Post by Sah'ta Thor/Insidious on Oct 5, 2020 7:13:52 GMT -5
Layers of Silence
It had been almost a month since The Legion had heard or seen anything from Sah'ta Thor. Not a word had been uttered from him since before his shot at the Chaos Championship on Chaos 98. In fact the last time his voice had been heard had been when he had posted a post We Are Relentless video to the Carnage website. A video that had been meant to summarize his career to date inside Carnage Wrestling. Yet, in the end all it had served as was a means for people to wish Sah'ta Thor dead. Even now a month after the video had been posted the comments posted from fellow members of the roster still haunted him.
"It is amazing how easy it is for the truth to come out in the silence. By now it is no secret that I am universally hated here on the Carnage Wrestling roster. It is almost ironic that the reasons I am hated aren't the reality. People hate me because they say I am a power hungry cult leader bent on brainwashing the masses. Or some variant of that tale ever since I had the kids from Imperial Youth Wrestling come by on their way to WrestleStock. The reality of it is that it doesn't matter what I have said on that and many other issues I am the bad guy. In the eyes of many I have always been the bad guy and nothing I say or do will change that perception."
With these words the image of Sah'ta Thor standing in the center of an unknown bridge. Down below was a flowing river serving as a backdrop to the scene.
"I have to wonder if people have even stopped to take a few things into account. With my legacy and career accomplishments I could have burst onto the scene and demanded a shot at the Carnage World Championship. Or any belt on the roster for that matter. However, I didn't demand such a shot, oh no I came in and issued a challenge for the Openweight Championship. We all know the story of how that went down so I am not going to rehash it here. Though I want the point to be made that I didn't come in expecting to be given instant top booking. Hell, even now I don't expect that. Contrary to popular belief I want to earn my championships.
Thor stops speaking as he pulls a bag of rocks from his pocket and sets on the bridge railing. With a sad smile on his lips he pulls a stone from the bag and tosses it into the water below. Once it sinks below the water he watches the rippling rings spread out over the water before he speaks again.
"Which brings me to my last match in Carnage Wrestling. A match for the newly created Chaos Championship. Honestly, I should have been flattered to be given the first shot at the belt in Harry's first defense. Yet, instead I was insulted by what was nothing more than a pity shot. You see the shot was booked just days after the last video package I posted on the Carnage Network. We all saw what happened at We Are Relentless when I lost my shot at the Baltimore City Championship. Of course that was mere hours before I was left for dead in a post even beatdown. A beat down that still has yet to be explained. However, the thing is that I didn't do a damn thing to earn a shot at the Chaos Championship yet I was given the match."
As the words fall silent Thor tosses another stone into the river below allowing his thoughts to focus before he continues on.
"We all saw how that match went with Harry retaining in what was essentially a squash match. Let me be clear, that loss was intentional on my part. There are multiple reasons for this fact but namely I knew I hadn't earned the match. I KNEW deep down that I wasn't expected to win the Chaos Title on Chaos 98. Though it goes deeper than that, I knew that I had an obligation for Chaos 100. The all encompassing end to the feud started by Matt Knox. The chain match that he challenged me to long before We Are Relentless. Simple reality is that I wasn't about to let our match be muddled by the fact I was holding a championship belt. Go ahead and hate me even more for my reasoning. I will be completely honest. I am at the point where I am about to become what you think I am. I have explained my actions multiple times and have owned up to what I have down here in Carnage since my debut. Yet, the truth is no one gives a shit about what I have had to say. Least of all Matthew Knox and his allies."
Another stone is flicked into the river causing more ripples to spread over the surface for a few brief seconds as Thor takes a breath.
"Ever since Matt Knox came into Carnage Wrestling he has been after me. I get part of why he has been after me all this time but like I said when he first called me out I wanted him at his best. You see our history goes back to 2007 when we worked for the long defunct Fantasy Wrestling Federation. If I recall correctly we first crossed paths about the time his then girlfriend Charlie James died. It could have been a few months before that but as I recall, it was my family who kept the Raven from self-destructing. Or at the very least prevented for quite some time. Which does beg the question, does Bert know about Charlie? Or has that sad tidbit been kept from Knox's young friend? Not that it matters in the end does it Matt? You see in the end it was you who walked away from everything and became a self admitted drugged out hermit. Yet, I am the bad guy in this thing?"
