The Herald Chronicles - Chapter 1 - The Herald Cam Show

Down the sideline!

The forty!

The thirty five!

The thirty!

The twenty five!

The twenty!

Fifteen!

Ten!

Five!

Touchdown!

Between plays, Bryan’s eyes caught the damp leaf being pushed down the field by the brisk November wind. The field is wet, muddy and in generally rough condition after a season’s worth of play. Tonight’s game is a slog and will end up being the team’s last unless they can pull off a miracle.

Grover Cleveland STEM High School is down 10 to 7 with just under a minute left, and the Eagles are on defense. The Evergreen Wolverines have crossed the fifty yard line and only have three yards for a first down that will ice the game. Evergreen has been unsuccessful on their other two fourth down conversions tonight.

Bryan scans the field as he attempts to find his son amongst the collection of mud soaked uniforms. Unable the identify via jersey numbers, he finds Nico’s six foot tall, lanky frame and locks onto his movements. He watches intently as Nico approaches the line of scrimmage from his safety position, the Eagles stacking the box against the run.

Instinctively, Kai grabs his hand and gives it a tight squeeze. She remembers being in the stands nearly twenty years ago watching Bryan play the same position, albeit in much nicer weather than they’re dealing with today.

Evergreen’s quarterback barks out the cadence, hoping for a misstep from Grover Cleveland’s defense. The Eagles remain disciplined, awaiting the snap of the football. After a quick motion of the offense’s tight end, the ball is snapped, triggering a series of violent collisions along the line of scrimmage.

Away from the chaos, Nico reads the play, following the blocking scheme and reading the running back’s eyes. He diagnoses the play and heads directly for the gap between the guard and tackle on the strong side of the offense. He bravely fills the hole and lowers his shoulder…

WHAM

Another violent collision.

Nico’s 160 pound frame is trampled by the running back, who despite a height deficit must outweigh the young man by at least twenty pounds. The Wolverine running back rumbles for another five or six yards before falling to the cold, wet grass.

Game over.

No need to run another play. As the referee signals for the first down, the Evergreen sideline erupts in celebration. Nico slowly rises to a knee as his head hangs in shame following his failure to make the stop on fourth down. Bryan and Kai share a quiet glance as a somber look creeps its way across their face. It feels twenty degrees colder on this side of the field as the reality of the end of the season hits the players, coaches and fans.

As the final seconds of the Eagles’ 2024 season tick down, Bryan breaks the silence. “I’ll go talk to him.”

He begins his descent from the stands but makes a sudden u-turn. “Actually, we need to talk first.”

Kai settles onto her stadium chair, the dampness of the seat now completely defeating its purpose. Bryan remains standing while he musters up the courage to breach the subject.

“I don’t wanna miss this stuff any more, Kai. I’ve spent the past fifteen years missing out on being a father. Nico’s missed out on fifteen years of having a father. I’m ready to change that.”

“I appreciate that and I’m sure Nico would too. But I’m not sure we’re ready for that. The calls, the video calls, the visits; they’ve all been nice, but I’m not sure I’m ready for us to do this together.”

Bryan hadn’t even thought about that angle. He and Kai were high school sweethearts and once had plans of living a simple, care free life in the paradises of Hawaii.

And then PRIME happened.

“Hey, look…I’m talkin’ about being more involved as a father. I’ll be honest with ya, I don’t know what that means for you and I…hell, maybe it doesn’t mean anything. For now, I continue to pay like I have for the past fifteen years, but I wanna be closer and more involved.”

Kai focuses on something in the distance, possibly the same leaf that caught Bryan’s attention a few moments before. Her silence is deafening.

“I’m selling my condo in Osaka. There’s nothin’ left for me there, Kai. Nico’s here. You’re here. PRIME is here–”

“You literally just told me you guys were touring in Australia and Japan next year.”

“Yeah but–”

“No buts, Bryan. You can’t keep doing this. Can’t have your cake and eat it too.”

“It’s a few shows. I’ll travel back and forth, I don’t care. I’ve got plenty of points I can use. Fact is, I’m selling the condo. I want to move to Seattle. I want to be more involved in Nico’s life. And if I can be more involved with yours, all the better.”

