Hinky (15)

Yates kept pondering the question as though everything depended upon his conclusion. He continued to turn the possibilities over in his mind, reluctant to make a decision that might adversely affect his existence. It really came down to two choices and, usually, by the time all other possibilities had been eliminated it was no great task to pick heads or tails. In the Marines, he had been accustomed to making split-second decisions that resulted in loss of life for somebody--hopefully for the enemy and not his comrades. That had never been a problem. This time was different. He simply could not ascertain whether Ray Charles was singing about a woman or the state. It was driving Yates crazy and with each passing moment, he felt the pressure to answer the question mounting. He dreaded the untold consequences of a wrong answer. Could he really have been singing about a woman when a state by the same name was surely of greater import?

As if in response to this torment, Yates' abdomen began to spasm sending shock waves of pain throughout his upper body and rendering him unconscious.

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More to follow...

(c)2009 Stephen Mitchell