Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2015 14:53:19 GMT -6
“GOD DAMMIT,” a trophy went flying across the small office, smashing through the window, and smashing into the wall across from it.
“FUCK!” Austen Impact walks out into the hallway to assess the mess. Clearly there was something weighing on his shoulders as he wandered, pacing back and forth before letting a labored punch into the wall, putting a hole in the drywall, his lip curled upwards as his teeth grit down, fighting back the pain, as well as grappling with the urge to just unleash hell on the wall. Austen takes a step back, bowing his head, and taking a long, labored breath in, and then exhaling, trying to release the stress off his shoulders.
Shaking his head, he walks to the back of the building, and grabs a broom and dustpan, and moves back to the hallway, now looking less stressed and more dejected, and embarrassed. Shoulders hanging just a bit lower than normal, as he labors towards the site of the mess.
As Austen bends over to sweep up his mess, longtime friend and fellow coach, Cole Konrad, comes walking in the door. He looks at the mess all across the floor, with a look of sheer frustration on his face.
“Man, we have punching bags. This is the 4th wall you’ve broken. What is going on with you?”
“I just agreed to something that could fuck up my marriage Cole, fuck it up bad.” Austen said, looking down as he slides his toe through the pile of glass, making swirls in it.
“What did you do? There can’t be anything you’ve done that is THAT damning, unless...YOU DIDN’T FUCK SOME CHICK IN THE OFFICE DID YOU?” The realization spreads across Cole’s face with sudden frustration mixed with worry.
“WHAT?! NO!...You know me Cole, I would never.”
“Well, you have a couch, an office full of mats, it’s very possible.” Cole looks around as he surveys the room, seemingly trying to pinpoint where the alleged deed took place.
“Look, I’m going to need you to run things for a few days. I have to go to Chicago this weekend, and won’t be back until Monday or Tuesday.”
“What the hell are you doing in Chicago?” Cole asks, his eyes surveying Austen, trying to figure out what is going on.
“I took another job.”
“Coaching?” Excitedly Cole looks around.
“No, I resigned with New Edge Wrestling.”
“Jesus Christ Austen, New Edge? Why? You know what happened last time, are you trying to end any momentum you’ve gained from cleaning up?” Cole rubs his temples frustratedly.
“Look, it’s to help an old friend, plus I signed a 4 month contract that will put us in a REALLY good spot to expand the business, and set my family up.”
“Hey man, it’s your life, I just don’t want what happened last time to happen again man, I care about you, and seeing you in that point in your life was the most painful things for me to see.”
“I know Cole, I promise, this is going to be different. I have full control this time.” Austen puts a hand on the shoulder of his friend to try to reassure him.
“Ok, well, you better go talk to your wife, I know you haven’t told her yet. I’ll hold things down here.” Cole grabs the broom from Austen.
“Thanks man.” Austen grabs his duffel bag, slings it over his shoulder and heads for the door.
Austen walks out of the facility, and down the street to the light rail station. He hops on, and finds an open seat to sit down, trying to play through his mind what he’s going to tell his wife. He rides the rail all the way to the final stop just outside of Target Field, and then hops off, realizing that he is surrounded by bars. He starts towards one, but stops himself.
“What the fuck am I doing.”
Austen jumps back on the rail, and takes it back to the stop closest to his apartment. He hops off, and begins walking the street to his apartment building. He gets just outside and pauses. Taking a long labored deep breath, before punching in the numerical code to unlock the gate into the building’s courtyard. He cuts across the courtyard, bypassing the sidewalk, trying to get to his apartment as quickly as possible, the snow crunching beneath his feet, as he fights every urge inside of him.
Finally he makes it to his door, and puts the keys in. He can hear his daughter playing inside, and turns the keys. As soon as the door opens she takes off running towards him, her clumsy 1 year old strides pounding along the floor.
“DADDY!” she yells, jumping into his arms, as he picks her up and kisses her.
“How are you today princess?” Austen asks the adorable dark haired girl in his arms.
“Good daddy.” She replies, wrapping her arms tight around his thick neck.
“Good, I gotta go talk to Mommy, you keep playing ok?”
“Ok Daddy.” Austen sets the little girl down and she hangs on to his neck as he tries to stand back up. He lowers her feet to the ground, and she finally lets go giggling.
Austen walks to the bedroom, his wife Sarah folding some clothes on the bed. He walks up behind her, wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her neck.
“What are you doing home so early?” She asks, not stopping what she’s doing.
“I can’t come home and see my beautiful family?” He asks.
“Well, I’m not going to complain, but you never come home early, so there is something up, are you feeling ok?”
“Yeah, I hate that you know me so damn well.”
“I’m your wife, I’m supposed to know you. What’s going on.” She puts down the laundry and turns to look at him, seeing whatever it is stressing him out, instantly weighing him down.
“Please understand that what I’m about to tell you is strictly to put us in a better situation, and I ask that you PLEASE trust me.”
