Post by L.C. Pinkston on Aug 24, 2023 13:52:26 GMT -5
“Hello?”
“HELLLOOOOOO?”
“Come on man, this isn’t funny!”
Each word out of Lewis’ mouth echoes lightly. The ship sways hard to the left, almost knocking Lewis down. Then quickly to the right causing Lewis to stumble to the ground.
“Seriously, not cool bruh.”
Still no response. Lewis stands with his legs over shoulder width apart. His arms out trying to balance himself as the swaying of the boat continues its assault on his vestibular system.
Lewis maintains his balance and waddles over towards the wall of his room. The dilapidated wood is splintered and seemingly beginning to rot. Lewis taps it with his finger and it almost plunges through but doesn’t.
“Heh. It’s like a….” Lewis pauses for a moment. “Right. No one is here.”
A resigned Lewis continues to look around the room and spots something shiny laying in the far corner. Once again he waddles over. He bends down at the waist and picks up the small trinket. A gold coin, emblazoned with a Triad on one side and corrosion on the other side.
“Fake.” Lewis flips the coin in the air and it lands on the corroded side facing up. “Real gold doesn’t corrode in oxygen. Nor does it rust. This is some sort of copper mix with a gold plating on top of it. I bet you didn’t know that.”
“Right.”
Once again Lewis is met with the realization that he was alone. He begins to run the coin over his knuckles. (You know that cool trick you’ve seen on Tik-Tok and tried to do but failed.) After amusing himself for a few moments Lewis sighs deeply and continues to sway with the boat. There is a small cot that Lewis sits on still holding the coin.
“It’s been a while since it’s been just me.” Lewis lays back on the cot and crosses his arms behind his head. “Ever since I’ve gotten married I’ve always been surrounded by people that loved and supported me.”
Lewis unintentionally begins to rub his ring finger, where his wedding ring should be but is instead tattooed with Ophelia’s name and WLD. “I thought that coming here to the Triad would allow me to maybe make some friends.”
“Turns out I was wrong.” Lewis stops rubbing his finger. He readjusts himself and begins tossing the coin in the air with a free hand while the other remains behind his head. “Merica doesn’t talk to me. Helena despises the air I breathe. And Vhodka…”
The coin flips in the air and Lewis snatches it abruptly out of the air and squeezes it so tightly that his knuckles begin to turn white. “Was supposed to be my friend. The person I could rely on to help me in the process. Yet what did she do instead?” Lewis pauses for a brief moment. “She decided others were more important. Decided that her own personal gain was more than me.”
“Fine.”
“It’s fine.”
“I’m fine.”
Lewis slowly releases the grasp on the coin. He was squeezing it so tightly that it cut into the palm of his hand. Breaking the skin as blood formed in the creases of his palm. Lewis wipes his hand on his pant leg and once again returns to tossing the coin in the air.
“Helping others in matches. Has anyone helped me? Has anyone decided that I was worthy of being here? No. No you didn’t Vhodka. You were too busy rolling out Gurl Power with…” Lewis fumbles the coin as it lands right over his left eye. He quickly picks it off and smirks. “Serendipitous, but not Penelope, Sarah Wolf.”
“It was you Vhodka who chose them over your team. Well sure you helped your team because you were fortunate enough to beat someone in Rock Paper Scissors. Yet if it went the other way you would’ve continued.” Lewis then lets out a small growl. “Now Wolf, I know that you and I just fought. But you did something that showed me that you’re dumber than you look.”
“You left me breathing. No Vhodka to help or hinder you and you failed the easiest task of the Trials. Yet after the match you posted… Let’s do it again sometime without Lewis around.” Lewis chuckles as he places the coin in his pocket. “Bitch you didn’t even really beat me. Hell at least Thad had the common sense to pin me. I mean it still didn’t shut me up but at least he has that over me. And Knox and Raven got beat by me. You…”
“You couldn’t even put me down. You tried. Boy, how did both of you try. Yet you chose the lesser of two evils and took the cowards way out. You couldn’t even do me the honor of me getting pinned. Now I’m going to do you a solid. I’m going to embarrass you in the ring. I’m going to show you exactly what you were supposed to do. I’m going to break your friendship with Vhodka and then I’m going to break my friendship with Vhodka.”
