AS 66: Sandy Deserts vs. Thrash vs. Dr. Zeus

[Kermit]

WZCW has gotten a whole lot creepier with the arrival of Dr. Zeus who has been dominating his competition thus far but instead of calling for championship or fame, he has taken an interest in a particular member of the WZCW locker room and subsequently Zeus' first victim, Thrash. When Sandy Deserts, who has come into contact with the good doctor a couple of times, decided to intervene, Zeus gave her a rhythmic message and did not defend himself against her attacks. What will happen as these three possible pieces to Zeus' unknown puzzle unravel as they compete in a Triple Threat match?

Deadline is Wednesday, June 26th 2013, at 11:59 P.M. (Central Time Zone) Soft Extensions Only.​

 

[Con T.]

Of Monsters and Men​

Deep into the early morning, Dr. Porter found himself feeling extremely restless, lying on his cot. Dr. Porter never intended to sleep in prison any more, but his cot gave a small sliver of comfort late at night. Tonight, having an extra quarter inch of padding separating him from chicken wire didn't provide him any solace. He knew prison wasn't particularly a beacon of comfort, but it would have helped if he didn't share his small living space with a man he found morally reprehensible. Dr. Zeus was a man that spent his nights pacing the cell, and the more Zeus paced, the more uncomfortable Dr. Porter felt. It began to feel more and more like Porter was trapped in a cage with a buzzard, and Dr. Porter playing the role of the dying animal. When people describe being locked with an animal, you hear the typical comparisons to lions and tigers. Dr. Zeus was neither of those things; instead of attacking his prey, Dr. Zeus looked more like he was silently waiting for his prey to die. He wasn't going to attack his prey; he was going to let his prey debilitate beyond recognition, and then pick the bones. If that were the case, Dr. Porter felt it wouldn't take long for his predator to feed.

Dr. Zeus surely knew that Dr. Porter was awake, but never paid him no mind. And Dr. Porter knew better than to attract the doctor's attention; when Dr. Zeus spoke to Porter, he would speak back. Other than that, the two never spoke. In a way, it was actually sort of a shame. Dr. Porter knew he could use the comfort of another person's voice, even if that gravelly voice belonged to a man he loathed so much. As Dr. Zeus paced the cell, he would look back to pieces of paper, study it as thought it was the first time he ever heard Earth shattering news, and shuffle along to the other side of the cage. Dr. Porter noticed that as he stayed, the papers multiplied on the walls; pretty soon they may engulf the entire cell. They were sloppily organized, hanging loosely from the walls on makeshift tacks. Regardless, Dr.Zeus always returned to these papers, mesmerized by their microscopic writing. It was impossible to read what the papers said without standing five feet from the wall, but whatever was on it had to be profound. Now, Dr. Porter was less curious about Dr. Zeus, and more to what was on these papers that adorned the walls. Dr. Porter realized this may be the key to understanding Dr. Zeus; it can explain what goes on in this man's mind. Of course, the thought of being in Dr. Zeus' mind was a little disturbing, but if it helped Dr. Porter survive, he wasn't too opposed to the idea.

Dr. Porter began to sift through his memory for Dr. Zeus' appointment times for therapy sessions. After all, he was a participant in these not long ago, and Dr. Porter could never forget the time. It just took remembering if it was weekly, or bi-weekly. Finally, Dr. Zeus turned around, and breathed in, as if about to speak. For a man that Dr. Porter spent so much time around, he rarely made eye contact with the man, but he couldn't help but do it now. His eyes were bulging and blood shot, but held the excitement of a child during his first Christmas. There was a sort of charisma to Dr. Zeus that was undeniable; you just couldn't take your eyes off the man. Dr. Porter braced himself for whatever Dr. Zeus had to say; but the good doctor had nothing. He exhaled, and sauntered over to his cot, as if no one else was there. Dr. Porter had become the proverbial fly on the wall; it wasn't nearly as fun as his high school buddies, but then again, this wasn't the Playboy Mansion, either. Still, Dr. Porter couldn't believe that Dr. Zeus had stopped his pacing; maybe he would finally go to sleep. Yes, of course! Soon, he would have his chance to see what captivates Zeus' attention so much. Dr. Porter realized he should take this very rare moment that Dr. Zeus was at rest, and get some sleep; after all, he could only sleep when Dr. Zeus was asleep. But there was something that made this paper take priority. This was a case of knowledge overriding everything else, and Dr. Porter had to know what was on those sheets of paper.

Dr. Porter waited an hour, until he could be sure that Dr. Zeus was at rest. There had to be a deathly still air to the room, and no sound whatsoever, for Dr. Porter to feel comfortable. Because he was on the top bunk, Dr. Porter also had to make sure that he didn't wake up Zeus. This would prove extremely difficult, especially when the ability to sleep lightly was a necessity in prison. When Dr. Porter felt the close was clear, he saddled his legs on to the right side of his bunk. He had to do so slowly; Dr. Porter could feel every inch of his muscles tense, as he moved slowly across the cot. No movement could be out of place, especially when you're trying to not wake a person six feet directly below you.Not even one creak would be tolerable. After slowly sliding himself to the right side of his bunk, Dr. Porter looked down to the ground, calculating the speed at which he would fall, and the reverberating sound that would come with it. He stared at the ground methodically for fifteen seconds, examining the best way to jump down without waking his cell mate. At a five foot height from the ground, it seemed impossible for Dr. Porter to reach down to the floor with one foot. It was going to take some form of jump to get down, which terrified Dr. Porter to think about. After pondering the situation, Dr. Porter felt it was time to bite the bullet, and jump. Dr. Porter pushed himself off the bed ever so slightly, attempting to land one toe onto the ground to keep some form of balance. He stuck out his other leg to land silently on the ground, but didn't expect to stumble, and lost his balance as soon as he hit the ground.

