Post by Max Stone on Jul 5, 2023 8:07:11 GMT
SOMEWHAT DAMAGED PT. 2
MAY 2023
"Actual retail price… one thousand dollars!!"
Ding ding ding ding ding goes the bell as the contestant on The Price Is Right jumps for joy and storms the stage to play his pricing game. Max has just been given the news that "she's coming" and is using what little brain power he has at the moment to figure out what exactly that means as he stares at the screen in a daze. Max loses that train of thought and looks over to his buddy Mario.
Max: Cliff Hangers. My favorite pricing game.
One of the staff members enters the recreation room.
Staff: Max? Max Stone?
Max smiles and looks over at the staff member calling his name.
Staff: Please come with me.
Max (whispering to Mario): Time for the mind scraper?
Mario: Oh shit…
Max stands up and makes his way to the staff member who asks him to follow her down the hall. The dreaded mind scraper must be waiting for him and he supposes that this is the moment of truth. The main event. The show time. The staff member opens the door and asks Max to enter. To his surprise it's just a small room with a couple of leather chairs and some nice flowers. Max takes a seat at the request of the staff member who leaves him alone in the room.
Max (singing quietly to himself): Yodelay-hee yodelay-hee-ohhh.
His goofy singing is quickly brought to a halt when the door opens and in walks the person Max Stone had never thought he would see again. The woman who he had been taken away from all those years ago. The woman who left him by himself in a tiny apartment for an unfathomable amount of time when he was a young child. Mom.
Sylvia: Oh, Maxwell… It's so amazing to see you again.
Max finds himself unable to look in her general direction as if the sun itself just came into the room and shot a blinding ray straight at his head. He lowers his head with his eyes closed and places his hands over his ears.
Sylvia: Max… It's been so long. Not a day has gone by where I haven't felt absolutely guilty…
Max's eyes SHOOT open and he raises his head. He casts a sharp, cold, stare straight into his mother's eyes.
Max: It's you.
Sylvia: Words cannot even describe how truly and deeply sorry I am for everything that I did. Everything is my fault.
Max starts to laugh. This is a laugh we have never heard before from Max Stone. It's slow and intense and it's making Sylvia visibly uncomfortable.
Max: It's nice to finally put a face to the feeling. I've long suspected that there was a source to all of this. The spark that started the fire. And here she is sitting across from me. Begging for forgiveness to ease the guilt.
Sylvia: I know that you're dealing with someone else in your head. Can I please just talk to my son? I want to talk to my son.
He laughs once more.
Max: You're the original taker. You took away hopes. You took away dreams. So much more is MAKING SENSE NOW!
A LOUD CRASH can be heard from outside the room. Then the lights in the visiting room start flickering erratically.
Max: You might as well be a celebrity!
It sounds like full scale pandemonium has broken out down the hallway of the Resnick Psychiatric Hospital. Sylvia, looking terrified at whoever is in charge of her son right now, stands up and walks backwards towards the exit. She opens the door and SCATMAN runs by.
Scatman (loudly singing): Ski-bi dibby dib yo da dubba dub! Yo da dubba dub!
Max surges past his mother, almost knocking her off of her feet, and now finds himself in the hallway. With a look of determination, he ducks into a room labeled "LAUNDRY" and closes the door. Scatman runs back into the common room trying to further distract the staff while the entire room has broken into a frenzy. Staff members try to subdue the rowdy patients. The alarm is bow blaring while the lights continue their rapid flicker and the TV just keeps on a playin’
Drew (on TV): You were a dollar short of a perfect bid, you won a trip on Cliff Hangers, and now we'll see if your luck continues on the wheel!
The scene fades to black.
DAYS LATER?
HOURS???
?? MINUTES ??
HOURS???
?? MINUTES ??
Max’s eyes SHOOT open. This can’t be right? He’s back in his bedroom at the Resnick Psychiatric Hospital. His eyes jolt around the room and he tries to get up and realizes that he can’t because he’s restrained to his bed.
Max: What the HELL IS THIS? Let me out!!
The door opens and an elderly man walks in wearing a doctor’s coat. Max can immediately smell the stale cigarette smoke emanating from the doctor. The badge on his jacket indicates that this is DR. PENNY, a man that Max has only heard about so far in his stay.
Dr. Penny: I’ve had a lot of patients over my forty years here and I’ve gotta say you’re a unique one, Mister Stone.
Max: Please unhook me. I’m not dangerous.
Dr. Penny: I know… but we don’t know about whoever else is in there. Can you tell me what day it is today, Max?
