After a solid win against the Norfolk Seawolves in Week 12 of the DSFL Season, the Portland Pythons locker room was hyped up. They were excited for the final 2 games of the season, and more than ready for the playoffs- where they would undoubtedly be the first seed. While most of the team was amped up and ecstatic, there was one member of the team who was faking it- Gio Bianchi.
While Bianchi had been doing quite well in his rookie year, something felt off for him. He felt disappointed in himself, and he wanted more. This was something Gio had struggled with his entire life- the idea of being better. He was never satisfied with himself, which was both a blessing and a curse. While he was always on the grind, that had an awful affect on his mental health. Being away from his tight-knit community back in St. Louis was affecting him too much. He needed a break from the ruckus of Professional Football, even if it was for just 1 or 2 days.
Gio woke up the day after the game and decided to do it. He needed to go home. Just for a bit, just to get himself back in order. He decided to tell his GM, Mr. Paw, about his temporary leave of absence before anyone else. Gio said hi to the receptionist at Pythons HQ, took the elevator to the 20th floor, and entered Mr. Paw’s office.
“Mr. Paw,” Gio said, his voice echoing from the entrance of the office. “I need to talk to you.”
Mr. Paw turned around in his chair. “What is it, Gio?”
“I need to go home,” Gio said. “I haven’t been feeling like myself lately. I just need to take a break and go back to Missouri for a day or two. I’ll be back by the time we start practicing again, I promise. But I just need to put myself bef-”
Mr. Paw put up his hand, commanding Gio to become silent. “You can go.”
“Really?!” Gio said, shocked that he didn’t even need to make a case for himself.
“Yes.” Mr. Paw said. “Go. As long as you’re back on Thursday for practice, I have no problem with it.”
Gio thanked Mr. Paw, bought some tickets to Missouri, texted his teammates, and was off to St. Louis.
On the plane ride, Gio decided that he was going to take advantage of his 2 day soul searching quest by visiting family, old friends, and experiencing St. Louis in a whole new light. He was excited to finally discover who he truly was- and implement this new person into football.
The plane landed at St. Louis Lambert International Airport in the afternoon, and Gio was ready to go. He was planning on surprising his parents with a quick visit before hanging out with them and finding himself. As Gio walked through the familiar streets of St. Louis, he realized that he was happy here. Gio had spent all of this time since entering the DSFL rushing and stressing, but now, he was at peace. Finally, Gio felt calm. The whole world was ahead of Gio as he walked through St. Louis.
And then he fell.
THUD!
All of a sudden, Gio felt a painful mix of metal and slush. Gio opened his eyes, only to see that he was somewhere he shouldn’t be.
The sewer. Gio Bianchi was now in the St. Louis Sewer System. He looked up. Nobody seemed to notice. The manhole cover was closed. There wasn’t a ladder. Gio Bianchi was now stuck in the sewer. With nowhere to go, star Portland Pythons Running Back Gio Bianchi was now stuck, with no way out.
Gio’s heart was racing. “What do I do now?” Gio thought. “Is this the end of the road for me? Is this where I die? In the sewer system of St. Louis, Missouri? God, what a way to go out.” His voice echoed and bounced across the sewer, just like it had in Mr. Paw’s office.
Gio’s nervousness and fear turned into sadness. This was it for him. He was done. A goner. A man who had fallen into a sewer and died. A pitiful way to go out. Gio wallowed in pity for a solid 20 minutes. He took out his phone. No service. He couldn’t make calls, nor did he have access to the internet, But he could still play some games. Gio pulled out his phone and began playing some Flappy Bird.
Gio spent a solid hour playing one of the most addicting mobile games ever. The time passed by magically, and Gio almost forgot about the fact that he was stuck in a sewer. But naturally, Gio got bored of the bird and decided to do something he never thought he’d do- explore the St. Louis Sewer System.
And… it wasn’t very eventful. It looked like a sewer- cramped, musty, dank. It wasn’t exactly a 5 star resort, or a penthouse apartment… or any house really. Because it wasn’t a house. It was the sewers.
