Post by Lachlan Kane on Aug 20, 2023 21:32:35 GMT -5
It had been over a week since he had returned from Bermuda, and while he should have been relaxing with his family, Lachlan’s anxiety was at a fever pitch. Ever since the unexpected emergence of his dark passenger near the beginning of the Trials, he had not known a moment’s peace from the sound of the voice echoing in his mind. Under normal circumstances, the two had an arrangement, but it seemed like the closer he got to the supposed location of the first piece of this mythical Triad (or whenever he found himself as a guest of the Hotel California), the more the passenger seemed to break its shackles and appear unbidden.
But now, sitting in his office at the Wolfslair gym, his mind was silent. It had been ever since he landed in Orlando, and while at first he was relieved, as more time went on the more he began to think that this was a carefully calculated move on the part of his passenger. A ploy to lull Lachlan into a false sense of security before the fourth night of the Trials, which just so happened to be taking place right inside the Devil’s Triangle.
No way this could go absolutely sideways, he thought sarcastically.
He sat at his computer, knowing that he should be working on the new class rotations and scheduling, but his mind just refused to focus on the task at hand. He pushed back from the desk and jumped to his feet, pacing back and forth in front of his desk. “What the hell is your deal, anyways?” he said aloud. “You show up out of nowhere, slither your way into my head without any warning, pop in and out at your whim, and now you wanna go silent?”
The silence of the room was minimal compared to the silence in his head. He growled and ground his teeth together as he continued to pace. “What’s your game? You keep telling me these Trials are just a front for something else, but you won’t tell me what. All you say is that I need you to keep me alive. You fought me tooth and nail during that last match to come out, and now you’ve just…vanished. What the hell do you know about what’s going on?”
Again, silence. He was growing more and more agitated, kicking at the wastepaper basket and sending balls of paper scattering across the floor. “Answer me, you son of a bitch!”
“Um, Mr. Kane…is this a bad time?”
Lachlan was startled by the sound of the timid voice at the door, and he whipped around to see one of his young students, Callie Renton standing awkwardly in the entry. She was twisting a lock of her dark hair around her fingers as she shifted from foot to foot. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he beckoned her in. “No, no. Come on in. Just…wrapping up a phone call.” He dropped into the chair behind his desk. “What can I help you with, Callie?”
She took a few steps into the room. “Well, you asked me to meet with you before classes today.”
He blinked at her for a moment before he remembered. “Oh, right. I had some companies emailing me with some opportunities for roster spots, and I think you’d be a perfect fit for a couple of them.” He picked up a few sheets of paper from his desk and handed them over to her. “Here’s the background info on them. Take some time and read them over, see if anything catches your interest.”
She took the papers with wide eyes. “You think I’m ready?”
“You’ve always been ready, Callie. I saw massive potential in you back in PWE, and that’s why I invited you to join Wolfslair. You just need a little bit more confidence.” He gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “Think of this as your push out of the nest. Time to see if you’re ready to fly.”
She gave him a bright smile and turned to leave the office. But just before she did, she turned back to him, the smile replaced with a look of concern. “Um, not to be nosy or anything…but is everything OK?”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s just that…ever since you got back from Bermuda, you’ve looked really pale. And you seem to be really tired almost all the time. It’s not just me noticing. All the students have been worried about you.”
He smiled at her again. “I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine. Just been a while since I’ve had a regular wrestling schedule like this. Trying to burn the candle at both ends is catching up to me, I suppose.”
She smiled at him again, somewhat softer this time, before closing the door behind her as she descended the stairs back down to the gym floor. Lachlan let out a long sigh and ran his hands over his face. “Why do I get the feeling this is just the calm before a very, very bad storm?”
