09-21-2019, 11:36 PM
THE BOOK OF CASTERILLO
Chapter 4: Journey To The Center Of Yourself
He is not a man of many words. Yet people are all in a tizzy about him. He does not want what all the others want, yet he seems to bother them. To Casterillo that has got to be a mission accomplished as just like Xander Valentine, he can stir up such a fuss by simply just existing. This seems to mesmerize him and also drive him. Perhaps that is why he wants to tie up the loose ends against those who have come up against him in the past, only to find a cheap way out of facing their fate. Perhaps he just wants concrete resolutions, before doing what everyone else seems to want him to do, and that is move forward. There is nothing wrong with that, wanting to have full closure so there are no doubts, one way or another.
That is why right now he is in a state of uncertainty. Shadron has seen it too.
Hey, are you okay?
His eyes are glazed over, looking like a steel color, the same steel color that Shadron herself has worn once before.
Lawrence? You really have me worried.
She shivers and reaches out to touch his left arm but he swats her away and she goes down to the grass. She is not hurt but she looks up at him sadly, wondering if she will even get a response.
I'm here for you, whenever you want to talk.
She slowly gets up and brushes herself off before slipping away from him, knowing for a fact that he wishes to be alone. He suddenly breaks out of his trance and walks in the opposite direction, right towards the nearest roadway, away from the part of the park they were just in. As he goes though the trance seems to take him back over. He is definitely not looking where he is going. Instead he is just speaking out loud, to himself.
They want me to move on. But is that what they truly want? No. They want me gone. They are scared, frightened of what I can do. How have I come to this? How have I been made out to be nothing but a monster? Back. I need to look back before I move forward.
Casterillo turns his back to the street and starts walking backwards. Then his feet touch the pavement and almost immediately a car horn blares. Within a blink of an eye Casterillo is on the hood of the car, laying belly up on it. The driver of the car panics and stops the car right in the road, but does throw on his four-way flashers to alert motorists, likely only as a knee-jerk reaction.
Oh my fucking god!
He turns off the engine and throws the car break on and immediately gets out of the car to see if Casterillo is somehow still alive. The driver sees that his eyes are glazed over and that he is just laying there. He still cannot believe it but the next thing he does is grab for his cell phone and call 9-1-1. Within a matter of a few minutes ambulances are arriving on the scene. This has caught the attention of Shadron who is on the other side of the park and can see them coming towards her, with their sirens wailing away. She rushes to the other side of the park and stumbles upon what is definitely her greatest fear, her Lawrence unconscious on top of the car.
Oh my god! Let me see him!
Please back off Miss. He needs to be loaded into an ambulance. Who are you?
Shadron. I'm his um... companion for life.
The EMT looks at her and can see she is distraught and telling the truth.
Alright, come with us in the ambulance. For now, wait there and we will get him loaded and check his vitals. Hopefully he is still alive.
Shadron sinks to her knees and closes her bright green eyes. She whispers to herself.
Please be alive. I am here for you. Let me know you are alive.
She keeps her eyes closed and looks upward. A few moments pass and Casterillo is now loaded into one of the ambulances. The EMT comes back and prods Shadron.
Miss, we are ready to go to the hospital. Miss?
It is a few more moments before her eyes reopen. She takes a few seconds to compose herself before she looks up at the EMT and tells him something with confidence and relief.
He is alive.
The EMT holds out his hands and Shadron takes them. He pulls her up and escorts her into the back of the ambulance, where she can sit by his side. For the whole trip to the ambulance his eyes do not move though. She holds his left hand tight and stays silent.
Unbeknownst to all of them though, Casterillo is about to take a much needed trip...
*******
He awakens to find himself in a place he has not been in many, many years. It takes him a few moments to clear out his eyes, to find that he is home, in the house he grew up in. Yet to him it looks cleaner than he can vaguely remember, with it being very white and pristine.
I must be dead. I must be.
He can hear now that he has spoken in not his adult voice, but instead his voice back when he was a young boy.
Great. Why am I here? I have not done anything wrong.
You have, son.
He turns his head to see the shape of his father standing there now, to his left.
You have never done anything right. We have tried to raise you Lawrence, but you have been nothing but a mistake. Your mother agrees.
