Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

Put it out there. Bloodbath didn’t go anywhere near according to plan. A straight one on one match against one of the best wrestlers on the planet, there was going to be some kind of disturbance naturally. To take a show based around hardcore matches, to take it and turn it into a battle between the best in the company without using a single weapon, that was the story told. No silly dives, no overelaborate nonsense, it was a fight. A fight that Colton Saint, the X-Factor Champion, did not win. Immediately following the match, the victor was ambushed by nearly two dozen thugs at the behest of Kimberly Chase. It was to end Zane’s career, but it was Colton himself that intervened. Whether or not she would have won that part of the fight was anybody’s guess, but with such turbulence in the contest from the start, anything could have happened.

Kimberly’s decision to use her power of attorney to decide that the X-Factor Championship was not up for grabs may have benefitted Colton Saint, but in reality, it was that decision that set the tone for the potential downfall of the Last Breathing Outlaw. He didn’t like the choice, but knew that the match had to carry on. He came away with the loss, but left as a Champion who had not defended the championship at all. This was an active joke in the Project: Honor locker room. How good can that Champion be if he or she never defends it. That stigma rained on the shoulders of Colton, and yet he didn’t believe the lies. He knew he wanted to defend the Championship against all comers, but it wasn’t to happen so long as his Power of Attorney had her hands in the mix.

Enter Proving Grounds, where the Championship WILL be defended as Colton Saint goes into battle against Indy Darling. A winless competitor going to war against one of the most feared wrestlers in the entire company. It wasn’t the wins and losses that got him to where he was. Even in defeat against Dickie Watson on the premiere show of Proving Grounds, people knew Colton Saint, and they knew that he was capable of defeating anyone standing in his path. When he defeated Caden Young, he was never seen again. When he defeated Jason Terrance, he was never seen again. When he defeated The Predator, he was never seen again. What will happen to Indy Darling if those trends continue?

--In Route to the Porcupine Mountains - Upper Peninsula--
--Michigan--

Locals call it the Porkies. The beautiful mountains towards the tail end of the Upper Peninsula felt like the perfect medicine following his defeat at Bloodbath. The broken nose could easily heal, but the broken sense of pride would prove to be more of a challenge. Feeling the defeat was more than a loss in a wrestling match, but absolute betrayal by someone so close to him, Colton didn’t have the words post-match to tell the world how he felt about the situation. By the time he crossed the Mackinac Bridge, his phone had been at two percent with zero means to acknowledge the existence of the outside world once he found his spot in the solitude.

The last thing he said on social media was not the Colton Saint the world knew. A simple acknowledgement that he was going to be up north, and that he wanted to be alone. That wasn’t the only thing he left on Twitter, as he sent a direct message to Zane herself.

“The last thing I believe you would expect in this life is for me to admit that I was wrong. I can’t do that. The only thing I can tell you is that I felt something in that match that I had never felt in my entire life. It wasn’t loss, it was perspective. We need to talk, Emiko. Even for just thirty seconds, I need to tell you what happened. You were so busy bleeding before me that I didn’t know how to tell you. The heat of the battle was too much for me. You need to know what happened, I need to tell you. Just talk to me. - CS”

Thus, he entered the Upper Peninsula with nothing more than ambition. It wasn’t until he stopped for gas in Crystal Falls that he found out about his upcoming match. He exited his rented 2020 Ford F-150 Lariat. The locals in Crystal Falls could always tell when someone was passing through, and would waste no time in getting their licks in. Three gentlemen walked toward the truck in anticipation to cause a problem. Colton, dressed in a black Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt, blue jeans, and tan work boots glanced over at the pump before he began re-fueling the truck. Due to the frigid temperatures in the area, he covered his t-shirt with a brown leather jacket, lined with sheepskin. The men did not seem impressed by his type.

“City boy! Hey boy, where are you going?”