“Turnabout is fair play isn’t it?” Lewis quickly sits up from the cot and holds his head in his hands. “Where are you? Why aren’t you here? I need help!”
The boat quickly rocks to the left, Lewis props himself up with his hand. “Everyone else has been biting my style, haven’t they? It’s just they put it out there for the world to see. One night's stay in the hotel and something changes within you. It’s like you have two voices inside of your head. Fighting each other. Right or wrong. Kill or be killed. It’s something that intrinsically changes you.”
“Well, Knock Knock. I’m back for my second night's stay. Seeing as how last time you weren’t sure what to expect from me. Do you understand it now? Do you get what is going to happen? No?” Lewis licks his lips and sucks air in through his teeth. “Of course you don’t. When I set the bar low for all of you, it’s not some ploy for you to overlook me. It’s to give all of you an excuse for when I eventually win. So you can spout off about how you weren’t prepared, or you didn’t think I had it in me and give yourself a good night's sleep knowing that despite the outcome it could’ve been different.”
“Have I shown all of you that I have it in me yet?” Lewis stands up from the cot and regains his balance. “Haven’t I shown all of you that unlike everyone else in the Triad that I am not just a one trick pony? That deep down within my soul I’m ready for this. This isn’t my ego showing, this is me proving the fact.”
“No matter how many times I get knocked down. No matter how many times people laugh in my face. I will always show up. I will always give it one hundred percent at all times. It’s all I’ve known. It’s all I’ve ever done.” Lewis takes the coin from his pocket.
“Stupid trinket.”
“That’s what all of you are vying for.” Lewis walks over to a desk that is sitting against the wall. A thick coat of dust envelops the top. He quickly draws a triangle, then sections it off into thirds. He wipes the top third off with his palm. “This isn’t about just one piece.”
He then swipes off the bottom third of the triangle. “It’s not even about two of them.”
With one quick swipe the triangle disappears from the top of the desk. “It’s about getting all three of them. It’s about the Great Illuminatus. All I’ve got to do is make sure that that’s where I’m at.”
The door to the room bursts open and slams against the wall, cracking the door jam in the process. A cold gust of wind passes over Lewis and causes the desk to rattle.
“Not now ghost ship.” Lewis walks over and shuts the door. It hangs off the jam askew. Lewis takes a moment and props it up to almost keep a seal.
Lewis once again makes his way back to the desk and opens the top drawer. Inside is an old and worn out notebook. He plops it down on the top of the desk and begins flipping through some of the pages. Those pages are yellowed and decrepit. Soft to the touch and frail. Each passing page turn could rip it easily.
Lewis isn’t one to turn pages violently. He’s spent plenty of time around old documents and even more so with historical relics. Lewis reaches one page and then tilts his head.
“Hmmmm.”
Lewis continues to study the page and then slowly looks up.
“It’s all malarkey.” Lewis closes the book and leans back. “Think Lew. Think. What’s the name of the guy dad wouldn’t shut up about.”
Lewis pounds his temples with his open palm. “Where the fuck are you when I need you?!” Lewis says while hitting himself harder. “Stupid fucking boat.”
After a few moments and nothing coming to him Lewis sighs and places his forehead on the top of the desk. Looking down at his feet and shoes, he notices a lump on his ankle.
“Is that?”
He quickly reaches down and pulls up his pant leg. Sitting there in his sock is a lump. Lewis pulls the sock down and reaches for the fluffy green substance.
He holds it up in the air and inspects it closely. Pure as the driven snow. Without hesitation Lewis flips open the book and tears out a piece. “Sorry history. You’ll forgive me.”
He flattens the paper down and sprinkles the green herb onto the top of it. Carefully he rolls the paper up and licks it sealed. He then places it on his lips.
He pats his pants. “Shit no lighter.” Lewis scans the room and then comes back to the coin. “Well it’s not real gold.”
Lewis picks the coin up and begins trying to snap it in half. Every trick he could think of to get the coin to bend. Then he finally does so against the corner of the desk. He grabs another piece of paper and tears it into confetti. “Again. Sorry history.”