“Um...OK…” Confusion and worry spread across her face.
“Baby, I’ve decided to begin working for New Edge Wrest….”
“NO! UH UH! NO WAY IN HELL!” Sarah instantly cuts in, flailing her arms across her chest to emphasize each way of saying no.
“Honey, look at me, it’s…”
“NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!”
“Baby, please, listen to me,” Austen is admittedly getting frustrated at not being given the chance to complete a sentence.
“There’s nothing to listen to. Last time you worked for them you came out a broken man. It took MONTHS to piece you back together. Things are finally good.” More pleading with him at this point than telling him.
“Listen babe. I know all of this, I also know I was 19 when I left New Edge. I was single, I was broke, and I had no place to go. Now, I have a loving family that means more to me than ANYTHING, I have a business that is thriving, and I have a place to come home to. Baby, I love you, and I want you to TRUST me when I say that I’ve worked EVERYTHING out so that it will not be a burden.” Austen sits Sarah down on the edge of the bed, and kneels in front of her, “They are running most of their shows from Chicago, so I will not be traveling all over the country all the time. They have agreed to fly me out the Saturday before an event, and home the Monday following. He is covering ALL medical expenses, I am only under a four month contract, which is very favorable financially, and I am in a match this weekend for a shot at the world title which would mean even more money.”
“How much money are we talking.” She asks, clearly intrigued by the idea now.
“Well, my initial contract for 4 months which is of yet unsigned by me is for 50,000 dollars, but there are some financial things in the works that I have been assured would grant a significant pay increase.”
“50,000 for 4 months? That’s more than I make in a year.” Sarah looked a bit more excited about the idea now, “and how much of a pay increase would we be looking at if these ‘financials’ go through?” She asks, almost ashamedly feeling greedy.
“Well, my pay would go up to 200,000 for 4 months, and if I win the title it goes up to 350,000 for 4 months,” Sarah’s eyes light up with shock as Austen says this.
“NO!” She snaps back to reality, shocking the hell out of Austen, who had thought he had finally won. “I can’t in good conscience let you do this. Not after it ruined you the last time.”
“Sarah, honey, look at me,” Austen places his finger right beneath the chin of Sarah, and lifts her head up to look him in the eyes. He leans in, kisses her and pulls back, “Honey, I LOVE YOU, I promise you that nothing will change about me. My life, revolves around you and Haylee. Nothing, not the fame, not the gold, not the money, will change that. I need for you to trust me on that.”
“I do, I just don’t want to see you hurt.” A single tear is forming in Sarah’s eyes as she knows she’s going to cave, but doesn’t want to.
“Honey, so long as I have you, and Haylee, nothing bad will ever happen. Now come on, I’ll take you guys out for lunch, and then I have to meet Davey for training.”
The mention of Davey’s name instantly sent Sarah off again.
“NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT, HE IS NO PART OF YOUR LIFE, YOUR CAREER, NONE OF IT!”
“Honey, Davey knows more about NEW than ANYONE. Davey knows more about Jesse Styles. I wouldn’t have gotten the contract I got without Davey. He has fucked me over and I trust him as little as you do, but I need a friend in this game, and believe it or not, he was once my best friend.”
“NO! He is an alcoholic, nicotine crazed, drug addled lunatic that will only drag you down.” Sarah’s eyes fill up with hatred for the man that she has never met.
“You clearly haven’t seen the Davey I saw today.”
“What do you mean?” Sarah deflates like a balloon a little bit.
“He has COPD. He’s dying. He’s on oxygen. He doesn’t drink, smoke, do drugs, or even walk fast. He’s basically just a decrepit old man, and only 36.”
“Good, serves the piece of shit right.”
“HONEY!” Austen looks at her, slightly appalled.
“I’m sorry, but you fuck with your body like he did, and he gets what is coming to him.”
“Honey, he’s a friend, and I am going to work with him, ok. I promise, it will be ok.”
“Just go then, we don’t need to get lunch.” It was obvious that Sarah was not happy that her husband would be working with someone so toxic, but she knew her husband well enough to know she wasn’t going to convince him otherwise.
Austen looked at her, ready to keep defending Davey, but knew it was pointless, so he swallowed hard, knowing that no matter what he did would wind up with him losing the argument so he kissed her forehead and walked into the closet, got changed into his workout shorts and Under Armor spandex shirt.
“Honey, I’m heading out, I’ll be back this evening.” Austen said, mentally preparing for a lashing.
“Ok, please be safe.”
“I will.” Austen replied, shocked.
Austen exited the apartment, into the cold Minnesota air. The air burst onto his bare legs causing a sharp stinging, but he fought through it, as the snow again crunched beneath his feet. Austen hopped onto the light rail, and rode it deep into downtown Minneapolis, where he entered the extensive skyway system. Finally he made his way to the IDS Building, and walked down to Basil’s Restaurant in the Crystal Court to meet Davey. They had planned on getting lunch, and then running the staircase of the 57 floor building.
