Post by MW on Jun 9, 2023 13:15:09 GMT -5
“Never get laid? What did I ever do to Catalina Cortes!?” Leo complains, staring down at a text from Welsh.
He fires a text back, “Do not draft her.”
“You alright, little fella?”
Leo turns, spotting an old man seated in a chair outside a local business so small, so unimpressive you’d be lucky to notice it without someone pointing it out.
The location is Key West. A town Leo is very familiar with, even if he’s somehow wandered into unfamiliar territory.
“Oh, yea…just alot going on. People saying they want to kill me. That I’ll never get laid. Trying to insinuate I’m going to hook up with a member of the Illuminati. At least I’ve got Thad. Thank goodness for Thad.”
“What the hell kinda people are these?”
“Work acquaintances on Twitter.”
“Son,” the old man says, sitting up, “You need to get off the internet.”
Leo nods. “Probably good advice. Anyway, I gotta be moving, we’ve got an adventure coming up.”
“Adventure?”
“Yea, something about the Triad. Bermuda Triangle. My boss is gonna be back out here in two weeks so I need to make sure we’re well prepared.”
The old man rises from his chair. He steps into Leo. Leo tries to hold his ground, but it’s clear he’s intimidated. The man’s facial features, his hair, it all might be washed out…but his eyes remain as blue as the water that surrounds the coastal town. “That’s a death march.”
“No…I believe that’s a wrestling pay per view, sir.”
“You’re not listening to me. You go out there, searching for that thing…you be lucky if you make it out.”
“Wait,” it starts to click for Leo, “You know about the Triad?”
“Yea, I do,” he stares a hole through Leo. His vision ripping past Leo and extending beyond, to a distant, impactful memory. His eyes linger on the memory for a moment before he returns to the moment. “Follow me.”
The man turns and enters the unremarkable business. Leo doesn’t know why, but he follows.
Once inside, the man locks the front door. Leo looks around. Antiques everywhere. All sorts of items recovered from the ocean’s deadly, wet blanket.
“Back here,” the old man announces, already moving toward the deep end of his shop. Again, Leo follows. Curiosity pummeling caution.
They enter in through a hidden door. A room not meant for public viewing.
“Whoa,” Leo manages to blurt out, scanning the darker room. Looking around, he sees maps, coordinates, and all sorts of navigational cues put together in an effort to reach a specific location inside The Devil’s Triangle.
His head turned upward…his body rotates…he slowly walks backward, taking it all in until he bumps into someone. “Oh, sorry,” he turns around and yelps. He falls on his ass, staring up at the most realistic mannequin he’s ever seen.
“What the hell is that!”
“That’s my brother. He once heard a story about this thing called the Triad. Went looking for it, too. Managed to drag me along with him.”
“Is he…okay?”
“Nah,” the old man pokes his brother in the head. He tilts to the side a bit before returning to his base. Leo’s mouth goes dry, he has trouble swallowing.
“He was ambitious. Nothing was ever enough. So he started dabbling in the darker, more mythological notions that this horrible world offers. The Fountain of Youth. Atlantis. He became obsessed with the ancient world. He fell deeper and deeper into this obsession until it led him to…The Triad.”
“So, wait…this thing actually exists?”
“Unfortunately.” The old man strikes a match and lights a lantern. It reveals a desktop with a number of dust-covered items. “Come over here.”
Leo manages to pull himself up. Tentatively, he walks over, standing next to the old man.
“There’s a picture before we set sail. The two of us. I was much younger then. He was, obviously…you know.” Alive.
The old man takes his finger and follows a charted course on a map. “We sailed. For days, weeks, even. It felt like forever. Searching. The skies. The surface. And, in the depths. The weather wasn’t kind. I wanted to turn back, but his ambition would not relent.”
His finger reaches an endpoint. “Then we hit the worst storm I’d ever seen. The clouds rolled in like a dark avalanche in the sky. A great fog descended. Rain, lightning, thunder…nature was telling us, warning us to turn back. We’d reached a destination we were never meant to find.”
