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| Topic Started: Jun 12 2009, 04:51 PM (111 Views) | |
| Eddie_Rowan | Jun 12 2009, 04:51 PM Post #1 |
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BOOSH
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“One year. It’s been one full year since I came to this place. The only place I’ve really ever felt truly at home. It’s funny, when you think about it. Wherever you are now is likely not where you came from. But sometimes you need to go back to the beginning to see just how far you’ve gone.” Spokane, Washington in the summer. Of course, you might not realize the season just by looking outside. A dreary gray haze hangs in the air, silent except for the dripping of the light rain. CZW reporter Ryan Lewis mutters to himself as he steps out of his vehicle, closing the door before pulling his coat snuggly about his neck in an effort to keep the cold water from dripping down his back. “Beautiful day for a walk…” As if summoned by Lewis’ complaint, the figure of Eddie Rowan materializes on the passenger side of the car, closing the door and running a hand through his hair, taking a deep inhale. “Yeah, that’s the stuff. It’s good to be home, Lewis.” Not even glancing over to our intrepid reporter, Eddie turns away, heading across the grass. Lewis’ car is parked on an urban street, several large buildings making up the opposite side. On this side is a small park running along both sides of a river. Lewis takes another glance around, once more readjusting his jacket before moving off after Eddie, casting a curious look at the long line of man-sized metal sculptures that span along the sidewalk, each one crafted to look as if they were running some sort of race. Lewis catches up to Eddie just as he’s purchased a small bag of breadcrumbs, then turning and heading toward the riverfront. “What’s the deal with those weird running statues?” Eddie casts a sidelong glance over his left shoulder back at the metal runners, then tosses a few of the breadcrumbs to the congregation of ducks in the water, the animals unabashedly swimming up and snagging the floating morsels. “There’s a race called ‘Bloomsday’ out here. It’s like seven and a half miles or something. Not your Boston Marathon, but I guess that’s why I like this place. It’s not a huge city. Not so crowded. But it does have a lot of the same things the big places have to offer…only scaled down to our size.” Lewis takes another scan of the surroundings. Even in the heart of the downtown area, the buildings and roads seem to be well spread-out. “Funny words coming from a guy from Seattle.” He turns back to Eddie again as he tosses a few more crumbs out to the ducks. We only see him from the left profile, but his lips twist up into a bit of a grin as he watches the fowl. “Actually, I’m FROM Seattle, because that’s where I’ve lived since I went to film school. Spokane is where I’ve lived most of my life, though. Got family here. It suits me really well, actually. The biggest complaint from people is that there isn’t anything to do around here, but to me, this is home.” Lewis watches the ducks with mild disinterest before redirecting his attention once more. “Well, the locals are sure right about that…this is pretty dull. What’s that little pavilion?” Behind them, up a set of stone steps is a small structure, roughly circular. “That’d be the carousel.” “You mean like…an actual CAROUSEL? What is this, a carnival?” Standing, Eddie tosses the remainder of the bread to the ducks, offering a parting wave to the quacking mob as he turns on his heel and heads up towards the building. “Just an attraction of the park.” “Ah, yes. Riverfront Park. A park. On the riverfront. Clever.” “It’s a pretty popular attraction still, though maybe not as much as it used to be. We have the carousel, there’s an ice skating rink, an IMAX. I remember coming out here as a kid. You get on the carousel, and as you pass by this one point, there’s a little dispenser that lets you pull out little colored rings. They’ve got a ring-toss on the other side, but the real appeal is trying to get a gold ring.” Lewis joins Eddie up next to the carousel, the attraction seemingly not open to the public quite yet. Shielding his eyes from the glare, Ryan peers in through the large glass window, attempting to check out the interior. “A gold ring, huh? What do you win if you get a gold ring?” Eddie simply offers a shrug. “You win a free ride.” Lewis turns and looks at him incredulously. “That’s IT?” “That’s it.” “Wow. I mean, I guess I would’ve expected something a bit more grandiose. You ever find the elusive gold ring?” Reaching into his pocket, Eddie produces a silver dollar-sized plastic gold ring, dangling the item over the tip of his finger. “Yep.” “You kept it?” “Well, yeah. A free ride on the carousel isn’t as important as having tangible proof that I WON one. Besides, I’ve had this since I was like ten. Kept it as a keepsake.” “Never really took you for the sentimental type.” Eddie twirls the ring over his finger before pocketing it once more, offering a slight shrug. “I guess sometimes you can’t help it. I think back to all the places I’ve been and I realize that they’ve all just been steps to the present. And not long from now, this day will be just like all the others. Another step forward. You can’t go back, can’t change things, but it’s nice to have a token here or there to remind you of the ride. It’s also nice to reflect back on the easy life. You remember what it’s like being a kid, Ryan? It’s weird, because a child can go through a lot. Sometimes, it’s easy living and a relatively ‘normal’ experience. Sometimes they have to go through some horrible mental scarring. We all end up differently, but we all start out the same, you know? Even guys like Hix and Covey were, at one time, innocent little kids. Exactly how they became the liquored-up bigots they are today, I couldn’t tell you. Maybe they never got a chance to pluck out a gold ring or something, Idunno.” Lewis regards Eddie with somewhat of a confused look, digesting the story. Finally, he can only shrug helplessly to himself. “Huh. Well, maybe.” Once more, Eddie turns and paces towards the river, this time moving across the bridge that spans it’s width. He