A Prelude - Printable Version
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A Prelude (/showthread.php?tid=36494)
A Prelude - Ned Kaye - 03-21-2020
March 16th, 2020
In the dim halls of The Notorious Gym sits a man, highlighted in the warm glow of one of the televisions in his array. He looks at the screen intently, eyes nearly glued at the picture before him. As the light of the screen becomes more intense, the silhouette of the man watching becomes more clear. It is none other than Ned Kaye. And to describe his current situation as anything less than absolute chaos would be inaccurate. He's spent the better part of two months preparing for the upcoming match. Readying himself for the greatest challenge of his whole career. The match that would decide his future.
His eyes gazed at the television screen, seeing a vision both familiar and entirely foriegn at this point in his life. It was himself as a younger man, his second ever televised match from a short lived indie with some local-cable access thecalled GAW. He couldn't quite remember what the acronym stood for, but it didn't matter much. The meaning of each letter mattered little to Ned when pressed against the chance to see himself again as that young man who had first entered this business with a smile that wouldn't leave his face and an optimistic spirit that carried through even the worst pains. Speaking of, Ned clearly recalled this particular match and how badly his opponent, a strange masked wrestler by the name of El Churro, has roughed him up. He would be walking sore for almost a month after, but he still smiled through it all. And yet... nowadays, even on months where all he had were good days, Ned found it hard to smirk from time to time. He had to wonder if he had just grown weaker over time when compare to the Ned Kaye of old. But that Ned Kaye hadn't lost the woman he loved yet. He hadn't struggled with his own self control and fought against alcohol. He hadn't fought tooth and nail for an identity he was still unsure of.
He had never faced his own humanity. Never stared it in the eye for what it meant until later on in life. Ned wondered what the younger man might think to see his future be so rocky. To see his future be so difficult. Ned imagined he'd likely make some blissfully ignorant comment about needing a harder life over an easier one to really appreciate everything he has. Silently, Ned pondered if he would still be here without that naive optimism. If this challenge to The Engineer was the old him seeping out or... something else.
Ned stared at his calendar.
The days were ticking by. Time racing past, with so many preparations yet to be made. On the screen, the young Ned took a nasty fall after a lariat to the outside of the ring. Wincing, Ned glanced down at his phone seeing a single message from his manager, friend, and fellow athlete James Raven.
"It's time."
Ned got up. No more putting it back. No more looking at the past. Only one threat between him and any chance at a future.
Showtime.