“I begged and pleaded with him. Let’s turn back around, I said. And he was just about to listen until…it appeared.”
He slides a photo to the center of the desk. It’s cloudy. Murky. Leo leans forward, “It looks like a bunch of fog, to me.”
“Look closer.”
Leo leans in. He narrows his eyes.
“You see it?”
As his eyes start to adjust the photo begins to move. And, in a split second of clarity, he sees a ship so terrifying, so ghastly, it makes him rear back, standing up straight. Goosebumps all over his body. His complexion white as a ghost.
“Yea, that was my reaction, too.”
Staring down at the picture, Leo’s voice goes monotone, “What did you do?”
“I couldn’t talk no sense into him. He dove from our boat and swam toward this unholy specter. I screamed for him to come back but, before I knew it, he was gone.”
“And what did you do?” Leo asks.
“I waited. Waited as long as I could before I lost consciousness. Next thing I remember, I’m in bed. I’d been found, inside my boat, a few miles offshore."
“And…” Leo points toward his lifeless brother.
“They found his body washed ashore.”
“Geezus.”
The old man stares at his brother, “It’s a fool’s errand. It’s not meant to be found. If you go searching for it and you’re lucky enough to find it, you won’t like what you get.”
Leo stares at the desk, unintentionally memorizing the route. “I don’t think I have a choice.”
“You always have a choice,” the man offers the simple but sage advice. “But if you’re determined to go out there, you must be brave.”
Leo nods.
“And I’m not even sure that can save ya.”
The two men go quiet. They simply exist for the next several minutes, taking it all in.
Leo exits the store a little while later. The sun, the air, it’s never felt so warm and welcoming. He pulls out his phone, “I need a raise.” He gives Welsh a call.
“Sir, I’m down here doing research and…I don’t know what to say. All I know is we need to make sure we draft the four bravest wrestlers we can.”
Welsh bitches on the other end.
“Yes, yes…I’ve got some information, probably more than I ever wanted. I’ll keep prepping sir.”
Leo hangs up. A few blocks down he hears a familiar, welcoming sound. “Yea, I could use a drink.”
He fires a text back, “Do not draft her.”
“You alright, little fella?”
Leo turns, spotting an old man seated in a chair outside a local business so small, so unimpressive you’d be lucky to notice it without someone pointing it out.
The location is Key West. A town Leo is very familiar with, even if he’s somehow wandered into unfamiliar territory.
“Oh, yea…just alot going on. People saying they want to kill me. That I’ll never get laid. Trying to insinuate I’m going to hook up with a member of the Illuminati. At least I’ve got Thad. Thank goodness for Thad.”
“What the hell kinda people are these?”
“Work acquaintances on Twitter.”
“Son,” the old man says, sitting up, “You need to get off the internet.”
Leo nods. “Probably good advice. Anyway, I gotta be moving, we’ve got an adventure coming up.”
“Adventure?”
“Yea, something about the Triad. Bermuda Triangle. My boss is gonna be back out here in two weeks so I need to make sure we’re well prepared.”
The old man rises from his chair. He steps into Leo. Leo tries to hold his ground, but it’s clear he’s intimidated. The man’s facial features, his hair, it all might be washed out…but his eyes remain as blue as the water that surrounds the coastal town. “That’s a death march.”
“No…I believe that’s a wrestling pay per view, sir.”
“You’re not listening to me. You go out there, searching for that thing…you be lucky if you make it out.”
“Wait,” it starts to click for Leo, “You know about the Triad?”
“Yea, I do,” he stares a hole through Leo. His vision ripping past Leo and extending beyond, to a distant, impactful memory. His eyes linger on the memory for a moment before he returns to the moment. “Follow me.”
The man turns and enters the unremarkable business. Leo doesn’t know why, but he follows.
Once inside, the man locks the front door. Leo looks around. Antiques everywhere. All sorts of items recovered from the ocean’s deadly, wet blanket.
“Back here,” the old man announces, already moving toward the deep end of his shop. Again, Leo follows. Curiosity pummeling caution.
