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+--- Thread: Chase the Devil (/showthread.php?tid=48638)
Chase the Devil - Madison Dyson - 03-08-2025
Tranquil Pines was a 30 bed psychiatric rehabilitation facility nestled in a wooded rural outpost in Maine. Contrary to what one normally thinks when they think “nut house”, a rolling gothic monolith straight out of a Hammer horror film, Tranquil Pines was a modern build replete with windows to let plenty of natural lighting in. Vested in a densely forrested area, it sought to bring the peace of mind of its namesake to those who could afford a stay.
The key word there being “afford”. Because Tranquil Pines was financially out of reach for all but the wealthiest clientele, making it a hot spot for celebrities looking to escape the tedium of living amongst the hoi polloi. Being as flush with cash as it was also put the facility in a privileged position of being overlooked by purveyors of state and local law. Which is precisely what appealed to Madison Dyson when she decided to dump her deeply troubled 13 year old son there.
Or so she explained to Lux, as they sat in the back of an Uber that smelled vaguely of marijuana on a rainy winding path through the woods to the very facility in question.
“It was right before I started in the XWF with Dexter. The boy had become, or was always, unmanageable. Even Dexter was wary of him, which should tell you something right there.” Madison said, staring out the window as it was pelted with rain droplets.
“So he’s been there the whole time…” Lux mused in reply.
Madison cast an angry glance back at Lux. “Listen bitch, don’t you even begin to judge me. You don’t know what it was like with that little hellspawn.”
“I’m not judging.” Lux said calmly. “Merely trying to reason how it’s possible for him to gather certain….abilities…from within the confines of a mental hospital.”
“Oh.” Madison replied, slightly cowed. “Look I don’t know that he has “abilities”. I’m still not sure what the fuck I saw. It was dark and I was fucking exhausted and….”
“You said you were approached by a blind homeless person who said they were an emissary from your son, who weeped black goo and worms from their eye sockets.” Lux recalled the scene as if it was the most natural thing in the whole world.
“Yeah…that….”
“Not exactly a natural occurrence. And one that points to the use of some rather high level magicks.” Lux said. “Your son may be more dangerous than you know.”
“We’re here, ladies.” The driver called out as he pulled into the semi-circle in front of the facility. Madison and Lux moved to get out once the car rolled to a stop, but Madison ducked her head back in seemingly as an afterthought.
“We would both appreciate your discretion what with the topics of conversation you just overheard.”
The driver offers Madison a thumbs up. “Look ma’am all I heard was eyeballs weeping worms and I just tuned right the fuck out!”
Madison nodded. “Good boy.” She pressed a button on her phone. “You get an extra tip.”
The driver checks his phone and makes an expression that would seem to indicate he’s decidedly underwhelmed. “Gee thanks.”
Madison turned curtly away from the car and surveyed the facility in front of her. Even in the midst of a light rain, it still managed to radiate warmth and hospitality. Nodding to Lux, Madison started to make her approach to the facility with Lux in tow. Passing through the front entrance into a dignified atrium with a faux waterfall behind the main desk, the positive feelings from the outside were nullified by the presence of two security guards just past the threshold.
“Ma’am, do you have an appointment?” The guard asked, holding up a hand.
“I’m Madison goddamn Dyson and I’ve been paying you to watch my demon of a child for seven years. Now get the….”
“You need an appointment.”
“To see my own child?!”
“Excuse me, what seems to be the issue here?” Another voice called out. It was a bespectacled man who looked north of 50, with sandy brown hair. His features changed abruptly when he spotted Madison, warping into a complicated expression that initially suggested fear before transitioning to a veneer of good cheer. “Oh! Ms. Dyson! It’s been quite some time.”
“Abernathy! This asshole won’t let me see my son!”
Dr. Abernathy winced. “I…ummm….I’m afraid we changed our visitation policy….”
“Well UN-change it!”
“You know we value your contributions over the years a great deal and…”
“Stop mincing you tool and let me in!”