A chime sounded from his laptop, and he lowered his hands away from his face to check the notification. It was an email, but the sender was suspiciously left blank and the subject line simply read “HUMANS AGAINST TRIAD UNIFICATION.” His curiosity now piqued, he clicked on the email, and was taken to a video link that started autoplaying when opened. He was greeted with the sight of two of his teammates, Matt Knox and Catalina Cortes, bound to chairs in a nondescript room. His eyes widened as Matt began speaking, mostly from what sounded like a prepared script but with his own sardonic flair sprinkled in. By the end of the video, he was shaking his head. “And here comes the bloody rain. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. What the hell else is gonna get thrown at us?”
As he finished speaking, his cell phone rang with an unidentified number. Normally, he made a point of not answering these kinds of calls, but something told him this one was important. “Hello?”
“Mr. Kane, thank you for finally answering your phone. I’ve only been trying to contact you for hours.”
The clipped tone of his fellow teammate told him that she was highly irritated, and he felt a twinge of guilt. “I apologize, Penelope. Just been preoccupied.”
He heard her huff of annoyance. “I take it you’ve just received the same message I did concerning our two teammates and their current…predicament.”
“Well, I got a weird email from what looks like some knockoff Greenpeace group with a video of Knox and Catalina looking like they’ve been kidnapped, if that’s what you mean.”
“I’m in contact with PIC now to organize a rescue mission. Can we count on your participation? Perhaps the assistance of your…friend would benefit as well?”
He cringed as he could almost hear the smile in her voice. “I’ll be there. I can’t make any promises about anything - or anyone - else though.”
“Pity.” She didn’t sound entirely upset by his statement, and he wondered if she would try to bring the passenger out regardless. “I’ll send along the details once I have them.”
The line clicked off, and he set his phone down on the desk before dropping his forehead down on the wood surface with a dull thud.
—------
Last stop, Devil’s Triangle.
I’ll admit it, these past weeks have been nothing short of grueling. I knew once I was drafted and saw the field of competitors that these Trials weren’t going to be a picnic in the park, but I could never have anticipated just how ruthless the competition would be. And that’s not even talking about the matches themselves. The longer the Trials go on, it seems the more danger we’re being put in.
LCP, someone I’m familiar with but never had the opportunity to officially cross paths with. See, we were both in PWE together, once upon a time. If memory serves, that was your first real foray into the wrestling world, am I right? At least it was where you started getting eyes on you. Because despite being a greener than grass rookie, you’ve managed to make quite a splash for yourself in a short amount of time. And not always for the right reasons. But I guess as long as you’re still being talked about, I guess that’s all that matters in the end.
Sarah Wolf. Another PWE alumni. Just a good old-fashioned reunion in the Devil’s Triangle, isn’t it? Though I doubt the three of us are going to have time to sit around and talk about the glory days. We’ll be somewhat preoccupied with kicking the absolute dogshit out of each other trying to get ahead in the rankings. You’ve got a slight edge ahead of Lewis and myself, sitting at three points as you are. But this whole Trial has been full of shock and awe, hasn’t it? In a field as stacked with talent as this has been, it’s truly been anyone’s race.
See, I have no idea what’s going to happen in this match. Not just because of the apparent danger we now find ourselves in, but with my own mental state. I can’t predict just where my head’s going to be at in this match, seeing as it’s taking place in one of the most haunted places on Earth. But maybe that’ll be just the edge I need to walk away with the pinfall. See, all through this tournament, I’ve been known as “the good guy”. The “white-meat babyface.”
Maybe it’s time to flip the script. Show you all just what I can do when I’m unshackled.
I’ll be honest, when I slipped into that headspace in that last match, it felt good. To just sit back and let the carnage unfold, give in to base instinct and let the passenger take the wheel…well, it was refreshing, in a way. I saw the looks on people’s faces when they saw their normally honorable, upstanding young scrapper let loose and give in to the darker side within him. They wanted to see the bloodthirsty, ruthless, sadistic side of Lachlan. The gleam in their eyes when they caught the glimpses of me emerging…
Oops. Guess the secret’s out now. I had wanted it to be a little surprise in the match, but c’est la vie, I suppose. Yes, Lachlan’s the passenger now, and I’ve taken full control. It’s the only way this poor fool is going to survive these Trials with his limbs intact and his internals remaining that way. So I’ve taken the liberty of assuming control of this form, in order to do what it takes to ensure he walks away with the pinfall victory. And believe me, I am quite prepared to do…
Whatever.
