in his eyes, he is rather surprised. "Cop oil?"
"Only AMS is better but Royal Purple will do. So wrestling, huh?" Caleb brought the conversation back, but his voice seemed unsure, like he didn't know how to word his next line. "Tell me something Steve, is that really stuff fake?"
"No," Shadow laughed. He was a little bored of that question. Hell ten years in the ring and people still asked if it was real when they learned what he did. "It's real Caleb, trust me. It's just as real as what I used to do. Only in this job I don't have to worry about something horrible ripping me to shreds. Just the occasional broken bone every now and then."
"But what about a broken back, permanent paralysis or worse?"
The thought was never far from Shadow's mind. He knew the risks, especially with someone like Evan Envi. Evan would like nothing more than to be the man who ended Shadow's career. Facing someone who was out for blood was never a healthy thing. Despite every warning sign, Shadow knew he was walking into a trap this week. It was too perfectly laid out in front of him. It was too obvious. Shadow could see it, hell had happily strolled into a viper pit once or twice before. Nevertheless, he had to treat this as just another Thursday night.
"It happens," was Shadow's reply.
"So you're really going to drive all the way to Costa Rica just for a fight?"
A smile crept across Shadow's lips as he thought about what was waiting for him down south. A fight, that was pretty funny. This wasn't a fight, no. It wasn't just some Modest Mouse loving, mistress having Metrosexual megastar, it was something else: it was war. Granted, Shadow loved the thought of pressing his boot to Evan's skull and feeling the young man's brain compress just a tiny bit; but there was something more waiting for Shadow in Costa Rica. Evan Envi had something that belonged to Shadow, something gold. The big man's finger slid across the tarp as Caleb reached into his pocket. A jingle rang out as he tossed the keys through the air. Shadow's left hand shot back and without looking he snatched them out of the air.
"Nice catch."
"You ain't see nothing yet."
His fingers clenched around the leather tarp and with a whip he pulled the whole thing off. The sunlight gleamed off the pristine paint job. Eight months she'd been under that cover and now Black Betty shined in the daylight once again. She reflected Shadow off her polished hood and Shadow returned the favor, capturing her beauty in his eye. Caleb couldn't help but smile. They were finally reunited, after all this time. Shadow opened the driver's side door and slid behind the wheel. In a heartbeat everything was coming back to him. All the memories, all the monsters, even every Megastar. Shadow couldn't believe it had been so long. But all that was behind him now.
"Start her up," Caleb urged him on.
He was talking about more than the car. Caleb was reminding him to start the fire, the war. Shadow cranked the engine. Betty roared to life. The sound drove the bats from the belfry and the birds from the barn. It made the dust on the rafters trickle down. Betty purred as she idled there amongst the hay. The big man reached up and adjusted the rear view mirror looking at himself behind the wheel of his beloved Camaro... Shadow was home.
"Just one last thing to collect." He whispered to himself as he thought about his Overdrive Championship. "Don't worry baby, Daddy's coming."
*The camera scene is a bit jerky and the little blinking "REC" is shown in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Shadow is doing all this with one hand. Behind him there as a bleak desert backdrop, could be south Texas, could be Mexico- who can tell? Road signs whip by as Shadow steadies the device while one hand remains on the wheel at all times; he has activated his camera and turned it into dash cam.*
Okay, today's date is April eighth. I am currently one hundred miles south of Tampico, Mexico.
*The camera gives a little bit of shake from the drive but otherwise holds fine.*
Buck, first I want to take this time to apologize to you my friend. I should have had your back a little better. We all knew Evan Envi refused to accept defeat, so of course he would sink to that level, having his new harlot give him the equalizer. Buck, Evan robbed us last week. More importantly, he did it with a smile. I want you to know that when I'm done with him this week, I'll be smiling for the both of us.
Evan, you showed up in APW, what a little under a year ago? You arrived on scene and were immediately thrust into the North American title division. While you may think this was a brilliant idea, everyone at home knows it was a mistake. It let you grow this huge watermelon sized head and inflated your already oversized ego. All that for a newly created development brand title. All respect to Meltdown, because it HAS grown beyond that; but back then, that's exactly what it was. However, to you winning that was like winning the undisputed championship. And since that moment, you have been a power-hungry, greedy, malicious bastard. Them feeding you that belt was, in my opinion, the cause.
So Evan, let's be frank for a moment. I'll admit that you could have already been all those things long before you got here. From what they tell me you did have a "career" before APW. But before you showed up, I didn't know you from Adam. Nor did I care, honestly. You were just the Meltdown Megastar of the month. Handed your title shot at Mayhem a year back. And it's true, don't deny it. Your opponent, Sam Packer up and left; so you got tossed in the ring last minute with Yarmouth. Now, I love Yarmouth. I'm a Fella fan through and through, but he wasn't ready that night, he showed up at Mayhem competed in the Ball Room brawl and then got told he was being tossed into the North American title match later that night.
