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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2011 7:14:18 GMT -5
Chapter 15
Suddenly, everything was white. It was such a clean and bright white, it’s almost indescribable. There I stood, in a nice, clean, white robe. I felt such a great peace, such a great clarity, that I’d never felt before. Everything was calm, everything was alright. I walked around for a moment, before a person started walking up to me. I could tell it was a woman by her figure. She was wearing a white robe like me. She got within feet of me, before she stopped, smiling. I had to stare for a moment. The face looked so familiar. Then I realized… It was my sister.
“Hi, Michael,” She said, smiling. My jaw dropped. My sister was never able to walk, never able to talk. Yet here she was, a young woman, standing in front of me. “….You….. You’re dead,” is all I could say, as I was trying to piece everything together. “Yes, I am,” she replied to me. Then, it hit me. “…Then I’m… I’m dead too.”
“You are… for now, Michael,” my sister replied, smiling, before her expression turned serious. “I’ve been told to tell you a few things. Now, listen to me. Don’t worry about me, alright? I’m fine. I’m living a brand new life here. I don’t want to hear you saying to yourself that it should have been you instead of me, because it shouldn’t have. I miss you, but… I’m happy here, alright?” I nodded along, in shock of the whole thing, but she kept talking.
“Don’t worry about Mom either. She alright now, too…. Dad, well… He’s a different story, but he’s getting there. Whatever happens after this, it’ll all be ok. Remember that, alright? It’ll be hard, but you’ll be alright. One more thing, don’t worry so much. You spend so much time worrying, you barely live your life anymore. Just cheer up. It’ll all be fine. Farther along, you‘ll understand everything.” She smiled, as I stared blankly, taking in her words. “Now, you have to go back,” she said. I quickly shook my head, “I don’t want to leave… It feels so much better here.”
She smiled, shaking her head. “You have to go back. Your work isn’t done. You still have so much to do, and so many things to change. It’s not your time. Goodbye, Michael. I love you. I’ll see you again someday.” She smiled, before walking off. I tried to follow her, but I couldn’t move. My feet wouldn’t pick up and walk with her. I kept struggling to move, before I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, and a male voice saying, “It’s time to go back.” Before I could react, the hand shoved me back to earth, and back to my body.
I woke up with a lurching breath, as Matt was knelt over me, giving me CPR. “I got him back! He’s back!” He screamed, looking back at the man behind him. We were in the back of a moving Medical Vehicle, bouncing around as we hit bumps and holes. I glanced over, seeing Jessica, laying there, still unconscious. I tried to reach over, but I couldn’t get the strength to move my arm. I looked up at Matt, staring at him, as he kept telling me over and over I’d be fine. My eyes wandered over, staring at the roof of the MV, before my eyes closed again.
The next time I woke up, I was in a hospital bed. I didn’t know where I was, and I didn’t know how much time had past. I quickly noticed a huge respirator tube down my throat, with the big mask covering most of my face. My leg was elevated, and taping around my body restricted me from moving at all. I could feel a bit of pain in my side and my knee, but my body was numb to it, thanks to drugs. I looked to my left, and saw a bed with someone in it. I couldn’t tell who it was, until they looked over at me. It was Jessica. We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, as I could see she was crying endlessly. She slowly slid her arm off her bed, reaching is towards me. I gathered the strength to reach my arm toward hers, grabbing her hand. We laid like that for awhile, staring at each other, before her hand grew limp and her eyes closed, as she fell into sleep. I laid there in the quiet, thinking about all that had happened, before I slowly feel to sleep myself.
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Post by Johnny Wrestling on Nov 23, 2011 23:49:38 GMT -5
Can't believe for a second I did think Michael was dead. Finally meeting and talking to his sister must be one of, if not the, most emotional moments of Inside the Flame. I was so into it, I'm a big Transformers fan and this was as sad as Optimus Prime dying. This just leaves me wondering if he will ever meet her again. What will happen with his parents? Will he return to a war?
