in·san·i·ty noun Persistent mental disorder or derangement. No longer in scientific use.
What does it mean to be insane? Well and truly deranged. Does it mean you have to be strapped up in a strait jacket and be an expert in bouncing off padded walls? But some that are insane in other ways.. They roam free, walking time bombs, just waiting to turn into a Ted Bundy, or a Son of Sam, or the next Unabomber. Some are not insane.. yet. They are thin, brittle. A straw could break their backs. Would you like to meet a man who is on the brink of insanity? So close he can taste it, feel it. Yet he doesn't know it. One mind, one purpose. To destroy. Do you think you can handle this?
"Yes!" the voice says..
From complete darkness to complete light.. Illuminated is the face of Joshua Icewind. Illuminated is the Playstation 2 on which he is playing DOA 2 in his hotel suite in Vancouver, British Columbia. Illuminated is the face of his girlfriend, Tammy. They are sitting on a worn couch that is bleeding stuffing on the arms and the seats. There is the smell of pizza on the air and the Pizza Hut box on the coffee table is evidence of Icewind's dinner. Icewind still has crumbs on his chin, though he doesn't know it. Tammy leans over and kisses Icewind on the cheek, leaving a tiny lipstick stain.
"It's been a long time, honey, but you're still good," she whispers to him, a faint giggle in her throat as she pulls back and lets Icewind complete the utter thrashing of Bass, the video game character he is fighting. Icewind of course, is using Jann Lee. Icewind is pressing buttons on the controller for all he's worth, performing punch and kick combos.
She doesn't know, he thought. Good. I don't need her to worry about it. Honestly, I don't know why I even go on like this, hiding things from her. I try to keep a vague and bored look on at all times, masking my true feelings. I haven't seen her in a long time.. The tour through Australia and Asia was longer than it seemed. It didn't seem like it but I missed her a lot. But now we're back in North America. This is much better, knowing we're on the same continent together. I do not have as much things on my mind as I did in Asia. Perhaps that is why I lost all those bouts. But making excuses won't win the match for me. I have to keep her from knowing what match I'm in for as long as possible. As much as I missed her, one of her qualities that I did not miss was her nagging. She'll talk my ear off if she finds out that I'm in a tables match. Just act normal..
With a tremendous kick, Icewind finishes off his opponent and shuts off the Playstation 2. He stands up and stretches his arms and yawns, his mouth a perfect O. He rubs his eyes after this and shuffles over to the bathroom and shuts the door. Two minutes later.. There is the sound of a toilet flushing as the door creaks open and reveals Icewind at the sink, checking his appearance in the mirror. He takes the soap and puts it under the water flowing out of the faucet and then scrubs his hands with the slippery cleaner. He rubs his chin and feels the fuzzy stubble on it.
"Hmm.. I need to shave," he says to himself, while whistling and using a comb to attack his hair, "and I need some fresh air. Let's see if Canadian air really is cleaner."
He closes the tap and walks to the door. He puts on a pair of loafers and grabs his coat from the coat rack.
"Honey, I'm going out," he called as he went out the door, "don't wait up for me."
A muffled Hmm.. was the response and Icewind smiled to himself. She was absorbed in a television program and was completely zoned out. He closes the door behind him and uses the emergency fire exit instead of the elevator.
"Nothing wrong with a little exercise.." he mumbles to himself.
He lifts up his left hand and checks the time. It reads 6:42 PM in digital numbering. These watches are much more easier to read than those stupid Rolex watches, he thought to himself.
Twiztid.. Twisted.. Meaning what? Meaning you're crazy? You already had your try for the Insanity title, and you messed up. You got slapped up by a dolphin wrapped in barbed wire. What kind of self respecting wrestler would allow someone to do something like that to him? Pah, you rookies lack the killer instinct, the edge. But I already knew when I first clapped eyes on you that you were not good enough. Twiztid? Please. You're nowhere near as sick and twisted as I can be. No one knows that but me. I may seem normal, regular.. Conforming even. Looks can be deceiving. You haven't even had ten matches here in the SCWF.. You lack my ability, my experience. You won't win this one, but it will be a valuable learning experience for you.
Icewind is at the bottom of the stairs, opening the door. He comes out into the lobby where the reception desk is. A woman sits behind the desk, looking down at something.
"Good evening," she murmurs without looking up at him.
Icewind says nothing and hurries to the door. He pushes it open and is out in the fresh air. He breathes it in.
"They're not lying about the air here," he says to himself.
He starts walking, and realizes that he did not need the coat. Though it was the evening, it was summer time, so it was still light out and quite warm. Oh well..
Dan Novik? Member of WIW. The group which Jack Viper is in. Jack Viper being the one that stole my glass title. This match might not be a cake walk, but Novik definitely isn't going to make it harder for me to capture the Insanity title a second time. This is the same guy that lost to the Big Scary Guy Who Doesn't Talk. This is the same guy that lost to the guy who wears a paper bag over his head. How am I supposed to take Novik seriously? Am I supposed to be intimidated? No wonder Hulin has such an easy time dismantling WIW. With people like Novik and AJ King, they can't put up much of a fight, now, can they?
Icewind unzips his coat and sticks his hands in the pockets. A stranger passes by and says hi to him. Icewind is totally thunderstruck.
That guy just talked to me. I don't even know him. Not only is the air clean, they Canucks are friendly, too. I guess all those stories about seal clubbings were false, and they don't drink caribou blood. Strange.
Big Scary Guy.. This guy is Dan Novik times two. Even more of a joke. I simply will not lose to a person who puts a paper bag over his head and draws a smiley face on it. Cannot, will not. It would be utterly embarassing to not win against a guy who has a transvestite as his manager. Oh, this just kills me. I will have to take the title out of a loser's hands. I will purify this title. Make it clean. The retard probably barfed on it. Disgusting. You have no idea what I am capable of. If you knew, you would probably freak out and start humping someone's leg for comfort.
Icewind sees a pole erected on the sidewalk with a piece of cardboard stuck on top with words painted on it saying "Bus Stop". There is also a bench on the pavement, worn and scratched by many a hobo that could not find a bed. A bus comes out of nowhere, the front of the bus saying "16 Arbutus". Icewind shrugs and steps into the bus as the driver opens the doors for him.
"Err.. How much do I have to pay," he inquires to the bus driver.
"A dollar seventy five," she replies, snapping her bubble gum to punctuate her sentence.
Icewind reaches inside his pockets and pulls out a five dollar American bill.
"Sorry, I don't have change and all my money is American," he explains.
"We don't give change," she replies flatly.
"Oh, nuts"
He drops the bill into the slot and a there is a buzzing sound as the machine processes the bus transfer. A piece of paper the size of a credit card comes out and Icewind takes it. He walks to the back of the bus and sits down, closing his eyes and slowly drifts off to sleep. His last thoughts were, I wonder where this bus goes.
