February 12th 2021 – 3:45PM – Not Recording
The (Former) Johnson Residence – Dundalk, Maryland

“I’m here now.”

I tell Joe as I pull over along the street in front of my childhood home. I put the car in park and turn the ignition off, waiting for him to say something – anything at all before I get out and go inside.

There’s a part of me that doubts there’s anything inside that’s going to help me figure out what my mother was talking about. God only knows what this house has been through since my parents died and went insane. But maybe, just maybe there’s something that’ll help me find Michael before he finds me.

“I wish you would have let me come with you.”

I sigh and nod my head, even though he can’t see me.

“I know. It’s just – I just need to take care of this myself. I honestly don’t want you involved because I don’t know what this Michael is after… Except that he’s after me and my sister.”

“We’re getting Married, Luce. I’m already involved.”

I grit my teeth and lean my head back against the headrest. I know he’s already involved. He’s far more involved than I ever wanted him to be.

“Besides, you don’t even know if this guy is real or some figment of your mom’s imagination.”

I know that too.

“That’s why I’m here, Joe. If she’s just making shit up, then no harm no foul. But what if she’s not?”

That question doesn’t bring a response right away. What can he say? He told me the other day that the past should be the past for a reason and that we can’t live for what used to be. But what if the past just keeps rearing its ugly head? What if the past just can’t leave well enough alone?

It’s really fucking hard to live my life when there’s always something coming up.

After a few moments with no response, I sigh once more.

“Yeah. There’s not really much to say if she was telling me the truth. But I’m gonna get off of here and go check things out.”

“Okay, Luce. Let me know when you’re done and that you’re okay.”

He says, and I can hear the concern in his voice.

“I will. Don’t worry about me.”

We say our goodbyes and I hang up the phone – My eyes turning up and looking at the house for the first time. Everytime I see this house, it gives me a sour feeling in my stomach. The longer I put this off though, the less I’m going to want to go in there – So I get out of the car and head up the driveway, towards the front door.

When I round the garage, I see the front door is already wide open and I stop.

“If this doesn’t bring back memories…”

I mutter, taking another step forward. Some homeless people are probably taking shelter in here. That’s gotta be it, right? That would make the most sense.

I don’t want to bother them. I don’t want to kick them out. Hell, if they can find any sense of shelter here – They’d be finding more than I ever found here. I just want to find answers. Any answers.

Finally I bring myself to the door noticing a bright orange ‘Condemned’ sign laying on the ground in the doorway.  Well of course the damn place is condemned.  Should have been years ago in my opinion.  Regardless, I step through the threshold and take a peek inside, but I don’t see anyone in the darkened foyer so I keep going – Against the protests setting off alarms inside my brain, I keep going. Much to my surprise, I don’t find anyone or anything in the living room either and I heave a sigh of relief.

“Thank God.”

I turn away from the living room and move down the hallway towards the bedrooms, ignoring Kyra’s and my old rooms – Heading straight for the room at the end of the hall – My parent’s bedroom. If there’s anything in this house that would give me answers – It would have to be in here.

The door creaks open and I step inside, surprised to see their bed still sitting in the same spot it always was, smack dab in the center of the room. Even after all these years, the room still looks as terrifying as it did when I looked at it from inside the closet. I can almost feel his hand gripping my hair as he would when he drug me to the closet across the room – throwing me inside and locking the lock that he’d installed there for just a purpose.

A chill courses through my body as I take a step closer to the closet, reaching out and pulling the door open – revealing exactly what I remember being inside.

“Nothing.”

I let the door go and start going through the room, piece by piece – looking in the nightstands, the dressers, anything I can get my hands on.

“Come on…”

I get down on the floor, pulling the drawers out and dumping them out on the floor – using the flashlight on my phone to see the contents. Old bills, lists… Seemingly everything but what I’m looking for.

Hell, do I even know what I’m actually looking for?

With the contents of every drawer in the room on the ground, I get up, frustrated. I should have known this was complete bullshit. Why’d I let them get into my head again?

I’m so fucking stupid.

Maybe Joe was right. I gotta stop living in the past. I–

My phone interrupts my thoughts and at first I think it’s Joe, checking up on me.

“Jesus Christ – I told you I’d call you when I was–”

But to my surprise, it’s Kyra.

“Kyra?”

I ask, answering the call.

“Lucy…”

Something doesn’t sound right in her voice and instantly all the sirens are going off in my head again.

“What’s wrong?”

“My condo.. Someone broke in.

“Oh my God, are you and Adin–”

“Adina is fine, she’s with JD… And I wasn’t even here. Christ, the place is ransacked.”

I head back towards the front door of the house and let myself out.

“I’m in Baltimore, I’ll be over in a few.”

“Baltimore? Why are you in Baltimore?”

I close my eyes as I slide back in behind the wheel.

“We’ll talk about it when I get there. See you in a little bit.”

 

February 12th 2021 – 5:01PM – Not Recording
The Johnson Residence – Baltimore, Maryland

Kyra wasn’t kidding.

