MAY 15, 2010
GRAND CANYON WEST- SKYWALK
HUALAPAI INDIAN RESERVATION, ARIZONA
1:32 PM LOCAL TIME
"Come on out, Dan!"
Terrence Thompson stood on the platform, admiring the view. After spending four days exploring the wondrous city of Las Vegas, the Birdz (sans Wendy, of course) had decided a little change of scenery was in order. So they got up early Saturday morning, piled in their rental car, and headed east, over the Hoover Dam, towards the Grand Canyon. Contrary to popular belief, the Western Rim of the Grand Canyon was not located in Grand Canyon National Park, but rather was part of the Hualapai Indian Reservation. As a source of income, the Hualapai had built the now-famous Grand Canyon Skywalk, a forty-five foot U-shaped walkway that extended out over the Canyon. Save for a supporting steel beam running on either side, the walkway, including the floor, was entirely made of glass, offering visitors a spectacular view of the entire region, including the Colorado River lying nearly four thousand feet below.
For the acrophobic Daniel Pollaski, that four thousand feet was turning out to be a problem. Pollaski had come fully prepared to take the walk, and even had put on the protective slippers all visitors were required to wear over their shoes to protect the glass from scuffing. But the moment he walked out, and saw the ground drop away beneath him, his fear of heights immediately kicked in, freezing him in a state of terror on the walkway.
Terrence had been most impressed with his daughter, who was bounding up and down the platform with enthusiasm, the long drop below seemingly having no effect on her. Cassie was leaning against the railing, the wind rustling her pale blonde hair, simply admiring the view. For his part, Terrence had been torn between admiring the view himself, and getting the portly manager to muster his courage and come join the three of them.
"I'm coming!" Dan said, as he used all the courage he had to inch forward, keeping himself over one of the steel beams so that the glass wasn't the only thing between him and a 4,000 foot death plunge. "How the hell are you so calm anyways? You're afraid of flying!"
"I'm not afraid!" Terrence countered, rolling his eyes. "I just don't like it. And this is different. It's an open air glass walkway, not an exploding tin can deathtrap."
Pollaski gallantly took another step forward, now a full four feet onto the walkway. Terence chuckled. "If it makes you feel any better, it's not that sheer of a drop. If you fell, you'd probably only go a thousand feet, tops.
"Oh, jeez," Pollaski snarled. "Is that all?"
Finally, with a little coaxing and prodding, Dan inched his way out across the platform, and he joined Terrence, Cassie, and Theresa in enjoying a magnificent view of the canyon.
"Look at the gwass down there!" Theresa exclaimed, pointing at a small green patch lying next to the river.
"That's not grass, Theresa" Cassie corrected. "Those are trees. That's how high up we are."
"Wow," Theresa said, in awestruck marvel.
"Wow indeed," Pollaski said, relaxing somewhat now that he wasn't moving. "It's amazing how much the vastness affects your depth perception. Those walls over there have to be at least twenty miles away, but it feels like you could hit them with a baseball."
"You okay?" Cassie asked, looking concerned at the tense man.
"I'm fine, so long as I don't think about what's beneath me, or look straight down," Pollaski said with a grimace. "I gotta say, the view out here is worth the anxiety."
Terrence nodded. "I just wish Wendy was here," he said quietly. "God, I miss her."
Pollaski nodded sympathetically. "Don't worry dude. Tag Wars is tomorrow, and we'll see her then. And then, it's back to Indiana! We'll be all together and home in no time."
"Yeah," Terrence agreed, cracking into a smile. "And if all goes well, she'll be the World Tag Team Champion, and I'll be on my way to face Jacob Wright at Full Throttle!"
Pollaski grinned back, then turned back to the Canyon. "What do you think, Theresa?" he asked, pointing to an outcrop. "Does that rock look like an Eagle?"
Theresa shook her head. "No, it looks like a WhiwyBiwd!"
The adults all laughed, and Pollaski shook his head. "She's got the lame humor part down. Definitely one of us."
"I wonder how this would hold up during an earthquake," Terrence wondered aloud, as he watched a tour plane flying through the canyon, well below the rim.
The heavy tread of running footsteps made him turn around, and he groaned as he saw Pollaski making a bull rush for the end of the walk, and the safety of solid ground.
"Oops," Terrence said, grimacing.
"That was mean," Cassie DeSlair scolded from his side, as Pollaski kept on running.
"Well, look on the bright side," Terrence replied, breaking into a grin. "At least we won't have to wait an hour for him to inch off"
"So now what?" Cassie asked as the three of them walked off the skywalk, although at a much slower pace.
