Post by Chris Callum on Jun 28, 2019 0:11:40 GMT -5
Slow Falling Bird
“None of you really believed in me, did you?”
Chris Callum stared directly into the camera. His face still red from the match minutes prior, sweat dripping from his chin. He pressed his teeth together and pushed out the words.
“I am many things but a liar is not one of them. When I say something I do it. When I make a goal I accomplish it. No matter the cost! No matter the way! And now I stand before you the number one contender for the Apex Championship. I’m the man!”
Aspen entered the shot, running her hands down across his shoulders and down his back. Their eyes met. Neither smiled. Callum exhaled loudly through his mouth as Aspen pulled him close. His temperment changed. His blood cooled. The fire in eyes became ice in his veins.
“You are the man,” Aspen said quietly.
She placed her hand on his face. He stared back at her blankly. She spoke next, even softer than before.
“And now we have work to do.”
A thin smile crept across her face. The Valor camera cut to black.
----
A week has passed. Aspen stands on the balcony of a rented house in Lima, Peru. Her black sun dress flowed with the wind as the sun set over the beach. Chris Callum enters the shot and joins her, leaning against the balcony. They do not look to each other, and for a while they do not speak. Silence speaks to the both of them.
“The beach was a good idea Chris,” Aspen said.
“I figured it would remind us of where we began together.”
She smiled and placed her hand on his. He did not flinch at the touch.
“It’s much prettier here than Galveston.”
Aspen pulled away and walked behind him toward the chairs against the wall of the home. Callum turned around as well, leaning his back against the railing. Aspen took a seat and crossed her legs.
“I feel different with you now. Like you are as invested in this as I am.”
“I remember what it feels like now. To win. To have people fear you. It’s amazing how quickly I forgot the way this feels.”
“When you’re on top of the world?”
“Yes.”
She smiled. The breeze turned cool. A moment passed.
“I know you think I’m rotten Chris. And I am. But not with you. I care about you more than I’ve ever cared about someone. I want you to know how amazing you are. And I want you to use your natural ability to achieve great things.”
“I believe you. I trust you.”
A weight lifted off of her shoulders. They laughed together.
“Cosmo Cooper.”
Chris swallowed hard.
“You know how good he is.”
“Yeah.”
“He doesn’t fight like the people we used to fight. He’s got something else inside of him.”
“Yes, he does.”
“Bronx would put on a show. Alioth would be lost in his head. Alexis afraid of failure. What’s Cosmo’s weakness?”
“I don’t know.”
“Pride, maybe?”
“Could be.”
“Do you remember how he would shrink in fear of Zack Burton? Because Zack Burton was the only one to that point that had truly hurt him. Made him realize he isn’t invincible.”
“But he overcame that.”
“Months later. And we only need a month to tear him down.”
Callum leaned his head back and rubbed his eyes. Aspen leaned forward, knowing what she had to say in this moment.
“He is just another obstacle to push through, Chris. He does not respect you, no matter what he will say. He is not your friend. He’s an arrogant young man. And he’s going to put tears in eyes as he tells you how thankful he is for what you did to him, right before he turns around and stabs you in the back. He will leave you behind again if you let him. Don’t have mercy on this kid. This brat.”
She took a moment, and he jumped in.
“You never liked him. Why?”
A beat. She spoke softly.
“He’s the type of person. That never struggles. Naturally gifted. Naturally attractive. Rises to the top wherever he goes without a care in the world. He doesn’t plan anything, he doesn’t think about the future. He lives in the moment and he’s proud of that. And people love him for it.”
She stood and moved closer to Callum.
“And then there’s you, Chris. Think of everything you had to overcome to get where you are today. All of the doubt. The pushback. And they love him more than they love you. The people… That’s why I hate Cosmo Cooper. He’s Bronx Valescence with half the wit.”
Aspen straightened the collar of his shirt.
“I have a plan to test this kid’s meddle. You want to hear it?”
Callum nodded.
“Bring in Zack Burton. You know he’d say yes. The presence distracts Cosmo long enough for us to surprise him with someone else.”
“Who?”
“Alexis Terry.”
Callum rolled his eyes and pulled away from her, but she didn’t let that happen. She cut around him and pressed her hands on his chest, stopping him in his tracks.
“Listen to me.”
“Alexis Terry is always one foot out the door. Why do you want her to be here?”
Aspen took a sharp breath.
“She need us. She always has. And when she’s focused she’s deadly. You know that.”
Aspen pressed her fingers on Callum’s jaw, the same side which Alexis Terry had smashed to pieces with brass knuckles years before. He winced at the thought.
“You were rising top when you stepped in the ring with her in Galveston. You had my support and she broke your jaw. She nearly ended your career. She’s the only one on this planet that has been able to stop us. And now she respect us. She recognizes what we want to accomplish.”