Thor's tone is both sad and filled with a bit of anger as he flings several rocks into the river below, not ever caring where they fell.
"I know that I should have done more to seek you out all those years ago but you made it clear that you didn't want anything to do with the family. A family that I still consider you to be part of Matt. I know that I am considered to be a monster who you want to slay but I am not the one who started this war Matthew. If you have bothered to listen to anything I have had to say about this you will know that all I want is for us to move past this. Knox seems to think I have this huge issue with him but the reality is that I have missed my son-in-law. I have missed being able to talk with the Raven as an equal in the ring and not some hated enemy. I get it though, he would hate me for walking away from the wrestling ring all those years ago instead of admitting that he made that choice on his own."
Silence falls as Thor stares out over the river below while he toys with the rocks still on in the bag. A look at his face reveal a man who was filled with multiple intense and conflicting emotions. Sadness and anger mix with determination and tired resignation all play over his face in a silent parade. A silent parade of inner turmoil that was almost beyond putting to words.
"Yet, in the end this isn't about what Knox has or hasn't done since he came to Carnage Wrestling, No it is all about the war I declared in a moment of personal weakness. A war that frankly should never have been declared but like I said weeks ago. I had a moment of weakness. A moment of weakness that has taken on a life of its own. Yet, the truth is that the cause of that weakness is still alive and well within the halls of the Carnage Wrestling. Yet, I wonder how would the Legion feel I was really the type of person that some on the roster think I am? What if I really was the power hungry egotist that I have been made out to be? I am sure few if any of you have reflected on that idea but that is okay I am used to being hated by the roster and management. In fact, it is a hallmark of my career. Which is something that Knox should recall from our FWF and PWE days."
With several savage throws another pair of stones are tossed into the water below by an emotion driven Sah'ta Thor.
"Win or lose at Chaos 100 it doesn't matter since Knox has already won in the eyes of the locker room. Just like he always managed to do years ago he has managed to become part of a social circle that feeds into his view of things. It is something that I always admired about him back in the day. You see no matter how hard I have tried to find a social network to support me it always seems to fall apart. Now that is probably a testament to my own personalization issues more than anything else but let's be honest I have tried to be more than people think I am. After Chaos 100 the reality is that Knox will still have the new family he has so admittedly chosen while I will more than likely still be the hated pariah that many want dead."
Thor falls silent as his voice catches in his throat. He bows his head as he takes a moment to pull his emotions back under control. After what seems to be an eternity Thor lifts his head to reveal a barely contained savage grin.
"Yet all of that is a bridge I will cross in the aftermath of our epic showdown at Chaos 100. You see while I didn't start this feud I will do what I have to do to end it. Let's not forget that it was Knox back at We Are Relentless who issued the challenge for our upcoming match to be a chain match. Of course that was after he and his allies defeated the rest of Insidious to earn the right to pick the stipulation in the first place. Yet, I have no issue with the match stipulation as I have made no secret of enjoying brutal matches. Hell some of my best work in the ring has been done while in the confines of extreme stipulations. All you have to do is take a look at my greatest match archive to see the reality of that fact."
A handful of rocks are flung into the water below as Thor licks his lips to wet them as his stance shifts into that of a fighter preparing to go on the offensive.
"At Chaos 100 the war that started in the aftermath of Chaos 93 will come to an end. Matthew Knox and I will be tied together by six feet of steel chain. There will be no disqualifications in this match and trust me I know that this match will have to be fought with the savagery of a cornered animal. Oh, to make things even more interesting in order to win this match one of us will have to drag the other around the ring to touch the ring post in a sequential order within a short time period. Which will be even harder than it sounds as let's be honest we will both be doing our dead level best to beat the life out of each other. The question I have is if Matt knows just what he has chosen to get into with this match."
The sound of the river below is the only thing heard as Thor stops to speak while his face takes on the richter of contemplation.
