Post by maddog on Jan 22, 2024 17:00:07 GMT -5
It was a silent ride back from Danville, WV to the Wright family farm in Big Ugly. Mark had picked his Dad up from physical therapy since his Mom had to work overtime at the Piggly Wiggly and couldn't pick Mark’s father, Brody, up afterward.
The silence of the ride is deafening. The radio is off, both Wright men sit silent, and there is no cell service to even allow an interrupting call or chime of a text. Finally, the elder Wright breaks the silence as he flips his cigarette out the window.
Mark...
I know Dad. I let you down. I let the whole family down. Heck, I let myself down. What the hell was I thinking? Shoot, I might as well call Roscoe, and see if I can just get back on at the mine.
Mark…. I'm proud of you.
Mad Dog almost swerves off the road because he is staring at his father and not where he is directing his truck. Mad Dog turns his attention back to the road, but Brody looks at his son with a smile of pride.
I don't say it enough Mark, but I'm damn proud of you. It doesn’t matter that you lost Son, hell everyone loses here and there. Only one perfect man ever walked the Earth, and he died on that cross for us. The thing is though Mark, you went all in. You did what I and your grandpappy could never do, and you went at it full time. It takes a lot of guts to risk it all on the road like that, but you did it. Plus, you put on some great matches and put up a hell of a fight against awfully tough opponents. Them matches coulda have ended with your hand raised just as easily as it did with theirs.
Mad Dog glances over at his father and the two smile at each other.
So, cut that going back to the mine bullsh*t out. What'd I always tell you anyway?
Keep your nose to the grindstone.
You're damn right.
Mad Dog grips the steering wheel tighter and a big smile comes across his face.
You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But, it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done.
Mad Dog has a look of intrigue on his face and then changes to a smirk.
Ain’t that from Rocky?
Brody shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head.
You know I ain’t good at that sappy, motivational sh*t.
Mad Dog and his Dad both laugh as Mad Dog shakes his head in amusement. As the laughter subsides. The elder Wright offers one last bit of wisdom.
But really Son, you got more talent than me and your grandpappy put together, you keep your nose to that grindstone, and you keep chasing that dream and you’ll make it. One bad doesn’t ruin your career, and it doesn’t knock you out of the opportunity to ever be a champion. Them bookers at PWA musta seen your talent, even in defeat. Shoot why do you think they put ya in such a tough and big-time match for your debut? They know what ya did before XWF, and can see the potential for what ya can do in the future. Keep grinding son, and remember that no matter what happens, your old man and your whole family are proud of you.
Mad Dog smiles, nodding his head in agreement. Mad Dog’s face shows a look of newfound determination as he looks over at his father, then back down highway 119. Mad Dog is feeling a boost of confidence after the reassuring words from his father and lets his thoughts flow freely.
You know, I get that ain’t nobody picking old Mad Dog in this match, and quite frankly I don't blame um. Shoot, I don’t blame um one bit, Shane is a top dog anywhere and everywhere he goes. I’ll admit Shane is the big dog in this match, probably even has that hunger in his belly for a big old helping of championship gold. But ya ever heard the old sayen, a hungry dog hunts best, but a hungrier dog hunts even better.
Old Mad Dog is the hunger of us two dogs Shane. Heck, most people don't even know my name, but your name is like chicken grease, on everybody's lips. Meanwhile, when someone says the name Mad Dog Mark Wright, people just respond with “who?”. I tell you what though, after New Years Massacre, everybody's gonna know who Mad Dog Mark Wright is, the man that beat Shane Donovan is his PWA, PLE debut.
I done put too much on the line to fail. I got people counting on me, I got mouths to feed, a mortgage to pay, and bills piling up. Old Mad Dog ain’t from the lap of luxury, like a lot of other people around this sport. I ain’t have the connections to build up some empire like Dylan Thomas. I don’t own a football team or a baseball team, and I dang sure ain’t got the face or the body to make money on the side as a stripper. Na brother, Mad Dog only knows three things baby, diggen coal, cooken shine, and kicken behind. Shane, you ain’t full of black gold, and you don’t look like a still, but you got a butt old Mad Dog can stick his size thirteen boot straight up.
