Automaiden - Book One

Chapter Nine

"Wake up, sleepyhead."

Jane awoke to the soothing and familiar voice she knew to be Heyman's. She opened her eyes. She recognized Heyman's messy apartment at first glance. Clothes on the floor, an assortment of guitars and band posters lining the walls. Heyman Nash was the frontman for a hardcore punk band called Snowmen From Hell, SFH for short. When not traveling to the wrestling events with Jane, he was on tour with the band. They were currently writing their new album, so Heyman had plenty of time to be with his best friend.

Jane hated hospitals. She never went to them, even in her most brutal of matches. In particularly bad matches, she would let Heyman tend to her wounds, if he was available. He was not a doctor, per se. Not even a nurse. He did come from a family of nurses and doctors, however. He even considered going into the field himself, before dropping out of pre-med to take the band on tour full-time.

Jane sat up on the couch she had been laying in, still incredibly sore from the two beatings she recently took, her movements slowed by the bandages she was wrapped in.

"How long was I out?" Jane asked.

"A little over a day" said Heyman, handing Jane a cup of coffee before grabbing one for himself and sitting next to her. Heyman and Jane loved coffee. Their particular favorite was the seasonal pumpkin spice. Whenever it came around Heyman would buy enough to stock his pantry until the following year.

"Ugh, I feel like I was hit by a bus" said Jane, feeling her wounds all over her body.

"I think you were hit by two, actually" Heyman joked.

The two shared a laugh. Jane loved moments like this. They always made her forget her troubles. Jane spent most of her time on the road, but on the rare occasions where she wasn't on the road and SFH weren't on tour they would just sit and drink coffee, watching classic wrestling matches and music videos.

"I've already gone ahead and canceled all of your appearances for the next two weeks, Evelyn. I told them you had to tend to a family emergency. Nobody knows yet about your assault" Heyman informed Jane.

"Thank you very much, Heyman. I don't know what I'd do without you" said Jane with a sigh of relief.

"You'd be perfectly fine without me, Ev" Heyman said. "You're a warrior, and the most brilliant woman I know. But I am happy and honored to be there there for you, and to call you my best friend."

The two sat warmly on the couch, Jane in silent appreciation of Heyman's praise.

"So, do I get to take you on a proper date for saving your life?" Heyman asked, half-hopeful and half-joking.

Jane dismissed the question with a chuckle, "You really think you could handle a girl like me?"

"Never say never" Heyman said with a wink.

They laughed together. While Heyman did really harbor romantic feelings for Jane, his friendship with her was much more important to him. So he let the topic die and switched gears.

"So, what should we watch today?" Heyman asked, shuffling through DVDs. "WrestleUltra VII? The Ruffled Feathers: Live in London? Oh! I know! The Snowmen From Hell tour documentary!"

"We've watched that old thing WAY too many times!" Jane laughed.

"Of course we have. It's a classic!" Heyman jovially insisted, Jane refusing to budge.

Jane looked over at Annie, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the television and watching cartoons.

"I think Annie already decided for us" Jane joked.

"I did not think I would be watching Ms. Juniper's Castle at the age of twenty-six" Heyman laughed.

Their bliss in observing Annie's happiness was cut short as the image on the television was distorted and replaced with a frightened elderly man in a dark room. Jane recognized him. She knew him very well, in fact. His name was Dr. Clarence Walker, a prominent surgeon. He spoke to someone just off camera.

"Please, sir. Don't do this!" yelled the frightened man.

"Do not fear, good doctor. You are a pawn in something greater. You are merely playing your position. Like an athlete, or an actor in a play." said a familiar voice that could only belong to Mr. Domino.

Mr Domino continued to speak, while Dr. Walker sat in frightened disbelief.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this here is Dr. Clarence Walker: plastic surgeon extraordinaire. He will be only the second in a long line of good people, innocent people, to die with connection to Hurricane Jane. You know her as the new Coliseum Pro Wrestling champion. I, however, know her as a nuisance. When Jane is dead, the killing will stop. Today is just the beginning. One week from now, there will be another. This will continue until Hurricane Jane is in the dirt and I can get back to my business. To show you just how serious I am, witness this magnificent display..."

Dr. Walker screamed in terror "No, don't do this! Please! Don't--"

With that, a bullet flew through the skull of Dr. Walker, killing him. Immediately after the doctor's body hit the ground the image on the screen was replaced with a logo of the double-six domino.