Winners

The sun is setting off in the distance. Slowly driving into Holy Family Cemetery is a black 1989 Pontiac Grand Am with Massachusetts plates. White oaks line the driveway, standing like silent sentinels watching over those who rest here. As the car rolls towards a large gray marble monolith in the center of the grounds, it turns down the last path to the right. The sound of small pebbles underneath the tires breaks the silence as the car comes to a stop.

From the driver’s side, “Godly” Ken Davison steps out. He is noticeably dressed down, wearing black jeans, a plain black t-shirt and a black leather trench coat. He reaches back into the car, grabbing a small bouquet of pink carnations. He walks past two plots reverently before stopping by the third. He walks over to the headstone and kneels, placing the carnations at the foot of the headstone, then kissing the top of it.

“Long time no talk.” 

Davison’s voice is quiet, soft… caring.

“Sean and Julia are expecting again. Third kid, can you believe that?”

Ken pauses, as though waiting for some kind of silent answer.

“There’s a few things I’ve got to tell you. I was kind of hoping that coming here would give me some kind of heavenly guidance of some kind.”

The look on Davison’s face is telling, as though he was talking to an actual living, breathing person who might not take the news so well.

“I’ve finally got a shot at the Carnage World Championship. What’s frustrating is I know I haven’t earned it. I have scratched and clawed and used every underhanded tactic in the book to get this shot. I’ve done a ton… and I mean a metric ton of shit that you wouldn’t approve of. What’s even more frustrating is that despite the fact that I have spent my career at the top of this business, I am getting absolutely no respect from anyone except Kyra Johnson.”

Davison awkwardly pauses.

“You’d like her, you know. She’s a real spitfire. I whooped her ass, then she gave me a beating that I haven’t taken in a long, long time. Hell, she did it when I beat her, too. She was taken for granted and standing in the shadow of everyone she was associated with. Initially, I was just trying to stick it to Jack Michaels and Amber Ryan. They were her associates and when Amber faced Jack for his World Championship, they both used Kyra. Of all people, I told her to value herself. I admit it was a ploy at first, but now… I don’t know, babe. There’s something she said to me that I just can’t shake. I can’t get her out of my head.”

Davison’s face is crossed with guilt.

“I’m thinking I want to pursue this, if I can. I’m just hoping you won’t be mad at me if I do.”

Davison lets out a sigh that could probably be heard from three rows away.

“So… anyway, I’ve got this match for the World Championship against Amber Ryan. Things have gotten messy. Mac wants to tear my head off and shit down the hole. Everyone save for Kyra has turned on me. The other wrestlers, the referees, even the front office… all because I speak the truth. I’ve always been subtle as a sledgehammer and people don’t like that, I suppose. This could be my last chance to get my hands on this title, at least for the foreseeable future. Everything else I have tried has fallen short. Now is the time to prove that I belong. Now is the time to prove everyone wrong. Now is MY time.”

Davison slouches, thinking about his words.

“I know I shouldn’t dwell upon the past. I have to prove who and what I am NOW. I cannot rest on my laurels and coast on past accomplishments. That’s what you would have told me, I’d bet.”

Davison gets up, brushing some grass clipping off the knees of his jeans.

“I just want you to know, no matter what, I will always love you.”

Davison leans forward and kisses the top of the headstone one more time. As he turns and walks back to his car, the inscription on the headstone can be seen. ‘Crystal Ann Pollux, March 3 1978 – December 19, 1997’ The car door can be heard quietly closing somewhere in the background. The car slowly pulls away, leaving Holy Family Cemetery behind it.

Before he pulls out onto the main road, Ken reaches over towards the dash and shuts off the radio. He looks over at his phone and presses his screen a few times. He enters his password and the… shall we say, displeased voice of Mac Bane comes booming through the speaker.

“Voicemail eh? I get it, I wouldn’t want to talk to me either. Not after that fucking stunt. I tried my best to not be my brother’s keeper. I’ve tried my best to stay out of this thing between the two of you. You made this deeply personal brother, I almost feel sorry for you. Almost….I’ll see you at WAR.”

“For fuck’s sake. Like I need that bullshit right now.” Davison exclaims as he lets out a heavy sigh. Davison presses the screen again, ending the call to his voicemail. “I’ll deal with him later. I just can’t handle Mac right now. Besides, he’s just going to bitch at me. I don’t need another mother.”

Ken still sits in the driveway of the cemetery. The traffic on the main road is non-existent. Davison takes a moment and after checking if there is anyone behind him, buckles his seatbelt and presses his phone screen a few times. The ringing of the phone on the other end comes out of the speaker.

