Post by justinreilly on Jun 28, 2012 3:20:30 GMT -6
The bitter taste of defeat is never an appetizing dish despite what you serve it with. It has the power to make a person stronger, or destroy them into a cloud of what could have been. It’s not something that Justin Reilly has been used to, but he has decided to take it like a dose of a particularly nasty medicine. It’s not going down easy now, but will make him a stronger competitor in the long run.
The following days after his defeat at the hands of RM Strong has been filled with training. A mixture of running, weights, push-ups, sit-ups, and various assortments of workout techniques have completely filled Justin’s schedule. He’s barely managed time to grab a bite to eat, or get more than a few hours of sleep. It isn’t until Tuesday that Kevin Winters approaches him in the little studio apartment that Justin has been living in within the walls of the training facility.
Kevin can respect Justin for taking the loss the way he has. Actually he much prefers this approach over the alternate of almost breaking down a man, and almost feeling like he digressed back to square one. On the other hand, however, there can be such a thing as overdoing it. Justin was on that brink.
Justin is in the bathroom throwing on some post-workout attire as Kevin stands idly by in the bedroom slash living room. There is a twin bed immaculately made except for slight disheveling of the top blanket and pillow case. It appears that Justin has been sleeping on top of his military approved made bed. Next to that are a simple recliner, and an end table next to that with the study binder Kevin gave him when he first entered the training facility. Overall the place was rather spotless, and possibly clean enough to pass the white glove inspection. Another thing that Kevin admired in Justin as he’s had plenty of messy tenants in the small apartments offered to newcomers to the ring.
Justin walks out of the bathroom with his usual mask on, shutting off the light behind him, and approaches the patiently waiting recruiter.
“My apologies for making you wait. I wanted to get into something clean.”
“Oh no need for apologies. I just wanted to come here, and tell you I’ve noticed your training as of late. It’s been very impressive, and especially off the heels of a tough loss. Not everyone can take that with stride, but you’ve managed to keep focused.”
“Well it’s been said that defeat should never be a source of discouragement but rather a fresh stimulus.”
“Ah, Robert South I presume? That’s a very inspirational quote, and very true. Now while I have no problem with you busting your ass like you are to get past your minor setback, I do feel like I should suggest doing something to get your mind off wrestling for a little bit. Since you’ve arrived here you’ve kept at it at a very high pace. You’ve kept your training energy up every session, and kept your nose in the books after that. Now again I have no problem with that. Actually I wish that half the people that come through these facility doors had half the enthusiasm and willingness to go above the call of duty. I just think that there are times when you need to do something that’s not wrestling. Is there anything else you like to do with your free time?”
Justin has to ponder this question for a moment. It’s not like the last few years really has given him the leeway to have any recreational activities to participate in. It’s been a constant travelling from town to town to make a little money, find shelter, get something to put in his stomach, and not getting caught in his underground fights. In order to find something that he enjoys he has to go back to a time years before his time in the streets. He has to take himself to that place where he found true happiness. He has to mentally take himself back to where he sprouted wings. He returns himself to Fort Benning, GA.
“Is there anything?”
“Well now that you mention it, it has been sometime since I last jumped.”
Not exactly knowing what Justin meant, Kevin simply smirks, and chuckles slightly. After a moment he stops. Even though he cannot see Justin’s face, his lack of anything resembling a laugh indicates to Kevin that it wasn’t a joke.
“What do you mean ‘jump’?”
“During my service in the Army I attended Airborne and Air Assault schools at Fort Benning, GA. I earned my wings along with high marks. It’s been about a decade since I was last there, and it would be an awesome chance to jump one more time.”
“Alright, that’s something. Personally I don’t believe in jumping out of perfectly working aircraft in mid-air, but to each their own. What would you think about us sending you to Fort Benning for a couple of days to relax some? Do whatever you want to get your mind off of wrestling as long as you follow one stipulation.”
“What would that be, sir?”
“Come back here in one piece.”
Now Kevin can hear the slightest hint of laughter escaping the mask.