Shane, I got nothing against ya brother, but I ain’t gonna let you, or any man born of his mother stand in the way of me maken a better life for my family. I ain’t going home after Massacre and haven my little boy ask me if I picked him up a Dolphin statue and a mile marker 0 shirt, and me have to look um in the eye and say, “no son I couldn’t afford it, cause I ain’t hit the pay window”.
Shane, I know you love wrestling. I know you love competing and love testing yourself against the best. Well boy, I love this sport myself, been around the ring since I had my momma’s titty in my mouth. But, there is something I love more, and it’s the same thing I’m fighting for. I’m not fighting just because I love wrestling, competing, and beating the best. Na. HELL NA! I’m doing this to give my family the best life I can. I’m fighting to move my kids out of the hollow. I’m fighitn to pay for my kid's education. I’m fighting to make sure my wife is taken care of after I’m dead and in the ground. I’m fighting for the future, and BY GAWD, that’s more then some dude saying I’m the best in his news article, or giving me a five-star rating.
Shane, I got no real beef with ya buddy, but you standen in my way. I done dropped the ball in my run, and now I gotta step up to the plate and redeem my that strike out from last at bat. I’ll be swinging for the fences, and looking to swing dat big MO, back in my direction. I decided to come back to the sport, namely, PWA to prove myself, and show that last run was just a run of bad luck. And I’ll be damned if they took it easy on old Mad Dog. I mean if t ain’t as hard as it can be don’t sign old Mad Dog up. I’ll be damned, if I ain’t jump out the frying pan only to jump right back into the fire with you Shane.They coulda have thrown old Mad Dog a nice easy pitch to open with, but they just threw me into Hell with kerosene britches on. I ain’t worried though, I’m still gonna fight my way out.
Shane you gonna get put on ya back when I shock the world. You a big fish in this pond fully predators, but you gonna find out I ain’t some little guppy. I’m a big old shark, and I guess you can call me a hammerhead shark. Cause I got a head like a sledgehammer, heavy and hard, and you gonna find out just how heavy and hard this old noggin of mine is when I climb up that top rope and drop it on ya. Cause that’s exactly what is gonna happen, Shane, I’ma drop my noggin on ya, then I’m going to the pay window while you’re gonna…. GO MAD!
Suddenly, a truck speeds up behind Mad Dog and begins blaring its horn breaking Mad Dog’s stream of consciousness. Mad Dog adjusts the rearview mirror to look at who’s behind him to see who is making such a racket. Mad Dog sees the truck blaring its horn and flashing its headlights. Mad Dog cusses them under his breath as he begins to get over to let them pass when Brody speaks up.
DON’T F**KING STOP!
Mad Dog looks over to see his father with his revolver out and looking out the back window. Mad Dog feels nervousness creeping up his spine, and adrenaline begins to run through his veins as he glances at his dad and out the back window.
What the heck is going on?
Ah sh*t Mark, times been tough and I started cooken again. Them methhead Johnson’s crashed my still and stole my shine, so I mighta just burned down their meth trailer.
Geez, Paw, what did you think was gonna happen?
Ah f**k them, I’ll bury those waste of bones up the hollow and won’t nobody find um.
Mad Dog presses the gas down on his old F-150 and begins to speed up, but as he does so the engine makes a loud knocking sound, and the thermostat heads towards the red indicating the truck is about to overheat.
Damn it, this sh*t truck. Grab my forty-five out of the glove box.
As Brody opens the glovebox to retrieve the Glock for his son, the Johnson’s truck clips the back fender of Mad Dogs' truck, sending the old F-150 spinning out of control. Mad Dog’s truck spins 540 degrees and slams into the guardrail on Mad Dog’s side of the truck. The airbags are deployed and render Mad Dog stunned for a moment. Mad Dog pulls out his pocket knife, punctures his airbag, and then cuts his jammed seatbelt loose.
