From the Desk of Zachary M. Matthews - 2035

From the Desk of: Zachary M. Matthews

“There are no Impossibilities in this world, only Improbabilities. The greatest men of our time will be those who go against those Improbabilities, and succeed.” My uncle taught me that. I kept it with me for the rest of my life.

Uncle Chuck was like that. He called himself one of the smartest men of his day. I found it difficult to argue with him. He had philosophies on life. He had his ideas, his own way of doing things...and oftentimes, he succeeded. He was a great guy, once you got to know him. He liked to live for himself. He owned three large houses, one in New York, one in Los Angeles, and a third in Chicago. Chicago was where he spent most of his days. Born in Tennessee, my uncle soon moved to the midwest, where he lived for most of his life. I hadn't met him until I was ten years old.

I never really knew either of my parents. My mother died during childbirth. My father died a year later; as my aunt put it, he died of “a broken heart.” I knew better. Nobody knew exactly how he died, and to be perfectly honest, I never cared enough to learn for myself. With both parents gone, I was raised by different members of my father’s family, passed from relative to relative for a few months at a time, until my aunt finally took me in. She raised me until I was ten. Living with Aunt Jessica wasn't terrible. She was a kind person, but she had her problems. She was a sweet and capable mother, but was never really able to raise her own kids, due to her social incompetence causing her to shy away from anyone who might start a family with her. Eventually, she did marry, and raise a family of her own. By then, I was long gone.

Ten was a strange year for me. The year was 2010. Aunt Jessica got involved with some Hollywood actor and a wrestler...guy by the name of Cyrus. Interesting guy...He believed he was God. I remember...one day, he approached me. Told me he would teach me. Take me under his wing, and make me great. He took me to a city. His city. I spent that summer, learning from him. Learning the things that had made him who he was. He taught me to be ruthless, to do whatever it took to get what I wanted. I think, to an extent, that stuck with me. He wasn't afraid to take a few cheap shots, if it meant the betterment of himself in the end. Summer came to an end, and I was delivered home, to my Aunt Jess, my Uncle Chris...and the uncle I never knew I had. Chuck Matthews.

Strange things happened when I lived in my Uncle Chris's house. For as long as I could remember, I was a beach kid out of California. I lived with my Aunt and her roommate...some girl named Shannon. Shannon was nice. She watched after me while my aunt was at school, studying to be a doctor...or when she worked as a flight attendant on the weekends. I liked Shannon. She was my aunt's roommate, and one of her best friends, but the two could not be more different. My aunt was the kind of person who wanted to ensure my safety at all times. She liked to know where I was, wanted to make sure I wasn't in any danger. Shannon was more fun. On the weekends, she would take me out to San Francisco, where we would sit on the wharf, watching the fishermen bring in their catches. Some afternoons, when I got home from school and Aunt Jess was in her night classes, we would go down to the beach, and surf the high tide that usually came in as the sun was setting. When summer came in 2010, and it was time for me to leave, I was sad. Shannon was fun, and I learned a lot from her...I was disappointed to have to leave her behind.

Then I met Uncle Chuck.

Uncle Chuck...he wasn't like his siblings. He was the youngest of four. My father, Paul, was the oldest. He and Chris were twins, though Paul had been born ten minutes earlier. From the stories my aunt and uncle told me, he was a good guy growing up. He was a star football player, and had the brains to get himself far in life. He was given a scholarship to the University of Tennessee, where he majored in Business Management. He died before he could finish school. My aunt often described him as a guy who had his head screwed on straight. He knew he had the talent, and he knew what he needed to do to get where he wanted. My Uncle Chris was the disciplined one. He had spent a number of years travelling the world, and had an affinity for fighting. He had picked up numerous martial arts and other combat techniques during his travels, learning from anyone he could, be they professional trainers, or street thugs who happened to know their stuff. Uncle Chris wasn't one to crack a joke. He found pleasure in learning, in fighting. He fought for fun, as a way to test out what he had learned. Then there was my aunt...I've already discussed her.

Uncle Chuck though...he was different. He had the brains and the talent that my father had, that my aunt and uncle had...what he lacked was that discipline. My aunt loved her younger brother...but she made it no secret that she was disgusted by Uncle Chuck's way of raising kids. Uncle Chuck himself had one kid at the time: An adopted daughter, Ashley. She was eighteen at the time, living with her boyfriend. I never really met her, or got to know her. I remember going to their wedding...but aside from that, I could never really remember a time where I had gotten to know my oldest cousin.