With the two pieces of the coin, one in each hand, Lewis begins striking them against one another. At first he didn’t have much success, but eventually he was able to get a few sparks from the coin. A small spark lands on the confetti and a little ember catches. Lewis carefully placed some more paper on top of it and blows gently.
Then again.
Then…
Poof! A small fire had formed on the desktop. Lewis leans over and lights the herb. He takes a long drag from the joint and slowly exhales. “Oh yeah. That’s what daddy needed…. Oh shit!”
The fire quickly spread to the notebook and Lewis ran to the cot and grabbed the blanket. He began patting at the fire trying to get it to go out. He then throws the blanket on top of the fire and pats it that way. He slowly looks under the blanket and sees that the fire is out.
“Whew. That was close.”
Narrator:
David Francis Raine.
Lewis stops in his tracks. “YOU’RE BACK!” Lewis holds his hand over his heart. “I thought I lost you buddy.”
Narrator:
We aren’t that lucky. Anyways. David Francis Raine.
“Who the fuck is that?” Lewis said while sitting down at the desk smoking the joint.
Narrator:
That’s the guy dad would always talk about.
“Right!” Lewis then grabs the notebook which is beyond repair and unreadable. “This right here is the history of the HMS Atalanta, and something about this boat didn’t sit right with me.”
Narrator:
Other than it being a Ghost ship?
“Obviously.” Lewis takes another drag of the joint. “DFR said that this ship getting lost in the Bermuda Triangle was a fucking lie. That it didn’t happen as history would tell us.”
Narrator:
So what?
“So what? So what.” Lewis stands up from the desk and marches towards the door. He flings it open. The most pours into the room as he flicks his joint over the edge. “So if this boat didn’t get lost in the Bermuda Triangle as Pic, Welch’s and SLT think..”
A lighting strike happens outside as Lewis turns to face it. “Then what boat are we on?” Lewis disappears out onto the deck of the boat and out of sight.
Narrator:
Or it’s all true and you didn’t count on that did you Lew? Shame. He was so close.
Fade.
“HELLLOOOOOO?”
“Come on man, this isn’t funny!”
Each word out of Lewis’ mouth echoes lightly. The ship sways hard to the left, almost knocking Lewis down. Then quickly to the right causing Lewis to stumble to the ground.
“Seriously, not cool bruh.”
Still no response. Lewis stands with his legs over shoulder width apart. His arms out trying to balance himself as the swaying of the boat continues its assault on his vestibular system.
Lewis maintains his balance and waddles over towards the wall of his room. The dilapidated wood is splintered and seemingly beginning to rot. Lewis taps it with his finger and it almost plunges through but doesn’t.
“Heh. It’s like a….” Lewis pauses for a moment. “Right. No one is here.”
A resigned Lewis continues to look around the room and spots something shiny laying in the far corner. Once again he waddles over. He bends down at the waist and picks up the small trinket. A gold coin, emblazoned with a Triad on one side and corrosion on the other side.
“Fake.” Lewis flips the coin in the air and it lands on the corroded side facing up. “Real gold doesn’t corrode in oxygen. Nor does it rust. This is some sort of copper mix with a gold plating on top of it. I bet you didn’t know that.”
“Right.”
Once again Lewis is met with the realization that he was alone. He begins to run the coin over his knuckles. (You know that cool trick you’ve seen on Tik-Tok and tried to do but failed.) After amusing himself for a few moments Lewis sighs deeply and continues to sway with the boat. There is a small cot that Lewis sits on still holding the coin.
“It’s been a while since it’s been just me.” Lewis lays back on the cot and crosses his arms behind his head. “Ever since I’ve gotten married I’ve always been surrounded by people that loved and supported me.”
Lewis unintentionally begins to rub his ring finger, where his wedding ring should be but is instead tattooed with Ophelia’s name and WLD. “I thought that coming here to the Triad would allow me to maybe make some friends.”
