Alpha World Order Part 7: The High
Jack woke up not giving a flying fuck about anything that was going on in his life. He remembered that Annie had threatened him with a suspension, Linda was on his case about the divorce and work was nothing more than something that paid the bills.
No, today Jack woke up and thought about Austin Theory. The man himself, the guy who was the spokesman for the AWO and all that it represented. Theory had noticed him. He had said that he had potential and that if he kept pushing forward, he could have a spot in the ring alongside Theory.
Fuck, what a goddamn great day to be alive!
Jack got up and immediately walked over to his bedroom mirror and flexed his massive python biceps. Without a care in the world, he kissed one of them looking at himself in the mirror at the same moment and loving every fucking moment of it.
“Bro,” Jack said under his breath. “You fucking look amazing dude. No wonder people are so fucking scared of you when you walk into the office. They see this mass of fucking muscle and they want to worship the ground you walk on. But they can’t accept the fact that you’re fucking better than them.”
After getting ready, Jack ran over the scene in his head from the previous night and didn’t recognize what was going on with his friend Alan. It was hard for Jack to think of Alan as a friend any more. Alan was more like a rival now, somebody who saw Jack in all of his glory and was trying to figure out a way to knock Jack out of the limelight. Well that was fucking not going to happen.
While Jack was reveling in Theory’s light, Alan was waking up in a totally different mindset. Alan remembered the meeting with Theory for a totally different reason. Theory saw right through him. There was no praise from Theory, no ‘good job’ or ‘keep up the good work’. Instead, just like every other time in his life, Alan got told that he wasn’t good enough yet. That he was still seeking permission to enjoy being watched and being praised.
Of course, Jack was the one who got noticed first. It wasn’t Alan who was building his charisma so that he would get noticed. No, just like in high school and on the sports field, the guy with the roided muscles and the dumbass look on his face was the one who got applauded first. Brawn won over charisma and brains all the time in society. The smart guys did all the fucking hard work while the dumbass jocks got all the women and praise.
Where Jack was flexing and posing and being the alpha jock, Alan started getting ready for the calmly. He looked at himself in the mirror, making sure that he looked physically good. He wasn’t trying to flex and trying to scream at anybody but he was working on his presence and his smile. Every time he smiled, he tried not to sigh because of how fake it looked.
Looking where he dropped the AWO vest that he had been wearing last night, Alan grabbed it and put it on. Grabbing a pair of sunglasses, he put those on as well and turned and looked at himself in the mirror.
“Holy fuck,” he said. “You look like a fucking cosplay wannabe C list star.”
Thirty minutes later, Jack arrived at work and realized immediately how small the office was. He was understanding the fact that he was meant for greater things and that he had outgrown his job. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mabel and Annie both looking at him and then started talking to each other. He knew that they were afraid of him, afraid of what he had become and that was fucking perfectly fine with him. When he got to his desk, he sat down at it and proceeded to do the bare minimum required to keep his job. He had bigger things on his mind than deadlines.
Alan walked in a few minutes later and saw Annie looking at him. “Morning Annie,” he said, “How are you doing on this fine Tuesday morning?”
Annie chuckled. “And when are Tuesdays ever fine?” she said. Walking over to him, she smiled and said, “Question. I know Jack seems to be on a tear lately and dousing himself in steroids. But you… you look more put together later, more confident. Mind telling me what your secret is?”
Alan smiled and looked at Annie. “No secret, just good living these past few weeks,” Alan replied. He noticed Annie looking at him again as though she was checking him out. He felt guilty that she even felt that way but then again, it was good to be looked at wasn’t it.
“Somebody else notices the change in you,” Annie said as Alan looked and saw that Mabel was staring at him. As soon as he smiled, he could have sworn Mabel blushing slightly before quickly turning her head and making it look like she was busy.
“Anything else?” Alan asked as Annie chuckled.
“No, nothing else,” Annie replied. “Just be careful. It looks like you’re becoming part of the office pool to see who hooks up with you first.”
“Not a bad pool to be a part of,” Alan said as he headed towards his desk. He saw Jack at his desk trying to look busy but was really doing a bad job of it. Alan thought that Jack looked small in the cubicle for the first time which was a frightening thing to think about honestly.
