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Somewhere in the distance,
somewhere below, is a bubbling oozing crimson claret, viscera crawling through entrails,
a bottomless pool of blood. It awaits with a limitless hunger, not satisfied
with the four bodies it has already consumed. Only one thing will satiate its
thirst, only one Jackrabbit. The pool comes rushing up now,
surrounding, enveloping. The jeering crowd is drowned out, the sound of a bell
is lost somewhere in the distance, replaced only by the cry of an eagle. And so
it swallows its prey, dragging him down into its depths, satisfying its greed.
Still though it hungers, only one thing will satiate its thirst, more
Jackrabbits. "Sorry sir, I didn't mean to
say bullshit, I just don't think you're understanding the situation..." Somewhere in the muffled
response on the other end of the phone there might be swearing. Stevie Guile, clad in his usual creased grey
suit and yellow tie, winces at the choice of adjectives. For a moment he
removes the cell from his ear, glancing across the motel room at the two unlikely
characters hitting each other with pillows. The Jackrabbit appears to be getting the upper hand on his new travelling
companion, the eccentric lady known to them as Vanilla. "It's just that... Pool of
Blood didn't exactly leave him in the best place. None of us could have
predicted what happened, I mean what was Talon even doing in that damn arena,
how the hell did he get onto that platform?!" Vanilla is shaking The
Jackrabbit now, as he appears to have abandoned the pillows in favour of staring
absently at the lampshade in the corner. Stevie sighs, having been interrupted
mid-flow by the recipient of his call. "I'm not suggesting you knew
about Talon, sir, of course not.. I just think it's a little convenient you
signing him to a contract right after the show ended..." A pause. Another interruption. "No sir, I know OWF is
always scouting for the best talent, we're very happy with 'Rabbit's contract,
it's just that..." The man in question has turned
his back on Vanilla, now cradling the pillow like a new born child. "Don't get me wrong, we're
both very excited about competing for the Tag Team championships, it's just
that the stipulation.." Vanilla has yanked the pillow
away from him, and seems to be proving a point by tearing the foam stuffing out
of the top. Stevie slumps down onto the opposite bed, the phone still pressed
tight under his usual yellow baseball-cap. "I know that, sir, and I'm a
man of tradition myself, honestly I am. I haven't changed this cap in about 5
years. It's just that I don't think, with his phobias and all, that Altitude O
is really suited to his.. temperament.." Whatever the response is to
this, it causes Stevie to begin dramatically hitting the phone against the
mattress before forcing it back to the side of his head. Vanilla has taken to
doing pirouettes around the room until she trips and falls, but even this fails
to bring a smile to the face of The Jackrabbit. "No sir, of course we'll be
in Pittsburgh, thanks for your time Mr Johnson, it's been a pleasure." The phone beeps as Stevie ends the call. "Jackass." "So the match is off,
right?" Vanilla chimes in, barely
allowing time for Stevie to hang up. "Oh, don't get smart with
me. Did you calm him down?" "What do you think.." "Can't fall, mustn't fall,
no more falling.. all the blood, lots of blood, blood in my mouths, and in my
hairs, and in my eyes, heavens below! Not the eyes.. all the way down, allll the waaaay downnnn..." Stevie groans in exasperation,
tossing the cell phone onto the pillows and making his way across to his
panicked companion. This is becoming a familiar scene for him, since their
hurried escape from Blood Bath in New York. "I even tried
hitting him with pillows. At least he reacted to that.." Stevie reaches down and pulls
The Jackrabbit to his feet, looking to stare into his eyes but instead he is
met by only those dark shades that conceal his eyes, even indoors. "Such a long way down, such
a long way..." "Okay, calm down 'Rabbit..
you need to figure this out, man. Nothing I could do would change CJ's mind, so
this match is going ahead. We're done running now, it's time to stand up to
this. Time to stand up to him. To
Talon. You've got to forget what happened at Pool of Blood.." "Bloodpool,
why why? Why all the blood? Why?" Stevie's hand claps The
Jackrabbit sharply across the cheek, and Vanilla gives a little shriek of
surprise. The Jackrabbit stops his chatter suddenly, but he is unmoved, those
dark shades revealing nothing. Stevie tries to not let the uncertainty show in
his face; hoping that his long time companion will understand the need for- Stevie's
skull bounces off the table. "What the hell!?" The Jackrabbit is on top of
Stevie now, slapping him in the face, all the while laughing hysterically, his
voice crashing around the tiny motel room. Vanilla leaps forward on impulse,
but even her whole body weight can't shift the 250lb man. Thunderous slaps
colliding with Stevie's cheeks. His jawbone snaps side-to-side in a definite
rhythm. But he remains still. He doesn't resist the strikes. "..down down down down down
down down down down down
down down down.." "Get off him, get off him JR,
offf himmm!" Vanilla is tossed backwards, collateral damage in the
unorthodox assault. The laughter seems endless, torturous. She hits the carpet
in a heap, he strikes, he takes the blows, she staggers up, he does not relent,
he does not resist. She screams, he laughs, he says nothing. "...Why Tal? Why Tal? Why
Tal? Why Tal?..." "Stop it Jay!" "Say you didn't mean it,
Tal! Say you didn't mean it!!" The Jackrabbit stares down at the man he is beating, and an
unseen force seems to pass between their minds, the twitching of a silver orb
somewhere in the ether, and just the smallest moment of silence. "Say you didn't mean
it!" "I didn't mean it." The Jackrabbit falls off