“AUSTEN, OVER HERE!” Davey was jumping up and down making a scene over in the center of the court.
Austen made his way to Davey, who was now keeled over struggling for breath, and puffing on his inhaler.
“Way to go dumbass, you sure do know how to make an ass of yourself don’t you.”
“FUCK YOU! Just because I’m disabled doesn’t mean I can’t have fun. RIGHT!?” Davey asked, jokingly getting riled up.
“I guess,” Austen replied, rolling his eyes.
“Ready to get training?” Davey asked, ignoring the eye roll.
“What about lunch?” Austen asked, looking over at the people enjoying delicious meals at Basil’s.
“What about it? You look like you’re getting a bit fluffy there lard ass, you need to exercise and not worry about food so damn much.” Davey replies poking at the hardened abs of Austen, pulling back, and trying to find a different spot that may be squishy but again failing.
“Fuck you, I’m in the best shape of my life.”
“Yeah, round.” Davey replies, again trying to poke a portion of his stomach and again only finding hardness. “Fuck you, why are you not squishy. You’re making it hard for me to make a point. Get your ass to the stairs.”
“God dammit, I’m starving.” Austen says, getting irritated.
“Fine,” Davey reaches into his backpack, and hands Austen an egg salad sandwich.
“I thought we were going to Basil’s.”
“I NEVER SAID THAT!” Davey responds, feigning being offended.
“You said let’s meet at Basil’s and we will get lunch.” Austen replied, realizing mid sentence this was Davey and he was just tricked.
“We’re at Basil’s, there’s lunch, what’s the problem, I didn’t lie to you. If you are going to run down all 108 floors of the Sears tower before everyone else, you are not going to want to be eating shit like Basil’s anyway.”
“Wait, what?”
“What?” Davey asks, looking at Austen, who looks like he’s about ready to choke Davey.
“Sears Tower? What are you talking about?” Austen crosses his arms, piercing Davey with a dagger of a look.
“The Battle for Chicago, that’s the ‘match’ you’re in. You and 6 other men are fighting your way down the Sears Tower, no elevators, to see who gets a shot at the NEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP at Demented in Arizona.”
“Wait wait wait. You said I had a MATCH...not a fucking obstacle course.”
“Yeah, well, details were fuzzy. This is what you have, like it or not. You are running down there, you are winning and you are going on to Demented to win me...er...us the title.” Davey says, poking Impact in the chest before realizing that wasn’t the smartest thing to be doing right now.
“I fucking hate you right now, but if that’s what it takes to win the title, I guess nothing gets in my way.”
Austen quickly eats the sandwich and makes his way to the stairwell.
“You aren’t planning on coming with are you?” Austen asks Davey, as they reach the base of the stair case.
“ARE YOU HIGH?” Davey asks, looking at him with his eyes as wide as silver dollars, “I WOULD DIE!”
“I thought as much, I’ll be down in about 10 mins.” Austen replies, getting ready to run.
“That’s the spirit.”
Austen takes off running up the steps, skipping two to three steps at a time, and quickly hits the first landing, turning the corner and hitting the next flight of stairs. When he reaches that landing, there in the doorway stands Davey holding a bucket of chicken, gnawing on a chicken leg.
“Keep running fatty, you’re moving too slowly.”
Austen just gives him the finger, refusing to waste precious breath on firing a witty comeback, and keeps running. He reaches the next landing, turns, and hits the next staircase, feeling the breathing get a little heavier with each step he takes, legs feeling sore, but feeling good, feeling the adrenaline push him, feeling the rush of fitness flow over him. He hits the next staircase, and there Davey is with water balloons, firing them at him. Austen wanted to get pissed, but the cool water felt good as it made contact with his warm body.
“GO GO GO, You’re gut is flopping with each step you hit.”
Austen just kept right on going. Stair after stair, he ran, feeling his breathing get heavier and heavier, but still feeling good. Austen ran 3 more stories before being hit with another Davey barrage. There in the doorway, Davey had another series of water balloons. This time though when they hit they were filled with hot water. Scalding hot water. Water that made Austen’s skin burn, that made him instantly heat up. He could feel the heat cause his legs to get tighter, cramping up a little, but he kept pushing. Running step by step.
Now at floor 27 he knew he was almost halfway up, and started pushing harder, running a bit faster to make his way up. He knew he was on a good pace, but got to the next landing only to be hit by a pile of garbage blocking the bottom of the staircase. Austen quickly hurdled it, and landed on the 3rd step, nearly twisting his ankle, but kept pushing. Davey poked out behind him, watching him run.
“Damn,” he replied, snapping his finger in frustration. He really thought he had him this time.
Austen just kept running, not slowing down, floor 30, floor 31, floor 32. When he reached floor 33, he found Chad Greenway, and Anthony Barr of the Minnesota Vikings blocking the path, and Davey standing in the doorway.
“Get past these guys. I dare you.”