NO!
Yes. Your mother and I, we talked. We were both happy when you were first born, but... but something just has not been right.
There is NOTHING wrong with me dad!
Yes there is. You are not like your mother and I. We think it will be better if you just go.
Go? Go where? And why? What will I do?
Those are questions you need to answer. Just go so your mother and I will be happy together, alone.
His eyes close and the next time they blink he is walking down the street, rolling a suitcase behind him, wearing a warm winter coat. He looks lost and rightfully so, being kicked out by his father and mother, for whatever reason. He keeps walking and walking, all the way to the shoreline. For him it takes days, but the memories in his mind flash before him in rapid fashion, with the final image of him arriving at his new homestead, a small cave at the shore to the ocean. It is here that he weeps, wondering what the hell he did wrong. According to his father, birth.
I cannot believe this. What has turned him and her against me? I have done NOTHING WRONG!
He shouts this out of the cave and to the world. At this moment in time the ground rumbles. He closes his eyes for a brief second before darting them open. A lightning strike hits the water; the first time a natural phenomenon he believes that he has created...
*******
The heart monitor beeps repetitively in rhythm. The work has been underway on Casterillo and it was found that he indeed was alive, and now stabilized. Shadron still holds on to his left hand, but not as tight now. She stares at him for a bit longer before the nurse tells her that visiting hours are ending and that she can come back in the morning.
Okay.
She sighs but before she goes she lays a kiss on his forehead and softly speaks to him.
I know you will be okay. Hopefully for now you are at peace Lawrence.
She slowly walks out, looking towards him as she goes, until she is out of the hospital room. The nurse shuts the door behind her. As Shadron walks it dawns on her that on Sunday night her companion is scheduled to take on Konrad Raab at SCW Apocalypse, in an Underground Rules Match.
He can't. They can't make him.
Suddenly her legs stop and it seems like some sort of omnipresent force pulls her into a more secluded area of the hospital. It is here that she can somehow hear him.
I will be there. This needs to end. All of the past needs to end.
But... but...
No buts. I am fine Shadron. I will be there. Tell the world I will be there.
She shakes and shivers and walks back out into the main hallway, where a nurse spots her and asks if she is okay. Shadron just gazes forward and walks on until she is out into the night air. It is nippy and she is feeling cold, so she hugs herself tight. Luckily for her the hotel is not too far down the road so she walks, faster paced than she normally would, about as fast as she was when she headed towards where the ambulance was back at the park.
Only when she is back in the hotel room does she calm down some. She immediately grabs for her cell phone and does what her beloved asked her to do, even though she is quite a disheveled mess.
Hi. This is not something I do, but Lawrence... er... Casterillo asked me to speak with you all. That said I don't know if he will be in condition to compete Sunday night, but he's telling me he will be there, and that he is not running, which sooo many of you think he does, right after attacking others of course.
From what I've learned about him over these past few years, it's not his fault. He is the way he is because of the way he was treated as a boy. I can relate, but clearly a lot of you just can't. You all just verbally assault him, which is really no different than him physically assaulting any single one of you. Both are wrong and trust me, I have told him that. But... with me he has changed. He doesn't have as black of a heart as you think he does. Nobody should ever a judge a book by it's cover and that's what every single one of you has done. It's sooo shameful and all you have done is egg him on to cause destruction and hurt wherever he goes. It's YOUR fault that he has even hurt ME. And Konrad, you're one of the worst offenders. He gave you a chance to come at him one on one back at Retribution, but in the end you couldn't handle it and got yourself disqualified because you hated my Lawrence so god damn much... and for what reason? Because he wanted to choose when he wanted to face you in the wrestling ring? That's just low, especially when you're the one that's hiding behind masks, making believe that these masks actually make you different. They don't! The only way to improve yourself is to take the time and truly look inside yourself to see why you are the way you are. That's something you will probably never understand.
Shadron sighs and looks over to the nightstand, where the crystal that she deems is for her and Casterillo, glimmers, but not as bright as usual.