It.
Takes.
But now, sitting in his office at the Wolfslair gym, his mind was silent. It had been ever since he landed in Orlando, and while at first he was relieved, as more time went on the more he began to think that this was a carefully calculated move on the part of his passenger. A ploy to lull Lachlan into a false sense of security before the fourth night of the Trials, which just so happened to be taking place right inside the Devil’s Triangle.
No way this could go absolutely sideways, he thought sarcastically.
He sat at his computer, knowing that he should be working on the new class rotations and scheduling, but his mind just refused to focus on the task at hand. He pushed back from the desk and jumped to his feet, pacing back and forth in front of his desk. “What the hell is your deal, anyways?” he said aloud. “You show up out of nowhere, slither your way into my head without any warning, pop in and out at your whim, and now you wanna go silent?”
The silence of the room was minimal compared to the silence in his head. He growled and ground his teeth together as he continued to pace. “What’s your game? You keep telling me these Trials are just a front for something else, but you won’t tell me what. All you say is that I need you to keep me alive. You fought me tooth and nail during that last match to come out, and now you’ve just…vanished. What the hell do you know about what’s going on?”
Again, silence. He was growing more and more agitated, kicking at the wastepaper basket and sending balls of paper scattering across the floor. “Answer me, you son of a bitch!”
“Um, Mr. Kane…is this a bad time?”
Lachlan was startled by the sound of the timid voice at the door, and he whipped around to see one of his young students, Callie Renton standing awkwardly in the entry. She was twisting a lock of her dark hair around her fingers as she shifted from foot to foot. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he beckoned her in. “No, no. Come on in. Just…wrapping up a phone call.” He dropped into the chair behind his desk. “What can I help you with, Callie?”
She took a few steps into the room. “Well, you asked me to meet with you before classes today.”
He blinked at her for a moment before he remembered. “Oh, right. I had some companies emailing me with some opportunities for roster spots, and I think you’d be a perfect fit for a couple of them.” He picked up a few sheets of paper from his desk and handed them over to her. “Here’s the background info on them. Take some time and read them over, see if anything catches your interest.”
She took the papers with wide eyes. “You think I’m ready?”
“You’ve always been ready, Callie. I saw massive potential in you back in PWE, and that’s why I invited you to join Wolfslair. You just need a little bit more confidence.” He gave her what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “Think of this as your push out of the nest. Time to see if you’re ready to fly.”
She gave him a bright smile and turned to leave the office. But just before she did, she turned back to him, the smile replaced with a look of concern. “Um, not to be nosy or anything…but is everything OK?”
He raised an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s just that…ever since you got back from Bermuda, you’ve looked really pale. And you seem to be really tired almost all the time. It’s not just me noticing. All the students have been worried about you.”
He smiled at her again. “I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine. Just been a while since I’ve had a regular wrestling schedule like this. Trying to burn the candle at both ends is catching up to me, I suppose.”
She smiled at him again, somewhat softer this time, before closing the door behind her as she descended the stairs back down to the gym floor. Lachlan let out a long sigh and ran his hands over his face. “Why do I get the feeling this is just the calm before a very, very bad storm?”
A chime sounded from his laptop, and he lowered his hands away from his face to check the notification. It was an email, but the sender was suspiciously left blank and the subject line simply read “HUMANS AGAINST TRIAD UNIFICATION.” His curiosity now piqued, he clicked on the email, and was taken to a video link that started autoplaying when opened. He was greeted with the sight of two of his teammates, Matt Knox and Catalina Cortes, bound to chairs in a nondescript room. His eyes widened as Matt began speaking, mostly from what sounded like a prepared script but with his own sardonic flair sprinkled in. By the end of the video, he was shaking his head. “And here comes the bloody rain. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. What the hell else is gonna get thrown at us?”