Austen dug deep, reaching into his football days of High School, and ran full speed at the two men, knowing they were stronger and better trained for this sort of thing, but he lowered his shoulder, and kept churning his feet as both men pushed back. Finally Austen decided to dig deep, and threw an elbow, landing right on the Jaw of Chad, sending him backwards, tripping Anthony in the process, and Austen kept running. He turned, running backwards, and yelled down at Davey through labored breath.
“That the best you got, cock sucker,” but right as he turned around, he was hit with a blindsided shot by Jasper Brinkley of the Vikings. The hit sent Austen backwards into the wall, and soon Chad Greenway and Anthony Barr were back up to the landing piling on Austen as well. Finally Davey called off the dogs, and they walked back down to the landing below, walking out.
“Don’t get too cocky, or you will lose the match Austen.” Davey hollered back.
Austen shook his head, and begins running again. His breath was getting heavier and heavier with each floor. Floor 41 is where he felt the legs getting heavier, but he kept pushing. Breathing harder. 42 was where he felt his chest start to swell in pain. 48 his lungs began burning.
“What the fuck,” he thought to himself, “I’m in such great shape, yet this is kicking my ass.”
About floor 50 he started to feel a churn in his stomach.
“GOD DAMMIT DAVEY!” Austen yelled, still climbing, but feeling his stomach rumble.
Like clockwork, Davey pokes his head out of the doorway.
“Tainted Egg Salad. Feeling the shits?”
“YOU ASSHOLE.” Austen kicks it up a notch and runs hard, trying to finish the run up the steps. Breathing heavy, but stomach churning and gurgling with each uneasy climb. 55...56...57, He had finally made it to the top. He goes to the door, but it’s locked. He notices a note slid under the door.
“Only bathroom is on the ground floor.” Austen’s face grimaced in pain, knowing he had to shit so bad. He grasped his stomach as it churned, and turned back towards the staircase, and began running full speed down, skipping chunks of steps on each flight. He hurdles step by step, stomach churning, butt clenched to avoid making a mess. 31...30...29...he knew he had a long ways to go, but knew there was no other option.
Austen ran hard, and fast. Jumping steps, almost skipping whole staircases. 22...21...20...Austen’s legs burned. His chest was heavy. His breathing was harder and harder, but he knew he could make it. His stomach churned, he knew it was close. He was clenching, but one wrong step and there would be an explosion. Staircase by staircase he went, breathing hard, running fast.
8...7...6...Austen knew he was on the home stretch and dug down deep. Sprinting down the steps, running harder, running faster, skipping steps, trying so hard not to make a mess. He ran hard, ran fast. 3...2...1...finally Austen plowed through the door, almost knocking over a man in a business suit, and ran for the restrooms. He turned the corner to the restroom facility and there was a large yellow cone in the way saying closed for cleaning.
“FUCK NO.” Austen turned the other way and ran into the women’s restroom, settled into a stall, and sat down just in time to feel the most fiery explosion emanate from his hind quarters. He grasped the handrails with both hands, and bit down, exploding in the toilet bowl. You could hear women’s gasps and groans at the sounds coming from the stall occupied by Austen. He couldn’t help it. He HAD to eradicate all signs of the egg salad. He pushed, and groaned, fighting hard. Finally when he thought he was done, he sat back, relieved, he let out a satisfied sigh, only to be hit with round two. He quickly turned to flush the remains of everything he thought he’d eaten in the last year, and just as before, a fiery bomb of feces poured out of his rectum.
45 minutes of sheer pain, relief, and burning, and finally Austen was done. He cleaned up his mess, using an entire roll of paper plus digging into the second roll, and stands up. He opens the door, met by stares from women, mostly in business suits, looking at the man in disgust.
“Ladies,” Austen nods, embarrassed, and walks across to the men’s room to clean his hands. As he walked out he was met by two uniformed guards.
“You’re going to have to come with us.”
Austen knew immediately what was going on, and complied.
“Guys, I’m really sorry, but it was an emergency situation, and the mens room was closed. I had to go to the ladies room or there would have been a BIG mess.” Austen pleaded, as they walked.
“Sir, what you did was against the rules of the building, we are going to request that you leave and not come back again.”
“So I’m not arrested?” Austen asked, confused.
“No sir, we wish to not get the police involved here, we just want you to never come back.” The officer replied, frankly.
“Sure.” Austen exited through the revolving doors, to meet Davey outside. “YOU SON OF A BITCH THAT WAS NOT FUNNY.”
“But it was effective. You managed to make it all the way down without a mess and in less than 5 minutes. You ran up and down in less than 14 minutes. Even with those obstacles.”
“Davey I am banned from the building. I almost shit myself. I damn near destroyed the women’s restroom. There are women scarred for life from that smell.”
“But you did it. Austen, you’re ready to race down the tower. You are going to make it, and you are going to be champion. I believe in you.”
“Thanks Davey. I’ll see you in Chicago. I am going to go home and take a shower. I feel disgusting.”