Konrad, I'm not saying any of this to put you down, nor is he feeding me these words. I'm not standing here on a high horse, nor does he ever do such a thing. He has admitted that he wants to help ones like you and ones like Glory, even though you have both wronged him on multiple occasions. Yet no one has accepted his help because it just seems like everyone is the one thing that they keep calling my Lawrence, and that is egotistical. Such a hurtful word and one that I will never be.
Anyways Konrad, Lawrence is a good man, when he is allowed to be. I have seen the good in him, which is why I want to be with him forever. Tonight, I almost lost him, thanks to assholes like you and Glory and yes, even Sasha!
She flips her phone to the nearest bed and can be heard genuinely crying. She doesn't even try to compose herself as she just simply runs right back out of the hotel room and down the nearest staircase, all the way to the bottom, where she continues to weep. It is a while before she can hear his voice speaking to her inside her head, as calm as it ever has.
Hey. I will be okay. I am not a normal human, unlike them, nor are you. Remember that. As soon as I awake, I will be there for you.
Okay. Okay.
Yet still she sobs, her head down in her hands.
I will wait here for you, my Lawrence.
She doesn't move from the spot where she's sitting, with her legs straight out in front of her, but she does lift her head back up. She looks blankly forward before finally getting up and making the trek back to the room assigned to her and Casterillo. It is when she arrives that she sees her cell phone is still in recording mode. Sighing she picks it up.
I'm sure none of you will care about what I have to say, and never will care about him. But you shouldn't just give up on him. One to give up on is you, Konrad. You were even given a chance at the SCW World Championship, even though you haven't earned one. You were given a handout, something Casterillo simply doesn't want, and you failed anyway to capitalize on Alistaire's gift to you. Yeah you'll say the same thing towards Casterillo that he only brings the fight when he wants to, but that's just not the truth. He ALWAYS brings the fight when he is able to. But you, you rely on things that don't change you one bit. This Sunday, I will say this, even though he was almost just killed tonight, Casterillo WILL appear to not just fight you, not just to injure you, but to show the entire world that he is MUCH more than what ANY of you think of him! Perhaps then everyone will understand and notice what I already see in him. He's amazing when you get to know him and actually dive down deep beneath his hard shell. Until you do though Underground Rules Matches could very well become the normal.
Konrad, you aren't ready for what he might do to you. I will say this. I'm not going to watch, as I actually fear for your well-being. You are going to deserve everything that is done to you at Apocalypse. Maybe, just maybe that night will be the end of all the tormenting words that have been thrown in Casterillo's direction. Maybe then he can move forward instead of having to go backwards to clean up old issues. After you're left laying Konrad, I already know something. He is going to go after Glory Braddock, clearance or no clearance, Sasha or no Sasha. I have already foreseen it. It can't be stopped, nor can he. As long as he is alive, it won't ever end until Sasha allows it to. That's all I have to say in Casterillo's stead. My hope is that you Konrad can look inside yourself and shed away all the masks, because there is one thing that you said is right. We all have the ability to do good or bad. With me by his side, I have a VERY strong feeling that Casterillo can only get better. I love him, and deep down I can see that he loves me too. His black heart is melting. Don't be one of those that hardens it back up.
Shadron ends the recording and places her cell phone carefully on the nightstand. She doesn't even bother changing into a nightie or anything, but instead hops right into bed and at least tries to go to sleep. That endeavor is quite the failure however. She tosses and turns and is awake all night long, until the sun comes up. Despite being exhausted she changes her outfit and makes a mad dash back for the hotel. With the sun shining in through the hospital room that houses Casterillo, she arrives back to a sight that at least relieves her. His eyes are open and looking straight forward. As she comes in and makes her presence known...
I told you I would be okay. Nurse, please leave us for a bit.
The nurse hesitates but then goes, closing the room door behind her.
I... I can't believe you survived being hit by a car.
The world can not get rid of me until I choose to go. More important though, while I was out, I returned to the moment I did not want to relive, when my father kicked me out and sent me away for good.
Oh no, Lawrence...
Her hands go to her heart.