“Actually sir, I think it’ll be okay this time.” Yet another voice sounded out and Madison and Lux turned to see a young man in scrubs. However, he seemed a far cry from the average orderly. With pink hair and a build of lean muscle beneath his attire, he popped a lollipop out of his mouth to speak. Madison looked back at Lux who also seemed to be clocking the newcomer.
“Oh, are you sure?”
“Yes. It’s fine. Ladies, I’ll take you to him.”
“Um, okay, good.” Madison replied. It was impossible not to note the strange power dynamic between the doctor and the orderly. And based on Lux’s inquisitive expression the odd exchange was not lost on her either.
Madison and Lux fell in line behind the orderly with Dr. Abernathy in tow. “Hey, I don’t think I’ve seen you here before. What’s your name, kid?”
The young man half turned towards Madison and replied, “Arnold. It’s nice to finally meet the famous Madison Dyson.”
Madison had to stop herself from staring as she noted another feature on the young man. His canines were silver and sharpened into fangs. Fucking weird. She mused inwardly. She didn’t spare a glance at Lux to see if she noticed, instead maintaining an impassive expression as they made their way down the corridor, to an elevator, and up to the third floor.
“So I assume you’ve been following my instructions?”
“Oh yes. We’ve been keeping him…erm…pacified.”
“There was a recent incident though.” Arnold cut in. “Bit the bottom lip clean off a nurse. Nasty sight.”
Did he just smirk when he said that? Double fucking weird.
Finally reaching her son’s room, Madison ensured she was the first one in. And as she looked upon her offspring, she could only voice his name. “Samael.”
But Samael was in no condition to respond. The bed had him propped up in a seated position, and the IV drip beside him bespoke his drugged state. His eyes were half lidded, and his body limp. Barely conscious. Perfect. A captive audience.
The others filtered into the room behind Madison, and she wheeled on them with an irritated mien. “I want some privacy with my son. All of you but Lux can leave.”
Interestingly, Dr. Abernathy shot Arnold a pensive glance, and it was again the young man who spoke up. “No can do.”
Madison bristled. “Why not?”
“Safety reasons.”
“He’s drugged to the gills!”
Arnold shrugged. “Did you miss the part where I said he tore a nurse’s lip off?”
“Fine.” Then, to Lux. “Come with me.”
Lux smirked, unused to being ordered around by Madison of all people. “As you wish.”
Madison went to Samael’s bedside, and Lux sidled up just beside her next to the IV drip. Arnold and the doctor, both wearing tense expressions, looked on but made no further moves to intervene.
Hanging over her son like a vicious bird of prey, Madison first took a moment to drink in the sight of him before setting in on her rant.
“I hope part of you can hear this. I hope part of you can understand this. Because make no mistake this is a fucking WARNING. You want to come at me, Sam? You best be prepared. Because mama is standing in the threshold of GREATNESS and I’ll be goddamned if I let that go.
I know you’re probably not up to speed on my career, so here’s a little recap. For the last year, I’ve finally been taking myself seriously. I’ve finally been TRYING. Because I’ll be brutally honest with you, Sam. Everything up until that point had been a running gag…a joke! King of the Ring? I had fucking Hanari Carnes in the finals. If that doesn’t speak to the quality of the competition that year I don’t know what does. Those Shooting Star championships? Who gives a shit. The XWF didn’t even see fit to live that title live on so they consigned it to the waste bin of history. My Xtreme championship run? A mere pittance ended by a literal cripple! My greatest accomplishments were as a manager, in the shadow of megastar monoliths so much greater than me.
I had NOTHING, Sam. NOTHING to call my own. Nothing significant that was truly MINE.
And they all think I didn’t hear them. The snickering at my back. The laughter. The jokes. “There goes crazy Maddy. There goes Trump’s little bootlicker.” Never, never to be taken seriously. Never to be respected. Never, never, NEVER you little TWERP!”
Madison spit the words like a viper spewing venom. And so forceful was her cadence that her eyes started to brim with moisture.
