(Blake) I hate to say anything as worn-out as ‘I knew what you were going to say before you said it’, but it’s the truth. You’ve never been someone who’s hard to read. You don’t hide what you’re feeling or thinking. There’s no between-the-lines. You’re going to beat me to a bloody pulp, right?

His head leans a bit down and to the left. A coy smile tugs at the corners of his mouth at the notion of getting obliterated by TR Saxton.

(Blake) Maybe you need to re-think what it takes to win a deathmatch. You seem to define it as being able to hit someone’s head as hard as possible, and being able to get hit hard in the head without going down. I approach this with much more flexibility. I’m perfectly willing to use the brass knuckles on your limbs and torso, and as Gravity so crudely alluded to, I’m well-versed in the use of handcuffs.

Now, this smile isn’t ‘coy’. It’s more ‘creepy’.

(Blake) You’re a simpler man from a simpler time, mister Saxton. While you were off in retirement I was breaking the sort of men you were never able to. I’ve been a world champion, while the most you ever did was be the best in a small division of lesser men. I fought Harbinger to a sixty-minute draw and I’d be the champion right now if the time limit was ten seconds longer. Mister Saxton, you really…

Blake sets his shovel down, covers his face with his left hand and tries not to laugh out loud. His hand moves down to just cover his mouth as he glances up. Finally he clasps his hands together.

(Blake) It just occurred to me that you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. You’re fighting… what, for your legacy? I’m fighting because someone like you can give me the biggest thrill of my life. You’re so tough and so…

He does a mocking bodybuilder-style flex, barely able to contain a grin.

(Blake) …so macho and you’re going to hit me until I can’t get up, right? And you’re going to keep fighting and fighting no matter how bad it hurts. You’ll never say die, you’ll never give up. You’ll bleed and you’ll get all bruised up and you’ll show how big a man you are. That’s what you’re expecting, and who am I to say you’re wrong? But you’re leaving something out in the way you picture the match.

He leans in close to the camera and whispers.

(Blake) You’ll scream, too.

He backs off, grabs the shovel, and gets back to work. He whistles while he works. In fact he whistles ‘Whistle While You Work’.

darkness