Walter Doyle

Joyce paced back and forth in front of the upstairs window. She was in her robe and under heavy medication. No words were shared between the two of them since last night. Walter had spent the majority of the evening crumpled on the floor or downstairs nursing a bottle of whiskey. Joyce was doing the same thing, except upstairs.

In between drinking, Walter had managed to call in sick. It was the first time in three years. Wicked thoughts raced through his head all day long. He couldn’t really tell whether it was thanks to the booze or the situation he was in.

Walter grabbed the now empty bottle of whiskey and ascended the stairs. He stumbled around, carefully taking each one by one. He still found himself wobbling and crashing into the walls which contained pictures of the family, most of which fell off their hooks including a wedding picture that split in half.

Walter finally climbed the stairs and found himself starring at the back of his wife. She stood in front of the large bay window overlooking the street.

"Hey," he said.

Joyce didn’t respond. She didn’t even turn around to acknowledge his existence. A feeling of pure rage overcame Walter as he grabbed the whiskey bottle and approached his wife. With a piercing yell he raised the bottle and crashed it over her head.

Joyce cried out in pain as she collapsed to the ground. Blood quickly began to seep through her blonde hair and onto the carpet. Walter still held the broken bottle, which now sported sharp, jagged edges. He grabbed his wife by her now crimson hair and pulled her up to a standing position before thrusting the bottle into her stomach.

A look of fear filled her eyes as she saw her life flash before her. As she collapsed on the bed Walter removed his belt and wrapped it around his hand. He began punching Joyce in the back as if he was trying to tenderize a brisket. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as slowly she began to fade away.

"You fucking whore! How could you cheat on me? I take care of this family, I provide the best I can, and I do everything to please you. I put up with your stupid physiatrists and doctors and pills and to thank me you go and suck our neighbor off? You think I’m a weakling, don’t you? I’ll show you how strong I can be. You love cock so much how bout I shove mine down your throat until you can’t breathe?"

Walter unzipped his jeans and reached inside as his wife begged him, "Walter please…Walter."

Her whispers were barely audible and then slowly got louder and louder, "Walter. Wake up Walter!"

Walter stirred from his resting spot on the couch and caught himself just before falling off. He scratched the stubble on his chin as he looked at his wife standing at the foot of the stairs. Normally she would have simply nudged him, but now she made no attempt to move from her perch.

Walter sat up and immediately regretted it as a blistering hangover pierced him. He felt that his head would split any moment as he slowly rose to his feet and headed for the kitchen, praying for an aspirin and a glass of water. The dream still lingered in his head as he shuddered at the horrible depths his mind could go. He would never hurt his wife, no matter what she did, but the dream felt so real. The scariest part was that it felt so good. Walter couldn’t remember being as happy as he was torturing and killing his wife. What kind of a man was he?

Joyce followed him into the kitchen with her arms folded across her chest. Her first words since the other night weren’t very comforting and the next weren’t either.

"I want a divorce," she said casually. To a simple observer it would’ve appeared that these were newlyweds who had rushed into marriage too quickly after a drunken night out in Vegas.

Long gone were the years of marriage, the three kids, and the halfway paid off mortgage. The closeness they once felt for each other was gone; the distance between them now was immeasurable.

Walter downed a pair of advil with a glass of water before turning to face his wife. He would at least have the dignity to look her in the eye when he divorced her, "No problem."

They could’ve fought for their marriage and for their kids, but the brisk nature of their conversation was evidence enough that it was dead. Walter didn’t care about his wife or his marriage anymore. He wanted his son back safely. That was it.

"Do you think Jackson will keep quiet?" he asked her.

She shrugged, "He loves Sara and he doesn’t want to hurt her. He’ll stay quiet. I know him."

Walter snorted, "That you do."

The front door opened and Julie burst in, quickly heading upstairs without even saying hello. To Walter’s dismay Hank walked through the door behind her. He headed for the kitchen.

"Take care of your problem?"

Walter nodded.

"Good. If however, he decides to be a hero killing him is not out of the question."