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Post by Red Dragon on Nov 25, 2011 12:51:41 GMT -5
To be honest KvE, I've enjoyed everything you've written so far but I didn't like the most recent update. I'm just not a big fan of the whole heaven thing you got going, I just don't think it works here. It all picked up for me when he woke up and the ending was a nice touch. I'm hoping you don't use the sister character as a guide/guardian angel character since I think it will ruin the realism you got going here. I'm wondering how bad the damage is, hopefully it isn't too much and the character can get back on his feet soon. Good luck and as always keep this up.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2011 6:54:30 GMT -5
Chapter 16
The next time I woke up, it was nighttime outside, and they had taken the respirator off of me. It was nice not to have the tube down my throat anymore, but it was a marginal relief, as my knee and side hurt more than ever. I looked around, and saw Matt sitting in a chair over in the corner. His hair was all disheveled, and his eyes were heavy. I looked over at the bed Jessica was in… and it was empty. I looked back over at Riley, who was now on his feet, walking over to me. I tried to talk, but I couldn’t get any words out of my mouth, so I just pointed over to the empty bed. He sat on the edge of it, in complete silence.
He started telling me everything that had happened. About how I stopped breathing and my heart stopped beating for at least six minutes. I had been in a coma for two weeks after that. I kept staring at the empty bed he was sitting on, as he began to stumble on his words. I could tell he was fighting back his emotions, before he said five words I will never forget in my life, “Jessica didn’t make it, man.”
Matt became even more choked up, as his news hit me fully. He tried to keep explaining, but could barely do it. “They said her wounds were too bad, man.” He said to me, as I fought to talk back, but kept coming out silent. “She’s gone, man…. I’m sorry, man. I’m sorry.” After a long period of silence, a doctor walked in. Matt took the chance to run out of the room, as the doctor tried to put on a smile as she talked to me. “It’s good to see you awake, Michael,” she said, as she started checking all of the machines beside me.
She repeated what Matt told me, I sustained gunshots to my knee and side, and fell in a coma for two weeks. The bullet to my side missed anything major, luckily, but she said my knee had been destroyed. Since I had no next of kin to get in contact with, Matt had to give the ok to get me into surgery. They removed the bullet from my side with ease, but my knee wasn’t so easy. They tried to reset it with whatever they found left in there, but it was impossible. They went ahead and completely replaced my knee. While I was out, my birthday had come and passed, so I was eighteen with a total knee replacement.
She went on to explain what happened to Jessica. The bullets had nicked several organs, and her body just couldn’t take it. She died two days before I woke up again. She apologized several times before leaving. Matt came back in not too long later, and just sat around, telling me everything I’d missed in the world and back in America. After we got attacked, the remaining members of our unit were given a leave, and while most went home, Matt stayed with Jessica and me.
Matt stayed with me nearly 24/7 after this, as my speech and orientation slowly began coming back. After about a week or so, I was able to keep a conversation with him. A slow conversation, but it was a conversation none the less. They had me hooked up to a catheter and a colostomy bag this entire time, and let me tell you, that was extremely awkward. The first time it really hit me that I had to piss, I tried to get up, but that obviously didn’t work, as my knee was immobile and my side screamed in pain. Matt let out a bit of a chuckle, before saying “Just let it go, man. I won’t watch a swear.” It’s such a tribal thing, but for the first time since we left camp that day, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
One night, Matt was out getting food, which left me with the silence of my room. Then, the emotion of everything that had happened hit me like a train. I just started sobbing uncontrollably. I hurt so bad, between my knee and my side. I had apparently died for six minutes. I had lost one of my only friends, the only girl I had ever cared about, and my other friend was staying with me instead of going home to his family like he should have. Then, what happened when they said I died came back to me. I didn’t remember any of it until that point. The image of my sister, a young woman, walking around and talking, filled my mind, as did the words she said to me. I kept sobbing. I couldn’t control it at all.
I finally got control of myself, and I couldn’t help but look at the empty bed beside me. I raised my hand up, and stared at it for ages. I brought it up to my face, and chewed on one of my nails, as my hand shook around. Then I lost it all over again.
