Post by Kevin Bishop on Aug 20, 2016 21:13:35 GMT -5
We open to an open field with 5 old raggedy, dilapidated circus tents set up and from the looks of the surroundings, this place has seen better days. The 5th tent sits in the middle of the 4 showing itself to be the main attraction tent. From the big tent walks a large muscular black man wearing a black singlet followed by a smaller more stout white man with a black top hat, red suspenders, red and black checkered pants, and a mixture of white and red clown makeup on. The black man begins to raise his voice.
“Sylvester, this shit has got to stop! Night in and night out, we are deader than ever in there! Nobody wants to see the strange anymore with the world being so attached to social media, they get people of Wal-mart videos that make our little stunts look backwoods… We need a different approach or our family is going to suffer the ultimate consequence here…”
Sylvester rests his hand against the much larger man’s shoulder.
“Solomon… Our oddities are still strongly sought after… We just haven’t hit the stride that we need to stay relevant in this world… I recently reached out to a branding agency…”
Sylvester starts searching around in his pockets.
“I must have a card around here somewhere…”
Sylvester pulls out a rubber chicken, a slew of different colored handkerchiefs, a rubber ducky, a red animal balloon dog, a hatchet which he looks at funny, and finally a small business card, in which he hands to Solomon.
“Silver & Gold Talent Agency: Let Me Get You Branded… What kind of crack pot is this?”
Solomon stands firm with a distrustful look on his face as a voice from behind the two turn them around.
“Oh no, not a crack pot bay bay, I’m your main man who’s going to turn this FreakShow back into what it use to be in its prime…”
Solomon grips the business card as hard as he can.
“Sylvester… Don’t tell me you invited some outsider into our sacred circle… Don’t tell me you invited some big business prick to waltz into our safe haven and destroy what it is we hold dear… Don’t tell me…”
Sylvester cuts Solomon off.
“We are at our wits end here, Sol! What did you expect of me? This guy says he has a place for people like us, that we can rebuild our business in an environment that takes us in with open arms… You see a man who wants to destroy, but from what I’ve been told, there’s someone looking out for our oddities… Our freaks… These old tents aren’t going to keep holding up and I know… I know the show must always go on…”
Silver extends his right hand out toward Solomon.
“My good man, you are in great company and I’m not some shifty Jew that’s only looking to line his own pockets… I met a man who has a vision for this world that even turned this old Jew’s heart upside down… I’m not lying when I say that there’s a place that’s even more of a safe haven than this and it is being built onto every day… We have plentiful crops… We have a community that cares for their own… Imagine you honing your craft and your show in front of people who truly love you… Imagine a high tech approach to your shows and the social media reputation that you could receive… Future celebrities are found on the internet every day and who knows you could be the next BIG thing, you monster you.”
Silver still stands with his hand extended out.
“So… What do you say?”
Solomon gives a stern look to Sylvester and then to Silver.
“Not to sound Punny, but you have quite the Silver tongue… I don’t know if you and your safe haven is the right answer to our problems, but if Sylvester is intrigued at all, then it’s at least worth a look…”
Solomon forcefully grabs Silver’s hand and squeezes until Silver’s body starts to go limp.
“Come on Bay Bay, don’t break the stroker!”
Solomon lets go and Silver retreats back a foot, shaking the ‘stroker’ very lightly.
“You almost ruined my weekend big guy…”
Sylvester jumps in the middle of the two, holding Solomon back.
“You showed your strength Mr. Strongman… How about we round up the rest of the family and fill them in on the move?”
Solomon grinds his right fist in his left hand.
“Yeah… That’ll probably be for the best…”
Solomon doesn’t take his eyes off of Silver for a second.
“Big guy, no worries, you can trust me as far as you can throw me, which I’m sure is hell-a-far.”
Solomon actually cracks a smile at the sheer thought.
“Ha, yeah you’re probably right about that.”
Solomon claps Silver on the back and Silver just about falls over.
“Mr. Strongman isn’t a tall tale, now is it?”
Solomon leads Silver into the big tent behind Sylvester.
“Not even a little bit…”
Silver looks around and notices every kind of freak show freak you could think of. A bearded woman sits at a table smoking a cigar with 7 midgets joining her in a game of poker, a very hairy child, which one would assume is the dog boy, sits on a stage looking out to the crowd of his fellow peers, a bald headed man hammers a long nail into his nose to the left of the stage, a Asian woman with 3 breasts holds onto a gold fish bowl wearing a green dragon skinned dress, and another person who stands out is the 7’5” goliath standing in the back of the tent watching everyone else. Silver can’t look away from the giant and Solomon has to grab his arm to get his attention.
“I see you noticing Titan back there… Yeah, he’s 7’5”, but he’s really a big ass pussy… HAHA!”
Solomon belly laughs and Silver uncomfortably laughs.