Shoot.

Porter stood frozen, expecting to be confronted by the vile man on the cot. He clenched his teeth and fist, and closed his eyes, expecting to hear Zeus' booming voice. It was over, and this maniac was about to do God knows what to Dr. Porter.

Nothing. There wasn't a sound, nothing at all. Dr. Porter didn't even bother to look behind him; he had just been given a gift from God, and he wasn't about to quibble now. He silently tip toed over to the wall, and squinted his eyes to read the material in front of him. He mumbled the words of the text under his breath, as he read a memo of messily scribbled chicken scratch titled FWD: "Thought Forms and Tulpa".

Attempts to contact Patient X have not been returned. Upon the last meeting, Patient X went into go into a crazed rage, certain that a demon was following his every move. He saw him in windows and mirrors.At night, the demon would speak to him, persuading him to do awful things to those he loved. It started as a voice, but the more he believed in the demon, the more the demon took a physical presence. But what if this man's demon actually did exist? I've been doing some research, and stumbled upon something known as "tulpa".

"A tulpa is a thought-form: a manifestation of intent in human form of our imagination... Once the tulpa is endowed with enough vitality to be capable of playing the part of a real being, it tends to free itself from its makers' control. Tibetan magicians also relate cases in which the tulpa is sent to fulfill a mission, but does not come back and pursues its peregrinations as a half-conscious, dangerously mischievous puppet."

Patient X describes a guilt that he released this being to the Earth; after his disappearance, an alarming rate of suicides occurred in the Baltimore area, all including notes explaining that the "demon told them it was the only way". We were taught in undergraduate courses the concept of a self fulfilling prophecy; that if people believe in something enough, that the outcome will follow accordingly. What if this is similar? What if it's possible that these manifestations of our subconscious are willed (or thought) into existence? Millions of people believe in Santa, in spite of no recorded information of Father Christmas in centuries. But what if it's possible that this willing of an imaginary person to life works for those millions of people? It could explain why those millions have "sights" of Santa, while also explaining why those that don't believe can't see him. The same thought process can work for monsters, as well; what if our children are willing beasts like "The Boogeyman" and "Sandman" into existence, just by a sheer thought?

Nothing is more wonderful than the imagination. In one moment, you can be in the middle of daring adventure, or partake in a whimsical fantasy. Maybe, it can bring back those lost, and make them real again. But nothing is more than powerful than the imagination, either. It is the only thing immune to logic, science, and fact. It can also expand your greatest fears into an overwhelming nightmare. But can these nightmares take a physical form, and swallow a person into devastating darkness? More research is necessary.

-Dorian Geigel


Dr. Porter's face ran white while reading the memo; he noticed that all of the papers were filled with writings and drawings of Tulpa and Thought Forms. But there was more than that; there were pictures of a woman. This woman was... It looked like she was wrestling. There were pictures of her performing acrobatic flips and extraordinary feats of strength, and adoring fans. There was a psychotic look to her eyes; it was the same look Dr. Porter had seen in patients. Beneath the pictures, the text wrote, "Hipnotizador Gana!" Dr. Zeus must have been stalking this woman, even in prison. He must feel she has something to do with this Tulpa

Dr. Zeus was more than obsessed with this concept; it was almost as if he was attempting to conjure one up. That, or trying to stop one. Dr. Porter lost his bearings, and began to feel the world spin around him. As he tried to steady himself, he turned around. He found that he was being stared at by Dr. Zeus. In fact, Dr. Zeus had been starting at him the whole time. Dr. Porter was paralyzed, with an unspeakable fear. Dr.Zeus stared at him with those blood shot eyes for what felt like hours, before he offered a wide smile to Dr. Porter.

"Congratulations, you know what I know.
Now we can truly speak, and you can grow."

Dr. Zeus offered a grin to Dr. Porter, as Dr. Porter shuffled aimlessly to his cot, unable to make heads or tails of what just happened.

In a dark room secluded from the rest of the Ralph Engelstad Arena sat Leon Kensworth, seated at a circular table. Leon wasn't a smoker, but he felt this would be apropos moment for one, as he sat directly in front of WZCW's bombastic "Big Johnny" Klamor. Leon looked to his right to Stacy Madison, filing her nails and looking into a personal mirror, and to his left to Becky Serra, texting Titus to let him know that she would be in a private meeting for the next ten minutes. You could smell the tension in the air, as all four sat uncomfortably, looking at one another (except for Stacy, still filing her nails). Leon finally decided that it was best to break the awkward silence:

"I'll just go ahead and say it; I interviewed the guy twice in one week, someone else gets to do it this time."

Everyone else sat for a while, analyzing the situation. The mandate from up high was that someone had to get an interview with Dr. Zeus, and it was time to decide who was going to interview him. After another fifteen seconds of silence, Becky looked around, before offering, "I don't mind interviewing him, I really don't. But I don't see why I should, when neither of you two have." She looked over to Big Johnny and Stacy, as Johnny shot her the stink eye. "I think it comes down to you two, really. Nothing personal, but if we're going to be fair about it-"

"Fair? I don't see anything fair about it. I've seen the guy up close, I think that's good enough. He's on Ascencion this week, it's only fair I get a week off."

Becky asked, "Johnny, don't you pride yourself on being a broadcast journalist?"

"Precisely," quipped Johnny, "emphasis on broadcast. I can't really be much of a broadcast journalist if I'm not on the broadcast. I'm needed in the booth, to keep you in line."