A day or two later, my side and knee were better, and the doctors wanted me to stand up. Sounds easy right? Oh, no, it wasn’t. Standing up out of that bed was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Laying down for so long had made my leg muscles weaken, and it felt like I had 300 pounds on my shoulders, as my legs shook wildly trying to support my weight. I finally gained my bearings, and stood there for awhile. It felt so great to finally be out of that bed. I wanted to walk around so bad, but the doctor stopped me, telling me I was no where near strong enough yet, and made me get back into bed.
Over the next few days, the doctor took it slow with me, just getting in and out of the bed a few times, before he told me to take a step. I tried, and I almost busted my ass. I caught myself on the bed railing, and tried again, this time moving three inches, if that, closer to the wall. After what seemed like a year of being in the hospital, I was finally able to walk to the bathroom on my own, and man, I can’t tell you how happy I was to see a toilet again.
It was time for me to finally get out of the hospital, and since I literally had nowhere else to go, Matt offered, well, more like told me to come home with him to Bluefield, Virginia. I really didn’t want to, he had done enough already by sacrificing so much time sitting in the hospital with me, but I really had no choice but to. So the faithful day came in January of 1992, me and Matt packed up what little we had, and were headed back home to America, leaving behind all of the memories that would follow us for the rest of our lives. I stared at the bed Jessica was in for an hour before we left. I still couldn’t believe she was gone, after all me, her, and Matt had been through. Finally, it was time to go, as I left what left of Jessica that I had.
The flight home was awful, as being so cramped made my knee scream for relief. The fifteen hour flight felt more like fifteen days, but we got to Virginia, and it felt so great to walk through the airport. Matt’s Dad was waiting for us at the doors. Matt called and told his family of his plans for me to stay with them for awhile, and he accepted me with open arms, shaking my hand and introducing himself, thanking me for my service for our country.
The next month would be one of the craziest months I’ve had in my life.
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Post by Red Dragon on Dec 5, 2011 13:22:12 GMT -5
Back to the good updates KvE. Enjoyed chapter 16, it had all your tallent in it. Great writing, good story, emotion and humour it was as all there. Its such a great thing to read. The whole rehab thing was very realistic and well writ as always. Really sad to see Jess go but realistically you couldn't have had a perfefect relationship running throughout this, it'd kill the character a bit. Kinda forgot this was all set in the past, can't belive you've done all this and are still 19 years behind. Wonder whats up next for you and Matt, hopefully Matt doesn't die, or even worse, turn heel on you. Seems like the character needs a reliable friend. Good luck and I know you'll keep this up.
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Post by The Natural Eddy Valintino on Dec 5, 2011 17:52:11 GMT -5
Thanks for updating KvE! I love the emotion you put in the story. It was sad to read that Jessica died. Keep this up man!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2011 4:38:25 GMT -5
Chapter 17
Let me tell you, living with Riley and his family was extremely awkward. Last time I had anything that remotely resembled a family was in 1988, and after living by myself in a barn for awhile, actually living with other people was weird, especially since I didn’t know them at all, but they took me in with open arms. Even though I was depressed and in constant pain, they put up with me really good.
Matt’s Dad, David, was a coal miner. I think he got up every day at four in the morning to go off to his work. He was really respectful to me, and admired that I serviced in the Army. His Mom, Jean, was one of those really nice women that woulda took in any stranger and fed them. She treated me like I was one of her own. Riley’s sister, Megan, now she was a handful. She was about a year or so younger than us, and she was damned near obsessed with ole Tyger here. She was constantly talking to me, and she was really nice, but after Jessica dying I couldn’t really feel that way about a girl that soon.
I tried to be happy when around his family and other people, but the truth is I was so depressed at this time. The first few days or so, pretty much all I did was lay in bed and eat. I just didn’t want to do and didn’t care about anything. I started having these nasty anxiety attacks for no reason. I’d just be sitting there and freak out and great real nervous for no reason. I still have some problems with this sometimes, though is not as bad or as often as it used to be. Something else I also have problem with are these psychogenic seizures. I have absence seizures all the time, and I have grand mal seizures twice or so a month. The first I ever had one was crazy. I was alone in Riley’s home, walking to the bathroom, and the next thing I knew I was laying on the floor. That scared the dickens outta me, and I’ve only been to one doctor about it. He says they’re related to post traumatic stress syndrome, and after being in the war I wasn’t in any doubt of that.
