CAMERA STATUS: Off-Camera
DATE: Thursday, February 21, 2019
LOCATION: Unknown
A metallic taste formed in St. John’s tongue as he fought back painful tears. It was the taste of his own blood as he clenched his teeth with every surge of searing electricity ravaged his bones and flesh. General Frampton had ordered that St. John be given the forty-minus-one treatment before he was brought before the Archpriest. The forty-minus-one treatment was a modern revision of a Roman scourging prior to crucifixion, the most famous being that of Jesus Christ, but this one had a twist. Instead of using a Cat of Nine Tails, the huge Blackwatch Operative known as Rogalsky tased St. John with a non-fatal but excruciating cattle prod. There was a brief pause in the tortuous ministrations, only to force St. John’s tortured body flat against the stone walls.
ZZZAAAPPP!!!
ROGALSKY: Twenty-Eight!
ZZZAAAPPP!!!
ROGALSKY: Twenty-Nine!
ZZZAAAPPP!!!
ROGALSKY: Thirty!
The heat searing down St. John’s back and shoulders filled him with hope for his impending death, aiding the pain that tore through him with each prod. He knew Rogalsky would be merciless. St. John trained him. Blackwatch was Rogalsky’s life after his parents gave him up to Missio Dei. And now his superior officer was aligned with a Godless. He was a traitor. Previous friendships no longer mattered. In the eyes of Rogalsky, St. John Cross was nothing more than animal waiting to be slaughtered.
ZZZAAAPPP!!!
ROGALSKY: Thirty-one!
ZZZAAAPPP!!!
ROGALSKY: Thirty-two!
ZZZAAAPPP!!!
ROGALSKY: Thirty-three!
St. John tried to focus his mind on anything other than his torture. But his mind kept going to Effie. Effie Bingham… his wife, lover, and best friend. The thought of losing her for eternity was more torture than the forty-minus-one ten times over. He just wanted the eternal darkness to consume him if he was going to go on with life without Effie. He befriended the darkness and the shadows that surrounded him in his prison cell. He felt one with the darkness. He, too, was a shadow of himself, a shadow of who he was, and who he never would be. He was sent to Blackwatch because there was darkness in his soul. Now he embraced it so that it might liberate him from life without Effie. He inhaled a proud strong breath. It was one that showed Rogalsky no sign of repentance. He was defiant until the end. He wouldn’t bow before the Archpriest, he decided, as he pressed himself harder into the stone to brace for the next prod round.
ZZZAAAPPP!!!
ROGALSKY: Thirty-four!
ZZZAAAPPP!!!
ROGALSKY: Thirty-five!
ZZZAAAPPP!!!
ROGALSKY: Thirty-six!
The cell reeked of stale air, water, and human waste. St. John breathed it in, embracing it as if embracing his own mortality. Still, he didn't cry out, he wouldn't give Rogalsky the satisfaction of breaking him.
ZZZAAAPPP!!!
ROGALSKY: Thirty-seven!
ZZZAAAPPP!!!
ROGALSKY: Thirty-eight!
ZZZAAAPPP!!!
ROGALSKY: Thirty-nine!
Rogalsky roughly handled St. John by his shoulders and forced his body further into the stone walls.
ROGALSKY: Recant the whore, Cross! This isn’t worth it. We have no place in this world but here in Blackwatch. Blackwatch and Missio Dei have given us purpose in life. Why throw it away on a godless whore?
St. John waited a few moments before clearing his throat to respond back to his former protege.
ST. JOHN: She… IS… my purpose. So… unless … you can… kill me… now… FUCK… YOU!
Rogalsky violently shoved St. John into the wall. Suddenly ice cold water was poured over his head. St. John could barely contain his screen as the shock tortured him. Spasms shook him as the cold ripped through him and the air in his lungs escaped.
ROGALSKY: Die...godless.
Rogalsky left the cell angry, unable to break St. John. But he left him dangling and shivering from the torture in the dark. Once surrounded by darkness again, St. John smiled and a darkness smiled back.
*****
CAMERA STATUS: On-Camera
DATE: Friday, March 1, 2019
LOCATION: Bingham Residence
The SCW cameras found St. John Cross, miraculously, back in the country and back at home with Effie Bingham. However, for some reason, when the camera crew arrived, Effie was adamant that they film St. John from behind and from a distance. Effie, looked a bit sickly, so they obliged the request and she led them to the vast backyard. In the backyard was the newly built chapel that Effie had made for St. John for Christmas. The interior of the tiny chapel was simple yet ornate. There were three pews on each side with a middle aisle between them. An altar with a large bronze cross presented in the front. St. John was seated in the front pew facing the altar and cross. Again, his back was turned to the cameras. Effie walked up to black-clad St. John and whispered in his ear. He nodded in acknowledgement and waited for her to exit the chapel before speaking.
