"The Sensation" Danny Starr


	The Monster Within...
	SPACE It’s said that when you die… you see a bright light… whether it’s an illusion caused by the nerves in your brain shutting down or being drifted into God’s grace… no one knows… but my friends, on Survival… I saw the light. I saw this bright glow all around me as I floated to an absolute end… however, God said it wasn’t my time… he gave me a second chance to win the Last Man Standing tournament… SPACE They say God works in mysterious ways, and perhaps this is His way of making me see clearly what I could have lost. I now understand what is at stake… Never again will I underestimate my opposition and forever will I be indebted to my glory. Too close for comfort… David Jackson revived my spot in the Last Man Standing… so in an unexpected light, David Jackson saved me… but his reason for bringing me back is just so he can eliminate me himself. SPACE Perhaps the biggest mistake of all was giving me a second chance to topple my competition… another chance to obtain the title of three time Last Man Standing Champion… a very prestigious title, none-the-less. SPACE As if coming from a flat line to a sudden heart beat, I woke up laying face up on a flat surface… I was sore all over, from the match with Exiled, of course. When I gained enough energy to turn over, I realized I was in my own home… now feeling the heavy throbbing on my temples. I lifted my hands to cover the aching in my head as I pushed into my skull… as if that would ease the pain. SPACE I sat up, with my open palms still pressed against my cranium, and looked around. It was a dark night, and cold… I glazed over to my right side and read my clock: 11:24 PM… wasn’t as late as it felt, but I slept most of that day. I immediately thought back to my night leading up to this point, remembering David Jackson’s decision for my match with Exiled. Double count-out… who would have thought… especially since I went into the match feeling like the old dog that I am. SPACE I sigh a bitter exhale and twist my legs to the side of my bed, allowing me to touch the surface of my wooden floor. I looked behind me and saw Jenn sound asleep facing the other way. It was beginning to look like the same scenario every night… but I didn’t mind her sharing one half of the bed. SPACE Taking my mind off of Survival, and now focusing on an unconscious Jenn, I thought back to what the Priest had told me. Recommending that before continuing this relationship I should consider marrying her. I had been contemplating that very thought for some time now… it’s not that I’m afraid of commitment, I just want to make sure she is the one… SPACE I knew deep down in my heart she was the one… but I have an annoyingly constant habit of using my brain instead. Our history speaks for itself, however… 5 years history to be precise. I am 30 years old now… no brothers to carry on my name… only my sister who will eventually be wed and lose our family’s name. The Starr family name lies between me and Percy. Oh god, not Percy… No woman alive could stand that man’s attitude… I’m his cousin and can hardly deal with his ways. SPACE With so much on my mind, I switched mindsets to Eric Rayne… a man I so loyally supported… a man I had put my trust in, and based my entire career off of… the man behind The High Society. SPACE With that in mind, I needed to contemplate exactly what I was going to do… I had to re-organize my thoughts because my thought process was becoming scattered and disorganized. SPACE I through on a pair of sweat pants and a white tee before slipping my shoes on… shut the door behind me, there would be no waking up Jenn or Mark tonight. I quickly made my way to the backyard… it was cold, I didn’t think of bringing my jacket out… but it was too late to turn back now. SPACE With nothing but a flash light, I walked at a fast pace towards that well known shed-type structure in the very back of my yard… it was pure darkness other than the shaking white light at my hand’s mercy… within 5 feet I could see the Hall of Sensation’s lit up doors…. I remembered that Eric had told me to move my key for security reasons, but I didn’t listen… just as always the over-sized steel key was gently placed inside of a statue directly in front of the doors. I grabbed it… feeling a chill ride down my forearm like an electric volt, and shooting up my back into my neck. SPACE The key was created from evil… it was created by me… 6 years ago. It was made for 1 reason… and one reason alone… it was my own personal hall with walls draped for the men and women I destroyed… careers gone… lives gone… the walls were draped in a crimson stain at the hands of yours truly. SPACE I twisted the devil’s key to hell’s gates and an unforgiving breeze brushed against my face. It was God’s way of stopping me from entering… but I never accept his denial, I am in full control of my actions today. Another gust of wind blows against my body as if attempting to push me back from the doors… but I resist… pulling myself inward until I’ve stepped foot inside of my past’s photo book. SPACE The light came on when I shut the door behind me, leaving God out of Satan’s domain… it wasn’t a place I felt comfortable, but it was a place I knew I could remain without torment… a place where the faces of fallen heroes aligned evenly along my wall as a reminder of my selfish accomplishments. SPACE Beyond the Hall of Sensation is a separate addition I added to remind myself of what I truly believed my destiny was… God was I wrong… but how could this be? My entire career I’ve strived to be one of them… looked up to every member in their Legacy.. I remember Mafia Inc… The Legecy, and no… this is not ‘The Legacy Department’ this was ‘The Legacy’ a subgroup