It was not all bad. It reminded me why I am who I am. I cannot change what has happened, but I know what I can do. I already know that man lied about my own mother not wanting me. He was the one that did not want me, but I can be bigger than him. I can show the world that unlike him, I CAN and WILL care for those that actually deserve it. Tomorrow I will be released from here after they run another test or two from what I have been told. At least I have a chance to make things right and show that I am not just some angry man that wants to take others out to teach them a lesson. In that regard I realized I became like my father. You are right. I need to change while I still can, and now that I have gone back, I feel like I can move forward, that is after doing what I must do against Konrad and then Glory. If Sasha is going to be a roadblock in me finishing things with Glory for her attacking me for no good reason, I will have to do what I must do. I hope you understand that.
I do, and I will be with you every step of the way. Then you can move forward. I can move forward. We can move forward Lawrence. And the WORLD can move forward.
Exactly. Until then, Apocalypse will have to be the eye-opener. I already know Konrad has no control. The good thing is I do. Last time he allowed himself to lose it. This time I will not allow it to get to that point. This time around I will finish what was started, and I will not even need the weapons that Konrad claims he will use. I already explained it to the Jones Clan that weapons are a cheap way out when dealing with your problems inside the ring. I know weapons are a part of Underground Rules, but in the case of this Sunday, Underground Rules in the end will not do what Sasha wants them to do, and that is deter me from doing what must be done. The moment she stops resisting is the moment she too will be able to look inside herself and perhaps be a better leader than her sister Katya and yes, even better than her father. Right now, with the road she is on, she has no chance.
Yeah. Um... right now you should probably rest though. I want you to be at your very best.
Thank you. You can stay though.
Thanks.
Shadron ushers the nurse to come back into the room. As soon as she re-enters a doctor follows in behind her, meaning it is time for preparation for one of the tests to begin. They allow Shadron to stay in the room until it is time to wheel Casterillo down the hallway for a few x-rays. Shadron follows and stays outside the x-ray room until a doctor emerges to speak with her.
He looks okay. Very lucky, but okay. We have one or two more things to test this afternoon, but everything looks promising, so don't worry.
I'm not worried. Thanks for everything.
You're welcome.
Shadron turns and heads back to Casterillo's hospital room. It is here that she waits for his triumphant return, a return that the whole world will see is necessary, starting at Apocalypse against Konrad Raab.
Chapter 4: Journey To The Center Of Yourself
He is not a man of many words. Yet people are all in a tizzy about him. He does not want what all the others want, yet he seems to bother them. To Casterillo that has got to be a mission accomplished as just like Xander Valentine, he can stir up such a fuss by simply just existing. This seems to mesmerize him and also drive him. Perhaps that is why he wants to tie up the loose ends against those who have come up against him in the past, only to find a cheap way out of facing their fate. Perhaps he just wants concrete resolutions, before doing what everyone else seems to want him to do, and that is move forward. There is nothing wrong with that, wanting to have full closure so there are no doubts, one way or another.
That is why right now he is in a state of uncertainty. Shadron has seen it too.
Hey, are you okay?
His eyes are glazed over, looking like a steel color, the same steel color that Shadron herself has worn once before.
Lawrence? You really have me worried.
She shivers and reaches out to touch his left arm but he swats her away and she goes down to the grass. She is not hurt but she looks up at him sadly, wondering if she will even get a response.
I'm here for you, whenever you want to talk.
She slowly gets up and brushes herself off before slipping away from him, knowing for a fact that he wishes to be alone. He suddenly breaks out of his trance and walks in the opposite direction, right towards the nearest roadway, away from the part of the park they were just in. As he goes though the trance seems to take him back over. He is definitely not looking where he is going. Instead he is just speaking out loud, to himself.
They want me to move on. But is that what they truly want? No. They want me gone. They are scared, frightened of what I can do. How have I come to this? How have I been made out to be nothing but a monster? Back. I need to look back before I move forward.
Casterillo turns his back to the street and starts walking backwards. Then his feet touch the pavement and almost immediately a car horn blares. Within a blink of an eye Casterillo is on the hood of the car, laying belly up on it. The driver of the car panics and stops the car right in the road, but does throw on his four-way flashers to alert motorists, likely only as a knee-jerk reaction.
Oh my fucking god!