“Yeah, I bet… So these are your freaks, then?”
Solomon cracks his neck and shoots a look to Silver that makes him shrink a few inches.
“You can’t use that word… THAT’S OUR WORD! These people are showmen and women… Yeah, they have a special look, but as a talent agent, isn’t it your job to find those unique things about your talent? Why don’t you focus on doing your job and less making fun of my family… Can you do that?”
Silver gulps whatever saliva was left in the back of his throat down to the pits of his stomach.
“It’s okay bay bay… Why don’t we get this show on the road? I have someone who’s really looking forward to meeting you and your family…”
Solomon and Silver’s attention is grabbed by Sylvester causing the dog boy to howl out as he shoos him off the stage. Sylvester stands in the middle of the stage looking out to his family in front of him.
“Hello everyone… It’s been tough recently hasn’t it? So tough and our foot traffic in our little world has been lacking for the past couple of years, am I right? Well a solution has been offered to us… As you know, Solomon and myself have put everything we had and then some into this company… We are scratching the bottom of an empty barrel, guys…”
Sylvester looks to the bearded woman and tilts his head a bit.
“And girls… Enter Silver Goldstein… This man has offered us a fresh new beginning… He brings with him a new beginning that will stretch farther than any little flier or word of mouth program could ever do for us… He has spoken of social media as a way to promote our shows and to really build on our brand…”
Sylvester looks to Silver.
“Did I use that word right?”
Silver just gives a reluctant thumbs up and Sylvester smiles returning back to his family.
“Are you all sick of not being able to put on the show that you put on this earth to do? We say the show must go on and I’ll say this time around… Our show isn’t going to feel like it’s just going on… It’s going to feel like it is alive!”
The freaks jump up and start cheering in unison… Except for Titan who crosses his arms and huffs.
“Empty promises!”
Solomon puffs out his chest and is about to step toward Titan, but Silver holds him back, as he watches Sylvester speak up.
“Brother Titan… You are welcome to your opinion, but Silver Goldstein never made a promise… He merely brought us an opportunity and it is what we do with that opportunity that matters… I need all of us to be all hands on deck… So Titan… Are you with me?”
Sylvester spreads his arms showcasing everyone around him.
“Are you with US?”
Titan starts to cry out loud.
“YES I AM!”
Silver starts to laugh and Solomon shakes his head no, causing Silver to stop instantly.
“My FAMILY, let us come together, tear these tents down and let us move on to a brighter future with the guidance of Silver Goldstein!”
Silver steps up with his left index finger in the air.
“Well… It’s not so much my guidance… You see I’m more of the talent scout… Not the guy with the vision… That guy, wow, yeah he is the real deal… You see, he is a man that leads by example and when he says he will shelter those who are different in this world… He truly means it… We have land that is secluded and it is plentiful beyond your imagination… So the name I want you to remember is Kevin Bishop… He’s your hero!”
Silver throws his hands up.
“LET’S TEAR THIS MOTHER DOWN!”
The freaks join in unison in cheers as Silver looks around a bit uncomfortable as we fade to black.
We open back up at the camp and walking out of the middle cabin is The Plague Kevin Bishop. He wears his traditional Johnny Cash-esque black button up shirt, black slacks, and black dress shoes. His hair is slicked back and his beard his trimmed to perfection. He looks around noticing the normal hustle and bustle of his little community, his brothers and sisters help each other with their chores and some help with the children playing ring around the rosies. A smile crosses Kevin’s lips as the children drop to the ground in an over acting fashion and his attention is grabbed instantly as a bus pulling a trailer behind it pulls up in front of him. Out of the bus steps Silver Goldstein.
“Plague, bay bay! Did I deliver? Or did I deliver?”
Kevin shrugs.
“Looks like a bus and a trailer… What did you deliver on, exactly?”
Solomon and Sylvester step out of the bus.
“Gentlemen… Meet The Plague, Kevin Bishop… Kev, meet Sylvester and Solomon, they are the owners of The FreakShow…”
Kevin extends his right hand out toward Solomon and Solomon stands just looking at him.
“Hmph… You’re suppose to be some kind of hero of the people?”
Kevin smiles and takes his hand back.
“Yeah something like that… I am indeed a People’s Champion… I’m starting to think you’re the abrasive one of the group… And you are…”
Kevin looks to Sylvester.
“You’re the one who goes with the flow… Am I right?”
Even though Sylvester is wearing his face paint, you can tell he’s blushing a bit.
