To Wake A Sleeping Dragon Part 2

“Don't’ judge my choices, if you don’t know my reasons.” - Anonymous

{Undisclosed location - “Maggie Lockhart and promises made.”}

[Off-Camera]

The thunder that rolled and the lightning that danced across the sky, it matched the lightning I felt in my veins and the thunder in my chest. That’s what I’ve felt every day since Amber and I had gotten together. I had not felt this alive in a long long time.This was one of those moments in life that helped to define your character. I knew it in my heart, and I hoped that Maggie would also see it for what it was. No cameras here, it was not a public relations stunt or me trying to feed my ego by proving C.J. Wylde wrong. I couldn’t sit by and let her be forgotten again, she deserved better than that. That was the whole reason I was here.

“Imagine that, someone from Carnage who actually stands by what they say.”

A bitter voice said from a nearby doorway, looking up I could see Maggie’s girlfriend, Amber. I smiled at her and waved as I approached the front porch.

“How is she?”

I asked, trying to keep my tone light as I stood there in the heat. She motions me to come in.

“Come see for yourself.”

The moment of truth had arrived for me. How bad was the injury that I caused her to have. Whether it was intentional or not didn’t matter, it happened, and it bothered me a great deal. I entered the front room of their house and much to my delight I see Maggie Lockhart standing there. She gives me a brief smile.

“Mac, what the heck are you doing here?”

I return the smile with one of my own.

“I thought I’d come and check on you, the last time I saw you...uhm….you weren’t in good shape.”

She nods her head, she starts to say something, but I interrupt her.

“Maggie, I’m sorry for what happened. Pardon the interruption but I had to get that out. That injury scared me out of ten years of my life that I can’t afford to lose.”

She smirks at me for a moment, then walks across the room to where I’m standing. She takes my hand and looks me in the eye.

“It wasn’t your fault Mac, we both know the risks in this business.”

It’s all I can do, not to cry, this woman was an amazing human being when the influence of C.J. Wylde was removed. Maybe she still was in spite of him. I’m not in her head and I can’t imagine it.

“I know, but it’s something that has always ridden in the back of my mind. The thought of permanently injuring someone….”

She smiles up at me.

“But that didn’t happen, I won’t lie to you. I was angry afterwards. Up until Amber.”

She gestures towards her girlfriend.

“She told me how often you called. I can’t even begin to tell you how much that has meant to both of us.”

I remain quiet, shifting my gaze between the two of them. Amber, with no hint of the earlier bitterness begins to speak.

“I didn’t think anyone from Carnage cared about her, but you called every day. I was beginning to wonder if you had a life.”

I scratched my head for a moment and chuckled.

“I do, but to me this was more important.”

I gesture back towards Maggie.

“Her well being was more important to me than what I had going on. To a person, the last time she was injured, we failed her as a roster. That’s not something I plan on letting happen again. My hope is that some day, you’ll come back to Carnage and compete like you’ve always done.”

The two of them share a look that spoke volumes, I didn’t know if her career could continue at that moment. I hoped it could, and I prayed that I hadn’t ended this woman’s storied career. It was that moment my phone began to ring.

“Pardon me Ladies, I have to take this.”

They motion for me to go ahead, I slide the bar to answer the call from Jack.

“Yeah, this is Mac.”

Jack Michaels was not once to mince words, he began telling me about Amber’s condition and the fact that he didn’t know how to break through with her.

“I’ll be on the next flight, don’t worry Jack, we got this.”

Fade

{Dallas, Texas - Parkland Hospital - “Coming To Grips Part 1”}

[Off-Camera]

Sometimes a member of your family does something that’s so egregious that it’s difficult at best to wrap your mind around it. I sat there and watched my youngest son, Aeric, he laid in the hospital bed. The only noise was that of the monitors that kept track of his vitals. There were two Dallas Deputies stationed outside the door and Aeric was handcuffed to the bed. He’d had surgery to repair the broken L4 and L5 vertebrae. The surgeon said that it went well and with therapy he would be fine. That alleviated my anxiety a little, except for the black mask that the deputy had found at the scene. It was a wrestling mask, no doubt about that. This mask however had belonged to someone who had attacked me. A wrestler who had served as the bodyguard to Mitaxia.

“Fucking Jynx Hexxen.”

It’s all I can say or do to break the monotony of this hospital room. I shake my head, then stand up. I stare down at my son. My brain was flooded with mixed emotions. I can’t for the life of me figure out who or what has damaged my son’s mind and heart to the point that he would even consider doing what he did.

“Who or what broke you, Aeric?”

I sigh loudly, running my fingers through my hair. None of this made sense, I had made sure that all their lives, my children had everything they could hope for. He was twenty two years old, a life so full of promise. He had amazing potential as an athlete and an artist, now it all appears to be a thing of the past.

