ENGL 102 CYOA
“Nah, I’ll ignore the call, it was just a random number anyway” you explain to him.
“Fair enough, it’s probably telemarketer or somethin’ ” Jim says.
“Whatcha doing tonight Matt?” Jim states as he starts wiping off the bar.
“Nothing really.” you state as you take another sip of your drink.
“Well last week I saw this old fortune teller machine outside of the pawn shop down the road, the owner was some freaky old lady, heard she’s into voodoo and all that jazz. I don’t believe a lick of it personally, but I thought the machine might be of some value to the bar.” exclaims Jim.
“Ya, wanna have your fortune seen?” Jim asks.
“Sure, I guess it couldn't hurt” you mumble with a depressing tone.
You move to the back of the bar with Jim and slide a quarter in the machine. An old wooden doll dressed like a gypsy appears after the rusty old machine jerks the curtains to the end of the machine.
“Hello, my child your fortune shall be read…” it states.
This seems absurd and childish so far, you wonder how an old machine like this could have any value. The machine randomly picks a card from the slots located within the interior of the machine and displays it at the front of the glass.
It states “Second Chances Are Coming Your Way”
You see this as coincidental, but nothing magical.
“Well buddy it seems like your life will be repaired! But let’s be honest, old machines like this can’t tell ya jack nor crap. Anyway I’m here for ya man. I wish the best for ya.”
You pay for your drink and say goodbye to Jim.
On your walk home you come across the bridge you cross every morning to get to your old job.
“God why is my life such a mess?! Katie hates me, Mr. Cena fired me, I can’t wake up on time, and it’s all shoved in my face every turn I make!”
“I’m down on my luck, so I might as well trust that old rusty machine.”
You say as you pull out your phone to call Katie.
“...of course…. Right to voicemail…..she hates me…..”
You think that this is end and Jim did everything he could and that he is a good guy.
You begin to cry while the chilly night air rushes against your nearly frostbitten face. The depressing thoughts of your life flood your mind, body and soul. You can’t take this, life is nothing but an empty abyss slowly biting at you till there is nothing left.
You jump in the river below, your heart pounds as you quickly descend towards the water below. As soon as you hit the water you nearly black out. As you start to fade out of reality, a mass of grey blobs start drifting towards you.
Your body is nearly frozen due to the sheer cold of the water. These grey objects get closer and begin to swarm you. However, the water temperature begins to take its toll and you finally pass out.
You awaken in the middle of a warmer area in the ocean.
“Why does the King want this land cow? What’s so special about him?”
As soon as you look around you noticed a massive grey blob, you obtain a better look and realize it a manatee! You begin to freak out, “W-w-w-hat, the hell?!” as you begin to struggle out of the manatees grip.
“Calm down Matt, the king just wants to see you.” says the manatee to the right of him.
“Y-y-you can speak?! You know my name?!” you stammer.
“Well yes!” the manatee replies. This just begins to freak you out, you only had one drink how can such a thing happen!?
“Hello Matt, my name is Gleebob” proudly states one of the manatees.
“I’m the king's right hand man, he sent me on a quest to retrieve you.”
You are flabbergasted who are these manatees and why do they have a king?
“Why did you guys save me back there? Where are you guys from and why can you talk?” you say while puzzled.
Gleebob educates you further and states, “We are the manatees of the kingdom of Atlantis, and we were sent here by the king to retrieve you to defeat the Uriam Kingdom. They are evil seahorses that have been at war with my people for thousands of generations.”
“Only the trident from the stone of Atlea will kill their king, but only the chosen one will be able to retrieve it from the sacred stone it’s placed in. The king is adamant that this hero is you, Matt. The king has been watching you through his crystal ball.”
You are stunned at this point, ancient prophecy? Trident? Talking Manatees and Seahorses? ATLANTIS?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!
“Hey Gleebob, why are you telling me this? Also why are you the king’s right hand man?”
Your brain is cluttered with question and these are the only ones that are able to come out at this point.
“I was abandoned by my parents, on the edge of the Uraim kingdom. The King found me, crying and in need of help.He fought off the seahorses that attempted to kill me. He took me in and began to teach me the ways and traditions of the royal court and gave be the best education possible. I own him my life. He’s like a father to me.”
You’re appalled, this seems like some sort of fever dream gone wrong. Weren't you supposed to be dead? Is this heaven? Because this seems more like a twisted and demented hell.
