D.E.A.L.

Chapter 4
untitled

“Finally!”

The voice went off like a shotgun in my head, scaring me out of my fur and causing me to surge upright.

“Who’s there?” I asked, glaring around, staring into the darkness of my room. Though late, the moon was full and high, and the light streaming through the blinds let me see that I was indeed, alone in the room.

“Geeze, it took you a whole freaking week to wonder just what the hell was going on. That’s pathetic, man.”

“Who’s that? Where are you? Come out so I can see you,” I said angrily, scared into a bit of anger. It was about that time that my back gave out, and against every fiber of my being, I sank back down to the bed, glaring about, terrified.

“Oh, come on, calm down. I’ve been trying to talk to you for the past five days, so you can just suck it up and stop being a dick about it.”

The voice was in my head, I realized suddenly. It echoed, hollowly, but it was definitely there, present in the shadows of my mind. I didn’t say anything to it, shocked and confused.

The voice snorted. Though distorted, it was a strong male voice, full of confidence and haughty pride. To be more descriptive, it was more of a sneer then a voice, with an odd accent that I, in my surprise, couldn’t or wouldn’t place. “Che. From what I’ve seen of your life, I figured you’d be somewhat dull, but come on. Think really hard it...I know you can do it,” the voice coaxed mockingly.

My...life?

“Who...are you?” Realization slowly began to dawn on me, but it was too much to comprehend quickly. Far too much.

“Ever look in a mirror, fuzzy? Wonder whose mask you’ve been looking at?”

“Hay...Hayden?”

“Bingo.”

“But...no...that’s not possible! I’m...Hayden, aren’t I?” I finished weakly, beset by confusion. Aren’t I? It all come back in one nauseating sweep...every time I had felt out of place, unfamiliar, lost. All the weirdness that I had felt the first time I saw Mary, saw myself. Listening to a story about my life and knowing somewhere deep down that the person in those stories wasn’t me. I rolled over as best I could, feeling ill, but I didn’t throw up.

“Whoa, whoa, easy now. Just checking up on my body, making sure you’re taking good care of it.” The voice...Hayden...laughed. “Lucky break, my neck healing like that. Would have sucked for you if you got the ride second-hand and missing the tires.” He joked, amusing himself. I struggled to comprehend.

“Wait...you’re...in my body? And I’m in yours?”

“Prize for the lady here, gentlemen, we have a winner! Yes. You’re right. And let me tell you, before you say anything, you humans have it good. No endless piles of fur to brush through, no tail to get caught in the doors...and hell man, your people’s sex drives are out of this world...”

“How did this happen? Why are you in my body? What’s going on? And...I’m human? Not...not a fox?” I let my temper and frustration boil up, and I snapped at him, trying to get a straight answer. “Why...can’t I remember?” Right about then I realized that I wasn’t ?talking’ per se. The voice I used was in my head as well.

I could ?feel’ Hayden shrug. If I concentrated on it, it was like there was a shadowy figure on the edge of my imagination, indistinct and blurry. “I don’t know the ?why’, man. Powers that be and all that, I guess. And yes, you’re human. Thera apparently don’t exist in this little world of yours.”

“Who am I? Where am I supposed to be? What’s my life like?” The curiousity burning in me for the week burst the dam, and the questions poured out rapidly. I was beyond worrying if this was another odd dream. I had to know. I couldn’t help myself.

“Doesn’t matter, does it? Your life is my life now. Be glad. I’ll say this much. It wasn’t anything special. A few changes here and there...I’ve got a great future ahead of me, I’d say.” I didn’t say anything, horrified at the denial. The shadow figure reached up and ran a hand through it’s ?hair’. “You’d be surprised at how few girls go for that whole, ?tormented poet with my hair in my eyes’ look. Ditched the black and got a decent trim, and also got Traci to take back her earlier opinion of you. I’m picking her up for a movie and a late night Friday.” A laugh.

“You...you can’t do that!” I protested. “That’s my life!”

“Che! Like you did anything with it. A week, and you’re already the up and comer on the baseball team, and though you’re too freaking fragile for football, I’m running circles around them in soccer.” The figure pointed at me. “That’s your life now, deal with it. I may not have been able to talk to you until you asked for it, but I’ve been able to keep tabs on you. You seem to be doing just fine, getting all the love and attention from that worthless girlfriend of mine and my ?omnipresent’ mother. Your neck is fine, give it a couple of months, maybe a year, and you’ll be up and walking before you know it.” Hayden’s voice grew forceful. “We both got second chances at this. Quit whining about it.”

“But...” Something sank in and I jumped on, a life raft in a dark sea of confusion. “What do you mean, I asked for this?”

“Oh boy. You haven’t noticed? Even after yesterday?”

“Noticed what?!” I snapped, imploring. Too much...