“You should. You smell terrible.” Davey curls his nose in disgust as the two men go their separate ways.
“FUCK!” Austen Impact walks out into the hallway to assess the mess. Clearly there was something weighing on his shoulders as he wandered, pacing back and forth before letting a labored punch into the wall, putting a hole in the drywall, his lip curled upwards as his teeth grit down, fighting back the pain, as well as grappling with the urge to just unleash hell on the wall. Austen takes a step back, bowing his head, and taking a long, labored breath in, and then exhaling, trying to release the stress off his shoulders.
Shaking his head, he walks to the back of the building, and grabs a broom and dustpan, and moves back to the hallway, now looking less stressed and more dejected, and embarrassed. Shoulders hanging just a bit lower than normal, as he labors towards the site of the mess.
As Austen bends over to sweep up his mess, longtime friend and fellow coach, Cole Konrad, comes walking in the door. He looks at the mess all across the floor, with a look of sheer frustration on his face.
“Man, we have punching bags. This is the 4th wall you’ve broken. What is going on with you?”
“I just agreed to something that could fuck up my marriage Cole, fuck it up bad.” Austen said, looking down as he slides his toe through the pile of glass, making swirls in it.
“What did you do? There can’t be anything you’ve done that is THAT damning, unless...YOU DIDN’T FUCK SOME CHICK IN THE OFFICE DID YOU?” The realization spreads across Cole’s face with sudden frustration mixed with worry.
“WHAT?! NO!...You know me Cole, I would never.”
“Well, you have a couch, an office full of mats, it’s very possible.” Cole looks around as he surveys the room, seemingly trying to pinpoint where the alleged deed took place.
“Look, I’m going to need you to run things for a few days. I have to go to Chicago this weekend, and won’t be back until Monday or Tuesday.”
“What the hell are you doing in Chicago?” Cole asks, his eyes surveying Austen, trying to figure out what is going on.
“I took another job.”
“Coaching?” Excitedly Cole looks around.
“No, I resigned with New Edge Wrestling.”
“Jesus Christ Austen, New Edge? Why? You know what happened last time, are you trying to end any momentum you’ve gained from cleaning up?” Cole rubs his temples frustratedly.
“Look, it’s to help an old friend, plus I signed a 4 month contract that will put us in a REALLY good spot to expand the business, and set my family up.”
“Hey man, it’s your life, I just don’t want what happened last time to happen again man, I care about you, and seeing you in that point in your life was the most painful things for me to see.”
“I know Cole, I promise, this is going to be different. I have full control this time.” Austen puts a hand on the shoulder of his friend to try to reassure him.
“Ok, well, you better go talk to your wife, I know you haven’t told her yet. I’ll hold things down here.” Cole grabs the broom from Austen.
“Thanks man.” Austen grabs his duffel bag, slings it over his shoulder and heads for the door.
Austen walks out of the facility, and down the street to the light rail station. He hops on, and finds an open seat to sit down, trying to play through his mind what he’s going to tell his wife. He rides the rail all the way to the final stop just outside of Target Field, and then hops off, realizing that he is surrounded by bars. He starts towards one, but stops himself.
“What the fuck am I doing.”
Austen jumps back on the rail, and takes it back to the stop closest to his apartment. He hops off, and begins walking the street to his apartment building. He gets just outside and pauses. Taking a long labored deep breath, before punching in the numerical code to unlock the gate into the building’s courtyard. He cuts across the courtyard, bypassing the sidewalk, trying to get to his apartment as quickly as possible, the snow crunching beneath his feet, as he fights every urge inside of him.
Finally he makes it to his door, and puts the keys in. He can hear his daughter playing inside, and turns the keys. As soon as the door opens she takes off running towards him, her clumsy 1 year old strides pounding along the floor.
“DADDY!” she yells, jumping into his arms, as he picks her up and kisses her.
“How are you today princess?” Austen asks the adorable dark haired girl in his arms.
“Good daddy.” She replies, wrapping her arms tight around his thick neck.
“Good, I gotta go talk to Mommy, you keep playing ok?”
“Ok Daddy.” Austen sets the little girl down and she hangs on to his neck as he tries to stand back up. He lowers her feet to the ground, and she finally lets go giggling.
Austen walks to the bedroom, his wife Sarah folding some clothes on the bed. He walks up behind her, wraps his arms around her waist and kisses her neck.
“What are you doing home so early?” She asks, not stopping what she’s doing.
“I can’t come home and see my beautiful family?” He asks.
“Well, I’m not going to complain, but you never come home early, so there is something up, are you feeling ok?”
“Yeah, I hate that you know me so damn well.”
“I’m your wife, I’m supposed to know you. What’s going on.” She puts down the laundry and turns to look at him, seeing whatever it is stressing him out, instantly weighing him down.
“Please understand that what I’m about to tell you is strictly to put us in a better situation, and I ask that you PLEASE trust me.”
“Um...OK…” Confusion and worry spread across her face.