“Seven years of indignities. Seven years of being regarded as an also ran, a piece of parody, a FAILURE. And I had no one to blame but myself. Because you see Sam, I forgot who I was. I forgot that I was Madison fucking Dyson. I forgot that I was born better. That I was destined to be GREAT. So I settled. I got complacent. I got COMFORTABLE playing second fiddle. And I settled into my role as a JOKE.
But that changed last year. Oh, it was a rocky start, don’t get me wrong. I failed to win the Anarchy Championship on my first try. I lost to Centurion for God sakes! CENTURION! But for the first time in my XWF career I was determined to grow and evolve. And so I did. I built an overwhelmingly winning record. And I won the Anarchy championship and half of the tag team championships.
But I’m not done, Sam. I’m still hungry. Hell, I’m fucking FAMISHED.
Enter: Sebastian Everett-Bryce.”
Madison paused her oratory, briefly looking at Lux who for some reason seemed to be considering Samael’s IV bag. Disregarding this, Madison continued.
“The SEB Empire. The XWF’s current and resident god of wrestling. And my next opponent.
Let’s make no bones about it Sammy, this is the biggest match of my career. Everything else fucking pales in comparison. Everything. Because this man, this singular individual, possesses EVERYTHING I want. The star power. The credibility. The talent.
And I know you’re not used to hearing me talk like this about the competition. You and everyone else. Usually I unsheath my claws and go to town, verbally eviscerating the competition as only I know how. And here’s the thing. I COULD do that to SEB. I could take apart his vapid melodrama. I could take apart the sheer egomania of subjecting us to not just one but TWO utterly insipid vignettes about his love life. I could do that.
But this match? It’s so much more.
You see Sam, I have to RESPECT this man in order to KILL him.
Because I don’t see SEB as any mere stepping stone. My intention is not to walk over him. No, no, no! My intention is to CANABALIZE him…to eat and drink him and everything he is. To make him and his vaunted legacy a part of me forevermore. To ensure that he and I are henceforth inseparable. You see Sam, I want the SEB Empire to be synonymous with losing to me for the rest of his fucking career!
And it’s possible, Sam! My God I can taste it! Because here’s what the SEB Empire doesn’t want us to see!
Sebastian Everett-Bryce is in a skid.”
Madison laughs, and it’s a tilting manic thing.
“The Empire? It’s FAILING. Just look at the facts. Bryce didn’t even make it to the finals at War Games. While yours truly DID. And on top of that, his team LOST. He completely underwhelmed at one of the biggest events of the year.
But it doesn’t stop there.
Because mere weeks later? Pinned by Schism. Fucking SCHISM. The very definition of NOBODY and NOTHING. And then after that? Lost the Universal Championship. And then most recently? An upset loss to the biggest flash in the pan in XWF history James Shark.
This! This is what SEB doesn’t want us to realize! The pieces he doesn’t want us to put together. The fact that his recent history is the tale of loss, after loss, after loss. His only point of redemption? A victory against Dickie Watson. And I tell you son, there is no jerking off motion profound or vigorous enough to describe what a sheer nothing burger that is.
The cold hard fact is that Sebastian cannot lose again. Not without completely obliterating his credibility in that ring. So this match? It has him fucking terrified. Oh, sure, he’ll likely deny it. But when you look at it in it’s proper context, there’s no other logical conclusion you can make. SEB NEEDS a win over Madison Dyson. And he’s scared shitless that it won’t come to pass. And you’d think with so much of his credibility riding on this match that that’s where his focus would be, right?
Wrong.
Because where’s his head? Johnny goddamn Bacchus that’s where. Twink Che Guevara himself. SEB’s designs are with the other losing half of the main event at Snow Holds Barred instead of on the challenge right in front of him.
Do you see it, Sammy? How the stars are aligning just right for mommy dearest? How a waning Empire, weakened and distracted, is primed to fall at my feet? You’d be a fool to miss it. A fool to bet against me.
But they will, of course. Bet against me. It’s just Maddy, right?
…right?”
Madison smirks and licks her lips. Briefly, she looks up at Lux, who now bears a strange expression on her face. But once again, Madison pays it no mind.