“Will do, sir.”
“Great. I’ll be sure to book your flight to Columbus, GA, and you’ll be off later this evening.”
“In a bit of a rush to get rid of me for something?”
“Of course not, I just want you gone as soon as possible so you can return that much faster, and then we’ll continue prepping you for your match against Mark Carlton this weekend. This time you’ll be facing one opponent so it shouldn’t be as cluttered.”
“Hooah. That last match was a bit of a cluster fuck, if you ask me.”
Kevin is slightly taken aback by that comment, but doesn’t let it show. The following hours Justin spent getting ready and heading to the airport for his flight to Georgia. It’s been years since the last time Justin donned a parachute, and “flew” as he liked to think of it. There’s not a shred of concern, though, as Justin considers this on the same terms as riding a bicycle. It’s something that you can go a long time not doing, but still remember how once you step off the C-130 Hercules into the freedom of the blue skies. Getting through the airport, though, would prove to be the tricky part with his mask.
It took him some time to think of an idea, but it would eventually come to him. There are a few awkward glares from others in the airport, but Justin continues unperturbed as he makes his way through the American Airlines line to retrieve his boarding ticket. Justin hands over his identification as the woman behind the desk asks, but she finds it hard to make a solid ID through the medical bandages wrapped around most of his head. The only things exposed are his eyes, which do match the color of those in the ID.
“I apologize for the difficulty I’m causing. There was a terrible accident, and my doctor has advised me to keep my head wrapped for the next couple of weeks.”
“Oh well… I guess that will be fine then.”
The two finish their business with each other as the lady hands Justin his ticket, and takes the single duffle bag from the scale as his checked in luggage to tag before sending it to the back. After walking down a few hallways, riding up an escalator, and passing by numerous terminals Justin finds his. There are plenty of open seats as the hour is drawing rather late now, and not many passengers are departing at this time. In his carry-on is his usual mask that he plans on returning on his head as he walks out of the airport in Columbus.
The flight from Philadelphia is a rather quiet one until some turbulence makes the ride a little bumpy in the northern part the Georgia. From what the news stations were broadcasting back at the Philadelphia International Airport, it was being reported that parts of Georgia and Florida were being hammered by something known as Debby. Apparently several inches of rain had fallen, and several more were expected. The flight to Columbus was well northwest of that, but some residual weather was causing a less than smooth ride.
The distant cloudy skies isn’t visible in the distant night sky as Justin walks out of the airport after retrieving his duffle back from the baggage claim area. The air was a bit cool on this night, but showed no signs of the storm sweeping the south coast yet. Just outside the airport stood a man holding a sign that had “Justin Reilly” written on it with a thick black marker. Justin quickly retrieves his usual mask from his bag, and quickly slides it over the bandages before approaching the man with the sign.
“Justin Reilly here.”
“Ah yes, I was told you’d be appearing with a mask on.”
The man extends a hand for Justin, and Justin obliges with a hand shake.
“My name is Frank, and I’ll be your transportation as well as liaison with the base personnel.”
Justin slightly smirks under the mask, which Frank can clearly not see.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I need a liaison to get onto a military base. My veteran status should be enough for that.”
“I’m sure it will be sir, but the company had to arrange the scheduled jump that was going to take place tomorrow.”
“I don’t think I’ll need someone else to…”
It was just then that Justin caught onto a key word in Frank’s statement, was.
“Wait, what do you mean was?”
“I’m not sure if you’ve kept up with the news, but the weather here has been pretty bad the last week or so.”
“So what does that have to do with here? It’s all south of here, right?”
“That’s true, but the level of flooding that many cities are facing now has forced the local unit to mobilize for assistance. So they’ve cancelled all non-emergency flights for the time being. Right now they are focusing on evacuating people from flooded, and flood prone areas by air, boat, and any other way possible.”
“Alright, well how about this. Why don’t you call back whoever you talked to, and offer my support with the rescue efforts as well as anything else they need help with.”
“You know they just might be able to use you. They’ve had to bring in whatever Reserves, and National Guard units that they could get. I’m sure they could use someone like you.”