Leon sighed, Becky doesn't need anyone to keep her in line, Johnny, and certainly not you. Ok, there's only one fair way to do this... The next person to say the word "what" during this conversation has to go interview Zeus." Everyone looked around the table (except Stacy) to feel each other out. Becky looked around, and locked eyes with everyone in the room. She spotted Stacy across from her, and saw a chance to end this meeting quickly.

"Hey, stupid," Becky called out, looking over to Stacy Madison.

"What?" Exclaimed Stacy, with an indignant look on her face. She had finally put down her pocket mirror, and stared daggers into Becky. Everyone stared right at Stacy, not believing she could have possibly made this mistake. "What? What's everyone looking at?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is ridiculous! Fair? Fair, they said? This isn't fair, this is torture." Stacy slunk into the caverns of the arena, sure to avoid the collected dust on the walls and ceiling. She watched her step for rat droppings, popcorn kernals, and prayed that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. At one point, she barreled right into a spider web. "I'm pretty sure I have spider babies in my mouth. Seriously, who does this, who does this?" She pressed on, though, as she could tell the faint outline of light coming from the end of the tunnel. She was warned about the disquieting music, but she could only hear the faint tracks of what sounded like drums. As she drew closer, she could fully make out the music playing;

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]uxurZPG1k-M[/YOUTUBE]

Stacy walked up to the door, and noted the Doctor's sign; The Doctor is in. She sauntered in, exclaiming to be heard, "Dr. Zeus, may we have a word?". Dr. Zeus was watching the latest episode of Meltdown: namely, he was watching Barbosa's outbreak.

Copeland: I don’t think Barbosa is very happy that someone stopped him from confronting Kravinoff.

Barbosa turns around and sees Holmes with the chair. Holmes looks at the chair and then shakes his head “no.” He shouts, “It wasn’t me.” But it is too late. Barbosa is enraged as he grabs the chair from Holmes and yanks it out of his hands. He slams it into the head of Holmes, who drops to the ground and rolls out of the ring. Celeste is there to help him as she quickly pulls him over to the announcer’s table to retrieve his world championship. However, Barbosa is already out of the ring and is there to greet them. Celeste rushes at him, but Barbosa nails her with a chair shot! The crowd is crazy as Barbosa proceeds to send a chair shot into the gut of Holmes.

Cohen: He has lost it!

Barbosa drops the chair and tucks Holmes’ head in-between his legs. The crowd is cheering wildly as Barbosa picks up Holmes and drops him into the announcer’s table!

Copeland: OH MY GOD! BARBOSA HAS JUST DROPPED THE WZCW WORLD CHAMPION INTO A TABLE VIA A POWERBOMB!

The crowd is roaring in approval as Barbosa stares coldly down at Holmes.

Copeland: WE HAVE TO CUT FOR A BREAK. WE HAVE TO GET THIS UNDER CONTROL!

Cohen: WHAT HAS HE DONE?!

Dr. Zeus was watching in near euphoria, not making a sound. Finally, he turned off the television, and stared over at Stacy, before giving a smirk to the woman. Stacy was clearly disgusted at the room. "I swear, isn't it part of some oath that where you work needs to be sterilized, or something?" Dr. Zeus turned off his music, and motioned for Stacy to have a seat on the ground. "Yeah, no thanks, I think I'll prefer standing." Dr. Zeus shuffled over to his book case, and judiciously judged his array of books. Stacy looked on intently, and when she realized Dr. Zeus wasn't going to look at her, she started. "Dr. Zeus, your actions the last few weeks have been... Well, let's face it, they've been creepy. You seem to have some fixation with Sandy Desserts and Thrash. What's your deal here?"

Dr. Zeus continued to tinker away at his book case, finally finding the one he liked best. He went to go sit down, and read out the title to this book, The Nasty Wasties Under Your Bed. With a smile, Dr. Zeus looked down at his book. It was as though this was the proudest moment in Dr. Zeus' life.

"So little is known, but so much is said,
For the Nasty Wasties under your bed.
They come in all sorts of sizes and shape.
Yet we just can't seem to get them on tape.
Those Nasty Wasties are just never seen.
Yet children claim they're there, like a routine.
And they fill our hearts with nothing but dread.
Those foul Nasty Wasties under your bed."

Dr. Zeus opens up his book to Stacy, to show her an old picture of Sandy Deserts. Upon looking at the picture, Dr. Zeus' face reveals an evil smile, as though he had an awful idea. He caresses the picture, and looks up to Stacy.

"But there's something about them we don't know.
If you look under the bed, they won't show.
That's because they don't live under the bed.
Those vile nasty wasties live in your head."

Dr. Zeus shows the book again to Stacy, to show a very concerned Thrash. It's the same look Thrash had when Doctor Zeus approached Sandy and Thrash on Aftershock tonight. It was the look of sheer terror, the kind reserved for the scariest of monsters. Dr. Zeus returns the book to his line of vision.

"But if we think they're real, they become real.
And they're allowed to perform their evil.
If we think they are real, they do exist.
We give an unintentional assist."

Dr. Zeus eyes' light up at the next picture; it is a picture of Sandy Deserts and Dr. Steven Kurtesy together, laughing. Something about this picture has clearly gotten under Dr. Zeus' skin, as he seems ready to explode at any second.

"Sandy's a Nasty Wasty, you can see.
She isn't like you, and isn't like me.
But Kurtesy gave her the chance to live.
He gave her more than any man can give.
Thrash is no different; no, not at all.
You all made and dressed him, just like a doll."

He closed the book with a fury, and looked up to Stacy. His eyes were bloodshot, as he stated the last part of his story.

"You all need to stop playing make believe.
Those Nasty Wasties will only deceive.
They hurt you all, and they do with glee.
I need to destroy them, for you and me.
Thrash and Sandy are magic, made by man.
So I must destroy them; It is God's plan."