“But it’s not “just Maddy”. Not anymore. Because this? It’s not just talk. It’s a declaration of war against the entire XWF. Madison Dyson is HERE and she is out for BLOOD. She is out to WIN. And whenever and wherever she doesn’t win? She’ll do what she never did before. She’ll learn. She’ll grow. She’ll EVOLVE into something still more dangerous than ever before.
Which bring me to you, Sammy dearest.
Honey….
Sweety….
Lovey….
….do you honestly think for an iota of a second that I’m going to allow you to fuck this up for me? Here and now, when I have the beating heart of an entire goddamn empire in the palm of my hand?
Have you not listened to a word I’ve said?
Your paltry game is over before it’s even started. I don’t know how you did what you did, and ultimately it doesn’t even matter. Because mommy’s gone FERAL, baby. And no one…NO ONE….is going to stop me.”
It was Lux’s abrupt movement that shook Madison from her monologue. She looked up just in time to see Lux pull the tube out of the IV bag and, oddly enough, bring it to her mouth.
“What are you doing?!” Abernathy barked.
Lux’s eyes went wide. Lowering the tube from her mouth, she spoke in a measured tone to Madison. “Madison. Back away from him. It’s just saline solution!”
“What?”
“It’s just….!”
And that’s about when it all went to hell.
Arnold cleared half the length of the room in a single borderline inhuman bound and literally wrapped himself around Lux, locking his ankles around her thighs and his arms about her shoulders. With that done, he sunk his silver plated fangs into the side of her neck. Lux cried out in pain and surprise. Abernathy wailed in fear and retreated into the corner of the room, grasping at the radio clipped to his belt but fumbling it onto the floor.
And then there was Samael. Samael, who had nought but saline solution being pumped into his arm through the IV. Samael, who had been playing possum the entire time. Samael, who seemed to slow down time itself as he sat up and wrapped his hand around Madison’s mouth, squeezing tight and pulling her face towards his.
“I am a dying God coming into human flesh.” Samael declared, his wild eyes peering out from the dirty slightly curled blond locks that framed his face. Animal eyes. Demon’s eyes, that had somehow gone serpentine in form and function. For Madison had abruptly become hypnotized by those fierce eyes, her feet planted into the floor like roots of a great tree, her body immobilized save for the residual quivering of shock and fear that raced through it. She wanted to look away. She wanted to look away so, so desperately. But it was simply beyond her power to do so. So she stared deep into those twin churning maws, those wellsprings of chaos and ruin. She stared and she feared.
“We’re getting all caught up to speed, are we mommy?” Samael queried, his voice a baleful whisper. “You were doing so well too. Feel the goosebumps on my arm, mommy. Soooooo good!” He licked his lips and canted his head a bit, as though trying to study Madison from an entirely different angle. “I’ve been busy too though! Broadening my horizons as it were. Yeah. You wanna talking about learning and growing? Two birds of a feather, we are!”
Madison was vaguely aware of Lux’s struggle with Arnold just outside the periphery of this nightmare. Lux called out to Madison, her voice laden with pain and anger.
“So you got my message! I’m so happy. But I must admit I didn’t foresee THIS. I would never have guessed you’d have the stones to come challenge me this way. To face the child you abandoned. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we’re not about to share a boo hoo over my predicament. What’s done is done. Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m still not a little bit…bitter.” He smiled wide. “How you doing over there, Lux?” Samael turned Madison’s head so that she could witness Lux’s struggle. Arnold was still wrapped around Lux like a boa constrictor, drinking deep of the blood seeping from her neck. But Lux wasn’t about to surrender. Positioning Arnold towards the wall, she threw herself into it, sandwiching her attacker between herself and the wall and leaving a crack in it.
“Madison! MADISON!” I could use a little help!”
Gripping Madison’s jaw in an even more painful vice like grip, he forced her to look into his eyes again. “Yeah, I know who Lux is. And I know precisely what you’ve been up to. I know all about your adventures in the XWF. The championship wins. Dolly.” He spoke Dolly’s name with a certain malice. “And I’d be so proud of you if I didn’t HATE you so goddamned much!”
