Salem Revisited

December 16

Orlando, Florida

Things had been going good in Lachlan’s life for the last little while.

Almost too good, he thought to himself.

Sitting in the backyard of his Orlando home, he gazed out across the grassy expanse at his two daughters playing on the grass together, their happy laughter ringing out in joyful peals. His eyes shielded with sunglasses to protect against the warm Florida sunshine, he watched as they took turns doing cartwheels and somersaults across the grass. Despite the joy he would normally get from watching them play innocently, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. There had been a knot in his stomach for a few days now, and while normally he would just chalk it up to the normal nerves he felt before a big-time match…this felt different. It wasn’t the usually excited nerves. It was almost a sense of dread.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the sliding glass doors to the house open or the padding of footsteps across the flagstone patio. It wasn’t until he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder that he snapped out of his own mind with a start and looked up to see Sierra and Eddy standing under the shaded gazebo with him, Eddy holding a tray of drinks and Sierra with a tray of snacks.

“If you think any harder, you’re going to shatter your teeth,” Sierra commented dryly, setting her tray down on the table in front of her before carefully lowering herself onto the couch beside Lachlan. She rested a hand on her swollen stomach, rubbing gentle circles soothingly across it.

Eddy cocked an eyebrow at Sierra as he put down his own tray and grabbed a bottle of water. “Pardon?”

“It’s a bad habit of his. When he gets too into his own head, he clenches his teeth together. You can see it in his jawline.”

“Bloody hell, how could you even see that through the jungle on this guy’s face?” Eddy teased with a grin directed at Lachlan, who just rolled his eyes with a wry grin.

“We’ve been together long enough that I just know what it looks like at this point.” She leveled a gaze at him, her bright emerald eyes scanning his face. “Now, out with it. What’s got you like this?”

Lachlan let out a slow sigh as he pushed his sunglasses up to the top of his head, internally warring with himself. He didn’t want to put any more burden on Sierra’s plate and give her reason to worry unnecessarily, especially with her carrying their unborn child. But on the other hand, they were husband and wife. They had been there for each other for almost four years now, through some of the most life-altering situations that the universe could throw at them. And they always emerged on the other side with their bond stronger than ever.

And with Eddy, one of his best friends in the world, back in the picture…he couldn’t think of two better people to share his innermost thoughts with.

“It’s just…this match coming up,” he started, leaning forward and clasping his hands together between his knees. “After everything Angel put us through the last time we fought…this just doesn’t feel right. Like it’s the calm before the biggest shit storm hits us.”

“Would you rather she pull some of the heinous things she did the last time?” Sierra said flatly, arching an eyebrow.

“Obviously not, but it’s like she didn’t even try this time around. You’d think she would want to get into my head and try to throw me off my game, especially with the fact that I’ve been so vocal about reclaiming my Victory title…which she holds.”

“Mate, maybe this is her game plan. Just lay low and let the seeds of doubt plant in your mind so you get yourself psyched out over nothing,” Eddy said, popping an olive into his mouth.

Lachlan shook his head. “Nah, it’s not really her style. She likes to be real hands-on with her mind games. You saw what she did the last time.”

“All too well, sadly.” Eddy shook his head. “What an absolutely depraved cu- uh, woman,” he corrected himself, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Jade and Olivia weren’t in earshot.

But Lachlan tapped a finger against his chin thoughtfully. “Although, maybe you have a point. Ever since PWE came back, while she’s still been an irredeemable wench, there’s been something missing about her. Like the snake’s been defanged, so to speak. Other than that distraction in my match against Issak Otto - which I’m still kicking myself over - and her sending that deranged little lap dog V to follow me backstage, she’s basically been silent. I don’t know if this is part of her long game or not, but it’s got me on edge in a way that I don’t like.”

Sierra reached over to take Lachlan’s hand in hers. “Or maybe she’s not trying anything because she knows that the last time she did, you made her pay for it ten times over. And she wants absolutely no part of that this time around. You beat the fear into her at the last Magnificence, and there was nothing at stake then. This time, with the title that you’ve been fighting and bleeding for since PWE returned on the line…you’ve got her running absolutely scared. You’re gonna set that witch on fire and bring that gold back where it belongs.”

Lachlan glanced between his wife and his best friend, and felt most of the anxiety drop out of his stomach. He gave them both a grateful grin, reaching across the table and grabbing a bottle of water for himself. Popping the top off, he raised it up into the air. “Well, here’s to the first two-time champion in PWE history then!”

—----

I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me.