As he finished speaking, his cell phone rang with an unidentified number. Normally, he made a point of not answering these kinds of calls, but something told him this one was important. “Hello?”
“Mr. Kane, thank you for finally answering your phone. I’ve only been trying to contact you for hours.”
The clipped tone of his fellow teammate told him that she was highly irritated, and he felt a twinge of guilt. “I apologize, Penelope. Just been preoccupied.”
He heard her huff of annoyance. “I take it you’ve just received the same message I did concerning our two teammates and their current…predicament.”
“Well, I got a weird email from what looks like some knockoff Greenpeace group with a video of Knox and Catalina looking like they’ve been kidnapped, if that’s what you mean.”
“I’m in contact with PIC now to organize a rescue mission. Can we count on your participation? Perhaps the assistance of your…friend would benefit as well?”
He cringed as he could almost hear the smile in her voice. “I’ll be there. I can’t make any promises about anything - or anyone - else though.”
“Pity.” She didn’t sound entirely upset by his statement, and he wondered if she would try to bring the passenger out regardless. “I’ll send along the details once I have them.”
The line clicked off, and he set his phone down on the desk before dropping his forehead down on the wood surface with a dull thud.
—------
Last stop, Devil’s Triangle.
I’ll admit it, these past weeks have been nothing short of grueling. I knew once I was drafted and saw the field of competitors that these Trials weren’t going to be a picnic in the park, but I could never have anticipated just how ruthless the competition would be. And that’s not even talking about the matches themselves. The longer the Trials go on, it seems the more danger we’re being put in.
LCP, someone I’m familiar with but never had the opportunity to officially cross paths with. See, we were both in PWE together, once upon a time. If memory serves, that was your first real foray into the wrestling world, am I right? At least it was where you started getting eyes on you. Because despite being a greener than grass rookie, you’ve managed to make quite a splash for yourself in a short amount of time. And not always for the right reasons. But I guess as long as you’re still being talked about, I guess that’s all that matters in the end.
Sarah Wolf. Another PWE alumni. Just a good old-fashioned reunion in the Devil’s Triangle, isn’t it? Though I doubt the three of us are going to have time to sit around and talk about the glory days. We’ll be somewhat preoccupied with kicking the absolute dogshit out of each other trying to get ahead in the rankings. You’ve got a slight edge ahead of Lewis and myself, sitting at three points as you are. But this whole Trial has been full of shock and awe, hasn’t it? In a field as stacked with talent as this has been, it’s truly been anyone’s race.
See, I have no idea what’s going to happen in this match. Not just because of the apparent danger we now find ourselves in, but with my own mental state. I can’t predict just where my head’s going to be at in this match, seeing as it’s taking place in one of the most haunted places on Earth. But maybe that’ll be just the edge I need to walk away with the pinfall. See, all through this tournament, I’ve been known as “the good guy”. The “white-meat babyface.”
Maybe it’s time to flip the script. Show you all just what I can do when I’m unshackled.
I’ll be honest, when I slipped into that headspace in that last match, it felt good. To just sit back and let the carnage unfold, give in to base instinct and let the passenger take the wheel…well, it was refreshing, in a way. I saw the looks on people’s faces when they saw their normally honorable, upstanding young scrapper let loose and give in to the darker side within him. They wanted to see the bloodthirsty, ruthless, sadistic side of Lachlan. The gleam in their eyes when they caught the glimpses of me emerging…
Oops. Guess the secret’s out now. I had wanted it to be a little surprise in the match, but c’est la vie, I suppose. Yes, Lachlan’s the passenger now, and I’ve taken full control. It’s the only way this poor fool is going to survive these Trials with his limbs intact and his internals remaining that way. So I’ve taken the liberty of assuming control of this form, in order to do what it takes to ensure he walks away with the pinfall victory. And believe me, I am quite prepared to do…
Whatever.
It.
Takes.