“Baby, I’ve decided to begin working for New Edge Wrest….”
“NO! UH UH! NO WAY IN HELL!” Sarah instantly cuts in, flailing her arms across her chest to emphasize each way of saying no.
“Honey, look at me, it’s…”
“NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!”
“Baby, please, listen to me,” Austen is admittedly getting frustrated at not being given the chance to complete a sentence.
“There’s nothing to listen to. Last time you worked for them you came out a broken man. It took MONTHS to piece you back together. Things are finally good.” More pleading with him at this point than telling him.
“Listen babe. I know all of this, I also know I was 19 when I left New Edge. I was single, I was broke, and I had no place to go. Now, I have a loving family that means more to me than ANYTHING, I have a business that is thriving, and I have a place to come home to. Baby, I love you, and I want you to TRUST me when I say that I’ve worked EVERYTHING out so that it will not be a burden.” Austen sits Sarah down on the edge of the bed, and kneels in front of her, “They are running most of their shows from Chicago, so I will not be traveling all over the country all the time. They have agreed to fly me out the Saturday before an event, and home the Monday following. He is covering ALL medical expenses, I am only under a four month contract, which is very favorable financially, and I am in a match this weekend for a shot at the world title which would mean even more money.”
“How much money are we talking.” She asks, clearly intrigued by the idea now.
“Well, my initial contract for 4 months which is of yet unsigned by me is for 50,000 dollars, but there are some financial things in the works that I have been assured would grant a significant pay increase.”
“50,000 for 4 months? That’s more than I make in a year.” Sarah looked a bit more excited about the idea now, “and how much of a pay increase would we be looking at if these ‘financials’ go through?” She asks, almost ashamedly feeling greedy.
“Well, my pay would go up to 200,000 for 4 months, and if I win the title it goes up to 350,000 for 4 months,” Sarah’s eyes light up with shock as Austen says this.
“NO!” She snaps back to reality, shocking the hell out of Austen, who had thought he had finally won. “I can’t in good conscience let you do this. Not after it ruined you the last time.”
“Sarah, honey, look at me,” Austen places his finger right beneath the chin of Sarah, and lifts her head up to look him in the eyes. He leans in, kisses her and pulls back, “Honey, I LOVE YOU, I promise you that nothing will change about me. My life, revolves around you and Haylee. Nothing, not the fame, not the gold, not the money, will change that. I need for you to trust me on that.”
“I do, I just don’t want to see you hurt.” A single tear is forming in Sarah’s eyes as she knows she’s going to cave, but doesn’t want to.
“Honey, so long as I have you, and Haylee, nothing bad will ever happen. Now come on, I’ll take you guys out for lunch, and then I have to meet Davey for training.”
The mention of Davey’s name instantly sent Sarah off again.
“NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT, HE IS NO PART OF YOUR LIFE, YOUR CAREER, NONE OF IT!”
“Honey, Davey knows more about NEW than ANYONE. Davey knows more about Jesse Styles. I wouldn’t have gotten the contract I got without Davey. He has fucked me over and I trust him as little as you do, but I need a friend in this game, and believe it or not, he was once my best friend.”
“NO! He is an alcoholic, nicotine crazed, drug addled lunatic that will only drag you down.” Sarah’s eyes fill up with hatred for the man that she has never met.
“You clearly haven’t seen the Davey I saw today.”
“What do you mean?” Sarah deflates like a balloon a little bit.
“He has COPD. He’s dying. He’s on oxygen. He doesn’t drink, smoke, do drugs, or even walk fast. He’s basically just a decrepit old man, and only 36.”
“Good, serves the piece of shit right.”
“HONEY!” Austen looks at her, slightly appalled.
“I’m sorry, but you fuck with your body like he did, and he gets what is coming to him.”
“Honey, he’s a friend, and I am going to work with him, ok. I promise, it will be ok.”
“Just go then, we don’t need to get lunch.” It was obvious that Sarah was not happy that her husband would be working with someone so toxic, but she knew her husband well enough to know she wasn’t going to convince him otherwise.
Austen looked at her, ready to keep defending Davey, but knew it was pointless, so he swallowed hard, knowing that no matter what he did would wind up with him losing the argument so he kissed her forehead and walked into the closet, got changed into his workout shorts and Under Armor spandex shirt.
“Honey, I’m heading out, I’ll be back this evening.” Austen said, mentally preparing for a lashing.
“Ok, please be safe.”
“I will.” Austen replied, shocked.
Austen exited the apartment, into the cold Minnesota air. The air burst onto his bare legs causing a sharp stinging, but he fought through it, as the snow again crunched beneath his feet. Austen hopped onto the light rail, and rode it deep into downtown Minneapolis, where he entered the extensive skyway system. Finally he made his way to the IDS Building, and walked down to Basil’s Restaurant in the Crystal Court to meet Davey. They had planned on getting lunch, and then running the staircase of the 57 floor building.
“AUSTEN, OVER HERE!” Davey was jumping up and down making a scene over in the center of the court.