Joyce turned to face Hank and got in his face as best as a small woman could, "We told you it’s taken care of. You don’t need to kill him. Haven’t you done enough damage already?"

Hank looked genuinely confused and then smiled, "Oh, I’m not going to kill him. Wouldn’t dream of it. He’s your problem."

Julie bounded down the stairs in a hurry. A huge smile was plastered on her face as she walked towards the door.

"Bye mom, bye dad."

Before Walter or Joyce could say anything she stepped out of the house. Hank smiled as he turned to follow her, "Don’t you guys worry. I’ll take good care of her. Hell, I’ll even have her home by midnight."

He laughed as he shut the door behind him.

Julie Doyle

Julie had never been taken to a fancy restaurant before. She’d been, but only for celebrations or something family related. Tonight it was Hank and her, alone.

She smiled as the waiter led them through the restaurant toward a table by the window. Hank pulled her chair back for her and then took his own. He smiled as he opened the menu and began scanning it.

"You know, the food here is really good."

Julie opened her menu, "Anything you’d recommend?"

Hank smiled and laughed, "I doubt we have the same tastes."

Julie placed the open menu on the table, "Try me."

Hank peered at her over his menu. Placing it to the side he reached across the table, briefly grazing her hair, before pointing to an expensive steak. He gave her a wink, "I prefer mine medium-rare. It’s soft and tender and perfectly pink inside."

Leaning back in his chair, Hank picked up his menu once more. After a minute or so he motioned for the waiter and placed an order for the same steak he showed Julie earlier; medium -rare just as he described.

Julie took Hanks advice and ordered the same thing, even though she normally preferred her meat to be well done. The waiter took down the orders and left the two alone. Hank clasped his hands together and looked intently at Julie before speaking.

"So I hear you want to be an actress."

She nodded enthusiastically.

"Ever since I was little I’ve always wanted to act in films. I’ve always enjoyed watching stories come alive onscreen and I’ve always imagined myself in some of those roles like Sarah Conner in the Terminator movies or like Meryl Streep in the Deer Hunter. I don’t want to just be another dumb bimbo actress; I actually want to be good at what I do."

Hank took a sip of his water. A few beads coated his beard before sinking in. She giggled a bit as he wiped his chin.

"So are you married?"

Hank shook his head.

"Kids?"

Hank shook his head again, "No, well I’m taking care of a kid right now actually. I’m just looking after him for awhile. Just temporary while things at home get sorted out."

Hank took a sip of water and smiled at her, "You know I’m actually working on a screenplay myself."

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

Hank nodded, "In fact, it’s coming along very nicely. I know some producers who are going to work with me and get it made once I’m finished."

She sat up straight in her chair and leaned forward, "What’s it about?"

Hank chuckled a bit and shook his head.

"I doubt you’d like it. It’s basically a horror movie and a really dark and scary one at that. I doubt a young lady like you would enjoy it."

She cracked a nice smile, "I love horror movies and anything scary. Come on, tell me. Please."

Julie looked directly into Hank’s eyes and shot him the best puppy dog look she could. She knew he couldn’t refuse her then. He smiled, and then shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

"Okay, well it’s about a very bad man. Like a serial killer who takes great pleasure in playing games with his victims. He doesn’t just want to kill people. No, he wants to play with them and destroy them. He’s a real psycho."

She sipped her water as she listened intently.

"I’ll have a montage of him stalking and watching this family for like a year or so. Learning everything he can about them, seeing the problems they have, and then using those problems against them to drive the family apart. He’ll be tormenting them throughout the film since it’ll be unveiled that the wife was cheating on the husband. It’ll get really interesting when this creeper starts turning his attention to their daughter."

Julie looked interested, "How does it end? Do they escape or does the killer win in the end?"

Hank shrugged, "Don’t know, haven’t written the ending yet. What would you like to see happen?"

"I think he should really be mean and evil to them. He should torment the family and do unspeakable things. There have been a lot of horror movies out recently so you’ve really got to shock people."

Hank smiled widely, "You know you’d be perfect for the role of the daughter. Maybe after I finish writing it you can have a starring role."

The waiter came by with their plates. He placed the food in front of Julie and Hank before leaving once again.