Then history repeated itself, this time on the other foot. In all honesty I should have walked out of Shockwave a champion. And I admit, if I had tried a little harder, maybe cared a little bit, Shockwave would have ended differently. But that's water under the bridge. Evan, I never cared about the Xtreme title. I just wanted the chance to stomp Steve Stryker into a stain. I'm just not an Xtreme guy. It doesn't suit my tastes. No disrespect to that belt but it's defended in matches that permit weapons. I, as many of you know, have no need for those.
*He clenches one of his ovenmit sized hands into a fist.*
Sure, I could have taken the Xtreme title and defended it in a bunch of crazy matches but that wasn't part of the plan. No sir, not in the least. I had other ideas in mind. I enjoyed going back down to Meltdown. I wasn't finished there. So I let you keep the belt. I never even asked for a rematch. I'll bet you never even gave that notion a second thought either. Come on you're Evan Envi, you don't worry about ANYTHING! That is of course why you constantly surround yourself with people to protect you, The first whore: Carmen Rivera; your man whore: Delikado; that second whore; your old man whore: AC Smith and your new whore; Are we seeing a pattern here?
No, I know that you didn't even think twice about offering me my rematch. And to keep myself off your radar, I never claimed it. Like I said bigger...better plans. Has it ever occurred to you Evan that maybe I'm not what I seem? Have you ever given any thought to the fact that perhaps I am more than just a Megastar? Of course you haven't. You don't think, no that's what your women do for you. Evan, let me clue you in on a little secret stupid. I'm a mercenary.
*Shadow grins, his face twisted into a sadistic smile*
You see Evan, I've been patient, I've been waiting. I knew sooner or later your ego would do exactly this. I didn't really care when; there are plenty of victims in APW that need an ass kicking every week. A true hunter, stalks his prey for weeks, months- sometimes even a year. They watch them, learn their habits and methods; they...take their time. Because if you pull the trigger too soon you'll miss the target.
*The big man takes a moment as the evil smile turns to a bright dazzling grin, he masks his malicious intentions.*
Now let's take a moment to recognize your big win at Rasslemania. Must be nice to beat Mark Mania, not that I haven't done it before. You just spent so much time bragging about it, rambling on, I thought I would deter from my topic to congratulate you. You sir beat Mark Mania, you ruined him; you, how did you say it, slaughtered him! And just like ole Carmen Rivera's tits, your ego inflated. So you got the title; Big fucking deal. You're still not a champion yet bitch. You have to defend that title to truly earn it. Believe me I know... I did.
But I understand. You are trying to be the next Biggs, the next Level One- Aw hell I'll just say it. You want to be the new Terry Marvin. You want to skyrocket up the roster and make sure everyone remembers the name of Evan Envi. But that's the thing about ego. Just because no one will ever forget you, it's still not enough.
Do you know what Hubris is Evan? Of course you don't. Time for a history lesson, bitch. I'll even make it rhyme so your diminutive, delusional dumbass can follow along with what I'm saying. There once was a man named Odysseus, who had a bad case of hubris. Because his ego was great, he earned the gods' hate and incurred their limitless punishment. Short and sweet just like you glory days Evan.
So what are you going to say this week boy? Going to talk about your big victory back at Shockwave? Try and unravel me with you're rambling ass? What have you really done that makes you better than me? I'll tell you, not a damn thing. No you just think you're better than me you fucking drama queen. Arch-Nemesis, mega-mega star, real challenge: what the fuck? You're just another body Evan, nothing special. Now I won't deny you your place in the record books, but you're just another name on my list. Level One and Biggs were legends, iconic names from history. You're just some bitch who needs a lesson in manners.
I'll make it simple. You are SOL and JWF: Shit out of luck and jolly well fucked, son. When that bell rings everything you've ever "worked" for, all your accomplishments they won't mean a damn thing, not shit. No because you will be standing across the ring from me. And I will finally have what I've waited for- for far too long: You. Thursday night Envi, you're mine and there isn't a soul on this planet who can save you. Tick tock Evan tick tock. Do yourself a favor, take a deep breath, call a loved one, call a friend if you still have any. Eat yourself a damn good dinner, do something on your bucket list. Thursday night Evan the war ends. You... End. And bet your ass it won't be quick but it sure as shit will be painful.
*He reaches up from the steering wheel and behind the camera. The last thing the screen shows is Shadow's devilish, knowing smirk. Like he knows something the world doesn't. Then it clicks black.*
[shadow=white,left,1200]San Jose, Costa Rica[/shadow]
The scene opens on the streets outside El Stadio Nacional in La Sabana on Thursday afternoon. People are already flocking to the arena, they stand on the sidewalk with signs reading: "Vaya su Casa Callahan!" and "Yo Soy LEGION!" Security is working the door, while the APW staff finalizes the arena for the huge event about to take place. They don't notice his car, he hasn't driven it in so long, Shadow slips by them as he rolls down Boulevard de Rohrmoser. No one pays any attention until his car turns into the parking structure. Security has him lower his window and show his ID, then someone spots him.