As the airbag deflates Mad Dog looks to the passenger seat to find it empty. Mad Dog looks up and sees the two oldest of the three Johnson brothers dragging his father towards their truck. Mad Dog grabs his gun from the floorboard and pulls himself out of the truck. Mark falls as he gets out of the truck and staggers as he gets to his feet. As Mark gets to his feet the Johnsons are speeding off with his father in the back of their truck,
Mad Dog raises his gun to take a shot, but can’t get a clear line of sight, and doesn’t want to accidentally hit his father. As the truck pulls off into the distance Mad Dog feels the nerves and adrenaline being pushed out by panic.
F**K! F**KING, MOTHERF**KERS!
Mad Dog pulls his phone out and calls the only person he knows of that can help in this situation, a person he hasn’t spoken to in years, his brother Daniel. Mad Dog hits call, but there is still no service.
Son of a…
The cold wind blows wiping the scene away. We return as snow flurries glisten in the dawning sun over the Appalachian mountains. Mad Dog crawls slowly over the ridge top for the perfect view of the Johnson’s cabin down below in the hollow. Mad Dog peers down the scope of his Winchester 270. He has dropped many deer with this rifle, but today he has different prey.
Mad Dog was an expert marksman, on track to be a scout sniper in his USMC days, but decided not to reenlist when his wife became pregnant with their first child. Now Mad Dog would use what he learned fighting the Taliban to take out the Johnsons and rescue his father.
Mad Dog was overwatch, but his brother Daniel, preferred to be hands-on, once a door kicker, always a door kicker. From the end of the hollow, a light flickered, Mad Dog's cue that his brother was in position. Mad Dog looked through the scope to confirm his brother, who is a mountain of a man, was alone and moving toward the cabin. With a clear path to the cabin Mad Dog had time to let his thoughts flow.
Shane Donovan, I thought you were supposed to be some big bad butt whipper, the man-made monster. But to me, you liken like Mike Wazowski. Shane, I seen you’re from Virginia, I ain’t never met someone from Virginia who ain’t look down on someone from West Virginia. Our state left yours for a reason son, cause we got tired of you insufferable pricks smelling your farts, like that smug episode of South Park.
You might not give two craps about that old border war and reallyyI don’t either. But it just goes to show that you were born in the land of miserable pricks, so why wouldn’t you be a miserable prick? Things didn’t go the way you hoped when you started in this business and you let it make you a miserable prick who hated the world., I handled it differently. My last run was the worst of my career, and did I let it make me into a giant butthole? No, I got up, dusted myself off and I’m gonna try again.
Ya keep looking ahead of Mad Dog, taken me lightly, thinken I ain't nuthin but a peanut and it's gonna bite ya in the butt. Old Mad Dog gonna take that bright future you got and snuff it all. Take you hopes and your dreams, roll um up in a ball, and shove it so far up ya backdoor you gonna have to use you gonna think you got an Orange hopes and dreams-sickle in the back oh your throat.
I’m gonna say this one last time Shane, old Mad Dog ain't a pushover, and he dang sure ain't a tune-up. After Massacre, you gonna be putting some respect on old Mad Dog's name when ya speak it over ya gums. Speaken over ya gums, cause ya fitten to be crapping out ya teeth for the next three weeks. Yeah, have ya fishing through ya turds for your veneers, I won't be saying that with any ill will to ya Shane, and with all due respect ya done had your fifteen minutes of fame and now it's time for old Mad Dog to get his shine.
I'm looking to get to where you're at, and even higher. You want to climb even higher, but there is only room for one man at the top of the mountain, and that mountaintop scene is already pretty crowded. That means, we gonna have to start chucking people down the mountain. That means I'm gonna have to stop your assertion to the top and chuck you off the mountain back to the bottom.
Some man-made monster you are. Ain’t big, ain’t spooky, ain’t sh*t.. You call yourself a monster but you ain't shake me one bit. Being a monster had the opposite effect and stoked the fire under my butt. So, go on and roar little pussy cat. Hurl ya lightning bolt, cause old Mad Dog eats lightning and craps Thunder. New Year’s Massace, and your future isn't headed the way you think Shane. Na brother you ain't going to the top, you're going to go mad.