Dr. Zeus let out all of his anger in saying, "God's plan". He looks down at his desk, and picks up a copy of Dr. Steven Kurtesy's picture.

"But for Sandy, I'll need this man's aid.
Come to me, Kurtesy; don't be afraid.
If you don't, you'll never find inner peace.
The magic is over; Sandy must cease."

 

[Viola Moonlight]

The downfall of rain continued to pour throughout the night, hitting against and sliding down the only window of the office belonging to Dr. Frost. Michelle was in fact inside her office at this late hour, sitting at her desk with the computer still running and one single desk lamp focused at the keyboard. She wasn't alone either as her former co-worker & patient yet current friend Sandy Deserts lies across the couch, using her own lamp to read a rather large book. The two had been in sitting in silence for what seemed like a while now with the only noises being made apart from the rain were the clicking of the computer mouse and the turning of pages. Michelle starts yawning at her desk, looking away from her computer and rubbing her eyes before turning to Sandy who was intently reading, flicking through page after page and content enough to do so in silence. Michelle though had other ideas.

"It's getting late Sandy," Michelle finally said, breaking the silence. "Maybe we should continue this search another time because quite frankly, this seems to be a completely pointless endeavour you've got me signed up for."

Sandy doesn't seem to register that Michelle had even spoken a word, not moving from her position and continues reading. Michelle sighs a long sigh as she drops her head for a few seconds before lifting it back up, using her arm as a stand for her head.

"Seriously Sandy, I've got work in the morning," Michelle pleaded as she checks her watch. "We would have found what we were looking for by now. To me, I think you've been set up for a wild ride."

"I know he exists," Sandy retaliates whilst she continues reading. "I've seen him up close and personal with him own eyes. We've had physical contact with each other."

Michelle rolls her eyes at Sandy in response.

"I'm not questioning his physical existence: I'm questioning his name," she clarifies to Sandy. "This... Dr. Zoo's character..."

"Dr. Zeus" Sandy abruptly says, correcting Michelle.

"Dr. Zeus... the same spelling mentioned in Greek mythology?" Michelle asks.

"Yes."

"A man who only speaks in rhyme?"

"Two for two, Michelle."

"Hmm... well, I didn't want to sound demeaning to your intelligence but since I'd rather be in bed I'll cut straight to the point - don't you think that this Dr. Zeus character might be a pen name or an alias that describes himself: a man who believes he has a god-complex in the form of psychology who happens to prefer the readings of a particular author? I though that's what professional wrestlers do - create persona's."

Sandy stops reading her book and puts it down before looking directly at Michelle who bends back her wrists as if to use her hands to ask Sandy for an answer to her question. She let's out a small chuckle with Michelle not reacting to the laugh.

"For a girl who doesn't watch professional wrestling she sure knows a few things about it."

"As I said before, I watch because you're not only a patient but a friend." Michelle replies. "I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Well..." Sandy says as she sits up in her seat. "I've been it this business longer than you've been in psychology so I think I know what professional wrestling is all about. I know Dr. Zeus isn't his real name and therefore an alias by defau-"

"You knew it was an alias?" Michelle interrupts. "Then why did we waste all this time searching for his name through the databases?"

"His face seems very familiar to me, almost as if I remember him like it was yesterday. It comes naturally for him to act like his alias so I can only presume that he's been doing this for a very long time. Chances are that one of these journals would have contained something referencing a Dr. Zeus." Sandy says as she picks up the book she was reading and tosses it away from her on the couch. "I need to find out who he is because he certainly knows me and the Professor it seems..."

As Sandy trails off, Michelle looks at her computer one last time to do a quick check but she doesn't seem to find anything as indicated by her throwing her hands up in the air slightly. She shakes her head as she turns off the computer.

"There isn't anything listed on the computer." Michelle says, again breaking the silence. "But it sounds like you're developing an obsession with the Dr. Zeus character. It's in its early stages but this could develop into something serious and the last time you had these obsessions, you started to turn into..."

"Who I really am?" Sandy says she lifts her head and stares directly at Michelle.

Michelle lets out a small laugh with her mouth half open, not believing what Sandy had just said whilst remaining serious.

"You cannot honestly believe that the 'Sandman' alter ego of yours is who you truly are, can you?" She poses to Sandy. "Right now, what I see through my eyes Sandy is the real you and no matter what other personality manifests itself inside your head, you cannot take away the fact that this is you. You're a fully rehabilitated person who has continued her professional wrestling career and is one of the nicest people I know, not some deranged lunatic who ran around hospitalising others with some rusty pipe." Sandy seems a little surprised. "Yes, I read the file... Steven gave it to me when he requested I look after you."

Sandy now looks really shocked. "So the Professor but you up to this!" Michelle tries to say something but Sandy cuts her off. "I knew this friendship was too good to be true - we've never gotten along and only now since he's gone have you started taking an interest."

"That's not true... I do care."

"If you really cared, you'd be helping me try to figure out who Dr. Zeus really is and not sitting there giving me this psychobabble."

Michelle doesn't take too kindly to that remark but decides to hold back her anger to keep the conversation going and try to convince Sandy of her point.

"He's not anywhere, Sandy. We've checked and he isn't listed - this is definitely becoming an obsession now."

"You'd be obsessed too when he grabs your hand whilst you've got him by the face, brushes your hair and leans forward to whisper in your ear: 'Dreamy' is what they used to refer, to you when you were locked up to suffer.' That was the nickname given to me by some psychology University students whilst I was stowed away in the mental hospital." Sandy lets that sink in for a moment. "Not many people knew of that name, Michelle... and Zeus' face was very familiar to me when I first saw it. I know I've seen him before, possibly even conversed with him at one point but I just... I need to know because whatever he has planned can't be good after what I've seen him do to his opponents in the ring - on par with how I used to treat my own opponents.