Lux smashed Arnold into the wall again, but still couldn’t pry herself loose from his grip. “Damn it, Madison, snap out of it!” Lux hollered again.
Again, Madison was aware of the action just outside her field of vision, but was still entranced by her son. But now, Madison couldn’t even hear him speak as she tuned out his psychotic jibbering to turn her thoughts inward.
Hey….hey…..HEY! Bitch you are gonna DIE if you don’t come to! Fight it!
Madison’s hand twitched.
Good! Keep fighting! Keep…
Abernathy, now with his radio in hand, was squawking out a call to arms, summoning the guards from downstairs.
There’s more heat coming, idiot! FIGHT! FIGHT!
Her hand twitched again.
FIGHT!
With a gasp, Madison came to, and the chaos in the rest of the room filled in at the edges. Madison blinked, eyes still locked with her son’s, but no longer ensnared by them.
“Eat shit you little fuckstick!”
Madison raised her hand and bit her fingernails deep into the flesh of Samael’s face, raking down his cheek from his eye with as much power as she could muster. Samael’s hands went to his face and he let out a scream.
Meanwhile, Lux slammed Arnold again, and this time was finally able to pry him loose. Lux reached over her shoulder, taking hold of her attacker by the scruff of his shirt, and performed a picture perfect judo throw bringing him up and over her back and onto the floor.
Madison backed away from her son as he kicked and writhed in his bed, blood flowing freely down his face from the wounds Madison inflicted. Suddenly, the armed guards from downstairs were in the doorway, pulling out their handguns and leveling them at Lux. Noting this, Lux grappled Arnold up to his feet just in time, forcing him in front of her as a human shield as the firearms spat at her. Lux forced Arnold to move forward as the bullets pockmarked his chest and stomach. Then, once she was within striking distance of the guards, she cast her human shield aside and batted the firearms out of the guards’ hands with precision speed before landing knock out blows to each of them in turn.
“Madison! Move! NOW!”
Casting one final lingering look at her son as he caterwauled, Madison turned from him and rejoined Lux. Together, they plunged down the hallway towards the elevator. Two more orderlies appeared in front of them, but Lux dispatched them with a ruthless efficiency so they could arrive at the stairway leading down to the base of the building.
“Don’t stop!” Lux ordered as they made their way down the stairs, finally coming out in the main lobby which was clear aside from a very confused and frightened receptionist. Bolting for the main doors, Lux and Madison ran through them to the waiting Uber still parked in the semi circle in front of the building. Lux cast the car door open and Madison tossed herself into the back seat with Lux following quickly behind.
“DRIVE!”
The Uber driver turned about to look at them with wide eyes. “Was that gunfire?! Are you bleeding?!” He took out his phone. “I’m calling the police!”
“I will give you ten thousand dollars to put that fucking phone down and DRIVE!”
The driver considered Madison and Lux in turn before slowly lowering the phone and putting the car in drive. As he peeled away from the building, Madison stopped to consider Lux, who was clutching the bite wounds in her neck and trying to stanch the bleeding.
“You look like hell.”
“You’re welcome.” Lux replied, wincing in pain. “Your son’s going to be a problem.”
“No shit.” Madison leaned back into the seat, wondering if beating Sebastian Everett-Bryce was now the least of her worries.
BACK INSIDE TRANQUIL PINES
Samael approached Arnold’s prostrate form as he wiped the blood free from his cheek.
“Arise, Kristoffer.”
The man formerly known as “Arnold” gasped and sat up, the bullet shrapnel already starting to push its way out of the wounds in his torso. Samael turned his attention to Abernathy, who was still cowering in the corner clutching his radio.
“Abernathy! I’m hungry!” Samael made a vile, puckered suckling motion with his lips. “Get me one of those big titty nurses STAT.” Then, almost as an afterthought, “Get me Darlene. She’s a crier.” He smeared some of the blood from his face onto his palm. “I like it when they cry.”
Samael went to the window as Abernathy set upon ordering up his master’s latest bit of debauchery. He watched the car vanishing into the distance and brought his bloody palm up to the window, smearing the crimson ichor over the image of the retreating vehicle.