Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2017 17:22:28 GMT -5
“Everything had changed--in and out of the ring. Tony Chu had revealed himself as the cruel man he really was. Erica Bragg had distanced herself from me and I wasn’t sure if we’d ever share the same connection we had before. I had been buried by another promotion and despite successfully retaining the Resilience Championship, I still felt completely defeated. Life, love, and profession--it felt like it was in shambles. Then, I was handed Zack Fantana.”
Somewhere in my deep subconscious, I heard a voice telling me to let go. When I first heard it, I could have sworn it was my uncle telling me: “Fuck it.”
I pushed my right foot down a little harder on the accelerator and that flat V-12 screamed for more. The world rushed past my windshield and I felt myself losing grip as it became a blur. A grand malaise had overcome me replacing any sense of comfort with a feeling of inevitable destruction.
I wanted to accept it.
“The match between Bindy Trent and I had fallen on deaf ears and blind eyes. The fans, the viewers, and everyone else for that matter, turned their eyes on the rest of the roster. Zack Fantana still captivated the viewers. The fans called out for Tornado’s, Harry Potters, and Benny Stevens. What I had done for AWE was on the verge of being washed away and replaced by the uninspired rantings of the sweaty and the unchanged static denizens of the AWE roster.”
I felt the metaphorical mud splash into my gaze as i grabbed a gear and pushed the twin turbo my uncle had installed, further than it had ever gone before. I watched the needle as it pushed past 257 kph’s. That’s 71 meters per second and I wouldn’t even feel a thing if I crashed.
I liked it.
“I felt like I pushed myself far enough. That I had put it all out on the line and little by little I felt like most of my effort had become meaningless. I heard the fans yelling that Bindy Trent was the defacto Champion and they said the same about Zack Fantana. They swore up and down that he should have retained the Resilience Championship at Executive Action and they said my win was a fluke. The more and more I thought about it, I wondered if it was time to agree with them. Beating Dom Lawson and Bindy Trent proved nothing. It had to be Zack Fantana.”
I grit my teeth and put my foot to the floor. Amazingly, the car still had room to accelerate and it showed as I felt the g-force hold me back against the bucket seat. I wanted to close my eyes. I wanted to let go of the wheel. I wanted my internal chaos to manifest itself in a real-life ball of flame.
I still liked it.
“My phone had been buzzing for days with taunts and accusations. My decision to protect the AWE’s image by alienating thirty-three percent of my fans and professional peers was not done without thought. I stand by the decision I made, but the backlash seemed bigger than it should have been. In one ear I have an angry voice telling me that he should be champion and took credit for my fall from grace and in the other--I heard Zack Fantana.”
Somewhere in my deep subconscious, I heard a voice telling me it was too late. I listened closer and it clearly became the voice of Tony Chu telling me, “No one cares about a walking failure.”
I looked down at the speedometer and saw it read 331 kph’s. The world stood still as I drove through the traffic--darting back and forth. The engine was full pitch and the roar mimicked the one I had been hearing in my mind for days. That roar telling me, “You’re going to lose to Zack Fantana.”
I laughed.
“I remembered when Zack Fantana told me that I was an unknown. He said it was because of all the different hats and/or faces I wore. He didn’t know if I was a scared lad in a gay bar or if I was actually finding myself comfortable within Bindy Trent’s clothing. He made this clear through homophobic jabs at the things I had done. He made this clear by insinuating my flair for satire was only employed to cover up a deep dark hole I had inside of me.”
I laughed harder.
“Maybe he was right. Then again, I remembered when Zack Fantana took on Tommy Stone and Akragth, that Zack himself, wore the skin of his opponents. Seemed like Zack Fantana was doing the very thing he had recently condemned. Yet, maybe it was a good thing? Zack Fantana could fill the void in the minds of all the fans when Dare Clemmens ceased to exist? After all, was Dare Clemmens ever really there to begin with?”
The Testarossa didn’t question this as it held steady 350 kph’s. I knew that I was nearing a dangerous end and I heard that voice again, only it had become softer. It was Erica and she told me, “You are the engine. You are the tires. You are the road. Don’t give up.”
“There’s only one Dare Clemmens, though.”
I looked into my own eyes in the rear-view mirror.
I breathed out as the malaise suddenly cracked.
“There is only one person who will eradicate my legacy and his name isn’t Zack Fantana. My legacy will find greater heights and it will not be defined by the Resilience Championship. This man and this title will both be transcended and soon all those watching will stand back and realize who has been walking amongst them. He is not a man destined to burn up nor is he a man destined to burn out. He is the man who will, one day, be the first name mentioned when those who remember, reminisce about Alpha Wrestling Empire. His name is Dare Clemmens.”
I eased off the accelerator, but still moved forward. I kept my eyes wide open. I kept slicing my way through the night.
I kept my heart out on the road.
END.