featuring the world’s most elite in the world of professional wrestling all united in a team… SPACE I can still see the L symbol embedded on the wall of the room I created to enhance my true ending… at the time, anyway… If you hadn’t figured it out yet, there was a time I believed Eric Rayne’s High Society was my fate… my destiny. Because of my obsession to revive The High Society in his name… I turned into the monster everyone is scared will reform if I win the Last Man Standing… if I win the World Title… SPACE They are mistaken however, I know now that Eric Rayne was a snake… slithering through high grass attempting to ruin everything good in my life just for his own satisfaction. In order for me to become Eric Rayne… Michael Diamond and Cassandra would have to be eliminated. Why? SPACE Were they not High Society material? What distinguishes one from another? Class? Honor? Respect? Loyalty? All of which Michael Diamond and Cassandra Starr possess. So what was the reason? SPACE I looked up to the top of the wall to see Eric Rayne’s portrait hanging in the center between Steven Fury and Jared Singer… ah yes, Jared Sengir… a true icon if I do say so myself… most likely retired by now, along with Steven Fury, of course. Eric’s smile told a story of a ten thousand words but actually meant another ten thousand. To think, I was willing to give everything , including my soul, to Eric Rayne and The High Society… SPACE I had really been convinced that HS was my entire reason for being… the entire climax of what things lead up to in my past… my father, my mother, everything. It all aimed to the High Society being the reason for everything… but I was manipulated by high powers, my friends… SPACE And as sorry as I am to say it… if I had continued to follow Eric Rayne’s guidance… I may as well have placed my own self-portrait up on the wall, in this Hall of Sensation next to the others. SPACE Irony set in, when I was deep in thought to an unexpected tap on my shoulder… I turned around ready for a battle when I saw Jenn Copelin staring deep into my eyes… SPACE At this point I had calmed myself down and realized I had grasped her shoulders in a tight clamp causing her discomfort as she stands before me. Danny Starr: What the hell are you doing in here?! Jenn Copelin: Your cell phone woke me up… What is this? Danny Starr: Don’t you ever come in here again, you hear me?! SPACE I couldn’t help but scream in her face… I wasn’t as angry as I was upset that she had wandered into this tragic comedy. I didn’t plan on showing her this place… it was only designed to mark my past, present, and future… almost like a step-in archive for when I pass on. She had fear in her watered eyes as I still had her in a tight grasp… I felt the adrenlin rush, and the cold blood flowing through my veins… it was a feeling I haven’t got in 3 years… I began panting, as if panicking after my outburst… releasing my hold on Jenn’s shoulders she lowered in size… I had her in the air, my friends… Danny Starr: I’m…. SPACE What could I say? How could I possibly apologize for my actions? Danny Starr: I’m so sorry, baby… you just scared me… SPACE She was about to cry… I’m not sure how bad I hurt her physically, but emotionally, I could tell she had cracked inside… hopefully just temporary. Danny Starr: Come here, hunny… SPACE I hugged her tight, hoping it would take away the fear… God knows I would never hurt her, but peering over her shoulder I came directly face to face with Heather… my eyes widened as an epiphany smacked me right in the face: There was still a monster inside of me… only hiding deep inside… I closed my eyes as I reached towards the portrait of Heather… lifting it off of the hook it was hanged by, and reversed the image so she was facing the wall… I couldn’t bare to look at her any longer… not right now. Jenn was still silent… I was hurt knowing how bad I must have hurt her… I released my hug from her and backed up enough to look into her eyes… A tear had trickled down her left cheek and her lips were pouty… I looked deep inside her hazel pupils and gave a sincere apology once again. Danny Starr: I’m sorry… SPACE Jenn wiped the tear from her face and looked up at me as a puppy dog would. I leaned in slowly and gave her a kiss… she followed, obviously forgiving me for my uncalled for reaction. A sniffle and she was back to normal… Jenn Copelin: What is this place, Danny? SPACE I sighed… turning my back to her closing my eyes… trying to figure out the right words to describe a place like this… Danny Starr: This is not a place for you… Jenn Copelin: I thought you could tell me everything… Danny Starr: I can, Baby… but this is different… Jenn Copelin: How am I supposed to trust you, Danny? Hiding things like this… SPACE I paused in my tracks and turned around slowly to her face to face. Danny Starr: I’m not proud of this place, Jenn… it’s a place I come to only to find myself… only to reflect… Jenn Copelin: Wait a minute… SPACE I listened to her as she began to look around even more as if she had come to a revelation of just what this place is… she now notices the portraits on the wall… the High Society room… Jenn Copelin: This is it, isn’t it?