Rumble in the Jungle

Wednesday, June 23, 1999

Justus Cleveland can't sleep. Every night for the past two weeks he tosses and turns and wakes up in a cold sweat, screaming in terror. He has been victimized, he has been brought in... He is being controlled. His dreams over the past two weeks have been unlike any other he has ever had. They are full of dark, mysterious images, mostly of shadows that follow him where-ever he goes. Every step Justus takes, it's as though someone or something is following him. Fire burning, snakes and vermon everywhere. Hungry beasts frothing at the mouth, just waiting for the chance to pounce at Cleveland and devour him for dinner. Every night this takes place, and every night Justus awakes, his heart pounding and body quivering... he has him.

Tonight, as Justus falls asleep, the terror begins again: footsteps, snakes, beasts looking for dinner. But tonight there is more. Tonight Justus finds himself in a jungle. The sounds he hears are unlike any other he has ever heard; a drum beat consistently getting louder, but yet far away in the distance. He takes one step, and starts sinking into quick sand... but just escapes. He takes another and an axe with a sharp edge comes flying from the distance. Justus ducks, and the flying axe just misses decapitating him. He wonders, "Who or what is doing this to me?" But isn't it obvious? He is starting to break, the beads of sweat pouring down his face, his heart pounding with terror... But it's not over yet. As Justus continues to walk, trying to escape, he covers his ears as the pounding drum is getting louder and louder. It sounds as if the drum is right beside him, but a drummer is nowhere in sight. All of a sudden... EVERYTHING IS DARK and Justus becomes terrified. Not sure of what will happen, or if he will live, he lets out a cry of help, to which no one responds. And then... the lights turn on.

Justus is safely back in his bed, all alone, in his room, with no snakes and no terror. He slowly walks downstairs, still a little shaken from the nightmare he just suffered. After pouring himself a glass of water, he turns on the television and starts flipping the channels. Two minutes pass and Cleveland's heart rate has returned to normal. BOOM!!! THE TELEVISION EXPLODES and the drumming starts again... THE DREAM ISN'T OVER!!! Or is it? The drumming gets louder and louder and is deafening. Justus falls to his knees and cups his hands over his ears for protection. All of a sudden in the middle of his room an image of a wrestling ring appears with a few fans cheering at ringside chanting a familiar saying "J-U-S-T-U-S, Justus is the very best!!!" Cleveland slowly stands and walks over to the ring where he greets a few of the fans. Cleveland approaches one fan in particular wearing a JUSTUS CLEVELAND shirt and asks the young child if he wants an autograph. With a mysterious look in his eye, the boy extends his arm to give Justus his pen. But just as he is about to take the pen from the boy's hand, he lunges at Cleveland and starts to choke him. Quickly, Cleveland throws the boy off of him. But this no ordinary boy. The boy lets out a loud roar and metamorphasizes into a 2 headed beast with large claws and sharp teeth that seem like they could cut through anything. The beast stops, and stares at Cleveland. A few seconds pass... and the beast starts to let out a mysterious laugh. Cleveland thinks to himself "I have heard that laugh before" KOOKAMUNDA!!! And with that, Justus throws himself at the beast. But before he can even get close, the lights in his house go out. And while standing in pitch darkness, Cleveland hears a laugh that sends chills down his spine!!! Cleveland bellows, "KOOKAMUNDA WHERE ARE YOU?!!!" And with that, the lights go on. Cleveland is standing alone, by himself in his house once again. Sweet dreams, Justus Cleveland... and remember you always have two choices... ha ha ha!


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