After a couple more minutes of traveling throughout the ocean, you and the manatees approach a palace adorned in gold, and guarded by other manatees wearing chain mail armor carrying spears.
The gates are humongous and are opened, you and the manatees swim into the palace hall your are amazed by what you see. You thought that Atlantis was only a myth. As you approach the throne you hear a familiar voice. “Well hello Matt, how was your drink? Good huh?”
Every manatee begins to bow and state “The king is coming, show respect!” As the king turns into the door frame, you realize who this person is.
“Jim?! What are you doing here?” you shout.
The manatees are appalled by your behavior and begin to scold you, however Jim calms then down and says “It’s ok my children, he’s friend that confused.”
“I know that all must seem absurd to you Matt, but I’m the king of Atlantis” Jim bellows. “Well what's up with all the prophecy mumbo jumbo?” you ask.
“You’re the one who will save the kingdom of Atlantis from the Uriam Kingdom, and you will pull the trident from the Stone of Atlea and save us all!” bellows Jim once more.
At this point you just play along and do whatever needs to be done to return home. “Yeah I’ll pull this trident out of the stone and slay the King of Uriam!” you promptly bellow.
The crowd of manatees behind you are ecstatic and begin to act wild.Thus you and Jim swim to the Stone of Atlea. It’s located in the backyard of the palace. You stare in awe at the astonishing rustic trident for a minute. “Well are ya going to pull it out or what Matt?” states Jim.
You grip the rustic yellow trident and pull. “This thing is stuck in there good.” You think to yourself.
However Jim reminds you, “Use all of your anger and frustration with life, and the trident will reveal itself.”
You pull the trident will all your might, and it begins to budge a little. It wiggles, and then BOOM, it is released from the stones grip. The color of the trident transforms from a rustic yellow to a mighty golden trident. The shine is unbelief. Almost blinding.
“Our hero pulled the trident from the Stone of Atlea! Our hero awakens!” Gleebob states as all the manatees cheer.
“Tonight we shall enter battle with the Uriam Kingdom!” states Jim. As the Manateees put on their best warfaces.
“Ummmm I don’t think I’m exactly war ready…” You say to Jim. “It’s fine, I believe you can kill the seahorse king.” Gleebob sends a message to the Uriam Kingdom. He comes back after an hour. He states that they are getting ready for war.
All of the manatees are geared up for war. Each manatee has their own spear and shield. Chainmail armor adorns every manatee.
“Where’s my armor?” you ask Jim.
“Raise your trident up and shout ‘For the city of Atlantis!’ and you’ll be suited up for battle.” Jim chants excitedly.
You do this and a magical light surrounds you. It begins to fabricate golden plated armor out of nothing. You follow Jim and the rest of the manatee army to a nearby battleground. After a few minutes pass by, giant seahorses appear in the field in front of you.
A giant appears in front of the entire seahorse army. You inspect a little bit closer only to find out it’s John Cena your ex boss.
You ask Jim, “Why is my old boss here?”
“Your old boss is John Cena the king of the Uriam Kingdom?! Geez that job must of sucked big time!” he replies.
Jim gives the signal to Gleebob to sound the horn…. Battle commences between the two armies. They immediately clash and both sides take immediate blows. The manatees are skilled fighters but the seahorses are just savages. They bite and smash any part of their opponents body to guarantee a win.
While you take out a single seahorse, Gleebob has a pile of them underneath him. Jim has an even larger pile. How are you the chosen one to defeat the king? You barely managed to kill one regular soldier!
John Cena approaches you. His face is full of disgust.
“You don’t wake up on time, I fire you and what happens? You attempt to face me in battle how pathetic. The only thing more pathetic than that is your love life!” Cena teases.
“Come at me Cena I’m ready!” you shout while charging him.
Your trident clashes with his claymore. You dodge roll out of the way of his swing and jab him in the back. You and him struggle against one another, until you lose grip. He drops his claymore, but you still have your trident. You rush towards him and jab him in the chest.
You did it! You defeated John Cena the king of the Uriam seahorses. When you pull out the trident a big burst of light engulfs you and the surrounding area.
The light clears and you regain consciousness to the time right before you jumped off the bridge. It seems like it was all a dream.