Terrence shrugged. "I guess there's a huge outcrop of rock about a mile away. You can grab a bite to eat there, and Pollaski thought it'd be an awesome place to shoot a promo."
Cassie smiled. "If we can get him within fifty feet of the rim again."
Terrence chuckled. "Still, it'd be an awesome backdrop. And you and Theresa can eat lunch while we do the shoot. I guess there's also a few Hualapai cultural exhibits we can look at."
"Sure," Cassie said, removing her slippers. "Just don't stray too far from the main area. I guess the rattlesnakes out here have a bite that can kill in forty-five minutes, and the nearest hospitals an hour away."
Terrence grimaced again, since dying of poisonous snake bite was not on the days agenda. "Yeah, we'll keep it close."
===========================
MAY 15, 2010
GRAND CANYON WEST- GUANO POINT
HUALAPAI INDIAN RESERVATION
2:45 PM LOCAL TIME
(Another promo)
(Probably the last thing anyone wants to see is a closeup of Daniel Pollaski's nostril, but that's what you get as the video feed kicks in. The zoom pulls away, and more of Pollaski's face is shown. He appears to be squinting into the camera.)
Pollaski- "I can't tell if it's on, dude. Its too bright out here to see the red light."
Twister- (from somewhere off screen) "Dude, its a digital camera. Look at the viewer screen for the record symbol"
(The camera spins with dizzying speed, and is now pointing straight down at the dusty, rocky ground.)
Pollaski- (now also offscreen) "Oh, there it is!"
Twister- "Okay, so can we do this? Its kind of hot out here."
(The camera spins again, and this time it stops on the most beautiful thing imaginable. The Grand Canyon, in all its resplendent glory, is spread out before our eyes. There's nary a cloud in the sky, and the canyon walls seem to glisten in the May afternoon sunlight. The only thing marring this beautiful landscape is Terrence Thompson, sitting in the foreground of the shot, on a bench. He is wearing a blue t-shirt, and a pair of bleached jean shorts. His sunglasses, like the walls, gleam in the daylight. Of course, that ever-present sardonic smirk got put in as part of the wardrobe as well.)
Twister- "Hey, Valerie, what do you think?"
(Terrence beckons behind him, at the canyon)
Twister- "I'm giving you a present, Valerie! You see, I know you can't get out too much during the daytime. And I figured there's no way the Grand Canyon would look as good at nightime as it does on a cloudless afternoon, so why not let you see it through the magic of video?"
Polkaski- (Of camera, of course, since he's the one filming). "Or she could just look up a picture on Google."
(Terrence glares at the camera.)
Twister- "That was a taunt, dude."
Pollaski- "Oh so let's make the redhead Scottish she-vampire pissed at us. Good idea!"
Twister- "Shut up. And don't interrupt my promo. I'm working here."
Pollaski- "Okay, go on."
(Terrence shakes his head in mock sadness.)
Twister- "Ah, Valerie. You know, it's funny. You seem to think I'm a bit on the arrogant side, or at least I 'talk like I know everything and that I'm a god'. I don't know everything, Val. I know some things, like how to fix pretty much anything on a car. I know the names and numbers of pretty much everyone on the Indianapolis Colt's roster. I know that contrary to what you think, lightning can strike twice, or, in the case of a man named Roy Sullivan, seven times.
Pollaski- "Thank you, wikipedia!"
(Terrence smirks)
Twister- I also know that I LOST to Noah Hanson when I faced him, and I also know I beat you at High Stakes, not Full Throttle. I also know that I flew halfway across the country to research you, and you couldn't even be bothered to Google my match results."
(Terrence frowns, and puts on a very sad face.)
Twister- "That hurts, Val."
Pollaski- "Get over it!"
(Terrence again glares at the camera.)
Twister- "Hey, Val. In a second you're going to get a simulation of what it looks like getting pushed over the edge of the Grand Canyon."
Pollaski- "Point taken. Go on."
Twister- "But there's also a lot I don't know. I don't much about history. Don't know much biology. Don't know much about-"
Pollaski- "NO HERMAN'S HERMITS!"
(Pause. In case you don't know, that's who sang that)
Twister- "Sorry. I also don't know why you wouldn't be impressed that I just beat your husband. Do you not have that much respect for his ability? I know if someone went and beat Wendy clean in the middle of the ring, I'd be damned impressed. And that's not just because I'm the only one who's beaten her since she returned. She's one of the best submissionists who's ever competed, so I know, if someone beats her cleanly, that there's something to that. And I know it's the same the other way around. If someone beats me, it impresses Wendy. Hell you saw her with Noah Hanson. She was chomping at the bit to face him because he beat me. And I hope she gets that chance."
