What is it about waking up after a night of overindulging and letting loose, that turns us into detectives the next morning?


We lose a bit of memory from the night before and wake up in a panic. Oh no! A blackout! The hours from 1AM to whenever I got home, are completely absent from my mind. Then we start piecing together events and try to figure shit out. Oh it seems I'm naked, where are my pants? Is that them hanging from the light fixture? How did they wind up there? Suddenly we're instantly transformed into Sherlock Holmes but like the worst version of the character ever. The lazy, hungover version of Sherlock Holmes. The Sherlock Holmes that Moriarty doesn't even bother trying to mess with cause it's a waste of time and he's got better things to do. Like fucking with Danger Mouse or Inspector Gadget because doing something inane and utterly pointless, like terrorizing cartoon detectives, is still a more worthwhile activity. In spite of this realization, we continue trying to solve our own mystery, without ever leaving the bed. Huh? What's this? Why it appears I'm not alone, there's someone else in this bed with me. It's a woman and she's also naked. Haha! A clue! The game is afoot!


Anyways, I've made a point of mentioning all that because it's precisely what happened to me, just this morning. Right down to the pants hanging from the light fixture. Now I've had my fair share of one night stands and by fair share, I mean more than you. Most of them occurred in college. Even though I only spent six months there, for me that was like four years (19-23) and I racked up a total number of "conquests" befitting that precise time span. Then I graduated or rather, Ezra doctored diplomas and I went to work. There were periodic moments of indiscretion following that but then I met Abigail, we started dating, she got pregnant and we got married. Tragically she died, in an unspeakable, horrendous manner and I've been raising Arkin all by myself ever since then, which sort of put a damper on dating or even at the very least, hooking up with anyone. Until now, when I went to a party, got drunk and apparently decided that it was a wise choice to bring a random stranger home and fuck her. Luckily, Arkin wasn't home, since I dropped him off at Lila's place before I went out and ultimately made the choices that resulted in this state of affairs.


There were a million thoughts running through my head by that point but only one of them was the most predominate. If it were a voice, it would be Sam Kinison, screaming. That thought was... hmm, how can I put this delicately? Fuck it. It was "This bitch has got to go!" and that's because it was true, I had work to do. Besides being a wrestler for the XWF, I'm an accountant and a financial consultant. It might be freelance but I have regular clients that I needed to speak with that day, as well as several meetings lined up. Arkin wouldn't be home till after he went to see his tutor, Lila agreed to drop him off there. Still, my day tends to start early and run late, I'm a busy man. So I couldn't allow this impulsive act to fuck up my schedule. My time is precious and extremely valuable, and I use every second that I get. I needed to eject this lady from my apartment and get the ball rolling so to speak. At the same time though, I couldn't be an asshole, wake the woman up and tell her to get the fuck out. I mean, I could and I have done that in the past but I want to be a better person, when it comes to these types of circumstances.


However, as I pondered my options and gazed up at my trousers, she turned over and woke up. I bet you think this alleviated the complications. Well, you would be mistaken if you went and assumed that because when she shifted her body over, I saw who it was and a whole new situation surfaced. The naked girl in my bed was Frankie Styles. Zane Norrison's lady was laying in my bed. Naked. Killer body too (In case you were curious), I mean (No joke) she was extremely hot and part of me was very pleased with myself for tapping that ass but holy shiza, I fucked Zane Norrison's girlfriend. Translation: I'm going to have an enraged zombie coming after me, that's the epitome of worst case scenarios and it was my set in stone future. How could it not be? Frankie was going to come to her senses, realize she made a mistake and tell Zane.


Which would lead to me getting torn to shreds by a zombie that was sent on the warpath. Something that I would most likely survive or avoid initially but not forever. At some point, that undead abomination will lurk out of the shadows and attack. Now I can survive wounds that most cannot but actual death, I don't know if that's possible. I may be related to Azrael but I'm half human, also I'm not like him, I don't walk out my front door and taunt the Grim Reaper. I know there are certain limitations. For instance, my body doesn't heal as quickly and if a crazed zombie rips out my jugular, I'll more than likely bleed to death, way before any healing factor kicks in and tends to my injuries. Then that'll be the end for me. Rest in peace, Donovan Blackwater. Ugh. This was a total disaster. A nightmare that I couldn't wake up from and at the same time, I couldn't stop looking at her.


They were quick glances but they were repeated and somewhere in the hazy, fuzzy lollipop part of my brain, I still had an impression from the night before and the party at Axle King's bar. It was faint but it was there and it was a good one, I think we got along. Very well, if that wasn't completely obvious, because we woke up in the same bed together. Fuck. I'm an idiot.


"Last night was fun."


Not the four words that I was expecting. You know, I felt myself laughing after I heard that but it was a purely involuntary reaction, I just wasn't prepared for those words.


"It was also a mistake."


That's more like it. To compose myself and cease the laughter, I fired up a cigarette and pushed myself into a sitting position. Half-way covered by the sheet and my back resting against the headboard.


"I mean, I don't want to hurt Zane. He's a nice guy. Sure he eats people's brains and he's dead but there is more to him than that. He's sweet and genuine."


I knew where this was going. Nodding, I took a drag from my cigarette and braced myself for the next bit. The part that let me know, the countdown began and to expect a furious zombie.


