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Thaddeus Duke · (08-18-2019)

The militant commander bursts from inside a tent and is pointing out different equipment and barking orders. The men and women under his command work hard and work quickly getting their equipment ready to go. Crates of ammunition are loaded onto the back of trucks. Humvee’s are fueled up. Crates of rockets are loaded. Men and women all in darker colored fatigues rush around quickly, completing their tasks with military trained efficiency.

Many of those neither loading nor fueling, are gearing up in full uniform. Some camouflage their faces in dark greens, grays, browns, blacks.

”Alright soldiers, listen up!” shouts the General. The hustle comes to a quick stop as all eyes are focused on their commander. ”Tonight, phase one of the Ares Project begins! If we do our job well, we’ll move on to phase two! Phase one ends with the elimination of one...” he pauses to peek at his clipboard. ”...Thaddeus Duke,” he confirms.

”General, is there any indication that they know we’re coming?” asks one of his soldiers.

The General looks around at his armed men and women momentarily. ”We have no indication one way or the other. If they know we’re coming, it’s going to get messy. If they don’t, it’s going to get messy.

“Our intel suggests they are heavily armed and highly trained. Ladies and gentlemen, this is it. The moment all of us have prepared our whole lives for!

“Let’s load up, and move out!”

...Nearly 4 Months Ago...

Thaddeus throws open the door to his bedroom and tosses his bags on the floor. He’s back from his XWF Biloxi trip and is very much looking forward to a little rest and relaxation after a much needed victory. Thad throws himself face first onto his bed as Mufasa and Simba saunter in to greet him. They hop onto the bed and he pets their ears and ruffles their mane as he begins to fall asleep. The lions lay their heads down and begin to fall asleep next to their young master.

All three lie motionless as they drift off to sleep when suddenly, Mufasa’s ears perk up and he lifts his head up off the bed, staring into a corner. Soon, Simba reacts the same way, disturbing Thaddeus a little. Mufasa lets out a low growl. Then Simba.

[duke]”I’m tired, it’s not time to play,”[/duke] Thaddeus says to his furry creatures. [duke]”We’ll go outside in the morning. Lay down and go to sleep.”[/duke]

Mufasa and Simba both stand up on all fours on the bed. Mufasa roars, followed by Simba. Their reaction startles Thaddeus and he turns around and sits up on the bed. After switching on the lamp, he looks at his two beasts. [duke]”The fuck is your problem!? I want some sleep. Shut the fuck up.”[/duke]

BOOOM!! CRASH!

The explosion rocks the old fortress on its foundation. Sirens begin blaring all over the Compound and Thaddeus bolts up off his bed. Outside his door, many thumping footsteps are heard running by. Gunfire is heard off in the distance. Thaddeus, lost and half asleep runs toward his closet as James rushes in.

”We’re under attack!”

[duke]”I figured that part out,”[/duke] he quips sarcastically as he rummages through his closet for some battle gear. [duke]”Get the boys into the tunnels, Jim,”[/duke] he instructs, referring to the lions. Thaddeus throws on his flack jacket and pulls a dark green shirt over top. He looks over his shoulder and James is still standing there. [duke]”GO!”[/duke]

Jim guides the nervous lions who don’t really want to leave their master out of the room as Thaddeus grabs an assault rifle and his Desert Eagle revolver and tosses them on the bed. He pulls on his combat boots and attaches his holster to his belt. Before exiting his bedroom, he holsters his revolver and grabs his assault rifle.

Moments later he bursts through the door to the roof of the Compound, his rifle at the ready, to survey the situation. Several men are firing from the rooftop toward the ground where the invaders have broken through the security fence. His guard towers are ablaze. The gate house at the end of the driveway is engulfed in flames and the reinforced gate is being rammed by a Humvee.

[duke]”What’ve we got?”[/duke] Thaddeus asks one of his men nearby.

”We have invaders from the West and the North sides of the Compound,” the man shouts. ”They’ve broken through there,” he states, pointing toward the gaps in the fence where a couple Humvee’s are parked on the lawn and soldiers begin filing in from the gap. ”And there,” pointing toward the gate house. ”The towers are on fire, so the snipers had to abandon their positions. Right now, they’re at the doors with a batter...” he never gets to finish as he’s cut down by an enemy bullet.

Thaddeus, his face spattered with the guards blood and brain matter, takes cover momentarily, before throwing caution to the wind. He leaves cover and approaches the edge of the roof. The Compound itself is burning in several spots from the rockets the enemy sent into its facade. He thinks to himself, he’s glad he installed steel bars outside the windows. The doors are thick and heavy and reinforced with steel inside their wooden structures. Thaddeus thinks they’ll probably get through, but by then most everyone else can retreat to safety and live to fight another day.

