Serious Matters

The enthusiastic crowd cheers when I reveal my cards.

"And I have two pairs, so I win again," I say, causing the other players to glare at me with hateful eyes.

The poker game played out as well as I thought it would. The only remaining players were me, Jason and one other guy.

Jason glares at me, looking ready to jump out of his chair as he looks at his cards.

But his frown turns into a grin for a brief moment.

This brief change of expression didn't escape me, and I know he has good cards. He always has good cards.

It's almost like he's cheating or something.

I can't take the moral high ground here because I'm only winning thanks to my unrestrained use of the Rewinder. I wasted close to three hours in Rewound time for this one-hour long poker game.

But I can't say this was for nothing since the number of chips I have in my possession is massive compared to what the other participants still have. My overwhelming advantage doesn't deter Jason from taunting me again.

"Don't get cocky new guy…" he says with a slurred voice caused by the rather impressive number of drinks he downed during the entire game.

I, being a mature and sober person, respond with a taunt of my own.

"Oh, did you say something? Can you repeat please? I can't hear you over the sound of your bank account emptying!"

Jason doesn't like my taunt and his eyes twitch before he pushes his chips forward.

"Now, let's play a little!" he empties his wallet on the table and the crowd didn't react at the hundreds of dollars.

But they went wild when he dropped a grape-sized glowing blue crystal.

"What are you doing?! You're going too far!" Riley throws his cup and shouts at Jason while approaching him with controlled steps, like a wolf cornering his prey.

Jason just smirks and slouches back in his chair, glaring at Riley with malice in his eyes.

The two stare at each other in silence, not moving a single muscle while the crowd gives plenty of space to the two men. In the meantime, I am trying to figure out why everyone is losing their shit over what looks like a cheap plastic keychain with a small LED inside.

*Maybe its super expensive and rare or something?*

"What is it Dog? You want to protect your pet?" Jason's snarl takes me out of my thoughts and I focus on Riley, who is trembling with rage.

"Don't go too far Jason, or you will regret this…" Riley says while baring his teeth, making him look even more like a predator.

I reach for my gun, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice because I know something is wrong. I had known Riley for two years and never once saw him get angry. So him looking like he would rip Jason to shreds wasn't something to take lightly.

"Really now? You threaten me in my home, in front of all my friends?"

Jason also bares his teeth, and I had to look twice when I realized that his teeth were too… sharp and pointy.

They look like they belong in a shark's mouth!

But I had no more time to ponder on Jason's curious dental structure when his face wobbled and warped. My jaw drops once the wobble end: As much as I hated to admit it, Jason had a rather handsome face. But it's now replaced by a horrifying mix of a fish and a human face.

He has two sets of gills on his neck and two small black flippers on each cheek. His small nose disappeared and got replaced by two slits that opened and closed at an alarming pace. I can even see small black scales at the corner of his fishlike eyes, and his skin has the same sheen as a freshly caught fish.

The smart thing to do would be to Rewind and never come to this party to avoid this entire thing. But panic and terror take control of my body as soon as the fish monster reveals itself, and horror grips my heart as Riley undergoes a similar transformation.

His entire body wobbles, and he grows a head taller in an instant.

A massive bipedal wolf-like creature stands where Riley was once the wobble ended. The first thing I notice is that his clothes, weirdly, enough, seemed to have adapted to his new body shape.

*So my friend is a Werewolf and the first thing I notice are his clothes…What is wrong with me?!*

Riley turns his head towards me and smile, or at least I think he is.

It's hard to read a Werewolf's facial expression.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that…" he says with an apologetic tone.

People scream and the entire room wobbles, revealing a variety of creatures I thought I would only ever see in movies. There's everything here, from long pointy ears to burning red eyes…

I also notice the rather large population of fish monsters. Most of them are forming a defensive line between Jason and Riley.

"So you finally revealed yourself! This is for my uncle!" The fish monsters' collective shriek as they charge Riley nearly ruptures my eardrums. And I can't help but look with amazement and horror at the battle unfolding in front of me.

The fish monsters raise their sharp hooked claws and lash at the Werewolf who easily avoids the attacks. He tears his opponents in half with a single strike. I almost vomit when a gutted fish monster rolls to my feet, its wails quickly die down while it desperately tries to put its spilled organs in their rightful place.

The sight of gore and the stench of death make my stomach churn. But I hold on and suddenly get thrown to the ground by Riley. He is narrowly missed by what looks like a high-pressure jet of water that pierces his shoulder, covering me with fresh blood.

"I'm sorry that you had to be a part of that, please stay down and try to escape as soon as possible!"

I nod and Riley jumps to the side, avoiding another jet that pierces the wall behind me like it was made of paper. A creature yells something incomprehensible and an orb of light accumulate in its open mouth. The resulting jet of water lands an inch away from me and easily drills into the wooden floor like it was butter.