Pollaski- "Uh... yeah. So do I."
(It should be noted that Terrence has absolutely no clue that Noah Hanson's dead. Pollaski knows, but he's smart. He's not going to tell a chronic white-knuckle-to-the-point-of-needing-sedation flyer that another wrestler's plane just blew up. At least not until they're safely back in Chicago)
Twister- "But I suppose that's really none of my business, what you think of your husband's in ring ability. For the record, I've said it before, I respect the hell out of the both of you, and if anyone beats either of you clean, it'd impress me too. But, sweetheart-"
Pollaski- "Sweetheart?"
(Terrence shrugs.)
Twister- "What? She's been using these condescending terms of endearment on me all the time! I can't use one on her?"
Pollaski- "Nah, it just comes off as creepy. Besides, maybe its not condescension. Maybe she really has a teensy little Twister crush going on..."
(Pause, as Terrence's mouth drops. Whether its from excitement or horror- you be the judge.)
Twister- "Wha...?"
(Pollaski snickers)
Pollaski- "Think Wendy'd be up for a three-way?"
Twister- "Absolutely not. And you know she'll probably end up watching this, right?"
Pollaski- "Crap. Ah, I never liked my shins anyways."
(Terrence shifts impatiently.)
Twister- "Can I continue now?"
(The camera bobs up and down)
Twister- "And as far as me 'thinking I'm a god,' goes, I know I'm not. After all, you're an atheist, so if I was a god, you wouldn't believe in me, and we both know I'm pretty damn real. But Valerie, you got one thing right. I'm different from the other two men that beat you. In fact, I distinctly recall telling you that about a month ago. If you're just catching on, welcome to the party. But here's another reason why I'm different, Valerie. I'm a competitve guy, we all know that. And when there's a title on the line, I just get that much more so. When its MY title I'm looking to defend, well, even more. You throw in a tournament win, and a PWX title shot at the next pay-per-view, and well, 'Shit Just Got Real'. And know this, Valerie, I've never lost a belt on my first defense, and only once have I lost on my second."
Pollaski- "WWA World Title to Jason Lockhart, January 22, 2005 in Burning Phoenix Puro, the Japan region. The attendance was.."
Twister- "THEY DON'T NEED THE DETAILS!"
(Pause, Terrence tries to compose himself after snapping at his manager)
Twister- "By the way, that was a nice story, Valerie. You see, Wendy and I had struggles when we were starting out as well. Now, we weren't exactly the loudmouths you apparently were, but we did feel the frustration. But, like you, we matured, both as wrestlers and as people. And, well, here we are. Evolution, Valerie. Its a wondrous thing to look back from where we've been and see how far we've come. Ironically, one of the first matches to kick off my turnaround was a ladder match that involved the entire fed. You think winning a ladder match with three people after you is hard, Val? Try going through seventeen. In the end, there's no excuses. Either you're the one who climbed to the top, and unhooked the trophy, or you didn't."
"As far as 'falling from grace' goes, I think you have me confused with someone else. I'm just an old stock car driver who ended up in this crazy world of professional wrestling. Not much grace in that package. But you can make me fall all you can, Valerie. Push me off the ladder, throw me off the ladder, kick me off the ladder, I'll just keep getting right on back up. You should know by now that I'm one tough bastard to keep down."
(Terrence holds up two fingers.)
Twister- "Two days, Val. In just over forty-eight hours you and I are stepping in the ring again. This time everything is on the line. My title, the tournament, our very lives. And I'll tell you what, the view from the top of that ladder is going to be marvelous. Maybe even more marvelous than the one behind me. But it will be there that you learn your lesson for the week. There are those who think they can, and there are those who know they can. But there's one final step that I have taken and you have not- there are those who DID. And like your husband, you'll be there one day. But it still won't be on my time."
"But whatever happens, you and I are going to bring the house down. I'm looking forward to this, Valerie. With all respect to Jacob Wright, the winner of this match is the next PWX Champion. I can't think of a better challenge to end this tournament, and knowing that the winner will be someone who fights with honor, not a prick like John Ojeda or Noah Hanson, well, at least we're sending the fans home happy."
(One final smirk, and the fade out line.)
Twister- "Val, fuck the curtain call, it's time for the encore."
(Fade)
No comments:
Post a Comment