Post by 𝓔𝓭𝓭𝓲𝓮 𝓜𝓾𝓻𝓭𝓮𝓻 on Jun 15, 2020 17:20:24 GMT -5
April 3, 2001
3:24 AM
Route 19 - Cherokee, NC
The moonlight shines down bright on this night. An overhead shot reveals a river winding through the area. A bridge comes into focus slowly below. The small concrete bridge is a popular fishing spot for the Cherokee people that inhabit the reservation.
The Cherokee Nation lay claim to this entire county. Most of them work or own stock in the Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel and Casino within the city limits. The eastern band of The Cherokee Nation have preserved most of this area even though now they live in homes all around.
Tonight, however, it is quiet. Headlights can be seen as the overhead shot draws closer towards the bridge. A chevy SUV can be seen speeding down the road at a high rate of speed. It begins to slow as it reaches the bridge.
The following is a dramatization of what transpired here nearly twenty years ago. Inside the vehicle sits two up and coming wrestlers. Tommy Crimson is driving while Chance Von Crank sits shotgun. The two travel together even though they can not stand each other. They wrestle in territories all over and are headed for Smokey Mountain for a show. The camera pans around the inside of the vehicle to reveal a crying female in the backseat that appears to be holding an infant.
“Stop!” cVc demands suddenly.
Crimson rolls his eyes before slamming on the brakes. The sudden stop causes Chance to slam his forehead into the dashboard! Crank looks at Tommy with a wrinkled forehead and almost snarl to convey his displeasure.
“Fuck you. I didn’t tell you to fuck a baby into a teenager.” Crimson mutters while never taking his gaze away from the windshield.
Chance opens the passenger side door and slips out. The girl in the back becomes almost inconsolable. Crank swiftly opens up her door then reaches in to take a hold of the back of her head. He then drags her out by the hair of her head!
The girl is seventeen years old. She has been seeing cVc for a while now and is the mother of his baby. Crank pulls her around the side of the vehicle and toward the side of the bridge where the little path begins to get to the waters edge below.
The girl refuses to walk down to the water which leads Chance to pull out a glock pistol. He slams the butt of it into the back of her skull suddenly! She nearly drops the baby but manages to keep her balance. The SUV drives off on the bridge which further enrages cVc.
“Fuck!” Chance screams out.
The pair finally reaches the river’s edge. The bright moonlight dances across the ripples of the water for a beautiful effect. Chance and the girl stand on the river bank for a few moments before he speaks again.
“Throw it in.” Crank almost whispers.
“No!” The girl replies in a whimper.
Chance slams the gun into the side of her face once more with real force! She nearly falls down again, but refuses. Crank then yanks the small baby from her clutches and tosses into the river! She screams, but they go unheard.
“I can’t raise a fucking kid. Ha, I wouldn’t want to even if I could. Now come on bitch. Tommy left us so we have to find “me” a ride.” cVc explains with wild eyes.
cVc and the girl then begin walking down along the water's edge while the baby floats down the river screaming.
The baby flips and turns in the water. The screams are broken each time it dips beneath the water. There is no end to this nightmare for this small child that has no way to swim at such a young age. The stream's power begins to diminish slightly. The baby ends up floating on its back gasping desperately for air. The screams bounce off the water and attract the attention of a shadowy figure along the river bank. The unknown individual dives into the river and takes hold of the baby just before it can sink to surely drown.
The moonlight reveals the person to be a Cherokee Native American that lives nearby. He was attempting to trap a raccoon that’s been killing his chickens at night. The man is close to the chief of the tribe and holds the baby close to his heart. The man’s name is Heart of Stone and he speaks in a whisper to the scared child.
“You are safe now, child. I will name you, River Echo and raise you like my own.” Heart of Stone whispers.
The man chose this name because if the echo of the baby's cries hadn’t bounced off the water, he would have drowned for sure. Suddenly, a gunshot can be heard up stream. The babies mother would never be heard of again and Heart of Stone always believed that shot was why.
