Post by Thaddeus Duke on Jul 6, 2023 20:04:51 GMT -5
Waking up from a deep sleep with a gasp, I'm covered in sweat. This dream, it's been a recurring thing for a couple years now. Each time, it's more vivid, more lucid. In the beginning, it was once per month or so. Recently, it was more like once every couple weeks. Now, it's been a nightly thing and I can't wrap my head around why.
Past three in the morning, I rolled from bed and put my feet on the floor. Running my fingers through my mussed, sweat logged hair, I stood up and made my way to our bathroom after kissing my sleeping wife on her cheek. Other than a smile and a light moan in her sleep, Lauren doesn't even realize I'm not with her.
Running the shower cold for a bit, I stepped in to cool off before warming the water temperature to wash the sweat from me. For a time, I leaned my head against the shower wall, allowing the water to soothe my nerves.
Once completed, I shut down the water and stepped from the shower. To my chagrin, I wasn't alone.
"What the fuck, Doc!?" I yelled out at the unwelcome presence.
"Well hello to you too, Young Duke," he stated with his typical smirk and cold, dead stare.
Doctor Louis D'Ville, was at one time my tag team partner. He was a purely evil… being. Not man, not monster, just… D'Ville. There was a point in time where I had no friends, or at least, no one was willing to step up and lend me a hand. No one had the balls to stand toe to toe with the formerly dominant Cataclysm.
Just me.
I was prepared to go it alone. It most assuredly would have meant defeat on my part. I'm pretty damn good at what I do, but I hold no illusions to think I had a chance to defeat them by myself. Nevertheless, I was prepared to try.
At the last moment, with High Stakes less than two weeks away, D'Ville made his presence known. While he surely had his own motives for doing so, he stood up when no one else would. He chose me.
Together, we conquered Cataclysm. That was nearly three years ago. Even today, I'm forever grateful for his aid, his friendship.
"I'm frickin' naked here, man!" I protested while grabbing my towel.
"Since when were you so modest, Young Duke?" He asked. "Perhaps you'd be less inclined to hide beneath that towel if I were Corey Smith?" He suggested as he stepped toward me, morphing into one of my beautiful besties.
"You two never had any sort of relationship," he leaned in and sniffed me. "Perhaps this suits your flavor a little more," he said with his stupid grin as he morphed into my sister from another mister, Dolly Waters.
"That’s unfair," I protested. "It was a moment of weakness. I was at my lowest point and she saw me through all of it. She was a true friend, Doc. We kissed, but it was nothing more."
"Relax," he said as he stepped back. "I'm just having a little fun."
"Why are you here?" I asked him as I dried myself off. "You always seem to show your stupid old face whenever my head is a mess."
"You answered your own question, did you not?" He asked.
"Yeah but that was an accident," I joked.
"Follow me, Young Duke," he said as he turned away.
Through the bathroom door, my bedroom is not my bedroom, but an office. His office. As the evil "psychiatrist" he is, he takes many forms to different folks. To me, he typically appears in his original form, an elderly man in a gray Gucci suit.
"Have a seat," he said as he sat behind his desk. "We're in session."
Dropping the towel from my body, I'm no longer naked, but wearing my typical 'chill' gear. Just jeans and a graphic tee. Billie Eilish this time.
"What seems to be the problem?" He asked. "No, don't tell me. Part of the fun is figuring it out myself."
"Doc, I…"
"Shh, I'm thinking," he interrupted. "We've covered your mother at some length. That seems to be behind you," he continued on.
"Your father?" He queries as he stood from his desk and came closer. "No, you legitimately hated him. It can't be him.
"It's always family with you," he says as he creepily sniffs me again. "Your beautiful children," he stated.
"Your dreams are turning into nightmares and it has to do with…" he pauses and sniffs again. "Young Talon."
"You're such a freak," I said with his face just an inch or so from my own.
"I'm right," he said more as a matter of fact than a question.
"Of course you're right," I replied quickly.