He stands there for a moment, watching his world burn and his men die one by one. Pulling out his cell phone he dials up the airstrip where his small military squadron was ordered to Def-Con 1. [duke]”We’re under attack! Where the fuck are you!?”[/duke] he asks, awaiting a response. [duke]”Good.”[/duke] Thaddeus hangs up the phone and heads over to the opposite side of the roof. His military bursts through the darkness of the woods and his security fences with tanks and Humvee’s with mounted turret guns. As they file in, they split off, flanking either side of the Compound. Thaddeus decides it’s time to head back in.

Once downstairs, he looks to his right and can see the front doors buckling with every THUMP from the battering ram. [duke]”The boys are here,”[/duke] he shouts over the noise. [duke]”I want as many people out as possible. Out through the tunnels.”[/duke]

The tunnels beneath the Compound lead out to the sea and from there its a short five or ten minute hike through the woods to the airstrip. Outside, he can hear the turret guns engaging the enemy and every so often, he hears the tanks empty their cannons. He starts ushering people toward the back of the building toward the cellar where the tunnel entrance is. He may be held responsible for losing the Compound, but he, in good conscience, won’t stand by and watch his people get slaughtered. He hears a window crashing coming from the old church and rushes across the buildings main corridor to take a look. Nothing, as he hoped.

Just as he starts back across the corridor, the enemy breaches the doors and a half dozen enemy combatants enter the Compound. Thaddeus engages them and all of them try firing at him but miss. Thaddeus downs one or two. Friendlies are in a couple rooms and they engage the enemy as well but are quickly eliminated. A moment later, a smoke grenade bounces near his feet and rolls against the wall before its contents fill the area with a blinding, suffocating smoke. Thaddeus has no choice but to retreat into the cellar. Once he’s there, the last couple of people are being ushered into the tunnel by James.

[duke]”You go too,”[/duke] Thaddeus instructs James.

James looks over his shoulder at him. ”No fucking way, mate. I’m in this with you.”

[duke]”It wasn’t a question, Jim, it was an order. Now get the fuck out of here.”[/duke] James stands his ground though, and refuses to abandon his friend. [duke]”Get the fuck out of here Jim or I’m shooting you myself!”[/duke]

Reluctantly, James ducks down and escapes through the wall opening into the tunnel. Just after he does so, a man bursts through the cellar door and Thaddeus stands looking at him. The two men stare each other down. The man is about the same height as Thaddeus but built much larger. He looks to be in his late 20’s or early 30’s.

Thaddeus, perhaps foolishly, tosses his guns and flack jacket to the floor. Ready to be captured, ready to be killed, mostly just ready to fight. Luckily, his enemy does the same and tosses aside his weapons.

[duke]”What’s this all about?”[/duke] Thaddeus asks the man as he readies himself for a fight.

The man shakes his head. ”I’m not interested in talking.”

[duke]”Me neither,”[/duke] Thaddeus says as he charges toward the man, spearing him into the wall behind him. The man fights back delivering a couple of knee blows to Thad’s midsection. Thaddeus realizes the man is far stronger than he is and regrets not shooting him instead. The man tosses Thaddeus off of him as if he were a rag doll and he crashes and slides across the cement floor. Thaddeus gets to his hands and knees as the man approaches him, but he dives between the mans legs and pops to his feet and delivers a few punches to the mans kidney area. The man then delivers a very hard elbow to Thad’s forehead just above his nose and he is stunned instantly. The enemy invader turns quickly and delivers a punch to Thad’s jaw, spinning him as he falls to the ground. The man continues on with a ground and pound tactic as he turns Thaddeus over on his back and delivers hard punches to the boys face.

He stands up watching as Thaddeus struggles through near unconsciousness to roll over onto his hands and knees. The enemy delivers a punt kick to his ribs, sending Thaddeus reeling and spinning. Still, the young man tries to get up. For a second, the enemy fighter almost admires the fight in his opponents spirit. He allows him to his feet this time.

[duke]”My military is here,”[/duke] he says to the enemy as he struggles to breathe. The man nods his head, confirming he knows. [duke]”Even if you kill me, you’ll never get out of here alive. You know that right?”[/duke]

The man doesn’t acknowledge.

Thaddeus weakly lunges at him. The man just steps aside and grabs a handful of Thaddeus’ hair, guiding him face first into the stone cellar wall. Thaddeus collapses onto the floor. As he drifts in and out of consciousness, the man spins him over on his back and reaches behind he waist, pulling out his combat knife.