The scene opened up in a large deserted field seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The sun was just about to disappear off in the distance, and the early evening sky was mostly coloured an inky black with a few last streaks of red and orange stubbornly clinging to life. The stars were just beginning to emerge, shining and sparkling in the sky ahead. The evening air was alive with the sounds of crickets chirping their songs and the occasional croak of a frog or hoot of an owl nesting in the trees of a forested area off in the background of the scene. The crunch of dry grass in a rhythmic pattern signaled the arrival of someone, and the camera turned slightly to see a silhouetted figure enter the frame. When the figure turned towards the camera, the slightly sarcastic smirk of Lachlan Kane greeted the viewers as he clasped his hands in front of him. Clad all in black from his fitted T-shirt underneath his signature black leather jacket, to the jeans on his legs and the black leather boots on his feet, he nearly blended in with the dark nightfall around him, if it weren’t for the intense blue eyes that were currently locked directly onto the camera lens.

“Well, here it is. I’m hanging on the precipice of everything I’ve fought and struggled for since PWE made its triumphant comeback back in August. I was never quiet about the fact that I was coming back for what was rightfully mine, but I wanted to prove that I was ready to take it back. I went through everyone that Charlie and Ophelia put in front of me, and I proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am more than ready to become the first two-time champion in PWE’s history and reclaim my Victory title. So, imagine my surprise when the woman that initially cost me the title was the one holding it.” A wicked little smirk crossed his face as he raised his arms and folded them across his chest. “Now, I’m not much of an expert on karma…but this feels pretty much exactly like that.”

He dropped his hands down to slide into the pockets of his jacket, as a light wind blew through and ruffled the dark hair on his head. “I will say I am impressed that you’ve managed to keep your hands to yourself leading up to this match…mostly. There was the nasty business with the tag match, but let’s be honest. We all knew that was just a powder keg waiting to explode. And I will take my share of the blame for that as well. I got just as heated, let my emotions run away with me a bit.” He shrugged his shoulders in a gesture that clearly said ‘sorry, not sorry’. “But back to you, Angel. Truth be told, when I punched my ticket to claim back my Victory championship on the same night that you won it, I was fully expecting the mind games to begin anew. My defenses shot sky high and I was ready for any and all of your bullshit to be flung my way.”

He paced a few steps. “But an interesting thing happened. You went from the scourge of my nightmares…to nothing more than an annoying pest. A mosquito begging to be squashed. As much as you’ve been trying to keep up appearances since PWE’s return, I’ve seen past all the posturing and all the exaggerated bravado. Something’s different. I know that you’re not with that Carnival or under the thumb of that Bayou backwater psycho anymore, and if I’m being honest…it seems to have taken the edge from you. Back before our encounter at Magnificence, you were a vicious, ruthless, soulless monster who would stop at nothing to get into my head to try and get the advantage over me. You attacked my brother on more than one occasion, broke his arm, you jumped my wife backstage…you kidnapped my daughters.” The last sentence was spoken through gritted teeth and flared a spark of fury in his blue eyes, but it was quickly tamped down, though the intensity didn’t dissipate in the slightest. “This time around? Crickets. All you’ve done is play a little music and send your little lackey V in a sad, pathetic attempt to intimidate me.” He shook his head ruefully. “Now, when I see you, I feel nothing but pity and disappointment. I was ready to go to absolute war with you leading up to this match. I steeled myself to anything and everything I could imagine that you would pull out of that twisted, sadistic mind. But sadly…you’ve been nothing but a shadow of your former self. Sure, you’ve been brutal and effective in the ring, but when it comes to the mind games you used to pride yourself on, you’ve been a little…lacking in that department.”

“So, imagine my surprise when the stipulation for our match at Magnificence II was laid out. I suppose that Ophelia and Charlie figured that since this whole ‘rivalry’ of ours was a bit lackluster, they had no choice but to light a fire under our asses.” He snickered slightly at his clever turn of phrase. “That, or they knew that they needed to up the ante to ensure that we could top the absolute war we went through at the last Magnificence. And believe me, I am more than ready. Because even if you haven’t been up to your usual shitty shenanigans in the lead-up to this, it doesn’t mean that I’m walking into this match with anything less than your utter annihilation at the forefront of my mind. Because as I said before…you were the reason I lost the Victory title in the first place. Your meddling cost me the championship, and I’ve never forgotten that. And now that you’re in possession of the title that I’ve been chasing for four long months, there’s really only one thing left to do…”

A wall of flame erupted directly in front of him, without warning. It blazed about ten feet high, filling the screen with an intense glow that was almost painful to look at. It crackled for a few moments until impossibly, inexplicably…

Lachlan walked right through it.

Calm, cool and collected, he stepped straight into the burning wall and emerged on the other side without so much as a singe or a soot mark on himself. He glanced down at himself with a cocky little smirk and adjusted the cuffs of his leather jacket before looking back up to the camera with a sneer and a flash of fire in his eyes. “Time to burn the bitch.”