"Why Talon?" He asked as he retreated and sat on the sofa beside me. "Not young Francis, or Caitlyn. But Talon," he considered.
"He's the most like me?" I suggested.
"True," he answered. "Francis carries none of your blood. Caitlyn is female."
"In my dreams, he's a teenager," I offered. "He's almost a clone of me at the same age."
"Then how do you know it's him and not you?" He asked. "The boy does look a lot like you."
"Because people in the dreams call him by name," I answered quickly.
"Go on," he urged.
"Society has collapsed," I continued.
"Excellent!" He said excitedly.
"No Doc, that's not excellent," I corrected him. "Fascists have taken the nation. All the hate and bigotry you see in America today, is the new way of life in his world. Most normal, compassionate adults are imprisoned. Kids remained free because the fascists thought that they could still be 'saved.'"
"Where are you in this world?" He asked.
"I have no idea," I answered. "Doc, I can't help but think that today's world is fast deteriorating into the world I've seen in my dreams. My instinct is to help him," I said with some emotion. "But I can't."
"You're sure of that?" He asked. "I've given you a conscious existence within your own memories in the past, Young Duke.
"Perhaps that's why you've summoned me."
"I didn't summon you," I protested.
"No?" He questioned. "Then why am I here?"
"I…" I began, then paused. I had no answer. At least none that made sense to me.
"What if you could help him?" He posed. "Would you do it?"
"Obviously," I replied quickly. D'Ville only grinned.
"If you do this, you'll exist inside him," he began to explain. "You can't control him. You can't push him to make any sort of move because he is not you."
"Then how could I help him?" I asked. "By the sounds of it, I'd exist merely as a voyeur. Just piggybacking through time."
"There's a bleedthrough, if you can figure out how to use it properly," he offered.
"Like with my mother?" I asked. If you don't know, my father murdered my mother while I was still an infant. About two years ago, I sought Doc's help in finding the truth surrounding her death. In the process, I found myself at the scene of her death, powerless to stop it. I did however, have a moment to share with her, to speak with her before she died.
"Not exactly," he replied. "With your lovely mother," he paused to roll his eyes in disgust. "You were physically present. In this instance, it'll be more like telepathy.
"You'll see through his eyes. You'll experience pain and emotions just as he would. But the merger between the two of you stops there. You'll never control his actions."
"Doc, forgive me but," I began. "If he's hearing my voice, won't that make him think he's going insane?" I pondered.
"I mean, he's far older than he is today but Lou… he's still just a kid," I argued.
"Seventeen," he replied. "The same age you were when you started in the business. The same age you were when you were fighting wars. The same age you were when you were sending men to their maker," he said with a sickly grin.
I had no argument. He was right. In fact, I was killing men with bullets, with missiles, with bombs even younger than Talon was in my dreams.
"That’s not the life I wanted for him," I said as a tear rolled down my cheek. "I put an end to it all so that he, his brother and sister could grow up in peace."
"Admirable," he scoffed. "But you and I both know that a Duke isn't a real Duke unless he's got darkness in his body somewhere.
"Besides that, Young Duke," he continued. "There's things outside your control that brings all of this about.
"Maybe whatever happens is inevitable and all you can do is sit back, prepare yourself and your family the best you can, and hope for the best possible outcome."
"This is a bit demoralizing, Doc," I offered. "Despite all of my efforts to protect my kids. Despite my efforts to make sure they'd never have to fight a war, you're making me think that it was all for nothing."
Doc D'Ville offered no immediate response as he pondered the situation.
"Perhaps I'm making you think that, as you so eloquently put it," he said before a pause. "Because I've been trying to help you."
For a moment, I just stared at him. I wasn't sure how to take it. I wasn't sure of anything anymore. However, it did lead to a serious question.
"Doc," I said as I sat up and leaned toward him. "Are you the reason I'm having those dreams?"
D'Ville smiled as he pulled a cigar from thin air. After lightning it, he puffed.
