The Storm: Chapter II

[Mark Storm]

The Storm: Chapter II

Scenes: 2
Characters: Mark Storm, Gregory Murphy, Eddie Storm.
Word Count: 3471

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[off camera] 
Friday 16th September, 2016
New York, Brooklyn.
Cemetery 


"You okay, champ?" He was frozen in place, the hand of Gregory Murphy firmly gripped on his shoulder but he couldn't feel his touch; he had become numb from any other senses in his body as his eyes were fixated on his trembling hand to the concern of Greg Murphy who realized what was happening. This wasn't something out of the ordinary but it was certainly something that hadn't happened in a long while. Mark Storm was out of it; he was there, but he wasn't really there. He stood as still as a tree however his hand was the polar opposite and he couldn't do anything about it, a continuous shaking that made Greg Murphy uncomfortable to be present, because he couldn't do anything about it. 

"Champ?" Murphy, shook the shoulder of Mark. "Where am I?" was his response, he had snapped back into reality at last. 

Looking around dumbfounded, Mark was lost. He didn't know where he was, or how he got there and he turned to the direction of Gregory Murphy, who was short of answers - he was stuck in a state of astonishment. Mark then looked down at his hand and his eyes flared up in concern and he tried to hide it from Murphy as if he hadn't already seen it, grabbing onto his hand and turning in the other direction pretending to further analyze the scene.

It was night time. The stratus clouds moved across the sky and revealed the moonlight. Mark took a step forward and walked into something, lowering his head with his eyes flaring up once again, as his foot almost knocked over a tombstone. He raised his head and took a second look at the scene and acknowledged where he was with a clearance of his throat, this had all become too familiar. 

"How did I get here?" He turned toward Greg, but not fully, only halfway. 

"You took the bus, Mark. All the way from Missouri." Greg reminded him, but Mark couldn't remember a thing. "I've been looking for you, for hours now - everyone has." He paused, and you could see the sadness behind his eyes.

Mark looked at him with confusion; "I don't.. I, I don't - remember.. anything." He looked down at his clothing and realized he was dressed in only a gown and a pair of Adidas sliders, luckily for him the night was young and warm. 

Greg shook his head sideways; "Gretchen's been worried sick about you, Mark." He said her name and for a moment Mark had forgotten who she was, and what she mean't to him. "Gretchen." He said, as if he didn't know who she was.

He then turned toward the graves beyond and tried to remember everything, but he couldn't. He'd blacked out for the first time in a long time, and after one black out, a series would always emerge. He looked down at the grave before crouching down to get eye level with it and remembered that he was treading on his father's grave, he fell back on his ass and scurried backwards, the name Eddie Storm calved out on the tombstone. He exhaled heavily and rubbed his eyes, moving backwards a little further before being helped up to his feet by Gregory Murphy. 

"Chill out man, acting like you've seen a ghost!" What Greg Murphy didn't know, that was exactly what Mark was seeing before his eyes, standing behind the grave was an hallucination of Eddie Storm; his father, who stood tall wearing his signature woolen black trench coat, glaring down at Mark Storm with a vacant look in his eye. 

"Mark?" Shaking his shoulder, Mark turned around to Greg. "Are you okay?" He asked and Mark turned around, the hallucination vanishing. "Yeah.. uh, I just need a moment."

Greg was concerned.

This was the second odd incident Mark had found himself in recent time. Was he reverting back to his old ways? Had he scrapped the medication usage entirely? A series of questions ran through the mind of Greg Murphy and despite his concern, he listened to his client and turned away to leave Mark alone with his father's grave.  

Falling to his knees and turning toward the grave, Mark let out a discrete weep. He hadn't visited his fathers grave for months and all of a sudden, he was here again not voluntarily which made it even worse. "Cheer up, kid. No time for crying." The voice of Eddie Storm reverberated and it captured the attention of Storm who looked up to see an angelic light blind him, and there he was; a hallucination of his father. 

"You've got a match to win Saturday, don't ya? No time crying over me, kid, I'm dead and gone." His father laughed, his laugh so gentle, quiet and subtle and Mark couldn't help but smile, chuckling himself at the sound of his hallucination of dad, crack some jokes. 

"I'm proud of you kid. You've been doing good too. But you've gotta keep doing good, you hear? You gotta fix up and take those damn meds too, cause look what it's doing to ya - it's tearing you apart. Keep your head on, kid.. don't listen to the voices, not even mine. Trust your gut instinct. You've got a kid to worry about now, my grankid.. and you've got that beautiful piece at home too. You take care of them, Mark. But you also take care of yourself, you hear?"

He struggled for words but eventually they came out; "Yeah Dad!" He rose his head, and he was gone. And Mark remained there on his knee's, sniffing and wiping the tears away from his eyes whilst thinking about the message from his father.

---

The Shoot [on camera]

"Do I think I'm one of the best wrestler in the world? Yeah, I do.

Am I the hardest working individual in that locker room? Damn right I am. 

Have I got what it takes to be something more? That's something I'm working on."

