The Final Decision! (It works!)
The Final Decision
The die has been cast;
The decision's been told.
Your fate has been sealed.
Let your future unfold.
'What happened to me? Where am I? Who am I?' My thoughts pulsated through my mind as I slowly came into consciousness. Everything around me was blurred; unclear. I saw a faint light above me. I was moving closer to it, my body moving without stimulation from my mind. The light grew brighter, and my head grew lighter. My body felt as if pressure was being released. I saw the top of my containment. As if in slow motion, my nose, face, and neck felt the pressure's final release. The air I was craving filled my lungs. Everything around me was but a white blur.
I heard a voice calling my name. Faint, and vibrant. I could barely hear it, but I could understand it perfectly. My eyes slowly opened to a blurred figure of what looked like a man, leaning over me. I realized who it was and shot up, my eyes wide open.
"Oh, crap! Chris?! I'm late! I'm late!" I said as I jumped out of bed and started dressing.
"Duke! Duke!" Chris, my raccoon roommate, grabbed my shoulders and started shaking me, "Dude, you aren't late! It's Saturday. There's no school and you have the day off of work."
"I... I do? I am? Wait... What?" I asked completely confused of the situation.
"It. Is. Saturday... You don't have work or school."
The words didn't seem to register in my mind for a few seconds, then I realized what he'd said, and punched him in the arm.
"What was that for?!" He exclaimed holding his throbbing arm.
"What the Hell did you wake me up at..." I looked at the clock, "Five o' clock in the fucking morning for?!"
"Because you told me too! You said you had somewhere to go! Moron."
I blinked once and stared for a moment, then started my apology, "I did? Oh, shit, that's right, I did. Oh my God, dude, I'm so sorry."
"God, remind me never to wake you up on a Saturday again. Even if you ask me too."
"Hey, I said I was sorry, okay."
"Yeah whatever. Just get the Hell out of here and do whatever it was I woke you up for."
"Already ahead of you" I said as I rushed out of the door, still putting on my shirt.
The street was dark except for the few ominous light areas, stretching halfway across the road, created by the street lights. I walked through the darkness to the driver's side of my '97 Monte Carlo. I struggled to find the keyhole to unlock my door. Three minutes of hit-and-miss key-poking finally paid off. The key slid into the slot, and turned to the left, making a clicking noise indicating the door was unlocked. I climbed into the seat, which felt lower than usual. I thought to myself, 'Chris, you jackass.' and adjusted my seat to it's regular position. The key went perfectly into the ignition, and the car revved up.
The streets were empty except for a few lone cars going the way opposite of me, probably night-shift workers finally heading home to sleep the day away. I wasn't quite sure of my destination, I only knew I was requested there by someone who was rumored not to exist. I pulled the note I received from him out of my glove-box and read it, looking up every few seconds to watch the road.
"Dear Mr. Mutt,
My name, at this point, is unimportant. I need you to meet me at the River Street Bridge at 5:30 A.M. On the morning of Saturday May 15th. I have a proposition for you that will be impossible for you to refuse.
Sincerely,
SD"
'SD...' I stared at the note, losing my attention on the road. I was awaken from my trance by bright headlight and loud honking. I latched on to the steering wheel and cranked it to the right. From there, all I saw was a blur. I heard screeching tires, and a loud crash. I woke up only a few minutes later at the bottom of a hill. At the top of this hill was a bridge; River Street Bridge.
I walked to the top of the hill, and to the center of the bridge. I checked my watch which read "5:28".
"Two minutes." I spoke to myself, and the cold air surrounding me.
The two minutes seemed to pass like hours. I checked my watch once more, which read 5:30. I looked up to see nothing, then returned my attention to my watch, which changed to 5:31. I looked up once more to see a dark figure standing directly across from me. We looked to the left and right, then proceeded to walk toward each other. We met in the center. I stood adjacent to an older looking gray wolf wearing a black overcoat traditional to the shady scenes in a suspense, horror, or mystery movie. We stood in silence for a few moments before he held out one paw, which I took. We shook paws, and withdrew our appendages.
The wolf was wearing a fedora, tilted downward to cover his eyes. He lifted the hat, revealing two piercing yellowed eyes, which appeared to have lost their white luster due to age. He looked me in the eye, easily, but I had to struggle to return it, for my attention felt compelled to draw my eyes toward a scar running down his left eye. After a few more moments of silence, he began to speak.
"Dukie Mutt," he said in a solemn voice, "I have a proposition for you, as you should already know."
"Yes, I have your note in my pocket. What is this proposition?" I replied, slightly irritated from weariness.
"We'll get to that. First, let us go grab some breakfast. You must be hungry."
