Daddy's Little Girl Part I (vs Mark Storm Craze Title RP#1)

[Tamika Strader]

Strader Tent City
Unknown Island
April 14th, 2020

It had been a long day on the island for Tamika Strader, OCW’s Craze Champion. She had been out hunting with her sister, Meghan, but it had been a touch awkward. Tamika knew that while Meghan was happy for her, she was also a bit jealous that Tamika was able to make a claim to a singles championship before she did. The youngest daughter of Scott Nash Strader was never meant to be a singles wrestler. It never truly interested her. Her goal was always to be one of the best tag team wrestlers the industry had ever seen, and she has done just that.

When she took the neck injury in 2013, she never dreamed she would come back in 2020 to help Meghan and Maxine Riggs relaunch the Cowgirls From Hell. She ended up at Revolution1 Wrestling with Meghan. Eventually, after leaving, the company was so desperate they gave Meghan the tag team titles she had vacated with her partner Drago, making Tamika her champion partner. Then it was time to retire, but when she did that, she had the discs in her neck fused as Meghan did the same with her back.

It wasn’t so they could make a return as Tamika was content being retired. She only returned to the business because her big sister needed her, and her niece needed her. Tamika was always known to be the most loyal Strader family member. Her dad and uncles had always been more about themselves than about the family unless it benefited them. Not Tamika. Even now, in OCW, she is financing the company with her sister. Hence, Victoria and Veronica have a place to build their legacy where they aren’t shit on by the community or her father, who took their side over hers. Yes, she finally chose herself over the rest, but it didn’t cost anyone anything, except for maybe Roach.

Tamika crawled into her tent and sat down on her sleeping bag, listening to the insects, animals, Alice moaning in CJ’s tent, and the clapping of cheeks in Outcast’s tent. It was never truly quiet, but Tamika was a city girl on top of being a country girl and needed that white noise to fall asleep. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was that woke her n the middle of the night, but she swears she could hear a voice calling her name. She sits up and tilts her head to listen to what’s being said.

“Tamika… follow my voice.”

She pulls on a pair of dark green sweatpants, a matching hoodie with her CFH logo on the back, and her on the front holding her Craze title. She walks over to the fire, grabs a thick stick, wraps a Dravers t-shirt around it, and dips it in the fire, and she can now see where she is going.

“This way…”

The voice sounds familiar, but something is blocking out her ability to place it, almost feels deliberate, she thinks to herself. She begins to make her way through the jungle, the yellow eyes of its inhabitants glowing from the fire on her torch. She isn’t sure how long she has been walking this path, but after what feels like hours of walking and searching, she comes up to what looks to be a cave, and she stops.

“Oh hell no, I’m not going in there. Not when there is no one around.”

“Don’t be afraid, baby girl, I got you.”

Tamika looks around, confused as she hears those words. Only one person ever called her that, and he’s long dead. She takes a deep breath and walks toward the cave; the ground gives out from under her, and she slides down into the cave. She comes flying up and over a ramp that would make a professional skateboarder erect. She flies up into the air and lands in a pool of water. When she comes up, she gasps for air, and the cave lights up, even though it isn’t possible as the only light that could come in is from the cave entrance, but it’s in the middle of the night.

“Fuck, I knew I shouldn’t have entered the cave. Now I’m stuck down here in the water.”

“Take my hand, sweetheart.”

Tamika reaches up as a massive hand pulls her up without even thinking about it. She looks at his hand and sees a Gold Cowskull ring. Her eyes slowly move up the forearm, seeing a tattoo with the names of Meghan-Tamika-John on it. Her eyes go wide as she looks up and sees the smile she never thought she would see again.

“Daddy?!”

“My sweet Tamika.”

She doesn’t even hesitate as she jumps into his arms (he is 6’10, and she is 5’10) and hugs him tightly.

“How is this even possible? Please don’t tell me you faked your death again,” she says, looking into his icy blue eyes to ensure it’s him.

“No, Tamika. I didn’t fake my death again; I am dead. Punished to walk the earth in the afterlife instead of the Kingdom of the Afterlife.”

Tamika suddenly realizes she is dry like she never fell into the water at the bottom of the cave. In fact, they weren’t even in the cave anymore but on the edge of a cliff that overlooks where the OCW talent and staff had made a home. She notices the Craze Championship is around her waist as well. Her dad stands on the edge of the cliff, watching down below. He sees his oldest stoking the fire pit before she heads back to sleep. He turns around and motions for his youngest daughter to sit down beside the edge of the cliff as he takes a seat. She sits down on his right and leans her head into his shoulder as he puts his right arm around her shoulders and holds her close.