Mad Dog refocuses as Daniel reaches the back corner of the cabin. From his backpack, Daniel removes a kerosene can and pours the fuel onto the cabin. Daniel lights a match and tosses it into the kerosene. Instantly the back corner of the cabin bursts into flames, and as it does Daniel runs around to the other side of the cabin. Mad Dog aims right at the front, and only door of the cabin.
The door of the cabin flies open and the first of the three brothers rushes out and around the corner to check the fire. He begins screaming for his brothers, and then I see the other two come out and head for the back corner. As they exit Daniel moves around the corner and heads for the front door to enter the cabin, but as he gets to the threshold The Johnsons turn around to see the older Wright brother.
Thurman, the older of the Johnsons reaches for his sidearm, but as he does Mad Dog squeezes the trigger of the 270 and lets the hammer drop. The crack of the rifle echoes through the hills as the older of the Johnsons brothers falls right where he was standing. As the echo of the rifle dissipates through the mountains and hollow there is a brief moment of peace and silence, but only a split second.
The remaining brothers snap around to the hillside where they believe the shot came from, with their pistols drawn. The Johnsons begin firing blindly, allowing Daniel to run into the cabin. Mad Dog hunkers down, and none of the pistol shots land close enough to bring worry, but he doesn't want to give away his position.
Mad Dog keeps looking toward the cabin entrance, nervousness growing by the second as the flames spread and he awaits the sight of his brother and father. After what seems like an eternity, but in reality only a few minutes Daniel appears in the doorway, helping his father out of the burning cabin. As Mark sees his father, clearly beaten and battered, being dragged out of the cabin by as brother, as he is barely able to walk, it gives Mad Dog great relief but also fuels a rage inside of him.
Mad Dog aims again, a slow, deep breath, followed by a slow and controlled exhale. As he gets to the end of his exhale Mad Dog squeezes the trigger again Another crack of the rifle echos like thunder through the treetops, and another of the Johnsons falls dead where he was standing. The third, and youngest of the Johnsons looks at his brother lying next to him, dead with a bullet wound in his head.
“AAAAHHHHH!!!”, Harmon, the youngest Johnsons, shouts before throwing his gun down for Mark, and all present members of the Wright clan to see.
‘’I SURRENDER! PLEASE KILL ME!” he shouts as he steps out from behind the old woodshed he has hidden behind with his hands up. Daniel turns and aims his gun at the head of Harmon. Harmon takes a few steps backward, and through his scope, Mad Dog can see the crotch and legs of Harmon’s pants become wet as he pisses himself.
Mad Dog has no intention of shooting Harmon. Mad Dog had gone to school with Harmon and even played baseball with him. Harmon may have been from a sh*t family, but he was the most polished of the turds. Harmon had given up, probably didn’t even want to be there in the first place, just dragged there by his older brothers.
Daniel lowers his gun and signals for Harmon to leave. Harmon slowly turns and then begins running as fast as he can toward their vehicle. As Harmon gets his hand on the handle of the truck, Mad Dog fires another round from the 270, blowing the tire out on the beat-up old Dodge truck. Mad Dog may not want to kill Harmon, but he doesn’t want to make things easy on him.
Harmon panics for a moment as he looks at the tire, and then begins running down the road on foot. Harmon makes it about ten yards from the truck when Daniel raises his gun and shoots Harmon in the back of the head, killing him instantly.
Mad Dog grabs his walkie-talkie and shouts at his brother. “WHAT DID YOU DO!?!”, Mad Dog shouts with anger and remorse in his voice.
The walkie-talky is static for a moment as Mad Dog waits for a reply. Mad Dog presses the button on the side again and speaks another message, “WHAT THE F**K!?!”.
Again there is static, but after a moment a reply comes through.
“F**k um, he was just a liability. Now get down here and help me dig these holes. Over.”, Daniel replies.
Mad Dog drops his walkie and takes a moment to reflect on what had just happened. Flashbacks from Afghanistan began to run through his mind as Mad Dog looked down at his weapons and his hand,
What have I done?