You check the time on your phone just to be sure, “Yep it’s still the same day. Maybe that old fortune telling machine actually did have some sort of power.”
Although your revenge against Cena was imaginary, you feel a new sense of self worth. You’re ready to get back out there and try anything, nothing will keep you down. You check your phone a second time, and see you have a missed voicemail from an unknown number. As you listen to the message, a familiar voice resounds throughout the speaker.
“Is this Matt? It’s Katie, we need to talk, do you want to meet up somewhere?”
“Fair enough, it’s probably telemarketer or somethin’ ” Jim says.
“Whatcha doing tonight Matt?” Jim states as he starts wiping off the bar.
“Nothing really.” you state as you take another sip of your drink.
“Well last week I saw this old fortune teller machine outside of the pawn shop down the road, the owner was some freaky old lady, heard she’s into voodoo and all that jazz. I don’t believe a lick of it personally, but I thought the machine might be of some value to the bar.” exclaims Jim.
“Ya, wanna have your fortune seen?” Jim asks.
“Sure, I guess it couldn't hurt” you mumble with a depressing tone.
You move to the back of the bar with Jim and slide a quarter in the machine. An old wooden doll dressed like a gypsy appears after the rusty old machine jerks the curtains to the end of the machine.
“Hello, my child your fortune shall be read…” it states.
This seems absurd and childish so far, you wonder how an old machine like this could have any value. The machine randomly picks a card from the slots located within the interior of the machine and displays it at the front of the glass.
It states “Second Chances Are Coming Your Way”
You see this as coincidental, but nothing magical.
“Well buddy it seems like your life will be repaired! But let’s be honest, old machines like this can’t tell ya jack nor crap. Anyway I’m here for ya man. I wish the best for ya.”
You pay for your drink and say goodbye to Jim.
On your walk home you come across the bridge you cross every morning to get to your old job.
“God why is my life such a mess?! Katie hates me, Mr. Cena fired me, I can’t wake up on time, and it’s all shoved in my face every turn I make!”
“I’m down on my luck, so I might as well trust that old rusty machine.”
You say as you pull out your phone to call Katie.
“...of course…. Right to voicemail…..she hates me…..”
You think that this is end and Jim did everything he could and that he is a good guy.
You begin to cry while the chilly night air rushes against your nearly frostbitten face. The depressing thoughts of your life flood your mind, body and soul. You can’t take this, life is nothing but an empty abyss slowly biting at you till there is nothing left.
You jump in the river below, your heart pounds as you quickly descend towards the water below. As soon as you hit the water you nearly black out. As you start to fade out of reality, a mass of grey blobs start drifting towards you.
Your body is nearly frozen due to the sheer cold of the water. These grey objects get closer and begin to swarm you. However, the water temperature begins to take its toll and you finally pass out.
You awaken in the middle of a warmer area in the ocean.
“Why does the King want this land cow? What’s so special about him?”
As soon as you look around you noticed a massive grey blob, you obtain a better look and realize it a manatee! You begin to freak out, “W-w-w-hat, the hell?!” as you begin to struggle out of the manatees grip.
“Calm down Matt, the king just wants to see you.” says the manatee to the right of him.
“Y-y-you can speak?! You know my name?!” you stammer.
“Well yes!” the manatee replies. This just begins to freak you out, you only had one drink how can such a thing happen!?
“Hello Matt, my name is Gleebob” proudly states one of the manatees.
“I’m the king's right hand man, he sent me on a quest to retrieve you.”
You are flabbergasted who are these manatees and why do they have a king?
“Why did you guys save me back there? Where are you guys from and why can you talk?” you say while puzzled.
Gleebob educates you further and states, “We are the manatees of the kingdom of Atlantis, and we were sent here by the king to retrieve you to defeat the Uriam Kingdom. They are evil seahorses that have been at war with my people for thousands of generations.”
“Only the trident from the stone of Atlea will kill their king, but only the chosen one will be able to retrieve it from the sacred stone it’s placed in. The king is adamant that this hero is you, Matt. The king has been watching you through his crystal ball.”
You are stunned at this point, ancient prophecy? Trident? Talking Manatees and Seahorses? ATLANTIS?! WHAT'S GOING ON?!
“Hey Gleebob, why are you telling me this? Also why are you the king’s right hand man?”
Your brain is cluttered with question and these are the only ones that are able to come out at this point.