"Esto SOMBRA!"
A teenager bellows the words and points directly at him. Shadow peers out from behind his sunglasses. It's like someone turned loose the bulls in Spain. Shadow doesn't waste anytime lest his car be set upon by a sea of fans clamoring for autographs. Not that Shadow would deny them that, it's just he's been in the car for four days. Suffice to say he was a bit rank and in dire need of a shower. Shadow waved to the people as he pulled through the gate just in time. Security made a wall to prevent to mob from surging forth. Meanwhile Shadow turned his car into a parking spot and grabbed his things. He wore a content look on his face after his long drive and opened the door. As he got out, Shadow could still hear the voices of the crowd reverberating off the stone walls. It masked someone's presence. Shadow turned and was surprised to see the beautiful Hannah Storm standing right behind him.
Hannah Storm: Shadow! Wow so the rumors were true; you did drive all the way to Costa Rica.
She has a sly grin on her face like she was waiting for him. She approaches with a microphone in hand and a cameraman behind her. Shadow doesn't say anything to her.
Hannah: Come on Shadow, don't give me the silent treatment. You're getting ready to not only face Evan Envi but you have the opportunity to become a three time Overdrive champion tonight, the only other person to accomplish such a feat is your old nemesis: Biggs. So don't be shy there has to be something you want to say to the sold out crowd of 35000 fans?
She takes a step forward. No response from the big man, he just glares from behind his shades.
Hannah: Shadow, this is the biggest night of your return. In one year's time you've been inducted into the Hall of Fame, dropped down to Meltdown, won the Xtreme championship, got drafted back to Overdrive and are now facing off against one of your most heated rivals: Evan Envi in the main event tonight. You've been touted as being one of the biggest trash talkers in APW today, and you're speechless?
Again, Shadow remains silent. Hannah takes another step forward and just as she does a warm breeze blows through the parking garage. Hannah is downwind. That sly smile on her face instantly fades, she gets a whiff of Shadow.
Hannah: Oh dear god.
Her hand goes to cover her face the microphone in her hand picks up the choked gagging sound she makes. His scent was pretty foul. But this made Shadow smirk. He was tired of the paparazzi like interviews the staff had been trying to get. Ms Storm wanted an exclusive, Shadow would give her one. His hand shot out and grabbed her before she could run off. Shadow held her there with a smile as he raised the microphone to his mouth, cocking his elbow out and making sure his armpit was exposed.
Shadow: Oh Hannah, it's so good to see you again.
He was so facetious.
Hannah: Thank...you...Shadow...
She closes her nose.
Hannah: We can do this later, I can see that you're busy, you got a big show to get ready for. I... Yeah I should go.
She juts out her thumb and kicks it toward the door. But Shadow doesn't let go of her hand.
Shadow: Oh no Hannah, You wanted an interview. And you're right. I do have something to say. But first, do something for me Hannah. Take a deep breath.
He inhales loudly through his nostrils. One of this flaps.
Shadow: You smell that?
Hannah: Yeah...
Shadow: Do you smell fear?
Hannah: No...
Shadow: Exactly. With so much on the line tonight, some people would be afraid. But not me, Hannah. No, I have no reason to fear Evan Envi. He is just a boy, playing at being a man. He has no idea the huge steaming pile of excrement he has stepped into. That boy has no respect for me, and that's fine. Makes my job a whole lot easier. You see Hannah, if that peckerwood jack ass had an ounce of professional maturity I might feel a little bad about the awe inspiring ass reaming I have waiting for him. But instead I get to entreat him with the same courtesy he has shown not only me but to the fans. Hannah, there are almost no words that can express the spectacle that awaits Evan Envi tonight. Well like I said, almost none. There is one word: pain. And my dear there will be a lot of pain tonight. And tears too, Hannah. Call me sadistic but I won't be happy until I hold my Overdrive Championship over the weeping mass that was Evan Envi. No Hannah, I'm not afraid tonight; I'm excited. Tonight I am going to pummel that pompous prick into the pavement. Tonight I am going to reclaim my Overdrive Championship. Tonight Hannah Storm. I am going to end Evan Envi.
Shadow finally lets go of Hannah's hand. He brushes past her as she finally exhales, her face almost blue from holding her breath for so long. Shadow struts off with a smile. As he strolls through the hallways of the arena the staff begin clearing out of his path. Just like his entire career Shadow leaves a wake of destruction wherever he walks. As he reaches his locker room door Shadow can't help but smile for other reasons...because he really needs that shower.