Mark was still disappointed with himself over his last, and most disappointing run of his career in XWF, and assumed his father was as well, but we know what happens when you assume. Mark spits his tobacco juice into an empty Mountain Dew bottle, as he stares out over the road, and Brody exhales his Lucky Strike smoke out the rolled-down window into the chilly January air.
Mark...
I know Dad. I let you down. I let the whole family down. Heck, I let myself down. What the hell was I thinking? Shoot, I might as well call Roscoe, and see if I can just get back on at the mine.
Mark…. I'm proud of you.
Mad Dog almost swerves off the road because he is staring at his father and not where he is directing his truck. Mad Dog turns his attention back to the road, but Brody looks at his son with a smile of pride.
I don't say it enough Mark, but I'm damn proud of you. It doesn’t matter that you lost Son, hell everyone loses here and there. Only one perfect man ever walked the Earth, and he died on that cross for us. The thing is though Mark, you went all in. You did what I and your grandpappy could never do, and you went at it full time. It takes a lot of guts to risk it all on the road like that, but you did it. Plus, you put on some great matches and put up a hell of a fight against awfully tough opponents. Them matches coulda have ended with your hand raised just as easily as it did with theirs.
Mad Dog glances over at his father and the two smile at each other.
So, cut that going back to the mine bullsh*t out. What'd I always tell you anyway?
Keep your nose to the grindstone.
You're damn right.
Mad Dog grips the steering wheel tighter and a big smile comes across his face.
You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But, it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done.
Mad Dog has a look of intrigue on his face and then changes to a smirk.
Ain’t that from Rocky?
Brody shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head.
You know I ain’t good at that sappy, motivational sh*t.
Mad Dog and his Dad both laugh as Mad Dog shakes his head in amusement. As the laughter subsides. The elder Wright offers one last bit of wisdom.
But really Son, you got more talent than me and your grandpappy put together, you keep your nose to that grindstone, and you keep chasing that dream and you’ll make it. One bad doesn’t ruin your career, and it doesn’t knock you out of the opportunity to ever be a champion. Them bookers at PWA musta seen your talent, even in defeat. Shoot why do you think they put ya in such a tough and big-time match for your debut? They know what ya did before XWF, and can see the potential for what ya can do in the future. Keep grinding son, and remember that no matter what happens, your old man and your whole family are proud of you.
See, the ways of this world will just bring you to tears
Keep the Lord in your heart, and you'll have nothin' to fear
Live the best that you can and don't lie and don't steal
Keep your nose on the grindstone and out of the pills
Keep the Lord in your heart, and you'll have nothin' to fear
Live the best that you can and don't lie and don't steal
Keep your nose on the grindstone and out of the pills
Mad Dog smiles, nodding his head in agreement. Mad Dog’s face shows a look of newfound determination as he looks over at his father, then back down highway 119. Mad Dog is feeling a boost of confidence after the reassuring words from his father and lets his thoughts flow freely.
You know, I get that ain’t nobody picking old Mad Dog in this match, and quite frankly I don't blame um. Shoot, I don’t blame um one bit, Shane is a top dog anywhere and everywhere he goes. I’ll admit Shane is the big dog in this match, probably even has that hunger in his belly for a big old helping of championship gold. But ya ever heard the old sayen, a hungry dog hunts best, but a hungrier dog hunts even better.
Old Mad Dog is the hunger of us two dogs Shane. Heck, most people don't even know my name, but your name is like chicken grease, on everybody's lips. Meanwhile, when someone says the name Mad Dog Mark Wright, people just respond with “who?”. I tell you what though, after New Years Massacre, everybody's gonna know who Mad Dog Mark Wright is, the man that beat Shane Donovan is his PWA, PLE debut.
I done put too much on the line to fail. I got people counting on me, I got mouths to feed, a mortgage to pay, and bills piling up. Old Mad Dog ain’t from the lap of luxury, like a lot of other people around this sport. I ain’t have the connections to build up some empire like Dylan Thomas. I don’t own a football team or a baseball team, and I dang sure ain’t got the face or the body to make money on the side as a stripper. Na brother, Mad Dog only knows three things baby, diggen coal, cooken shine, and kicken behind. Shane, you ain’t full of black gold, and you don’t look like a still, but you got a butt old Mad Dog can stick his size thirteen boot straight up.