stops about mid-way, resting on the railing and looking over the edge. Lewis moves that way as well, muttering to himself as he steps into a nice, wet pile of dog poo. Dragging his foot across the grass a few times, he joins up with a visibly amused Eddie Rowan. “Don’t you just love public parks?” “I’m pretty sure I saw a sign saying you had to CLEAN UP after your pets. So, humor me. What’s with this big stroll down memory lane? And why aren’t you doing the whole…you know, angry thing? I mean, for a solid month you’ve ended up being helped out of the ring at the conclusion of your match, save the one week you returned the favor to Covey. It’s been Hix in a devil costume or…whoever decided to penny-punch you last week-“ “I know who it is.” Lewis continues talking for a moment, suddenly blinking in realization. He gawks at Eddie for a moment, sputtering before finally managing to get out a coherent reply. “You WHA!?” “I said I know who it is. And before you ask, no, I’m not going to tell you.” “But-“ “The task at hand isn’t dealing with this person, but shutting up Mr. Hix. You want to talk about him, that’s fine, but otherwise, I have nothing to tell you.” Lewis stares at Eddie in disbelief; meanwhile Eddie simply just gazes out over the river, resting casually against the stone railing. “O…kay. Well, this will be the second match for ‘the Boss’ since his return. He’s already got one win over you in a tag match…” “Firstly, I never lost to Bruce Springsteen. Secondly, I want you to think about a couple things. For one, I’m at home here. I’ve got the ol’ ‘home field advantage’ thing going, and if you don’t think that matters, you’re wrong. I’ve got enough friends and family coming to the show to fill up an entire section, and I KNOW that because I paid for their tickets. Now, I could go into some cliché rant about how I’m not going to let them down and how I’m going to ‘win this one for them’ but the fact is, I’m doing this match for ME. Now, take into account the stipulation of the match.” Lewis nods, turning to face Eddie fully. “Yeah, first blood. Not the optimal choice I think, considering how many times you’ve been busted open lately…” “Well, unfortunately for Hix, I’m not going out there to play by the ‘match rules.’ Hell, I’m not even going to go out there with the intention of winning. What I’m going to do is go out there and even the score. He wanted his big return, he got it. But now it’s time to pay the proverbial fiddler, and he’s accumulated a pretty hefty tab. Hix is coming out for a first blood match. I’m not interested in drawing first blood. I’m interested in drawing LAST blood. This week, Ryan? This week belongs to me. Nobody is going to take that away from me.” Lewis shifts slightly, scratching his head, an uncharacteristically sympathetic look on his face. “Look, nobody in the whole federation can doubt your ability, but remember, not only is Hix a beast, but you’re not exactly 100%...” “No?” Eddie turns to face Lewis, giving us the first chance to look at the right side of his face. His right eye is completely covered with a bandage, the skin around it showing signs of bruising. Eddie looks at Lewis for a long moment before grinning maliciously. Slowly he reaches up and begins pulling at the bandage. “I don’t think you should…” With a sharp tug, the dressing comes free, showing the awful extent of the injury. His right eye is completely bloodied, a sign that several blood vessels popped after the attack. Surrounding his eye is a sickly black bruise, as well as several deep scratches in the skin. “Oh, man…that has to hurt like hell…” “It’s definitely not pleasant, but it’s not going to stop me from showing TJ Hix exactly who he’s dealing with. For weeks now he’s left me lying on the floor, broken and battered and beaten. Thanks to him, I’ve basically got my own personal ambulance with the company now. He wants to barge in out of retirement to reform some lost glory with his old buddy, that’s fine. But he’s going about it all wrong. He’s started a war that he can’t win. TJ Hix is, essentially, Diet Matt Covey, and I already beat the real thing at Pandemonium. In his environment. He called me out and I made him regret it. This week, we’re in MY home. We’re going to do things MY way. The match doesn’t matter. Hix is coming out there looking for another big W. I’m going out there to make sure he gets his pretentious ass carted out by HIS personal medical staff. He needn’t worry, though. We’ve got a couple really good hospitals around here. They’ll take real good care of ‘the Boss.’ Think I’ll just call him ‘Bruce’ from now on…” He smirks to himself, turning away and gently reapplying the bandage over his injured eye. He rests against the railing again and the ambiences of the surrounding area become more prominent with his and Ryan’s silence. The water rushes below the bridge over the rocks as the water flows steadily downstream towards the dam. Behind them, the ducks continue to play and search for food, quacking away. A pair of boys riding their bicycles come pedaling across the bridge past Eddie and Lewis, who both glance at them as they ride past. “What’s up, CYCLOPS!?” Lewis watches as the two ride off, laughing amongst themselves. As they continue out of range, the sound of laughter persists, and Lewis turns to see Eddie resting against the bridge, chuckling away. “That’s funny?” Eddie turns to Lewis, slapping him on the shoulder. “It’s great to be home. Now who’s for Denny’s?” Lewis shrugs and the two head back for the car. Slowly, our view rises up, giving us a ¾ aerial view of the park. As they approach the car, the kids on bikes come riding back, and Ryan moves as if to lunge at one of them. The kid veers at the unexpected feint and turns, his bike skidding into the grass and causing him to topple comically off to the side. “Ha HA! BOUCHE!” “…asshole…” Lewis and Eddie hop into the car as we float further and further into the sky. The other kid ribbing his buddy a bit before the pair ride off again. We linger on the carousel pavilion for another moment before the scene dissolves to blackness, the sound of rushing water and quacking ducks lingering for several moments thereafter before finally going silent. |
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