"What an astonishing observation," he said with a grin as he puffed. "Did you really think that I spent so much time inside your mind that I wouldn't create my own doors?"
"You son of a bitch!" I cried out in anger.
"I did not create the reality," Doc protested my anger. "I merely created avenues in which I could pass through from you to him. You might be too far gone to fully embrace your darkness, Young Duke.
"There's certainly still hope for him."
"I'll kill you," I said quickly and quietly, but with anger and vitriol evident.
"You've tried that before," he reminded me. "And all you have to show for it is one dead lion.
"Besides, Thaddeus," you still have time. "You know I never make the little ones my toys. And further still," he paused. "Had I not created the pathway from you to him, then you helping him would not even be possible."
He's right… probably.
"Why me?" I asked my "friend." "You've been intentionally crossing my path since I was 17, Doc. Why?"
"Quite simply, you intrigued me," he answered. "Here's this teenage phenomenon that wraps people of all ages around his little finger. There are men and women with longer resumes to be sure. The resume never mattered much to you and I found that interesting.
"What mattered to you was playing the people like a fiddle. Like puppets on a string, you said jump, they asked how high. You have incredible gifts Young Duke," he paused. "You have this instinct within you. You know what they want. You know when to give it and when not to. You're a psychologist in a sense… I noticed it from the first time I saw you.
"Combine that with all the darkness the runs through your veins… from my perspective, what was not to like?"
"You almost succeeded," I replied.
Sitting quietly for a bit, I considered his lengthy response. He had wanted me to embrace the genetic evil that lives deep inside me for some time. Once, I gave in. I embraced that darkness and… it was easy. Too easy. Challenges were not much of a challenge anymore.
"How does this work?" I asked of D'Ville. "Wait, I got a better question. I only said he was a teenager," I prefaced. "How did you know he was 17?"
Doc grinned and said nothing before fading away in front of me. His office fades away too and the sofa I'd been sitting on is now my bed with Lauren beside me. D'Ville never minded telling me the what's and why's. Often, he refused to tell me the how's.
Being dead ass tired, I closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep. When I opened them, I was Talon running through the dark, rain soaked streets of what appeared to be a bombed out version of Queens.
Past three in the morning, I rolled from bed and put my feet on the floor. Running my fingers through my mussed, sweat logged hair, I stood up and made my way to our bathroom after kissing my sleeping wife on her cheek. Other than a smile and a light moan in her sleep, Lauren doesn't even realize I'm not with her.
Running the shower cold for a bit, I stepped in to cool off before warming the water temperature to wash the sweat from me. For a time, I leaned my head against the shower wall, allowing the water to soothe my nerves.
Once completed, I shut down the water and stepped from the shower. To my chagrin, I wasn't alone.
"What the fuck, Doc!?" I yelled out at the unwelcome presence.
"Well hello to you too, Young Duke," he stated with his typical smirk and cold, dead stare.
Doctor Louis D'Ville, was at one time my tag team partner. He was a purely evil… being. Not man, not monster, just… D'Ville. There was a point in time where I had no friends, or at least, no one was willing to step up and lend me a hand. No one had the balls to stand toe to toe with the formerly dominant Cataclysm.
Just me.
I was prepared to go it alone. It most assuredly would have meant defeat on my part. I'm pretty damn good at what I do, but I hold no illusions to think I had a chance to defeat them by myself. Nevertheless, I was prepared to try.
At the last moment, with High Stakes less than two weeks away, D'Ville made his presence known. While he surely had his own motives for doing so, he stood up when no one else would. He chose me.
Together, we conquered Cataclysm. That was nearly three years ago. Even today, I'm forever grateful for his aid, his friendship.
"I'm frickin' naked here, man!" I protested while grabbing my towel.
"Since when were you so modest, Young Duke?" He asked. "Perhaps you'd be less inclined to hide beneath that towel if I were Corey Smith?" He suggested as he stepped toward me, morphing into one of my beautiful besties.