He turns off the engine and throws the car break on and immediately gets out of the car to see if Casterillo is somehow still alive. The driver sees that his eyes are glazed over and that he is just laying there. He still cannot believe it but the next thing he does is grab for his cell phone and call 9-1-1. Within a matter of a few minutes ambulances are arriving on the scene. This has caught the attention of Shadron who is on the other side of the park and can see them coming towards her, with their sirens wailing away. She rushes to the other side of the park and stumbles upon what is definitely her greatest fear, her Lawrence unconscious on top of the car.
Oh my god! Let me see him!
Please back off Miss. He needs to be loaded into an ambulance. Who are you?
Shadron. I'm his um... companion for life.
The EMT looks at her and can see she is distraught and telling the truth.
Alright, come with us in the ambulance. For now, wait there and we will get him loaded and check his vitals. Hopefully he is still alive.
Shadron sinks to her knees and closes her bright green eyes. She whispers to herself.
Please be alive. I am here for you. Let me know you are alive.
She keeps her eyes closed and looks upward. A few moments pass and Casterillo is now loaded into one of the ambulances. The EMT comes back and prods Shadron.
Miss, we are ready to go to the hospital. Miss?
It is a few more moments before her eyes reopen. She takes a few seconds to compose herself before she looks up at the EMT and tells him something with confidence and relief.
He is alive.
The EMT holds out his hands and Shadron takes them. He pulls her up and escorts her into the back of the ambulance, where she can sit by his side. For the whole trip to the ambulance his eyes do not move though. She holds his left hand tight and stays silent.
Unbeknownst to all of them though, Casterillo is about to take a much needed trip...
*******
He awakens to find himself in a place he has not been in many, many years. It takes him a few moments to clear out his eyes, to find that he is home, in the house he grew up in. Yet to him it looks cleaner than he can vaguely remember, with it being very white and pristine.
I must be dead. I must be.
He can hear now that he has spoken in not his adult voice, but instead his voice back when he was a young boy.
Great. Why am I here? I have not done anything wrong.
You have, son.
He turns his head to see the shape of his father standing there now, to his left.
You have never done anything right. We have tried to raise you Lawrence, but you have been nothing but a mistake. Your mother agrees.
NO!
Yes. Your mother and I, we talked. We were both happy when you were first born, but... but something just has not been right.
There is NOTHING wrong with me dad!
Yes there is. You are not like your mother and I. We think it will be better if you just go.
Go? Go where? And why? What will I do?
Those are questions you need to answer. Just go so your mother and I will be happy together, alone.
His eyes close and the next time they blink he is walking down the street, rolling a suitcase behind him, wearing a warm winter coat. He looks lost and rightfully so, being kicked out by his father and mother, for whatever reason. He keeps walking and walking, all the way to the shoreline. For him it takes days, but the memories in his mind flash before him in rapid fashion, with the final image of him arriving at his new homestead, a small cave at the shore to the ocean. It is here that he weeps, wondering what the hell he did wrong. According to his father, birth.
I cannot believe this. What has turned him and her against me? I have done NOTHING WRONG!
He shouts this out of the cave and to the world. At this moment in time the ground rumbles. He closes his eyes for a brief second before darting them open. A lightning strike hits the water; the first time a natural phenomenon he believes that he has created...
*******
The heart monitor beeps repetitively in rhythm. The work has been underway on Casterillo and it was found that he indeed was alive, and now stabilized. Shadron still holds on to his left hand, but not as tight now. She stares at him for a bit longer before the nurse tells her that visiting hours are ending and that she can come back in the morning.
Okay.
She sighs but before she goes she lays a kiss on his forehead and softly speaks to him.
I know you will be okay. Hopefully for now you are at peace Lawrence.
She slowly walks out, looking towards him as she goes, until she is out of the hospital room. The nurse shuts the door behind her. As Shadron walks it dawns on her that on Sunday night her companion is scheduled to take on Konrad Raab at SCW Apocalypse, in an Underground Rules Match.
He can't. They can't make him.
Suddenly her legs stop and it seems like some sort of omnipresent force pulls her into a more secluded area of the hospital. It is here that she can somehow hear him.
I will be there. This needs to end. All of the past needs to end.
But... but...
No buts. I am fine Shadron. I will be there. Tell the world I will be there.