“Noticed that whenever you say the magic little words, ?I wish’, something happens?” No reply. Hayden cleared his throat. “Ahem. You were cute as a six year old,” he said in a high, sing song voice. It was clear by the accent who he was mocking. “Oh, I...blank...ain’t going to waste today’s...I could see that.” He waved his hands theatrically. “Then, presto! One No-space later, and you’re a fucking baby again. Simple as that.”

My mind raced back to the conversation...two days ago. I had said that. And just now, some twenty minutes back, I had wished to know what was going on. I was getting what I wished for. But...

“And before you ask, talk to the key. I ain’t going to be all your answers, ?Hayden’. It’s late, I’m wasted and more then a bit drunk, and I need some decent shut eye. Just wanted to touch base, I guess. I was going to give you the old ?keep your paws off my girlfriend’, but with the way things are going here, you can have her. For all the good it’ll do you...bitch is weird, if you know what I’m saying. Daddy issues and all that. Ta.” The figure started to become indistinct, blurrier. I mentally reached out, suddenly desperate to hold on to him. I couldn’t let my only chance for answers slip through my fingers!

“W...wait!!” I screamed, shouted, cried out with all my being. The figure turned facing me, one hand over it’s ?lips’.

Just one question.

Just one, I beg you.

What is my name?

I didn’t sleep that night. That much should be obvious. I can’t explain the feeling in written words...I’ve turned this part over and over in my head, trying to figure out how to word it, but it never comes out quite right. Not properly anyway.

It was something like a race. Several different athletes in your head, racing around up there, bouncing off the ways, falling over one another, picking themselves up off the ground to start the whole process again. There was no one coherent thought in my head, just a gross jumble of random pieces found swept under the rug. I mean...the person I had spent almost nine days trying to convince myself I was, just showed up in my head to tell me quite flatly that I wasn’t. Heavy. Each step those runners in my mind took, I could ?feel’ their shoe prints on my brain, if you can understand that. Words and sayings from before swam up at me, flashing before my eyes.

“That’s...new.”

“Good riddance.”

“Who are you? What...are you?!?”

“You were a typical guy.”

“Breath deep, seek peace.”

It took me nearly three hours of doing that to get a grip. It seemed like forever had just blinked by me in a nanosecond. I shook my head, still lying on my back.

Ok.

Ok.

So I wasn’t Hayden Welk. That much I couldn’t deny. There had been no way to convince myself that all that had been a dream. None. It was if my mind wouldn’t even allow for the possibility. Somehow, defining all reason and logical sense, I had been transplanted from my real body from my world, and placed into...into this one. Traded an apparently hale and healthy human form for this furry and broken one. Ok.

There was a horrible sense of loss that crept into my being at this point. Loss and sadness. Whatever life I had had, an imposter was filling my shoes. What did my...my parents think? My friends? Did they even notice? Did they smile and laugh with me, and then whisper behind my back? Did they like this new ?me’ better? I shook myself again. I couldn’t think about that. I couldn’t. The past few hours had shown me how close to breaking I could come over this. I had to get a grip, had to find something to hold onto.

My name...

“Look. I’m not going to be all your answers.”

Jerk.

No...something else he said.

“Talk to the key.”

Key? What ke...

No sooner then I had begun that thought when a small heat ignited at the base of my throat. It didn’t hurt, just warmed enough to make me aware of it’s presence. Slowly, I reached a hand up reach at it. At first, my questing limb felt nothing but the fur at my chest, peeking through the buttons of my shirt. That feeling alone brought back the anxiety of ?it’s not me’, and all of a sudden, I felt it. Laying on top of my shirt was a small object on a thin chain. That chain was wrapped around my neck, as my tugging made soon made clear to me. I tried to look down to see it, but my muzzle was in the way, obscuring my vision. Feeling frustrated, I was about to yank the necklace off all together when, for lack of a better word, the chain stretched, lengthening in my hand. It was now long enough to hold in front of my face, and the bright, full moon light was enough to catch off it and illuminate it for me to see.

It was a key. The same key that I suddenly remembered hitting me in the face during the first bath’s fiasco. It looked like one of those old dungeon keys you see at medieval faires, but modern. Thin bands of silver wrapped around the hilt, fanning out to make the key’s ?teeth’. A square was cut into the other end, bordered by more silver wire. I turned it around in my hand, puzzling. After a moment of silence, I held it close to my mouth, feeling silly and apprehensive.

“Hello?” I asked it softly. There was no reply. I sighed and almost surrendered to the darkness hovering near the back of my eyes. It was then I realized that the key was glowing. I stared at it.

A thin arrow, blazingly bright in the moon shine, lit up the middle of the key, pointing to the square. Out of instinct, my finger thumbed it, and felt a click. What happened next made me drop the key and scoot away, best as my crippled body could.

A small beam of light shot out of the square, and before my startled eyes, began...for lack of a better word, drawing words into the air beside my bed. They were thin and written in a flowing, cursive font that was hard to make out, but I could read it. Dumbfounded, I caught myself repeating the words aloud.

