Spread The Word

[Bray Wyatt]

OOC: Just a little somethin' somethin' I've written during the temporary downtime. I wanted to portray Bray Wyatt more outside of the arena, as well as give more insight to his character and plant the seeds for later RP's.

An alleyway, with a steaming sewer grate and decaying decor, was home to John H. Foster, one of New Jersey's lesser valued members of society. He curled himself up on a pile of collapsed cardboard boxes and bundled himself in a collection of rags and newspapers, struggling for warmth amidst the winter that wouldn't die. No family, no friends, no job... the life of the homeless was a lonely one and at the young age of 26... it seemed that John's winter would never end.

He closed his eyes, hoping for the non-existence of sleep to give him some respite from the misery of his every day life. Perhaps he would dream of better times to come... or of times gone by when his life was not the everlasting spiral into darkness that it had become. It was only then that he heard the noise that would change his life forever; the sound of footsteps entering his dark alley. John kept his eyes shut... dark alleys were not one to be entered by the most savory characters of society. Drug dealers looking for a place to make a deal... a psychotic killer looking to add another notch on his belt... or perhaps another one of the forgotten children of the city streets, seeking to find refuge from the cold, could all be upon him in moments. In any case, it was safer to stay dead to the world.

The footsteps drew closer to John as he braced for impact, hugging the newspaper around him tight, hoping it would protect him from the knife that would surely plunge into his chest at any moment... when the footsteps stopped and a voice spoke.

"Cold out here, huh?"

John opened up an eye and looked up at the man in front of him. He could be mistaken for a fellow homeless man, with his shaggy beard, hawaiin shirt and straw hat... but was a bit too clean to fit in. He smiled down at John, who let his guard down slightly.

"Y-yeah... can't feel my fingers..."

"What's your name, brother?"

"John. John Foster."

"And you're out here all alone, right? No family or friends?"

"Yeah..."

"Well John Foster, why don't you come with me? Let's get you out of this alley."

Normally John would have objected, but he was in no condition to refuse much of anything, especially from someone offering help. The stranger helped him up and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, as he guided him slowly out of the alley and onto the street. The stranger took him up to a busted, old Ford Escort and helped him in the passenger side before starting up the car.

"You hungry, brother?"

Hungry. Hungry doesn't even describe it. The last thing John remembered eating was the leftovers of an pizza he found in a dumpster... and that was yesterday's breakfast. John murmured a positive response as the stranger turned into a drive-thru. Pulling up to a speaker box, the stranger looked at the menu before speaking to John.

"You want anything in particular, man?"

It wasn't like it mattered... anything right now would be a blessing. He shook his head and grunted as the stranger started ordering.

"Yeah, I'll get two large double cheeses. Both with coke. That's all."

The speaker box blared out a distorted and incomprehensible reply as the car pulled up to the next window. The stranger took out his wallet, exchanged money for food and drove round to the parking lot, pulling into a space.

"Right, let's sort this out then... I'll hold mine, you can take the bag."

John grabbed the bag eagerly, looking forward to a hot meal. He took out the burger and immediately started wolfing it down. The two ate in silence and enjoyed the warmth that rattled out of the dashboard heater.

~ ~ ~

"There, ain't that better?" the stranger asked as John finished the last of his fries.

"Much better, thanks." he replied as he wiped his mouth.

"I'm Bray, by the way. Probably should have mentioned earlier." replied the stranger known as Bray.

"Bray, if you don't mind me asking..."

"Go ahead brother." replied Bray with a smile.

"Why?"

"Pardon me?"

"I mean, why did you do this? Nobody gives a crap about us homeless. You ain't a cop lookin' for me to be a snitch, are ya?"

Bray raised a hand in denial. "Nope, never been one for the law."

"I ain't dead, am I? You aren't a guardian angel, guidin' me to heaven or something?"

"Well... you ain't dead John... but if you wanna think of me as a guardian angel, I won't deny it."

"So you're like, a charity worker or somethin'?"

"Let's just say I'm a firm believer in doin' good and gettin' something good in return I suppose..."

"So who ARE you exactly?"

"I'm a friend, John. I'm a friend lookin' for a family."

"What's that mean?"

"What I mean, is that I'm lookin' for people to join me and spread a message."

"Oh no... so this is a religious thing? Look, I'm real grateful and all, but I ain't one for religion."

"No, no, you got me wrong brother! I ain't a priest or a preacher... I'm the message itself."

"The hell does that mean?" John questioned, preparing to reach for the door.

"I'm the message of humanity itself John... and humanity right now is very sick. I'm very sick."

"Oh god, you're just a nutjob! I'm outta here!"

John struggled with the handle, but the door wouldn't open.

"The hell is this?"

"It's a child lock... it's for my children like you John, who try and run from the truth."

"Let me the hell out or I'm gonna beat the shit out of you!"

"John... you and I both know you're in no condition to fight... and I'd hate to have to hurt you brother."

Without warning, John attempted to sucker punch Bray, who got in one shot before Bray lunged on top of him. Bray held him down and repeatedly punched him in the face until John stopped struggling. The pair breathed heavily as Bray winced in pain. John got him right in the eye. He knew it was gonna bruise.

"John, I'm so sorry man... I really, really didn't want to do that... but you gave me no choice."

Tears started to well in John's eyes as blood trickled from his nose. Bray loosened his grip slightly and spoke with an earnest sincerity.

"Now look, I know what you're thinking... I'm not going to kill you. I'm not some nutjob with a god complex who kills people. I'm someone who needs help... and I want you to help me John. I'm gonna let go of you on the count of three and I don't want you to do anything but sit there and listen. Okay?"

John nodded and mmm-hmm'd a response.

"One... two... three..."

Bray slowly slid back into his seat while John stayed perfectly still, out of pure fear.

"Now... I know you're gonna find this hard to believe... but everything you've been taught in life is a lie. There ain't no God and there ain't no Devil. There's only us... humanity... and every once and a while, someone comes along who's job it is to keep everything in check. He's the thing that steers humanity in the direction that it needs to go in. I'm that person. I ain't the first and I ain't the last... I'm just the current one... but I can't do it alone. I need you."

"Why do you need me?" John muttered, as he started to wipe the blood from his nose with his shirt.

"No, no... don't do that. You're gonna mess your shirt up. Here."

Bray opened up the glove compartment and retrieved a packet of tissues, handing them to John as he continued.

"Because my... methods... are less than nice... I'm considered a monster. I gotta show compassion every once and a while to convince the universe that I ain't such a bad guy. It's just that... I got so much love for this world... but humanity has gone so far off track. Sometimes you gotta do some not so nice things to those you love because it's in their best interest, y'know what I mean?"

"I guess so..." John responded as he sat forward, his curiosity starting to peak. As bizarre as Bray was, John was starting to find what he said strangely hypnotizing.

"See, every once and a while, I gotta go out of my way and do something nice for someone like you... because you're on the streets... and word travels fast on those streets. When people find out a guy like me is doin' good, then morale is raised... and when morale is raised, humanity is more susceptible to change... y'get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I see what you mean."

"So will you do this for me John? Will you go out and tell the world that there's a guy out there lookin' out for them? That he loves them and he's only doing what he does because he loves them?"

"I...guess I could do that, yeah."

Bray smiled as he got out of the car and opened John's door. Bray extended an arm outwards, pointing behind him.

"Then go, John. Go and spread the word!"

John slowly got out of the car as Bray returned to the driver's seat and waved him goodbye. As he drove into the sunset, Bray checked his rear view mirror at John who slowly faded away into the winter storm. One down, six billion to go.

[Juan Ramirez]

Full fleshed Epicness.