When I finally got tired of sitting in my bed all day, I started to get up and around with Matt before his leave was over. We didn’t do very much other than watch wrestling and play his NES. The night before his leave ended, me, him, and his dad sat on their back porch and drank a beer and just talked. I don’t encourage underage drinking… without parental supervision, but it was a nice and quiet send off of Riley. The next day we all went with him as he shipped back off, as I lost my only other friend, as this would be the last time I saw him for years to come.
I felt bad just sitting around and eating all of the Riley’s food, so I tried to help Jean as much as I could around the house. She was a stay-at-home mom, so all she did during the day was watch her soaps, clean, and do the laundry, which I tried to help her with everything. Even watching Days Of Our Lives. Yeap, there’s some dirty for you. Tyger is a Days fan, and Beverly Hills 90210. Dylan McKay is more of a man that I’ll ever be.
Even though Jean still had her daughter, you could tell she was missing having Matt around. I filled that void for her, and she took me in like the son she was missing. It was nice to have some form of parents around, even if they weren’t my own. I still missed my Mom greatly, and while I didn’t miss the man my Dad was, I still missed having one. I would also say that I was Megan’s replacement brother, but that would be wrong seeing as it was quite obvious she loved her some Tyger. I was getting tired of sitting around their house all day, so I took on the GREAT pleasure of taking Megan on her little shopping trips. While it was great to finally get out of the house and walk around, I could have done without going in all of the chick stores Megan forced me into to tell her what looked good and didn’t. Now, Megan was cool to hang around, and a cute girl, but I’d have been doing something else.
I found that something else one day, when David got home from work. We were sitting at the table, and I asked him about coal mining. The idea of going miles underground didn’t seem like a great thing to do, but I sorely wanted to get out and do something. David agreed to take me over there the next day, to see everything. The next day we got up at four in the morning, something I was not used to. I’m sure I fell asleep about three times on the way there. We got there, and as we went underground, I looked around at the place. It was a crazy place to be around, and seeing the botherhood between the miners reminded me of the Army, and I really liked it. I signed up and took the required eighty hour class. It was a lot to take in, but it seemed easy enough to gain a handle on.
My first day as a coal miner started no so bright, and early at four in the morning. I stumbled around half asleep as a I put on my suit and helmet, but I woke wide away as I walked to the entrance of the mine. Here was this big dark hole, that went miles below the ground, that could explode or collapse at any moment…. And my ass was about to go down there.
It was pretty surreal as I walked down there. You literally couldn’t see your hand in front of your face without your helmet light, and the sudden drop in temperature was chilling. It was actually pretty calm and peaceful, until the loud clanking of the machinery cut through the quiet. Since I was the new kid, my main job was to stand beside the conveyer belt that sent the coal off, and shovel up any coal that hit the floor. Sounds easy right? It was… until the pile on the ground never seemed to get any smaller. I swear it got bigger ever time I shoveled out a chunk of it. I shoveled for hours on hours, and as my back was about to revolt and break in half, I got called away to do something else, thank the lord.
My next job was to cover a wall in this thick white stuff to help prevent an explosion. I know, very comforting right? The well being of me and the other miners was now in my hands… Great. I made sure to put as much of that stuff on the wall as possible, making sure every centimeter of it was covered. When I was finished, instead of the nap I dearly wanted, I got to go back to shoveling. In total, seven hours of shoveling, one hour of painting that white junk on. I do believe I earned my keep that day.
Me and David went back home, and we were both covered in black dust. I don’t know how the dust coulda got on my feet, but the bastard found a way. I probably stayed in the shower for an hour trying to get all of that crap off, only to get covered in it again the next day, something which Megan that was “So cute”… I looked like Jynx from Pokemon, I’ll never know how that’s cute.
I was beyond worn out when we sat down to eat. I’m surprised I was even able to lift up my fork. Everything hurt, but I was happy. It was great to finally be out doing something, and not sitting around depressed and thinking about Jessica. After we finished supper, I immediately went to bed. I picked sleep over wrestling, so you knew I was damned tired.