Max: I have no idea. I lost track of time a long time ago.
The doctor smirks.
Dr. Penny: Fair enough. Can you tell me anything about the past couple of days?
Max: Unhook me from this and we talk. Until then, I ain’t telling you shit.
Dr. Penny calls for an orderly to enter the room and they free Max from his restraints. Max sits up and drinks out of a cup of water sitting at his bedside.
Dr. Penny: Why did you come back?
Max: Pardon me?
Dr. Penny: To Resnick. You were free. You were out there and then you just… walked right back in through the door. Why is that?
Max closes his eyes and tries to search for any recent memories and he’s coming up with very little.
Max: I wish I could tell you. The last thing I remember was I was in the common room watching TV and someone called my name and then I woke up here.
Dr. Penny jots something down on a notepad.
Max: You’re telling me I escaped?
Dr. Penny: Mmm hmm.
“The plan,” Max thinks to himself. The plan that Mario had told him about. It worked? If the Maniac’s plan worked, why the hell did he walk back in?
Dr. Penny: I hope you’re now realizing that this cannot continue, Max. You’re losing days on end… hopping on planes going who knows where. You need to take control of your life and I can help you.
“Planes?” he asks himself silently.
Dr. Penny: And that’s why I think you’re a perfect candidate for a revolutionary new treatment device that we have right here in this very hospital. A device that can take all the broken parts and fuse them back together so you can live the life you deserve to live!
Max: The Mind Scraper…
Dr. Penny laughs.
Dr. Penny: The Axis has seemed to have gained a nefarious reputation around here but I assure you there is no "mind scraping" going on. If you really are interested in getting the help you need, the Axis can be what you've been looking for, Mister Stone.
Dr. Penny gets up and starts making his way out of the room.
Dr. Penny: I'll give you a day to think about it. Until then, take care of yourself.
Dr Penny leaves the room and Max is left alone in his bedroom to contemplate.
A DAY LATER?
Another therapy session with Dr. Costa, the therapist with the long hair that's serving as the last remnant of his former hippie life. This time it's one on one and not in a group setting and Max seems to be especially flustered.
Dr. Costa: Max, can you tell me why you're here?
Max sighs.
Max: Because the Maniac suggested he might torch the IIW and then someone planted a blowtorch and gasoline in my locker.
Dr. Costa: Hmm.
Dr. Costa jots stuff down on his sheet of paper.
Dr. Costa: So… I want to talk about the other day when your mother showed up.
What?
Max: My mother? She showed up? Here?
Dr. Costa jots down more in his notepad.
Max: Stop writing. What do you mean my mother showed up? Answer me.
Dr. Costa. So… you have no memory of the interaction.
Max: Apparently not!
That fucking Maniac. He did it again. This is at least the second time he's taken over when his mother has made contact with him.
Max: I haven't seen her since I was 8, man…
Dr. Costa: I see. So your mother shows up, you and your friends orchestrate your escape, you hop on a plane halfway across the country and then come right back here to Los Angeles and into the hospital. Why do you think all of that happened?
Max: I don't know! I'd say ask the God damn Maniac but whatever pills yall are giving me have turned him into a blob!
The doctor writes some more and it's frustrating the hell out of Max.
Max: I want to go home. I'm tired of this shit.
Dr. Costa: I'm afraid we cannot make that happen yet, Max.
Max: Why the hell not?
Dr. Costa: Because your fracture needs to be healed and we can do that for you. Have you given any thought into what Dr. Penny has told you?
Max: We're done here.
Dr. Costa: Okay… we'll talk tomorrow.
TOMORROW?
Another day, another morning of game shows in the common room. Max hasn’t seen Mario Cratts or the Scatman in a while and has been worrying about their well being. Every time he asks of their whereabouts he is given nothing. He feels guilty that they have sacrificed so much for the escape plan the Maniac executed and then ultimately fell back on. Was their sacrifice all for nothing?
Ding ding ding ding
Every day is the same and Max has long lost track of the calendar. All he knows is that The Price is Right ends and he goes to his daily session with Dr. Costa. A session that leads nowhere and Max wishes he could just reach over and Renegade Spike the pretentious therapist right on to the cold tile floor but that’s a surefire way to buy way more time in this place. Max wonders if the medication dosage has changed because he finds himself thinking clearer than he’s used to. For the first time in a long time he thinks about the IIW and wonders if he’s still the United Kingdom Champion there. The War Games match now feels like a childhood memory: distant and cold. If he ever gets out of here, will he be the same? Will there be a place for him?