“BROHAN!!! What’s crackalackin’?”

The voice of Ken’s adopted brother, Crystal’s actual brother, Sean comes through the phone.

“Same shit. Different flies. How’s Julia doing?”

“Just saw the doc yesterday and it’s all good, man. Getting a twofer.”

“A twofer?”

“Twins, dude.”

“Oh, I heard you loud and clear. Just didn’t believe it. Congrats, man. I know the two of you must be over the moon.”

“So, what’s goin’ on, bro. Not like you to call just because?”

“I have to be honest, I can’t seem to figure out what’s going on.”

“So, you’re either at Holy Family or on your way home from Holy Family.”

“Yeah, I’m sitting in the driveway.”

“So, what’s the sitch?”

“The what?”

“The sitch… the situation.”

“Sometimes I wish you’d just speak English.”

“So, like I was asking, what’s the deal? This about your title match?”

“Yes, but no.”

Davison’s voice has less trepidation than it did a couple of minutes ago.

“Spill.”

“Well, it all started when I was in this tournament to try and get a World title shot.”

“Bro, save us both some time and skip all the crap I’ve seen on TV. You know that I keep track of your career. What’s REALLY going on?”

“It’s Kyra. I… uh… kind of… ”

“So cool points are out the window. She’s got you all twisted up in the game.”

“Translate.”

“You caught feelings, bro.”

“Yeah… that.”

“And you want to know what I think.”

It’s very clear from Sean’s tone that he is not asking questions. Silence comes from Ken’s side of the conversation.

“Above all else, Crystal would want you to be happy. It’s been 22, almost 23 years since you’ve had anyone more than a fuckbuddy. If I going to be honest with you, I’m not the only one who thinks you need to get laid.”

“Whoa! You need to step back. It’s not like that.”

“Good. If it’s actually something that you want for the right reasons, then you have my blessing.”

“Thank you.”

“Not that you need my blessing. What happened to you, dude? Last time I checked, you still had a spine. Hell, you had the proverbial biggest set of balls I have ever known. What the hell happened to you? Did Amber whooping your ass get in your head? Is it because Kyra actually listened to you and became better than you? Or is it because you know Crystal would be ashamed of the way you’ve been doing things?”

More silence. In his entire life, Ken had never heard Sean act so aggressively towards him. He was caught off guard and didn’t have any idea on how to respond.

“That’s what I thought, dude. Now cut the shit.”

Even more silence.

“What’s the matter? Don’t have anything to say for your Kendamned self?”

The response comes slowly, and more importantly, sheepishly.

“You’re right.”

“The hell you say?”

“I said that you’re right.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

“Nothing. You might not like the way things have been going, but I have to see this through. Even though I’ve acted like a total bag of dicks, there is nothing I have said that wasn’t true… except for calling Amber a succubus. You want to know why I’m attracted to Kyra? Because she listened. Even when I was the last person that she probably would have listened to, she realized that I was telling her the truth.”

“I’ll tell you one thing, bro. If I were Mac I would kick your ass so far into next week, you wouldn’t know what day it was. You really think that attacking Amber from behind was okay? Where’s the man who used to say ‘a true friend will stab you in the chest’?”

“She’s not my friend. Farthest thing from it.”

“Yeah, but Mac is. You should at least respect that. Not cool, dude. Not cool.”

“Fine, maybe hitting her from behind was dirty pool, but the fact is she would do the same to me in half a heartbeat.”

“I have to go eat dinner. I’m telling you now, you better straighten your ass out or else Mac is going to do it for you. I’ll catch you later, bro.”

Sean hangs up without giving Ken a chance to respond. Ken sits in disbelief, totally blown away by Sean’s reaction. He shakes his head before slowly pulling out of the cemetery driveway.

Fast forward to sometime later. We see the “Godly” Ken Davison that everyone is used to. Clad in his usual robes, he has chosen an orange collar and matching tinted sunglasses. He sits casually on the concrete steps leading into his personal church.

“Everyone out there, from the Legion, to the locker room, to the office is doubting what I am truly capable of. People doubted what Kyra could do, as well. Each and every person watching this needs to understand why Kyra and I see eye to eye on things. Kyra Johnson and I are winners. She and I have all the traits that a winner should possess. The qualities that Kyra and I possess are the qualities each and every man and woman in this company, no, every man, woman and child should hope to possess. That is why our match for the Ultraviolet Championship was the match of the night. But, what I want to do now is focus on the qualities that make people like us the epitome of what you aspire to be.”