The next day, David woke me up at four, and we did it all over again. This day I had another job. Me and two other guys went deep down into the mine, that had already been mined and was a dead area. We had to set up posts and support legs from the roof to the floor, to help it not collapse. Again, comforting right? Eventually, it’s would collapse anyway, due to all of the support of the coal being taken away. After this, I went back to my old friend shovel for more shoveling. Let me tell you, it didn’t get no easier.
I got a call a few days later from someone in the Army. They told me that I was being honorably discharged from the military due to my injuries, and told me I needed to be in Hawaii in five days for an awards ceremony at Fort DeRussy in Honolulu. He didn’t tell me anything I had earned, if anything, but going to Hawaii sounded cool to me. For the next four days I worked at the mine, doing more shoveling and painting, and supporting.
Finally, the day came to go to Hawaii. I got to the airport with all of the Rileys there. David was still proud of my service, and was happy I was getting rewarded for it. Jean was sad she was losing her surrogate son, and Megan was sad because… She wouldn’t be able to stare at me or something. I got on the plane with my Discman (how old school) with Hank Williams Sr., Lefty Frizzel, Buck Owens, and Chris LeDoux to sing my way through the nine hour plane ride.
As I looked out over the land, getting smaller and smaller, little did I know how much this trip would change my life, and this time? For the better.
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Post by Johnny Wrestling on Dec 21, 2011 11:29:17 GMT -5
So after finding a friend like Matt, now he has to leave. Oh well, hopefully they're able to keep their friendship. Megan loves Tyger, will she be what Tyger needs? Will he go back with the Riley's someday? And wow, Tyger will finally go through something good! Can't wait to see what's next. Pretty much to look forward.
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Post by r44gz96 on Dec 22, 2011 5:55:32 GMT -5
This is just  ing amazing, I've read through all of them and seen how it has developed over time. This has to be one of the best diarys I have seen. So much depth and emotional language as-well as reality mixed in! Keep it up! |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2012 6:53:00 GMT -5
Chapter 18
The flight wore down on my knee quite a bit. Being crammed in the same position for nine hours didn’t agree with it at all. Other than the random aches and pains, my new fake knee was holding up pretty good. The doctors warned me that doing anything physical, such as working the mine, could do more bad than good, but it seemed to me to be getting stronger. It was better than sitting around doing nothing.
I got to Hawaii well into the night. There was someone there to meet me and drive me to the hotel where I’d be sleeping that night. I ate some cold food before searching the TV for wrestling with no luck. I laid in bed filled with a bit of anxiety over the next day, as I fell to sleep. I woke up bright and early, getting on my dress uniform before I headed out to Fort DeRussy. We walked into a big auditorium with a number of chairs set up in front of a stage. I sat down on the stage with a few other men there to receive awards. The ceremony started with a Major walking up to a podium, leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance. He went down the line, giving the men around me various awards and citations, before he called my name.
I walked over to him, as he read through my name and service details, before saying that I had earned the Purple Heart for my injury, and the Silver Star, the third highest award that can be handed out in any branch, for my “extraordinary heroism during combat.” I don’t really know what I did special, I just did what I felt I had to do. I shook his hand and saluted him to a smattering of applause from the crowd. I sat down, staring at the Sliver Star pinned on my uniform. The guys around me sat proud, excited for the honor they had been given. I felt no pride in receiving it. Was I supposed to feel honor for killing countless men? Was I supposed to feel honor for letting Jessica get injured and die, and nearly ending my own life? Where is the honor in that? I don’t feel joy inside for having killed people, and I don’t feel joy for letting someone close to me die.
The ceremony ended, as a number of people shook my hand, asking me why I wasn’t more happy. I left the Fort as soon as I could, taking off my awards and stuffing them in my pocket. They sit buried in my dresser drawer today. I don’t want to display my past like that. It’s too haunting. I wandered around for the rest of the day, until, to my surprise, I found a local wrestling show being held. I hadn’t been to a show since the time with my father, so I went inside and sat down to enjoy the show, and forget everything else that was going on. It was a pretty average show, until the main event. To my awe, Giant Baba and Masanobu Fuchi came to the ring, teaming in the match. I saw them years before, but seeing them again was such a great experience. They went on to win the match to end the show, and I hung around until I saw the two leaving the locker room.