Shane, I got nothing against ya brother, but I ain’t gonna let you, or any man born of his mother stand in the way of me maken a better life for my family. I ain’t going home after Massacre and haven my little boy ask me if I picked him up a Dolphin statue and a mile marker 0 shirt, and me have to look um in the eye and say, “no son I couldn’t afford it, cause I ain’t hit the pay window”.
Shane, I know you love wrestling. I know you love competing and love testing yourself against the best. Well boy, I love this sport myself, been around the ring since I had my momma’s titty in my mouth. But, there is something I love more, and it’s the same thing I’m fighting for. I’m not fighting just because I love wrestling, competing, and beating the best. Na. HELL NA! I’m doing this to give my family the best life I can. I’m fighting to move my kids out of the hollow. I’m fighitn to pay for my kid's education. I’m fighting to make sure my wife is taken care of after I’m dead and in the ground. I’m fighting for the future, and BY GAWD, that’s more then some dude saying I’m the best in his news article, or giving me a five-star rating.
Shane, I got no real beef with ya buddy, but you standen in my way. I done dropped the ball in my run, and now I gotta step up to the plate and redeem my that strike out from last at bat. I’ll be swinging for the fences, and looking to swing dat big MO, back in my direction. I decided to come back to the sport, namely, PWA to prove myself, and show that last run was just a run of bad luck. And I’ll be damned if they took it easy on old Mad Dog. I mean if t ain’t as hard as it can be don’t sign old Mad Dog up. I’ll be damned, if I ain’t jump out the frying pan only to jump right back into the fire with you Shane.They coulda have thrown old Mad Dog a nice easy pitch to open with, but they just threw me into Hell with kerosene britches on. I ain’t worried though, I’m still gonna fight my way out.
Shane you gonna get put on ya back when I shock the world. You a big fish in this pond fully predators, but you gonna find out I ain’t some little guppy. I’m a big old shark, and I guess you can call me a hammerhead shark. Cause I got a head like a sledgehammer, heavy and hard, and you gonna find out just how heavy and hard this old noggin of mine is when I climb up that top rope and drop it on ya. Cause that’s exactly what is gonna happen, Shane, I’ma drop my noggin on ya, then I’m going to the pay window while you’re gonna…. GO MAD!
Suddenly, a truck speeds up behind Mad Dog and begins blaring its horn breaking Mad Dog’s stream of consciousness. Mad Dog adjusts the rearview mirror to look at who’s behind him to see who is making such a racket. Mad Dog sees the truck blaring its horn and flashing its headlights. Mad Dog cusses them under his breath as he begins to get over to let them pass when Brody speaks up.
DON’T F**KING STOP!
Mad Dog looks over to see his father with his revolver out and looking out the back window. Mad Dog feels nervousness creeping up his spine, and adrenaline begins to run through his veins as he glances at his dad and out the back window.
What the heck is going on?
Ah sh*t Mark, times been tough and I started cooken again. Them methhead Johnson’s crashed my still and stole my shine, so I mighta just burned down their meth trailer.
Geez, Paw, what did you think was gonna happen?
Ah f**k them, I’ll bury those waste of bones up the hollow and won’t nobody find um.
Mad Dog presses the gas down on his old F-150 and begins to speed up, but as he does so the engine makes a loud knocking sound, and the thermostat heads towards the red indicating the truck is about to overheat.
Damn it, this sh*t truck. Grab my forty-five out of the glove box.
As Brody opens the glovebox to retrieve the Glock for his son, the Johnson’s truck clips the back fender of Mad Dogs' truck, sending the old F-150 spinning out of control. Mad Dog’s truck spins 540 degrees and slams into the guardrail on Mad Dog’s side of the truck. The airbags are deployed and render Mad Dog stunned for a moment. Mad Dog pulls out his pocket knife, punctures his airbag, and then cuts his jammed seatbelt loose.