His voice had become so distinctive to the Frontier Grappling Arts community, the fact that his voice wasn't on the screen didn't create a aurora of mystery as to the identity of the man who spoke, it was instantaneous from the first word to come out of his mouth. The camera then faded into the scene of lonesome Mark Storm gazing into the camera, with an FGA logo'd backdrop lurking behind, but other than that there wasn't much to the scene; plus the angle of the shot was merely a headshot. His eyes were glued to the camera; a vacant look cemented within his pale blue eyes, with his face clear and smooth; no stubble, no hairs, just plain and pale. 

"Hell man, I don't care if I sound cocky or overconfident because what I'm saying, is the truth." He declared, bowing his head a little after finishing his sentence. This wasn't your ordinary promo being cut by Mark Storm. There was always a scene when it came to his promo's, a scene that ultimately told a bigger story; whether it'd be filmed from a wrestling ring, or his home gymnasium or an airport. No, this was just Mark Storm and a camera being held by a tripod. There was no one else in the room. No one to impress, no one to tell him whether he's talking too much or too little. This was perfect. 

"I've worked so hard in this profession." He stated, raising his head back up to the camera. "Harder than anyone would know. And I've been doing this dance for almost ten years now, for almost ten years I've sacrificed my body, my soul, and my heart inside that four sided ring. I've given everything I've got, and everything I have but that's just customary, that's something we all have to do in this business. But I went the extra mile.. I sacrificed my sanity."

He paused, the subject in hand being very personal, of course. 

"My sanity." He chuckled. "It got to a point where people didn't want to step in the ring with me because of the fact they thought I was too dangerous, a liability. They were scared that I was going to kill them and because of that, no one wanted to sign me. No one, wanted to fuck with the schizophrenic trash who could end up killing you with his bare hands. But through time, people learned to accept, and I was given a chance to shine and that's what I did last year. Twenty fifteen was my golden year, a year where I managed to hold onto the EWC World Heavyweight Championship for a total of two hundred and sixty days. A year where I was unbeatable, unquenchable, and unstoppable inside that four sided ring.
 
They were some good times last year but of course, that wasn't enough. The thing about being Mark Storm is, there's never a point where I'm content, or complacent. I can never get enough! So I dived into numerous promotions and embarked on this global tour where I planned to fuck up a hell of lot of places. And I've taken some hits. I've taken some huge hits and some huge losses but that's expected, and through those losses, I've gotten stronger, I've gotten better. I tweeted the other day the tour is coming to an end, and for some reason; people believed that mean't my time here, was coming to an end."  A smile plastered across the face of Storm as he finished his sentence.   

"I'm just beginning to scratch the surface. 

I'm just beginning to turn heads. 

I'm just beginning to come into my element. 

I'm just beginning to become something else, entirely!"

"It's been a bumpy ride, you know that's true. I've had my ups and my downs here. I've had my glory moments and some heart shattering moments, that's all apart of the business, but there's something deep down in my gut that's solidifying my place here. A voice inside my head is telling me that I'm far from done with Frontier Grappling Arts.. and they're right, because I didn't come here to be some distant memory, like the other fucks who've walked in and walked out and just become a phase. No.. I want something more than that, I want something meaningful." He nodded his head, allowing his words to be digested by those watching from there screens; and there was glimmer of belief in his eyes, a tone of conviction behind his voice as he spoke. You believed every word he said, no matter how ludicrous or pompous they'd sound, he was the preacher and the viewers were his followers.

"That Pride championship, man. That's where it all starts, it's gotta be where it all starts. It's a championship I've been interested in since it's very inception. A title with so much history and so much prestige, and because of that it's become so desirable, it's become so attractive and that was made clear a fortnight ago when five potential challengers all staked their claim to a title shot at Fujiko Mine, the current FGA Pride Champion.

We all went out there, and we all preached out words in an attempt to swoon the champion to our sides. But now, all five of us must take each other on in battle in order to gain contendership for that Pride championship opportunity. And all five of us, I believe; are the finest talents that this promotion has to offer, there's no denying that. Tony Carmine can say whatever he wants on his social media apps about how the glory days of FGA are over, and how he and McHannon and everyone else, pretty much carried this promotion. Sure, his time might be abruptly over but the glory days, they're rekindling and the five of us, we're leading that resurrection.

Molly Reid, Mark Storm, Evan Envi, Savannah Taylor, and Noelle Smith. 

We are the foundation of this new era. And yo, I gotta admit its a blessing to be a part of it. But I still feel as if you guys, don't take me seriously but that's cool, whatever your opinions on me are, are entirely up to you. You can believe I suck, like that loser Evan Envi, you can believe that I'm some sort of fluke, or you can believe that I am actually a threat. A lot of people tend to forget what I can do inside that ring, and they tend to forget that there's no one like me. There's no one with a similar style, no one with a similar presence, no one who can change the dynamics of a match quite like me.

Evan underestimated me.

He believed that I "sucked" and his strong belief in that got him beat. Believing he was going to have an easy ride against me was his biggest downfall, because I ended up doing what I said I'd do, and that's driving my knee through his goddamn skull. There's no doubt that Evan Envi is skilled, his one of the most technical in that roster but his nativity, his childish behavior as well as his denial to admit that I'm better than him, is gonna drag him down.