Whoever broke in here really messed this place up. Even from where I’m standing at the front door, it looks like they left nothing untouched as they went through.

But that’s even more apparent as I step out of the foyer and into the main living area. The kitchen cabinets are open and their contents lay scattered and broken all over the counters and the floor. The living room looks like a Tornado went through – papers were strewn about, one couch turned over, glass knickknacks broken all over the floor.

The more I walkthrough, however, the more I’m noticing that nothing looks like it’s missing. It just looks like someone broke in with the sole goal of destroying everything she owns.

“I don’t know why I called you.”

Kyra says, stepping in behind me – still in what I’m presuming are her gym clothes.

“Something in my gut told me to call you when I walked in and saw this.”

She continues, pointing at the destruction around us. It’s a lot to take in. She’s understandably shaken by it, and I can’t blame her.

“Did you call the police?”

“Really?”

She replies almost instantly.

“They’ve been here and ‘they’ll get back to me’. Which we all know is code for ’you ain’t gonna hear shit.’”

I nod my head, making my way back towards the front door. Something catches my eye, sitting on a table near the front door. A note, with Kyra’s name scribbled messily on the front.

“Hey, Kyra?”

I yell down the hall, picking the note up as if it were poisonous. After a few minutes I hear Kyra’s footfalls as she comes back into the room.

“As far as I can tell, nothing is missing but everything that could be broken… is. Why would someone break in just to destroy everything? That doesn’t make any–What is that?”

She asks as I hand the note to her. She rips it open and scans it as I watch her face, trying to gather as much information about what’s inside as I can from her expression – But typical Kyra, there’s not much there besides anger.

“What the fuck does this even mean?”

She shoves the note back at me, giving me a chance to read it.

         Dear Kyra

        I’m leaving you this message in hopes that you and your sister will do the right thing. I want what is mine. I want what you stole from me and I’ve waited long enough to get it.

        You have a beautiful family, it would be a shame if something were to happen to them.

        Don’t worry about finding me. I’ve already found you, and I will be back to collect very soon.

                -M. Krauss

I fold it back up and let it fall back onto the table.

“Who the fuck is threatening my family?! And what the fuck did I supposedly steal?!”

“Kyra…”

I say softly, stepping towards her as she paces around the living room.

“My kid, Lucy. They’re threatening my kid. I’ll fucking kill em.”

“You wanted to know why I was in Baltimore?”

Kyra whips around, her eerily golden eyes boring a hole through me.

“Do you fucking know who did this?!”

I sit down on the couch, thumbing through a few papers that were tossed all over the coffee table. Before I get very far, Kyra moves in and shoves them all off the table – Forcing me to look up at her once more.

“Lucy..”

“Kyra, I don’t know if I know, okay? I should have told you sooner, but I wanted to have something to tell you before I–”

“What didn’t you fucking tell me, Lucy?”

Christ.

What the fuck did I do?

“I don’t even know if it’s the same person.”

Kyra slams her fist through the glass coffee table, the sound of broken glass echoing through the empty condo and through my head like a jackhammer.

“Kyra, I was getting calls from the hospital that mom is in… Telling me that she wanted to talk to me. At first I ignored the calls, because what can she possibly want to talk to me about?”

Thinking I’ll get a response, I stop but quickly enough I realize that Kyra’s in no mood to say anything, so I just continue.

“Anyway, finally I end up going out there to see her.. And she kept telling me that someone named Michael was coming for us.. But when I tried to ask her who Michael was, we just kept going around in circles. I couldn’t get anything else out of her besides ‘Michael is coming for you’, or some shit like that.”

She walks away from me, and to the window – Looking out at the Chesapeake bay as she finally spoke.

“And that’s not something you thought was worth telling me?”

“I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you, I was trying to figure out if he was even real – Or if she made the shit up. She’s in a fucking mental institution, after all. So I came down here, to the house to see if there was anything in there that would give me some clue as to who he was…”

I look down and shake my head.

“Before he found either of us.”

“Well it’s too God damned late for that now, isn’t it?!”

She yells, turning back towards me – Her face filled with rage.

“I’m sorry.”

“Some fuckhead is after us because we ‘stole’ something and all you can muster is ‘I’m sorry’?. Fuck you, Lucy. You don’t fucking think. You don’t think about anyone besides your God-damned self, Lucy. I–”

I stand up and kick the table out of the way.

“You act like I WANTED this to happen to you! For fucks sake, Kyra – I get it, I fucked up! But it’s not like you ever want to hear anything I have to say when it comes to mom or–”

In an instant, she’s in my face, her eyes practically blazing with anger.

“Don’t you fucking say his name.”

“GARY. Our fucking father, Kyra. Whether you like it or not, that’s what he is!”

I see her fists clenching out of the corner of my eye.

“Do it, Kyra.”

She looks like she’s about to rear back and hit me for a few tense moments before she sighs and shoves past me, heading for the bedroom.

