It Gets the Worst at Night

[AshCandor]

There's something 'bout just laying down and taking all that pain

I'd rather drive all night, if it's all the same

'cause half a tank of gas will get me far enough

To be completely lost by the time the sun comes up

‘It Gets the Worst at Night’ - Lucero

Pacing back and forth, the usually otherwise laidback Salem Cartier appeared on edge. Clad in black leather pants, black boots, black fingerless gloves, and a black leather jacket she walked back and forth beneath the pines of a wooded area near the edge of a park at night. Her video recorder was set up on a picnic table nearby, which also caught sight of a sleek silver and dark purple Harley that had the name ’Boomstick’ emblazoned on the side of it in gold lettering, with a stylized broom below the letters. A purple motorcycle helmet hung off one handlebar. Salem walked closer, framed in view but still not static, always in motion, fidgeting.

“I’ve got an admission right off the top, and it’s not something I’m proud of. Ruby Tyler, you deserve better than this, we both do frankly. Our match got bumped from the last Vertigo taping due to time constraints, matches running long…whatever the case may be. So the powers that be decided to put our match on this show. And hey, kudos… that makes a lot of sense. An advertised match should eventually take place, no problem. But I’m apologizing to Ruby here and reiterate that she deserves better than this, because I’m fearful. Not of her, no. I fear that Ruby may not get the best version of Salem she can possibly face there in Boston in the Matthews Arena. Vertigo may not have Salem at 100%. Why? Do I have a bum knee, did my old trick neck syndrome flare up again? Oh no. See, the thing is… I can’t focus, I can’t get comfortable. I’m all out of sorts, I’m off balance. I’ve got a whole stinkin’ lot of things on my mind!!!”

She ran her fingers in her hair vigorously and kicked a rock across the grassy area, before leaning a forearm on a tree and leaning her head on it for a moment. After a few moments, she looked back up in the direction of the camera.

“Ruby I’m sorry but you’re getting an off-kilter Witch in our matchup. So there’s my admission… I have some obvious faults and weaknesses at play here, a crack in the armor that a trained hand with a piercing weapon could strike a felling blow. So there it is, Ruby. You’re welcome. Line up your shot and take it, come at me and take me not just partially but completely off my game. But I’ll say this, you better make that first shot count, girl. Because as talented as you are in the ring as an individual and formerly with your old partner in Ruby Way, if I catch you in one misstep in our match… I’m taking you down.”

She pauses looking down, chuckling to herself with a bit of a head bob, something slightly amiss. She looks back up slowly, steely blue eyes staring through any perceived viewer who might watch this.

“I’m not jovial and joking tonight, and it has nothing to do with you Ruby. For as steeped as you may be in academia it’s not entirely smart to be facing me right now. I don’t know what I might do in that ring. See, after our match got bumped last show I just happened to stick around in the arena long enough to get interviewed after the show went off the air. And what happened was I fell for the dumbest ruse that any fool could’ve seen coming from a mile away. Maybe I was a little preoccupied thinking over our match that didn’t take place. Maybe it was pride in myself and pride in the fact that I’m a champion here in FGA that clouded my thinking. I allowed the wool to be pulled over my eyes and a reunion of sorts came to fruition. Annie Zellor got the band back together with The Crimson Baroness so it would seem. The Small Boob Wrecking Crew rode again at the expense of the Witch, and they stole the Mid-Atlantic Legacy Championship Belt from me. And that team name doesn’t even make sense anymore after the Baroness went under the knife and bought herself some confidence she wears on her chest. Hell, Annie had that redheaded hussy do the dirty work for her, beating me up in a darkened room when I least expected it. And then she handed the belt over to Annie. Most of those events I had to watch on the playback of the footage, since I was a little unconscious for part of it.”

She closed her eyes and pressed against her eyelids as if trying to stymie a headache, before looking up at the night sky and exhaling.

“So here I stand a champion without a belt and mostly myself to blame; that and two fools that I’m going to deal with soon enough. But my thinking is clouded, I can’t help turning those events over and over in my mind, Ruby. So if you can’t get my pure undivided attention, you’ll be getting my haphazard and vengeful chaotic attention, Ms. Tyler. Frankly I’m not sure which is worse. I might just go all out with it and envision I’m facing Annie or the Baroness across from me in our match. Go ahead and let myself see ‘red’ as a certain someone termed it. That could be dangerous for everyone involved. Artemis and a select few opponents know I have a certain zone in which I can enter when all the outside factors are just right, when all the safety switches are turned off and everything is allowed to redline. If that happens, there could be blood. There could be massive bodily harm. Someone may end up unconscious and at a certain point I might not even care if my hand gets raised in victory or not. I feel ashamed in saying it almost, because you didn’t ask for this, Ruby. I didn’t ask for it either, but here we are.”

She exhaled and squatted down by the bike, picking up a clod of dirt and breaking it in her fingertips before tossing small bits and pebbles aside.

“You’re not a bad person, Ruby… and in the days and moments leading up to this match I’m going to remind myself that; little daily affirmations, mantras to temper my rage. Not to say you’re defenseless in all this… you’ve got your martial arts background, I’ve seen how impactful you can be in the ring. You don’t have Kevin Hardaway around anymore, not that you really need him as far as I’m concerned. But as I move forward and I have guaranteed dates in which I will get the opportunity for a measure of revenge against my accosters both in FGA and outside it, I have to make sure I’m ready. I have to remain finely tuned even though chaos rages all around and through me. The best chaos is always the kind that gets channeled and paid forward. You will receive payment in our match, Ruby. And it’s not one that you ever asked for but I know that you’re a professional and you understand. I sometimes wish I would interact with my co-workers more, seems like I stick to my close-knit group of friends. That might be a failing on my part, but as I get stabbed in the back time after time it might just be a necessity. As a part of this job it seems like I have to temper a basic aspect of my naturally friendly and outgoing demeanor. That is truly a shame.”

She got up and held the motorcycle helmet in her hands, turning it over and over looking at it.

“There's a story in my eyes, but it's not one for your ears, Ruby.  In Boston we will fight, both of us divested of something very close to us until recently. For you, it was a tag team partner… for me it’s a championship belt that still rightfully belongs to me. I’m not sure if the chronicle of Ruby Way has come to an end but I will be reunited with the Legacy title. The belt will return to me as the champion, and I will vanquish those that took it from me. For us? This is an opportunity to follow through on what was promised previously, this match between us. I’m not exactly sure what will happen between us in that ring. I won’t exactly know until that bell rings. It might be a train wreck and you take me out easy as can be. But I feel something brewing, I feel on the cusp of something. And what I unleash on you in the Matthews Arena in Boston might only be a small sample, a harbinger of the pain that will soon be directed at those that most deserve it. And they won’t just be defeated, the suffering will be REPAID!”

She slams the helmet into the ground. She stood there, visibly upset. Her hands were shaking and her lip trembled. Finally, she composed herself and put on the helmet, before walking over to the recorder. She picked it up and walked back over to the bike, getting on it. The camera still focused on her as she spoke.

“Like I said before, you deserve better, Ruby. But sometimes it has to get worse before it gets better. It’ll all be over with soon.”

She fired up the bike and turned off the camera before roaring off into the night.