Post by damien drake on Jul 13, 2016 22:45:37 GMT -5
January, 2016
The smell of wood hangs heavy in the air. It’s quitting time at a wood veneer factory, and a large group of men are standing in the parking lot making plans to meet at their local watering hole. Separate from the group, a large, well-built man with long hair and a long beard covering his face walks past the group quietly. His eyes are empty and staring straight ahead as he makes his way towards his car. Pulling his keys from his jacket pocket, he heads to a ’76 Chevy Nova. The blue paint is faded from the sun, but it is easy to tell that at one time this car was loved and well taken care of.
As the man draws closer and goes to put his key into the lock, another man approaches him.
Man: Marshall! Hold up a second.
Marshall turns his head as he stands up from the door.
Marshall: Hey john.
John: A bunch of us are going to head over to Fredrick’s for a couple drinks. You feel like joining us for a few?
Marshall thinks about it for a second before responding.
Marshall: Yeah, I’ll meet you there.
Marshall gets in his car and lights up a cigarette. Starting up the engine, he puts the car in gear and drives off.
_________________________
A few minutes later
Marshall opens the door to a hole in the wall bar and walks inside. Seeing his coworkers, he walks over and joins them at the bar. They all say their hello as a bartender walks up to the group. Marshall orders a double of whiskey with a gin and tonic chaser. The bartender walks off to get everyone’s drinks and comes back in quick fashion. After getting their drinks, everyone breaks off into smaller groups as Marshall continues to sit at the bar by himself. He watches the television as he downs the shot of whiskey in front of him. Pulling a handful of change out of his pocket, he puts some quarters into a small arcade system and plays some games as he downs shot after shot while barely touching the gin. Every so often, one of his coworkers will come up to him to make small talk, and then go back to their friends after getting a refill on their drink.
Glancing up at the small television on the wall, Marshall notices that wrestling from a small little independent is playing on the TV. There is only a crowd of maybe two hundred people and the production quality is crap, but all the same, it has caught Marshall’s eye. He watches as the two guys in the ring throw punches that clearly didn’t make any contact but the two sold it as if they were getting punched for real. As they go back and forth, a fire begins to build in Marshall’s eye. He sits more upright and attentive, his interest growing more and more. The match on the TV has escalated into a full out brawl and after a viscous lariat, both men fall out of the ring to the floor below. Getting back to their feet slowly, it doesn’t take long for the two to be back at each other. With the camera focused in more on the outside of the ring, Marshall sees a small boy clinging to his father in fear as the two fighters got closer to him. One of the fighters whips the other into the barricade in front of the family and the father and son take a step back to get away from the action. As the boy backs away, Marshall notices a symbol on the child’s shirt that he hasn’t seen in a long time. Three red stars flashed off the shirt with three little letters in the middle.
HFF.
Seeing this, a flood of memories Marshall had hoped to keep locked away came flooding into his mind. He grabs the shot the bartender has brought for him and downs it without a thought. The bartender asks him if he would like another, but Marshall stares off, lost in thought. The bartender walks away as Marshall stands up from his stool and pulls his wallet out of his back pocket. Grabbing out some bills, he throws them onto the bar and heads for the door.
Noticing that Marshall was leaving, John hurries over to him and grabs Marshall on the shoulder.
John: Hey Marshall, where you going?
Marshall pulls his arm away from John.
Marshall: My name is Damien Drake.
The smell of wood hangs heavy in the air. It’s quitting time at a wood veneer factory, and a large group of men are standing in the parking lot making plans to meet at their local watering hole. Separate from the group, a large, well-built man with long hair and a long beard covering his face walks past the group quietly. His eyes are empty and staring straight ahead as he makes his way towards his car. Pulling his keys from his jacket pocket, he heads to a ’76 Chevy Nova. The blue paint is faded from the sun, but it is easy to tell that at one time this car was loved and well taken care of.
As the man draws closer and goes to put his key into the lock, another man approaches him.
Man: Marshall! Hold up a second.
Marshall turns his head as he stands up from the door.
Marshall: Hey john.
John: A bunch of us are going to head over to Fredrick’s for a couple drinks. You feel like joining us for a few?
Marshall thinks about it for a second before responding.
Marshall: Yeah, I’ll meet you there.
Marshall gets in his car and lights up a cigarette. Starting up the engine, he puts the car in gear and drives off.
_________________________
A few minutes later
Marshall opens the door to a hole in the wall bar and walks inside. Seeing his coworkers, he walks over and joins them at the bar. They all say their hello as a bartender walks up to the group. Marshall orders a double of whiskey with a gin and tonic chaser. The bartender walks off to get everyone’s drinks and comes back in quick fashion. After getting their drinks, everyone breaks off into smaller groups as Marshall continues to sit at the bar by himself. He watches the television as he downs the shot of whiskey in front of him. Pulling a handful of change out of his pocket, he puts some quarters into a small arcade system and plays some games as he downs shot after shot while barely touching the gin. Every so often, one of his coworkers will come up to him to make small talk, and then go back to their friends after getting a refill on their drink.
Glancing up at the small television on the wall, Marshall notices that wrestling from a small little independent is playing on the TV. There is only a crowd of maybe two hundred people and the production quality is crap, but all the same, it has caught Marshall’s eye. He watches as the two guys in the ring throw punches that clearly didn’t make any contact but the two sold it as if they were getting punched for real. As they go back and forth, a fire begins to build in Marshall’s eye. He sits more upright and attentive, his interest growing more and more. The match on the TV has escalated into a full out brawl and after a viscous lariat, both men fall out of the ring to the floor below. Getting back to their feet slowly, it doesn’t take long for the two to be back at each other. With the camera focused in more on the outside of the ring, Marshall sees a small boy clinging to his father in fear as the two fighters got closer to him. One of the fighters whips the other into the barricade in front of the family and the father and son take a step back to get away from the action. As the boy backs away, Marshall notices a symbol on the child’s shirt that he hasn’t seen in a long time. Three red stars flashed off the shirt with three little letters in the middle.
HFF.
Seeing this, a flood of memories Marshall had hoped to keep locked away came flooding into his mind. He grabs the shot the bartender has brought for him and downs it without a thought. The bartender asks him if he would like another, but Marshall stares off, lost in thought. The bartender walks away as Marshall stands up from his stool and pulls his wallet out of his back pocket. Grabbing out some bills, he throws them onto the bar and heads for the door.
Noticing that Marshall was leaving, John hurries over to him and grabs Marshall on the shoulder.
John: Hey Marshall, where you going?
Marshall pulls his arm away from John.
Marshall: My name is Damien Drake.
Marshall turns around and heads out the door.