VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, [2], 3, 4 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 17:22:45 04/22/03 Tue
Author: "The Sentinel" Gabriel Blade
Subject: Following Footsteps

(Walking slowly forward, he's not really sure what he's doing here. Truly, whatever perverse motivation seized him and sent him out upon this path is totally beyond him. But here he finds himself, and for whatever reason he seems compelled to carry on and see this one through. So onward he trudges, the bright lights, playful words, and cheerful music grow ever larger in his view until he reaches his strange destination. "The Sentinel" Gabriel Blade at last finds himself at the carnival.)

(For the life of him, he can't figure out why he's here. What possessed him to waste time that could be so much better spent going to a carnival he cannot image. But for some inexplicable reason, when he saw the latest Lee Todd promo, he felt the compulsion to seek out this carnival and see what it had to offer. It's troubling in a way. He's never wanted to travel in the footsteps of Lee F'n' Todd, not by a long shot. The road the unified champ has traveled is one Blade would just as soon stay far away from. Yet he finds himself longing to be where Lee is, at the top of the game, the one holding all the gold, the one on the pedestal everyone else must try to knock off. And now he finds himself quite literally following in Todd's footsteps, taking himself someplace he has no desire to be. Whatever strange desire forced him to come here, he hopes it's satisfied soon so he can get back to matters at hand.)

(Happy people swarm all around him, munching on nachos and candy and far too fattening hot dogs, paying far too much money to win cheap prizes at rigged games. A little boy's face lights up with pure joy as he discovers he's finally tall enough to ride the big kid rides. A high school kid gives a stuffed bear that cost $12 bucks to win and 50 cents to make to his best girl. It's a cheap little thing that could be bought in any department store, but to her it is a beautiful symbol of their true love, something to be cherished forever, and her heart swoons as she embraces it. Everywhere he turns there are more people, largely oblivious to the others around them, finding their own happiness in this amalgamation of bizarre entertainments and activities. Where is the happiness he seeks?)

(It is not games he seeks, more then enough games are played out in the theater of the ring around him every show. Nor is it rides that draw him here, he gets all the thrills and excitement he could possible want at work. And it's certainly not the fatty, greasy foods. The cuisine offered at this establishment would decimate his diet, it would ruin his training regime, and more so than that, he's grown so accustomed to living without it that the very of idea of eating it is enough to make him feel just a little bit nauseous. He has no need for prizes or trinkets or any of the other little things sold here, so what is his reason for this particular journey?)

(He moves on, passing bright colors and flamboyant decorations, doing his best to avoid collisions with the teaming masses that pass by him on all sides going in all directions. Something is here for him to find, he must stay until he finds it. He walks by the Fun House mirrors, seeing himself stretched into a slim giant and crushed into a fat dwarf and distorted in any number of other ways. He passes by the House of Horrors, laughing to himself, knowing that the glorified shack couldn't possibly hold anything coming close to the horrors he's seen with his own eyes in the real world. He passes by a giant inflated playpen where kids giddily jump up and done blissfully happy and free from care. He wishes he could be like that again, innocent, naive, no concerns, no responsibilities. But he's no kid anymore, and the world weighs heavily on his shoulders.)

Voice from the shadows- (smoky and seductive) I can give you what you seek...

(His eyes shoot to the side, seeking out the source of the unexpected noise. Before him is a small open tent. It's sign boasts that inside palms are read and fortunes told, nothing is kept secret from the eyes of the Seer. Inside the tent, her features cloaked by scarf and shadow, her hands, fingernails extending like claws, caressing a crystal ball is a mysterious gypsy woman. Is this the same con who sought to tell Lee Todd's future? He doesn't know, she seems... different. Perhaps there was something about her that didn't come through the TV, but this woman seems more than a con. There's a presence about her, a sense of something beyond comprehension. Is she just that good at weaving her con? Perhaps, but one way or another, it seems that he is going to follow in Lee Todd's footsteps again.)

Gypsy- Come in, my boy, you seek answers, as did the other...

(Still no sure why he's doing so, Blade steps into the tent, sliding into the chair across from the Gypsy.)

Gabe- So, Lee wasn't enough for you? You figured you could get some money out of me, too?