He wouldn’t respond, leaning against the truck while looking over the scenery. It was a beautiful sight, something that had been missing from his life recently. Even the air was cleaner. The fools didn’t want him to breathe that air, however as they continued their lashing out against him.

“What? Are you deaf? Come on, tough guy.”

Watching the numbers pile up at the pump, Colton still refused to pay any attention to the men. They had finally reached the truck, staring him down.

“Chuck, that’s Colton Saint!! Fuckin’ Colton Saint!!”

A small, frustrated exhale escaped the lungs of the X-Factor Champion as he continued focusing on something else, anything else.

“Look at that, it is! Hey boy, running away after losing to a little girl? Now you’re too good to talk to us.”

“Careful now, he just might try to burn our town to the ground and shove a cell phone down our throats. Maybe move in next door to us before breaking into our homes. What a fuckin’ joke.”

“I ain’t even have a cell phone, boy. Can’t shove that down my throat!”

His eyes lowered from the scenery to the gas nozzle. With a slow blink, he glanced over at the man before looking back down at the nozzle.

“It don’t matter, Chuck. The guy won’t defend his title belt that he clings to it so much. Turns out, he’s got Indy Darling.”

“Indy Darling?? Y’hear that boy?? Indy Darling is going to fuck you up!!”

That peaked his interest, believe it or not. Taking a mental note of it, the tank filled up. He looked toward the back of the truck, pulling out 2 five gallon gas tanks. Resting them on his tailgate, he goes to put the nozzle into it. A hand slapped down across his to stop him.

“What’s the matter, boy? Didn’t hear that? Indy Darling is going to fuck you up."

Making full eye contact with the guy in front of him, Colton squeezes the gas nozzle to continue re-fueling. His glare remained intent on the idiot who laid his hands on him.

“You think you’re so great, don’t you? Think us country folk aren’t worth your time? My opinion matters far more than yours ever will. Boy, you couldn’t even squash a bug. You let ya woman do the talking for you.”

Upon filling one of the gas tanks, he snapped his arm away from the grasp of the jerk, pulling the nozzle clear from the tank before beginning the filling of the final tank. Once again, the guy put his hands on Colton, gripping his wrist.

“You’ve had enough, get the fuck out of here. We don’t need some poser ‘round here.”

The glare went back to the man. That was strike two for the guy, it seemed like a third was well on it’s way. Despite the lack of sleep, he was very alert. The other two men slowly approached, not knowing what Colton or the loudmouth were going to do. The price continued to go up on the screen, but Colton paid no attention to it.

“I don’t know what the hell an Indy Darling is, but I’m sure he can take you in a fight. I could take you down this instant.”

Hearing a slight gurgle noise coming from the tank, Colton finally released the nozzle. Again, snapping his arm away from the loudmouth, he grabbed the gas nozzle as he returned it to the pump. He pushed the tanks back in the truck bed, lifting the tailgate to close it before glaring again at the man.

“Now get out of here!! Don’t make that mistake that everyone else makes.”

His eyes narrowed slightly before latching down the tanks. The men closed in on him again.

“I said get out of here..NOW”

The loudmouth reached for Colton one more time, but the Outlaw was quick to brandish his Bowie knife, aiming the tip right on the throat of the loudmouth. Initially panicked, the loudmouth wasn’t finished.

“Tough guy, needing a knife. That is a pretty knife there, boy.”

Quickly flipping the blade so the handle would face the loudmouth, Colton didn’t take his eyes off of him. The loudmouth grabbed the blade, only for Colton to throw his head in, delivering a stiff headbutt into the nose of him. The knife dropped from the man’s hand, only for Colton to catch it before it hit the ground, flipping it back along his fingers before putting it back into the pouch along his belt. The loudmouth was withering in pain on the ground while the two others refused to take a step forward. They wanted to swarm him, but knew there might be a cost to their efforts. His ice cold glare was locked on them as they slowly backed away, leaving their loudmouth friend behind.