A couple of hours later, both men’s phones went off almost simultaneously. Jack, being bored out of his mind with the tediousness that was work, grabbed his phone and grinned when he saw the latest message from the AWO:
Performance Development Trial: Pending
Requirement: Generate Heat
Make Them React. Make Them Remember.
Promo evaluation required.
The grin on Jack’s face said it all. He didn’t look at the message and the challenge as a test. It was his destiny to be somebody bigger. Somebody more than just an office worker.
Alan’s message was disturbing in its own way:
Stage 3: Spotlight Transformation Available
Requirement: Stop asking to be seen. Take the room.
Charm is not kindness. Charm is control.
Arrive ready to admit what you want.
Instead of pumping Alan’s own ego up, the message seemingly pointed out his greatest weakness. And every time that weakness was pointed out, Alan sighed and grumbled to himself. Jack had his own weaknesses to deal with but instead of dealing with them, Jack just ran through them not caring who he hurt or damaged as long as he got the thrill he was craving.
When he first went to the AWO store, Alan told himself that he was trying to figure out how to save Jack. But that wasn’t really the case now was it. Jack had been changed into something far more threatening, far more powerful. As he sat there looking at the message, Alan told himself that he was going back to the AWO store not to help Jack but to figure out what the fuck was going on with himself.
After lunch, Jack cornered Alan in the men’s bathrooms and showed him the text message that he had received from the AWO. “Look at this,” Jack said as he basically shoved the phone in Alan’s face.
Alan looked over the message and smiled slightly. He looked at Jack and said, “Nice. So what’s next big shot?”
“Theory wants proof. I’m giving him proof,” Jack said as he instinctively looked at his arm. Alan tried not to roll his eyes because it looked like Jack wanted to kiss his bicep.
“You hear yourself right? You sound like you’re begging for approval,” Alan replied. “The only way your ego can get satiated is if somebody tells you you’re good enough.”
“No bro,” Jack replied, shaking his head. “I’m earning this praise. I’m not begging for it.”
“You’re getting it from a screen?” Alan asked. “Shit. AI is so good right now that you might be deepfaked without realizing what was going on.”
“Fuck no,” Jack said. “I’m finally being noticed by somebody who sees who I’m actually becoming and encouraging it.”
After a moment, Jack saw the look on Alan’s face and laughed. “Holy fucking shit bro,” he said. “You're jealous. You’re jealous because he noticed me first.”
“Fuck no,” Alan lied way too fast to be believable.
Jack’s phone went off again and Alan could see there was a message from Linda, Jack’s ex-wife which immediately got deleted by Jack without him even reading it.
“Could have been important,” Alan said.
“I don’t need anything from that fucking bitch any longer,” Jack replied.
The afternoon for both of them went by in different ways. Jack sat at his desk and everybody who walked by felt a storm brewing with him. What nobody realized was that the storm that was brewing was exactly what Jack wanted. He didn’t give a shit about what anybody else thought as long as he could continue feeling that energy and power that he was being fed through his newfound lifestyle.
Alan on the other hand kept getting people looking at him and a few people made compliments about his appearance or how he was handling himself lately. The confidence that he was showing was starting to pay off with his co-workers and Alan realized that he could keep their attention on him without any issues if he wanted it. He was beginning to realize that yeah he wanted to be the center of attention.
At the end of the workday, the two of them went into the bathroom and changed out of their work clothes into street clothes. Jack changed into his AWO tanktop that by now was barely covering his growing muscles. While Alan changed into a black shirt and his AWO vest, Jack was looking at himself in the mirror and flexing and loving every minute of it. The more he looked in the mirror, the more he realized he never wanted this feeling to go away.
Anybody left in the office gave Jack a wide berth as he almost stormed out of the office. Alan was a few steps behind and a few of the women smiled at him. He returned the smile and kept on walking knowing that somehow he would still be in their minds after he left the office.
The AWO store was still there and Jack walked in now as though he owned the place. Alan wasn’t intimidated or fearful of what was inside any more. Where Jack felt like he deserved to be there, Alan was learning that despite all of his fears, the AWO store had unlocked something inside of him that he truly finally respected and enjoyed being.
Terry walked over to Jack and fistbumped him. “Bro, you fucking look amazing. The Freak wants to step in the ring,” he said. Looking at Alan, he smiled and said, “There. That’s the Spotlight who wants the room looking at him.”