Stevie's prone body finally, and starts rubbing at his open palms as though
they were the victims. The true victims though are Stevie's cheeks, blood red
now, the vessels burst on both sides of his face. His eyes sting with tears but
still he says nothing. There's nothing to say. "This is fucking
whack.." The door slams behind her as
Vanilla storms from the motel, tears in her own eyes too. * * * The 7-Eleven has closed its
doors for the night, but the shelter above the doorway keeps Vanilla dry as the
rain patters down on her dyed purple-pink-blue hair. Wet, the colours melt
together in a mess atop her head. Deep within her mind, a single solitary
sphere of silver opens up, and the vivid images leap forward. She is younger now, an eight
year old girl in a home that never quite understood her. The clothes she wears
don't really fit, her sister's hand-downs have always been a bit baggy. Her
hair is tied into a bun atop her head; she has always hated it this way. Still Mother
insists that it is cut like this each time they visit the hairdresser, 'prim
and proper' she says. When Mother and Father are out though, her big sister
takes it down and puts it into a ponytail like hers. Cassie has always
understood how Mother can be. Vanilla is fourteen now, her clothes
still don't fit, her big sister has always had a trim dancer's figure and her
hand-downs are a little tight. Her hair is no longer in a bun, but in a long
ponytail down her back. Cassie doesn't wear a ponytail any more, she has moved
on from little girl haircuts, she has long flowing brown locks that swish when
she dances. She will dance like Cassie one day, she says. Mother says it will
take a lot of work. Cassie says she just doesn't have the flair for it, that
she's too vanilla; she doesn't understand her at all. Vanilla is seventeen now. Her clothes aren't
supposed to fit, baggy chains dangling from her drooping vest top. Her hair is
long and flowing, not dancers hair, it's been dyed a fluorescent green and
azure yellow. She gave up on her dream of dancing a long time ago, that was her
sister's dream all along. Cassie was the dancer, she never understood her.
Vanilla has friends now, Skullz and Claret, Dollybird and Spyke. Her friends
have a good time, her friends go to parties and get drunk with her. Until her friends
gave her the drugs.... * * * "No, he's not in a good
place right now, it's making him.. erratic. Uncontrollable. Unpredictable ... Well,
he's always been predictable to me, but not lately, these matches are taking a
toll on his psyche.." Stevie Guile is sat on the bed
still, his cell against his ear, gently this time to avoid the sore red cheeks
he is displaying on each side. "No, the Doc match is a
ridiculous idea. Of course CJ signed off on it, it's ratings isn't it? They've
got two weeks to get on the same page before Rise Or F-... no, of course I've
not lost focus. The wrestling thing is his distraction, it's the best way to
stop him doing anything...... stupid. Anyway, I need him focussed, I've got
some digging around to do while we're here, I'm pretty sure he grew up
somewhere near Pittsburgh, yeah... Oh hey, listen, I gotta
go, I think he might be paying attention now.." The
phone beeps once more as the call disconnects. The Jackrabbit is sat across
from Stevie, still in his blue plaid long-shorts, in a black T-shirt emblazoned
with the manic grinning face of a rabbit caricature, hypnotic red eyes above
those sharpened buck-teeth. The shades have been abandoned somewhere on the
carpet, revealing the vacant stare on The Unorthodox One's face. " Talon wouldn't hurt his
favourite Jackrabbit, Talon loves me! You do love me, don't you Tal? We're the bestest of friends! The only friends that matter in all the
wide world! We known each other for all of time, after all.. I wouldn't hurt
you Tal, never hurt a hair on a fly. And you protects me, too, hahh haaaa! You always protected
me! You's and me Tal, we
beat them all, we held all the golds. We were the
champs.. the Champeeeeenos of the Worrrrrld!
Everywhere we went, Tal, we always held them shiny gold belts. You polished
mine and I polished yours, Tal. Mine was always the most polished, though, ha haaaa ha! But nobody stopped us together, did they? Nobody
could beat Fusion! NOBODY, aaaah ha haa! Is that why you did it, Tal? Are
you cross with The Jackrabbit for planning to win the belts with someone else?
Don't you like me and the Cowboy Nurse being friends, Tal? Don't you worry, Tal, don't you
worries your pretty lil birdy
face. Cowboy Nurse and The Jackrabbit aren't going to be friends, Tal. There's
a cage all around us, a house of jails or summink,
and they're going to put metal all around us so that the Nurse can't run away
whilst Your Friendly Neighborhood Jackrabbit drops
him on his head. It's for the best, don'tchya see?
You just watch from your big black tower, Tal. You just watch whilst The
Jackrabbit gets to know the Nurse. 'Cos that's what you want, isn't it Nursey? You want to get to know this Jackrabbit. Nursey, you've got lots to learn, but that's okay, rabbits
like cages and this cage, this cage is the perfect place for you to get to
knows me, Cowboy. 'Cos I guesses you don't know about The Jackrabbit, do ya? The Jackrabbit... He always gets The Last Laugh, ha ha ha ha ha
ha ha haaa
hah aaa hha hhah haahaaa haha!!!!
Right, Tal? Are you there, Tal?
Ha ha ha haa.. I miss you Tal. I miss you so.. Ha ha ha hah aaa...
Please don't let me fall again, Tal, please don't make me fall. I can't fall,
Tal, I can't fall on you.. on you.. hah ha hah hahahaa
hahaaa.. fucking like rabbits... like rabbits, laughing
boy.. ha ha ha hah haaaaa..." The vacant stare is gone, his
blonde hair flailing about as he tips back his head to laugh, letting the mesmerizing
sound carry through the motel room just outside of Pittsburgh.
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