"Everything that can be reached in this match will be legal to use. Every part of our bodies and the chain itself will be legal in this brawl. Yet, I have to wonder if Matt is up to his full 100% self after the war he went through with Lab Rat King? Are those ribs more than bone fragments? Or how about that knee? Is the Raven even going to be able to do more than limp to the ring come our match? In the end it doesn't matter what shape The Raven will be in come our match since we all know he won't back down from this fight. After all, he has yet to show any sense of compromise where I am concerned. Which is ironic since I have been saying since day one of this whole thing that I don't have an issue with him. Yet, here we are on the precipice of resolution and I have to wonder once this is over what will be next?"
With that question Thor flings a few more of the stones he had brought into the water below. As the ripples move out from each landing point his eyes watch each expanding circle until they are all swept away by the water's current.
"Here is where I remind you all that I know my back is up against a wall. After all, I am the one with a brain tumor. After all I am the one who is risking my very existence each and every time I lace up my boots. So the question is what do I have to lose? Knox seems to think that this chain match we are will be to his advantage. Yet, I wonder if he understands what it is like to be a dying man? Sure the chain will force the contest he has wanted for months now. However, if you had been paying attention to my side of the story you would know I had no opposition to another match against The Raven. After all, we do have some unfinished business from our past to deal with. Yet, I have said repeatedly before over the last few months I wasn't the one with the hatred. I wasn't the one with the rage and the anger. That was solely the realm of The Raven. Of course it has been laid at my feet since it fits the narrative that The Set wants to paint about this conflict."
With a savage sweep of his arm Thor sends the remaining stone into the air to rain down on the river below. As the stones pepper the water Thor's expression shifts to that of determined hunger.
"While I have never claimed to be a hero here in Carnage Wrestling, at Chaos 100 I will be vindicated.You see by the time I have my hand raised in victory Matthew Knox will be exposed as the villain of this story. All you have to do is take a look back at everything he has said about me since Chaos 93 to understand that he has been the one holding on to the hatred. It has been Matthew Knox who has been the antagonist since he signed his contract. Yet, I am the one everyone hates. After our match this matter ends and maybe just maybe I will get some of the respect that I have wanted for years."
Thor starts to walk off the bridge moving with the manner of a caged animal waiting to be released. As he walks away his phone starts to ring. He quickly answers it after checking to see who was calling.
"What do you know Aaron?"
After a moment of hearing what Aaron had to say Thor's expression turns to an almost relieved smile.
"Have you got any closer in finding out who jumped me after We Are Relentless?"
Thor continues walking as he hears the reply to his question.
"I see. So you will have everything confirmed for Chaos 100?"
Hearing the confirmation for that fact Thor cracks a grin knowing that one of the mysteries he had been trying to figure out was well on its way to being solved.
"Excellent. I will be in Baltimore in a few days and we can talk more then."
With that Thor ends the call as his feet come to the end of the bridge. With a steady step he walks up the dirt path back towards his Hummer. Once he arrives he finds a folded up flier pinned under the windshield wiper. He curiously removes the flier and opens it up to take a look to reveal a logo that started showing up in Carnage Wrestling back at We Are Relentless. Below the logo were the simple words "Contact us." Thor folds the paper and slips it into his pocket wondering just what this group could want with him.
Family Ties Off Screen
Nathaniel Grant had been preparing for his match at Chaos 100 when he had been called by his daughter Astyrd. Hearing what she had to say he had decided to take a day off of his training to go visit her and help her through the decision she was about to make. Upon arriving at her house she is met by his granddaughter Ivy. Giving her a hug Nathaniel picks her up and carries her towards the Las Vegas house that Astryd lived in with Ivy and Hope. Once inside Nathaniel sets Ivy down before turning to head into the dining room where his daughter was waiting for him a bunch of paperwork.
"I came as soon as I could. I have to ask if you are sure you want to do this."
As Nathaniel sits down in one of the dining table chairs Astryd replies in a tone of sad acceptance.
"Dad I should have done this years ago when it became clear that Matt wasn't coming home. Yet, I held out hope that he still loved me like he did when we got married. Since his return to the wrestling world a few months ago he has had plenty of time to try and reach out to me. We both know he hasn't made a move in that direction. In fact, he has been quite vocal that I am not his wife anymore."
Astryd falls silent as Nathaniel gives a nod of acknowledgement to his daughter's pained words.