“Alright then let’s make the calls, and get the wheels turning. I may not be able to jump, but I don’t want to turn this into a sham trip. I want to get something done. “
“Okay. If you could just get into the back seat, I’ll throw your bags into the trunk, and we’ll head to your hotel. I’ll try to get you in with the next squad heading to St Mary’s.”
Frank goes to reach for the duffle bag Justin had placed onto the ground as he approached Frank, but Justin grabs the strap a little faster.
“I’ll take care of this. You just worry about getting me down there.”
With that Frank pulls his cell phone from his pocket as he walks to the driver’s side front door. Justin quickly tosses his duffle bag and second smaller bag into the trunk before closing it. He then walks over to the passenger’s side back door, opens it, and gets in. He can hear Frank speaking with someone on the phone, and it sounds encouraging. The phone call lasts the entire brief ride from the airport to the hotel. As Frank pulls up to the front doors of the hotel he ends his phone conversation, and hangs up the phone.
The two both exit the car, and Justin simply gazes over at Frank.
“So are we a go?”
“You’ll be flying out at oh eight-hundred hours tomorrow morning. They’ll have you fly around with them briefly helping to spot people that need to be retrieved, but they said you could help more so by assisting the people in the temporary housing they’ve set up further north of the flooding. They just want you to help keep peoples’ minds off what’s going on. Sound like something you still want to do?”
“I can do that. I don’t have a single clue right now what I’ll do, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Well I’m sure there will be some people there that watched your first two matches. Maybe you could talk to them about your wrestling and maybe some of your military experiences as well. It’s up to you.”
The former of the two suggestions sounded better to Justin. He’s far more comfortable talking about, and answering questions about wrestling over his time in the military. Much happened during those long years, and not all of it brought back fond memories. There is a lot of bad left in them despite the passing of time. Justin doesn’t speak again as he retrieves his bags from the trunk, and heads inside the hotel.
In a matter of minutes Justin is checked in, and enters his hotel room. The room looks a lot like the small apartment that he lives in now, but with a bigger bed. For tonight Justin will force himself to relax so he can be prepared for tomorrow, and the destruction that comes with it.
To Be Continued…
The following days after his defeat at the hands of RM Strong has been filled with training. A mixture of running, weights, push-ups, sit-ups, and various assortments of workout techniques have completely filled Justin’s schedule. He’s barely managed time to grab a bite to eat, or get more than a few hours of sleep. It isn’t until Tuesday that Kevin Winters approaches him in the little studio apartment that Justin has been living in within the walls of the training facility.
Kevin can respect Justin for taking the loss the way he has. Actually he much prefers this approach over the alternate of almost breaking down a man, and almost feeling like he digressed back to square one. On the other hand, however, there can be such a thing as overdoing it. Justin was on that brink.
Justin is in the bathroom throwing on some post-workout attire as Kevin stands idly by in the bedroom slash living room. There is a twin bed immaculately made except for slight disheveling of the top blanket and pillow case. It appears that Justin has been sleeping on top of his military approved made bed. Next to that are a simple recliner, and an end table next to that with the study binder Kevin gave him when he first entered the training facility. Overall the place was rather spotless, and possibly clean enough to pass the white glove inspection. Another thing that Kevin admired in Justin as he’s had plenty of messy tenants in the small apartments offered to newcomers to the ring.
Justin walks out of the bathroom with his usual mask on, shutting off the light behind him, and approaches the patiently waiting recruiter.
“My apologies for making you wait. I wanted to get into something clean.”
“Oh no need for apologies. I just wanted to come here, and tell you I’ve noticed your training as of late. It’s been very impressive, and especially off the heels of a tough loss. Not everyone can take that with stride, but you’ve managed to keep focused.”
“Well it’s been said that defeat should never be a source of discouragement but rather a fresh stimulus.”
