The room was a buzz with activity, everyone trying to fill every seat waiting for the speaker to begin his sermon. It was the first day of spring, in the year 1978. The speaker began motioning for everyone to take a seat. “Welcome, all of you. I am very happy to see you all on this day, the beginning of spring. I know it’s hot outside, so please try to keep the doors shut as much as possible.”

Little Susan prayed for her someone, anyone to keep her father safe. She had overheard her father and mother discussing the matter about the don. The previous night, “We can’t afford it frank. If we keep paying off the Don, we will never be able to leave. Think of Hailey. Can we really let this be the life she grows up with?” Frank did not bother to argue, “Your right, your right.”

Somewhere in the void, someone smiled down upon Hailey, this little dark skinned, dark-haired girl. She was so sweet and innocent, but they knew they need not act. The wheels of fate were already in motion.

Frank was making his way down the winding mountain road in his 1975 Cadillac Coupe de’Ville. He had bought the car right off the line the day after he got back from fighting in the war.

He was heading down to the valley, and his meeting with the Don. "I can't believe the A.C. seized up, it’s the first day of spring, and it feels like the middle of the goddamn summer! This car is only three years old!" exclaimed Frank the older black man. He appeared to be in his late 40’s to early 50’s, and was visibly sweating bullets even with the cool breeze from the open windows.

"What am I going to do? I am short on cash again this month. The Don let me off with a warning last time after he had one of his goons nearly break my leg of course. No respect for a war veteran!" He exclaimed looking worriedly downward to his bag of money on the passenger side floorboard.

Frank looked out upon the passing green countryside. "He's not going to like this, not one bit, he's going to have me wacked me for sure this time, then he's going to drag my family into this!" He looks up ahead to see the rolling countryside, thinking of his family and his business that would, without a doubt, be a blazing inferno by the end of the day. From a holster in his suit he pulled out his revolver.

“Well if it’s my time to clock out, at least I’ll know I went down swinging.” He said with a smile on his face, and a measure of resolution in his heart. He placed his revolver back in its holster.

He looked out his windows at the scenic countryside going by as he smelled the crisp morning air. He was on his way down the Kittatinny Mountains, making his way to the valley to meet with the Don and deliver his protection money.

Frank drove onward in silence, leaving the radio off so he could give his last prayers in peace and quiet. “Please if there is anyone out there, anyone listening. I beg you to protect and watch over my family so they don’t come to harm when I am gone.” Frank was silent for a moment before continuing. “Please send someone, anyone to smite the Don. Should I fail…” Frank could not finish that sentence, he had to succeed.

The gods looked down upon this single man, old and new, good and bad, many heard but most ignored him. Save for a select few divine entities. From all corners of the world, a single voice whispered, “It’s almost time.”

Frank continued on his way as a wall of rock ran parallel to the left side of the road up ahead. To the right of the road was a large stand of trees. Frank had traveled this road many times. He turned his head off to the left and up to see Fellers Cliff. It stood over and not too far from the road itself up ahead about half a mile. At its base was a large clearing with a few trees in it, off the on the left side of the road. It was an unofficial, but very popular, rest stop.

It was at the top of that cliff where Frank saw the figure of a man standing. As if on cue, the man threw something from the top of the cliff, then he leaped from the top of the cliff himself. Frank was in disbelief. “You would have to be suicidal to...” Frank slammed his foot on the accelerator, rocketing down the straight road. He had to try and save him

Frank quickly grabbed the cars phone and dialed 911. “A man just jumped from feller’s cliff, send an ambulance now!” Frank yelled into the phone not even allowing the 911 operator to speak. “I’m sorry did you say someone jumped from Fellers cliff?” Asked the female operator.

“Yes! Now send an ambulance!” Frank yelled once more, before looking back to the road. The operator was still talking but he did not hear her over the squeal of his tires as he slammed on the car’s brakes. He slammed his right hand onto the steering wheel, snaping the corded car phone in half. As the pieces of the phone fell to the floorboard.

Frank swerved to the left shoulder of the road as the right shoulder of the road was too narrow for him to stop and park his car. Frank finally skidded to a stop a little past the clearing.

Frank threw the car in park, throwing open the door rushing back to, and through, the clearing to the base of the sheer cliff. When he got there, he saw the body of the man who had jumped. His body laid not more than a dozen feet from the base of the cliff. The man lying on the ground couldn’t have been older than his early to mid-20’s.

The man’s hazel eyes stared blankly into the distance, still wide open. A small pool of blood was beginning to form beneath the man’s body. His skull was cracked open, the blood from his wounds painting his raven black hair crimson. Frank could even see the man’s brain. The young man was clearly dead.

Frank crouched down in front of the corpse as small streams of tears streamed down his face. “What could drive someone so young to kill themselves?” Frank shed a few more tears, before he stood once more.

Frank was about to turn and leave when the corpse on the ground moved its eyes. Frank stopped, both disgusted and interested. For a moment he thought it was just something that happened. Then those eyes with the all to distant look in them came to focus on him. “HOLY SHIT! How are you alive? Don’t move! Help is on the way!” Frank once again was knelling before then no longer so dead man’s body. He knew not what more he could do for him than what he had already done.

The young man on the ground took one shaky breath, his heartbeat but once more, and as he exhaled that breath life slipped from his body. Frank saw the look in the man’s eyes as he breathed his last breath. It was a look he had seen too many times during the war. It was the look of a man who had given up on life and was thankful for its end.

Frank felt there was someone behind him and when he stood and turned to face them there was no one there, but a very large wolf. The wolf was less than 20 feet away. Fromm the short distance he could tell this wolf had seen many a battle, and quite probably take many more a life. The wolf stood to hip on all fours. He had little doubt that if it stood up it would be taller than him. Even though he was 6’4.

The wolf growled taking a fighting stance. Frank knew that it wanted the poor young man’s body behind him. For the sake of that poor man whose final moments he had witnessed, he took a few steps forward determined to keep this wolf at bay. In the distance he could hear the wail of sirens. Frank smiled, “I only have to stall you for a little while.”

Frank banished all thoughts of the Don from his mind, there was only this moment. The wolf ran forward closing the distance in seconds. As the wolf leapt up from the ground aiming for Franks throat, Frank swung his famous right hook.

All at once both the wolf and Franks punch began to slow, until they both eventually stopped in midair. Frank had experienced something like this before, in the heat of battle, with adrenaline pumping time could often appear to run slow. This was different. As that moment seemed to stretch on ever longer, and longer, Frank regretted not pulling his gun. A warm feeling washed over him.

From the corner of his eye Frank saw something move, though he could not turn to face it. Then a figure walked into his field of view. It was something that looked exactly like him. Then he heard its voice.

The voice seemed to come from every direction simultaneously. A voice that sounded new, and yet held the weight of untold amounts of experience. “I know you are afraid, but I want you to know this is not your last day, your days are still plentiful.” He was taken aback at this, but his voice failed him.