*I need to get out of here!*

Running away while screaming my lungs out seems like an attractive option.

But a glance at the bloodied and panting Riley that is slowly getting surround by the fishes stop me in my tracks.

*He 's my only friend, and he risked his life to save me…*

I click my tongue and pull my gun out. My heart is filled with a determination I didn't know I had.

I will not abandon a friend in need.

Two pulls of the trigger causes two creatures to drop dead and earns me the ire of the remaining ones along with a surprised glance from Riley.

"I'll take care of the dog! Now kill that fucking surface dweller!" Jason says while angrily waving at two his subordinates who are rushing towards me.

I roll to the side to avoid a jet of water and respond with a volley of 9mm, killing my two assailants.

*Well, at least those guys aren't bulletproof.*

But I fall to the floor in the next moment, and an immense amount of pain surges from my leg. I look at my leg and scream when I see that it has been cleanly severed by a water jet.

A fish creature snickers as it approaches me while I try to grab the gun I dropped when I fell. Sadly its way out of reach and one of the approaching monsters kick it away before grinning and opening its wide mouth.

The only thing I see before drawing my last breath is a blinding orb of light.

//REWINDER ALERT//

***THE USER FAILED TO ENTER THE SAFETY CODE***

***STARTING EMERGENCY REWINDING PROCEDURE…***

I gasp for air when I regain my consciousness, and I stop screaming like a madman when I realize that I am back in my room. I throw my blankets to the side and feel immense relief once I confirm that my leg is back in its rightful place.

*So it looks like the Rewinder works even when I'm dead…*

It wasn't something that I was eager to test and not one I thought I would ever need. But I am glad that it worked, even if it raises a lot of questions.

At first, I thought the Rewinder was copying the contents of my mind and sending it all back in time before rewriting what was previously there. But it's clearly not the case since I would otherwise be brain-dead.

And I still don't know why the one-day limit exists, or why the Rewinder even work in the first place…

But I am way too preoccupied with other things to think about this stuff.

I got killed by magical fish monsters and learned that Riley is a Werewolf.

Truly the worst party ever.

However, I am sure of one thing: Riley pissed off Jason, and this whole party is an ambush to kill him. But I won't let that happen.

He is still my friend even if he is a Werewolf. And I won't abandon my friend to a gruesome death at the hands of overgrown salmons.

*When I think about it, are hands the appropriate word for them? Wouldn't they be called flippers or something instead?*

I chase the thoughts away, I'm not a linguist and I don't have time to waste on pointless debates like these. The party needs special preparations and that means going to the gun store again.

*So I need something concealable, with a high rate of fire and a high capacity along with a way to protect myself against the water jets.*

I don't even know if they have armor plates at the store and I'm not sure if they would be very useful against the high-pressure water jets. Especially since I read somewhere that this kind of stuff was used to cut through massive blocks of solid steel.

My morose thoughts follow me as I enter the store, and I end buying the followings: More ammo for my pistol along with extended magazines, an AR pistol with lots of ammo and magazines, a surplus military bag, a plate carrier and a military chest rig, a few ballistics plates and last but not least, one of the infamous bump stocks.

The plan is simple: I will equip the bump stock on the AR pistol. This will allow the weapon to fire in full auto, so taking care of the fish monsters should be easier. I will carry the rifle in the bag and pull it out when shit will inevitably hit the fan. The plate carrier and the chest rig will be hidden under baggy clothes, and I hope the filled magazine pouches in the front won't be too visible.

Oh, and I bought beer too.

I have a few hours left before I have to go to the party so I decided to train during the remaining time to be as ready as I can. Taking out a magazine, reloading, pulling my Glock out of its holster…

Repeating the same movements continuously for hours isn't the most interesting way of spending an evening but those actions soon became a second nature.

But all of this preparation could amount to nothing since I have no way of knowing if the ballistic plates will be enough to defend against the high-pressure attacks. And I doubt I can take on all the fish monsters at once, even if they won't expect someone rushing in with an automatic weapon.

Magic is also another major element to consider for the upcoming conflict.

Or at least I assume it's magic. That's the only explanation I could come up with for the orb of light that spawned the water jets. But I'm not an expert in fish monsters or magic, so maybe they have spells that are even deadlier than that.

Great, I'm getting increasingly scared the more I think about what will happen soon.

*What am I thinking? I'm not cut out for spec ops. And there's no way that an IT student could subjugate a large group of demon fishes…*

I shake my head to chase the thoughts away. I should at least try to help Riley once, or else I will not be able to sleep for a very long time. And it's not like they can kill me anyway…

Well, they can, and in fact, they already did once.

This is a well thought out plan, isn't it? Someone whose entire knowledge of firearms comes from video games is going against magical fish creatures that can split him in half within a single breath.

This will be great.

