My Sanctuary (What's Left of Me Now)
Apr 5, 2016 16:47:34 GMT -5
Post by Stephen on Apr 5, 2016 16:47:34 GMT -5
Why is there so much darkness in the world? How could someone be so evil? So selfish? Why? Why would Jimmy Page come into my sanctuary, my haven for learning, and just burn it all to the ground? What kind of former champion does this? It’s disgusting! Now the Lion’s Den training center, this place that has become a place of solace for me, has been violated. It will never be pure again. Why Jimmy Page? Why would you corrupt my dream?
Blood still stained the sink and stalls of the women’s restroom as Nymph looked in with the door open. Nymph had come into the facility on Saturday and saw the carnage. She was told to go home without an explanation, and then the video of Jimmy Page’s incensed rampage aired on Vertigo. A sobering Vertigo in which her cousin-in-law, Stoney Stone had suffered a career threatening injury. She wanted to be by his side, but he told her that her training was more important right now. It wasn’t his first time being laid up, and he made it seem like the injury wasn’t as serious as it was. The way Aric talked about it though, Nymph wasn’t convinced. But she stayed. She stayed in North Carolina. Stayed to return to the training center where the mood was even more solemn. Stayed because this was still her dream, and she still had a match coming up.
Nymph scanned the floor. Remnants of glass from where Page had slammed Emily Carter’s face into one of the mirrors were still on the floor. She could still see his face in the reflection, the bloodied t-shirt that he wore like a trophy swirling and twisting itself into a sick smile. Nymph quickly ducked out of the restroom, her eyes swelling with tears and her hands shaking. This wasn’t how she envisioned it would be like. It wasn’t just Page. Keegan Hightower and Anita Hadley’s hijinks in Nymph’s debut only solidified her fears that some people would do anything to get what they wanted. Wasn’t hard work enough? What was the point of all of this training if all she had to do to succeed was cheat or eliminate her competitors on the street?
“Never underestimate your adversary, Ninfa” she remembered Zorro telling her. He’d recently been sent to assist her in her training, and Nymph likened it to what assassins must go through in their training. “Your opponent will be fighting for survival. In a fight like that, your life becomes an afterthought. Only you are concerned about you.” Nymph thought that Zorro’s advice was extreme, but now it didn’t seem like he was wrong. Was she really in a fight for her life every time she stepped into the ring? Would she have to stoop to such lows just to win a match?
Nymph began to contemplate her upcoming match with Hana Song, who had been at the training center far longer than she had. Song too had proven that she was willing to leave a pile bodies under her feet just to get ahead. She’d done it to Nest and Prince MacRear, and Nymph knew that Hana wouldn’t hesitate to do it to a rookie like her.
“What have I gotten myself into?”
Her voice was shaky as she finally reached the facility’s studio. It was the only place in the building where she felt safe. The last untainted piece of the haven.
“This isn’t how it was supposed to be. My vision was beautiful, but where is the beauty in this? Why do these people go to such extremes? No one wants to fight fair. No one wants to just have a clean fight and shake hands afterwards. How has Stoney done this for so long?”
Nymph looked at her reflection in the large mirrored wall. She was a mess, her makeup running down her face from her tears.
“Because he’s a big idiot.”
She laughed as she used her shirt to clean herself up.
“An idiot that knew I’d be like this if I saw him bedridden, distracted and unfocused. He thinks he knows everything, doesn’t he? I’m not some wimp that’s going to roll over just because someone gets big on me. Hana Song thinks she’s so tough, but she’s never met Wayward Nymph! I can get big too. Bigger even!”
Nymph flexes at the mirror.
“They all underestimate me: Hana, Keegan, Stoney, and Zorro. They don’t think I’ll survive. Song doesn’t see me as a threat just because I won’t stoop to her level, but that doesn’t mean I won’t fight back! If she’s going to beat me, she’s going to have to earn it. I’m not some given win just because I’m a rookie! I’m a fighter, and I’m going to fight! I will survive!”
Blood still stained the sink and stalls of the women’s restroom as Nymph looked in with the door open. Nymph had come into the facility on Saturday and saw the carnage. She was told to go home without an explanation, and then the video of Jimmy Page’s incensed rampage aired on Vertigo. A sobering Vertigo in which her cousin-in-law, Stoney Stone had suffered a career threatening injury. She wanted to be by his side, but he told her that her training was more important right now. It wasn’t his first time being laid up, and he made it seem like the injury wasn’t as serious as it was. The way Aric talked about it though, Nymph wasn’t convinced. But she stayed. She stayed in North Carolina. Stayed to return to the training center where the mood was even more solemn. Stayed because this was still her dream, and she still had a match coming up.
Nymph scanned the floor. Remnants of glass from where Page had slammed Emily Carter’s face into one of the mirrors were still on the floor. She could still see his face in the reflection, the bloodied t-shirt that he wore like a trophy swirling and twisting itself into a sick smile. Nymph quickly ducked out of the restroom, her eyes swelling with tears and her hands shaking. This wasn’t how she envisioned it would be like. It wasn’t just Page. Keegan Hightower and Anita Hadley’s hijinks in Nymph’s debut only solidified her fears that some people would do anything to get what they wanted. Wasn’t hard work enough? What was the point of all of this training if all she had to do to succeed was cheat or eliminate her competitors on the street?
“Never underestimate your adversary, Ninfa” she remembered Zorro telling her. He’d recently been sent to assist her in her training, and Nymph likened it to what assassins must go through in their training. “Your opponent will be fighting for survival. In a fight like that, your life becomes an afterthought. Only you are concerned about you.” Nymph thought that Zorro’s advice was extreme, but now it didn’t seem like he was wrong. Was she really in a fight for her life every time she stepped into the ring? Would she have to stoop to such lows just to win a match?
Nymph began to contemplate her upcoming match with Hana Song, who had been at the training center far longer than she had. Song too had proven that she was willing to leave a pile bodies under her feet just to get ahead. She’d done it to Nest and Prince MacRear, and Nymph knew that Hana wouldn’t hesitate to do it to a rookie like her.
“What have I gotten myself into?”
Her voice was shaky as she finally reached the facility’s studio. It was the only place in the building where she felt safe. The last untainted piece of the haven.
“This isn’t how it was supposed to be. My vision was beautiful, but where is the beauty in this? Why do these people go to such extremes? No one wants to fight fair. No one wants to just have a clean fight and shake hands afterwards. How has Stoney done this for so long?”
Nymph looked at her reflection in the large mirrored wall. She was a mess, her makeup running down her face from her tears.
“Because he’s a big idiot.”
She laughed as she used her shirt to clean herself up.
“An idiot that knew I’d be like this if I saw him bedridden, distracted and unfocused. He thinks he knows everything, doesn’t he? I’m not some wimp that’s going to roll over just because someone gets big on me. Hana Song thinks she’s so tough, but she’s never met Wayward Nymph! I can get big too. Bigger even!”
Nymph flexes at the mirror.
“They all underestimate me: Hana, Keegan, Stoney, and Zorro. They don’t think I’ll survive. Song doesn’t see me as a threat just because I won’t stoop to her level, but that doesn’t mean I won’t fight back! If she’s going to beat me, she’s going to have to earn it. I’m not some given win just because I’m a rookie! I’m a fighter, and I’m going to fight! I will survive!”