“You had everything Aeric, when you do come out of this coma. When you do….you’ll have a lot to answer for, son.”

I recalled what the officer had told me. Not only did he kill his future wife and their unborn child, he was involved in a hit and run prior to that. My son would likely never see the light of day again. The most favorable outcome for Aeric Bane was life in prison. The driver of the first car was not badly injured, his car was totalled and he just had superficial injuries from that incident. So far, no lawsuits had been filed, I felt that would probably change soon. I didn’t care about that, I’d give everything that I owned to have my son back. Then my thoughts turned to Lindsey’s family and that’s when the tears started to flow once again.

“Good Lord kid, I’ve fucked up in my life, plenty of times. This though, I don’t know if anyone can or would even be willing to forgive you for this.”

Grabbing my straw hat from a nearby chair, I place it back on my head. I needed coffee and food, the order didn’t matter. I don’t even bother trying to wipe the tears away as I exit the room and nod to the officers there.

“I’ll be back in a bit, do either of you need anything, coffee maybe?’

The officer's exchange looks for a moment, finally the older male officer nods his head.

“Thank you Mr. Bane, black please.”

He begins to reach for his wallet, but I hold up my hand.

“Please, allow me, unlike a lot of folks around here these days, I still have great respect for law enforcement.”

I looked over at the other officer, she was younger but not by much. She smiled at me, her eyes on the verge of betraying her feelings.

“Black coffee please, and thank you.”

I return her smile and begin walking down the hallway, feeling like a failure as a father. A failure as a man. I couldn’t protect my son from his own bad decisions, nor could I protect Amber. Had I really made a difference for anyone?

Fade.

{Undisclosed Location}

[On-Camera]

I hoped I didn’t look as bad as I felt right now, not having slept in days due to the events from WAR had left me more than angry. It’s hard to sleep when there’s a rage that burns in your heart, so hot that the flame is white. So here I sit in front of the camera, trying my best to channel something positive out of it, and failing miserably.

“Ken Davison is now the world champion. Do I like the way he accomplished it? Not a fucking chance. You and I have been through a lot in our careers together, haven’t we? We’ve tried to kill each other. We’ve stormed the castle gates together, in places like Boardwalk, Alpha, UCWA and the list goes on and on. When we came to Carnage together, I told you not to put us on a collision course again. You know what happens when things get like this. The path of destruction I’ll leave in my wake will not be for the faint of heart.”

With my left hand I push the hair out of my eyes as I look into the camera, my bloodshot eyes rimmed red. Too little sleep and far too many tears. I know what comes next and I hate it, I hate what it will do to me, my family and most of all Carnage.

“The night you took brass knuckles to the back of Amber’s head, that was a defining point for you. By defining, I mean, that it showed such a lack of character, and regard for what we do as professionals. It set in motion the events that come next. I’ll tell you the same thing I told Aeric. I don’t know who or what broke you, I don’t know if anyone can ever forgive you for your actions. Right now, I’m not even sure that I can, and I’m one of the few people on the planet that love you.”

I stare down at my hands, and then back up at the camera.

“Unlike you, I won’t use weapons against someone you care for. Although I doubt that she would even give it a second thought against me. She’s bought into your narrative completely at this point. That was the reason I cashed in the Baltimore City Championship at WAR. I’ve tried to reason with her, but my words fall on deaf ears. I’m hoping that for Amber’s sake I can wake your little “goddess” of ultra violence up before she throws away everything that ever mattered to her.”

Fade

{Dallas, Tx - Parkland Hospital - “Coming to grips part 2”}

[Off-Camera]

The ding of the elevator let me know I had arrived at my floor. The smell of fresh coffee was strong, in the center of the carrier was a small mountain of sugar and creamer. If they used it, that was fine, if not, no big deal. Honestly I think right now my give a damn is so broken not many things would matter. I pause long enough at the room door for them to grab their coffees, I offer them the cream and sugar and they decline.

The female officer who’s name was J. Sanders according to her name tag smiled.

“No thank you Mr. Bane, haven’t you heard? That crap will kill you.”

The three of us shared a laugh, literally the first time I’d done that in days. The other officer, who’s name tag also read J. Sanders interrupts the laughter with a question.

“Mr. Bane, your wife is inside, well, we assumed it was your wife.”

I smile almost immediately, “Thank you for letting me know.”.

They both nod.

The male officer, “How’d she get so busted up, if you don’t mind my asking?”

I smile, the life of couples in wrestling was full of this kind of thing. So, I begin in a more aggressive tone than was probably intended or necessary.

“Well, Amber and I are professional wrestlers.”

He stops me, “I’m sorry Mr. Bane, I didn’t mean to insinuate anything.”.

I give him a curt nod, “It’s no problem Officer Sanders, it happens often. I appreciate your concern with her well being. Plus you don’t know me, always better to make sure, right?”