Gypsy- Abrasive young creature, that cynicism is not yours, it doesn't suit you... The money is not important to me, child, you seek answers, I am here to give them to you.

Gabe- Oh, so you're not going to charge me to see my future?

Gypsy- (smiling silkily) Nothing in this world is without a price, child. If you want your answers, you must pay.

(Gabe snorts at that, dismissing it as rubbish and a con. Yet for some reason he reaches into his wallet and pulls out a few bills, tossing them across the table where the waiting hands of the gypsy slither out, snake like, and snatch them away.)

Gypsy- (running her hands across the crystal ball) Now, let's see what can be seen...

(Blade tries and maintain the posture of a man completely unfooled who thinks of this as all some big joke, but he cannot hide the searching way he looks into the crystal sphere, hoping to discover what secrets it may hide.)

Gabe- (with forced sarcasm) So, are you going to tell me that I'm afraid of Lee and Thorn, afraid I might lose, and that to save myself I must face my fears?

(Her features are still concealed by darkness, but her eyes shine through, they almost seem to glow, and in their indescribable depths is a laughing smile.)

Gypsy- Fear? I see fear, my child, but not of Brian Thorn, or even of Lee Todd. Perhaps, fear of what they represent.

(He still struggles to keep himself afloat, to protect himself from her, to say it's all a trick and a lie, but she captivates him in a way he couldn't imagine, she draws him in, and he finds it nearly impossible to resist her.)

Gabe- That's ridiculous double talk, it's supposed to "mean" whatever I want it to mean, but in reality it means nothing.

Gypsy- (her eyes again smiling) You wear your skepticism well, child, but it doesn't fool me, and it won't fool you either. You do fear, child, you fear that you are not what you strive to be. It is a great and noble legacy you hope to inspire, great deeds you hope to do, but in your heart of hearts you fear that in the end you will not be equal to the task. There is a great weight resting upon your shoulders, a weight you have chosen to place there, a burden you willingly carry. But you fear that you can carry it no longer, you fear that under it you will break. And should you break, your world would shatter.

(He opens his mouth to argue, to rebut and rebuke her claim, but his voice stops in his throat. He cannot tell her she is wrong, for in truth, he knows she is right, and he wants to hear what more she has to say.)

Gypsy- I see to shadows with you, young one, two spirits riding on your back. One seeks to push you in one direction, towards one future and one destiny. The other seeks to turn you, to push you away, to show you a new world, a new destiny. These two shadows are doing battle over you. The wage a war for your life, for you soul. Soon, you will have to choose which path you will take, which spirit you will follow. Once you make your decision, there may be no turning back. You know this is true, you feel it inside of you, deep down, in a part of you that never finds your voice and seldom finds your ear. You know it to be true, and it frightens you, terrifies you. You don't know what the paths before you are, but you know one of them leads to your end, and you can stand the thought of following it. But you can't see which path is which, you don't know which spirit to trust, which way to turn. You are confused, conflicted, and it's breaking you, tearing you apart. If you are not strong, it could destroy you before you even know it.

Gabe- (softly) ... then which spirit should I choose? Which path should I take?

Gypsy- (chidingly) Ah ah ah, my child, you ask too much. I cannot lead your life for you, I cannot find your destiny. I am here simply to make you see that which you couldn't see, but that was eating away at you. It is up to you to choose which path to take, it is up to you to choose your spirit. (pause) I've told you everything I have to tell, now you must go.

(Numbly Gabe gets to his feet and slowly walks out of the tent. Shaking his head, he starts to feel more like himself, more normal as he walks on. It was just a silly fortune teller spinning a web of sophisticated lies. It was a carnival scam, a trick to get a few dollars out of him, nothing more. No sense wasting any more time thinking about it. But... Blade turns to cast one more glance upon the gypsy, but his eyes light up in surprise, for he finds the tent isn't there, there's no sign of it. Shaking his head, he tells himself that he's looking in the wrong place, that he took a turn and didn't realize it. Tents don't just disappear. He almost believes himself, but he's not sure what to believe. One thing he does know, though, whatever reason he came here in the first place, it's time to get out of this carnival, as soon as possible. He turns quickly and heads towards the nearest exit, almost bursting into a trot as he does.)

(Fade To Black.)

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-8
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.