… This is the Hall of Sensation… Danny Starr: Yeah… Jenn Copelin: I thought you were a new man… I thought you didn’t step inside here anymore… Danny Starr: I just needed to get away from everything… and everyone so I could think about things… Jenn Copelin: If you needed space, why didn’t you just tell me? Danny Starr: You were sleeping… I decided to come out while you were doing so… Jenn Copelin: So you always come out here behind my back? Danny Starr: No, Jenn. SPACE I could sense she was losing trust in me… I didn’t want that, I just wish she didn’t come in at all… it has nothing to do with her, it’s simply just not something I want her to see… but if she must… Danny Starr: I’m sorry I never showed you this place, Jenn… what do you want me to do? SPACE Jenn stayed quiet… only for a moment as she prepared her answer to my question. Jenn Copelin: Show me everything… Danny Starr: Everything… Jenn Copelin: Everything. SPACE I don’t think she was prepared to tour with me through the inferno like Dante and Virgil… but if she truly insists on seeing the dark, evil side of Danny Starr… she certainly requested the right quest. Danny Starr: Right now? Jenn Copelin: Well, we’re both in here… so why the hell not? Danny Starr: Well, for one… it’s 12 in the morning… Jenn Copelin: Then we better get started, shall we? Danny Starr: Very well… SPACE I lead her to the front of the Hall… the very first corridor after walking in through the main entrance. On both sides were portraits evenly aligned directly across from each other in a horizontal row all the way along the wall. Danny Starr: Recognize any? SPACE I said to her as we scrolled down the Hall of Sensation… We passed people like Jason Corlett… NBK… Darren Copeland… Jenn Copelin: NBK… I remember.. Danny Starr: That’s the SWO… that’s when we first met… Jenn Copelin: You released 2 discs from his lower back… Danny Starr: He’s now in a wheel chair… SPACE Horrible memories were wrapped around each portrait… at a time when I could honestly say, my actions were justified… but for what? And why? Because I felt they were? My riteousness cost me a lot… but never my pride… We continued to walk as we passed Hollywood D, Judge, “Awesome” D Anderson… Jenn Copelin: All 3 of them? Danny Starr: HD is just a memory now… along with Judge… and ADA is just a suit in the HWA management… I defeated all 3 in career matches… Jenn Copelin: Oh my god…. SPACE I didn’t know what she gasped at, not until I saw what she was gazing upon… Her eyes fell upon Steven Fury’s portrait… I had hung after Jason Corlett… Jenn Copelin: I’m confused… If these are portraits of ones you have put an end to, why is Steven Fury up here… didn’t you lose? Danny Starr: Very true… but he was still a target at the time… perhaps a misaimed target. SPACE We passed Steven Fury’s framed portrait when we came across two that were covered by drapes I placed on there myself to hide their identities: My mother and father, of course… I tried my best to lure her away from those portraits, but a determined Jenn wanted all the goods. Jenn Copelin: Who’s hiding in there? Danny Starr: Nobody… Jenn Copelin: It’s not me, is it? Danny Starr: No… Never. Jenn Copelin: So let me see… SPACE I guess I can forget about Jenn Copelin as my wife…I hesitated, but I followed her request and unveiled my mother and father to her… She stood stunned it seemed, staring on at both of them when suddenly she looked at me with a look of confusion… Jenn Copelin: Who are they?? SPACE Thank god… she didn’t remember what my parents looked like… their portraits were burned in my mansion’s fire 3 years ago… and she never met them. This was my chance to save myself a lot of trouble… Danny Starr: They’re not really in professional wrestling… that’s why they were covered up… they’re simply old neighbors of mine who always sent their dog to defecate on my front lawn… I sent Mark over to their house with a water gun filled with bleach and sprayed all of their garden… they moved out the next week… Jenn Copelin: That’s probably the dumbest thing I ever heard in my life… Danny Starr: What? Jenn Copelin: Why would you kill their garden just because their dog crapped on your lawn? You should have killed their dog, instead… Danny Starr: What happened to that sweet, ‘save the world’ Jenn I used to know? Jenn Copelin: What happened to that ‘I tell you everything’ Danny I never knew? Danny Starr: Ouch… I don’t want this petty situation to ruin what we have, Babe… Jenn Copelin: And what is it you think we have, Danny? SPACE I know you’re probably thinking ‘Why are you even putting up with her, Danny?’ well, don’t be misperceived… once she has something in her head, she remains cocky and smart until it wares off… so don’t fear, give her a day or two and she won’t be anything less of the angel we all know her as. Well, that’s despite the fact we’re approaching Heather’s portrait… she is still facing the wall, but I know Jenn will change that when she notices it. As we walk further down the hall, my cell phone rings from Jenn’s pocket. She stops dead in her tracks, startled by the ringing and reaches into her robe pocket for the device. Jenn Copelin: You should really start answering your phone… Danny Starr: Who is it? Jenn Copelin: It’s unlisted… Danny Starr: Most likely another prank caller… I’ve been getting those a lot lately… so, shall we continue? SPACE I didn’t want to continue, but I figured Jenn would have tried anyway… Jenn Copelin: Actually, I’m kind of tired… I think I’ve seen enough here… SPACE Phew… Jenn Copelin: It wasn’t that big of a deal, Danny… you killed your neighbors lawn and won some career matches, whoop tie doo… SPACE Thank you Mr. Unlisted number… you saved my relationship… a glitch of fate perhaps? As I escorted Jenn towards the entrance again, I couldn’t help but think that someone was looking out for me… someone who knew I deserved a second chance at redemption… a person who feels my pain and feels I should not suffer any more for the past even if I still have unpaid debts. She walked out before me as I turned to look once again… if only I had more time to think, more time to reflect… but perhaps this had happened for a reason… maybe Jenn needed to see what I have hiding underneath my skin… to some extent at least, some things are better off not known.