"You two never had any sort of relationship," he leaned in and sniffed me. "Perhaps this suits your flavor a little more," he said with his stupid grin as he morphed into my sister from another mister, Dolly Waters.
"That’s unfair," I protested. "It was a moment of weakness. I was at my lowest point and she saw me through all of it. She was a true friend, Doc. We kissed, but it was nothing more."
"Relax," he said as he stepped back. "I'm just having a little fun."
"Why are you here?" I asked him as I dried myself off. "You always seem to show your stupid old face whenever my head is a mess."
"You answered your own question, did you not?" He asked.
"Yeah but that was an accident," I joked.
"Follow me, Young Duke," he said as he turned away.
Through the bathroom door, my bedroom is not my bedroom, but an office. His office. As the evil "psychiatrist" he is, he takes many forms to different folks. To me, he typically appears in his original form, an elderly man in a gray Gucci suit.
"Have a seat," he said as he sat behind his desk. "We're in session."
Dropping the towel from my body, I'm no longer naked, but wearing my typical 'chill' gear. Just jeans and a graphic tee. Billie Eilish this time.
"What seems to be the problem?" He asked. "No, don't tell me. Part of the fun is figuring it out myself."
"Doc, I…"
"Shh, I'm thinking," he interrupted. "We've covered your mother at some length. That seems to be behind you," he continued on.
"Your father?" He queries as he stood from his desk and came closer. "No, you legitimately hated him. It can't be him.
"It's always family with you," he says as he creepily sniffs me again. "Your beautiful children," he stated.
"Your dreams are turning into nightmares and it has to do with…" he pauses and sniffs again. "Young Talon."
"You're such a freak," I said with his face just an inch or so from my own.
"I'm right," he said more as a matter of fact than a question.
"Of course you're right," I replied quickly.
"Why Talon?" He asked as he retreated and sat on the sofa beside me. "Not young Francis, or Caitlyn. But Talon," he considered.
"He's the most like me?" I suggested.
"True," he answered. "Francis carries none of your blood. Caitlyn is female."
"In my dreams, he's a teenager," I offered. "He's almost a clone of me at the same age."
"Then how do you know it's him and not you?" He asked. "The boy does look a lot like you."
"Because people in the dreams call him by name," I answered quickly.
"Go on," he urged.
"Society has collapsed," I continued.
"Excellent!" He said excitedly.
"No Doc, that's not excellent," I corrected him. "Fascists have taken the nation. All the hate and bigotry you see in America today, is the new way of life in his world. Most normal, compassionate adults are imprisoned. Kids remained free because the fascists thought that they could still be 'saved.'"
"Where are you in this world?" He asked.
"I have no idea," I answered. "Doc, I can't help but think that today's world is fast deteriorating into the world I've seen in my dreams. My instinct is to help him," I said with some emotion. "But I can't."
"You're sure of that?" He asked. "I've given you a conscious existence within your own memories in the past, Young Duke.
"Perhaps that's why you've summoned me."
"I didn't summon you," I protested.
"No?" He questioned. "Then why am I here?"
"I…" I began, then paused. I had no answer. At least none that made sense to me.
"What if you could help him?" He posed. "Would you do it?"
"Obviously," I replied quickly. D'Ville only grinned.
"If you do this, you'll exist inside him," he began to explain. "You can't control him. You can't push him to make any sort of move because he is not you."
"Then how could I help him?" I asked. "By the sounds of it, I'd exist merely as a voyeur. Just piggybacking through time."
"There's a bleedthrough, if you can figure out how to use it properly," he offered.
"Like with my mother?" I asked. If you don't know, my father murdered my mother while I was still an infant. About two years ago, I sought Doc's help in finding the truth surrounding her death. In the process, I found myself at the scene of her death, powerless to stop it. I did however, have a moment to share with her, to speak with her before she died.
"Not exactly," he replied. "With your lovely mother," he paused to roll his eyes in disgust. "You were physically present. In this instance, it'll be more like telepathy.
