06-09-2020, 04:12 PM
07-10-2020, 06:48 PM
Quote:Authors Note: Direct continuation from the last rp.
EPILOGUE...
The deed was done.
A passage of time elapsed between Benjamin choking the sin out of Annabelle Burchard to the moment the act of sex was complete. She immediately fell asleep lying on his chest. Her twisted version of a fairy tale she knew couldn’t last forever. The moment she woke up she looked at the prostitute (Peaches) that Ben brought into the night previous with the full intent to strangle her before Annabelle offered herself as a sacrifice. The young woman is tied to a chair, knocked out. Ben gave her another dose of ketamine to keep her there.
Annabelle rolled out of bed. She grabbed a silk white bathrobe some hotels offer their guests. The very first thing she did was walk to the bathroom. Standing in front the bathroom mirror she looked at the bruising on her neck. Slowly running her fingers over the bruising sh winces out of instinct. In her heart of hearts she did the right thing sparing the prostitute far worse than the ordeal she has already been through. Walking back into the room, staring at the knocked out prostitute she knew what had to be done no matter the cost.
Annabelle slowly walks over to Peaches not knowing exactly how this was going to play out; she smacked the prostitute real hard. The jolt from the slap was enough to awaken the woman.
Peaches eyes opened. She locked in on Annabelle. The daughter of a serial killer instinctively covered Peaches mouth.
“Promise not to scream!” Annabelle urged her.
Peaches nodded.
Feeling confident Peaches would do as she was requested, Annabelle removes her hand from her mouth.
“I am sorry about last night. In his own way he thought he was trying to help me. Wasn’t my desire to drag another person into my messed up life. All I can do is let you go. Try your best to forget about last night.”
“Forget? Forget?!” Peaches protested. She focuses her attention on Benjamin. “That bastard drugged me twice. How am I supposed to forget about that?”
“I don’t know. Look at my neck!” Annabelle points to the bruising she suffered willingly at Ben’s hands. “He would have physically harmed you if I didn’t intervene. I am not trying to discount your suffering. No innocent woman should be drugged into my mess.”
“My God!” Peaches says fixated on the bruising on Annabelle’s neck. “Get a knife. A weapon. Anything.”
Annabelle tilts her head to the side. “Why?”
“He’s sleep. We can kill him.” Peaches frantically said.
Annabelle rolls her eyes at the suggestion. “No killing.”
“Aren’t you his prisoner?” Peaches asks.
Annabelle shakes her head. “No. He’s my friend.”
Peaches looks like she wants to throw up. “God, you're just as sick as he is!”
“Calm down, I am trying to help you!” Annabelle utters in frustration. “The minute my friend wakes up, his fate is in your hands. There is nothing I can do about it but if you walk out this room, forget last night happened... try your best to move on from all this, all of us will be a lot better off.”
“Screw you!” Peaches scoffs.
“That can be arranged--”
While Annabelle and Peaches were arguing about what is best, neither woman noticed Ben waking up. Annabelle looks over her shoulder. Ben is leaning against the headboard, freshly awake. “-- you should take Annabelle’s advice, Peaches. Nothing good will come of you drawing attention to any of this.”
“Untie me and see what happens.” Peaches says in defiance.
“Take a breath. Access the situation. The drugs I pumped into your system haven’t completely worn off. In a hypothetical scenario where you were one hundred percent, there is no chance you would be able to overwhelm me. Despite how Annabelle may feel about this predicament, she wouldn’t allow you to take down the only friend she has. Dear girl, the odds are not in your favor.”
Benjamin rolls out of bed. He bends down to grab his boxers. He quickly slides them on. Walking over to the prostitute, he runs his hands through her hair. Peaches jerks her head away. Annabelle shakes her head at Ben, to which Ben takes a step back.
“There is also this to consider, who is going to believe you? A prostitute or a man who has a sterling reputation? Annabelle isn’t going to testify on your behalf. Her loyalty is to me. The worst I did was pump drugs into your system. There is no way you can prove that. What do you say, walk out, let by gones be bygones. All of us can move on with our lives.”