Orderly: Max? Max Stone? Dr. Costa is ready for you.
Max heads towards the orderly who will bring him to his therapist. As Max makes the walk down the hallway, he starts to feel very angry at the thought of the Maniac blocking him out of seeing his mother at least twice now. Last time he confronted his alter ego about this, he vehemently denied it and Max wanted to believe him but it happened again.
Dr. Costa: Max! Please take a seat.
Max enters what he has dubbed “the interrogation room” where Dr. Costa grills him until he gets what he wants to hear.
DR. COSTA
Max, can you tell me why you're here?
MAX
The Maniac hinted that he would burn down the IIW and someone planted a can of gasoline and a blowtorch in my locker to make it look like it would actually happen.
???TOMORROW?
DR. COSTA
Max, my man! What are you doing here at Resnick?
MAX
The Maniac hinted that he would burn down the IIW and someone planted a can of gasoline and a blowtorch in my locker to make it look like it would actually happen.
Max, my man! What are you doing here at Resnick?
MAX
The Maniac hinted that he would burn down the IIW and someone planted a can of gasoline and a blowtorch in my locker to make it look like it would actually happen.
.......
Max, can you tell me why you’re here in this facility?
MAX
Fuck you. How many times do I have to tell you that someone planted shit in my locker?
Max is accompanied by two orderlies down the hallway into a room he has previously yet to occupy. The room is very bright. Everything is all white and in the center of the room sits a chair with some kind of apparatus hanging above it. A group of doctors sit behind computer terminals and a low electronic hum radiates throughout the room. Dr. Penny looks up from behind the terminal with a smile on his face.
Dr. Penny: I know this was a tough decision for you, Max. But please know that this is going to help you and improve the rest of your life. No more being shut out. No more missing time. No more burden.
Max looks at “The Mind Scraper” machine.
Max: Will it hurt?
Dr. Penny: Not at all. If it does, you tell us and we will unplug you immediately. Are you ready?
Max: As ready as I’ll ever be.
Dr. Penny: Great, let’s get started. Please take a seat.
Max sits down in the big dentist chair looking seat. As they start connecting him to the machine, echoes of the conversations with Dr. Costa run through his mind.
DR. COSTA
Why are you here, Max?
MAX
The Maniac said he was going to burn the IIW down.
A team of doctors connect various suction cups and probes to Max’s chest and arms.
DR. COSTA
What did you do to get here?
MAX
We said we were going to burn down the IIW.
DR. COSTA
And who is “we?”
MAX
The Maniac and I.
Dr. Penny flips some switches on a wall mounted machine filled with gauges and dials. Bright sounding electrical tones.
DR. COSTA
How did you find yourself here?
MAX
I threatened to burn the IIW down to the ground.
The hanging apparatus is lowered down from above and fits over Max’s head like a helmet. Musical electronic tones are playing throughout the room and they’re actually kind of comforting.
Dr. Penny: Now Max you’re going to find yourself in some type of environment. I need you to find your other personality and engage him in conversation. Keep him talking as much as you can and when you hear my voice telling you to make contact, I want you to reach out and touch him and then the fusion will begin.
This is it… if this machine actually works, that is. Dr. Penny presses a large green button on the panel and more musical tones begin playing along with a loud bassy droning noise that Max could feel throughout his body. Max’s entire field of vision is filled with white light as if he’s in the Matrix.
A memory pops into his head of his childhood where he was playing the board game “Guess Who?” with the Maniac.
Now he’s thinking of the time the Maniac convinced Max to throw a wrestling magazine in the grocery cart with the hope that Mom wouldn’t see it. Then they spent the next day writing a letter to their favorite wrestler from an address they got in the magazine and asked him how they could become as big and strong as him.
Max is now seeing wavy purple lines everywhere as if he’s flying through hyperspace in Star Wars. A pleasant sine wave tone is piped into his helmet and now everything has become purple. And just like watching a Polaroid picture develop, details of an environment start to slowly fade in.
Max: What the hell is this?
Max Stone finds himself in his childhood living room. The place he spent so much time isolated and alone with only the Maniac to keep him company. The place where he would go in his mind when the Maniac would take control of his body. Max looks around the room. Purple light enters in through the closed curtains.
Max: Where are you at, man?
Max notices that the front door is cracked open. He grabs the knob and opens the door and sees a huge grouping of BLACK TREES off in the distance floating in a massive purple void. A cobblestone pathway connects the mass of trees and the room Max is currently standing in. Max feels drawn to the trees and steps out of the apartment onto the floating pathway. He stops to reflect on this moment.