“It’s okay Sylvester, sometime this world needs those who say YES and don’t fight against the bigger picture… Then again, Solomon has his reasoning for standing firm in his beliefs… Ideas are created out of situations like this… If we all go with the flow under one idea… Where does that really get us, huh? I believe in listening to my people and that is why I believe in diversity amongst my Brotherhood… Just as your FreakShow has so many different characters for lack of a better word, you understand where I’m coming from here… You have a large family and you two have done wonders on keeping them going this long… But you’ve learned that the days of the freak is long since be gone… You have lost your place in this world and I’m here to offer you something more for your life… I offer you a place that you can continue showing the world your natural talents…”
Solomon and Sylvester hang onto his every word.
“You see… This place is a safe haven from the harsh world that turns their noses up at us… They see Freaks… But I see a never ending supply of talent… You see, I am a world traveling wrestler and I have seen freaks of all kinds over my 15 year career… And before that, I remember my grandfather, rest his soul, he took me to see a real to life freak show… The man who ran that freak show also incorporated wrestling into his shows… He’d have his strong man fight any man willing to throw in fifty dollars for the chance… His strong man…”
Kevin points to Solomon.
“Not much bigger than this guy… He could take punches but he could deliver one that’d drop men with just one shot… You see that owner knew how to work the system… He knew the importance of a dollar… So the question you boys should ask yourselves… What are you willing to do? You’re still trying to stand out in a world that is so far gone… What do you do to stand out now?”
Sylvester jumps in.
“Wrestling? You want us to wrestle?”
Kevin mockingly laughs.
“That’s not exactly what I was speaking of… I want you to first set up your tents here on this land… I want you to create entertainment for my Brotherhood to pay for your stay here… Secondly I want you to entertain the masses… So you want to set up a wrestling here and you want to start charging fifty dollars for ol’ Solomon here to punch someone in the face… Be my guest, but this safe haven is designed to highlight everyone’s purpose in this world… We all have something to offer, you just have to figure out what it is… Can you do that for me?”
Solomon and Sylvester look at each other and then back to Kevin.
“Solomon isn’t sold all the way, I can tell… But I know we are all ready to do what ever it takes to be on the top of the world again… If you and Silver Goldstein can help us get there, then we will listen to whatever advice you may have…”
Solomon puts his right hand out toward Kevin.
“I may be abrasive… But I accept your help and this opportunity…”
Kevin shakes it and smiles.
“Believe me, Sol… This is truly the land of opportunity… Make of it what you want to… As far as land goes… Follow me…”
Kevin leads Solomon, Sylvester, and Silver off to the side of the water in an open field.
“This here is your land… As I said, you pay for you stay by our entertainment… If you do your work, then there won’t be an issue here….”
Sylvester shakes Kevin’s hand.
“Thank you so very much, Kevin… We are extremely appreciative and we won’t waste this opportunity…”
Solomon shakes Kevin’s hand next.
“You didn’t have to do this and we aren’t going to go to the well too many times here… So wasting this opportunity isn’t even in the cards for us… You just better have your fifty bucks ready…”
Solomon actually laughs as he slaps Kevin against the shoulder.
“Make yourselves at home… Parish will have the dinner bell going off any time now… Just keep your ears open…”
Kevin looks to Silver.
“Silver… You did deliver, but now you gotta help them set their shit up… It’s only fair…”
Kevin smirks as he turns to walk away, leaving Silver with his mouth held open in disbelief.
“Come on bay bay, this ain’t Silver’s thing, right here!”
Kevin shakes his head as he makes his way back to his cabin and as he stands on his porch, he turns to watch the freaks all shuffle off the bus. The bearded woman with her 7 midgets, the dog boy howling at the sky, the pin head, and the others followed by Titan stepping out last. Kevin rubs his eyes in a bit of disbelief, but he just shrugs and steps into his cabin. Inside the cabin Kevin walks over to his desk and he pulls up the WCF website.
“Oh another fun match with Zero Tolerance… Let’s see what garbage as spewed out of their mouths yet again…”
Kevin pulls up CrazyJ’s promo, he lets it run, then he skips ahead a few seconds… Then a few more seconds… then a few more seconds… Then a minute…”
“Gay jokes… Shit about my wife… confusion about Gemini… More gay jokes… More shit about my wife…”
Kevin stops the promo another minute in.
