
| It was a late November 2004 pitch black and stormy night, on a grubby road outside darkness. At the wheel was a then unknown Disc Jockey named Mason Ramsey, late for his hair plug implant operation at the strip mall offices of Dr. Chu Chu Montoya, who just happened to be relocating that very night (due to an unfortunate paternity suit); and it was Mason's last chance to get the hair plugs he had been dreaming of for years. As the rain poured down in torrents, it pounded the road mercilessly, turning the landscape into a sea of sagebrush and endless streams of mud, filling the ruts in the road with jagged rocks and twisted pieces of debris. Lightening ripped through the skies as he looked for the western turn off that would take him to his destination ... but, the 30-year old Pinto began to shudder and shake as a bolt of lightening lit up the sky and Mason immediately found himself at the turn, instantly turning the wheel, as the Pinto tilted and began taking the turn on two wheels. Just as suddenly as he turned the wheel, he sensed the overturning Pinto giving up the ghost. With the wheels pointed upwards toward the thundering force of rain, the little car slid down through the slimy landscape. Suddenly, there came the inevitable crash, that ripped through the car like a shock wave, shattering windows and tearing the metal as it twisted and began rolling through the night, popping open the doors, ejecting him into the storm. Moments later Mason found himself face down in the Mexican mud as the Pinto came to rest on a ledge, rocking slightly and teetering as the wind pushed it delicately, as if it were resting on the head of pin and balancing like a clown on a unicycle. Mason, in trying to get up felt a sharp sting of a pain shooting through the back of his neck, just below his left ear. It felt like a barber, after losing his balance, had slipped and slashed his neck with the razor. Shaking off the momentary dizziness, as his mind began to clear, he began checking himself for missing and damaged body parts. Reaching for his neck, he found aside for that pain, and his blurred vision, that he felt pretty stiff, but okay. Moving his head from side to side and rotating it in circles, Mason was rubbing the base of his neck, trying to rid himself of the creak that was definitely beginning to settle into his body. Reaching for a boulder, and pulling himself up and out of the mud, the forlorn Disc Jockey found himself groaning as he tried to rise against the thundering skies. It was lightning bolt after lightning bolt ripping through the heavens, when he finally made it to his feet. Gazing at the stricken car, wiping the grit and mud from his face and eyes, he moved slowly toward the overturned vehicle less than five feet away. Another bolt of lightening lit up the sky exposing a massive tower frame that rose just yards beyond the ledge were the car rested as the tower frame ascended above the mountainous peaks. The wind pushed him closer to the automobile as he reached to steady himself against the edge BIG MISTAKE! The wind and sudden movement caused the car to topple over the edge, loosening the ground from beneath him, sending him following the wreck another fifty feet to the bottom. Luckily, Mason slid most of the way down the hillside on his back coming to rest next to the Pinto, where it landed again, wheels up, resting at the base of a massive derelict AM Radio tower, nestled in the canyons. The tower rose over the landscape like a skeleton of an ancient Titan. As the rain continued falling, Mason lay on his back mumbling in agony. He sat up, straining to look skyward against the wind and the rain. He could make out the welded steel call letters rusting in the grisly weather it was X-E-R-E and a warning sign that read: DANGER 1,000,000,000 watts. A lightening bolt suddenly exploded with a deafening crack, streaking into the exposed belly of the overturned Pinto, igniting the gas tank and electrifying the whole tower with an eerie green glow. The sudden explosion caused Mason to lift himself to scramble backwards, pushing with his legs to get up and away. In doing so, he slipped, fell and hit his head. The flames from the burning Pinto and the eerie green glow, dancing through the steel structure, were the last thing, Mason saw before blacking out. ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** The bright Mexican midmorning sun warmed Mason's face, baking the mud into hard clumps, as he began to regain consciousness, his eyes squinting, and his voice whimpering with the aches of a 90-year old gentleman who had been in a free for all with someone like Pamela Anderson. Slowly rising, Mason began jutting his tongue in and out of his mouth, trying to remove the dried mud, and replenish his saliva after what felt like the whole of Santa Ana's army had marched through it barefoot. Staggering from where he had found himself ejected the night before and at the base of the tower, he limped to the front of the burned out Pinto, holding his neck sideways rocking it side to side, trying to regain full motion. Reaching the twisted, smoldering heap, he slowly walked around the car making his way closer to the base of the tower. Curiously, he noticed an empty hole about three feet from the tower leg, and what appeared to be a shattered gravestone. Still feeling the stiffness and pain, Mason slowly got on his knees and began piecing the stone together. Of the pieces he could find, he could make out the letters JAC_ LO_ O RIP - 1966. It was odd, and Mason couldn't make it out, but it looked like the name JACK, but he pondered the LO_O, knowing that the RIP meant Rest in Peace, and whoever it was, he passed in 1966. It was then Mason, suddenly became aware of something behind him. A shadow loomed over him, blocking the sun. But, it was more than just a man. Mason couldn't believe his eyes. Above him, as he knelt above the hole and shattered gravestone, there were…Wings! The shadow had Wings! Without feeling any pain at all, Mason, shook his head in disbelief as a large hand reached down to help the confused Disc Jockey stand up. The shadow assisted Mason to his feet while he continued to brush away the Mexican clay and spoke; Mason my man, let the past be the past. It's time for a new Chapter Baby! This is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship! |