Max: This is fucking weird.
An unsettling out of tune drone sound has now made its presence felt as Max enters this wooded area. It’s dark. It’s really dark. The only light that Max has to guide him is the purple sky peeking in through the leaves of the pitch black trees. Something catches Max’s eye and he knows this has to be the place. He separates a large bush to create an opening and wiggles his way through to see that he has come across a small pond. But this isn’t any ordinary pond… the water glows RED. He takes a step but loses his footing and tumbles into the red water. He quickly gets back to his feet and looks down at his body that is now covered in the glowing water.
"Not a day has gone by where I haven't felt absolutely guilty…"
The voice of Max’s mother reverberates throughout this forest. Max looks startled by this.
Max: …. Mom?
"Everything is my fault. "
Max: Mom, where are you?
Max trudges through the red water and quickly comes to a halt when he sees a MAN bent over and rubbing his face with the water in his hands. The man is dressed in all black and Max cannot see his face.
Max: Hey… I’ve been looking for you.
The man slowly stands up and turns towards Max and reveals that he is a BLACK MASS with no details whatsoever. A shadow person.
Max: … Is it you?
??: Is it me?
The deep voiced shadowy mass starts to slowly walk towards Max.
Max: Maniac?
??: I’ve been looking for you. You have no idea how badly I’ve waited for this moment.
Max is now showing fear. Dr. Penny’s voice echoes throughout the forest.
Dr. Penny (echoing): Keep him engaged!
Max (yelling): It’s not him!
Max walks backwards through the glowing red pool of water as the shadowy man gets closer and closer.
Max: … who are you?
The mass lifts his hand into the air and the sound of CHEERING FANS could be heard.
??: I am… I am…
The mass's arm abnormally extends far beyond its reach and places its hand on Max’s shoulder.
??: I am you!
The shadow man BURSTS INTO FLAMES and sparks fly into the air igniting the dark trees above. Little fires have ignited all around the forest area and Max runs away through the glowing pond to avoid getting caught up in them.
Max (yelling): Get me out of here! Now!
The fire situation escalates rapidly and now a massive wall of fire is coming towards Max. He runs as fast as he can through the forest but the fire is gaining ground on him. That bassy electronic hum once again becomes present and the trees and the fire all start to quickly vibrate and pulse. Max trips on a large rock and falls to the ground. As he tries to get to his feet, the ground from beneath him starts to fade away as does everything else around.
??(voice): See you soon!
Max is now floating in a purple void and freaking the fuck out. The purple turns to white and the helmet of the Mind Scraper is lifted off of him in the real world. Max is shaking violently and his eyes are wide open and bloodshot.
Max: What the fuck did you just do to me? WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?
A doctor approaches Max and jabs him with a syringe.
Dr. Penny: Just relax! You did good in there. We were unable to make any fusions but you did a great job. We’ll try again tomorrow.
Max: I’m not getting back in that fuc…
The contents of the syringe kick in and Max fades off to sleep.
WHO EVEN KNOWS WHAT DAY ANYMORE
Drew (on TV): Remember to get your pets spayed or neutered. Take care of yourself. We love you and hope to see you tomorrow here on The Price Is Right!
This is life now and this is what life may forever be. A once great professional wrestler sits in another medicated daze unable to think about anything else but what took place while he was attached to that evil machine. A staff member breaks his train of thought.
Orderly: Max? Max Stone? Dr. Penny is ready for you. Let’s go.
Max: Tell Dr. Penny that he can take that machine and stick it straight up his ass. If he wants to put me back in it, he can grab me himself but he’s so old he’d probably break a hip.
The orderly summons another member of the staff and they both grab Max by each arm and drag him out of the room.
Max: I’m NOT GOING BACK IN THERE.
The orderlys ignore him. Just then, they’re approached by another staff member who whispers something at each of them. They reverse course and go down a different direction of the hallway. Max is nudged into what looks to be another kind of visitation room except this one has a giant sheet of plexiglass between the patient and the visitor.
Max: Is this jail now or something? What is it with all this?
Max turns and looks at the other side of the plexiglass and there sits someone Max had thought he would never see again. It might as well be a ghost but it’s not a ghost, it’s the former IIW United Kingdom Champion FRED DEBONAIR.
Fred: Hello, Maxwell…
… and if you’ve been paying attention to Monday Night Mayhem, you know how the rest of this goes.