Looking ahead

6am, December 29th...and I'm already out of bed. My head has been buzzing for most of the night, filled with ideas, signs and, some would say, visions. It's getting harder to sleep, always a sign (for me anyway) that changes are coming.

I'm sitting at the dinner table, a cup of hot chocolate sitting on the table. I do drink coffee and tea but I have a feeling that, right now, that wouldn't be such a great idea. So I sit back, try to relax, and let the latest set of images wash over me.

I've considered calling Shand, talking to him about what's in my head. We may not have been on the best speaking terms lately, after the front up in New York, but he's one of the few people I know would understand what this is without dismissing it as a work.

I take another sip of hot chocolate and feel how the liquid slides down my throat. It refreshes the memories of the dream. Of what I was drinking in that set of images. I could almost taste it, such was the strength of the dream. Even now I can't be sure that I can't taste a tang over my hot chocolate.

I stretch and pull the laptop closer to me. It's never far from me, except when I'm in the ring. I smile, truly The Cyberstar. I click on the video I've been watching and the screen comes alive with images of Rob Arnold.

Arnold. My opponent at the reunion show. I've been watching some of his old matches, trying to get a feel again for his style, his moves. For the way he gets into that move, out of that hold. It's the necessary evil of any match that you want to win.

I've been hearing stuff about a few of the people on the show. It seems to have been an interesting few years, not just for me. Again I smile, thinking about what has gone on since the last time I was in a federation with my opponent. How I walked away only to find a path that I would have to walk again.

As I smile I run my tongue over my fangs. Yes, they are real. The answer to the frst question that I always get. It didn't come cheap to change them to be permanent but it was worth it. I just felt that there was a part of me missing and they filled that gap.

The feel of them, long and sharp, reminds me of the dream. I was smiling there too. Showing these very same fangs. I know that I'm going to have to show them again...

I click off the computer, deciding that it's time for my own spell in the gym. A couple of hours of working out before some more research. A trip into town for lunch and then home to train some more.

As I get up I must have my mind on other things as I catch the edge of the mug and it falls to the ground with a crash. Leaning other I mop up the remaining chocolate as it begins to pool on the ground and start to pick up the broken pieces. As I do I prick my finger on the side of one jagged edge. It's only a small nick, more annoying that deep. So I stick my finger in my mouth to keep it clean...

...and the tang returns...