"Why now though? What made you decide to file this paperwork now?
"I don't want this failure of a marriage to continue to be used as a weapon against you Dad. It has been a weapon between you and Matt long enough. I want this done before you two get inside a wrestling ring to tear each other apart. You know even while I held out hope all these years that once Matt got his shit together he would still love me, I knew that it was a pipe dream. After all, he was gone for over a decade without making any attempt to reach out past the gifts to the girls. The gifts that kept me hoping we would be stronger than his absence.
As she speaks, tears start to fall down Astryd's face as she turns to look down at the stack of forms on the table in front of her. Nathaniel reaches over and wraps his arms around her as he tries to comfort the best he knew how.
"It is never easy to learn that the person you love doesn't feel the same way about you anymore. Though the question I have to ask you is did he really love you or did you just fill the void that Charlie's death caused? I know there is no way to know the answer to that for sure. Though you are probably right that this should be handled sooner rather than later."
Nathaniel falls silent as he looks down at the forms that Astryd had in front of her.
"My only concern is how the girls will take this. I know Hope has been spending time with Matt trying to reconnect through all the drama. I am worried about Ivy though. I know she hasn't had him around as she grew up but you know the stories we used to tell her about what Matt was off doing over the years. You know how some of the things he has said over the last few months have upset her. I just hope she can forgive me for moving on."
Nathaniel nods thoughtfully as he holds Astryd close while contemplating how he could answer this concern.
"In the end I know that Ivy will come to understand why you are doing this. After all, I don't expect you are going to deny her access to Matt after this goes through. She will be upset for a while but remember how you grew up Astryd. I am sorry for the way things went over the years. I would change the past if I could but you know I can't. With this you are doing the responsible thing and maybe this will help defuse some of the tension between Matt and I. If only for the sake of the girls."
With those words Astryd sighs before she reaches over to grab a pen. Nathaniel holds her as she flips through the stack of forms signing and initialing in all the proper places. After a few moments she sets the pen down and shifts so that her face is pressed into Nathaniel's shoulder as she cries letting out some of the pain of the moment.
"It will be alright Astryd. What you have just done is free the both of you to go your own ways. You are still quite a catch and any guy would be lucky to have you once you are ready. I know that there have been several interested over the years that you avoided because of your marriage. Maybe now you can find who will treat you and the girls like you should be. I will get this sent off after I leave in a few hours."
With that the pair fall into silence as Nathaniel does his best to be the comforting father to his grieving daughter.
Post by Matt Knox "The Raven" on Oct 5, 2020 21:56:58 GMT -5
Matthew looked at his watch. Ten Thirty. The Restaurant would be closing in forty five minutes, and he was here. Sat where he had been for an hour. Dress shirt, slacks, dark hair slicked back and a miserable, drunk look etched onto his face. He had ditched the formality of a glass Forty minutes in. He lifted the Twenty Sixteen Chardonnay to his lips, taking big swigs of the simultaneously sour and sweet wine within.
From a Monterey Vineyard. Monterey. Home. Not unlike Baltimore in it’s artistic flairs but home to those who would be considered more Alex Winter than Mitch Heart. He sneered, and scoffed as he thought of home. Never fitting in, not where Hugh had and in turn had wanted him to. He didn’t despise his wealth, and had gotten very good at utilizing and growing it after Hugh passed.
Always a cut to the Church, always a cut to Cancer research. Have more assets than capital. All old school rules he upheld. He had run through a considerable amount, after leaving PWE. But the numbers were still considerable. It wasn’t an aspect of himself he liked bringing up. It tended to shoehorn him into places where an Alex Winter usually lay in rot
He shook his head, taking another pull from the bottle of wine. He started letting his eyes wander amongst his surroundings, grabbing a complimentary breadstick and taking a bite off it. The violinist he had hired sat awkwardly in the corner. At this point, Knox was keeping him here just to be a prick. Wasn’t nice, but fuck him and his violin. Being stood up was also not nice, but here he was.
Alone.
Again.
Naturally.
He began humming the old tune to himself, mind hazily grasping at anything other than the empty seat across from himself. His mind drifted back to Home, Wealth, and a life long past. A life he would end at One Hundred, against Nathaniel Grant.