Frost was clearly in a dilemma as she heard and thought about what Sandy had just said. She couldn't figure out what to make of it.

" 'It is not you who I wish to fight. I seek the man lost in his own light.' " Sandy continued after a short pause.

"You don't think..." Michelle says as she realises the meaning behind the message from Zeus. "We've got to warn him."

"No..." Sandy immediately responds. "I can handle this - only I know his current whereabouts and if Zeus wants to find out where he is hiding, he's going to have to go through me first."

"But you'll be putting yourself at risk."

"If it isn't me, then it is guys like Blade and Thrash who will feel his wrath and become affected mentally by his presence. Someone like Thrash who is has only just scratched the surface of his career doesn't deserve to be taken out by some whack job and he certainly doesn't need to be involved in between all this. He clearly wants something and I'm the only one with the information: there is no good in getting the blood of an innocent person on my hands, so to speak. I want to get to the bottom of things before blood being spilled actually becomes an option."

Sandy stands up from her chair, picking up her belongings that she left lying on the floor in the darkness and turns his lamp off. Before she has a chance to exit, Michelle stands up from the desk and asks for Sandy to wait. She turns around and faces Michelle before twisting the handle on the door.

"Whatever you do Sandy, please be careful." Michelle asks.

Sandy gives Michelle a small smile and goes to say something but nothing comes out of her mouth. Instead, she turns around and exits through the door, leaving Michelle in her office to sit at her desk for a moment before she decides to pack up and leave as well, turning off her desk lamp and turning the room into pitch black except for the moon's light shining through the office windows and the rain still falling from the skies.​

 

[Johnny Scumm]

It’s happened again. The second consecutive time, it’s happened again. Once more, I lay on the mat while my opponent, who’s just visible in my periphery, celebrates a win. This time, it’s Sandy Deserts. Once more, I’ve tasted bitter defeat as I roll out of the ring, just about landing on my feet. Making my way to the back, I’m still slightly dazed as personnel get me ready to appear on the debut post-Aftershock show, “Rundown”.

“Come on Thrash, get the jacket on! You’ve got ten minutes!”

One of the people standing around me is haplessly trying to help me get dressed, to no avail. I mean, seriously? They want me to sit for half an hour in my wrestling pants and a leather jacket? Fine, but just this once. My vision gets clearer as I see member after member of WZCW Staff make their way past my eyes, in an obvious rush to make this show perfect. I’ve been given the gist of things, I’m sure this will be something I can’t fail at.

“This way, let’s go!”

I’m screamed at again, but I can’t help but feel slightly sorry for the person that was calling out my name as I made my way out for my match. I heard a woman shouting for me, it was probably Becky, but I’m feeling sorry that I couldn’t stop and give her a minute of my time. It’s not like me to be in such a rush, but y’know, it can’t have been anything bad, can it?

“Ahh Thrash, you’re here! Ready to go live on air in 5?”

I look up and Leon Kensworth is in front of me, holding out his hand, as I shake it. You’ve gotta be everyone’s friend here, or you’re just never going to rise up to the top.

“Nice to meet you Leon, what’s the plan?”

“Well, “Rundown” is a post-Aftershock show, where we’ll be running down the events we’ve seen tonight. Luckily enough for you, you’re our first Wrestling guest on the show, I’ll be hosting and you’ll be joined by professional wrestling’s finest analyst… Richard Head. Feel free to call him “Dick” for short; we’re all adults here, right?”

In my head, I’m laughing. A lot. This guy must have wanted to kill his parents once he was old enough to realise what he’d be christened. But on the outside, I’m a professional. I take a seat on a high stool, which is one of three positioned around a high table, with built in screens at each position of the table, so we can look back on the action. It seems like it might be pretty cool, but I’m reserving judgement until we get started. After all, anything I seem to involve myself with ends up a train wreck. As I’m talking, another guy walks into the room. Pretty tall and slim, wearing thick glasses that make me think that he may be pretty much blind. His hair is dark, slicked back by what looks like lard, you can see it surfacing on top of his scalp, like a full tab of Vaseline. He walks over and I can hear his breathing, heavy and rough. His sticks his hand out and as much as I mightn’t want to, I shake it.

“Hey there, I’m Richard. You’re Thrash right? I’ve been watching you on TV recently, you’ve got promise. Just don’t let the guys out there get to you, keep fighting hard. Remember, stay in the game and you’ll shoot right up to the top. I’ve been involved in this business for years now; I know what I’m talking about.”

Bullshit you do. That’s the thought running through my head. This guy seems to be pretty full of himself, which doesn’t rub well with me automatically. Leon comes back into the room, sitting down on his stool just as Dick, who’s pretty aptly named now, takes his as well.

“Right, we’ve got a minute until we’re live Thrash. Richard, I’ll lead the show, when I bring you in, then you can pitch in. Please, hold off until then.”

“Dick” head nods, looking pretty pissed off at Leon, who readies his papers as the man behind the camera calls out that we’re on air in “5…4...3…2…”

“Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to WZCW’s first episode of Rundown! My name is Leon Kensworth and this week, we’ll be covering the latest happenings from Aftershock, and my, what a show it has been! I’m joined here by WZCW’s own Rocking Superstar, who tonight unfortunately suffered a loss to Sandy Deserts, but he’s here now… it’s Thrash! I’m also joined by Wrestling Analyst, Richard Head. Now, we heard at the start from Chuck Myles himself that on next week’s show, Aftershock 25, we’ll find out who the first inductee into the WZCW Hall of Fame will be! Not only that, but it seems that not long after forming, the Carnival of Carnage has split up! Dustin Hunter left his own partner laying on the steel stage as we saw EMT’s attend to him. Thrash, I wanna come to you first on this one, what are your thoughts on this? You had beaten both men before, so is this is a smart move on Hunter’s behalf?”