It felt like so much of what the fans thought about him. He wasn’t the conquering hero, the underdog, or even a ‘what if’ guy. He was the wrong guy for the business, simply put. Upon re-entering his truck, he started it right up and began taking off. The loudmouth of course, was not done.

“Run away you coward!! You are a dead man!!”

Even in his incoherence, the loudmouth had one thing right. Colton Saint was a dead man. Physically there, but the emotional and psychological toll that the business had taken on him, he just wanted out. He wanted a way to say goodbye to the business that felt so cruel to him.

Indy Darling, huh?




--Overlook into Lake Superior--
--Porcupine Mountains--

To make sense of everything that was going on in his life, Colton Saint had finally reached his place of Solitude. The forest within the mountains was vast and quiet aside from a couple rumbles from the wildlife. Walking his path of solitude, Colton noticed a moose up ahead of him, staring directly at him.

“Indy Darling, is that right? I guess you and I are going to have a crossroads to meet at. I remember when I broke into this business, there was this hardship that came with it, you would have to earn your stripes by bringing the fight to the best people in front of you. People would come to me with this sinister look. You know that look, you’ve seen it a million times.”

Thinking back to the thousand yard stare that he had adopted during his time thus far in Project: Honor, Colton could speak to the ‘veteran’ status. As the only individual who had competed on every single event that the company, Colton could make claim to that status. Not every match went to his liking, but it happened. The statisticians of the company always wanted to harp on his record, that it wasn’t becoming of a Champion. To him, it wasn’t numbers, but badges of honor. The battle scars he endured in his matches over the time could not be denied. There wasn’t another talent on the roster who had done what he did, and none would ever imagine what the man could do. A sad reality.

Stepping through the brush as he approached the moose on the trail. The glare from the creature felt symbolic of all the looks he would receive when he would walk through the backstage area. People would quickly leave as soon as he walked into catering, they’d part like the Red Sea when he walked down the highway. It wasn’t respect for the man, but disgust. Possibly with a little bit of fear added in.

“We all start somewhere. We begin the journey so often with the perked up eyes, the giddy demeanor, and thoughts that are often eclipsed by the unknown things that lie ahead. This company was just a newborn when I had Kimberly sign the contract. My instructions were clear. It wasn’t about the money or the fame. It was the competition. I wanted to face the absolute best talent that the world could give me. Rock Johnson met with Kimberly and I and went over the terms. I informed him of two things that I wanted. First thing was to be able to take home a higher chunk of the merchandise money for items with my face or name on it. Most people would land five percent, Indy. I don’t know what your contract states, any provisions, but I’m sure you don’t make fifty percent off of any sale with something of your likeness. It was my way of giving back to the business, I wouldn’t take a downside guarantee, because I knew the business would die quickly if I asked for every dime that I could. Any money that I made would be because of the things I’ve done, not what I believed I was worth. That’s where a lot of these guys are missing the point. It was to get the business off of the ground, and now look at it. Some of the greatest competition on the entire planet. I’m sure it is what brought you here.”

With a lack of interest in what was in front of it, the moose ventured elsewhere. Such a magnificent beast. Colton continued on his path, looking at the trees. Autumn had not been good to them, stripping them of their splendor. Leaves on the ground, it felt like a shell of what it was. Adjusting the backpack over his shoulder, Colton ran his thoughts through without so much a smile. Stepping through the fallen leaves, he kept his focus on the journey ahead.

“I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t know you. With everything that has happened in recent weeks and months, I don’t really know what day of the week it is. Every day, getting those injections to relieve myself of the pain in my shoulder. I have to watch myself on the replays of the show just to figure out who I was in that moment. If I were face to face with the man, the beast, that I become when the injection takes place, I wouldn’t know what to do either. I wouldn’t know how to outmatch him, how to defeat him. I’d be in for the fight of my life. Bloodbath was the first time lately that I was able to have a wrestling match without that inner beast engulfing me. I hope I can continue that as we face off. You’re the ‘underdog’ in the sheets, but you’re in for so much more than that.”

