When I came to...
SPACEDreams and Nightmares. Both a display of your subconscious thoughts when you reach a deep sleep of REM. Dreams are just random thoughts pieced together for a short clip that is only remembered if you wake up afterwards, however… nightmares are much more than just dreams. Nightmares come from the deepest part of your subconscious: Your fears, your hate, your painful memories leaving scars in your mind every time you close your eyes to rest. It’s every night these nightmares haunt me; every time I close my eyes and lay my head down to rest I see the glimpses of my deepest horrors. Twisting and turning, trying to find peace… a constant movie plays in my head over and over.
SPACEI see glimpses of Heather laying motionless on the concrete floor on top of a puddle of blood, I see my father beating up my mother while Cassandra and I watch; I then see him dead in a prison cafeteria, but the one nightmare, and newest to my collection of tragic thoughts… the repetition of Michael Diamond hitting me with a Diamond cutter over and over until I finally jump up in the cold darkness dripping sweat.
SPACEWhen I came to, I realized there was no darkness; in fact, the lights above me were so bright, my eyes squinted from the glare. Where was I? I tried to look around, but as I lift my head… a sharp pain releases through my body. I sigh in pain as I see a woman rush over to me gently pushing my head back onto a soft pillow.
Danny Starr: Where am I?
SPACEShe wore green scrubs which lead me to believe she was a nurse. But why was I being watched by a nurse, unable to move my body.
Nurse: Relax, Mr. Starr… we’re still running tests on you.
Danny Starr: Tests for what? How did I get here? I demand you let me out of here…
SPACEI attempt to stand up fast and in a hurry, but I become dizzy as if blood rushed to my head and fell right back into the hospital bed.
Nurse: You really shouldn’t do that, sir… try to relax you have a minor concussion…
Danny Starr: I’ve had plenty of concussions, I do not need to be hospitalized.
Nurse: That’s the problem, Mr. Starr… X-Rays show multiple dents in your cranium… we’re running tests to see how critical these dents are. If you continue getting concussions, the damage may cause you to randomly pass out… so please, just get some rest.
Danny Starr: That’s nonsense… I most certainly do not need X-Rays or cat scans, what I need is my real drawers and my car keys.
Nurse: You didn’t bring your car, Mr. Starr…
SPACEI must have problems with my cranium… why would I bring my car if I didn’t remember coming here in the first place.
Danny Starr: So how did I get here?
SPACEJust then the hospital room door opens gently and none other than Eric Rayne himself steps in. The nurse takes her attention off of me and directs focus towards Eric. He grabs the top of a chair and begins dragging it to my bed’s side.
Nurse: Excuse me, Sir… you cannot be in here.
SPACEWithout a word, Eric Rayne releases his grip from the chair and stands erect in front of the nurse. He then pulls on the bottom of his jacket as if flattening out the material to reveal his initials sown cursive on the front left chest. She scrutinizes the lettering and her eyes become wide as they ascend to Eric Rayne’s seductive eyes. Her mouth opens and her eyes never leave his as she tries to start talking.
Nurse: I…I’m terribly sorry, Mr. Rayne…
SPACEEric gently places two fingers over her lips, immediately stopping her sentence.
Eric Rayne: Please… call me Eric. And make it up to me by accepting an invitation to meet me after your shift for dinner and wine.
SPACEEric pulls his fingers away from her lips… and still unable to lose eye contact, she stutters once again as her cheeks blush faintly.
Nurse: I… I get off at 8...
Eric Rayne: Make it 4, I am meeting my wife at 7:30.
Nurse: All right, Mr. Rayne… err… Eric.
Eric Rayne: See you then, Alex.
Nurse: My name is Jessica.
SPACEEric unleashes his million dollar smile as she nervously giggles wandering towards the door. Eric takes his attention off of her and sits down on the chair. As he brushes off dust from his 500 dollar jacket, a loud smash is heard behind him indicating the girl was still trying to make eye contact while she walked into the door. Eric pays no mind as he continues to brush off his pants.
Eric Rayne: So as if showing horrendous footage trying to expose you to the public didn‘t facise… a slap in the face and Diamond Cutter really added the exclamation point.
SPACEI looked away from Eric, for I knew what lecture would soon arise.
Eric Rayne: Of course, Danny… don’t acknowledge me… I didn’t have you brought here after a brutal Diamond Cutter which knocked you out immediately on impact. I didn’t pay for your testing and treatment… So are you going to let Diamond do this to you every week until you either resign or get injured? ANSWER ME DAMNIT!
SPACEThe hospital shook at that moment as an enraged Eric Rayne stood up to grasp his anger. I turned to him as he was sitting back down on his chair collecting himself.
Eric Rayne: What is it going to take for you to look past your emotions and stand up for yourself? This is exactly why people like Nate Hartman and Bigg Money constantly walk all over you… they see how weak you’ve become.
Danny Starr: But Michael believes I’m guilty…
Eric Rayne: Guilty of what… being loyal? Carrying him around for years?
Danny Starr: For killing Martin…
Eric Rayne: Did you kill Martin?
Danny Starr: No…
Eric Rayne: Then in what world are you guilty, Danny?
Danny Starr: In Michael’s world… he speaks of justice and revenge…
Eric Rayne: I think he needs someone to blame.
Danny Starr: The footage shows I tortured him… but I don’t remember that. I would never torture Michael… He also says I know where Cassandra and Shawn are located and the damnedest thing, Eric… when I first got back from Peru… I asked you the same thing, and you said in Europe.
Eric Rayne: Are you suggesting I know more than I’m telling you?
Danny Starr: Do you?