“Honestly? I think this is possibly the worst decision that Hunter could have made. Look at where he is right now in his career. The guy hasn’t won a match as a singles star and the Carnival of Carnage could’ve been the kickstart that he really needed. I think that if the two men had really worked together this week, they could’ve beaten Angel and Warren but alas, it wasn’t happening. Hunter going it alone isn’t a good idea in my eyes and I’m not sure how much longer he’s going to be able to cope before everybody in the company has beaten him and he ends up quitting.”

Leon smiles at me, I think he must have been pleased with the calibre of my answer. He moves to look away from me to his papers, ready to carry on with some more conversation, but he’s interrupted before he gets the chance.

“If I may just mention…”

“Sorry Richard, but we’ve gotta move on now! There’s just one announcement that’s too big to miss out! At the end of today’s Aftershock, it was announced that in a repeat of Aftershock One’s main event… Alex Bowen will be taking on Matt Tastic! But this time, it’s going to be a Lumberjack match! That’s right, tumultuous amounts of WZCW Superstars will surround the ring as Bowen takes on Tastic in an absolutely awesome rematch! First up gents, take a look at your screens, let’s see how their first match turned out."

“Bowen is devastated again. He slowly crawls out of the ring and drags another table out from underneath the ring. He places it by the ladder and stands the ladder up as well. He drags Tastic over as he is bleeding from his mouth and he puts him on the table. Bowen then goes to climb the ladder but Tastic scrambles up it to meet him at the top on the other side. Bowen sees it, turns and stops him with quick jabs but Matt replies with some punches of his own. Suddenly Matt slams Bowen’s head on to the top step of the ladder repeatedly and when he stops the crowd oohs and aahs as they sees the blood streaming down Bowens face from a wound on his forehead.

“That well worn, battle scarred forehead has now been busted on the top of that ladder!”

“That’s no surprise, that face would bleed if you looked at it the wrong way! Bowen is just that hardcore!”

Tastic then shoves Bowen off and he crashes through the wooden table which splinters everywhere! The crowd chants of “Holy Shit” fill the arena. Somehow Bowen is still showing a sign of life as Matt Tastic observes the chaos beneath him. Tastic steadies himself on the top step and jumps off and lands the Treble Boost elbow drop!! Matt Tastic hooks the leg! 1...2....3!

“I think I speak for everyone when I say that match was an absolutely amazing way to kick off the first ever Aftershock! Richard, what did you think of the announcement of this match?”

“If I’m speaking my mind, which I always do, seeing as I’ve been in this business longer than you’ve been alive, I think this match is stupid. I mean, you wanna celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of a show like Aftershock, you put in some new talent, some new talent that the people want to see, not these two old guys we’re sick of seeing. Put Amber Warren up against Angel, then you’ll see what I mean. I know what makes for a good show, I’ve been doing this for years.”

I’m looking at Richard as if he’s only here to take the piss out of our new show. This guy insists that he’s been in the business for so long, which I don’t doubt, he’s certainly old enough. I’m just starting to wonder if the so called “best” is just an idiot who’s ended up being shifted out of every company he’s worked in, his opinions are awful. Kensworths reaction is the same as mine, it’s dumbfounded.

“So, um…Thrash. Your thoughts on this epic match coming next week?”

“This is AWESOME! Honestly, seeing Tastic and Bowen go at it again is going to be something I honestly hope we’ll remember for a very long time coming. Not to mention that it’s a Lumberjack Match, meaning that I might even get more air time. Nah, I’m just kidding, but I really am looking forward to this match and to think I may be a small part of it is what’s really getting me excited. When it comes to the end, I think we may see it become Matt Tastic two and Alex Bowen zero. However, we all know that in the world of wrestling, anything can happen, so I refuse to say who I think will win! All I know, is that Bowen wins, I wanna see them fight the decider on Aftershock Fifty!”

Kensworth’s laughing. Either I’m a natural, or I’m making myself look like a massive prick on TV. Screw it, I must be a natural. Finally it’s nice to have a moral boost after two weeks of pure crap. My mind feels clear for once as I look around the room, the bright lights shining and the screens showing little wrestling clips from WZCW past make me smile as I start to feel the bad times washing away for once.

“Thrash, it’s time to deliver some news to you! Every week, on Rundown, we’ll tell our wrestling guest who they’re up against, providing they don’t already know! So, here we go. Thrash, next week, you’ll be fighting on Ascension, in a triple threat match! Your two opponents are… Sandy Deserts and… Dr. Zeus!”

Leon carries on talking for a moment as I take a moment to figure out what’s happening. I’ve been put into a match against two opponents that I lost to. I can see what’s happening here already. The guys in the back would call Deserts vs Zeus a Pay-Per-View worthy match, so they throw in a third cog, just to make it slightly more interesting at first, until you see I’m just there to pad it out. Well, it’s time to make a change. But, why do I feel ok? It’s at this moment I realise that the past few weeks, my mind hasn’t been ruined because of the people that I’ve been in the ring with, but because I felt as though my past was catching up with me. Little things being left around, hints being dropped. Let me forget about that, now it’s time to make a difference.

“So… Thrash. Can you tell me what your thoughts are on your match this week?”

”Sure can Leon! I’ve lost to both of these guys in consecutive weeks, so you can imagine how I’m feeling right now. I’m slightly apprehensive as to how to approach it, but when it comes down to it, a triple threat isn’t the same as a regular match. Both myself and Sandy have a big problem with Dr. Zeus. We’ve both got things in common and well… he doesn’t seem to like either of us right now. When this match begins, we’re going to have to work together if we ever want this thing to end up working for us. Can you just get a camera on my face? I’ve got something I want to say.”