Kai’s expression softens. She looks away and wipes the beginning of tears from her eyes as Bryan takes a seat on the damp bleachers next to her.

“You can’t hurt him” she warns. If it wasn’t for the tears welling up in her eyes, her statement could be perceived more as a threat.

“I won’t. I’m in this for the long haul, Kai. For both of you.” He places his arm around her much smaller frame and pulls her in for a quick embrace. His sixth sense kicks in as he feels another person’s presence to his side.

As he turns, Nico catches him in a full embrace, muddy uniform and all. As it turns out, the game had ended and teams exchanged pleasantries while he and Kai were talking. Nico made his way up the steps just as the conversation was ending.

“Hey buddy, ya did great” he attempts to console his ailing son.

“I didn’t do enough though. Did you see that last play?” he sighs.

Failure under the bright lights is certainly something Bryan has experienced, his current short two-match winning streak notwithstanding. “Sure did. But ya put yourself in the right position and were there to make a play. Just didn’t execute.”

He wipes a single tear from Nico’s face and gets some eye black for his troubles. “It happens to the best of us, Nico. Trust me, I would know. Best thing ya can do is learn from it. I bet ya don’t make the same mistake next year when ya play these guys…” He smiles and feigns a right hook to his son’s chin.  Kai takes this opportunity to produce a tissue and dab her eyes so she can avoid mirroring Nico’s eye black.

Nico cracks a smile. “Man, I wish you could be here for every game…”

Bryan reciprocates the smile but says nothing as he shoots a quick glance to Kai, who also remains silent.

🍍🍍🍍

“If I’ve learned anything in my career, nothing helps to take the sting off of a hard loss like food. Well, and a beer, but ya can’t do that for obvious reasons.” Bryan flashes that classic grin of his as he pops the top on a fresh pizza, Hawaiian style of course, and a couple take out containers of wings.

“Want a drink? Kai?” he asks as he rummages through the fridge in his rental. The fact that he has already arranged a rental in Seattle was known only to he and Kai. To Nico, this is just a nice Air BnB. A small, two bedroom apartment in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood is Bryan’s home for now.

“Sure…” Kai nods as he grabs a couple of beers and a Gatorade for Nico. He tosses the bottle to his son and hands the Modelo to Kai.

“Anyway…” Bryan begins to inhale a slice of pizza. “...I’m proud of you, Nico. You played a good game and gave your team a chance to win. Like I said earlier, you’ll make that play next ti–”

BZZZ BZZ BZ BZZ BZZZ BZZ BZ BZZ BZZZ

At first, he ignores the phone’s incessant vibrating and continues eating. Then, Nico speaks up.

“Dad - who’s Giuseppe? And why is he FaceTiming you?”

Just the mere mention of the Herald’s Herald’s name nearly causes Dawkins to choke on a chicken wing. And yet, he attempts to keep his composure.

“Probably–” he attempts to clear his throat. “Probably just a spam call.”

Nico doesn’t take the bait.

“Then why’s his name in your phone?”

Damn.

“And I’m pretty sure they don’t do spam FaceTimes.”

Busted.

Dawkins holds out his hand, wing sauce coated fingers and all, for the phone. Nico obliges. He declines the call and continues to feast.

BZZZ BZZ BZ BZZ BZZZ BZZ BZ BZZ BZZZ

Those Heralds are awfully persistent.

Some might even say painfully annoying.

He looks at Kai, who frowns. Nico wolfs down another slice.

“Sorry guys, I gotta take this. I’ll be back in a sec…”

Kai rolls her eyes. He can already hear her sarcastic “uh huh” as he wipes his hands off and retreats to the bedroom.

As he shuts the door behind him, he takes a deep breath and accepts the call.

“HEY! HEY KID! What the hell is goin’ on with this thing?”

All Bryan can see on his screen is the ceiling.

And the tips of Secretariat’s ears.

And Lowell Dot Com’s gagged, shrieking head sitting on top of the mantle, blocking the view of a beautiful copy of The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Wait…what?

