Post by Chris Callum on Aug 23, 2019 0:42:05 GMT -5
The Rat
In front of a black screen, Chris Callum stirs. He is more composed this time, when compared to the last. His fingers are still. His eyes calm. His voice low and strong.
There’s plenty of sayings to go around about sheep and lions and wolves. Everyone seems to be one of those things. I always considered myself a mouse. Hidden away. Small. Delicate. Driven, sure, but constantly running from something bigger and more dangerous. I was a mouse once, not that long ago. In Galveston for a long, long time I would stand in front of this camera and shrink into nothing. I didn’t know who I was, or who I wanted to be. I knew what I was told to be. I was told to be a hero. To be a role model. But I never wanted that. I knew, deep inside, I’d never be that. Maybe it’s something in my eyes... something in my soul… but I knew and so did everyone around me. And so I had nothing to say that interested anyone.
Callum pressed his fingers against his lips, dragging them across his face toward his jaw.
So for a while, I didn’t speak. Alexis Terry fractured my jaw with brass knuckles, and I think it was the biggest blessing anyone ever gave me. It let me hide. Run into my little hole and pretend the big bad monsters weren’t waiting for me outside. Peek my head out for… just… one… second… and there they were. Right where I left them. Big bad monsters wanting to eat me alive.
He took a step closer to the camera.
When you go through the shit I had to go through Cosmo, you change. I want you to put yourself in my shoes. When you wonder why I am the way I am… why I think the way I think… just pretend, for a moment, that you are me. You get signed by a company and you think it’s your big break. You get noticed by the boss. She finds out you’re a fag on the sly and doesn’t like that because a fag can’t be a wrestling champion in the great state of Texas. She tells you that you need to lie. You have to cover it up. You’re a little mouse but you have to pretend to be a big bad wolf. All the while the people you love are telling you that being a mouse isn’t so bad. Gay guys can wrestle just as good as the straight ones. They tell you it’s all one big hallucination… fabrication, whatever… that it won’t change the way people look at you. Both sides and tug and tug. They rip you apart. You choose to keep hiding. One side stops tugging. You realize you made the wrong choice and you have to double down. You have to own that choice!
A beat. He stepped back and swallowed hard. The intensity in his voice that had built up to this point slowly faded away.
Time passes. I’m not a mouse anymore. I have nothing to hide and nothing to fear because time reveals all secrets. The world changed, but the dead stay dead. Choices can never be unchosen. I’m all out in the open now. I’m a rat. I run around the night and pick up what I can find. I live off that… meal to meal, company to company, gold to gold. I’m a nuisance on the world. They tolerate me because dealing with me would be too much work. No one likes me. No one celebrates me. I’m a joke… and yet I persist. No… yet I thrive.
Callum shrugged with a chuckle and smirk.
Despite the disgust the world shows for me, Cosmo, I still managed to get here. I still managed to hunt you down and corner you - my big yellow teeth nearing your neck and my pink tail swishing in the night. I’m not a predator. I’m a scavenger.
He pointed at the camera.
I saw a shot at a title… your title… and I knew. That’s my meal. It’s right there… ripe and rotting. I can take that. I can win that. This is who I am.
He pressed his thumb to his chest.
You’ve been champion since January. Over two hundred days. I remember how I felt when Galveston closed down after I was champion for one hundred and ninety days. Granted, we ran weekly shows then. But we didn’t travel. Maybe your reign and mine even out - who knows, that’s for the nerds to debate. I remember being so tired. So broken. Every part of me was broken. I’m so thankful that a rat like me wasn’t hunting at the end. I got Katie Keller at the end. She’s so sweet. Beautiful… pure. That was an easy last fight. You? You get me. I live for this shit.
The volume increased. He extended his arms.
I’m coming to realize now that I’ve always been this way. You’re right about me. I see an opportunity and I take it. I saw Seize the Moment in Galveston, and I took it. I saw a chance to become a walking triple crown there, and I took it. Hell, I saw an opportunity to hire a bunch of smart wrestling minds to open up companies all around the world and fly my banner while they did it. And I took it. And it worked. It always worked.
Leaning in, Callum admitted something to the camera.
Opportunity is my brand. Intelligence… manipulation… chaos… and through it all… I still remain. In the ruins of my reputation, the rat still finds a way to survive.
A beat. The distress once again found its way onto his face. His brow furled and his mouth twisted. He couldn’t quite find the right words.
I want what you have. Not just the title, I want your… God… I don’t even know. Why does everyone respect you? What do you do that I don’t? What do you have that I don’t have? We win and work in different ways but why don’t people recognize talent when they see it? Why don’t people weigh wins and accolades the same for everyone? You are respected by peers and fans and I’m mocked… relentlessly… endlessly. Cosmo, why do you have everything, and I have nothing?