He nods, and I enter the room. Amber is still focussed on Aeric. So focussed that I almost interrupt her but it dawns on me that she may be deep in thought about something. So I stand there, watching this beautiful woman, not daring to break her train of thought. I wait until she realizes she’s no longer alone in the room. It doesn’t take long, I swear that woman always knows when I’m around. Like she can feel my smile or something. She turns to see me smiling at her and tries her best to return the smile. It’s fake, we both know it. I cross the open space between us and take her by the hand I kneel by the chair she’s sitting in. Forehead to forehead.

“Thank you for coming, you didn’t have to stay, but I’m glad you did.”

She presses her head hard against mine and squeezes my hand.

“You know, I was in that same position once.”

I squeeze her hand again, and sigh softly, we separate a little so I can see her face.

“I didn’t want the same thing to happen to him that happened to me. No one should have to wake up alone, Mac.”

I look deeply into her eyes, there’s a storm brewing behind them. I let go of her hand, resting my hands on each side of her face.

“As long as I draw a breath, you won’t ever have to go through that hell again.”

She knocks my hands away and wraps her arms around my neck and we share a kiss. I hope she understands what I’ve said is true. I would storm the gates of hell itself for this woman. I’ve literally no idea, what or how I came to deserve her, but I’m glad for whatever it is. Jules would be here soon, with all of her coursework being on line, she could manage both.

Fade

***

{Undisclosed Studio}

[On-Camera]

As the camera began to roll, all I can feel right now is my willingness to fight, or die on my hill as Ken had said. He wasn’t wrong.

"A man of my word.

A man who uses honest words.

A man with nothing to hide.

A man who is just as flawed as any other, probably more so than most.

Just a man?

Sure, we can go with that, I mean, I’ve never claimed to be invulnerable or immortal. There are some who would tell you that I’m self righteous. I’ve been told I lack integrity. I’ve even been accused of being the lapdog of Amber Ryan. I am many things, what I’m not is someone’s bitch. Sah’ta Thor found that out the hard way. It didn’t have to be that way, but as they say, it is what it is. God I hate that phrase, but sadly it’s true. When you let chance decide your fate, you get what you get. This ain’t burger king, more like the Karma Cafe. You don’t get it your way, you get served what you’ve earned. Thor found out at WAR exactly what that means when you step in the ring with me. Just like others will learn, although he wasn’t quite dense enough to call me out by name. Little birds would do well to not let my name come out of their mouth. My decisions are mine, I don’t seek approval from the roster or management. I do what I want, without apology or permission. The lion doesn’t care about the opinion of sheep.

There are many who have come into this company and think like that. They think they can jump on social media and pick a fight and be awarded with what they want. Guys like “The Empty” learned the hard way, that sometimes you should be more selective about what you ask for. He asked for me, and got what he earned. So, little bird, how about this, you come in here and win a few matches first. Show some consistency, beat some of the best on the roster and then talk about what you deserve. It’s called a track record in Carnage Wrestling. I guess maybe I’m old school like that. I believe in hard work and garnering respect for that work ethic.

I’ve been recently criticized for what I told Amber. People in the media mostly, but I’ve also heard the rumblings in the locker room. “They” say that setting the world on fire is not in me, that I’m too good of a person to take something like that on. “They” don’t know a thing about me or perhaps they’ve forgotten about my reputation. I love the optimism and enthusiastic nature of people like Silvio and Foxy. It’s really a grand thing to watch them in matches together. They have great chemistry as a team. I think that they are likely good people and they seem to enjoy each other's company. What they do not have however, is a track record here in Carnage. You might believe that the suits gave you this match against Amber and I as a reward for all that hard work. Maybe you believe that karma or fate has led you to this point, together.

One thing I’ve learned in my long career. Karma gives nothing for free, there’s always a price to pay. The man who trained me, my father, once told me that no good deed goes unpunished. Turns out that my father was an oracle in his own right. I’ve been in Carnage for over a year now. Do you know what doing the right thing gets you here?

Not a fucking thing.

Sure, I held the Baltimore City Championship for longer than anyone in this company has in its history. I did that by doing and saying the right things. I did that by trying to appeal to the masses and to management. Take a look at the real history of Carnage, its former champions, whether it be the world or ultra violent titles. The one thing you’ll find they have in common, is that the people who held those belts and defended them. They did so with a “by any means necessary” mind set. If you believe for a single moment that I’m not capable of that, you’re going to be in for quite an education. Amber and I will not stop until we’ve achieved what we want. If I have to set this place on fire and watch it burn to the ground, then so be it. I look forward to seeing if you’re clairvoyant enough or wise enough to stay out of our way.

It’s no longer a matter of what we’ve done, or what we will do. The thing that everyone needs to worry about is what won’t we do? The short answer is….

Nothing.

Fade.