Here it was.

My heart.

My soul.

It was quiet now, silent, forgotten, a memory of the past buried in the sands of time. I turned the car off, and I thought of the world, I thought of how it had turned off to us, left us behind with no trail to follow, nowhere to go. I felt like I was in a rut, stuck, constantly finding myself back on these premises night after restless night, hoping one day, just maybe, everything would be back to normal, back to the way I remembered it.

I couldn't help myself, I couldn't resist; as I had the previous night, and the night before that, and the night before that, I found myself stepping out onto cold concrete, under dim lights in an abandoned parking lot, staring blankly into darkness, uncertainty. The one place I had grown to become accustomed to was now an alien landscape to me, unfamiliar and foreign.

It was true, for the first time in a long time, I was scared.

As I strolled along, alone, up the stairs and through a broken door, I felt something inside me drop. It was that natural instinct I had come to rediscover through years of rigourous exposure to an unforgiving world, that of always being on edge, alert, at all times. Usually, I had the place to myself; no one wanted to visit a vacated arena, a place where the only people who came here were teenagers looking for a thrill, whether that be breaking in, doing drugs, or having sex...that, or me, just a shadow, walking up and down these empty halls, fading away each day. Yeah...I could feel a little something slip away each day.

Maybe, one day, there wouldn't be anything left.

Of this place.

Of me.

I won't be remembered. I'm just some guy who came in just in time to catch the dying breath. I wasn't here when I should have been, I wasn't here when it mattered. No matter what I did or who I became, it meant nothing to those people. They'd talk about Johnny Perfect, and Rick Astin, and Generation X, but no one would ever talk of me that way.

Regardless, something was up. I could still feel it.

As a matter of fact, I think I knew what it was.

I wasn't alone.

"Why are you still here...Noish?" An ancient man of mystery, stepping into my view but not out of the shadow. He knew who I was but of him I could not say the same. Not yet.

"You know. I couldn't resist."

"Look around you, man. What do you see? Dusty floors, broken lights, empty seats...this place isn't an arena anymore...no, it's a damn graveyard..."

"How can you even begin to say that? All the history here? This is our home, it'll always be our home."

"Man, it's over. It's been a long time...just let it go, you know? Sure it was fun and we had some good times, but that's all behind us now, the GTWF is a thing of the past, it's best just to forget about it."

"No. Stop. I don't want to hear it anymore."

"No one wants to hear it, Noish. I didn't want to hear it. No one else wanted to hear it. But it's the truth, you can't run away from it anymore."

"Does it look like I'm running away? I'm right here! I've always been here! I'll always be here..."

"Hey, there's plenty of jobs out there; go get one for yourself. Settle down, take it easy for a while, be...be normal, you know?"

"A job? Is that what this was to you, a job? You walk in through those doors, get in the ring, and collect your paycheck at the end of the day? A job, really? Man, this is more than just a job." I turned and pounded my fist against the wall.

"This is my life."

"Yeah, well this was my life. I realized that and I didn't like it. I realized it early and I got out."

"You burnt out."

"And now you're fading away. What are you going to do, just hang out here and hope something happens?"

"I told you, I have nothing else."

"You have Ellie."

"Ellie's grown up, she can take care of herself now."

"She needs you, Noish, she needs someone to look up to, someone to learn from, someone to guide her. If that person isn't you, she might end up on the streets, or something worse..."

"No, she's a smart girl. Anyways, this isn't about Ellie."

"What's this about then, Noish? Why do you come here, night after night? What goes through that sick little head of your's, huh? What do you plan on doing? To this place?

... to yourself?"

"I just want things to be back to the way they used to be. It's all I know."

"Noish..."

"No, I'm serious...I swear, I'm ready, I'm here and I'm ready. I could get changed and be ready to go in ten. I'll take on anyone, hell, I'll take on everyone! Bring them all on!"

"Noish..."

"I'm The World's Greatest, right? This is my job, right? My responsibility?"

"Noish...there's no one here."

He was right. The lights were on but no one was definitely home. I think I realized that for the first time. At least, I came to accept it. I wasn't going to dwell here anymore. I wasn't go to dwindle away and die. I mean, it was possible, right? The challenge was still open. I'd take on anyone at anytime, should the opportunity present itself. Until then, there was no point worrying myself over it.

"Just...just home, Tony. There's nothing for you here."

"Yeah...you know what? I think I will. I'm tired, anyways."

"Yeah...yeah. Don't do anything I wouldn't do or haven't done in a long time."

I smiled. I smiled and then I turned around and walked away.

No, I wasn't going to look back.

I was going to look forward.

The only thing I had going for me was hope. It was enough to get me up in the morning and last me through the day. It was all I had left.

And it was all I needed.