"But I like you too."


Frankie sat up and turned, so she was now kneeling on the bed next to me, her eyes fixed on mine.


"We clicked and got along. Faster than I've gotten along with anyone. Even Zane."


Hate comparisons by the way. I exhaled a cloud of smoke and kept quiet.


"I never do this. Ever. Sleep with someone on a whim."


No girl ever does. Ah... internal sarcasm. In its finest.


"This is different. You're different. I don't know what it is about you but I can't deny the connection and it is not solely some primal desire. It just can't be."


"People do funny things when they get hammered."


Look at that, I finally used words.


"Listen, I don't know what you want me to say here, you tell me last night was fun but I don't recall a whole lot from then. If we fucked and I finished..."


"You did."


"Alright. Well then, I obviously had fun."


"You weren't the only one either."


"Double plus there and a gold star."


"I don't know what to do. I'm confused. Two days ago everything was certain. Rock solid. Now everything is different. What do you think I should do?"


There went that laughter again, fighting its way to spill out, all on its own. I stifled it with a pull from my cigarette.


"I don't know. I think you should figure out that sorta thing on your own."


Puff of smoke.


"Do me a favor, give me a heads up if you decide to talk to Zane and tell him everything. You know, so I have a decent running start or at the very least, I can prepare myself, for when he goes all 'zombie rage' mode and comes looking for revenge. Oh and if you could wait, till after my match on Saturday Night Spooks, that would be great."


Damn. I was an asshole. Sometimes I can't even believe that I say the shit that I do.





"Rebel Star! Taking the gloves off and telling it like it is! Was that fun for you? Did you enjoy putting me in my place?"


"You're just trying to rise up out of your father's shadow, that's why you said those things about me. That was the basic idea of part of your argument, correct? Yeah, it was. I heard you loud and clear when you said it. Couldn't believe my ears but I heard it."


"Wow. So that's what you think, huh? That's utterly adorable. However it's also highly inaccurate, my dear. I would first have to feel like I was trapped in my fathers shadow, in order for that logic to apply and I don't feel that way. Not at all. Other people have claimed that before and they were wrong too. They've even stated that I'm riding on his coat tales. Another false truth in its finest."


"From day one I have been my own man, I'm not in competition with Azrael. I respect him but I'm not trying to be better than him. His legacy is his own. I personally couldn't care less if my record doesn't mirror it. That would be weird. Like I was trying to be him or something. Although, I must admit it's wearing fairly thin, did you see his poor performance when he teamed alongside Lux?"


"Now when I stood beside her and we were part of a team, it was a grand achievement. A thing of pure beauty. We walked into War Games, like comrades in arms, ready for battle and we left winners. It seems my father doesn't have the knack to pull that off. He's always been wishy washy with partners, it's hit or miss with him and you never know what it'll be until that moment of truth, and you're either winning or losing."


"That's not a slam against him, it's merely an observation. Like the observation that I made about you. The one you tragically think that I made because I was being emotional. Emotional? Really? Is that honestly what you want to go with? It's not simply because I have eyes and a fully functional, working brain. I can put 2+2 together and get the right answer and not say that it equals something ridiculous like... oh, I don't know, fish. That's literally what your trying to tell me. And I'm extremely good at math but even if I wasn't, that's mind boggling that you could misinterpret my words that poorly."


"Look at your track record. Look at it. That's where I obtained the information that fueled my opinion. You wrestled a few months in your first run and came out swingin' like your name was Muhammad Ali. Taking names and kicking ass. You were a force few could reckon with and you could have done so much more. So much more but instead, you packed up your purse and left at the start of your prime."


"Why?"


"You know, you never actually answered that question, by the way. All you did was acknowledge it and say so what? You're back now. Well, holy fucking shiza, so what?!?! Seriously. So what?!?! You came back and every match has been a disappointment thus far. You lost to Tommy Wish. Tommy Wish."


"My father will never say this to you, he won't admit the truth and tell you that you were nothing more than a short lived fad at best. No, he'll sing your praise and tell you to take me out, because he loves you. He wants to marry you. Congratulations Rebel, you did it again, you pulled off the impossible. It just wasn't in the wrestling ring this time, it was getting my father to give you a ring. You tamed the untamable. Bravo. But I promise you, you will not be that fortunate come this Saturday Night."


"I fought for my place. Hard. I didn't show up and disappear. I've been going out to that ring and consistently battling opponents. Won nearly all the pay-per-view events that I've been featured in and even claimed titles before my first year was up. Oh yeah, that's right. I've been here longer than a year now. Didn't you resurface almost a year ago and what do you have to show for it? Nothing. You say you're going to give this fight your all... well, bring it on, baby. Cause I am not going to be intimidated, I am not afraid of you and I am fully prepared to do the same."


"Hey but it's nothing personal, even though you tried desperately to touch a nerve and failed. You're marrying my dad, his happiness is mine and in spite of all this... everything I said, I actually like you. I just wish you'd wake the fuck up. Open your eyes and see things for how they really are. This match? It's strictly business. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not trying to make enemies with my father's future wife, I'm simply doing what I have to do in order to succeed."

Donovan Blackwater
Former 1x...