Here, in these darkest moments. When he was alone. Truly Alone. He could face thoughts he tried to kill, and bury. Thoughts like the deep seeded hatred he held for Nate. If he still held it. He wondered, if there was anything left of circumstance? Was it all just pomp and circumstance? He had reached an odd level of understanding with Hope.
Ivy? That was something that would take time, one way or the other. And Astryd?
He snorts. Tonight just furthered the point that he was meant to be alone.
He stood finally, swaying as he did so. He reached into his back pocket, retrieving his wallet and throwing a couple hundreds onto the table, grabbing the bottle of wine and another breadstick before heading for the door. The sparse patronage and wait staff gave the large, drunk individual a wide berth as he made his way to the exit, and out into the calm, forgiving Baltimore night.
Inner Harbor Marriott
Room 207
Noon time, October the 5th, 2020
Matthew ended the phone call, a small shiver going up his spine as he did so. Lawyers were the absolute bane of his existence. Especially ones who dealt with his wealth. He took solace, though. A check was en route to Astryd, the section of vineyards he had decided to keep for Ivy and Hope were now in their names, to be signed over on their twenty first birthdays.
And so, outside of a fight that he secretly had lost his taste for, his old life was over now. The chapter drawn to a close far too long after it should have been. He closed his eyes, and reflected silently on the marriage. The mistake he should never have allowed himself to make. Astryd came in at his lowest, and he let himself be drawn into her bosom.
Through wars with countless faces he no longer cared to recall, she was dutifully by his side. There to hold his hand, comfort him, fuck him. And he never wanted, much less appreciated it. Everything she did was full of the weight of sincerity and love while he accepted it numb, through the fog of self loathing and loss.
Those years, all he cared about were the fans, and Hope. Everything else was a distraction, from the dread Charlotte had caused him. Every match, every broken bone, every torn muscle, every knot, bruise and cut? Distraction, tantamount to every time they kissed, held each other, made love or exchanged niceties.
Now, though, now it is over. The weight was gone. He was free to move on, even had a path to build something with Ivy when the time was right. If it ever would be. He shook his head at himself. No doubt, the poor thing had nothing but negative association with him. He felt a pang of guilt for Astryd having stayed true for the past decade, even more.
Lord knows, he hadn’t.
With a heavy sigh, he lifts himself from the chair. Different parts of his body cry out in unison, a perfect chorus of pain written by himself, Alex Winter, Zane King and Amber Ryan. He braces against the desk, fingers curling around an edge and squeezing slightly until the pain subsides. The cool surface provides an odd, detached comfort.
Eventually, he releases his grip and straightens up to his full height, slowly opening his eyes.
“Okay” he utters to the silent, tomb like room.
It was time for a funeral.
He wasn’t sure what was more amusing, honestly. The bill for his time at the Marriott or the look on Bert’s face when he saw it. A cursory glance to his left saw the younger man fast asleep in the window seat of the taxi cab. A bemused smile broke Matthew’s features up as he turned his gaze back out the window, taking in the sights of Monterey at Midnight.
The red eye flight was mostly deserted, with the fear of COVID making those traveling by air a sparse crowd to say the least. Thoughtfully, he touched the mask covering his mouth and nose before going back to staring at the buildings that flew by him outside the Crown Victoria’s window.
It felt like ages since he had been home. And now, with the life he had started building in Baltimore, it hardly felt like home anymore. It felt like a graveyard. Memories, everywhere he turned his head but they felt more like ghosts. Spectres of a life ruined, a life he was never meant to live.
Eventually, the sprawl started to become thinner and the countryside became the dominant force of the land. The taxicab took a left off the 101, and began up a winding path through what seemed to be endless sprawling grape vineyards. Matthew stared toward the top of the hill, at the silhouette of his home, and one time tomb. He nudges Bert awake, slipping him a billfold, “Pay the man. Tip well. Make sure he waits..” he mutters as the Crown Victoria comes to a halt and he steps out, heading for the front door as he fished a set of long unused keys from his pocket.
He stopped in front of the old, oak door and reached a palm up, resting his hand against it…
“You’re home now, son.” the thick cockney accent rang through his head. He shifted uncomfortably, stepping into the large Foyer. The walls were a deep rose petal color bordered in white paneling. High above him, above the balcony the stairs led to on the second floor, an old chandelier hung in all it’s ancient aristocracy.