Then, suddenly, Gio heard whispering.
“Oh my, could it be?” “Yes, I think it is!” “It’s HIM!”
Was there another human, trapped in the sewers? Could it be another person trying to get out? Was he not the only one?
The whispers grew louder as Gio trekked on. Then, they became shouts. Hurrahs. Celebrations, even. And then Gio saw them.
The voices were not coming from humans. They were not coming from anything remotely resembling humans. They were the voices… of rats.
Sewer rats.
One of the rats scurried up to Gio and bowed.
“OH, ALMIGHTY! YOU HATH GRACED US WITH YOUR PRESENCE! THE GREAT AND POWERFUL! I BOW BEFORE YOU, IN OBEDIENCE AND LOVE!”
The cadence was repeated by some three hundred sewer rats, who also bowed down before Gio. He was confused. Gio had gone from a Pro Football Player going through a tough time mentally, to a man stuck in a sewer, to the god of a bunch of Sewer Rats in a matter of hours. How was he going to deal with this?
Gio could not be alone with his own thoughts for long, though. All of a sudden, a sewer rat yelled-
“OH, ALMIGHTY, WHAT SHALT YOU BE CALLED BY US? WHAT IS YOUR NAME, O GREAT AND POWERFUL?”
Gio, surprisingly, had to think about this for a second. Did he want to be plain old Gio? Or did he want to become someone new?
“O, YOU SEWER RATS…” Gio said.
“MY NAME IS SIR SHITSTAIN LXIX. YOU MAY CALL ME SIR SHITSTAIN.”
The rats were silent. Then there was applause.
“O, SIR SHITSTAIN LXIX, YOU HAVE COME TO SAVE OUR CIVILIZATION… YOU ARE NOW THE LORD OF THE RATS!”
Gio smiled. “Lord of the rats,” he thought.
“I kinda like it.”
TO BE CONTINUED
1149 Words
While Bianchi had been doing quite well in his rookie year, something felt off for him. He felt disappointed in himself, and he wanted more. This was something Gio had struggled with his entire life- the idea of being better. He was never satisfied with himself, which was both a blessing and a curse. While he was always on the grind, that had an awful affect on his mental health. Being away from his tight-knit community back in St. Louis was affecting him too much. He needed a break from the ruckus of Professional Football, even if it was for just 1 or 2 days.
Gio woke up the day after the game and decided to do it. He needed to go home. Just for a bit, just to get himself back in order. He decided to tell his GM, Mr. Paw, about his temporary leave of absence before anyone else. Gio said hi to the receptionist at Pythons HQ, took the elevator to the 20th floor, and entered Mr. Paw’s office.
“Mr. Paw,” Gio said, his voice echoing from the entrance of the office. “I need to talk to you.”
Mr. Paw turned around in his chair. “What is it, Gio?”
“I need to go home,” Gio said. “I haven’t been feeling like myself lately. I just need to take a break and go back to Missouri for a day or two. I’ll be back by the time we start practicing again, I promise. But I just need to put myself bef-”
Mr. Paw put up his hand, commanding Gio to become silent. “You can go.”
“Really?!” Gio said, shocked that he didn’t even need to make a case for himself.
“Yes.” Mr. Paw said. “Go. As long as you’re back on Thursday for practice, I have no problem with it.”
Gio thanked Mr. Paw, bought some tickets to Missouri, texted his teammates, and was off to St. Louis.
On the plane ride, Gio decided that he was going to take advantage of his 2 day soul searching quest by visiting family, old friends, and experiencing St. Louis in a whole new light. He was excited to finally discover who he truly was- and implement this new person into football.
The plane landed at St. Louis Lambert International Airport in the afternoon, and Gio was ready to go. He was planning on surprising his parents with a quick visit before hanging out with them and finding himself. As Gio walked through the familiar streets of St. Louis, he realized that he was happy here. Gio had spent all of this time since entering the DSFL rushing and stressing, but now, he was at peace. Finally, Gio felt calm. The whole world was ahead of Gio as he walked through St. Louis.