“Kyra and I are two of the hardest working people in this company. It doesn’t matter if you are an athlete or a business person, anyone who is successful in their field will tell you that they work harder than anyone else. When I was a young man, I wanted more than anything else to become a professional wrestler. I had so many things working against me. When I came into this business I was walking through the land of giants. When over 95% of your competition is six feet six inches tall and you only stand five foot ten inches tall yourself, the odds are against you. Not only that, but how many people actually make it? I didn’t have the advantage of being a giant. But I have the advantage of being a trailblazer. Night after night I honed my craft. I took my beatings. And most importantly, I’ve learned from them. Most people would have chosen I’m down in line of work eventually. One of my old friends, he never made it in this industry. When I asked him why he was quitting she turned me is one of the most serious faces I’ve ever seen on a person’s face and he said to me quote I like to eat. That’s why I’m a professional wrestler and he is not: hard work and perseverance.”

Davison points to himself as he speaks, driving in his point.

“Another thing I’ve learned is that ego can be a destructive thing. Unfortunately, every time I’ve let my ego get the better of me I have been torn down, whether it’s been by Amber or whether it’s been by Kyra. Each and every time I have done that I have crashed and burned. I’ve had friends who are men and women of faith try to tell me that this is God teaching me gracious humility. I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I believe in some divine being taking time out of his busy schedule running pandemics and wars to look down and decide to personally teach me a lesson. I am not the kind of man who will sit here and pretend that I am something I am not. Winners can accept losses and winners can overcome it. Amber Ryan beat me and humbled me just as I beat Kyra Johnson when she was just a seedling, a swe/8et, ultraviolent seedling. Just as I grew and defeated Amber Ryan, just as I need to do again at WAR, Kyra blossomed from that ultra violent seedling into a beautiful, ultraviolent rose with thorns that will tear you apart. That is another reason why Kyra Johnson and I are winners. We are able to learn from our setbacks.”

“Furthermore, winners maintain a sense of rock solid intensity. And, well, Amber Ryan may very well have all of the other qualities I’ve listed so far, but this, this is where she is lacking. Kyra Johnson was used by someone who supposedly considered herself her best friend. Kyra Johnson was ignored by Jack Michaels for the sake of a world championship. Not that he has anything to do with this, but considering how close he is to his daughter, I felt it bears mentioning. I guess the fruit doesn’t fall from the tree. Now, be that as it may, the fact of the matter is that I was, and still am, chasing that very world championship, I have not participated in any duplicitous behavior aside from dropping Amber at the last show. I have not only been truthful about everything throughout this entire journey, but instead of tearing down Kyra Johnson, I have spent my time building her up. Even when she was my opponent, I built her up. This is why Kyra Johnson has decided to support me. This is why I am, and at WAR will become up a winner, because I am a pillar of integrity.”

Davison stands up, placing his hand on the black wrought iron railing next to him.

“This next point, this next quality, is one that I share with everyone that is involved in the points I am making. Whether or not they have any other quality, this one allows them to succeed. The point is that most of us in this locker room, hell, in this company, possess. This is a quality that Amber Ryan possesses,and having seen her in other companies I can honestly say has always possessed. It’s also a quality that I possess. It’s a quality that I have instilled in Kyra Johnson by pulling her away from those leeches in Paragon. Nobody will ever question the Passion that Amber Ryan has. In fact, most of us recognize that she is fueled by that Passion. She is the type of woman who brings it harder the more passionately she feels. I realize that is going to make this the hardest match of my life because of that, but that is what I do. I make people feel passion”.

“I showed Kyra the passion she needed to believe in herself, and truth be told, I still think that this should be her shot because I believe in her that much. To Jack Michaels, she was nothing more than a pet, practically a chihuahua that he would prance around with while carrying her in a handbag. To Amber Michaels… sorry, Ryan, you were nothing more than a game to be used to get to her dear old Daddy.” Davison slips into talking directly to Krya without even realizing it. “The problem with that is that Amber is going to get hers because the house always wins. I want the Carnage World Championship, but knowing that you get to watch Amber Ryan suffer at my hands, that is the greatest gift I could ask for. I promised you that I could do a great, many, terrible thing for you and this will be my opportunity to prove it.”

“I have helped Mac Bane remember what passion is. I know the man that Mac is and I know how pissed off he is. May Ken have mercy on Sahta Thor’s soul. When we started here, Mac Bane was going through the motions, which still makes him better than 90% of the wrestlers in this business. Now, he’s fired up. He’s dangerous. While some might give Amber credit for that, which I fully expect because I am never given the proper due, the fact of the matter is that I used Amber to ignite that spark. I found that fire and turned it into a funeral pyre. I know that he is going to proverbially crucify Thor. I also know that after I drop Amber Ryan he’s coming for me. I can only say that I look forward to it.”