The camera faces me, I know I need to make myself sound like a real threat now, or face coming across like nothing more than a chump.

“Sandy, Zeus. You need to know, as much of a threat you may be to me, that when it comes down to it, I want to take both of you out and win this match. Sandy, don’t feel so bad, because I respect you. However, it’s time for Thrash to take up a step in WZCW and I’m sorry to have to say that you might be the person I need to beat to get that step up on. As for you Zeus, you may have had both the physical and mental upper hand in our first match, but this one is completely different, so before you start to think you have the advantage in this one, you can change those thoughts. Just because you know my weaknesses, doesn’t mean you’ve won. Hell, I’d rather Sandy won over you any day. But this time, neither of you will, because for you both… it’s “The Final Countdown””.

“Thank you Thrash. Now, I’ve gotta ask you, having faced both of these opponents, which one do you believe is the toughest to face in the middle of that ring? Sandy or Dr. Zeus? Surely, you’d have to say Sandy, right? I mean, she’s the seasoned competitor when it boils down to those two and she’s certainly one to fear, no matter who you are! Actually Thrash, I’ll give you a minute to think while I ask Richard, who do you think is the tougher of the two?”

”I think that you were talking a load of bull Leon. Dr. Zeus is without a doubt the toughest competitor Thrash has faced and he’s probably one of the best you’ve got in this business. Yet, you’re using him in waste of time matches like this, put him in the main event, give the guy a title shot, he already deserves it! The thing with Zeus is that not only is he feared physically, but he’s feared mentally and that is what makes him such a threat around this place. So, I’ll be saying Zeus.”

I look at the two men, I’m stuck between two options. They’re both looking at me longingly for me to make a decision on who I think would the tougher to face. On my left, Kensworth, giving me his argument on Sandy Deserts. But to my right is ********, telling him why Zeus should be the one I pick. I’m stuck in the middle, but I know who it is in my head.

“Well… I thi-“

”Thrash, I am really sorry to have to interrupt you just in the middle of a sentence, but this unfortunately, is the end of WZCW’s first episode of Rundown! You’re just going to have to tell us another day, I cannot apologise anymore. Thanks for watching at home and don’t forget to tune in next week, where we’ll be going over all the Aftershock happenings again!”

The camera’s start to shut off and the three of us are left in the room together, not being filmed. Kensworth puts the papers to one side, before shaking both of our hands.

“Thanks for being on the show guys and Thrash, I really am sorry for cutting you off then, I just couldn’t do anything about it! Tell me, what was your answer going to be?”

“Now Leon, that would be telling. You’ll just have to wait and find out now!”

I look at him with a smirk on my face, he understands how I’m playing the game. Leon laughs, before we all get up from our stools, ready to leave the room.

“Thanks again guys, it’s been a pretty good way to kick off the first show. Thrash, you’re welcome to go home now, everyone else seems like they have! You could get a Taxi with me if you want, split the fare?”

“Which direction is he heading from here?”

“West.”

“Ah, I would, but I’m heading East, plus, there’s really not much point in leaving my car out there really. Thanks for the offer though Leon, like I said, nice to meet you!”

I shake Leon’s hand again, before I head out to the car. It’s dark out, so the first thing I do is flip on the headlights as I start up the engine. Just before I set off, I think about Sandy and Zeus. There couldn’t be another male/female pairing right now that has anymore prominence in my life. It’s cold in the car, really cold. I look in the rear-view mirror, how I have just noticed this? The back windscreen…smashed. On the back seat is a brick. I turn around to carry on driving, but I have a split second to react! A woman stumbles out into the road, facing the opposite direction, I’m assuming she’s drunk. Luckily, I manage to stop just time, my head hitting the wheel, sounding the horn, which gets her attention. She turns around and throws her hands on the bonnet, as I realise just who it is.

“Remember me baby?!”

Victoria Sullivan. What the fuck are you doing here? My mind hits the floor instantly and my gut starts churning. I stop the engine, but I quickly change my mind, I have to get out of here. I start up the engine again, but before I can start reversing, my door opens and I’m dragged out of the vehicle and dropped on the sidewalk.

”I don’t think you wanna be driving out of here Mike! That’s not a good idea right now.”

That voice, I’d recognise it anywhere. I turn around, picking my face up from the concrete and turn around. Standing in front of me, Alex Sandro, the man I assumed was my friend and Victoria Sullivan, my ex-wife. Alex puts his arm over the shoulder of Vicky and my gut starts to churn even more. Surely not?

“Mikey, learn to be more careful! You nearly hit me a second time there.”

Vicky Sullivan, or as I assume she’s back to being Vicky Wilson now, the woman who for years has held a vendetta against me for running her down with my car. What she doesn’t know is that, the reason I hit her is because Alex, my “friend” was sitting next to me, doing his very best to make sure I couldn’t concentrate on what was doing. He and Vicky were drunk as they could be, then there was sober little me, driving into an innocent woman. I could never forgive myself for what happened, but Alex and me always agreed to never tell her it was his fault, because we were always friends. I ended up getting into a little amount of trouble with the cops, but due to the cause of the accident, it wasn’t as severe as it could’ve ended up being.

“What are you doing here?! Why are you doing this to me?!”

“Do you remember that night Mike? Do you remember when you hit me with your car and my body rolled over the top of it, hitting the concrete ground beneath? Do you remember breaking my bones, giving me a permanent limp when I walk? I sure hope you do, because this isn’t something I want you to forget. You may remember the way we used to be, but I want your mind to only think of the time that you, in a minute, ruined my life.”