“Ah, Robert South I presume? That’s a very inspirational quote, and very true. Now while I have no problem with you busting your ass like you are to get past your minor setback, I do feel like I should suggest doing something to get your mind off wrestling for a little bit. Since you’ve arrived here you’ve kept at it at a very high pace. You’ve kept your training energy up every session, and kept your nose in the books after that. Now again I have no problem with that. Actually I wish that half the people that come through these facility doors had half the enthusiasm and willingness to go above the call of duty. I just think that there are times when you need to do something that’s not wrestling. Is there anything else you like to do with your free time?”
Justin has to ponder this question for a moment. It’s not like the last few years really has given him the leeway to have any recreational activities to participate in. It’s been a constant travelling from town to town to make a little money, find shelter, get something to put in his stomach, and not getting caught in his underground fights. In order to find something that he enjoys he has to go back to a time years before his time in the streets. He has to take himself to that place where he found true happiness. He has to mentally take himself back to where he sprouted wings. He returns himself to Fort Benning, GA.
“Is there anything?”
“Well now that you mention it, it has been sometime since I last jumped.”
Not exactly knowing what Justin meant, Kevin simply smirks, and chuckles slightly. After a moment he stops. Even though he cannot see Justin’s face, his lack of anything resembling a laugh indicates to Kevin that it wasn’t a joke.
“What do you mean ‘jump’?”
“During my service in the Army I attended Airborne and Air Assault schools at Fort Benning, GA. I earned my wings along with high marks. It’s been about a decade since I was last there, and it would be an awesome chance to jump one more time.”
“Alright, that’s something. Personally I don’t believe in jumping out of perfectly working aircraft in mid-air, but to each their own. What would you think about us sending you to Fort Benning for a couple of days to relax some? Do whatever you want to get your mind off of wrestling as long as you follow one stipulation.”
“What would that be, sir?”
“Come back here in one piece.”
Now Kevin can hear the slightest hint of laughter escaping the mask.
“Will do, sir.”
“Great. I’ll be sure to book your flight to Columbus, GA, and you’ll be off later this evening.”
“In a bit of a rush to get rid of me for something?”
“Of course not, I just want you gone as soon as possible so you can return that much faster, and then we’ll continue prepping you for your match against Mark Carlton this weekend. This time you’ll be facing one opponent so it shouldn’t be as cluttered.”
“Hooah. That last match was a bit of a cluster fuck, if you ask me.”
Kevin is slightly taken aback by that comment, but doesn’t let it show. The following hours Justin spent getting ready and heading to the airport for his flight to Georgia. It’s been years since the last time Justin donned a parachute, and “flew” as he liked to think of it. There’s not a shred of concern, though, as Justin considers this on the same terms as riding a bicycle. It’s something that you can go a long time not doing, but still remember how once you step off the C-130 Hercules into the freedom of the blue skies. Getting through the airport, though, would prove to be the tricky part with his mask.
It took him some time to think of an idea, but it would eventually come to him. There are a few awkward glares from others in the airport, but Justin continues unperturbed as he makes his way through the American Airlines line to retrieve his boarding ticket. Justin hands over his identification as the woman behind the desk asks, but she finds it hard to make a solid ID through the medical bandages wrapped around most of his head. The only things exposed are his eyes, which do match the color of those in the ID.
“I apologize for the difficulty I’m causing. There was a terrible accident, and my doctor has advised me to keep my head wrapped for the next couple of weeks.”
“Oh well… I guess that will be fine then.”
The two finish their business with each other as the lady hands Justin his ticket, and takes the single duffle bag from the scale as his checked in luggage to tag before sending it to the back. After walking down a few hallways, riding up an escalator, and passing by numerous terminals Justin finds his. There are plenty of open seats as the hour is drawing rather late now, and not many passengers are departing at this time. In his carry-on is his usual mask that he plans on returning on his head as he walks out of the airport in Columbus.
The flight from Philadelphia is a rather quiet one until some turbulence makes the ride a little bumpy in the northern part the Georgia. From what the news stations were broadcasting back at the Philadelphia International Airport, it was being reported that parts of Georgia and Florida were being hammered by something known as Debby. Apparently several inches of rain had fallen, and several more were expected. The flight to Columbus was well northwest of that, but some residual weather was causing a less than smooth ride.