I sat in my chair, bouncing my legs and ringing my hands, anxious as I convinced myself to get up and talk to them. I slowly walked over to them and shook their hands, managing to stutter out that I was a huge fan, and that it was my dream to wrestle in All Japan someday. Baba looked at me up and down, before mumbling something to Fuchi, before telling me to get in the ring. Now, this was a shock. I didn’t expect to hear that as a response to my mark out. Nevertheless, I obliged and got into the ring with Fuchi. Fuchi then proceeded to stretch me in directions the human body weren’t made to go. I thought he was going to rip my knee into pieces. Baba finally told him to stop, before Fuchi began to slam me into the mat several times. Ever felt like you were about to shatter into a million shards? Yeah, that’s how being slammed to the mat the first few times felt like. I thought for sure this crazy man just broke my back and exploded my lungs. It took every single breath right out of me. I wanted to lay there and cry, but Fuchi kept picking me up, and slamming me down again. Baba finally put me out of my misery, telling Fuchi to stop. I don’t know what Baba was impressed by. Maybe it was the fact I didn’t scream and cry, but Baba told me he wanted me to come to the All Japan dojo. There would be several rookies beginning training in two months, and he wanted me to be there.
Ever have a really awesome dream, and you wake up and have that “aww…” feeling because it wasn’t real? Yeah, I was waiting to wake up from the dream I thought I was in, but I never did. Giant Baba himself asked me to go to Japan and train in the AJPW dojo, and it wasn’t a make believe dream. We exchanged information before shaking hands. I left the building wanting to jump on a rooftop and scream at the top of my lungs. After everything bad that had happened to me, I was finally feeling like the king of the world.
I got on the plane to head back to Virginia with my hopes as high as the plane was. We landed in Virginia nine hours later, David, Jean, and Megan waiting on me. They were all excited to see me, wanting to see my medals. I handed them to them, not really caring, as I rambled about meeting Baba and Fuchi, and how they tortured me and wanted me to train in Japan in two months. David and Jean were excited for me, and Megan was sad that I was going to leave again, of course, but she tried to be happy for me.
The next two months seemed to drag on as I waited for the time to come. I was defiantly a happier person at this time. I still had anxiety attacks and seizures pretty regularly. I had my moments, but I was happier. I continued to work in the mine in the meantime, saving up all of my money in preparation for Japan. I hung out a lot with Megan also. You could tell she was sad I was going to be leaving again, this time with no return certain. I drove her to the mall and all of those places girls her age want to go, except I never went inside Victoria’s Secret with her. That’s just something a guy doesn’t do. She tried to drag me in there several times, but no. Those are the times a man goes and hides in Hot Topic.
One day while working in the mine, only a couple weeks out from leaving for Japan, the sirens went off. Sirens pretty much means everything could go to hell, especially thousands of feet down in the earth, and especially when it means the oxygen is low and an explosion and collapse is possible. Everyone began freaking out, trying to gather everyone into a cart to get out. While they did, me and a few others were throwing this powder that supposedly helped prevent explosions. Now, call me a pessimist, but throwing powder didn’t really make me feel any better about the situation. We all gathered in a cart, trying to do a headcount. There we two people unaccounted for, and we had no clue where they were. Call it a war flashback or just me being an idiot, but I ran back looking for them, as the sirens screamed. I found them in the darkness, as we hauled our asses to the damned cart, barely able to catch our breath for the dust in our lungs, before we got the hell out of there. In the end, we all got out of there, and nothing exploded, so we got out lucky. David told the story like only he could at supper that night, about how I charged down the mine like a madman trying to find the two people. Jean took the Mom route, freaking out saying I coulda killed myself, and Megan looked on in awe at her superhero…. Yeah.
About six months after I left for Japan, there was mine in another spot in West Virginia that exploded and collapsed. Hopes were held high, but five men got killed. It made me realize not only how lucky we were that day, but how lucky we were everyday those three months I was there. Anything can happen. You could be trapped and killed any given day of the week. It’s always a gamble, with getting out alive or your bones spending eternity in the mine. I’ve always considered myself lucky for leaving the mine with nothing major happening.