Austen made his way to Davey, who was now keeled over struggling for breath, and puffing on his inhaler.
“Way to go dumbass, you sure do know how to make an ass of yourself don’t you.”
“FUCK YOU! Just because I’m disabled doesn’t mean I can’t have fun. RIGHT!?” Davey asked, jokingly getting riled up.
“I guess,” Austen replied, rolling his eyes.
“Ready to get training?” Davey asked, ignoring the eye roll.
“What about lunch?” Austen asked, looking over at the people enjoying delicious meals at Basil’s.
“What about it? You look like you’re getting a bit fluffy there lard ass, you need to exercise and not worry about food so damn much.” Davey replies poking at the hardened abs of Austen, pulling back, and trying to find a different spot that may be squishy but again failing.
“Fuck you, I’m in the best shape of my life.”
“Yeah, round.” Davey replies, again trying to poke a portion of his stomach and again only finding hardness. “Fuck you, why are you not squishy. You’re making it hard for me to make a point. Get your ass to the stairs.”
“God dammit, I’m starving.” Austen says, getting irritated.
“Fine,” Davey reaches into his backpack, and hands Austen an egg salad sandwich.
“I thought we were going to Basil’s.”
“I NEVER SAID THAT!” Davey responds, feigning being offended.
“You said let’s meet at Basil’s and we will get lunch.” Austen replied, realizing mid sentence this was Davey and he was just tricked.
“We’re at Basil’s, there’s lunch, what’s the problem, I didn’t lie to you. If you are going to run down all 108 floors of the Sears tower before everyone else, you are not going to want to be eating shit like Basil’s anyway.”
“Wait, what?”
“What?” Davey asks, looking at Austen, who looks like he’s about ready to choke Davey.
“Sears Tower? What are you talking about?” Austen crosses his arms, piercing Davey with a dagger of a look.
“The Battle for Chicago, that’s the ‘match’ you’re in. You and 6 other men are fighting your way down the Sears Tower, no elevators, to see who gets a shot at the NEW WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP at Demented in Arizona.”
“Wait wait wait. You said I had a MATCH...not a fucking obstacle course.”
“Yeah, well, details were fuzzy. This is what you have, like it or not. You are running down there, you are winning and you are going on to Demented to win me...er...us the title.” Davey says, poking Impact in the chest before realizing that wasn’t the smartest thing to be doing right now.
“I fucking hate you right now, but if that’s what it takes to win the title, I guess nothing gets in my way.”
Austen quickly eats the sandwich and makes his way to the stairwell.
“You aren’t planning on coming with are you?” Austen asks Davey, as they reach the base of the stair case.
“ARE YOU HIGH?” Davey asks, looking at him with his eyes as wide as silver dollars, “I WOULD DIE!”
“I thought as much, I’ll be down in about 10 mins.” Austen replies, getting ready to run.
“That’s the spirit.”
Austen takes off running up the steps, skipping two to three steps at a time, and quickly hits the first landing, turning the corner and hitting the next flight of stairs. When he reaches that landing, there in the doorway stands Davey holding a bucket of chicken, gnawing on a chicken leg.
“Keep running fatty, you’re moving too slowly.”
Austen just gives him the finger, refusing to waste precious breath on firing a witty comeback, and keeps running. He reaches the next landing, turns, and hits the next staircase, feeling the breathing get a little heavier with each step he takes, legs feeling sore, but feeling good, feeling the adrenaline push him, feeling the rush of fitness flow over him. He hits the next staircase, and there Davey is with water balloons, firing them at him. Austen wanted to get pissed, but the cool water felt good as it made contact with his warm body.
“GO GO GO, You’re gut is flopping with each step you hit.”
Austen just kept right on going. Stair after stair, he ran, feeling his breathing get heavier and heavier, but still feeling good. Austen ran 3 more stories before being hit with another Davey barrage. There in the doorway, Davey had another series of water balloons. This time though when they hit they were filled with hot water. Scalding hot water. Water that made Austen’s skin burn, that made him instantly heat up. He could feel the heat cause his legs to get tighter, cramping up a little, but he kept pushing. Running step by step.
Now at floor 27 he knew he was almost halfway up, and started pushing harder, running a bit faster to make his way up. He knew he was on a good pace, but got to the next landing only to be hit by a pile of garbage blocking the bottom of the staircase. Austen quickly hurdled it, and landed on the 3rd step, nearly twisting his ankle, but kept pushing. Davey poked out behind him, watching him run.
“Damn,” he replied, snapping his finger in frustration. He really thought he had him this time.
Austen just kept running, not slowing down, floor 30, floor 31, floor 32. When he reached floor 33, he found Chad Greenway, and Anthony Barr of the Minnesota Vikings blocking the path, and Davey standing in the doorway.
“Get past these guys. I dare you.”