“Same shit just rehashed into another weeks worth of promos… Sadly you’re going to look at last week as if it really had anything to do with you… You think for one damn minute that I was going to stand in the same ring with the fucking Baron, you are sorely mistaken… He was expecting a win over you boys was going to be his big break… You think for one second I was going to allow my hard work to boost his fucking ego? Yeah, not going to happen, but here’s the difference this week… Gemini doesn’t need shit from this match… He’s coming in to take care of business, that same business that got him to the World title in the first place… I rode with him earlier this week, he’s crazier than shit, but I could tell he is the type of guy that always has a plan… He’s always thinking through the situations around him and I can respect that… That’s why he’s a honorary member of The Brotherhood this week… We may not have come in to WCF as some crazed group looking to make a loud ass statement, but The Brotherhood has always been at work… Since day one, it has been growing… It’s bigger than what you can truly imagine right now and it’s only a matter of time before you bare witness… You stick to your childish name calling and your gay bashing… That’s what makes up the very being that is CrazyJ… When I look at CrazyJ, I see a man who is still proving himself to the world… You’re good at what you do, but you’re playing into my very own game… You got your win over me, but deep down inside of you, whether you admit it or not, I know it wasn’t good enough… You didn’t want The Baron… You wanted The People’s Champion on your list of men you’ve defeated since you’ve come here. Your biggest take away here in this main event is the fact that you were in the main event… That’s the only thing that we are going to allow you to walk away with… This isn’t a match against The Plague and 2 rookies… This is a match against The Brotherhood and Gemini fucking Battle… Your crazy can’t even hold a candle to Gem’s crazy and if you think the history you share with him is going to give you an edge in this match, I think you’re sadly mistaken… I thrive for competition as long as my partners bring that same drive to the ring… Last week, I was the driving force in my match and I went into that match with the drive to deliver the exact thing Baron needed in his career… His hope ripped out of his hands, just when he thought he was signed up for a match that he could finally get the nod in… But I wasn’t willing to give him that nod, not at my expense… This week, you battle 3 men who deliver consistently in the ring… We wouldn’t be the champions that we are if we didn’t… Zero Tolerance can keep aiming for the stars, because that is how you get there, but your path is going to keep being one that’s going to be filled with pit falls… Your first pitfall is battling The Brotherhood and Gemini… Feel free to go into our match, thinking that the win over me last week was easy… I want you to… I want you to go into our match, thinking that I’m going to just screw over my partners again…”
Kevin scraps the promo he was watching he starts fast forwarding through Sheps…
“He’s lost… There’s gay jokes… Jokes about my wife… Gay Jokes… You lost last week… Blah blah blah…”
Kevin smirks.
“You boys are going to start being predictable… You stick to the same playground name calling week in and week out… You are who you are I suppose… Truth of the matter is… I look at this real FreakShow in front of me and I don’t think they’d take you boys in at all… The Bearded Woman with her 7 midgets probably put on a better show than you do in the ring… Maybe you guys should step up and fight Titan for fifty bucks a pop, see what happens… You see… I shouldn’t have to explain this to each of you, but your win is a win, take it in stride… But if you think for one second, that your victory is honorable, that’s where you’d be wrong… Deep down inside, I’m sure it’s right next to the all you can drink Faygo bottles, but there’s got to be something that drives you in this world of wrestling… Is it just the W that gives you a purpose? No matter how it comes to be, you are happy… Fine, be what you must, but that’s not the true makings of a champion… A champion fights for whatever it is that they need and they hold it the exact same way… If you’re going to cheat, then cheat in fashion… Be what you say you’re going to be… Sunday is coming close and I hope you find your selves sooner than later, because you’re going to need to be all there to face off against our collective…”
Kevin clicks off and finally reluctantly clicks on Jason’s promo.
“The Cowboy Hillbilly Redneck…”
Kevin fast forwards a bit… Fast forwards a bit more…
“Ooo a hobo joke… Another joke on my wife… Hobo… Homeless… Dirty… Really? That’s what you have for me, Jason? You’re a damn drunkard who parades around his life chugging beers to forget that he lives his kid at home… You call yourself some kind of father? What kind of father drinks his sorrows away instead of watching after his children? The vice clings to you and it’s not letting go any time soon… Sure you took us on your little walk down memory lane… You weren’t always the beer drinking ass kicking machine, whatever else kind of message you were trying to send… Needless to say, it makes no difference of my hygiene when I step into the ring with you boys on Sunday, I am going to hand deliver a message you won’t soon forget… Think of last week as a burnt offering to hold you over until I get you in the ring again… If you’re wanting competition, you’re not going to find it anywhere else than this main event match…”
Kevin shakes his head.
“You see… Main event raises the bar for this match for all of us… Just having your name in that marquee is enough to lift you to a whole other level, but to be in the match as well… We have a chance to put it all on the line out there and The Brotherhood is going to do just that… Sadly, I know Zero Tolerance will as well, but that’s the difference between us, boys… I’m going into this match choosing to look at your talents as a whole, but you’re looking at us as some separated entity that will be easily dispatched… You are in for a rude awakening and the moment you are hit with The Black Death… Oh that 1-2-3! Is going to be sweeter than anything else… So let us step in that ring… One more time and let the competition speak for its self… Let us make this main event opportunity stand for something… Because if you’re not standing for something, then you are doomed to fall for anything… The Brotherhood… Zero Tolerance… Gemini Battle… This match is going to be a barn burner and the winners of this match is going to be the WCF fans… You can’t defeat us ZT… You can only hope to contain us… After Slam… We will be leaving NO SURVIVORS… No gay jokes needed… No bashing on my wife… The time for words are over Zero Tolerance… It’s time to prove who the better men are… The champions here are battle tested… You speak of your 20 years in the business, so you should be… Now it’s time to prove it… See you boys at Slam…”
The camera fades out to black.