Uncle Chuck was thirty by the time he finally married. By that time, he had two kids besides Ashley: twin sons, Bryan and Clay. I lived with my Uncle for that time...and moved out when I was eighteen. By then, a third son had been brought into the world. Little boy named Drake. I never really heard from any of them again.

My uncle let me stay in his Las Angeles mansion after I moved out, which meant, once again, that I was close to my Aunt. My aunt was living in LA at the time, happily married, raising two kids of her own. She ended up killing herself, not long after I moved in nearby.

It was during those years later, though, that I began to grow connected to my cousins on the other side of the family. I had spent years, growing up with Uncle Chuck, and by then had gotten to know his kids...but being very young, I never found much in common.

My cousins on my aunt's side, though...they were different. They were only a year older than Bryan and Clay...but they were so different. Bryan and Clay were exactly as I would have expected the children of Chuck Matthews to be. One was a musclebound meathead who spent his school days playing sports and enjoying the outdoors. He was clever, in his own strange way...but compared to myself, and to his brother, I was amazed the kid could tie his own shoes correctly. Bryan was the smart one...but was the runt of the family. Extremely thin. Your stereotypical geek.

My aunt's kids, though...they were interesting. Deeper, in a sense. Raylyn and Gavin, much like Bryan and Clay, were polar opposites, despite being twins. Gavin followed after my aunt. I remember the first time I met him, he was six years old. My uncle Corey, Jessica's husband, had caught a mouse that had been living under the front porch. Gavin took the rat from it's trapped and tried to nurse it back to health....he was a weird kid.

Raylyn though...she was an enigma all her own. She had that strange aura that seemed to be with her wherever she went. Even when she was a child, she always gave that feeling that she knew more than she was letting on.

She had a rough life. Both of them did. Their father was constantly pestered by the police, under suspicion of being a member of some terrorist organization...and my aunt had commit suicide, hanging herself in her bedroom.

Chuck and Corey had never really seen eye to eye. I had often wondered how it came to be that Corey had married my aunt...but I suppose stranger things have happened. Chuck was the CEO of some national corporation rooted in Chicago. Matthews Enterprises. One of those things that was cool to see, as it shared my last name. I suppose, then, it was all too fitting when I took the company from my uncle years later.

And brought it to heights even my uncle would have never imagined possible.

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The Right Honorable Gentlemen...it would seem they've had my number in recent weeks. I mean, in the last two weeks, I've suffered more losses than I have in my entire career...

That changes this week.

This week, I find myself in a tag match. Myself, paired up with the first IWF Champion in history, Corey Casey...fighting Brandon Macdonald and Ian Blackwing.

Brandon and I faced off once....only once. He emerged the better man. I won't make excuses. For that particular night, he was better...and it showed. Do I think he's better than me? No. Do I think he can beat me again? Honestly? No.

The last time we stepped between the ropes, I lost...fine. But, I do remember...something Brandon had told me that week. His loss to Ashley had made him a better man. I completely agree. What doesn't kill you will always make you stronger.....well, unless it's like...cancer, or something.

Regardless. The last time we fought, I lost. Since then, I've learned, just a bit more. Gotten just a bit smarter. I know a few more tricks. And looking at it now, I don't think I'll lose again. In fact...I know I won't.

Of course...this is a tag match. For all I know, Brandon and I may never fight at all. I might spend my time beating little Blackwing here.

So...let's see if I got this right. I've already fought, and should have beat, Duke Reginald...I've become acquainted with Tyson Rowle...onto the next one, right?

Ian Blackwing has...well, actually, he doesn't have anything. He's the son of Lord Blackwing...but has no real talent of his own. So he's a knight of England? That's nice. I'm the brother of one of the richest men on the planet. Who gives a shit?

Or, I suppose, you could look at it the other way. Chuck is the younger brother of one of the most talented competitors in the world...who cares?

Point is, family ties are nice and all...but it doesn't mean you can get the job done in the ring. And Ian...quite honestly, you haven't. You lost your chance at the High Impact title. Lost the opportunity to beat Death-Angel...now you're going to try, one last time. And I don't think you'll pull it off.

Neither of you two will.