My mind can’t erase that memory. It’s what haunts me almost every night in my sleep.

“I know exactly what you’re talking about Vicky, but you need to leave that and me alone! That is in the past, why do you insist on making me remember?”

”Let me tell you Mikey boy. Remember me? Alex, your supposed best friend! Nice to see you fell straight into the little trap that I led you right into. So much for being intuitive, you’re about as thick as two planks of wood.”

After leaning back on the concrete a few seconds, I sit up on the curb. I’m surprised they’re not trying to beat me to death, but right now, all I want to hear is the reasons why. Nothing else, just why this is all happening.

“Yeah, spare me the bullshit Alex. Look, just tell me, why the FUCK are you doing this to me?”

“You demanding? Don’t think you’ve got the rights to ask me questions like that, not after everything you’ve done. But screw it, you might as well know because to me, this is genius. See, even back when I was getting the band together, I wasn’t trying to make friends with you again, I was trying to get into your head, make you feel like a failure. But no, somebody had to get into being a pro wrestler! So we brought you on board, I managed to lull you into that false sense of security, where you’d just open up to me, thinking that I was always going to be there for you. Even the guys in the band knew I was stringing you along, you’re just a puppet in our unforgiving play!”

Everything inside me is falling apart as Vicky perches on the bonnet of my car. I choose not to say anything, save being hurt at this moment.

“That’s where Vicky came into it. She heard the band was getting back together, came to see us at a show not long after we started back up. I spotted her out in the crowd, got talking to her backstage about the past and your name came up. I told her exactly what you were doing now and how she could get back into your life, so we could burn it to the ground.”

“You know Mike, it’s really easy to leave a letter at WZCW with the words “FAO: Dr. Zeus”. It’s like they don’t care about the well-being of their own wrestlers! It wasn’t Zeus getting into your mind, it was us. We lay down the perfect plan to crush your mind, hopefully so we could see the meltdown of Thrash on… well, Meltdown! Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. So why not come and see you? I met Becky before I saw you, I was calling out for you as you ran to your match, shame you didn’t hear me, or this wouldn’t have happened!”

I think back to as I was running off for my match, how couldn’t I have recognised that voice? I stop feeling sorry for the person I left behind, as I stand up to face Vicky and Alex.

“You two need to stop playing games, because you’re becoming pathetic. In life, some people grow up and it’s getting pretty obvious that you haven’t! I told you over and over again Vicky, that I couldn’t have been more sorry for what I done to you. Night after night, I think of that incident and it kills me inside just to consider what else could’ve happened to you. Alex, while you stand in front of me smirking, I look at you as if you’re a little boy, because that’s exactly how you’re acting right now. Actually, you know what? That night, the night of the accident, that could easily be told as another story Vicky, I’m sure you’d love to hear that!”

”Shut up Mike! Starting to try and look like the big man now isn’t going to work with me and Vicky. Not only are you looking at your ex-best friend and your ex-wife, but you’re looking at Alex Sandro and… the new Mrs. Victoria Sandro! See, me and Vicky hit it off pretty quickly and well, it’s not like we weren’t already screwing behind your back! You’re not invited to the wedding, don’t worry, we weren’t gonna put you through that much hell. Well, we are, but you’re gonna have to wait for that, ain’t that right baby?”

I sit there, stone dead. Looking up at the vile couple in front of me, as Alex helps Vicky off of the bonnet of my car, they share an overly passionate kiss, making me feel even more sick. I’m shivering and not in a fit state to do anything, as Alex opens the back door of my car, pulling out the brick that he obviously must’ve put the through the window.

“Here Mikey boy, have something to remember us by!”

He launches the brick towards me, but only to scare me as it misses by a pretty big margin, hitting a lamppost next to me. It still shakes me up in a way as I realise, this couple isn’t to be messed with. I just can’t seem to comprehend a good way to take my future anymore. The two of them laugh at me, shivering on the sidewalk. A tough, shell of a wrestler is left behind as two people who are intent on ruining my life start to do so. I stand up, looking at them as they walk away. I can’t muster up any courage to shout anything, I’m surprised I can stand and that they left me with no violence, but there is something I can say, to myself.

“They…are my opponents.”

For once, my own mind is right. As I look down the street, just like when I was sitting at the desk earlier, I’m stuck between two people. I look at Vicky on the left and all I can think is how much I can compare how I feel about her to the way I feel about Sandy Deserts. I admire the woman, but underneath, there’s something there that needs to be defeated. In this case, there’s something about Vicky I love, I think it’s the fact that she’s still the same Vicky as I knew, just… more psychotic. However, that psycho isn’t right, there’s a way to defeat that and right now, I know exactly how, but it can wait until my match is out the way. Then I look to the man on the right, Alex and compare him to Dr. Zeus. Granted, I never liked Zeus, BUT Sandro done exactly what Zeus did, and that’s get into my head from the start. They both used different approaches, Zeus went for the attack straight away, whereas Alex managed to worm his way in differently. I know exactly how I can defeat these enemies, both in the ring and in real life. I straighten myself up, it’s no longer the time for bullshit. It’s no longer the time for me to get shaken up by things like this. I can see why they’re happening now and I realise that there isn’t any point.

“It’s time for revenge. Sandy… Dr. Zeus, it’s time to watch your backs because on Ascension, there’s going to be some damage done and I guarantee, Alex and Vicky better be watching, because then they know what’s coming.”

I open my car door, getting in, ready to head home. Choosing to take a different route so I don’t bump into anyone unsavoury, I try my best to clear my head once more. Ascension’s going to be interesting…I can promise that. When that bell rings and I look to my left and see Sandy, then to the right and see Zeus, I make my decision.