“Sylvester, this shit has got to stop! Night in and night out, we are deader than ever in there! Nobody wants to see the strange anymore with the world being so attached to social media, they get people of Wal-mart videos that make our little stunts look backwoods… We need a different approach or our family is going to suffer the ultimate consequence here…”
Sylvester rests his hand against the much larger man’s shoulder.
“Solomon… Our oddities are still strongly sought after… We just haven’t hit the stride that we need to stay relevant in this world… I recently reached out to a branding agency…”
Sylvester starts searching around in his pockets.
“I must have a card around here somewhere…”
Sylvester pulls out a rubber chicken, a slew of different colored handkerchiefs, a rubber ducky, a red animal balloon dog, a hatchet which he looks at funny, and finally a small business card, in which he hands to Solomon.
“Silver & Gold Talent Agency: Let Me Get You Branded… What kind of crack pot is this?”
Solomon stands firm with a distrustful look on his face as a voice from behind the two turn them around.
“Oh no, not a crack pot bay bay, I’m your main man who’s going to turn this FreakShow back into what it use to be in its prime…”
Solomon grips the business card as hard as he can.
“Sylvester… Don’t tell me you invited some outsider into our sacred circle… Don’t tell me you invited some big business prick to waltz into our safe haven and destroy what it is we hold dear… Don’t tell me…”
Sylvester cuts Solomon off.
“We are at our wits end here, Sol! What did you expect of me? This guy says he has a place for people like us, that we can rebuild our business in an environment that takes us in with open arms… You see a man who wants to destroy, but from what I’ve been told, there’s someone looking out for our oddities… Our freaks… These old tents aren’t going to keep holding up and I know… I know the show must always go on…”
Silver extends his right hand out toward Solomon.
“My good man, you are in great company and I’m not some shifty Jew that’s only looking to line his own pockets… I met a man who has a vision for this world that even turned this old Jew’s heart upside down… I’m not lying when I say that there’s a place that’s even more of a safe haven than this and it is being built onto every day… We have plentiful crops… We have a community that cares for their own… Imagine you honing your craft and your show in front of people who truly love you… Imagine a high tech approach to your shows and the social media reputation that you could receive… Future celebrities are found on the internet every day and who knows you could be the next BIG thing, you monster you.”
Silver still stands with his hand extended out.
“So… What do you say?”
Solomon gives a stern look to Sylvester and then to Silver.
“Not to sound Punny, but you have quite the Silver tongue… I don’t know if you and your safe haven is the right answer to our problems, but if Sylvester is intrigued at all, then it’s at least worth a look…”
Solomon forcefully grabs Silver’s hand and squeezes until Silver’s body starts to go limp.
“Come on Bay Bay, don’t break the stroker!”
Solomon lets go and Silver retreats back a foot, shaking the ‘stroker’ very lightly.
“You almost ruined my weekend big guy…”
Sylvester jumps in the middle of the two, holding Solomon back.
“You showed your strength Mr. Strongman… How about we round up the rest of the family and fill them in on the move?”
Solomon grinds his right fist in his left hand.
“Yeah… That’ll probably be for the best…”
Solomon doesn’t take his eyes off of Silver for a second.
“Big guy, no worries, you can trust me as far as you can throw me, which I’m sure is hell-a-far.”
Solomon actually cracks a smile at the sheer thought.
“Ha, yeah you’re probably right about that.”
Solomon claps Silver on the back and Silver just about falls over.
“Mr. Strongman isn’t a tall tale, now is it?”
Solomon leads Silver into the big tent behind Sylvester.
“Not even a little bit…”
Silver looks around and notices every kind of freak show freak you could think of. A bearded woman sits at a table smoking a cigar with 7 midgets joining her in a game of poker, a very hairy child, which one would assume is the dog boy, sits on a stage looking out to the crowd of his fellow peers, a bald headed man hammers a long nail into his nose to the left of the stage, a Asian woman with 3 breasts holds onto a gold fish bowl wearing a green dragon skinned dress, and another person who stands out is the 7’5” goliath standing in the back of the tent watching everyone else. Silver can’t look away from the giant and Solomon has to grab his arm to get his attention.
“I see you noticing Titan back there… Yeah, he’s 7’5”, but he’s really a big ass pussy… HAHA!”
Solomon belly laughs and Silver uncomfortably laughs.
“Yeah, I bet… So these are your freaks, then?”
Solomon cracks his neck and shoots a look to Silver that makes him shrink a few inches.