“Kyra, I–”

She stops just as she’s left the living room and turns around.

“Leave me alone Lucy. I gotta get a hold of Ken and get our shit out of here before that motherfucker comes back. I can’t believe you. I really fucking can’t. You don’t give a shit about me? That’s fine.. but my kid could have been here Lucy. Think about that when you try and sleep tonight.”

If I didn’t feel terrible before, I sure as hell do now. But I’m more angry than anything else. I’m angry that she’s talking to me like this and I’m livid that this happened to her at all.

But she’s right.

I didn’t think and now her daughter is at risk.

“If he got in here, you better check in with Joe and make sure he hasn’t found his way to New York too. Isn’t his kid living with you or something?”

And with that, I hear her walk away, and a few moments later the door to the bedroom slams and I’m alone.

Alone and unwelcome.

I should have told her the moment I left that hospital. I just didn’t want both of us living like this, especially if this Michael proved to be nothing more than an imaginary person.

But he’s not.

And I need to get a hold of Joe.

I drag myself towards the door, grabbing the note once more, reading the end – M. Krauss.

At least I have an answer.

But that fact does nothing to ease the knots in my stomach as I wonder what Kyra’s going to do… And how much of this is my fault.

“God damnit…”

 

February 14th 2021 – 1:45PM – Recording
Location Unknown

We open in what looks like a makeshift studio, complete with a large desk and a leather chair with wheels.  Off to the side of the desk sits two chairs and seated on top of the desk is none other than Lucy Wylde, clad in a pair of tight leather pants, obscenely high heels, and a black mesh top, covering only the parts that matter.  Her long blonde hair cascades down over her shoulders as she crosses her legs and chuckles. 

“I was actually here today to put on a show of my own.  As you can see, I had everything set up and ready to go – The only thing I couldn’t figure out was what to call this little piece of shit production.”

She leans back, placing her hands on the desk as she ponders. 

“I was considering ‘Boredom talks’ or something like that, but then I was like, no.. That doesn’t work.  Then I thought of ‘Same shit, different day’.  That one I really liked.  But when the time came to sit down and actually do this?  I just couldn’t bring myself to.  Frankly, it’s more insulting to me to try and improvise something that you do each and every week, Travis.. Not because I couldn’t do it better – But because you do it so horribly that I don’t even think I could fuck it up enough to get down to your level.”

Lucy rolls her eyes. 

“The worst part is, the reason it’s so bad is that you’re so God damned one note about it.   For fucks sake, man.. Change it up a bit.  Do something different for once in your pitiful life.  ‘The Piercing Truth‘.  Wow, what a concept.  Let’s all watch Travis Pierce sit down and tell everyone the truth for God only knows how long.. That’s not monotonous at all, is it?”

Her eyebrows arch and she sits up, holding up her index finger. 

“But wait!  There’s more!  Witty one-liners.  Lot’s of them.  Maybe you didn’t realize it, Trav – But your little jokes are supposed to be funny.  What was it the other week?  A Gabriel Montgomery joke?  Please.  How many times have all of ya’ll made a joke about her being a slut?  Next question, how long ago did it get old?  That’s like Edie making jokes about my hair… It’s so old that it’s probably the decayed body in the plot that was labeled ‘Eden Morgan’.”

She gives the camera a look as she continues. 

“Whatever.  You’re a one-trick pony, Travis.  I get it.  When you’re supposedly good at something, why not beat that dead horse until there’s nothing left.  Except your horse is your credibility and it’s non-existent.”

Lucy shrugs her shoulders. 

“How could I come at the man who claims that he IS the Chaos division like this, huh?  How dare I!  I’ll give you credit, you have held that belt three times, and that’s three times more than I’ve held it – But by your logic, dear Travis, then I should be saying that I AM the Cross-Hemisphere division because I’ve held that particular belt just as many times.  But you don’t see me doing that, do you?  Probably because I’m not a fucking moron.  Tell me, how’d that match against Cervantes go the other week?”

She makes a face like she’s thinking and waiting for a response.  When one doesn’t come, she sighs. 

“Not so well, huh, Mr. ‘Chaos Divison‘.  Couldn’t quite joke yourself into another Chaos title reign, could you?  And now, here we are, fighting over who’s gonna end up in the first match to determine who’s gonna become the first Conquest champion.   I don’t know who you pissed off to end up across from me at Infinity, but no amount of bullshit is gonna keep me from throwing your ass around like the garbage you really are.   So keep making your jokes, keep up the old and tired schtick you’ve got going on – But let me tell you, the real piercing truth in all of this, Travis?”

Her eyes narrow on the camera. 

“Some of us are capable of growth.. Some of us are capable of bigger and better things – And some of us are Travis Pierce.  And THAT is the truth you can’t accept.  See you Monday, Trav.”

With that, Lucy uncrosses her legs and hops down off the desk, and walks out of frame.

 

OOC: JC Used with Permission!