Title: "All Things Start At Zero"        

         The fans had gone home. The seats were decorated with the stains of the concession stands. Only then could voices be distinctly heard without the use of am amplifier. The echoes of people chattering bounced off of the walls as the crew steadily tore everything apart and began the long task of loading the trucks with the pieces that make a Slaughter.

         In the bowels of the arena, Zero stared into the mirror in front of him. Almost all of the wrestlers had already left, if not all of them but him. He just sat there, thinking of the past few hours. It was the second week into his new profession. In the previous week, he had made an unexpected debut and wrestled his first match in months, almost a year. And just a few hours earlier, he had simply observed a match from the distance of the entrance ramp.

         It was the start of what was to come. It wasn't only the in-ring activity, though. His hotel room was already reserved for him. It was the travel, the hustle and buss to every city to perform in front of thousands. It was the life he had jumped back into

         Did he still want it? Did he want it as bad as he had thought he did just a few weeks ago?

         Yeah, he did.

         It was a life more frantic than what he had slowly grown accustomed to in Berkeley, but it was also a nice change. Life grew boring if he stood still long enough without something important happening in his future. Where he had ended up, nothing of importance lied ahead for him. This chance to return to wrestling came up. It was something daring, something that he didn't know the future of.

         The docks would still be around once his body wouldn't allow him to continue in the wrestling world. But until then, with his adrenaline still flowing through his body, that future was certainty, something that he didn't look forward to. It was imminent, of course, but still far away.

         He had the excitement and the travel; the busy life with no expectations of the next day to have to fulfill. But being in another country for a month straight had one downfall. His absence was something that a person back in Berkeley wasn't used to. She had grown used to him always being there, even if she struggled against the helping hand at times.

         Reaching through his carrying bag, he retrieved his cell phone. Punching in the numbers, he called his apartment back home.

         A female's voice came through on the receiving end. "Hello?"

         "Hey," he said. "How has it been?"

         Her voice brightened. "Oh, Lint! Hey, how'd it go tonight?"

         Zero reached over for a folding chair and took a seat. "Oh, I think it went pretty good. The crowd seemed to enjoy what happened. I basically just came out tonight during Sean's match."

         "So I take it things are still going good? Still another two weeks before you come back to the states?"

         Zero nodded as he spoke. "That's how it is looking. We leave from France tomorrow, then make our way to England. Next Sunday, we'll be in London."

         "That has to be exciting. I've always wanted to go overseas."

         Zero knew why she hadn't been able to. It was one of those circumstances that couldn't be avoided. So instead, he tried to turn the attention back to the United States. "They're nice. I don't think they can really compare to America, though. I'll be happy being back in Berkeley." Perhaps he exaggerated a little. It was something unique, a nice experience, to see a majority of the other large countries all in one tour.

         "I really hate to do this," she said. The bad timing was evident in her voice, for she obviously still wanted to talk to him. "But," she continued, "I was just about to walk out of the door. Have to be at work in ten minutes."

         "Oh, that's right. It is about that time over there, isn't it." Zero was already grabbing his bags as he spoke to her. He, too, needed to go ahead and make his way to the hotel so he could get some sleep before taking off in the morning.

         "Going to call tomorrow?"

         Zero looked down at his watch as he walked through the tunnels. "Yeah, I'll try an earlier time tomorrow, though." He passed by a few ring crew workers as he progressed towards the garage. A few waved bye to him. Zero nodded back to them.

         "Oh, I have the day off." She paused. "So, the annoyance of me having to be at work won't come up."

         Her voice had some joy in it as she told him that.

         Zero tossed the bags in the backseat of the rental. Her telling him that was some refreshingly good news. Her job had a history of long schedules without many off-days. "That's good for a change." He leaned against the frame of the car.

         A smile on her face was evident through her speaking voice. "Yeah, I'm finally looking forward to these days." Then she noticeably trailed off. "Well, call back tomorrow. It was nice hearing from you."

         Zero turned around and rested his chest against the frame while propping his elbows on the top. He leaned his face into a hand. "Nice talking to you. Glad to see everything's okay over there."

         "Going great." The smiled induced tone had returned. "Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow." She hadn't trailed off then. "Goodnight, Lint"

         He opened the door to the car and sat down in the driver's seat. "Have a good day at work." He closed the door and grabbed the key.

         "Bye," she said, kindly with warmth.

         Zero nodded his head to an invisible audience. "Bye," he relayed back to her. He couldn't quite capture the warmth that she had used, but he was close.

         Putting the phone away, he turned the key to the ignition. The engine cycled for a moment before he put it in gear and drove out of the complex. London, he was on his way.