And then he fell.
THUD!
All of a sudden, Gio felt a painful mix of metal and slush. Gio opened his eyes, only to see that he was somewhere he shouldn’t be.
The sewer. Gio Bianchi was now in the St. Louis Sewer System. He looked up. Nobody seemed to notice. The manhole cover was closed. There wasn’t a ladder. Gio Bianchi was now stuck in the sewer. With nowhere to go, star Portland Pythons Running Back Gio Bianchi was now stuck, with no way out.
Gio’s heart was racing. “What do I do now?” Gio thought. “Is this the end of the road for me? Is this where I die? In the sewer system of St. Louis, Missouri? God, what a way to go out.” His voice echoed and bounced across the sewer, just like it had in Mr. Paw’s office.
Gio’s nervousness and fear turned into sadness. This was it for him. He was done. A goner. A man who had fallen into a sewer and died. A pitiful way to go out. Gio wallowed in pity for a solid 20 minutes. He took out his phone. No service. He couldn’t make calls, nor did he have access to the internet, But he could still play some games. Gio pulled out his phone and began playing some Flappy Bird.
Gio spent a solid hour playing one of the most addicting mobile games ever. The time passed by magically, and Gio almost forgot about the fact that he was stuck in a sewer. But naturally, Gio got bored of the bird and decided to do something he never thought he’d do- explore the St. Louis Sewer System.
And… it wasn’t very eventful. It looked like a sewer- cramped, musty, dank. It wasn’t exactly a 5 star resort, or a penthouse apartment… or any house really. Because it wasn’t a house. It was the sewers.
Then, suddenly, Gio heard whispering.
“Oh my, could it be?” “Yes, I think it is!” “It’s HIM!”
Was there another human, trapped in the sewers? Could it be another person trying to get out? Was he not the only one?
The whispers grew louder as Gio trekked on. Then, they became shouts. Hurrahs. Celebrations, even. And then Gio saw them.
The voices were not coming from humans. They were not coming from anything remotely resembling humans. They were the voices… of rats.
Sewer rats.
One of the rats scurried up to Gio and bowed.
“OH, ALMIGHTY! YOU HATH GRACED US WITH YOUR PRESENCE! THE GREAT AND POWERFUL! I BOW BEFORE YOU, IN OBEDIENCE AND LOVE!”
The cadence was repeated by some three hundred sewer rats, who also bowed down before Gio. He was confused. Gio had gone from a Pro Football Player going through a tough time mentally, to a man stuck in a sewer, to the god of a bunch of Sewer Rats in a matter of hours. How was he going to deal with this?
Gio could not be alone with his own thoughts for long, though. All of a sudden, a sewer rat yelled-
“OH, ALMIGHTY, WHAT SHALT YOU BE CALLED BY US? WHAT IS YOUR NAME, O GREAT AND POWERFUL?”
Gio, surprisingly, had to think about this for a second. Did he want to be plain old Gio? Or did he want to become someone new?
“O, YOU SEWER RATS…” Gio said.
“MY NAME IS SIR SHITSTAIN LXIX. YOU MAY CALL ME SIR SHITSTAIN.”
The rats were silent. Then there was applause.
“O, SIR SHITSTAIN LXIX, YOU HAVE COME TO SAVE OUR CIVILIZATION… YOU ARE NOW THE LORD OF THE RATS!”
Gio smiled. “Lord of the rats,” he thought.
“I kinda like it.”
TO BE CONTINUED
1149 Words
![[Image: Gio_Gif_3.gif?width=758&height=427]](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/691044925265150075/800092894962647040/Gio_Gif_3.gif?width=758&height=427)
![[Image: bIZF7tM.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/bIZF7tM.jpg)
![[Image: OPhdsQN.png]](https://i.imgur.com/OPhdsQN.png)