“Uh, Heralds?”

“Yeah kid?” Dawkins sees a puff of cigar smoke float into view.

“Where are you bruhs?” He asks the question but there’s a pit in his stomach telling him that he already knows.

Suddenly, the screen is adjusted and the Heralds come into view. Situated in front of a zodiac blanket, the Green Herald is seated atop the arm of the leather couch. Secretariat is chomping on carrots in the background while Charlie Armageddon examines the walls of the apartment…

…but they all have cat faces.

“What the hell is wrong with this thing? I just did a cam show earlier and it was FINE.”

A what?

“OH! Forgot to turn face swap off.”

And…the Herald? No, that’s not The Herald.

“Ah, The Bryan Dawkins! I’m so glad you could join us!”

The Herald, rather a cardboard cutout of The Herald with an iPad where the face should be, smiles happily at the sight of the former Flyin’ Hawaiian.

“Okay so…uh, you didn’t answer my question. Where are you?” Again, he knows the answer.

“Why your apartment, of course!” replies The Herald. “Well, I guess that’s not entirely accurate. You see, I’m in Winter’s Port, but my Herald was kind enough to set me up with this fantastic device!”

As he reevaluates all of his life choices from the past month, Dawkins rubs his temples whilst sitting at the end of the bed. Charlie Armageddon chimes in as he examines the far wall of the apartment.

“Look at this wall! That’s a nice wall, you’re going to sell that wall?” He seems annoyed.

The next moment, the wall combusts into flames.

“What?! NO!” Dawkins screams.

Secretariat procures a fire extinguisher, whinnies and eliminates the flames, which luckily didn’t do too much damage and miraculously didn’t set off the smoke alarms and sprinklers. How would a “horse” do that, you ask? He’s a Herald.

“Sorry kid - Charlie’s a bit upset at your decision to move” the Green Herald explains. “He thinks this would be a great home base for us next spring when PRIME goes abroad. Guess you weren’t thinkin’ about that when you decided to sell the place.”

“You know what, you’re right! I didn’t think of ANY of this. I didn’t think I’d have to take care of the four of you–”

The Herald interrupts.

“There’s actually si–” The Green Herald quickly shuts the iPad off and redirects the conversation.

“Look kid, I get it. But think about this. If we murder someone in this condo, and I mean really murder them, I hear they turn into hungry ghosts and you could have an entire Curse of Oak Island reality show going on here where we try to profit off evil Japanese ghost hauntings! Food for thought!”

“I won’t be thinkin’ of any of that, thanks bruh.” Dawkins begins making a mental list of stuff he’s got to do now that the Heralds have infiltrated his condo.

Change the locks.

“Suit yourself.”

Get a contractor to fix the wall to remove the fire damage.

At this point, he sees and hears Secretariat take a giant deuce on the floor.

Hire cleaners.

“Look, I already made up my mind. I’m sellin’ the place. I’ve got no use for it anymore. My life is here in the states, not in Japan.”

Lowell’s gagged head interrupts him with muffled shrieks. He also catches Secretariat out of the corner of his eye. The “horse” is now eating a small bonsai tree which was sitting on a coffee table nearby. Bryan sighs and continues.

“But in order for me to do that, I need you guys OUT of that condo. Remember, this whole agreement I made is that I’ll protect you bruhs at PRIME shows…nowhere else. So if Crash happens to jump on a plane to Osaka…or Winter’s Port…I can’t help ya. So I’d suggest ya go elsewhere and we’ll talk about this in Long Beach. I don’t need this right now. I’ve got other things to worry about.”

“Like what, kid?” The Green Herald lights another cigar and begins puffing away, filling the screen with smoke.

Okay, double down on the cleaner…maybe a fumigator too?

“Oh, I don’t know. We pissed Crash off last week by leavin’ that stupid locket and now he’s gonna be gunning for us every chance he gets. And I’ve got a matchup against Steve Harrison. The Merch God. Vendor King. Miracle Man. Not an easy task, so havin’ to worry about you messin’ up my condo isn’t exactly helpin’!”