“Thus begins the narrative for inquiries of the key. This is a recording, do not respond to it in any way. Direct queries will be ignored. So, how are you doing today?” The line stopped writing, the words hung suspended.

Huh...?

“Um...ok, I gue...” The key flared back to life.

“I told you not to respond. Sorry, a bit of humor on my part. Let’s see. Oh yes. Big things first. Using this key, you’ll be able to shape and change the immediate reality around you, by means of simple ?wishes’. One wish per day, never more. There will be consequences if that limit is not respected. Each wish must be spoken before the dawning of the new day, and lasts, unless specified, til the end of the affected day.” The words at the top began to fade out to make room, and I quickly scrambled to commit them to memory. It continued. “Do not worry about the effects of these wishes on those close to you. With the passing of each day, anything out of the ordinary will be forgotten, the absurd seeming normal. Remember, however, that the grander the wish, the more grounded in the Truth it will be. Enjoy at your leisure, but remember, no more then one wish a day. Cheers!”

“Wu...wait!” I tried to call out, forgetting myself. Despite that, the words began fading out one by one, until I was left with nothing but empty air. Thirsting for answers like a dying man in the desert, I worked the button on the key again, frantically, willing more words to appear. Nothing happened on the first few presses, then suddenly, another beam of light shot out. But this one wasn’t bright or shiny, and the words it illuminated were in a crude, menacing script.

“Clients 429-336-9355 and 553-963-3924, a further warning. Do not attempt to heal your body. It is your burden to bear and overcome. Reparations have been made, but nothing further. Wishes meant to get around this will be ignored. Also, do not attempt to wish for memories locked of your own volition. They have been sealed away as part of payment. Furthermore. Do Not Forget. One wish a day. You’ve been warned.”

And then I was left in darkness. No light streamed through my window’s blinds. It was like the moon itself had been swallowed up.

Wishes?

My first impulse was to test it. Honestly. I resisted every fiber of my being just to deny myself. I was going to ask it for my memories, damn the cost. But...something in me, something that didn’t seem quite at home inside, calmed me, shook it’s head at me. I’d had enough proof. It was real.

Like I said before, I didn’t sleep that night. Too many thoughts on my mind, too many things to absorb. Therefore, I was more then a little startled when my door jolted open, giving way to a yawning Dani. She smiled and stretched, looking around.

“Rise and shine, handsome.” She said cheerfully, looking like she had the best night’s sleep she’d ever had in her life. I glanced over at her, away from the sunlight I had been fixated on since I’d noticed it...staring but not seeing. My tongue caught in my throat, and I waved at her. What do you say? How was I supposed to react? I just found out that Danielle wasn’t my girlfriend, didn’t even know me at all, for crying out loud. Was I supposed to keep silent, or tell her what I found out?

Then I remembered her words to me that night.

“You’re not the same person, Hayd. And I like you better this way.”

She knew. I mean, it wasn’t something she could logically accept, but some part of her knew that I wasn’t Hayden. And she was fine with it. Totally ok with it, I realized. I...I didn’t know how to react to that as quick as I probably should have, so I mumbled my way through good mornings and the small talk it brought. She didn’t notice, I guess, only commented on how droopy my eyes looked and surprise that I had managed to keep dry this morning. Guess I had too much on my mind to pee, I told her. She laughed, and sat down on the bed with me, leaning against the window.

“Sorry I wasn’t here yesterday, Hayd. Your mom told me that she had to run off to a job, and you were left alone. How’d you manage?”

“Well, you know, TV is man’s best friend,” I said weakly, abruptly reminded of the events of yesterday morning. My stomach rumbled in acknowledgement, but I shushed it. “I pretty much just kept myself occupied with the news. Lots to catch up on, y’know?” I looked at her, and grinned a bit. “Missed the company, though.”

She frowned, but her eyes sparkled. “Still nothing, then, huh? Not even a faint glimmer?”

“Nope,” I said, keeping my eyes away from hers. “None at all. But you know...here, help me, will you?” I motioned for some assistance sitting up. “I don’t care.” I didn’t. “What-ever, Danielle. I’m alive, getting better, and to heck with dwelling on the past,” I told her vehemently. “What’s on the agenda for today?”

“Well...” she leaned over, snagging the curtain line. With a flourish, she drew it back, blinding me with the radiant sunlight. “As you can see, it’s a beautiful day. I thought in honor of our day apart, we might go for a walk and catch up?”

“Suits me just fine. I’d actually really enjoy that. But...well...can we stop by the park?” I asked, before I caught myself. She gave me one of those old looks.

“But...Hayden, you hate...oh. Ok! That’s no problem.”

“Cool. A bit of fresh air is just what I need right now,” I said, when my hand shot to my stomach to quell the noise that had started up from it. “Um...but before that...do you think we could eat?”

From the way I saw it, there just wasn’t a way to say no to eyes like mine.

 

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