I loved my time staying with the Riley’s. They brought a real family that I need. David gave that strong father figure, Jean gave the mom position that I sorely needed, as I thought about my Mom everyday, and Megan filled the void of my sister. I know Megan probably hated the fact I saw her as my sister, poor woman. I have a debt that I can never repay to them for what they did for me at that really bad point in my life after the war. I never would have got through that point without them. All of them were great people. I can never thank them enough, for Megan for being my only friend and almost sister and having fun times hanging out, and for David and Jean being my fill in parents, giving me lessons that I still use in life.
The two months came to an end soon. I worked my last day in the mine, thankfully with no sirens going off. When the work day was over, David led all of our coworkers to present me a cake for my last day of work, and of course, in classic wrestling form, anytime you see a cake, it ends up in someone’s face, and that’s exactly what happened, as Oscar grabbed my head and shoved it in there. Coal and cake in your nose, face, and mouth is not a good combination, by the way. Later that night, Jean and Megan were waiting with a goodbye cake, which luckily ended up in our stomachs and not my face. We hung out until really late that night, just talking and laughing, before Jean and Megan both went to bed. Like when Riley left, me and David sat on the porch, having a beer, and talking about life. He went to bed, as I sat on the porch, staring out into the darkness, finishing the beer I had. I sat there smiling, because I was scared as hell. I had a huge anxiety attack about my future. I was leaving my only home, leaving the only family I knew, for a foreign country where I had no promises and no friends, for a dream that might never pan out.
But I had to try. There was no uncertainty in my head about that.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2012 4:26:53 GMT -5
Chapter 19
I didn’t sleep any the night before, so I slept for most of the thirteen hour flight to Tokyo, Japan. I woke up with about two hours left, which left me enough time to get good and nervous. We landed and I got and wandered around the airport, no clue where to go and no one to ask, not that I could have asked as I couldn’t speak well with anyone. I walked outside, and finally, a man in a suit walked up to me asking if I was Michael Christopher, when I confirmed I was he lead me to a car and drove me through Tokyo. Now, as a guy that’s used to a lot of grass and trees, being in a place with nothing but concrete, asphalt, and buildings was a huge culture shock. I sat in wonder, standing out of my window until we got to the All Japan Dojo. I was more nervous than I had ever been in my life as I walked towards the doors, but I knew I could never turn back. My dreams laid inside that building.
I walked inside and was greeted by Baba, who greeted me and welcomed me to Japan. He then introduced me to the man also training, that would be my roommate in the dojo housing, a man that I would go on to hold two Tag Team Championships with, Jun Akiyama. Akiyama showed me around the dojo, and lead me to our room, a small room with bunk beds, a dresser drawer, and a table. I settled in as the day came to a close. I barely slept that night, the nervousness and excitement not allowing me to. We woke up bright and early the next morning and ate breakfast. Then, my training officially began, as me and the other young boys training began cleaning the entire dojo, sweeping the floors, cleaning the work out equipment, washing wrestler’s gear, and other things. Wrestlers began trickling in, beginning their work outs, before all of the trainees met beside the ring, a group that included me, Akiyama, and another future star Takao Omori, as well as others that had recently debuted, like Masao Inoue and Satoru Asako. Baba, Fuchi, and my second favorite wrestler of all time, Jumbo Tsuruta, were there to meet us. We started by running countless laps around the ring, then doing a countless amount of squats, push ups, sit ups, neck bridges, as well as a number of stretches that pushed your body until it felt like you were about to rip apart, and then, when you felt like you were on the brink of falling apart and passing out, we started working out in the ring, doing an ungodly amount of back bumps and other spots, and running the ropes until your back and various shades I never thought a body could turn into.
To say training was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life would be an understatement. I doubt a hundred boot camps for the Army would equal the difficultly of the training we endured, but I loved every minute of it. I was coming closer and closer to my dream of being a wrestler. When we weren’t training, eating, or cleaning, me and Akiyama sat around the table of our room, teaching each other our languages. I was eager to learn as much Japanese as I could, and for one reason or another Akiyama was eager to learn as many English curses as he could. I’m proud to say because of sessions like this, as well as other studying and other’s help, I can speak Japanese rather fluently, and Akiyama knows every English curse I know. Akiyama was a great roommate and friend to go through training with. We became each other’s best friends due to the amount of time we spent with each other, and I’m happy to say that friendship continues to this day. I don’t think I would have made it and be here today if it wasn’t for him, his help, and his friendship.