Aspen took a moment to straighten Callum’s head.
“Cosmo is going to be our biggest challenge yet, Chris. I don’t want to leave any stone unturned. We can topple him on our own but with our friends we leave no doubt.”
A moment passed. Tense. Silent.
“You trust me, right? I won’t let her hurt you.”
The breeze was warm again. Callum nodded, with clear hesitation.
“Alright. Call her.”
---
Days pass. Chris Callum finds himself once again in front of the camera, standing on an “X” taped to the ground. Aspen, behind the camera, counts down for him to begin.
“In one night, I changed the entire landscape of Valor Pro Wrestling, just like I said I would. Nothing was going to stop me from standing tall at the end of that Rite of Kings Battle Royal. Nothing was going to stop me from getting my hands on Cosmo Cooper. And here we are. I delivered on my promises.”
“And Cosmo, to your credit, you delivered on yours as well. You are still the Apex Champion, and I thank you for that. Though I find it interesting how you did it. Cross Recoba won the match, but you were there to steal the pinfall. I can’t fault you for that move. In fact, I have done it myself. Pushed Bronx Valescence out of the way to pin Alioth Starre and retain my GIW Undisputed Championship. But there are a few differences.”
“I went on to hold that title for many more months. You will not. And I was universally criticised for stealing a pinfall, but aside from Cross Recoba of course, no one seems to care when you do it. People still love you. They still think you’re the greatest. They’re wrong.”
Callum smiled as he continued on.
“This week you are going to stand face to face in the ring with the man who made you, and you are going to have to ask yourself what you can do to defeat the man who knows you better than anyone in this business. Or maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll punch and kick and hope one of those shots lands. But Cosmo, I don’t think you realize yet that nothing is going to keep me down. Your best will never be good enough. I’m more driven to put you in your place than you can possibly imagine.”
“I’m not Cross Recoba or Brennan Devlin or Brodie. I’m not just another good wrestler that gets placed in your path. I’m a man on a mission. I’m your sworn enemy. Cross wanted your title. Brodie wanted your head. I want your title, your head, and your pride. I want you to get down on your knees and beg me for forgiveness Cosmo. And I’m going to deliver.”
“You jumped from my nest, caught some air, and soared to another tree. You thought you were the best. You had success in a way that most others didn’t. But I didn’t give you the permission. So I’m going to knock you off, and you’re going to splat onto the ground. A slow falling bird. You’ll look up to me as you fall and wish you didn’t defy me.”
Callum shifted to his other leg and let out a short laugh.
“Of course, I have the good fortune of facing not just you this week. I get Katya Djurdjevic as well. I’ll be seeing you a lot over the next few months Cosmo, but Katya is a special treat… so let me tell a little story.”
“One of the CWC super shows… one of the ones that captivated the world with multiple nights of action… one of the ones I organized… that was the first time I really encountered Katya. Back then, she was doing interviews, and the people loved it. It got to the point where I would sit in the back in front of the monitors and tell the production crew “send it back to Katya!”. Over and over again I did that. You were good, kid. Really good. A fine interviewer.”
“I made you a star that night, whether you want to admit or not. I gave you a platform on the biggest stage you will ever stand on and let the people fall in love with you. You could have stuck with me and I could have had you on talk shows and television sets interviewing the best and brightest wrestlers in the world…”
“But then you wanted to become a wrestler. When I realized that you were here in Valor I did a double take. Surely that little girl hadn’t talked her way into a wrestling position… surely. But here you are. And you aren’t bad… I’ll give you that. You really aren’t. But you’re young and stupid and green. Danny Rizzo played you for a fool at Rite of Kings and now you find yourself in my ring… in my main event.”
“I’m not going to take it easy on you. I’ll have to teach you a lesson just like I did to all of the wrestlers, young and old, who stood in my way during the battle royal. I think you’ll find that competing at the top of the company is a lot different than where you been. And competing against someone who is smarter and more experienced that you is something that you never want to walk into blindly.”
“But you will walk into me blindly. You’re as young and cocky as Cosmo Cooper. A perfect team. I hope to God the two of you have a plan. I’d like to have some challengers left at the end of the night.”
Callum turned square with the camera.
“Brodie and I aren’t friends. Hell, we aren’t even allies. I have seen so many bloodthirsty freaks like her come through. She’ll never be a champion because she doesn’t have a taste for gold. But a man like me… I’ll harness the animal. I’ll set her out on Cosmo and Katya on Blitz. And at the end of the night, my first main event in Valor will end in victory.”
He smiled.
“If you doubt it, watch Rite of Kings. My word is good.”
Cut to black.