The distant cloudy skies isn’t visible in the distant night sky as Justin walks out of the airport after retrieving his duffle back from the baggage claim area. The air was a bit cool on this night, but showed no signs of the storm sweeping the south coast yet. Just outside the airport stood a man holding a sign that had “Justin Reilly” written on it with a thick black marker. Justin quickly retrieves his usual mask from his bag, and quickly slides it over the bandages before approaching the man with the sign.
“Justin Reilly here.”
“Ah yes, I was told you’d be appearing with a mask on.”
The man extends a hand for Justin, and Justin obliges with a hand shake.
“My name is Frank, and I’ll be your transportation as well as liaison with the base personnel.”
Justin slightly smirks under the mask, which Frank can clearly not see.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I need a liaison to get onto a military base. My veteran status should be enough for that.”
“I’m sure it will be sir, but the company had to arrange the scheduled jump that was going to take place tomorrow.”
“I don’t think I’ll need someone else to…”
It was just then that Justin caught onto a key word in Frank’s statement, was.
“Wait, what do you mean was?”
“I’m not sure if you’ve kept up with the news, but the weather here has been pretty bad the last week or so.”
“So what does that have to do with here? It’s all south of here, right?”
“That’s true, but the level of flooding that many cities are facing now has forced the local unit to mobilize for assistance. So they’ve cancelled all non-emergency flights for the time being. Right now they are focusing on evacuating people from flooded, and flood prone areas by air, boat, and any other way possible.”
“Alright, well how about this. Why don’t you call back whoever you talked to, and offer my support with the rescue efforts as well as anything else they need help with.”
“You know they just might be able to use you. They’ve had to bring in whatever Reserves, and National Guard units that they could get. I’m sure they could use someone like you.”
“Alright then let’s make the calls, and get the wheels turning. I may not be able to jump, but I don’t want to turn this into a sham trip. I want to get something done. “
“Okay. If you could just get into the back seat, I’ll throw your bags into the trunk, and we’ll head to your hotel. I’ll try to get you in with the next squad heading to St Mary’s.”
Frank goes to reach for the duffle bag Justin had placed onto the ground as he approached Frank, but Justin grabs the strap a little faster.
“I’ll take care of this. You just worry about getting me down there.”
With that Frank pulls his cell phone from his pocket as he walks to the driver’s side front door. Justin quickly tosses his duffle bag and second smaller bag into the trunk before closing it. He then walks over to the passenger’s side back door, opens it, and gets in. He can hear Frank speaking with someone on the phone, and it sounds encouraging. The phone call lasts the entire brief ride from the airport to the hotel. As Frank pulls up to the front doors of the hotel he ends his phone conversation, and hangs up the phone.
The two both exit the car, and Justin simply gazes over at Frank.
“So are we a go?”
“You’ll be flying out at oh eight-hundred hours tomorrow morning. They’ll have you fly around with them briefly helping to spot people that need to be retrieved, but they said you could help more so by assisting the people in the temporary housing they’ve set up further north of the flooding. They just want you to help keep peoples’ minds off what’s going on. Sound like something you still want to do?”
“I can do that. I don’t have a single clue right now what I’ll do, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Well I’m sure there will be some people there that watched your first two matches. Maybe you could talk to them about your wrestling and maybe some of your military experiences as well. It’s up to you.”
The former of the two suggestions sounded better to Justin. He’s far more comfortable talking about, and answering questions about wrestling over his time in the military. Much happened during those long years, and not all of it brought back fond memories. There is a lot of bad left in them despite the passing of time. Justin doesn’t speak again as he retrieves his bags from the trunk, and heads inside the hotel.
In a matter of minutes Justin is checked in, and enters his hotel room. The room looks a lot like the small apartment that he lives in now, but with a bigger bed. For tonight Justin will force himself to relax so he can be prepared for tomorrow, and the destruction that comes with it.
To Be Continued…