He’s right. Harrison isn’t too far removed from a big matchup against Kerry Kuroyama, one where he just came up short. Not much had to go in the Miracle Man’s favor for him to be Alias Champion right now. And while it seems that Bryan has righted the ship after back-to-back wins against Kinetic Innovation and Sebastian Gold, he knows PRIME is full of killers and he can’t take anyone lightly. Especially not someone who just went to the wire with Kuroyama.

“Well FINE then!” exclaims Charlie before setting the coffee table alight. Yet again, Secretariat is there for the save, although he doesn’t use the fire extinguisher. This time, he goes for a more…natural solution.

Fuck…really gonna need those cleaners.

He ends the call without another word.

🍍🍍🍍

Although Dawkins has heard much about Winter’s Port since his re-arrival in PRIME earlier this year, he walks off the plane not sure what to expect. Compared to the fifty degree chill he left back in Seattle, the near ninety degree heat is a welcome climate change for the Hawaiian. Winter’s Port is decorated beautifully this time of year…unfortunately, this trip is all business, no pleasure or time for sight seeing.

As he walks the clean, well maintained streets toward the beach access, he passes all variety of worker and tourist. The property is perfectly manicured and the workers share the same attention to detail.

Of note is that everyone looks just so damn happy.

Workers.

Tourists.

Children.

Everyone’s got a smile on their face, a stark contrast to the doom and gloom your typical American is subject to back in the states. He makes a mental note to return for a longer visit when PRIME is on hiatus.

Bryan continues his jaunt through the streets, passing happy, yet somehow faceless people along the way. Not that he expected to recognize anyone. I mean, what are the odds that anyone he knew would end up in Guyana at this resort? There’s always a chance of stumbling upon Don Winters or Pious Penguin, but aside from the person he was here to see, Dawkins doesn’t expect to run into a familiar face.

As he rounds the corner, he passes by maintenance workers working on some floral arrangements, again keeping everything picture perfect.

The shaved head is what catches his attention first. I mean, it’s not often you see a striking woman who forgoes a full head of luscious hair in favor of a buzz cut. Her appearance is startling compared to the rest of the picture perfect humans.

The somber, sullen look.

The aforementioned shaved head.

The pale, pasty skin complexion.

The gaunt, frail body.

But the face…Bryan Dawkins knows that face. They lock eyes for a moment.

“The Bryan Dawkins!” He is jerked away from the familiar by another familiar…the voice of The Herald. He turns in the direction of the voice to see Sub-Marquis Bentley Tennyson Primrose-Farthington Herald sitting in his wheelchair, pushed out into the middle of the beach. He wears his vibrant red tunic and the remainder of his exposed skin is saturated with sunscreen.

“Hey bruh, how’d you get all the way out here?”

“Aha, well you see, I thought I might be able to get all the way to the water but alas…these wings just got tired of flying! Thank goodness you are here!”

Ah yes, thank goodness. Bryan makes his way toward the Herald, the sand providing a scorching welcome back to beach life for the Hawaiian. The wheelchair is sunken down a good six inches into the sand and it’s not budging.

“Herald…that woman, back there–” he turns to point to the buzz cut woman only to see she’s no longer there.

“But there’s no one there, The Bryan Dawkins! Are you sure you’re feeling alright? Seeing things cannot possibly be good for your health!”

Dawkins shakes his head. Surely he isn’t actually hallucinating. Then again, it’s nearly ninety degrees that feels more like triple digits with humidity. Heat does crazy things to people.

“Uh…” Dawkins attempts to reason with himself. “No, I’m fine bruh. I think we should get you outta here. I’ve gotta get you to Long Beach so we can take care of this business with Crash.”

“Very well! Could I get a hand, good sir?”

Dawkins sighs and takes the reigns of the wheelchair and pushes with all his might, barely moving the wheelchair an inch.

“Alright, we’re not doing this. C’mere…”

He turns away from the Herald and beckons “jump on…”

“ONWARD!” The Herald yells as he hops onto the back of the Hawaiian as they slowly make their way off of the scorching sand and back toward the town.

“This really is a fantastic mode of transportation. We should do this all the time!”