"You'll see through his eyes. You'll experience pain and emotions just as he would. But the merger between the two of you stops there. You'll never control his actions."
"Doc, forgive me but," I began. "If he's hearing my voice, won't that make him think he's going insane?" I pondered.
"I mean, he's far older than he is today but Lou… he's still just a kid," I argued.
"Seventeen," he replied. "The same age you were when you started in the business. The same age you were when you were fighting wars. The same age you were when you were sending men to their maker," he said with a sickly grin.
I had no argument. He was right. In fact, I was killing men with bullets, with missiles, with bombs even younger than Talon was in my dreams.
"That’s not the life I wanted for him," I said as a tear rolled down my cheek. "I put an end to it all so that he, his brother and sister could grow up in peace."
"Admirable," he scoffed. "But you and I both know that a Duke isn't a real Duke unless he's got darkness in his body somewhere.
"Besides that, Young Duke," he continued. "There's things outside your control that brings all of this about.
"Maybe whatever happens is inevitable and all you can do is sit back, prepare yourself and your family the best you can, and hope for the best possible outcome."
"This is a bit demoralizing, Doc," I offered. "Despite all of my efforts to protect my kids. Despite my efforts to make sure they'd never have to fight a war, you're making me think that it was all for nothing."
Doc D'Ville offered no immediate response as he pondered the situation.
"Perhaps I'm making you think that, as you so eloquently put it," he said before a pause. "Because I've been trying to help you."
For a moment, I just stared at him. I wasn't sure how to take it. I wasn't sure of anything anymore. However, it did lead to a serious question.
"Doc," I said as I sat up and leaned toward him. "Are you the reason I'm having those dreams?"
D'Ville smiled as he pulled a cigar from thin air. After lightning it, he puffed.
"What an astonishing observation," he said with a grin as he puffed. "Did you really think that I spent so much time inside your mind that I wouldn't create my own doors?"
"You son of a bitch!" I cried out in anger.
"I did not create the reality," Doc protested my anger. "I merely created avenues in which I could pass through from you to him. You might be too far gone to fully embrace your darkness, Young Duke.
"There's certainly still hope for him."
"I'll kill you," I said quickly and quietly, but with anger and vitriol evident.
"You've tried that before," he reminded me. "And all you have to show for it is one dead lion.
"Besides, Thaddeus," you still have time. "You know I never make the little ones my toys. And further still," he paused. "Had I not created the pathway from you to him, then you helping him would not even be possible."
He's right… probably.
"Why me?" I asked my "friend." "You've been intentionally crossing my path since I was 17, Doc. Why?"
"Quite simply, you intrigued me," he answered. "Here's this teenage phenomenon that wraps people of all ages around his little finger. There are men and women with longer resumes to be sure. The resume never mattered much to you and I found that interesting.
"What mattered to you was playing the people like a fiddle. Like puppets on a string, you said jump, they asked how high. You have incredible gifts Young Duke," he paused. "You have this instinct within you. You know what they want. You know when to give it and when not to. You're a psychologist in a sense… I noticed it from the first time I saw you.
"Combine that with all the darkness the runs through your veins… from my perspective, what was not to like?"
"You almost succeeded," I replied.
Sitting quietly for a bit, I considered his lengthy response. He had wanted me to embrace the genetic evil that lives deep inside me for some time. Once, I gave in. I embraced that darkness and… it was easy. Too easy. Challenges were not much of a challenge anymore.
"How does this work?" I asked of D'Ville. "Wait, I got a better question. I only said he was a teenager," I prefaced. "How did you know he was 17?"
Doc grinned and said nothing before fading away in front of me. His office fades away too and the sofa I'd been sitting on is now my bed with Lauren beside me. D'Ville never minded telling me the what's and why's. Often, he refused to tell me the how's.
Being dead ass tired, I closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep. When I opened them, I was Talon running through the dark, rain soaked streets of what appeared to be a bombed out version of Queens.