“I didn’t say that,” Alan replied defensively. Even now, he was starting not to believe the lie he had just said.
“Not yet,” Terry replied. “But all of us know better don’t we?”
After a moment, Cindy walked out from one of the backrooms and Terry looked at her. “Look at what we’ve got here,” Terry said, pointing to Alan and Jack.
“Good,” Cindy said as she looked at Alan first and then Jack. “We’re ready for both of you.”
The four of them walked into a back room and Alan noticed that it was different than the other rooms that they had been in. The walls here were black and the lighting was red accent lights. There were several cameras in the room. There was a corner ring post from a wrestling ring in the center. Behind it, there was an AWO banner. On one of the monitors Alan saw “Performance Development Trial” while on another monitor were shots from the different cameras in the room.
“Time to show him what you’re made of Jack,” Terry said with a grin.
Jack moved to the ring post and started posing like a maniac. Alan didn’t want to laugh at the sight of his friend but it was hard not to. Thinking about where both of them had been a few weeks ago, the transformation from office workers into a roided dumbass and a cocky man was almost too much.
After a few minutes, Terry shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Dude,” he said to Jack. Will you stop?”
Jack stopped posing and looked at Terry. “But this is what he wants right?” Jack asked.
“Don’t show him what he wants,” Terry replied. “Show him what you are. Don’t play games. Don’t play for the camera. Be who you are.”
Jack took a deep breath and looked at the camera. This time, his voice seemingly changed, got serious and the power just flooded from him. It was such a change in attitude that it shocked Alan for a moment.
“Once, I was small. Once, I was ignored by everybody around me. I was just another guy in a suit going to work and sitting in my cubicle like a good little drone,” Jack said. “But look at me now. Look at what the AWO has given me. I’m the fucking Genetic Freak and I’m fucking glad. I don’t fucking shrink. I don’t fucking care what other people think. If they get in my way, I’m fucking going to take care of them.”
Jack flexed and he smiled. “Look at what I fucking have achieved through the AWO. You think I’m going to sit down again and be a good boy? Fuck no. I’m ready to step up and take the next fucking step. It’s time for the world to fucking see what the Genetic Freak is truly capable of.”
While Jack was cutting his promo, Alan was watching it and his brain tried to comprehend what he was watching. At first, it was embarrassing to watch. That embarrassment turned into horror as Alan began to realize Jack was enjoying himself and he meant what he was saying. He believed every word of it and he was reveling in the power and words that he was saying.
And then the realization hit Alan. For the first time, Jack looked and felt truly alive. He wasn’t pretending, he wasn’t ashamed and he wasn’t worried about what anybody else thought. He was confident, powerful and he had been given permission to be the man that he had wanted to be all along.
Jack finished his promo with a double bicep flex and then the room went silent. He was breathing hard as though he was just coming off a massive drug high. Alan looked at Terry and the grin on his face said it all. Terry was proud of what Jack had just done and it fed Jack’s ego even more.
Cindy who had been quiet the entire time confirmed it.
Performance Review Pending.
Submission prepared for Theory review.
Jack looked at Cindy and grinned. “You’re going to send it to him?” he asked overly enthused.
“Confirmed,” Cindy replied as Terry said, “He asked for proof. You gave it to him brother.”
“Your turn,” Cindy said as she turned and looked at Alan.
“I’m not fucking doing that,” Alan protested.
“No,” Terry replied from where he was standing with a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “That was Jack’s path. Yours is different.”
Alan walked over and said, “What? Now I smile and do my best Johnny Cage until the cult accepts me?”
For the first time in a long time, there was silence that greeted his joke. Terry, Cindy and Jack all looked at him as though he had said something about their cat dying.
“Come on,” Alan said. “That was fucking funny right?”
“No jokes,” Cindy replied. “Not this time.”
After a moment, Terry looked at Alan and said, “What do you want?”
“I want to know what’s going on,” Alan replied immediately and defensively.
“Wrong answer,” Cindy replied. “What do you want?”
“I wanted to help Jack,” Alan said his voice weakening slightly in his defiance.
“Wrong answer number 2,” Terry said. “We can do this all night Alan. What do you want?”
Alan looked at Jack who was still glowing from his promo, the grin on his face telling Alan all he needed to know. Jack was the proof that Alan needed to see. Surrendering to what they were offering was going to feel like a victory no matter what the consequences were.