“Lastly, let’s talk about my opponent. Let’s talk about the “Distorted Angel.” Let’s give our singular focus to the “Belle of the Ball”, Amber Ryan. Dare I say, even though it is the passion of hatred, I have made you care more deeply about this that anyone else ever has. Your hatred of me makes you angry at the very mention of my name. Yes, Amber you’ve got a number of things going for youL Youth, speed, beauty, that passion I’ve talked so much about. As I’ve already said, that passion is fueled by anger. People who are angry don’t think clearly and that is the advantage I have over you. If nothing else,I am far more intelligent than you and I will use that to my advantage. Beauty may be dangerous, but intelligence is lethal.”

Davison places his hand over his heart, his face is one of false caring.

“Don’t get me wrong, anger is precious. A silverback uses his anger to maintain order and warn his troop of danger. Of course, you aren’t a silverback and Mac Bane hardly constitutes a troop. Paragon is ParaGONE. Maybe you could get help from your old man. Of course, that would only serve to prove that Jack has no faith in you, either. Amber, He thinks your win was nothing more than a fluke that would allow him to disappear for another few months.”

“THAT is why I wanted this WAR match with you, Amber. Believe it or not, it’s because I actually respect you. This issue between us has reached the point where one of us must stand definitively over the other. We have reached the point where no one else is a viable challenger for you, except for Kyra and Mac. Let’s be honest, Kyra wants to continue to show Carnage Wrestling why she is now the “Ultraviolent Goddess” and Mac tries way too hard to be the knight in shining armor wearing a Stetson to try and take a shot at you. The only place he wants to wrestle you is in the bedroom, which I’m sure would get some pay-per-view buys. You should consider it after so you can make some money after you lose your championship.”

“I will admit, Amber, of all the foes I have faced in my career, you are easily one of the most tenacious, most talented and most dangerous opponents to cross my path. What I am is one of the most methodical, intellectual, and indomitable forces you will ever face. I have all the physical and mental tools to eviscerate you. The concern for you is that I lack the remorse to prevent me from doing it.”

Davison walks down the stairs, getting closer to the audience, Amber and the audience at home.

“You have your advantages in this match, Amber. I will give the devil her due. I possess not just the greatest, but the TWO greatest First of all, I’m in your head, Amber. I’ve got so much space I should be paying you rent. When you open your eyes in the morning, you know you are thinking about whooping my ass while you pour yourself a bowl of Weet-Bix. When you get out of the shower, you are looking behind your door to make sure I’m not there. When you are at dinner with Mac, he’s enjoying a nice dish of Texas barbeque. You are looking out the window to see if I am watching you. Which is all fine and good, but you really aren’t that important to me. I assure you, I am none of those places. Within the confines of the arena, however… well, I will just leave that to your imagination.”

Davison winks knowingly at the camera.

“The second advantage I have is that I am not doing this for myself. Admittedly, I was doing this entirely for myself in the beginning. I felt as though winning the World Championship would give me some kind of validation, and in the eyes of some people, it probably would. My career speaks for itself. As I said before, I made promises. First, I will make you scream for mercy as I submit you. You will be given no choice but to admit I am the better man. The icing on the cake is that you will lose the match that you picked. Then, I will make you bleed. Your blood will be the consummation of the promise I made. If, and that’s a big IF, you somehow win one of the first two matches, then I will take whatever match the Legion chooses and I will use it as an exclamation point.”

Davison stands up, raising his voice for the first time.

“I AM DOING THIS FOR KYRA. WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, I WILL BE THE MAN STANDING IN THE RING HOLDING THE CARNAGE WRESTLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. I WILL BE THE ONE WHO ENDS YOUR TITLE REIGN. BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, I WILL BE ABLE TO STAND NEXT TO KYRA JOHNSON AND WE WILL BE ABLE TO PROVE TO EACH AND EVERY PERSON WHO HAS EVER DOUBTED US THAT WE ARE THE BEST. WE WILL BE THE OLYMPIANS! CARNAGE WRESTLING WILL BE OUR PARTHENON! THEN, WE WILL MAKE IT OUR PERSONAL MISSION TO QUELL THOSE WHO SPEAK OUT AGAINST US. ALL OF CARNAGE WRESTLING WILL DO AS WE DEMAND BECAUSE WHEN YOU ARE GOD, YOU DON’T HAVE TO BREAK THE RULES. YOU MAKE THEM!”

[FADE]