May 20th, 2020
11:32 PM
Cherokee Backwoods, NC
Nearly twenty years later, River Echo is grown now. Raised by Heart of Stone and many Cherokee like him. The white child being accepted among so many that are suspicious of his race was difficult. Echo has become the reservation leg wrestling champion six different times. Wrestling is huge in this culture and he is one of the best. A promotion at the casino has caused a few Cherokee men his own age to become jealous. Jealousy breeds insecurity that leads to hatred and now Echo has found himself tied to a wooden fence post with three Cherokee men that he considered close friends standing around him.
“Where are we going to bury him?” One of the men inquires.
The three men grabbed him earlier in the night from the casino parking lot. They brought him deep in the woods to murder and bury him. They brought a bag of lye to remove all the flesh after his death to hide any evidence. One of the men holds a small box. He opens slowly then empties it near Echo. A large timber rattlesnake hits the ground pissed.
Echo peers up, beaten and battered by fists and a ball bat.
The three men laugh. The leader of them, Wrestles With Snakes, laughs out loud.
“You are not one of us. You never was. Now you will die.” Wrestle with Snakes exclaims.
The rattlesnake stares at River while coiling up to shake its rattle. Echo’s left eye is swollen shut. The snake creeps closer and closer.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a set of headlights illuminate them all from a ways off. The three men swing around to see a speeding SUV coming at them full speed ahead.
Dust flies in every direction as the large vehicle stops alongside the three men. They all cough from the dust as the driver’s side door swings open suddenly. A quiet hovering drone has filmed this all unknowing to anyone below except the driver of the SUV.
The unknown individual circles the car and the headlights finally reveal their identity. Eddie Murder. He holds a Kimber .45 in his right hand. He pulls the slide back on the handgun before pointing it right at Wrestles With Snakes.
One of the other men comes at Eddie leading him to fire the gun right beside his head! The loud bang so close to the eardrum causes it to rupture immediately. Eddie then points it back at Wrestle With Snakes.
“You need to get the fuck out of here before I do to you what you planned to do to River.” Murder exclaims.
The three men run off into the night without as much as a word. Murder slowly walks toward Echo, who remains tied to the fence post. He has many firearms himself so the noise was nothing for River. Murder suddenly shoots the rattlesnake twice to kill it dead. Echo slowly peers up at him.
“Who.. are you?” Echo asks in a broken tone.
“I am Eddie Murder and I come to offer you an opportunity of a lifetime.” Murder exclaims while squatting down to untie Echo.
“I work for Union Battleground and Tommy Crimson, who’s dying. He sent me to find you because I know you want to locate Chance Von Crank.” Eddie continues.
Echo fights at the very mention of his father’s name with pure anger.
“We know where he is. If you want him you need to work for us. You have a match at War of the Worlds 3 with Miles Lucky for a strap no less.” Murder explains.
Eddie releases River, who stands up. Echo rubs his wrists.
“How did you find me.” Echo asks.
“Cellphone.” Murder replies while pointing at River’s left pants pocket.
“I want to kill Chance Von Crank for what he did to me and my mother. I will do anything to get my hands on him. If I have to beat to death this Miles Lucky… Then so be it.” Echo replies with malice throughout his tone.
Murder laughs before repling, “That’s precious. Miles will kill you if you go into this match that way. He just bit a guy's finger off for no reason. We got a spot to fill and we believe Union could market you to the masses. This is all about money and Tommy’s hatred for cVc. You will lose.” Murder explains with a sly grin across his face.
River appears agitated by this. He reaches down and picks up the dead rattlesnake. Echo puts the rattlers in his mouth and snaps them off the snake in one swift motion! He pockets them before peering slowly back up at Eddie.
“We’ll see… Won’t we?” Echo coldly asks with a hint of dismay in his voice.
Eddie pats him on the back before turning to walk toward the SUV. The hovering silent drone catches all from high above. Echo stops dead in his tracks and turns to Murder before pointing at his right eye.
“I got the eye of a hawk and now its aim is directly on Miles Lucky. I will kill him if it means I get cVc, Mr. Murder. I will.” Echo promises with a stern expression and harsher tone..
“Call me, Eddie. Let’s go.” Murder responds.