The screen on one of the monitors flashed.
Spotlight Response: Pending
Looking at those words, Alan realized what he wanted. What he truly wanted. He was angry at himself for not accepting it before.
“I want…” he said slowly at first. “I want them to look at me.”
“Who?” Cindy asked. “Who do you want to see you?”
“I want to be seen by everybody,” Alan said a bit more confidence in his voice. “Jack has the muscles. I want the fucking charisma.”
“Good,” Cindy replied. “Let’s get to work.”
For the next twenty minutes, Terry and Cindy did just that. They got to work. First, Alan worked on how he looked around the room. Then they moved onto his posture which was hard because Alan had a tendency to shrink slightly when he was in a large crowd. Here, he was forced to stand up straight and tall. They trained his voice to be more confident, more assured of himself. They took him through exercises on how to handle and walk through a crowd.
The hardest part of the training was the acceptance that his growing vanity was a good thing and the attention that he was going to receive because of it needed to be accepted without guilt. This is what he wanted and he had to accept the fact that in order to be The Spotlight, he wanted those people to stare at him.
Jack meanwhile stood next to Terry as the two of them watched Alan change before their eyes. Jack was proud of what was happening to his friend. Alan was standing there wearing the AWO vest and Jack looked at him like a brother-in-arms. Jack was the one that brought Alan here. He had seen Alan crack and now Alan was becoming useful, visible and worthy.
Alan continued his work for a few minutes and he heard somebody under their breath say, “There he is.” Alan looked at the smile and pride coming from Jack and for a moment he wasn’t sure if he should feel betrayed because Jack had led him to this point and Alan jumped over the edge without thinking. The other side of the coin was that Alan felt validated, that he deserved to be just like Jack but in a different way entirely.
“There we go,” Cindy said as she nodded to Terry. “That’s enough for this evening. You did good today. Both of you.”
“That’s high praise coming from her,” Terry said. “Brothers, I haven’t seen two AWO members change as quickly and look as good as the two of you are right now.”
The door opened and one of the other AWO staff members poked his head through the door. “Sorry to disturb you,” the young man said. “I’ve got a couple of guys out here looking to talk to somebody about what we can do for them. Terry you got a second?”
Terry smiled and looked at Alan. “You’re up brother,” he said. “Make it count.”
Alan swallowed once and told himself that this is what he wanted. Now it was time to put up or shut up as people would say.
He walked out and the young AWO man pointed over to where there were a couple of college guys standing looking at a rack of shirts and shorts. Jack, Terry and Cindy stayed behind to watch what transpired.
Immediately, Alan noticed that the two young men looked at him with a hint of awe and inspiration. He smiled and started to talk to them about what the AWO was and how it could help anybody achieve their potential. From where the three of them were standing, they could see that the two men saw Alan as a role model and that his words were drawing them in just like Terry’s words drew Jack in a while back.
Finally, after talking to the two men for ten minutes, Alan turned and walked back to the three who were still standing there. Alan had a grin on his face and for the first time in a long time he felt truly alive and energized. For a moment, Alan realized that he had done to those two young men the same thing that Terry had done to Jack. Then the rush hit him and he didn’t fucking care.
He looked at Terry and said, “You’re got two new members Terry,” he said. “It was so… easy. Holy fuck.”
Terry and Jack grinned at Alan’s response and Alan watched as Terry walked over to the two young men who were eager to sign up and be transformed just like Alan and Jack had been.
A few minutes later, as Alan and Jack walked out of the store together, Alan said to Jack, “You’re not going to be the only one who Theory notices.”
A moment passed and there was a slight tension in the air between them before Jack grinned and said, “Good to fucking hear. Then keep the fuck up.”
As the two of them walked down the street, Alan kept looking in store windows and parked cars. Every time he did, he grinned and noticed something else that had changed about him. It felt so good to be able to walk down the street with the confidence that he had buried for so long. Next to him, Jack was feeding him in a different way. It was a shared hunger, a corruption that both had accepted with their eyes wide opened.
Jack had led Alan to the store. Alan originally thought that he was going to save Jack. But instead, he walked up to the cliff and saw Jack at the bottom smiling and transformed. And Alan, finally accepting that he wanted to be like Theory and Jack, he jumped.
And God help him, he was fucking glad that he did.
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