"Actually, I'm quite fine."
"Oh, come now, it's my treat."
"Very well then." I replied with a sigh. I turned and saw my car sitting behind us, on the side of the bridge nearest where I'd crashed. I stood staring, dumbfounded. The wolf walked past me and stood on the passenger's side of the car.
"Well, are you going to unlock it? You have the keys." he called.
When he said this I remembered I'd left the keys in the car, "They should be inside the car!" I replied.
He looked into the window and inspected the cars' interior, then erected his back once more to call, "They aren't in there."
I searched frantically through my pockets, and found my keys in my left pants pocket. I held the keys in my paw and stared at them even more-so confused. 'How... When.. Who... Was it him? Did he do this?'
Without my realizing, the wolf was standing right in front of me, holding out his paw.
"Would you like me to drive? You seem a bit tired. We wouldn't want you crashing again, now would we?"
I simply nodded my head and handed him the keys. He walked my over to the car, and sat me down in the passenger's seat, then closed the door to walk around to the driver's side.
We stopped at a Furbucks for some of their famous Kaufees, with cinnamon rolls to eat. In the Cafe house, the wolf and I sat at a small table, across from each other in silence, mine caused by confusion, and his caused by what looked like deep thought. Eventually he broke the silence.
"So, about this proposition."
I placed most of my attention on him, "Yes?"
"Have you ever wanted to be something, or someone different?"
I thought, and then nodded silently, to which he smiled.
"Well, I'm giving you that chance."
I tilted my head and returned to him a skeptical look, "You're telling me that I can be someone else."
"No, what I'm telling you, is that you have to be someone else. You get no other choice. You must change, for your fate depends on it."
"My fate? What do you mean?"
"Your fate, yes. Attached to the name "Dukie Mutt" is luck, destiny, and fate, all of which, lead to your demise. You must accept my offer; you must change your name, and yourself, unless you want to be sent to an early grave. I am giving you two options as to what you can become."
"Oh? And what are those?"
"You can become either: One. Alex Coon, a raccoon. Or two. Landon Water, an otter." he took a short pause, "I'm giving you 24 hours to decide.
Before I could speak, a car alarm just outside started to set off, I turned around to see where it was coming from. It was my car! I turned back to excuse myself, but the wolf was gone. I sat for a bit, then came back to my senses and rushed outside to silence my car.
12 hours passed, I never said a word. I decided to lie down and think a little more before I went to sleep, which wasn't long since I was so tired. 'What happened to me? Where am I? Who am I?' My thoughts pulsated through my mind as I slowly came into consciousness. Everything around me was blurred; unclear. I saw a faint light above me. I was moving closer to it, my body moving without stimulation from my mind. The light grew brighter, and my head grew lighter. My body felt as if pressure was being released. I saw the top of my containment. As if in slow motion, my nose, face, and neck felt the pressure's final release. The air I was craving filled my lungs. Everything around me was but a white blur. 'Wait, hasn't this happened before...?' Shock pulsated through my body. 'I know what I'm going to choose!'
I shot up out of bed to the sound of my alarm clock. I looked at the time which said "5:00". I repeated what I'd done the previous morning, and drove down to the River Street Bridge, avoiding a repeat of the crash. I waited on my side of the bridge for the old wolf. At 5:31, there was no sign of him. 5:32, 5:35, 5:50, 6:30. He never arrived. It was still dark out, so I decided to go for a night drive through the local woods. After maneuvering through the complicated city streets, I finally made it to the dirt trail. After driving for a good ten minutes, I found myself near the center of the forest. At this point, I'd made the decision to get out and walk for a bit. The cold air quickly pierced my clothing and fur, and chilled me down to the bone. After walking for seemingly hours, I saw a bright light in the center of a clearing. 'What the Hell could that be?' I thought as I subconsciously moved toward it. I reached the clearing and stood, staring at the light. 'What will happen?' I began moving toward it, just before I reached it, I heard a voice. It was the old wolfs'. "Before you move through the light," he began, "you must know what you want to be."
"I do."
"You must realize the consequences of your choice."
"I do."
"You must be prepared."
"I am."
"Move."
With that final word, I moved through the light. From there, it's blank. The next thing I remember is waking up in my apartment on my couch. I looked around, everything was the same. I looked at my paws, which had webbing. Between my legs was a long, thick tail. And at my feet, was Chris, asleep. I stared at him, silently, and watched while he started to wake up.
He sat up and looked at me with a calm expression, completely surprising me, and started to speak, "Du-- Landon. What the Hell happened?" I explained to him my adventure, and went back to sleep, resting my new, smaller ears on my webbed hands.
That, is how Landon Water was born.
Thank-you for reading,
Landon Water