“Turns out I was wrong.” Lewis stops rubbing his finger. He readjusts himself and begins tossing the coin in the air with a free hand while the other remains behind his head. “Merica doesn’t talk to me. Helena despises the air I breathe. And Vhodka…”
The coin flips in the air and Lewis snatches it abruptly out of the air and squeezes it so tightly that his knuckles begin to turn white. “Was supposed to be my friend. The person I could rely on to help me in the process. Yet what did she do instead?” Lewis pauses for a brief moment. “She decided others were more important. Decided that her own personal gain was more than me.”
“Fine.”
“It’s fine.”
“I’m fine.”
Lewis slowly releases the grasp on the coin. He was squeezing it so tightly that it cut into the palm of his hand. Breaking the skin as blood formed in the creases of his palm. Lewis wipes his hand on his pant leg and once again returns to tossing the coin in the air.
“Helping others in matches. Has anyone helped me? Has anyone decided that I was worthy of being here? No. No you didn’t Vhodka. You were too busy rolling out Gurl Power with…” Lewis fumbles the coin as it lands right over his left eye. He quickly picks it off and smirks. “Serendipitous, but not Penelope, Sarah Wolf.”
“It was you Vhodka who chose them over your team. Well sure you helped your team because you were fortunate enough to beat someone in Rock Paper Scissors. Yet if it went the other way you would’ve continued.” Lewis then lets out a small growl. “Now Wolf, I know that you and I just fought. But you did something that showed me that you’re dumber than you look.”
“You left me breathing. No Vhodka to help or hinder you and you failed the easiest task of the Trials. Yet after the match you posted… Let’s do it again sometime without Lewis around.” Lewis chuckles as he places the coin in his pocket. “Bitch you didn’t even really beat me. Hell at least Thad had the common sense to pin me. I mean it still didn’t shut me up but at least he has that over me. And Knox and Raven got beat by me. You…”
“You couldn’t even put me down. You tried. Boy, how did both of you try. Yet you chose the lesser of two evils and took the cowards way out. You couldn’t even do me the honor of me getting pinned. Now I’m going to do you a solid. I’m going to embarrass you in the ring. I’m going to show you exactly what you were supposed to do. I’m going to break your friendship with Vhodka and then I’m going to break my friendship with Vhodka.”
“Turnabout is fair play isn’t it?” Lewis quickly sits up from the cot and holds his head in his hands. “Where are you? Why aren’t you here? I need help!”
The boat quickly rocks to the left, Lewis props himself up with his hand. “Everyone else has been biting my style, haven’t they? It’s just they put it out there for the world to see. One night's stay in the hotel and something changes within you. It’s like you have two voices inside of your head. Fighting each other. Right or wrong. Kill or be killed. It’s something that intrinsically changes you.”
“Well, Knock Knock. I’m back for my second night's stay. Seeing as how last time you weren’t sure what to expect from me. Do you understand it now? Do you get what is going to happen? No?” Lewis licks his lips and sucks air in through his teeth. “Of course you don’t. When I set the bar low for all of you, it’s not some ploy for you to overlook me. It’s to give all of you an excuse for when I eventually win. So you can spout off about how you weren’t prepared, or you didn’t think I had it in me and give yourself a good night's sleep knowing that despite the outcome it could’ve been different.”
“Have I shown all of you that I have it in me yet?” Lewis stands up from the cot and regains his balance. “Haven’t I shown all of you that unlike everyone else in the Triad that I am not just a one trick pony? That deep down within my soul I’m ready for this. This isn’t my ego showing, this is me proving the fact.”
“No matter how many times I get knocked down. No matter how many times people laugh in my face. I will always show up. I will always give it one hundred percent at all times. It’s all I’ve known. It’s all I’ve ever done.” Lewis takes the coin from his pocket.
“Stupid trinket.”
“That’s what all of you are vying for.” Lewis walks over to a desk that is sitting against the wall. A thick coat of dust envelops the top. He quickly draws a triangle, then sections it off into thirds. He wipes the top third off with his palm. “This isn’t about just one piece.”
He then swipes off the bottom third of the triangle. “It’s not even about two of them.”
With one quick swipe the triangle disappears from the top of the desk. “It’s about getting all three of them. It’s about the Great Illuminatus. All I’ve got to do is make sure that that’s where I’m at.”