She shakes and shivers and walks back out into the main hallway, where a nurse spots her and asks if she is okay. Shadron just gazes forward and walks on until she is out into the night air. It is nippy and she is feeling cold, so she hugs herself tight. Luckily for her the hotel is not too far down the road so she walks, faster paced than she normally would, about as fast as she was when she headed towards where the ambulance was back at the park.
Only when she is back in the hotel room does she calm down some. She immediately grabs for her cell phone and does what her beloved asked her to do, even though she is quite a disheveled mess.
Hi. This is not something I do, but Lawrence... er... Casterillo asked me to speak with you all. That said I don't know if he will be in condition to compete Sunday night, but he's telling me he will be there, and that he is not running, which sooo many of you think he does, right after attacking others of course.
From what I've learned about him over these past few years, it's not his fault. He is the way he is because of the way he was treated as a boy. I can relate, but clearly a lot of you just can't. You all just verbally assault him, which is really no different than him physically assaulting any single one of you. Both are wrong and trust me, I have told him that. But... with me he has changed. He doesn't have as black of a heart as you think he does. Nobody should ever a judge a book by it's cover and that's what every single one of you has done. It's sooo shameful and all you have done is egg him on to cause destruction and hurt wherever he goes. It's YOUR fault that he has even hurt ME. And Konrad, you're one of the worst offenders. He gave you a chance to come at him one on one back at Retribution, but in the end you couldn't handle it and got yourself disqualified because you hated my Lawrence so god damn much... and for what reason? Because he wanted to choose when he wanted to face you in the wrestling ring? That's just low, especially when you're the one that's hiding behind masks, making believe that these masks actually make you different. They don't! The only way to improve yourself is to take the time and truly look inside yourself to see why you are the way you are. That's something you will probably never understand.
Shadron sighs and looks over to the nightstand, where the crystal that she deems is for her and Casterillo, glimmers, but not as bright as usual.
Konrad, I'm not saying any of this to put you down, nor is he feeding me these words. I'm not standing here on a high horse, nor does he ever do such a thing. He has admitted that he wants to help ones like you and ones like Glory, even though you have both wronged him on multiple occasions. Yet no one has accepted his help because it just seems like everyone is the one thing that they keep calling my Lawrence, and that is egotistical. Such a hurtful word and one that I will never be.
Anyways Konrad, Lawrence is a good man, when he is allowed to be. I have seen the good in him, which is why I want to be with him forever. Tonight, I almost lost him, thanks to assholes like you and Glory and yes, even Sasha!
She flips her phone to the nearest bed and can be heard genuinely crying. She doesn't even try to compose herself as she just simply runs right back out of the hotel room and down the nearest staircase, all the way to the bottom, where she continues to weep. It is a while before she can hear his voice speaking to her inside her head, as calm as it ever has.
Hey. I will be okay. I am not a normal human, unlike them, nor are you. Remember that. As soon as I awake, I will be there for you.
Okay. Okay.
Yet still she sobs, her head down in her hands.
I will wait here for you, my Lawrence.
She doesn't move from the spot where she's sitting, with her legs straight out in front of her, but she does lift her head back up. She looks blankly forward before finally getting up and making the trek back to the room assigned to her and Casterillo. It is when she arrives that she sees her cell phone is still in recording mode. Sighing she picks it up.
I'm sure none of you will care about what I have to say, and never will care about him. But you shouldn't just give up on him. One to give up on is you, Konrad. You were even given a chance at the SCW World Championship, even though you haven't earned one. You were given a handout, something Casterillo simply doesn't want, and you failed anyway to capitalize on Alistaire's gift to you. Yeah you'll say the same thing towards Casterillo that he only brings the fight when he wants to, but that's just not the truth. He ALWAYS brings the fight when he is able to. But you, you rely on things that don't change you one bit. This Sunday, I will say this, even though he was almost just killed tonight, Casterillo WILL appear to not just fight you, not just to injure you, but to show the entire world that he is MUCH more than what ANY of you think of him! Perhaps then everyone will understand and notice what I already see in him. He's amazing when you get to know him and actually dive down deep beneath his hard shell. Until you do though Underground Rules Matches could very well become the normal.