I nervously check my equipment before leaving my car and heading to Jason's house. My phone rings and I turn around without answering to wave at Riley. He waves back and trots towards me before clasping my shoulders.

"Hey man, good to see you!" he says while smiling.

"Good to see you too…" my voice trails off when I remember his transformation, and his blood splashing on my face.

"What is it, man? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

Riley is truly the most caring Werewolf I ever met… That's not something I thought I would ever think.

I take a deep breath, "Don't worry man, I'm just a bit tired, that's all."

He nods and, just like last time, pushes the door open to reveal what looks like an ordinary party, with students drinking and loud music.

But I am probably one of the few humans here.

Jason spots us and comes to greet us. It took all of my willpower to not just shoot the fishy bastard in the head.

We exchange empty pleasantries and, luckily for me, he didn't ask to see what was in my backpack.

I grab a beer and sit next to a table with a couple of bottles on it and sip my beer, more for blending in than drinking. I observe my surroundings and notice that one bottle is oddly familiar. I grab it and look at it from various angles until something clicks in my head: I nearly emptied it in the last Rewind!

But this isn't whiskey like I previously thought. It's a deep blue liquid with green swirls that are moving on their own, and it seems like certain streaks of colors swirling in the drink are slightly glowing.

*That explains my previous state at least: I doubt that this magical liquor is great for me.*

I glance at the other attendants, trying to figure out what they are since I have nothing better to do. I quickly notice a few details: This girl constantly scratching her ears is probably an elf or something else with long ears. And this guy is one of the fish monsters I killed…

The realization I had killed someone and planned to kill almost half of the people here just dawned on me.

*Just what am I thinking…?*

I gulp down my beer and sigh since the alcohol is a nice, but ultimately futile distraction from the crushing responsibility of my future actions.

A Rewind is a good option. I could ignore everything that will happen here, but…

I am the only one that can save Riley.

The police weren't going to help. I doubt that saying to an officer that I need his help to save my Werewolf friend from a cabal of murderous fish people would earn me anything other than a one way trip to the closest mental hospital.

And I don't doubt that Riley probably has friends that could help him better than me. But, as far as I know, I was the only one that tried to help him the first time. And, even if he called them, he would be long dead before any help arrived.

So I am on my own.

*Can I really do it, take all those lives? And even if it's justified, could I look myself in the mirror again? Is there any less bloody way to solve this?*

All those questions are silenced by a cup of magical whiskey.

It is time for the poker game, and I don't really want to take part. For all I know, the crystal is the catalyst that will spark the conflict between Riley and Jason, so I best try to avoid it if I can.

Jason downs a cup of magical whiskey and laughs, "Come on new guy, I'll even make things interesting for you…"

He drops the crystal on the table, silencing everyone around him.

"What are you doing?!" Riley says as he shakes Jason.

He pushes the Werewolf away and smirks as other fish people in disguise gather around Riley, surrounding him.

"I can ask the same question," Jason says as his head wobble, revealing his ugly fish head.

"Come on Jason, don't do this…"

The other fish monsters behind him also changed and the other attendants, sensing the heavy killing intent, are rushing for the exits while screaming.

Some even revealed their true form in the ensuing panic.

"I bet my uncle said the same to you but did you listen?" Jason, who is now seething with anger, clicks his claws.

Riley seems surprised for a second and lowers his head.

"So you are from his family? I'm sorry for your loss, but we gave him a chance, and he attacked us… You know what he was trying to do. He wouldn't listen, so I was forced to act-"

"BULLSHIT!" Jason shouts, sending spittle flying out of his mouth. "He was trying to help our family regain its rightful place! And you killed him because you couldn't bear to see us succeed! "

"For fuck's sake Jason, you know damn well he broke the Rules!" Riley shouts back while baring his teeth.

"Fuck your Rules! Who are you to control what we can do?! We won't be subjugated any longer!" he waves at his subordinates. "Gut that fucking dog and his pet!"

Oh boy.

So Riley killed Jason's uncle, and now he wants revenge... I don't know the reasons but Riley is in danger and I don't have the time to pull out my AR, so let's Rewind.

The world shifts and everything turn back to how it was ten minutes ago when Jason was trying to get me to play poker. This time I also refuse, since accepting will only delay the inevitable.

I still don't know what this crystal is, and why it's so important but I think I'll ask a lot of questions when this is all over.

Everything went down the same way, but this time I grab my backpack and slip away in the panicked crowd when Jason and Riley begin to shout at each other. But I am heading in a different direction compared to the rest of the crowd who is rushing out of the house as fast as they can, trampling on each other in the process.

I finally find what I am looking for, an empty room. I close the door to what appears to be a bedroom and reach for the AR in my backpack. The weight of the weapon and of the atrocity I am about to commit makes me hesitate for long seconds, but I steel my resolve.

Riley will die if I don't act quickly.

I take a deep breath and rack the charging handle before shouldering the weapon and rushing out of the room.