“You can’t use that word… THAT’S OUR WORD! These people are showmen and women… Yeah, they have a special look, but as a talent agent, isn’t it your job to find those unique things about your talent? Why don’t you focus on doing your job and less making fun of my family… Can you do that?”
Silver gulps whatever saliva was left in the back of his throat down to the pits of his stomach.
“It’s okay bay bay… Why don’t we get this show on the road? I have someone who’s really looking forward to meeting you and your family…”
Solomon and Silver’s attention is grabbed by Sylvester causing the dog boy to howl out as he shoos him off the stage. Sylvester stands in the middle of the stage looking out to his family in front of him.
“Hello everyone… It’s been tough recently hasn’t it? So tough and our foot traffic in our little world has been lacking for the past couple of years, am I right? Well a solution has been offered to us… As you know, Solomon and myself have put everything we had and then some into this company… We are scratching the bottom of an empty barrel, guys…”
Sylvester looks to the bearded woman and tilts his head a bit.
“And girls… Enter Silver Goldstein… This man has offered us a fresh new beginning… He brings with him a new beginning that will stretch farther than any little flier or word of mouth program could ever do for us… He has spoken of social media as a way to promote our shows and to really build on our brand…”
Sylvester looks to Silver.
“Did I use that word right?”
Silver just gives a reluctant thumbs up and Sylvester smiles returning back to his family.
“Are you all sick of not being able to put on the show that you put on this earth to do? We say the show must go on and I’ll say this time around… Our show isn’t going to feel like it’s just going on… It’s going to feel like it is alive!”
The freaks jump up and start cheering in unison… Except for Titan who crosses his arms and huffs.
“Empty promises!”
Solomon puffs out his chest and is about to step toward Titan, but Silver holds him back, as he watches Sylvester speak up.
“Brother Titan… You are welcome to your opinion, but Silver Goldstein never made a promise… He merely brought us an opportunity and it is what we do with that opportunity that matters… I need all of us to be all hands on deck… So Titan… Are you with me?”
Sylvester spreads his arms showcasing everyone around him.
“Are you with US?”
Titan starts to cry out loud.
“YES I AM!”
Silver starts to laugh and Solomon shakes his head no, causing Silver to stop instantly.
“My FAMILY, let us come together, tear these tents down and let us move on to a brighter future with the guidance of Silver Goldstein!”
Silver steps up with his left index finger in the air.
“Well… It’s not so much my guidance… You see I’m more of the talent scout… Not the guy with the vision… That guy, wow, yeah he is the real deal… You see, he is a man that leads by example and when he says he will shelter those who are different in this world… He truly means it… We have land that is secluded and it is plentiful beyond your imagination… So the name I want you to remember is Kevin Bishop… He’s your hero!”
Silver throws his hands up.
“LET’S TEAR THIS MOTHER DOWN!”
The freaks join in unison in cheers as Silver looks around a bit uncomfortable as we fade to black.
We open back up at the camp and walking out of the middle cabin is The Plague Kevin Bishop. He wears his traditional Johnny Cash-esque black button up shirt, black slacks, and black dress shoes. His hair is slicked back and his beard his trimmed to perfection. He looks around noticing the normal hustle and bustle of his little community, his brothers and sisters help each other with their chores and some help with the children playing ring around the rosies. A smile crosses Kevin’s lips as the children drop to the ground in an over acting fashion and his attention is grabbed instantly as a bus pulling a trailer behind it pulls up in front of him. Out of the bus steps Silver Goldstein.
“Plague, bay bay! Did I deliver? Or did I deliver?”
Kevin shrugs.
“Looks like a bus and a trailer… What did you deliver on, exactly?”
Solomon and Sylvester step out of the bus.
“Gentlemen… Meet The Plague, Kevin Bishop… Kev, meet Sylvester and Solomon, they are the owners of The FreakShow…”
Kevin extends his right hand out toward Solomon and Solomon stands just looking at him.
“Hmph… You’re suppose to be some kind of hero of the people?”
Kevin smiles and takes his hand back.
“Yeah something like that… I am indeed a People’s Champion… I’m starting to think you’re the abrasive one of the group… And you are…”
Kevin looks to Sylvester.
“You’re the one who goes with the flow… Am I right?”
Even though Sylvester is wearing his face paint, you can tell he’s blushing a bit.
“It’s okay Sylvester, sometime this world needs those who say YES and don’t fight against the bigger picture… Then again, Solomon has his reasoning for standing firm in his beliefs… Ideas are created out of situations like this… If we all go with the flow under one idea… Where does that really get us, huh? I believe in listening to my people and that is why I believe in diversity amongst my Brotherhood… Just as your FreakShow has so many different characters for lack of a better word, you understand where I’m coming from here… You have a large family and you two have done wonders on keeping them going this long… But you’ve learned that the days of the freak is long since be gone… You have lost your place in this world and I’m here to offer you something more for your life… I offer you a place that you can continue showing the world your natural talents…”
Solomon and Sylvester hang onto his every word.