“So am I crazy? Is the island making me hallucinate a vision of my dad?”

“No, sweetheart, you aren’t crazy. You aren’t hallucinating. This island? This island is a special place. You all didn’t crash here by chance; you were all meant to end up on this island.”

“What, really? Why?”

“Unfortunately, that is not my place to say. I can say that everyone will walk away and return home to discover something about themselves. Take Meghan’s children in Victoria and Veronica, for example. Their journey will be coming to an end so a new one can begin.”

“How are there two of them? Isn’t Veronica just a split personality?”

“No. It’s pretty crazy, but Victoria has been the vessel of two other souls inside of her. One being Veronica and the other Valerie. I couldn’t tell you how they were split from each other, but I can promise you my granddaughter isn’t crazy. I don’t blame her for my death.”

“What? What do you mean you don’t blame her for your death?”

The big man runs his left hand through his long dirty blonde hair and sighs.

“Valerie was the one that killed me. She twisted Veronica so deeply that she would end my life. She used the excuse that it was to protect Victoria, Meghan, you, and John. That wasn’t true, though, but she made Veronica believe it. But honestly, I had it coming, Tamika. I lived a lot longer than I ever should have, and every day I had on this earth was a gift that I squandered when I would hurt you, your sister, your brother, your nieces….”

“Wait, you mean to tell me everything Victoria has told us about Valerie is true? Man… I miss the old days when someone with a split personality just needed pills to be ok.”

Scott nods. He pulls Tamika in closer and lays his head against her head. He missed this. He misses Meghan. He misses John. He misses them all but knows he will never get the chance to see or talk to them again.

“Why are you telling me this, dad?”

“Closure. I know that since I died that it’s been eating at you. I just wanted to tell you what happened and how proud I am of you,” he replies as his left-hand taps the Craze championship around her waist. “I was there, in spirit, obviously, cheering you on. I know it was difficult to choose yourself over CFH, but it was time for you to realize your true potential. I have always felt you and Victoria were the ones to lead this family after I was gone. I know your sister is the Matriarch of the Strader Clan, but your selflessness is why you stand out when it comes to being in the squared circle. It’s no coincidence that you were always the one to make the pin to win championships and big matches. Meghan always took the pinfall to lose said championships. Unlike your sister, you aren’t selfish, and your focus has always been to make all those around better than they were before that ring-bell rings.”

“Well, I have always tried to make this industry better. As much as I could anyway. How long is Meghan going to be mad at me?”

“Meghan is so much like me, sweetheart but in saying that, she loves you as much as she loves her children. She’ll get over it, but you must remember that she lived in my shadow for so long, and I kept opportunities away from her. She always wanted to become the PWA World Champion or an AOWF Champion to show me she was good enough. In reality, all my children are better than I ever was.”

“I feel like if I lose next weekend against Mark Storm, she won’t be as mad at me anymore. But I don’t want to lose; I want successfully defend this championship.”

“All you can do, baby girl, is when that bell rings that you do whatever you can to retain. Even if you don’t, you have shown you are more than just a tag team wrestler in the Cowgirls From Hell. Make sure you study as much ring work as you can from Storm.”

Tamika nods in agreement.

“Mark Storm, I know management is relatively high on him. They had hoped for him to break the barriers from years back in his first run in OCW and hope he can do it now, but unfortunately for him, he’s run into me. There are rumblings on the dirt-sheets that whoever wins this much will be propelled into the main event. But, unlike Storm, I’m not trying to win that match to be main event status. I am a main event wrestler. I know it sounds cocky….”

“It’s not being cocky if you can back it up. You have gone up against legends in the squared circle during your tag team runs with Meghan. You have shown you could translate tag team wrestling into singles wrestling. I have faith in you. Your nieces have faith in you, and even if she isn’t showing it right now, Meghan has the same faith.”

“Will you be there, dad?”

The big man smiles and follows it up with the infamous Strader Family sneer.

“Baby girl, I am always with you. As I wander the earth in my own personal purgatory hell, I keep my spirits up by being with you, your sister, and your nieces. I love you, Tamika. Always have, and I always will.”

Before Tamika can answer, she finds herself back in her tent, waking up slightly dazed and confused. She sits up and notices she is in her green sweatpants and hoodie with the Craze Championship around her waist.

“Was… that all a dream?”

She goes to stand up and sees a soft pack of Marlboro Reds sitting by her bag. Her father’s favourite cancer sticks. She picks them up and smells the tobacco which has a hint of Scott Nash Strader’s musk.

“I’ll make you proud, daddy.”