As the airbag deflates Mad Dog looks to the passenger seat to find it empty. Mad Dog looks up and sees the two oldest of the three Johnson brothers dragging his father towards their truck. Mad Dog grabs his gun from the floorboard and pulls himself out of the truck. Mark falls as he gets out of the truck and staggers as he gets to his feet. As Mark gets to his feet the Johnsons are speeding off with his father in the back of their truck,
Mad Dog raises his gun to take a shot, but can’t get a clear line of sight, and doesn’t want to accidentally hit his father. As the truck pulls off into the distance Mad Dog feels the nerves and adrenaline being pushed out by panic.
F**K! F**KING, MOTHERF**KERS!
Mad Dog pulls his phone out and calls the only person he knows of that can help in this situation, a person he hasn’t spoken to in years, his brother Daniel. Mad Dog hits call, but there is still no service.
Son of a…
The cold wind blows wiping the scene away. We return as snow flurries glisten in the dawning sun over the Appalachian mountains. Mad Dog crawls slowly over the ridge top for the perfect view of the Johnson’s cabin down below in the hollow. Mad Dog peers down the scope of his Winchester 270. He has dropped many deer with this rifle, but today he has different prey.
Mad Dog was an expert marksman, on track to be a scout sniper in his USMC days, but decided not to reenlist when his wife became pregnant with their first child. Now Mad Dog would use what he learned fighting the Taliban to take out the Johnsons and rescue his father.
Mad Dog was overwatch, but his brother Daniel, preferred to be hands-on, once a door kicker, always a door kicker. From the end of the hollow, a light flickered, Mad Dog's cue that his brother was in position. Mad Dog looked through the scope to confirm his brother, who is a mountain of a man, was alone and moving toward the cabin. With a clear path to the cabin Mad Dog had time to let his thoughts flow.
Shane Donovan, I thought you were supposed to be some big bad butt whipper, the man-made monster. But to me, you liken like Mike Wazowski. Shane, I seen you’re from Virginia, I ain’t never met someone from Virginia who ain’t look down on someone from West Virginia. Our state left yours for a reason son, cause we got tired of you insufferable pricks smelling your farts, like that smug episode of South Park.
You might not give two craps about that old border war and reallyyI don’t either. But it just goes to show that you were born in the land of miserable pricks, so why wouldn’t you be a miserable prick? Things didn’t go the way you hoped when you started in this business and you let it make you a miserable prick who hated the world., I handled it differently. My last run was the worst of my career, and did I let it make me into a giant butthole? No, I got up, dusted myself off and I’m gonna try again.
Ya keep looking ahead of Mad Dog, taken me lightly, thinken I ain't nuthin but a peanut and it's gonna bite ya in the butt. Old Mad Dog gonna take that bright future you got and snuff it all. Take you hopes and your dreams, roll um up in a ball, and shove it so far up ya backdoor you gonna have to use you gonna think you got an Orange hopes and dreams-sickle in the back oh your throat.
I’m gonna say this one last time Shane, old Mad Dog ain't a pushover, and he dang sure ain't a tune-up. After Massacre, you gonna be putting some respect on old Mad Dog's name when ya speak it over ya gums. Speaken over ya gums, cause ya fitten to be crapping out ya teeth for the next three weeks. Yeah, have ya fishing through ya turds for your veneers, I won't be saying that with any ill will to ya Shane, and with all due respect ya done had your fifteen minutes of fame and now it's time for old Mad Dog to get his shine.
I'm looking to get to where you're at, and even higher. You want to climb even higher, but there is only room for one man at the top of the mountain, and that mountaintop scene is already pretty crowded. That means, we gonna have to start chucking people down the mountain. That means I'm gonna have to stop your assertion to the top and chuck you off the mountain back to the bottom.
Some man-made monster you are. Ain’t big, ain’t spooky, ain’t sh*t.. You call yourself a monster but you ain't shake me one bit. Being a monster had the opposite effect and stoked the fire under my butt. So, go on and roar little pussy cat. Hurl ya lightning bolt, cause old Mad Dog eats lightning and craps Thunder. New Year’s Massace, and your future isn't headed the way you think Shane. Na brother you ain't going to the top, you're going to go mad.
