Reality Bites

. . . . . The scene fades into your picture, slowly, as if in a dream. You see snow, a large drift of snow, to the side of a building. You turn, you can see your breath plume out in front of you. The bone-chilling coldness of the air causes you to shiver and you look in front of you, eyes forward, the doors. Two doors, and the words "Emergency Room" on them. Inside, through the fog-covered windows, you can see several people walking back and forth. You start forward, step by step, as the snow crunches beneath your feet. Someone passes directly in front of you and goes through the doors, so you follow. Once inside, the stench of blood and medicinal things flood your conscious. You look directly to your left once inside and see Skarrphace. He's dressed in an all-black Armani suit, white shirt, red tie. His face is blank as he looks up and meets you, eye to eye. His stare, the dark brown eyes penetrating you . . . . .

Skarrphace: Life and death....nothing more common in the world today. And you can witness every form of life and every form of death from right here. The emergency room...where people are brought that are injured....maimed....decaptitated....they bring them to the ER. Why? Because some of the world's best medical personnel gather here. To fix you. Whatever it is. But even they can't fix everyone. Time of death....time of birth....the entire scope of reality comes through these doors, and it's time that we take a look...a tour if you will. Kronos claims that he is invincible....unbeatable, that he could possibly or has cheated death....no one on this planet can cheat death, Kronos....and tonight, you will get a lesson in what it means to be real....I think I hear a woman screaming....let's see what's going on, shall we?

. . . . . Skarrphace walks ahead a few yards and turns to his left, and he swings a curtain aside. The people inside act oblivious to his presense, as if the only person that can see Skarrphace is you. You see a woman laying on a table, her legs up in the air courtesy of leg stirrups. There is a doctor kneeling in front of her, sitting in a chair actually as you look closer. There is a man standing beside the woman near her head. There is a woman standing opposite of the man holding the woman's hand. The woman is sweating extremely hard as her breathing seems sporatic at best. You hear the doctor call out to the woman to "push!" and she does, and a final push is all that's needed, as the baby comes out. The once-pregnant woman begins to cry as the man beside her does as well. The baby is silent a moment, then as the doctor cleans out the fluid from the child's mouth, the child begins to cry and scream outloud, as most babies do upon birth . . . . .

Skarrphace: The miracle of birth...observe Kronos. You, too, were brought into this world by these means...you are human. Therefore, you are fallible.

. . . . . The doctor and nurse clean the child up a moment, then they cut the cord from the mother's womb to the child's stomach. The child is then placed in a cloth and handed to the mother, placed on her chest, as the man looks down with much adoration. The mother is speechless as tears stream down her face. The doctor tells the couple it's a boy, and the mother smiles as she announces the baby's name . . . . .

*whisper*
Michael Anthony

. . . . . The woman smiles as the doctor and nurse tend to the woman's uterus. It falls from her womb, the placenta and all. The woman seems to not know it's happening, and the man is just gleaming at the child. Skarrphace draws the curtain closed as he steps away from the situation . . . . .

Skarrphace: Yes....still the most beautiful act a woman can do...give birth to a child, bringing forth new life into this world. You, Kronos, were conceived in such a way. Conceived, you were born, and you will die. Am I the one to end your life? No, Heavens no, Kronos. I am not the Reaper, nor am I God. I am not on this earth to do such things as deemed unnatural. I can, however, do many more things to you that some would consider to be much worse than death. Embarrassment....humiliation....these are the things I bring with me. These are the tools with which you will be taught your lesson in Reality at NWWF's pay-per-view Chaos....you will be taught these things under my tutelege. Yes, as much as you want to claim what you claim, I am the Teacher, and you are the Pupil. In this lesson, you will be taught from a Master of Reality....the Realness with which I bring to the ring is unmatched. The music will play, the bell will sound, and class will be in session....so bring your thinking cap, Kronos. And don't be late....now, as with all things, there is a yen to this yang....there is a dark to this light...and there is death to this life....let me now show you what death is REALly like, Kronos....real death.

. . . . . Skarrphace turns and walks down a hallway, again, the people around not seeming to notice him. He stops in front of another door, this time, he opens it without hesitation, and immediately the volume of the voices in the room causes you to step back. As you lean in closer, you see Skarrphace positioning himself in a corner, observing. You lean in and you can see at least 5 medical personnel working on a man, he seems to be around 50 years of age or so. His chest is open and you can see several hands working the organs inside, blood covering their gloved hands. A woman, who looks to be the leader of the group, is barking out commands to the others, and the others go into action, feverishly trying to revive the old man. One woman turns away and throws up onto the floor of the room, wipes her mouth with the cloth of her sleeve and goes back to work, her face pale. Soon, the lead woman signals for the paddles. They are rubbed together for a second, and she yells "CLEAR!" and thrusts the paddles onto the chest of the man. The man suddenly convulses. The tone of the flat line on the heart monitor still resonates throughout the room. Again, the woman rubs the paddles together and yells "CLEAR!", again, the paddles cause the mans chest to rise and fall, and still, a flatline. Again, the woman repeats this...and again, and a 5th time, until finally, the flat line still resonating throughout the room, seeming louder now as the activity in the room has ceased. The woman takes her gloves off and throws them in the trashcan behind her . . . . .