The heavy hand on his shoulder pulled him from his thoughts as he looked up at Hugh. The man who would now be his father, according to the sisters. He nodded, staying silent as he usually was apt to staying. “This way, then. Iris is in the kitchen making supper. I do hope you like ham, son.” another quiet and cautious nod. High smiled a toothy grin as he led Matthew up the stairs, to his room.
“You’ll come ‘round yet son, I trust innat. If y’need in yer walls f’now, I’ll not fault ya. But know, and take comfort in this son. You’ll never have’ta be anywhere else if y’never feel the need”
“This is forever if you wannit, son”
The door swung inward to the dark home. Foyer dusty, still rose red but the paneling had been switched out for a light gray after Hugh had passed. His way of trying to make the place his own. He stood silently, eyes scanning the room as if it were for the first time all over again. He set the keys down on the small table dutifully by the front door, as it had always been. Bert joined him wordlessly, flipping the light switch on as he had done so many times before.
His own memories here, not exactly pleasant. His mind can’t help but wander to darker times as he watches Matthew move silently, to another room...
December 1st, 2013
5 AM
Bert McAlroy fiddled with the keychain as he got to the house key, taking one last cursory glance upward toward Matthew’s bedroom window. In the distance, waves crashed angrily against the coastline. Any other day, it’d be his favorite sound in the world but today, the only sound he wanted to hear was Knox’s voice. He had called a dozen times, with no answer
Today was Grocery Day, he needed the list. But the silence, the silence churned his stomach. He knew deep down what it likely meant. They’d only had this arrangement for six months, but in that time he had seen plenty of debauchery and a lot more to question. Women, drugs, booze. He had worked to run off the leeches who had gathered, even gotten Knox’s PWE title back
Of course, he remained ignorant to that. The man had slept for what felt like days after a bender as that whole ordeal unfolded.
Finally, Bert got the old oak door open and stepped into the entryway, greeted by what once was polished white marble floor. He hurried up the stairs directly in front of him, and down the hallway to the master bedroom. He stopped at the door, taking in a deep breath before throwing it open
He scanned the unlit room until he saw the unmistakable form of Knox sprawled out at the foot of his bed, on his side. He walked over and knelt by him, shaking him “Matt?” he inquired softly, but got no response. He shook his friend harder, but still nothing. With a deep sigh, he laid two fingers to the side of his neck, and felt for a pulse. Satisfied that he wasn’t dead, Bert then produced a phone and turned on the flashlight
He lifted one of Knox’s arm’s and turned it over to find fresh track marks, which caused his stomach to sink even further. He stood then, grabbing a pillow and blanket from the canopy bed and setting to make his friend more comfortable before taking up watch in the chair in the corner of the room.
Bert shivered at the memory, clenching his eyes shut before heading to the garage, to grab up the numerous odds and ends Matt had instructed him to. He flipped the light on, taking a moment to stare at the half dozen tarps covering what remained of a once impressive collection, now long shot up Matthew’s all too willing arm.
Dutifully, Bert went to the work bench and opened a draw, grabbing up keys and pocketing them. He reached above the work bench, retrieving a lockbox he opened it and began thumbing through the titles, looking for one in particular. The one Matthew insisted on.
65 Panhead.
October 25th, 2008
Matthew Knox sat in his parlor, staring blankly at the phone in front of him. A distant grin played on his features as it continued to buzz and light up with calls, texts and the like. He reached over to his left arm and in one deft move undid the tourniquet, flexing his hand open and shut to pump the poison through his veins quicker
“Let this dose take me, please…” he whispered
He scooted the chair closer to the table, and leaned over onto it, cheek pressed against the coolness of the polished oak. Everything started to become warm, and his vision began to darken as the phone lit up once more. He had paid each text a random glance, committing it to memory
“You alive?”
“Why aren’t you home yet?”
“PWE said you terminated your contract, what’s going on?”
“Where are you?”