The training and in ring spots we did got increasingly more difficult, which is hard to imagine after how hard the first day was. I was rough to catch on an some of the more elaborate things at first, but with the help of Jumbo, Fuchi, and Akiyama, I was able to get better and become more understanding of the moves and their reasons. As we trained, we would attend shows, helping the wrestlers in the back with their gear and lacing their boots, before walking out and taking their jackets and robes, and sitting at ringside, studying their matches. After watching most if not all of the show, we would go to the back and help the wrestlers undress and shower, before we would either go back to the dojo or to the bus to travel to the next show. Japan wrestling is different from American wrestling, in that in America, you either travel with a friend or two, or alone. In Japan, we all traveled together on the bus to the dojo or hotel, wherever we were off to.
Soon, Akiyama and I were informed that our wrestling debuts would be on September 17, 1992. Our excitement and nervousness grew as the day grew closer and closer, as both of us hoped we’d wrestle each other. We both were bummed when the card was announced prior to the event, as we wouldn’t be wrestling each other, but for Akiyama it was probably for the better, as he would have what would go down as a classic match with Kenta Kobashi. I would be facing an amazing wrestler in the form of Akira Taue. I was extremely nervous and had many anxiety attacks leading up to the show. My imminent debut and the fact I had only met Taue in passing before, and didn’t really know him all that well really wrecked havoc on my mind. We arrived Korakuen Hall and me and Akiyama sat together most of the day as we got ready. Our attires were similar, we both rocked powder blue tights, his the short trunks and mine tights that extended down mid thigh with “Soulfire“ written on the back, with matching knee pads, as well as blue and white boots. I was worried about my knee and how it would hold up, so I wore an extra pad on the knee, that I still wear today. I put on my blue and white jacket and black cowboy hat as I walked over to Taue before we discussed some ideas for our match.
I had thought long and hard on what my name would be. I always liked the name Justin, so I knew I would use that, but the last name wasn’t coming to me. After hours of debating, I came up with Justin Tiger. Something about it didn’t look right, and after staring the name I had written down for a few moments, I wrote down Justin Tyger, and knew that it would be my name. I wanted to have a nickname, which led to more debating and mind racking. I was a big fan of Tommy Rich, and loved his nickname “Wildfire”, and how he would run out screaming about the WILDFIRE!, but I didn’t want to steal it outright. I thought for awhile before thinking of Soulfire, and thought “Soulfire” Justin Tyger sounded like a great name. After I had my name in mind, I began to think of what theme I would use. I listened to countless Eagles, Chris Ledoux, Buddy Guy, O’Jays, and Bad Company cassettes until I finally decided on a live version of “Smuggler’s Blues” by Glenn Frey. It had an awesome intro, and was an upbeat, high energy song that I thought was perfect.
The time for my match grew closer and closer, until it was time. I stood with Taue near the arena entrance and the ring announcer talked about the debut of “Soulfire” Justin Tyger. The nervousness ran through me as the lights dimmed down and “Smuggler’s Blues” began to play. I shook Taue’s hand before I stared at the curtain, as I thought of everything that lead me there. Watching AWA in Canada, moving to America and watching WCCW, living in the barn, joining the Army, getting shot in Africa, losing Jessica, working in the mine, meeting Baba and Fuchi in Hawaii, coming to Japan, training tirelessly. I let out a long breath. The nervousness and anxiety I felt washed away as I thought to myself, “I’m going to go out there and prove my Dad wrong.”
The song hit tempo, I threw the curtains open, and “Soulfire” Justin Tyger took over.
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Post by The Natural Eddy Valintino on Jul 2, 2012 6:52:56 GMT -5
Holy s*** man, I've been waiting months for a new chapter!!! I liked the detail you put in the training and how you became friends with Jun Akiyama. I can;t wait to read the next chapter with your debut match.
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