Suddenly, he hears a growl and it startles him momentarily. Everything else has fallen quiet and the man thinks to himself that his fellow invaders were probably beaten back and are in retreat. Ignoring what he thought he heard, he kneels over Thaddeus Duke’s mostly lifeless body. He’s about ready to slit the boys throat when he hears the growl again coming from directly behind him. A bit of fear creeps into the mans mind and he forces himself to turn his head. He notices the lion less than two feet away from him and it scares the hell out of him. In a moment of fear he drops the knife and scurries off of Thaddeus and retreats on his ass across the floor to a corner. He breathes heavily now, unsure what to do. Then he remembers the guns he and his enemy left aside earlier.

Quickly, his eyes scan the room and notices Thaddeus’ assault rifle strap not more than an inch or two from his left foot. Not taking his eyes off of the lion, he searches with his foot until he feels the strap and starts to nudge the gun closer to him, dragging it across the floor. The lion steps forward toward the man and directly on the strap stopping the man from obtaining the weapon.

”Shit,” he says under his breath.

The lion emits a loud roar and the man is frozen in fear. Knowing its certain death for one of them, the man lunges from the corner. We fade to black as the gun goes off several times.

Minutes later, James is standing over his friend, believing the worst. James kneels down trying to check for a pulse when Mufasa appears and growls at James. James doesn’t notice him at first. His only concern was whether or not Thaddeus was alive or dead. Simba then appears through the tunnel opening and grabs James by his waist band and pulls him away from Thaddeus. Mufasa steps over Thad’s lifeless body and sniffs, then licks the young mans face. Thaddeus lets out a light moan due to pain and discomfort. Mufasa turns and sits between Thaddeus’ legs, guarding his young master.

[duke]”Awwww fuuucckkk,”[/duke] Thaddeus says as comes to. Mufasa steps away, letting Thaddeus have room. [duke]”Did we win?”[/duke]

”I fucking thought you were dead, mate,” Jim informs him. ”Mufasa and Simba wouldn’t let me near you.

“But yeah,” James says, looking over to his right at the dead body, torn to shreds by Mufasa. ”We won. Mufasa killed him.”

Thaddeus emits a smile. [duke]”C’mere boys,”[/duke] he says to the lions and they both come to his side. He hugs them and strokes their manes and their ears before struggling to get up. James lends a hand. [duke]”Let’s assess the damage, see where we go from here.”[/duke]

Thaddeus, James and the two lions head out of the cellar and up the steps to whatever is left of the Compound.

[duke]Did you ever feel like you’re having a serious case a deja vu? Or like you’ve lived moments more than once? I swear I went through a similar string of matches a few years ago when I first started my career. Ghost Tank, Myst…. It’s like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.

I swear to fucking GOD if Luca Arzegotti-Heyman comes out of some closet somewhere and I have to put him in some cement box to beat him, I’m gonna freak all the way the fuck out.

Real quick, does anyone know WHY Jenny Myst is in the XWF? I mean, the XWF is supposed to be where the elite come to play but this dumb plastic bimbo just keeps showing up. She’s like herpes- just when you think its gone, it pops right back up spreading her herpes to the XWF locker room.

Again.

So Jenny is gonna come out here and remind y’all that she was THIS CLOSE to beating me that one time we squared off. She’s correct. Sorta. I was a younger more nieve Thaddeus in those days and I didn’t want to hurt a woman so yeah, I went easy on her in our match together. She treats it as if she won the Universal title or some shit, but I learned my lesson. Jenny, I’m not going easy on you this time around.

You’re a dumb twat that doesn’t have the talent to cut it against real XWF talent so I’m not even sure why you came back here. Just like your girlfriend Chaos, you’re overrated and underwhelming between the ropes. Neither of you are as good as you think you are and I kind of look forward to shutting you up and humbling you, just like I did to Chaos… multiple times.

Jesus. I just can’t WAIT to take that post match spear from Chaos after he jumps the rail. You know… because Chaos. I dunno, I guess he thinks it makes him look cool or something. Spoiler Alert: He’s not.

You’re not good, Jenny Myst.

You’re not all that talented.

You’re not even all that hot like you make yourself believe.

You’re just another blonde hair dye using, artificial chest inflating, dip your face into a vat of concealer, two bit talentless hack and on Savage next week in Dallas, I’m going to show you what you should already know, what Chaos should already know but you both refuse to believe and that’s quite simply that… I’m better than you.[/duke]

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