Peaches looks at Annabelle. “Please, you can’t possibly support this monster!”
Annabelle walks away from Peaches. She walks over to the dresser beside the bed. Reaching into the drawer she takes out a knife. Returning to where Peaches is, Annabelle uses the knife to free Peaches of her restraints. Before Peaches can make a move, Annabelle sits on her, holding her in place. She rests the blade of the knife to Peaches neck.
Peaches eyes widen. “Please, don’t kill me.”
Annabelle says “Do you enjoy being a prostitute?”
Peaches shakes her head.
Annabelle continues “We are supposed to treat our bodies like a temple. You are guilty of that. Defiling your body is a sin against God. But it is not too late to turn your life around. Today, you can make a different choice.”
“I’ll do anything you ask, I swear, please don’t kill me.” Peaches frantically repeated.
“This is hot.” Ben excitedly says.
Ignoring Ben, Annabelle continues. “I failed in my quest to find redemption for the sins. There is the possibility it might not be too late for you. Stay with us.”
“What?!” Ben said, thrown off guard by the offer Annabelle made to Peaches.
Annabelle looks over her shoulder. “She’s lost, Ben. Just like me, just like you. We can make a difference.”
“We should talk about this first.” Ben cautioned.
“You damaged this girl for no good reason. We can fix this. We can give her a safe haven.” Annabelle turns back to Peaches. “Would you like a safe haven?”
Annabelle removes the knife from her neck. She gets off of Peaches lap.
Caressing her neck, Peaches says. “Ye.. yes.”
“Good.” Annabelle smiles. She extends her hand out. “God doesn’t always work in the way we envision. The truth about God, we can never truly understand the man upstairs. What we do know is he took the most unsavory individuals, converted them into disciples. Men and women who came from dishonorable backgrounds helped shape the world as we now know it. I come from an unsavory background. You came into my life as a prostitute. Everyone deserves the chance to be reborn. Come with us, allow me and my friend to give you a new life.”
Peaches stared at the hand of Annabelle Burchard awkwardly. Her moment of hesitation passes. She grabs Annabelle’s hand. “I will give you a chance.” She stares at Benjamin. “I don’t trust him.”
Annabelle leans forward and kisses Peaches on the forehead. “You made the right choice.”
Peaches stands up. She walks to the bathroom. Once the door is closed, Benjamin grabs Annabelle by the arm.
“This isn’t a good idea.” Ben declares.
“Neither was taking a leap of faith on you with your history!” Annabelle says. She immediately recognized she came across like the pot calling the kettle black. With a smirk she says, “I’m one to talk, I know. Ben, I could have chosen a decent person to be my confidant. I chose you. A man with your dubious reputation is what I need in my life right now. Your consuel will always be valued. Remember, this is my life. Please, help me manage. Ok.”
Just as Benjamin was about to respond, Annabelle hugs him. Initially Ben is taken off guard. He gives in, hugging her back. “Fine. Be careful. The drive to help people is admirable. Don’t become the person you hate.”
Annabelle removes her head from Ben’s chest. She looks into his cold blue eyes. “I don’t hate Cindy Todd.” Annabelle remarks.
Running his hands through her hair, Ben coldly says. “Don’t worry, you will.”
Ben kisses Annabelle on the forehead. She rested her head back into his chest.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Will Annabelle’s intentions lead her to the depths of hell?
~~
<PROMO TIME>
The scene fades into an upscale restaurant. Sitting comfortably in the booth seats is the one and only former assistant General Manager of EMERGE is the one and only Benjamin Flynn. Per usual, he is wearing a grey suit. A female waiter walks into view. She hands Benjamin a drink. He nods. She goes about her merry way. Taking a sip from his glass, he shifts his position so he is looking into the camera.
“Is it me, or are the winds of change afoot?”
“I could be wrong. Have been about many things. Watching Vanilla Skyy remove Willow from the chessboard feels like the beginning of the end for The Unforgiven... Jenni Helms retained. Unforgiven lost their stranglehold over the EMERGE Championship, about goddamn time I might add. Cindy watching stoically as Vanilla took the means to kill her own creation, lovely. All that is left to be done is to remove Melissa Killgraves from the equation. As we bore witness at Invasion: Europe, even with the assistance of Seraglio, Melissa was not woman enough to overcome the unbridled fury of my good friend, Annabelle Burchard.”