“Hope is worried”
“Astryd just went into labor”
“Call me”
“Call us”
“Call me NOW”
“Call us”
Horse shit. He chuckled, and with an arm that was suddenly heavier than any opponent he swiped the phone off the table, sending it to the floor. To hell, for all he cared. It was time to quit lying to them, to himself. He was a fighter, who was broken
He was never meant to be a father
Or a Husband
No, all that was left now was to be a statistic
“God, if you can hear me. . . let this be the one” He whispered. Or thought. Who knew, or cared now? The haziness started to take over everything, the corners of his vision blurred and soon darkness took him to her..
“Hello, Matthew…”
Matthew stared at the kitchen table stoically, the memory biting him for the first time in a long while. He passed the table by, heading to what had acted as Hugh’s office once, then his own. The room was lit only by the moonlight, until he flipped on the light switch and filled it with a fluorescent pollution.
He strode slowly around the desk, allowing himself a fingertip to trace the edge. He flicks the layer of dust away as he pulled the office chair out, sinking his form into it and resting his forearms on the desk a moment, peering one last time at another artifact of his life, before it’s ending. He dutifully begins going through the drawers, pulling out manila folders and envelopes without paying so much as a cautionary glance. He knew what was where, when it mattered.
Opening one last drawer did cause a skip in his beat. An old photo stared back up at him at him now, causing pause. Wordlessly he lifted the picture frame, before deftly disassembling it and removing the polaroid. Wordlessly, he stuffed it into one of the many envelopes set on the desk.
Reaching to the side of the desk, he picked up a battered leather briefcase, and set to placing everything within. He stood, plucking the briefcase up with him he strode through the kitchen, back to the foyer and found Bert waiting there, arms filled with more folders and paperwork.
“Got Everything?” he asked
“Everything you asked for, anyway” Bert replied, his eyes glancing at the walls with a sense of sadness, “This is really it, huh?”
“Yeah,” Matt said in a quiet tone, “This is it. Shoulda happened a long time ago, but better late than never, I guess.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, setting the briefcase down at Bert’s feet before continuing “Go load this in the taxi, drop in on your folks and keep this with you until the morning. We’ll catch a flight back to Baltimore then. I got a few more things to do here, but I’ll call you in the morning, I swear.”
Bert nodded wordlessly, reaching down and wrapping the three free fingers he had around the handle of the briefcase before heading back out the door, leaving Matthew alone in the foyer. In the old, frigid home that’s warm memories had gone as cold as a corpse now. The walls sang a much sadder tune than ever before.
“One last door to close” he breathed, as his hand went to rest on the banister. Slowly, his battered body carried itself up the stairs.
“How do you strike cold iron?”
The camera feed opens with Matthew Knox, seated in a highback victorian chair. The room around him looks neat mostly, set up to be a parlour. Behind him, a stained glass window lets in rays of moonlight but only after changing the ethereal glow to different shades of green, rose, and a deep blue.
“Because we have cooled off, Thor. This hatred, this grudge i’ve held? It’s gone the way of the Dodo. And if i’m honest, your existence? I no longer infuriates me so.”
“Instead, I find I rather pity it.”
He shifts in the seat, leaning forward to stare into the camera. His face coming more into the eerie lighting.
“Do you recognize this place? It’s my home. Where Ivy was conceived, before I moved out to Vegas with Astryd to be closer to you. Pregnant women, and that need for their bloodline. It is an otherworldly force, isn’t it? Makes them even more undeniable,”
His face takes a thoughtful look to it, lips pursing and eyes going distant as his eyebrows lift, “I suppose, that’s a raw nerve. Ivy, Astryd. Family. Because, until just the other day, we were legally family you and I,” he shifts once more, resting both elbows on his knees, “No more, though. Now, you are no more than another man sharing the world with me. At best, you’re the grandfather to my daughters. But us? Any bond therein? It’s dead, buried, and long past cold. The worms don’t even want it anymore, Nate.”
He paid a pause, knowing that name would carry some impact with it. He shook his head, running a hand through his hair before continuing, “I know you’re no fool. You saw all three of my matches, most important of which of course being against the Rat. But It, Jon, and Amber. There was method to this madness, Thor. They’re all infamous in their own way, on their own two feet. As infamous as your entire group.”