The journey was exhausting, but he kept moving forward. Colton kept hearing the noises go through his head, whether it was the chants of people hoping that he would die, or the sound of the nearby cougar walking through the foliage before climbing up onto a rock. The beast would watch him from afar, with the temptation of moving in closer. Without even a touch of eye contact, Colton continued marching forward. It wasn’t about fear, despite many of the animals being able to ensure that he would never wrestle again, much less breathe. He took a glance down, and around him as he noticed a mink crossing the path in front of him. So small, so innocent.

“You’re in shark infested waters, Indy. No matter what you do in this company, no matter who you win against or even lose to, you’ll always be the prey of somebody. You’ll always be the guy they look down their nose at. The carnivorous demeanor of that locker room has not been kind to most. It will eat away at you before you even set foot in the ring. When the music hits for the first time, and you find your way stumbling through the curtain, the feeling intensifies to the point where you’re no longer the smallest in the food chain. You have your chance to prove to the world around you that you’re the alpha. You’re the beast that they will cower in front of, or to your allies, behind. In this forest I’m currently walking through, Indy, there are so many things that could bring me to an end. I can feel the eyes on me, the cougars, the lynx just down the path that looked at me as if I were a meal to them. They want their prize. You want that same thing, though. Your prize if you are successful in defeating me, well it’s the Project: Honor X-Factor Champion. Let’s say you find your way to claim that prize, it won’t end there. You’ll go behind that curtain with people clamouring to you, saying that you couldn’t be any worse than the champion before you. They will tell you that they are proud of you to your face, that it’s your time to shine. By the time you finish your shower, though, they will have plotted and talked behind your back. They will say to each other ‘Who the fuck is Indy Darling? He only won one match. You’ll be a target for the next hyena. They will want your blood, they will want your soul, and they will want that championship.”

For all the time that Colton Saint had been champion, promises were made and promises were broken. He was openly criticized for not defending the championship. His match with Indy Darling was to be his first title defense. Any incoming threat that he faced for a shot at the championship had a fate that was far worse than a loss. While the loss to Colton was bad enough, it was a defeat that would lead to their departure from the company as a whole. At Bloodbath, Ryan Young was to face The Predator for a shot at the Championship. The kicker behind that match was the loss for Predator beforehand, he had learned his lesson in facing Colton one on one. It was goodbye to supposedly one of the toughest competitors in the business. Ryan Young suffered a loss to Jacob Steele, and found himself unworthy to face the Champion. This was their chance at redemption, but they didn’t even bother going to the arena that night. This opened the door for Indy Darling. Winless, but somebody who was hungry for an opportunity. Opportunity received.

Finally reaching the end of the forest, Colton glared ahead of him at the peak. He continued the path to the overlook of Lake Superior. Walking through the layer of rocks before climbing up a bigger pile, Colton walked towards the edge of the peak. His eyes gazed over Lake Superior, seeing the bright, sparkling water. He threw his legs out over the edge, sitting on the ledge of the peak. He watched over the water and surrounding forest beneath him. The Last Breathing Outlaw lost his fear of the unknown some time ago, with not so much pride, but acceptance of what would come next. If he were to die, it would be an ending. If he were to live in any circumstance, it would be another day. The exact same method he had every time he entered the ring against the best, or the biggest in the business.

“You’re not going to walk into Proving Grounds the same as me, Indy. Your time has just begun, hasn’t it? You want to prove to the entire world just how much you belong. The underground star meeting the mainstream. The underdog colliding with any and all challengers. I would admire the perky attitude and the will to win, but it just won’t be enough, I’m afraid. It’s going to take a broken heart to build character. That is why you will not defeat me. Whether or not you already know this, or if it’s brand new information to you, that isn’t for me to decide. You won’t be facing a wrestler. I’m not a wrestler and I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m not going to be fancy in that ring with you, doing a bunch of fun, flippy things. That’s a MYOJIN thing. They can impress the world with those endeavors all they want. You won’t have that luxury.