Just then, Annabelle walks into the scene. She sits opposite of Benjamin without her facepaint. Ben looks at her.
“Anna, say hi to the lovely people watching.”
Annabelle turns to the camera. With a cheerful smile on her face she waves at the camera.
“I don’t want the EMERGE roster to get too comfortable. One battle is likely close to being laid to rest. If history has taught us anything, the removal of once force ultimately leads to the uprising of another. Take current EMERGE history into account. Serotonin was the first big bad to rise up the ranks. Gave management hell, sent the roster into a flurry. Mika and company eventually tried to slide their way into Supreme Championship Wrestling... to no success. People believed with the removal of Serotonin, EMERGE was safe.”
“This company wasn’t. Insert Unforgiven. When Unforgiven is ultimately laid to rest, who will be declared the next monster? Will it be my dear friend, Annabelle?”
Annabelle shrugs. She takes the drink that Ben had ordered. She takes a sip from his glass as he continues to stare into the camera.
“History ultimately determines who the monsters are. The unique aspect of being a human is, no one ever views themselves as the villain in their own personal story. Drew didn’t view himself as the villain, until it was too late. Neither did Silas. Aiken doesn’t believe he is this great harbinger of evil. Once upon a time, the Knight Templars viewed themselves as the Greater Good, history brandishes those heroes as the villains. There is always a justification, a reason that drives all of our actions. Annabelle Burchard is a woman who was driven to resort to almost becoming the very monster she despises, with a few noteworthy exceptions. Those she determines are guilty will be buried under the weight of her might. She will enact what she feels is God’s Vengeance. I have no clue if Annabelle will be labeled as the next monster. The one the roster feels needs to be slain to make way for the next force of evil. Or what we determine as evil, anyway.”
“Speaking of heroes, that brings me to an old friend of mine, current EMERGE RUSH Champion, Thomas Wasley, Mr. Moustache Mountain himself.”
Ben waves at the camera.
“You have come a long way my friend. From that inspiring speech at Invasion: Miami. To becoming tag team champions. To becoming RUSH Champion. To becoming the defender of good and all that is viewed as righteous. We were on the same page once, you had my back when I was the lame duck General Manager. I appreciate those days. All things considered, the war with the Unforgiven is close to being over. All we need is one final push. From the bottom of my heart, with all sincerity, you should be proud of your efforts. The war is almost over.”
“History has also taught me, once a common enemy is slain, all bets are off. We were on the same side once. I don’t expect us to be chummy chummy from this day forth. You have your principals. To be frank, we are likely as far apart on the morality scale as one can be. And that’s the fun part about all this, Thomas. It is the reason why I am not going to feel any guilt whatsoever in how far Annabelle choses to go to score a pinfall victory over you. We are not your type of people. We don’t view the world through a rose colored prism. She would not be fighting The Unforgiven if they did not strike first. All Annabelle wanted to do was compete. Continue her redemptive path. Not be involved in another black and white war for EMERGE’s soul. Yet here we are. A consequence of the war your ilk could not end fast enough.
The irony right? Annabelle Burchard, a woman who wanted to be left alone, was driven back into the darkness she wanted to escape. She is a casualty of this war. A casualty no one cared about. Collateral damage just like Julia Boelyn was. Annabelle inspired enough to seek justice on her behalf. I can see why the roster would forget about the voiceless when Jenni Helms required so much hand holding due to first few shows as champion not going the way she envisioned. People like you. Like Daniel Darko. That was your priority. That’s ok. I am here now for Annabelle. No one else was. Including you. At the very least you are guilty of not lending a helping hand. For ignoring the roster you swore up and down to fight for.”
“The plot thickens? Perhaps. We’ll see how this adventure goes.”
“See you Monday my dear Wasley.”
Benjamin throws up the peace sign. Him and Annabelle start talking. The audio can’t pick up what they are saying as the scene fades to black.