A Waste of Breath

.:.Recoup & Recover.:.

.:.Early April.:.

She couldn’t believe it. Mind you, she was only allowed to tour the grounds for the last couple of weeks via a wheelchair while still recovering from the damage that she had taken on, she could easily count the days that they had not taken off for another remote area of God knows where.

“You look perplexed,” she heard Muri say from behind her, “Everything alright?”

The teenage eyes, that are supposed to hold youth and innocence, instead when the light catches it just right, she can see pain and torment much like her own. Her mother would have reached out to her by now, but Angel is not her.

Angel instead just looks out onto the sun soaked fields that hold the morning dew still for a little while longer, “Just wondering why we’re still here.”

“Yeah, you’ll get used to it. We haven’t moved in a long long time,” Muri finds a place at her side and looks out, “It’s certainly beautiful this early in the morning.”

“I don’t remember the last time I was up this early. Hell, I don’t remember staying in one place for such a long period of time.” Angel sighed, “Well, except when I was trying to lure someone in.”

Muri finds a seat and sits down, “Ah, yes. You’re talking about the British boy, Miles?”

“That’s the one.” Silence fills the air between them, except for the bird calls. Angel decided to go ahead and answer the question left unsaid, “I found myself falling for him and he found out. Forced me to ghost him and break his heart.”

Muri could hear honest sadness in Angel’s voice, “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not,” she said quickly with a smirk, “At the time, he was in my way and was a distraction. And we couldn’t have that.”

Muri just smiled simply, “No, he wouldn’t have allowed it anyways. But to answer your question, we’ve always been here, cloaked but visible. Shielded from everything but anyone that actually pays real attention.”

Angle turns and looks at the old building that if you didn’t know any better, would say it was condemned, “I would like to see more of this place.”

“When you are able to walk, perhaps, the elevators in this place are as ancient as the walls and honestly are a death trap.” Muri giggled, “Apparently we got fighters, but no mechanics. Well...except my brother but he’s busy with other things.”

Angel’s eyes swiftly look towards her young counterpart, “Ah yes, the elusive V. When will I finally get to meet him?”

Muri couldn’t help but smile elusively as she handed a bag to Angel, “A gift. Figured it was about time you got out of the hospital gowns and into something more comfortable.”

Angel reluctantly takes it and opens it up, pulling out a pair of gray sweats, with matching zip up hoodie and a red tank top. She peers a little deeper and smiles, looking a little sad, “You guys thought of everything.”

“Because we actually care. You even have your own room when the doctors feel ready to release you, if you’d like to see it.” Muri nudges her, “Keep looking.”

With an eye roll she looks down into the bag. She pushes something aside and suddenly we hear:

“I-” Angel felt suddenly overcome with emotion. She catches a sob and reaches in and produces a familiar box. Her mother’s jewel encrusted jewelry box that she thought was long gone.

“We figured you’d like to have it. It is yours afterall.” Muri says as she stands up and grabs the back of Angel’s wheelchair, “Come on, let’s go check out that room.”

Angel just wipes at her face like she’s upset that she showed emotion.

Muri simply leans down and whispers in her ear, “It’s ok, sis. We won’t tell anyone,” before she stands up straight and pushes Angle down the sidewalk and glancing up as we see a shadowed figure watching high from above.

.:.I Can’t Believe I’m Wasting My Breath On You.:.

.:.Present Day.:.

There are some days that the skies give off that feeling that you woke up with. The last few weeks Angel has had to stew in the fact that she was so close to absolute victory, proving that her next steps in her life that she was thrusted into without so much as an agreement, was actually good for her.

And in a way they were.

It was refreshing not hiding in the shadows, having a place to fully train and her own personal space.

Her room resembled something out of the 1990’s Hot Topic Gothic Era, at least that’s what one of the older members told her. This is what her teen years should have been like, instead they were stolen from her.

She would revel in the fact that she was able to come to grips with it, how her entire life was stolen from her and whom to exactly blame. Yeah, apparently this place came with its own psychologist too. The sessions had been going...one wouldn’t say ‘well’, no one would use that term at all actually but she hadn’t threatened to slit her throat in the last couple of sessions so progress was made.

But for now, in her own personal bathroom, she pulled up her hair and decided to take a long soak in a steaming hot bubble bath. Couple of her scars were visible, as a tattoo’d reminder of the hell she endured, but now they were a part of her as she was a part of them. She leans back with her arms stretched on both sides, her chest just hidden under the water. The drip from the faucet brings her out of her trance, her green eyes opening.

“You know, if I were El Landerson I would set up an appointment with a lawyer to make sure that his last will and testament was up to date as to make sure his pretty little daughter Aaliyah was not only his benefactor but his power of attorney because after I’m through with you, she’s gonna have to make a lot of decisions to make when I place you directly into the ICU.”

In her left hand that wasn’t visible til just now, she twirls a curved serrated knife sharply before stabbing a piece of cheese.

“Landerson, I will say this; you have this amazing ability to prove how incredibly inept you really are. You present yourself as a supposed legend when in fact after everything we’ve ever heard from you and well history stands, you sir are nothing more than a second-rate con artist that hides under a mask.”

She bites the cheese off her knife, withdrawing the tip of the blade ever so slowly. Her red lips quirk with a smile before she burst out in a full on laugh.

“This may be the first time I hear actual cheers in my entire life just because I know a few freaky people out there that would just love to see the ultimate destruction of the so-called “Lucha Legend” El Landerson. They’re going to have to clean up the B- blood that is going to spill from your body on that PWE mat.”

She uses her knife to swirl the water around, as her eyes lower.

“You’re gonna wish you stayed gone, conman. I have made it my life’s mission to rid the world of the likes of you. The snake charmers, the claimers of greatness. You will have no glory here as long as I am around. And your poor darling familia are going to be left with nothing more than the memories of just how pathetic you really are.”

She sends a big splash forward and by the time the camera clears she is gone but on the tall mirror that was behind her and stepping out from behind it is Muri with her own smaller mirror.

“Look into your soul, sir for it now belongs to us.”

And with that it’s like the whole vision goes blurry and falls into the mirror, followed by Angel’s cackle of laughter.