He swallowed hard.
I guess because I’m a rat and you’re a wolf… or a lion… or some other valiant thing. Maybe you’re a stallion? But I think, Cosmo, maybe you’re just a better liar than I am. You certainly do lie… and people certainly do believe it. You have convinced the world that you are up against the wall against me and people are rallying behind you. They’re gonna will you to victory. The hero. The champion. The little mouse, pretending to be all that.
He posed a question with a raised brow.
Cosmo, am I right? Your fame and glory and fortune… it’s because you can pretend just a little bit better than I can. Pretend you’re a road warrior. Pretend you’re a hero. Cosmo, I think people that pretend are spineless and sad. I was that… long ago… but I realized the only way to truly live is to embrace who I am.
His voice lowered to share a secret.
You’re just as opportunistic as me. Travel around from company to company… but only when you’re sure you can win… and only for as long as it takes for you to start failing. One ounce of failure and you bolt. But you bolt before the people realize what a fraud you are. How you lie to them. How you string them along in your little game. You pop up when it most benefits you. When your ribs are busted and you see a weak target in Alexis Terry… of course… there’s Cosmo, the returning hero! When Katya starts surging up the Valor ranks who is by her side… of course… that’s Cosmo, the loyal ally!
After a laugh, Callum continued.
Well, except to Brodie. I guess she’s just not hot enough for you. You won’t let me hurt Katya because she’s the next big thing, but Brodie isn’t worth your time. Another lie.
The same world that props you up and calls me trash… that’s the world that created me, man. You convince them all that the city is nice and clean but the sewers are full of people like me. We know the game. And when you start letting the trash pile up… when your facade starts to crumble… that’s when we come out. That’s when the infestation begins. That’s when we take over.
He smiled at the thought.
And I’m going to take over. Make no mistake about it. I’m going to beat you. No, I’m going to erase you. I’m going to end you. Honor Bound means the last chapter in your Valor story. Saddle up, stallion, because you’re heading for greener fields. Where you will you pop up next? I’m sure somewhere that will tout you as the God you so desperately want to be. The conquering hero.
Deep in thought, Callum hesitated a moment to continue. His eyes fell away from the camera for a moment before they found it once again.
I have no doubt your career will press on. You’ll keep winning. But not here. Valor is going to be mine… a Rat Kingdom… what will it look like?
He reached for the chair behind him and sat down, letting out a long sigh as he did.
I don’t know. I’m sure it’ll be frustrating for a lot of people. Maybe I’ll kill the whole fucking company? Isn’t that what I did to Galveston? Bleed it dry. Bleed it some more. Bleed it until there’s no blood left to suck and then… I’m back to the sewers. But that’s what you’re doing to Valor right now. Of course, no one will say it. If it weren’t for me, who would be in the ring against you right now? Do you even remember the name of the man who finished second in that battle royal? I don’t. But he’s the one. It would be you versus whoever that guy was main eventing an event in London. You beat everyone here. You bled this place dry. I saved it. But, of course, when I do the same thing over the next two hundred days, and this place shrivels up because I’ve got my fangs in its neck I won’t let go, I’ll get blamed. You won’t come back. You won’t save Valor from me.
He stared straight through the camera into the eyes of Cosmo Cooper.
You won’t care. You’ll have moved on. And then I’ll chase you down again and again, over and over, because we’re the two best going right now and there’s no doubt in my mind that is true. It feels weird to say it, Cosmo, but you’re my equal. I’ve searched so fucking hard to find the one, but you’re him. First it was Alioth, and then it was Bronx. But it’s you. Now it’s you. I’ve never felt more alive than when I’m in the ring with you. But in end, Chris Callum is the only one who stays standing. Eternal.
A smirk.
We both want it more than everyone else. So let's tear the house down. Let’s put on a show. Let’s beat each other until we cry and bleed in the middle of the ring. And I’ll win. Everyone will be sad. You’ll hide. I’ll find you… when the moment is right. And we’ll do it all again. Over and over. Until we’re both dead.
A beat.
Good luck, Cosmo. But I know… deep in your heart… you can feel it. It’s over. Just don’t roll over and play dead at Honor Bound. You don’t want to shatter the illusion.
He stood again, pushing the chair behind him. Frustration was building once more.
You lose. You blame it on the fatigue. The burden of being champion. I can hear it already. “Callum was the better man… best of luck.” You try to keep the illusion alive. That you’re honorable. Everyone will buy it. Except me.
A moment. Callum smiled and motioned to his waist.
But I’ll be champion, and you won’t. So… somehow… I think I’ll be fine. Until the next time.
Fade to black.