Austen dug deep, reaching into his football days of High School, and ran full speed at the two men, knowing they were stronger and better trained for this sort of thing, but he lowered his shoulder, and kept churning his feet as both men pushed back. Finally Austen decided to dig deep, and threw an elbow, landing right on the Jaw of Chad, sending him backwards, tripping Anthony in the process, and Austen kept running. He turned, running backwards, and yelled down at Davey through labored breath.
“That the best you got, cock sucker,” but right as he turned around, he was hit with a blindsided shot by Jasper Brinkley of the Vikings. The hit sent Austen backwards into the wall, and soon Chad Greenway and Anthony Barr were back up to the landing piling on Austen as well. Finally Davey called off the dogs, and they walked back down to the landing below, walking out.
“Don’t get too cocky, or you will lose the match Austen.” Davey hollered back.
Austen shook his head, and begins running again. His breath was getting heavier and heavier with each floor. Floor 41 is where he felt the legs getting heavier, but he kept pushing. Breathing harder. 42 was where he felt his chest start to swell in pain. 48 his lungs began burning.
“What the fuck,” he thought to himself, “I’m in such great shape, yet this is kicking my ass.”
About floor 50 he started to feel a churn in his stomach.
“GOD DAMMIT DAVEY!” Austen yelled, still climbing, but feeling his stomach rumble.
Like clockwork, Davey pokes his head out of the doorway.
“Tainted Egg Salad. Feeling the shits?”
“YOU ASSHOLE.” Austen kicks it up a notch and runs hard, trying to finish the run up the steps. Breathing heavy, but stomach churning and gurgling with each uneasy climb. 55...56...57, He had finally made it to the top. He goes to the door, but it’s locked. He notices a note slid under the door.
“Only bathroom is on the ground floor.” Austen’s face grimaced in pain, knowing he had to shit so bad. He grasped his stomach as it churned, and turned back towards the staircase, and began running full speed down, skipping chunks of steps on each flight. He hurdles step by step, stomach churning, butt clenched to avoid making a mess. 31...30...29...he knew he had a long ways to go, but knew there was no other option.
Austen ran hard, and fast. Jumping steps, almost skipping whole staircases. 22...21...20...Austen’s legs burned. His chest was heavy. His breathing was harder and harder, but he knew he could make it. His stomach churned, he knew it was close. He was clenching, but one wrong step and there would be an explosion. Staircase by staircase he went, breathing hard, running fast.
8...7...6...Austen knew he was on the home stretch and dug down deep. Sprinting down the steps, running harder, running faster, skipping steps, trying so hard not to make a mess. He ran hard, ran fast. 3...2...1...finally Austen plowed through the door, almost knocking over a man in a business suit, and ran for the restrooms. He turned the corner to the restroom facility and there was a large yellow cone in the way saying closed for cleaning.
“FUCK NO.” Austen turned the other way and ran into the women’s restroom, settled into a stall, and sat down just in time to feel the most fiery explosion emanate from his hind quarters. He grasped the handrails with both hands, and bit down, exploding in the toilet bowl. You could hear women’s gasps and groans at the sounds coming from the stall occupied by Austen. He couldn’t help it. He HAD to eradicate all signs of the egg salad. He pushed, and groaned, fighting hard. Finally when he thought he was done, he sat back, relieved, he let out a satisfied sigh, only to be hit with round two. He quickly turned to flush the remains of everything he thought he’d eaten in the last year, and just as before, a fiery bomb of feces poured out of his rectum.
45 minutes of sheer pain, relief, and burning, and finally Austen was done. He cleaned up his mess, using an entire roll of paper plus digging into the second roll, and stands up. He opens the door, met by stares from women, mostly in business suits, looking at the man in disgust.
“Ladies,” Austen nods, embarrassed, and walks across to the men’s room to clean his hands. As he walked out he was met by two uniformed guards.
“You’re going to have to come with us.”
Austen knew immediately what was going on, and complied.
“Guys, I’m really sorry, but it was an emergency situation, and the mens room was closed. I had to go to the ladies room or there would have been a BIG mess.” Austen pleaded, as they walked.
“Sir, what you did was against the rules of the building, we are going to request that you leave and not come back again.”
“So I’m not arrested?” Austen asked, confused.
“No sir, we wish to not get the police involved here, we just want you to never come back.” The officer replied, frankly.
“Sure.” Austen exited through the revolving doors, to meet Davey outside. “YOU SON OF A BITCH THAT WAS NOT FUNNY.”
“But it was effective. You managed to make it all the way down without a mess and in less than 5 minutes. You ran up and down in less than 14 minutes. Even with those obstacles.”
“Davey I am banned from the building. I almost shit myself. I damn near destroyed the women’s restroom. There are women scarred for life from that smell.”
“But you did it. Austen, you’re ready to race down the tower. You are going to make it, and you are going to be champion. I believe in you.”
“Thanks Davey. I’ll see you in Chicago. I am going to go home and take a shower. I feel disgusting.”
“You should. You smell terrible.” Davey curls his nose in disgust as the two men go their separate ways.