Julie took a sip of water and bit into her steak. It tasted good to her. The thought of starring in a movie was exhilarating to her. She could feel her dream within reach.

"Like I was saying, I really like dark movies. I also really like to see horror movies where the bad guy wins in the end."

Hank smiled as he bit into the pink flesh of the steak, "So do I."

The following promotion is brought to you by the man who will probably be called on to "put over" yet another man that the XWF claims they can build around.. Shawn Christopher.

"Under the blacklight, we're all exposed.

We must take this opportunity and learn about ourselves, or fall victim to the age old peril of being left behind. Everyone has to take stock of themselves at some point, and must re-evaluate who they are as a person, or evolution is fruitless.

I've been under the blacklight and I've seen who I really am. Who I really am is a ruthless tyrant, who will see things done my way. That's the only way XWF will ever survive, is if a visionary like myself, leads it into greener pastures. Do you really think that the likes of Rage could ever be the face of the company? You should, because he could be.

Hell Famine of the Vile was damn near Universal champion, so anything can happen.

Rage, you have crossed a line and you have no comprehension of the repercussions. You made a return to the XWF to try to breathe new life, you returned with a hell of a storyline, which seems to have fished out quicker than your attempt at a comeback.

Now, I did a little bit of research -- like I always do -- into Rage. What I found isn't that encouraging. He's apparently a big name around here, or at least he was. But rather then using it to his advantage, he is wasting his career.

A deadbeat, in other words. And that seems to be a title that he embraces, given how he never stops smiling.

And from what I've read, despite his winning the World championship here, he's not really that great shakes a wrestler. He relies on throwing an opponent off their game by playing silly games to wait for a mistake. This, I'm sorry to say, makes him rather easy pickings for me.

See, as I've mentioned before, I generally don't get angry. It takes a lot of work to piss me off, and merely playing games and pandering to the crowd won't be enough to do it. And if you're waiting for me to leave an opening, Rage, I'm afraid you're wrestling the wrong guy. I don't leave openings, I exploit them.

Just like every promo so far, I've exploited you. Like the fact that you claim that everything I do outside the XWF doesn't matter, but yet, you're real quick to bring it to light when you think it's doing you a favor. But in the end, it makes you look like the stupid one.

I don't have to run down everything I've done since 1996.. like you said, it doesn't matter since it didn't happen in the XWF. So my wars against K-Money, are inadmissable. But good job on taking fifteen months to win one World title. You really showed me. Well.. you would've, if I hadn't won my first one in about seven months.

The facts remain that our XWF careers aren't equal. I've done more in this place you call home, in less time, than you. But you can accept the fact that on the surface, I'm looked at as being better. Then add the fact that, I'm a better wrestler, and you'll understand why I stand here and proclaim myself to be the best wrestler in this match.

I don't need to list every man I've ever beaten to prove that fact. The era that I dominated was filled so many great superstars, it's crazy. The era you wrestled for fifteen months in, and only won one world title, speaks volumes. Especially when Ranma Saotome won the Universal title in what, two months? That shows the level of talent during that time was at an all-time low. And the fact that it took you fifteen months, proves you aren't as good as you think you are.

But you are right about one little thing. I haven't done anything in the XWF lately. And that's because I haven't been in the XWF since early 2008. But when I walked out on this company.. I walked out a champion. That's more than I can say for you.

I don't claim to have a 149 IQ or anything like that, but I am pretty fucking clever. After all, anyone who can turn a couple thousand dollars and a car title into an international business juggernaut worth billions has more than an average intellect. I've also got shitload more wrestling experience than you. I'm not just a wrestling phenom, you know. While I might only have been back in this company for a few days, I've been wrestling since high school, and professionally since I graduated. I've got experience in any style you care to mention.

And, by the track record I listed earlier, you know I'm not just some overtrained blowhard. I can back up what I say in the ring. Trust me on that.

So go ahead, prepare for this match, look ahead to Xmas Xtreme.

I'll just smack that smile off your face, and walk out that much closer to championship gold.

Know your fucking place."

End feed.