“You see… This place is a safe haven from the harsh world that turns their noses up at us… They see Freaks… But I see a never ending supply of talent… You see, I am a world traveling wrestler and I have seen freaks of all kinds over my 15 year career… And before that, I remember my grandfather, rest his soul, he took me to see a real to life freak show… The man who ran that freak show also incorporated wrestling into his shows… He’d have his strong man fight any man willing to throw in fifty dollars for the chance… His strong man…”
Kevin points to Solomon.
“Not much bigger than this guy… He could take punches but he could deliver one that’d drop men with just one shot… You see that owner knew how to work the system… He knew the importance of a dollar… So the question you boys should ask yourselves… What are you willing to do? You’re still trying to stand out in a world that is so far gone… What do you do to stand out now?”
Sylvester jumps in.
“Wrestling? You want us to wrestle?”
Kevin mockingly laughs.
“That’s not exactly what I was speaking of… I want you to first set up your tents here on this land… I want you to create entertainment for my Brotherhood to pay for your stay here… Secondly I want you to entertain the masses… So you want to set up a wrestling here and you want to start charging fifty dollars for ol’ Solomon here to punch someone in the face… Be my guest, but this safe haven is designed to highlight everyone’s purpose in this world… We all have something to offer, you just have to figure out what it is… Can you do that for me?”
Solomon and Sylvester look at each other and then back to Kevin.
“Solomon isn’t sold all the way, I can tell… But I know we are all ready to do what ever it takes to be on the top of the world again… If you and Silver Goldstein can help us get there, then we will listen to whatever advice you may have…”
Solomon puts his right hand out toward Kevin.
“I may be abrasive… But I accept your help and this opportunity…”
Kevin shakes it and smiles.
“Believe me, Sol… This is truly the land of opportunity… Make of it what you want to… As far as land goes… Follow me…”
Kevin leads Solomon, Sylvester, and Silver off to the side of the water in an open field.
“This here is your land… As I said, you pay for you stay by our entertainment… If you do your work, then there won’t be an issue here….”
Sylvester shakes Kevin’s hand.
“Thank you so very much, Kevin… We are extremely appreciative and we won’t waste this opportunity…”
Solomon shakes Kevin’s hand next.
“You didn’t have to do this and we aren’t going to go to the well too many times here… So wasting this opportunity isn’t even in the cards for us… You just better have your fifty bucks ready…”
Solomon actually laughs as he slaps Kevin against the shoulder.
“Make yourselves at home… Parish will have the dinner bell going off any time now… Just keep your ears open…”
Kevin looks to Silver.
“Silver… You did deliver, but now you gotta help them set their shit up… It’s only fair…”
Kevin smirks as he turns to walk away, leaving Silver with his mouth held open in disbelief.
“Come on bay bay, this ain’t Silver’s thing, right here!”
Kevin shakes his head as he makes his way back to his cabin and as he stands on his porch, he turns to watch the freaks all shuffle off the bus. The bearded woman with her 7 midgets, the dog boy howling at the sky, the pin head, and the others followed by Titan stepping out last. Kevin rubs his eyes in a bit of disbelief, but he just shrugs and steps into his cabin. Inside the cabin Kevin walks over to his desk and he pulls up the WCF website.
“Oh another fun match with Zero Tolerance… Let’s see what garbage as spewed out of their mouths yet again…”
Kevin pulls up CrazyJ’s promo, he lets it run, then he skips ahead a few seconds… Then a few more seconds… then a few more seconds… Then a minute…”
“Gay jokes… Shit about my wife… confusion about Gemini… More gay jokes… More shit about my wife…”
Kevin stops the promo another minute in.