*whisper*
Time of death...
3:21 a.m.

. . . . . The others around the body goe pale in their faces as well, as a few leave the room. The lead woman covers the man's body up, including his face, as Skarrphace waits. As soon as the people are gone, Skarrphace moves towards the body. He pulls back the sheet to reveal the man's dead, pale face. Skarrphace leans in, looking deep into the death of the man . . . . .

Skarrphace: Tears...your spirits leave your body and your mind clears....then rigormortis starts to set, now you outta here....you start your journey into outer space, you see yourself in the Light, but you're still feelin' out of place....so you standin' in the Tunnel of Eternal Life, and you see the ones you never learned to love in life...let it go, make a choice, you can back it up....if you ain't at peace with God, you need to patch it up....but if you're ready, close your eyes and we can set it free....here lies a man not scared of dyin', may he rest in peace....I still gotta wonder why....I never seen a man cry til I seen that man die...

. . . . . Skarrphace wipes the tear streaks from the man's dead face and closes his eerily open eyes . . . . .

Skarrphace: Death....comes to us all, Kronos. In this game of life, we are born and we die. There is no escaping it. There have been times when in your words you have talked about being unbeatable....invincible....indestructable....this cannot be so. It's been proven on more than one occasion you are beatable....and this lesson, being concluded as such, has more than proven to you how fallible you truly are, Kronos. You see, the past two weeks, I have controlled the game. You and I have been set on a course for collision. And in every single instance, I have been the superior man. Every time you think you had outsmarted me, I beat you at the game again. Getting the upper hand as only I can. And now, at Chaos, we will meet....we will meet, and it will the end of your career. Yes, I know of your decision to the leave the NWWF after this match. I know of your decision to play the coward and run like a spoiled brat. You cannot contol what you cannot believe, Kronos. I believe I can defeat you, therefore I control my Destiny. You have lost control of that destiny. Your destiny now rests with me, in my hands. And with it, comes the responsibility of beating you in such a way as to prove my point once and for all. I am for real. And so are you, Kronos. And when my reality meets your fantasy....it will be the End Game.

. . . . . Skarrphace stares at the camera a moment, then turns to leave the room. He gets to the door and opens it, turning to go back down the hall from where he entered the ER. He turns towards the large double doors which lead to the outside world. Stopping at the doors to inhale the stench one last time, he pushes open the door and immediately exhales the breath, causing smoke to plume from his mouth. Skarrphace then drops to his knees on the concrete outside the ER, up to his thighs in snow and ice, and speaks this aloud . . . . .

i come to you hungry and tired, you give me food and let me sleep
i come to you weak, you give me strength and that's deep
you call me a sheep, and lead me to green pastures
only asking that i keep the focus, in-between the chapters
you give me the word, and only ask that i interpret
and give me the eyes, that i may recognize the serpent
you know i ain't perfect, but you'd like me to try
unlike the devil who just wants me to lie, till i die
Lord why is it that, i go through so much pain
all i saw was black, all i felt was rain
i come to you, because it's you who knows
you showed me that everything was black, because my eyes was closed
you gave me the light, and let me bask in your glory
so it was only right, that when you ask for this story
i put it together, to do our dogs some good
our dogs being, brothers and sisters in the hood
plenty of times you sent help my way, but i hid
and i remember once you held me close, but i slid
there was something that, i just had to see
that you wanted me to see so i can be what you wanted me to be
and i think i've seen it, but i don't feel the same
matter of fact i know i've seen it, i can feel the change
and it's strange, almost got me beating down your door
but i have never known a love like this before
it's a wonderful feeling, to get away from the pain
and up under the ceiling, i get away from the rain
and the strain, that i feel, when i'm here is gone
i know real, so i wipe away the tears, with a song
and i fear that what i'm saying won't be heard until i'm gone
but it's all good, cuz i really didn't expect to live long
so if it takes for me to suffer, for my brother to see the light
give me pain till i die, but please Lord treat him right.*

. . . . . Skarrphace then drops down, lying face down in the snow and ice, as you can hear him slowly sobbing into the ground, and the scene fades to black . . . . .

*The prayer is courtesy of DMX.