The door to the room bursts open and slams against the wall, cracking the door jam in the process. A cold gust of wind passes over Lewis and causes the desk to rattle.
“Not now ghost ship.” Lewis walks over and shuts the door. It hangs off the jam askew. Lewis takes a moment and props it up to almost keep a seal.
Lewis once again makes his way back to the desk and opens the top drawer. Inside is an old and worn out notebook. He plops it down on the top of the desk and begins flipping through some of the pages. Those pages are yellowed and decrepit. Soft to the touch and frail. Each passing page turn could rip it easily.
Lewis isn’t one to turn pages violently. He’s spent plenty of time around old documents and even more so with historical relics. Lewis reaches one page and then tilts his head.
“Hmmmm.”
Lewis continues to study the page and then slowly looks up.
“It’s all malarkey.” Lewis closes the book and leans back. “Think Lew. Think. What’s the name of the guy dad wouldn’t shut up about.”
Lewis pounds his temples with his open palm. “Where the fuck are you when I need you?!” Lewis says while hitting himself harder. “Stupid fucking boat.”
After a few moments and nothing coming to him Lewis sighs and places his forehead on the top of the desk. Looking down at his feet and shoes, he notices a lump on his ankle.
“Is that?”
He quickly reaches down and pulls up his pant leg. Sitting there in his sock is a lump. Lewis pulls the sock down and reaches for the fluffy green substance.
He holds it up in the air and inspects it closely. Pure as the driven snow. Without hesitation Lewis flips open the book and tears out a piece. “Sorry history. You’ll forgive me.”
He flattens the paper down and sprinkles the green herb onto the top of it. Carefully he rolls the paper up and licks it sealed. He then places it on his lips.
He pats his pants. “Shit no lighter.” Lewis scans the room and then comes back to the coin. “Well it’s not real gold.”
Lewis picks the coin up and begins trying to snap it in half. Every trick he could think of to get the coin to bend. Then he finally does so against the corner of the desk. He grabs another piece of paper and tears it into confetti. “Again. Sorry history.”
With the two pieces of the coin, one in each hand, Lewis begins striking them against one another. At first he didn’t have much success, but eventually he was able to get a few sparks from the coin. A small spark lands on the confetti and a little ember catches. Lewis carefully placed some more paper on top of it and blows gently.
Then again.
Then…
Poof! A small fire had formed on the desktop. Lewis leans over and lights the herb. He takes a long drag from the joint and slowly exhales. “Oh yeah. That’s what daddy needed…. Oh shit!”
The fire quickly spread to the notebook and Lewis ran to the cot and grabbed the blanket. He began patting at the fire trying to get it to go out. He then throws the blanket on top of the fire and pats it that way. He slowly looks under the blanket and sees that the fire is out.
“Whew. That was close.”
Narrator:
David Francis Raine.
Lewis stops in his tracks. “YOU’RE BACK!” Lewis holds his hand over his heart. “I thought I lost you buddy.”
Narrator:
We aren’t that lucky. Anyways. David Francis Raine.
“Who the fuck is that?” Lewis said while sitting down at the desk smoking the joint.
Narrator:
That’s the guy dad would always talk about.
“Right!” Lewis then grabs the notebook which is beyond repair and unreadable. “This right here is the history of the HMS Atalanta, and something about this boat didn’t sit right with me.”
Narrator:
Other than it being a Ghost ship?
“Obviously.” Lewis takes another drag of the joint. “DFR said that this ship getting lost in the Bermuda Triangle was a fucking lie. That it didn’t happen as history would tell us.”
Narrator:
So what?
“So what? So what.” Lewis stands up from the desk and marches towards the door. He flings it open. The most pours into the room as he flicks his joint over the edge. “So if this boat didn’t get lost in the Bermuda Triangle as Pic, Welch’s and SLT think..”
A lighting strike happens outside as Lewis turns to face it. “Then what boat are we on?” Lewis disappears out onto the deck of the boat and out of sight.
Narrator:
Or it’s all true and you didn’t count on that did you Lew? Shame. He was so close.
Fade.