“Same shit just rehashed into another weeks worth of promos… Sadly you’re going to look at last week as if it really had anything to do with you… You think for one damn minute that I was going to stand in the same ring with the fucking Baron, you are sorely mistaken… He was expecting a win over you boys was going to be his big break… You think for one second I was going to allow my hard work to boost his fucking ego? Yeah, not going to happen, but here’s the difference this week… Gemini doesn’t need shit from this match… He’s coming in to take care of business, that same business that got him to the World title in the first place… I rode with him earlier this week, he’s crazier than shit, but I could tell he is the type of guy that always has a plan… He’s always thinking through the situations around him and I can respect that… That’s why he’s a honorary member of The Brotherhood this week… We may not have come in to WCF as some crazed group looking to make a loud ass statement, but The Brotherhood has always been at work… Since day one, it has been growing… It’s bigger than what you can truly imagine right now and it’s only a matter of time before you bare witness… You stick to your childish name calling and your gay bashing… That’s what makes up the very being that is CrazyJ… When I look at CrazyJ, I see a man who is still proving himself to the world… You’re good at what you do, but you’re playing into my very own game… You got your win over me, but deep down inside of you, whether you admit it or not, I know it wasn’t good enough… You didn’t want The Baron… You wanted The People’s Champion on your list of men you’ve defeated since you’ve come here. Your biggest take away here in this main event is the fact that you were in the main event… That’s the only thing that we are going to allow you to walk away with… This isn’t a match against The Plague and 2 rookies… This is a match against The Brotherhood and Gemini fucking Battle… Your crazy can’t even hold a candle to Gem’s crazy and if you think the history you share with him is going to give you an edge in this match, I think you’re sadly mistaken… I thrive for competition as long as my partners bring that same drive to the ring… Last week, I was the driving force in my match and I went into that match with the drive to deliver the exact thing Baron needed in his career… His hope ripped out of his hands, just when he thought he was signed up for a match that he could finally get the nod in… But I wasn’t willing to give him that nod, not at my expense… This week, you battle 3 men who deliver consistently in the ring… We wouldn’t be the champions that we are if we didn’t… Zero Tolerance can keep aiming for the stars, because that is how you get there, but your path is going to keep being one that’s going to be filled with pit falls… Your first pitfall is battling The Brotherhood and Gemini… Feel free to go into our match, thinking that the win over me last week was easy… I want you to… I want you to go into our match, thinking that I’m going to just screw over my partners again…”
Kevin scraps the promo he was watching he starts fast forwarding through Sheps…
“He’s lost… There’s gay jokes… Jokes about my wife… Gay Jokes… You lost last week… Blah blah blah…”
Kevin smirks.
“You boys are going to start being predictable… You stick to the same playground name calling week in and week out… You are who you are I suppose… Truth of the matter is… I look at this real FreakShow in front of me and I don’t think they’d take you boys in at all… The Bearded Woman with her 7 midgets probably put on a better show than you do in the ring… Maybe you guys should step up and fight Titan for fifty bucks a pop, see what happens… You see… I shouldn’t have to explain this to each of you, but your win is a win, take it in stride… But if you think for one second, that your victory is honorable, that’s where you’d be wrong… Deep down inside, I’m sure it’s right next to the all you can drink Faygo bottles, but there’s got to be something that drives you in this world of wrestling… Is it just the W that gives you a purpose? No matter how it comes to be, you are happy… Fine, be what you must, but that’s not the true makings of a champion… A champion fights for whatever it is that they need and they hold it the exact same way… If you’re going to cheat, then cheat in fashion… Be what you say you’re going to be… Sunday is coming close and I hope you find your selves sooner than later, because you’re going to need to be all there to face off against our collective…”
Kevin clicks off and finally reluctantly clicks on Jason’s promo.
“The Cowboy Hillbilly Redneck…”
Kevin fast forwards a bit… Fast forwards a bit more…
“Ooo a hobo joke… Another joke on my wife… Hobo… Homeless… Dirty… Really? That’s what you have for me, Jason? You’re a damn drunkard who parades around his life chugging beers to forget that he lives his kid at home… You call yourself some kind of father? What kind of father drinks his sorrows away instead of watching after his children? The vice clings to you and it’s not letting go any time soon… Sure you took us on your little walk down memory lane… You weren’t always the beer drinking ass kicking machine, whatever else kind of message you were trying to send… Needless to say, it makes no difference of my hygiene when I step into the ring with you boys on Sunday, I am going to hand deliver a message you won’t soon forget… Think of last week as a burnt offering to hold you over until I get you in the ring again… If you’re wanting competition, you’re not going to find it anywhere else than this main event match…”
Kevin shakes his head.
“You see… Main event raises the bar for this match for all of us… Just having your name in that marquee is enough to lift you to a whole other level, but to be in the match as well… We have a chance to put it all on the line out there and The Brotherhood is going to do just that… Sadly, I know Zero Tolerance will as well, but that’s the difference between us, boys… I’m going into this match choosing to look at your talents as a whole, but you’re looking at us as some separated entity that will be easily dispatched… You are in for a rude awakening and the moment you are hit with The Black Death… Oh that 1-2-3! Is going to be sweeter than anything else… So let us step in that ring… One more time and let the competition speak for its self… Let us make this main event opportunity stand for something… Because if you’re not standing for something, then you are doomed to fall for anything… The Brotherhood… Zero Tolerance… Gemini Battle… This match is going to be a barn burner and the winners of this match is going to be the WCF fans… You can’t defeat us ZT… You can only hope to contain us… After Slam… We will be leaving NO SURVIVORS… No gay jokes needed… No bashing on my wife… The time for words are over Zero Tolerance… It’s time to prove who the better men are… The champions here are battle tested… You speak of your 20 years in the business, so you should be… Now it’s time to prove it… See you boys at Slam…”
The camera fades out to black.