Eric Rayne: (Sigh) Look, I didn’t want to tell you this. During the time at which Michael was tortured is accurate footage… you hadn’t left for Peru and everything that has happened to you around that time added up, Danny. Steven Fury, Sett and Heather, murdering your parents…
Danny Starr: Shut up! With all do respect, I don’t want anyone to know that, Eric.
Eric Rayne: Even so, with both trials you were in a state of mind that was surreal. You had literally lost your state of being, Danny… and that caused you to undoubtedly take it out on your best friend… Michael Diamond. But there is nothing that can be done now…
Danny Starr: So I am to blame…
Eric Rayne: Yes… but you reap what you sow, Danny… Michael deserved it anyway for the way he turned on the Foundation of Sensation years ago.
Danny Starr: What about Cass… Where is my nephew, Eric?
Eric Rayne: During that time, with everything that went down, Cass felt it was unsafe to raise Shawn in that atmosphere… and I felt, to avoid persecution growing up, Shawn would need to be raised away from it all. I gave Cassandra the finances and she set off to Europe. She never told me where she decided to reside, nor do I have any communication with either of them since they got on that plane.
Danny Starr: This is all my fault… I ruined everything…
Eric Rayne: Nothing that can’t be fixed, Danny… but understand that Cass doesn’t bother talking to Diamond, the love of her life. Why is that? Possibly because she doesn’t want Shawn around him… are you piecing 2 and 2 together yet, Danny?
Danny Starr: Yeah, that doesn’t make sense…
Eric Rayne: You cannot keep letting Michael Diamond push you around like a school yard bully… you need to stand up for yourself. You think he is just going to stop out of no where? No, Danny… he’s going to attack you week-in, week-out until you accept his challenge… or quit.
Danny Starr: But in Diamond’s mind… I’m the bad guy…
Eric Rayne: You had no choice… you weren’t in the right state of mind to decide what was right. He hates you Danny… they boo him, even the audience is taking your side against Michael Diamond. How disrespectful is it of Michael Diamond to try to expose the man who created him… if it wasn’t for you, he wouldn’t even be known. Am I right?
Danny Starr: I suppose… I did take him under my wing early in his career…
Eric Rayne: And this is the thanks you get? If it wasn’t for the FOS, he wouldn’t even have a reputation in the HWA. Correct?
Danny Starr: I usually planned most of the attacks that are still talked about today…
Eric Rayne: Such gratitude Mr. Diamond must have for you… a loyal friend… a friend who went to court for hiring Randolph to murder his parent’s murderers… risking your own career and life to help a friend out. Killing the burdens in his life just because you felt for his suffering… and he stabs you in the back because of one mistake and some false accusations?
SPACEAfter a long pause to collect my thoughts and make my decision up… Eric Rayne has successfully convinced me.
Danny Starr: Michael Diamond will regret what he has done…
SPACEI saw Eric Rayne smile.
Danny Starr: I will make sure he pays in full for his deliberate actions and his intentions to expose Danny Starr will fail just like he has failed to manipulate the world into believing I’m just another backstabber like himself. My love wasn’t enough for Michael Diamond to forgive me for my uncontrollable mistakes… well, soon enough, they’ll be no love lost.
SPACEEric stands up to his feet and grabs the back of the chair.
Eric Rayne: I’m glad you have finally come around to see what is going on here. I wouldn’t direct you in the wrong direction, Danny…
SPACEEric smiles politely and turns around to put the chair back against the wall where he found it.
Danny Starr: Eric…
SPACEEric stops and turns around to acknowledge me.
Danny Starr: Thanks, brother.
Eric Rayne: Oh! Before I go to meet Sandra out front… I want you to remain focused on the matter that’s at hand, not gambling 20,000 dollars against some first carder who knows nothing about big money. You don’t need to prove yourself against this amateur. Bigg Money is not even close to your caliber…
Danny Starr: Hey, Come on, Eric… You really think I need any focus on this imbecile? This is child’s play… and nothing Michael Diamond does to me will disable me from defeating Bigg Money in any kind of match that idiot comes up with. I’m sure he’ll start winning more matches when HWA’s Woman’s division starts picking up… but then again, he lost to the only female IN hwa…
Eric Rayne: Like I always say, you know you’re a rich man when you can match your car with your clothes.
Danny Starr: Bigg Money can’t even afford to match clothes with his bike.
Eric Rayne: I’ll stop by later, Danny… Jenn will too; she’s dying to see you.
Danny Starr: Give her a kiss for me…
Eric Rayne: You really request that?
Danny Starr: No! no! I’m just joking, Eric…
Eric Rayne: Oh, Calm down… What do you take me for, anyway? Some kind of ladies man?
Danny Starr: Well you’re no Casanova…
Eric Rayne: Of course I’m not… Casanova actually cared about his lovers.
SPACEWe both laughed one last time before he shut the door behind him, separating us. A nurse informed me it wouldn’t be long before my test results would come back so I would be free to go. After all, I hadn’t spoken to Jenn since I was put in this dreaded hospital bed.
SPACE I knew when Eric left, I would have nothing but time to think… isolated in a quiet room with nothing but hours of time to lay here… only thoughts could entertain me; could kill the time. As much as I loved Michael… he has proven to me he is no longer a friend… he is now just another person who lost trust in me… and now, he will be dealt with as he wishes.
SPACE As far as Bigg Money, my thoughts do not concentrate on him, for he is not a threat. A cage does not intimidate me; in the bible, it was Daniel who fought lions in an act of bravery… but this has nothing to do with bravery. It’s simply child’s play. You cannot even stand next to me and do not get used to this high status on the card; after Saturday, you will be opening Survivals for the rest of your career.