Your challenge ahead of you is a little more complicated than that. You’re facing a man who doesn’t lose. The records reflect otherwise which I’m sure you’re aware by now.  Even when the bell rings, and the match comes to a conclusion, I’m still standing. I’m still ready to fight. It wasn’t Dickie Watson’s fighting attitude that got him through defending the Championship. It was survival. It wasn’t.... It wasn’t… It wasn’t me. I tried to wrestle as good as I could, and something just didn’t work, something triggered. Doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, to be a Champion isn’t about being fancy, it’s about surviving each moment before there might not be another one. There’s no promise to live to fight another day. There’s only rewards for those who do survive. I’ll be the X-Factor champion until I breathe no longer. I will most likely die inside of that ring before someone gets the title from me. Sad truth, but it’s a truth nonetheless. I can’t tell you what you need to do in order to defeat me, because frankly, I have no idea what needs to be done. As long as there’s a chance, I will fight. Stripped down, bare bones, I’ve shown Project: Honor exactly who I am and what I do. I dissect people before I even face them in the ring. A little lab experiment that I have to do in order to care less about those who I’m surrounded by. Now, with tensions so high, I cannot turn it off, it’s there and in such a vivid way. Indy, the one thing I don’t want to do is take your career away. I don’t want to end this run for you just because I’m a selfish, terrible, disgusting human being. I am all those things, but even I don’t want to take that away from you.”

Over his shoulder, a gray wolf approached. Still refusing to look back, Colton knew exactly what was behind him. He could smell it, he could feel it. Pulling out his pack of cigarettes, he loosened one of them out and put it to his lips. The zippo came out next, flipping the lid back as he lit it up. The large wolf walked beside Colton, standing at the edge. Within five feet of the Champion, the wolf peered down at the water, visible carbon dioxide exhaled through its nose. Colton took a glance over at it before looking back at the water. For once, Colton felt like a lone wolf. Maybe it was his delirium, or extreme insomnia ever since Bloodbath, but he empathized with the wolf beside him.

“Survival is what gets us to the next fight. The next time just happens to be against you. A promising career could be cut short if you don’t defeat me. I don’t have to beat you, Indy Darling. That’s not to say I’m looking past you to wonderful sights on the horizon, I just know that an upstart, unless they are a prodigy, will not defeat me. It won’t be now when you’re able to secure a victory, in spite of what the world will want you to believe. They’ll tell you everything you could ever want to your face, so long as you don’t make their lives too miserable. After that, well, you become something else. I’m prepared to be that ‘something else’.”

The ears of the wolf perk up as Colton removes his backpack. He receives a snarl from the blank and angry eyes of the beast. His dead eyes return the favor, reddened from the lack of rest. He grabbed his backpack before returning his gaze to the water one last time.

“No matter what the world hands us, Indy Darling, just know this. I will do anything I have to do, and expect you to do the exact same. I want you to fight me with every ounce of battle you have inside of you. I want you to bring that attitude and that hunger out in full. I want you to punch me as hard as you can, lock in a submission that much tighter. I want you to try, try to end me. Try your absolute hardest to put me out of my misery and become the hero of the story. You need this, you need the championship to validate yourself. You need to end me, because if you don’t…

You will never survive.”

His eyes lowered from the water to the land beneath him. It looked to be nearly four hundred feet. He looked over at the wolf, exchanging a glare before pushing his backpack full of supplies off the ledge to the land beneath them. His eyes never left the wolf, who had begun his stare at the falling bag. Upon the landing, there was no sound, it may have fallen forever. Shifting his weight back away from the ledge, Colton climbed to his feet, pocketing the cigarettes and zippo. Quick breaths escaped the wolf as the two continued to stare before Colton slowly walked back onto his path, followed closely by the wolf.

He wasn’t the same man, he wasn’t anything. He was beyond fancy words and breaking into people’s homes. All he cared about was getting through this fight, onto the next. The next won’t come soon enough.