A curious look comes over his face, “Speaking of, while I understand your silence. There's perplexes me..But, moving on. I’ve beaten Poppy, Aaron, and Kyuubi enough times to where they’ve learned their place now. Beneath me, beneath my feet even,” his eyes narrowed “Kowtowing to an old, sick man. I don’t know why I ever thought them anything more than a charity group, honestly. But I digress, as I’m apt to.”
A smile plays on his features then “You know, after locking myself away as I did. It broke me, in a way. Conversation, it’s difficult anymore. And my temper, i’ve no control of the thing. Not that I ever did, but it’s worse now. And I ramble. Lord, how I ramble..” at this, a self deprecating chuckle escapes Matthew, a hand raising, palm open and pointed upward as if presenting how ridiculous he had become.
The laughter subsides though, as Matthew leans forward again, fully into the light. The smile fades from his face, and he begins speaking in a low and dangerous tone, “I told you I had to bury you, Thor. You put it off for as long as possible. I defeated your goons, to secure this match. And I made it for this event, so the whole world could see the end of my first chapter. A chapter that runs concurrent with the end of your final chapter.”
“I’m going to break you down like you’ve never been broken down, Nate. Because I have to. I’m going to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind who was better in the record books. If my memory is correct, we’re batting .500 right now. I pinned you in the FWF, you beat me in PWE right before I left. This is for all the glory, the tie breaker.” he shook his head, sneering and paying a dismissive chuckle and wave of his hand, “Not that it matters. I’ll bury it deep in what I plan on doing for the remainder of my time here in Carnage, and for you it will be lost among the thousands of accolades and failures in your record book.”
“But in those darkest moments, when it’s quiet? When you’re alone, and no one can reassure you otherwise? You’ll know.”
“Matthew is Better.”
Knox shakes his head, wiping his hands over his face, before speaking with a sense of finality. His tone has softened, and drips with sincerity as much as it does morbidity.
“And so Nathan, Astryd, Sujir, Aaron, Kyuubi, Poppy...this is where our story ends. With the death of the old king.”
“Goodbye, and goodnight”
Matthew leans back into the shadows as the camera slowly fades to pitch black
Matthew stood now, in his bedroom. His old bedroom. Since Bert had known him, he had taken up residence in one of the many guest rooms but no. This was his room, the one he grew up in. Found love in. And first saw the face of death within.
More ghosts had to be exorcised tonight.
He walked to the window, slowly. Each footstep echoing the sound of a deeply buried memory. The glass shattering, his own yells. The sickening sound of flesh on cobblestone. The feel of her broken body in his hands. The spirit that took hold in his darkest hour, and never let go.
He stopped short of the window, where they stood. He pulled a chair over, and sat in it. He steepled his fingers, leaning his mouth into them as he closed his eyes, feeling the icy grip of the past take hold. Slowly, he spoke.
“Thank you, Charlotte,” and suddenly the ice stopped it’s spread across his spine, “You kept me alive, for all those years I was alone. You kept the fire from dying even through the tsunami I let rain down upon it.”
“When I found my way back to our business, you kept me icy and ready to hurt people. You kept my edge as sharp as it ever was…”
“But it’s done now, i’m done...for the longest time, you were all I could equate companionship to Charlotte. Everything else...it just felt like methadone to an addict. And so, I played along. To get along.”
“But it's different, now. I’ve met someone special. Hell, i’ve met a lot of people who have become special to me. And i’m ready to let it go. To let you go..”
He paused once more, the words escaping him. The sting of tears and the lump within his throat betrayed his stoic features as he reached within his shirt pocket, producing a small velvet box that looked ravaged with age.
“I meant to give this to you. Shows how much of an idiot I was, thinking marriage could help fix what was wrong with you. Heal the pain you were in by sucking you into my own,” he chuckles despite himself at the youthful ignorance of it all. He wipes annoyedly at a lone tear that had freed itself.
“Your memory will never leave me, Charlotte. But I’ll not carry you with me anymore.. I can’t. Nothing stuck in the past can have any sort of future,” he exhaled raggedly, taking in a composing breath, “For himself, or anyone he cares for.”
He stood from the seat and knelt down, setting the small box down with the utmost care. He stayed still a moment, sniffing once and standing vertical. He lingers a moment, before whispering once more..