ST. JOHN: Excuse the restrictions, ladies and gentlemen. After my abduction and imprisonment, it’s best to be cautious of any exposure to foreign entities. But rest assured, SCW, I will be at Blaze of Glory VII to take back my Unified Roulette Championship; a title that was unceremoniously taken from me because of my... ordeal.
St. John paused and cocked his head slightly to the camera’s right. There is a different tone to St. John’s voice.
ST. JOHN: People are probably wondering what happened to me? Who abducted me? Why? Others are probably wondering is it worth coming back after such an experience? Am I ready to face my friend, my brother, my predecessor to the Roulette Championship, a champion-caliber SCW superstar, Ty West, less than couple weeks after suffering intense torture and pain? All I can answer is… I don’t know. All I know is that my ordeal changed me. All I know is that nothing is certain in this life anymore. And because this is true, whether I’m physically or mentally-capable to return to the ring, it’s irrelevant to me. When everything was stripped away from me, I found a reason to keep living and she’s not in the house behind us. I have a new purpose. And heading into Blaze of Glory VII, I will clue you in on my new endeavor. So keep watch. But first… a story.
The tone in St. John is cold and eerie. Even the camera crew feels uneasy as a unorthodox cold breeze blows.
ST. JOHN: Laying in the dark on the floor of my cell, in the midst of twilight, I quietly listened to the soft drumming of the rain hit the stones outside and the low roll of thunder in the distance. I was drifting in and out of an uneasy sleep. As it rained outside, it rained in my head. Hundreds, thousands of thoughts flooded my mind. Another roll of thunder somewhat louder than before, slowly awakened a heavy burden I had only bore once and hoped to never bear again.
St. John paused and cocked his head in the opposite direction.
ST. JOHN: Silent and still, reality slipped from my grasp as I laid on the floor. A morbid desire began to take hold of my body. But why would I succumb to this sick desire, hidden so deep within me? It was silenced for so long, why now? Why this moment? Why this moment that I laid so silent and still surrounded by the darkness of my prison, comforted by the echo of the thunder, tormented by the voices invoking the wretch within me.
Overtaken by the darkness inside me, my body was thrust upwards to stand in the middle of my prison cell. Slowly a darkness beyond darkness stretched and enveloped me. Desperately I called out for my dead parents, Effie, even my friend and opponent, Ty West. But my call was followed by a grave silence. A single tear rolled off my cheek and fell to the floor.
The darkness creeped on my soul. Now I realize the raging battle between the good in my heart and the darkness within me. In a futile attempt to silence the darkness, I screamed aloud, "Let me be!" In return for my cry the darkness imprisoned me within my body. I try to break free but then I see my captors. My family’s oppressors. My parents’ murderers. My heart pounded and my body shook. For one last moment I felt in control and I turned to look at my reflection in a puddle of water expecting it to be me.
To my surprise when I looked into the reflection I stood face-to-face with my darkness. The darkness that led me to Blackwatch. The darkness that truly guides the Archpriest and his tyranny. I had become my enemy. The realization was shocking, to the point of awakening me. And when I awoke the darkness smiled at me… and I smiled back.
St. John straightened his head but continued to look forward.
ST. JOHN: What does this have to do with the SCW Unified Roulette Championship and Ty West? Nothing… and everything.
A sinister chuckle escaped St. John.
ST. JOHN: When St. John Cross is introduced at Blaze of Glory VII, I don’t know who will step into the ring with Ty West. Will it be me? Or will it be the darkness within me unleashed? All I can say is that the fun-loving monk that was exiled to the land of the godless is gone. THEY killed him, like they killed his family. And what they unleashed onto the godless, I will unleash on them. Like I said, what does this have to do with Ty West and the championship match? Nothing… and everything.
Ty, my friend, my brother… when I reclaim the SCW Unified Roulette Championship at Blaze of Glory VII, don’t take your defeat personal. Rendering you helpless and powerless for the three-count is not a reflection of our friendship; it’s reflection of the darkness they created in me and I will return to them; you are nothing more than my training ground. Nothing more and nothing less.
So when I raise the SCW Unified Championship over my head, it will be a sign to those who created me that I am coming for them.
God have mercy on their souls, for, I, sure as Hell won’t!
St. John violently raised a hand up to signal that he was done talking. Just as the camera was to shut off, the call of a black bird was heard and a flock squawked away with a racket.