They enter in through a hidden door. A room not meant for public viewing.
“Whoa,” Leo manages to blurt out, scanning the darker room. Looking around, he sees maps, coordinates, and all sorts of navigational cues put together in an effort to reach a specific location inside The Devil’s Triangle.
His head turned upward…his body rotates…he slowly walks backward, taking it all in until he bumps into someone. “Oh, sorry,” he turns around and yelps. He falls on his ass, staring up at the most realistic mannequin he’s ever seen.
“What the hell is that!”
“That’s my brother. He once heard a story about this thing called the Triad. Went looking for it, too. Managed to drag me along with him.”
“Is he…okay?”
“Nah,” the old man pokes his brother in the head. He tilts to the side a bit before returning to his base. Leo’s mouth goes dry, he has trouble swallowing.
“He was ambitious. Nothing was ever enough. So he started dabbling in the darker, more mythological notions that this horrible world offers. The Fountain of Youth. Atlantis. He became obsessed with the ancient world. He fell deeper and deeper into this obsession until it led him to…The Triad.”
“So, wait…this thing actually exists?”
“Unfortunately.” The old man strikes a match and lights a lantern. It reveals a desktop with a number of dust-covered items. “Come over here.”
Leo manages to pull himself up. Tentatively, he walks over, standing next to the old man.
“There’s a picture before we set sail. The two of us. I was much younger then. He was, obviously…you know.” Alive.
The old man takes his finger and follows a charted course on a map. “We sailed. For days, weeks, even. It felt like forever. Searching. The skies. The surface. And, in the depths. The weather wasn’t kind. I wanted to turn back, but his ambition would not relent.”
His finger reaches an endpoint. “Then we hit the worst storm I’d ever seen. The clouds rolled in like a dark avalanche in the sky. A great fog descended. Rain, lightning, thunder…nature was telling us, warning us to turn back. We’d reached a destination we were never meant to find.”
“I begged and pleaded with him. Let’s turn back around, I said. And he was just about to listen until…it appeared.”
He slides a photo to the center of the desk. It’s cloudy. Murky. Leo leans forward, “It looks like a bunch of fog, to me.”
“Look closer.”
Leo leans in. He narrows his eyes.
“You see it?”
As his eyes start to adjust the photo begins to move. And, in a split second of clarity, he sees a ship so terrifying, so ghastly, it makes him rear back, standing up straight. Goosebumps all over his body. His complexion white as a ghost.
“Yea, that was my reaction, too.”
Staring down at the picture, Leo’s voice goes monotone, “What did you do?”
“I couldn’t talk no sense into him. He dove from our boat and swam toward this unholy specter. I screamed for him to come back but, before I knew it, he was gone.”
“And what did you do?” Leo asks.
“I waited. Waited as long as I could before I lost consciousness. Next thing I remember, I’m in bed. I’d been found, inside my boat, a few miles offshore."
“And…” Leo points toward his lifeless brother.
“They found his body washed ashore.”
“Geezus.”
The old man stares at his brother, “It’s a fool’s errand. It’s not meant to be found. If you go searching for it and you’re lucky enough to find it, you won’t like what you get.”
Leo stares at the desk, unintentionally memorizing the route. “I don’t think I have a choice.”
“You always have a choice,” the man offers the simple but sage advice. “But if you’re determined to go out there, you must be brave.”
Leo nods.
“And I’m not even sure that can save ya.”
The two men go quiet. They simply exist for the next several minutes, taking it all in.
Leo exits the store a little while later. The sun, the air, it’s never felt so warm and welcoming. He pulls out his phone, “I need a raise.” He gives Welsh a call.
“Sir, I’m down here doing research and…I don’t know what to say. All I know is we need to make sure we draft the four bravest wrestlers we can.”
Welsh bitches on the other end.
“Yes, yes…I’ve got some information, probably more than I ever wanted. I’ll keep prepping sir.”
Leo hangs up. A few blocks down he hears a familiar, welcoming sound. “Yea, I could use a drink.”