But he can tell the world that I suck! He can tell the world that I'm not good enough, and that I don't belong! But at the end of the day, he's the one that looks like the fool because he couldn't back his words, with action. He got beat, by the one who sucks. And this Saturday, he will get beat by the one who he despises so much, that sucks so bad.. yet again. 

He underestimated me the same way Savannah Taylor underestimated me a few months back and her fate was the exactly the same as his. But the difference between Savannah Taylor and Evan Envi is that she didn't react like a little bitch. She got up, held her head high and moved on instead making up some shitty excuses as to why she lost. Me and Sav teared it up and we both came out the other side looking strong as fuck, we both came out the other side with management wanting to have words with us, because they were impressed and damn right they should of been.

I'd like to think that my turning point started with you at All Star Showdown Savannah. It was my victory over you, that got people talking. It was my victory over you, that got heads turning. And it will be my victory over you this Saturday, that get's me in that Pride championship match against Fujiko. Savannah, I respect you a lot. And I hope, that I've garnered your respect too. But you know I don't like you but you don't like me, but that doesn't matter. What I'm trying to say Savannah is that my respect for you, goes out the window Saturday night inside that ring, there will be no room for respect inside that ring, Savannah but you understand that." 

Shaking his head sideways, he paused. "And that includes you, Molly Reid." He announced to the world. "Molly, we've come a long way since our humble beginnings here, haven't we? Our debut matches were up against each other, how crazy is that? And we've crossed paths time after time after time since then, but in every occasion, you've managed to best me. You've managed to find a way to get ahead of the curb but you've done that through your talents, and I respect that. You've done that through doing what you're good at, and through hard work and perseverance, and because of that, you've already a title opportunity. You're ranked pretty high in the rankings and you've cemented yourself as a mainstay talent.

You always find a way, Molly but it's been a while since our last dance and I hope that you appreciate that since then, I've enhanced my game, I've gone up against some of the companies best, and I've picked up a few things for myself. I hope that you don't cling onto those past results and think that's going to repeat, because I promise you - that's not going to happen." A smirk appeared upon his lips; "We've tango'd so many times that you know me, and I know you and we've barely even muttered a word to each other. Strengths and weaknesses, we know each others like the back of our hands, and I know that you're going to make this so hard for me to attain a victory, just like everybody else but you seem to be like this curse, this bane to my existence and it used to burn me, I can't lie. But now it spurs me. I need to better than you, that's my motivation. But Molly, you've had your chance at greatness before.. two occasions now, one being at the Frontier Lions Cup tournament and the other being a Mid Atlantic championship opportunity. 

You squandered, both occasions; not making it through the first round but I won't hold that against you. But that's just a slight indicator as to what happens to you when pressure is put on you.. when there's weight on your shoulders, and it's something more than any other match, you seem to crack. Will you let that happen again? Well, whether you let it happen or not isn't going to matter, I intend of snatching that opportunity away from your grasp.

I've tango'd with everyone in this match except from you, Noelle and that's cool, there's something different, something new and I'm excited because I've heard a lot about you, and I've watched a lot of your tapes, and I've seen what you can do. And I've seen that you're not someone to mess with, you've got this whole bubbly aurora about you, you're almost too good to be true. And you've been here for the longest Noelle, you know this place; you know what it takes, and you've been around long enough to face the best. You and Envi, you've got beef, a lot personal to mine and his as from my understanding, ya'll used to date? And damn, it sure showed how much you hated him when you cut that promo earlier on this week. But hey, that's your beef with him but you shouldn't allow any of your personal feelings toward him blind you.. you're gonna let this get the better than you, when it shouldn't, when your primary focus should be that Pride championship match. But I know that you'll turn up because that's something you do every time you lay it in the ring, and since you've returned. You're a mainstay Noelle, and I'm glad to be sharign the ring with you but don't mistake that for a weakness. In that ring, I'll do everything in my power to beat you." 

You could feel a surge of belief rush through him. If there was one thing Mark Storm always had, it was conviction in his own ability and that had stemmed through from his childhood. "My father once told me, that the moment you start to doubt yourself.. there's no return from that." He dwelled on those words for a moment. 

"And ever since he told me that, I've never doubted myself.
Not even for a minute, not even for a second.
I have so much belief in what I can do. 

And I believe that one day, this promotion will be my kingdom."

But until that day comes, I'll continue under the moniker of merely the prince of CHAOS until I earn that right to be proclaimed the king. And that day maybe coming sooner rather than later. This is a match of much importance despite what anybody else thinks, we're bringing prestige back to that Pride division, we're bringing something different and it's going to be one hell of a match Saturday night, a main event caliber match. But I'm looking to be in the spotlight. I'm looking to be the guy who emerges the victor and I'll do everything, and anything to get that!"

All emotions, all expressions, they evaporated and like the beginning of the promo; Mark became vacant as he looked at the camera, clasping his hands together and gently lowering his head before continuing with; "This isn't going to be your conventional, standard match. No, this is going to be a war. And I'm going to win it." He raised his head up to the camera before concluding with; "From your hero, and mine." A sadistic laugh ensued and with that, the scene cut to black.