Konrad, you aren't ready for what he might do to you. I will say this. I'm not going to watch, as I actually fear for your well-being. You are going to deserve everything that is done to you at Apocalypse. Maybe, just maybe that night will be the end of all the tormenting words that have been thrown in Casterillo's direction. Maybe then he can move forward instead of having to go backwards to clean up old issues. After you're left laying Konrad, I already know something. He is going to go after Glory Braddock, clearance or no clearance, Sasha or no Sasha. I have already foreseen it. It can't be stopped, nor can he. As long as he is alive, it won't ever end until Sasha allows it to. That's all I have to say in Casterillo's stead. My hope is that you Konrad can look inside yourself and shed away all the masks, because there is one thing that you said is right. We all have the ability to do good or bad. With me by his side, I have a VERY strong feeling that Casterillo can only get better. I love him, and deep down I can see that he loves me too. His black heart is melting. Don't be one of those that hardens it back up.
Shadron ends the recording and places her cell phone carefully on the nightstand. She doesn't even bother changing into a nightie or anything, but instead hops right into bed and at least tries to go to sleep. That endeavor is quite the failure however. She tosses and turns and is awake all night long, until the sun comes up. Despite being exhausted she changes her outfit and makes a mad dash back for the hotel. With the sun shining in through the hospital room that houses Casterillo, she arrives back to a sight that at least relieves her. His eyes are open and looking straight forward. As she comes in and makes her presence known...
I told you I would be okay. Nurse, please leave us for a bit.
The nurse hesitates but then goes, closing the room door behind her.
I... I can't believe you survived being hit by a car.
The world can not get rid of me until I choose to go. More important though, while I was out, I returned to the moment I did not want to relive, when my father kicked me out and sent me away for good.
Oh no, Lawrence...
Her hands go to her heart.
It was not all bad. It reminded me why I am who I am. I cannot change what has happened, but I know what I can do. I already know that man lied about my own mother not wanting me. He was the one that did not want me, but I can be bigger than him. I can show the world that unlike him, I CAN and WILL care for those that actually deserve it. Tomorrow I will be released from here after they run another test or two from what I have been told. At least I have a chance to make things right and show that I am not just some angry man that wants to take others out to teach them a lesson. In that regard I realized I became like my father. You are right. I need to change while I still can, and now that I have gone back, I feel like I can move forward, that is after doing what I must do against Konrad and then Glory. If Sasha is going to be a roadblock in me finishing things with Glory for her attacking me for no good reason, I will have to do what I must do. I hope you understand that.
I do, and I will be with you every step of the way. Then you can move forward. I can move forward. We can move forward Lawrence. And the WORLD can move forward.
Exactly. Until then, Apocalypse will have to be the eye-opener. I already know Konrad has no control. The good thing is I do. Last time he allowed himself to lose it. This time I will not allow it to get to that point. This time around I will finish what was started, and I will not even need the weapons that Konrad claims he will use. I already explained it to the Jones Clan that weapons are a cheap way out when dealing with your problems inside the ring. I know weapons are a part of Underground Rules, but in the case of this Sunday, Underground Rules in the end will not do what Sasha wants them to do, and that is deter me from doing what must be done. The moment she stops resisting is the moment she too will be able to look inside herself and perhaps be a better leader than her sister Katya and yes, even better than her father. Right now, with the road she is on, she has no chance.
Yeah. Um... right now you should probably rest though. I want you to be at your very best.
Thank you. You can stay though.
Thanks.
Shadron ushers the nurse to come back into the room. As soon as she re-enters a doctor follows in behind her, meaning it is time for preparation for one of the tests to begin. They allow Shadron to stay in the room until it is time to wheel Casterillo down the hallway for a few x-rays. Shadron follows and stays outside the x-ray room until a doctor emerges to speak with her.
He looks okay. Very lucky, but okay. We have one or two more things to test this afternoon, but everything looks promising, so don't worry.
I'm not worried. Thanks for everything.
You're welcome.
Shadron turns and heads back to Casterillo's hospital room. It is here that she waits for his triumphant return, a return that the whole world will see is necessary, starting at Apocalypse against Konrad Raab.