Mad Dog refocuses as Daniel reaches the back corner of the cabin. From his backpack, Daniel removes a kerosene can and pours the fuel onto the cabin. Daniel lights a match and tosses it into the kerosene. Instantly the back corner of the cabin bursts into flames, and as it does Daniel runs around to the other side of the cabin. Mad Dog aims right at the front, and only door of the cabin.
The door of the cabin flies open and the first of the three brothers rushes out and around the corner to check the fire. He begins screaming for his brothers, and then I see the other two come out and head for the back corner. As they exit Daniel moves around the corner and heads for the front door to enter the cabin, but as he gets to the threshold The Johnsons turn around to see the older Wright brother.
Thurman, the older of the Johnsons reaches for his sidearm, but as he does Mad Dog squeezes the trigger of the 270 and lets the hammer drop. The crack of the rifle echoes through the hills as the older of the Johnsons brothers falls right where he was standing. As the echo of the rifle dissipates through the mountains and hollow there is a brief moment of peace and silence, but only a split second.
The remaining brothers snap around to the hillside where they believe the shot came from, with their pistols drawn. The Johnsons begin firing blindly, allowing Daniel to run into the cabin. Mad Dog hunkers down, and none of the pistol shots land close enough to bring worry, but he doesn't want to give away his position.
Mad Dog keeps looking toward the cabin entrance, nervousness growing by the second as the flames spread and he awaits the sight of his brother and father. After what seems like an eternity, but in reality only a few minutes Daniel appears in the doorway, helping his father out of the burning cabin. As Mark sees his father, clearly beaten and battered, being dragged out of the cabin by as brother, as he is barely able to walk, it gives Mad Dog great relief but also fuels a rage inside of him.
Mad Dog aims again, a slow, deep breath, followed by a slow and controlled exhale. As he gets to the end of his exhale Mad Dog squeezes the trigger again Another crack of the rifle echos like thunder through the treetops, and another of the Johnsons falls dead where he was standing. The third, and youngest of the Johnsons looks at his brother lying next to him, dead with a bullet wound in his head.
“AAAAHHHHH!!!”, Harmon, the youngest Johnsons, shouts before throwing his gun down for Mark, and all present members of the Wright clan to see.
‘’I SURRENDER! PLEASE KILL ME!” he shouts as he steps out from behind the old woodshed he has hidden behind with his hands up. Daniel turns and aims his gun at the head of Harmon. Harmon takes a few steps backward, and through his scope, Mad Dog can see the crotch and legs of Harmon’s pants become wet as he pisses himself.
Mad Dog has no intention of shooting Harmon. Mad Dog had gone to school with Harmon and even played baseball with him. Harmon may have been from a sh*t family, but he was the most polished of the turds. Harmon had given up, probably didn’t even want to be there in the first place, just dragged there by his older brothers.
Daniel lowers his gun and signals for Harmon to leave. Harmon slowly turns and then begins running as fast as he can toward their vehicle. As Harmon gets his hand on the handle of the truck, Mad Dog fires another round from the 270, blowing the tire out on the beat-up old Dodge truck. Mad Dog may not want to kill Harmon, but he doesn’t want to make things easy on him.
Harmon panics for a moment as he looks at the tire, and then begins running down the road on foot. Harmon makes it about ten yards from the truck when Daniel raises his gun and shoots Harmon in the back of the head, killing him instantly.
Mad Dog grabs his walkie-talkie and shouts at his brother. “WHAT DID YOU DO!?!”, Mad Dog shouts with anger and remorse in his voice.
The walkie-talky is static for a moment as Mad Dog waits for a reply. Mad Dog presses the button on the side again and speaks another message, “WHAT THE F**K!?!”.
Again there is static, but after a moment a reply comes through.
“F**k um, he was just a liability. Now get down here and help me dig these holes. Over.”, Daniel replies.
Mad Dog drops his walkie and takes a moment to reflect on what had just happened. Flashbacks from Afghanistan began to run through his mind as Mad Dog looked down at his weapons and his hand,
What have I done?