“I was abandoned by my parents, on the edge of the Uraim kingdom. The King found me, crying and in need of help.He fought off the seahorses that attempted to kill me. He took me in and began to teach me the ways and traditions of the royal court and gave be the best education possible. I own him my life. He’s like a father to me.”
You’re appalled, this seems like some sort of fever dream gone wrong. Weren't you supposed to be dead? Is this heaven? Because this seems more like a twisted and demented hell.
After a couple more minutes of traveling throughout the ocean, you and the manatees approach a palace adorned in gold, and guarded by other manatees wearing chain mail armor carrying spears.
The gates are humongous and are opened, you and the manatees swim into the palace hall your are amazed by what you see. You thought that Atlantis was only a myth. As you approach the throne you hear a familiar voice. “Well hello Matt, how was your drink? Good huh?”
Every manatee begins to bow and state “The king is coming, show respect!” As the king turns into the door frame, you realize who this person is.
“Jim?! What are you doing here?” you shout.
The manatees are appalled by your behavior and begin to scold you, however Jim calms then down and says “It’s ok my children, he’s friend that confused.”
“I know that all must seem absurd to you Matt, but I’m the king of Atlantis” Jim bellows. “Well what's up with all the prophecy mumbo jumbo?” you ask.
“You’re the one who will save the kingdom of Atlantis from the Uriam Kingdom, and you will pull the trident from the Stone of Atlea and save us all!” bellows Jim once more.
At this point you just play along and do whatever needs to be done to return home. “Yeah I’ll pull this trident out of the stone and slay the King of Uriam!” you promptly bellow.
The crowd of manatees behind you are ecstatic and begin to act wild.Thus you and Jim swim to the Stone of Atlea. It’s located in the backyard of the palace. You stare in awe at the astonishing rustic trident for a minute. “Well are ya going to pull it out or what Matt?” states Jim.
You grip the rustic yellow trident and pull. “This thing is stuck in there good.” You think to yourself.
However Jim reminds you, “Use all of your anger and frustration with life, and the trident will reveal itself.”
You pull the trident will all your might, and it begins to budge a little. It wiggles, and then BOOM, it is released from the stones grip. The color of the trident transforms from a rustic yellow to a mighty golden trident. The shine is unbelief. Almost blinding.
“Our hero pulled the trident from the Stone of Atlea! Our hero awakens!” Gleebob states as all the manatees cheer.
“Tonight we shall enter battle with the Uriam Kingdom!” states Jim. As the Manateees put on their best warfaces.
“Ummmm I don’t think I’m exactly war ready…” You say to Jim. “It’s fine, I believe you can kill the seahorse king.” Gleebob sends a message to the Uriam Kingdom. He comes back after an hour. He states that they are getting ready for war.
All of the manatees are geared up for war. Each manatee has their own spear and shield. Chainmail armor adorns every manatee.
“Where’s my armor?” you ask Jim.
“Raise your trident up and shout ‘For the city of Atlantis!’ and you’ll be suited up for battle.” Jim chants excitedly.
You do this and a magical light surrounds you. It begins to fabricate golden plated armor out of nothing. You follow Jim and the rest of the manatee army to a nearby battleground. After a few minutes pass by, giant seahorses appear in the field in front of you.
A giant appears in front of the entire seahorse army. You inspect a little bit closer only to find out it’s John Cena your ex boss.
You ask Jim, “Why is my old boss here?”
“Your old boss is John Cena the king of the Uriam Kingdom?! Geez that job must of sucked big time!” he replies.
Jim gives the signal to Gleebob to sound the horn…. Battle commences between the two armies. They immediately clash and both sides take immediate blows. The manatees are skilled fighters but the seahorses are just savages. They bite and smash any part of their opponents body to guarantee a win.
While you take out a single seahorse, Gleebob has a pile of them underneath him. Jim has an even larger pile. How are you the chosen one to defeat the king? You barely managed to kill one regular soldier!
John Cena approaches you. His face is full of disgust.
“You don’t wake up on time, I fire you and what happens? You attempt to face me in battle how pathetic. The only thing more pathetic than that is your love life!” Cena teases.
“Come at me Cena I’m ready!” you shout while charging him.
Your trident clashes with his claymore. You dodge roll out of the way of his swing and jab him in the back. You and him struggle against one another, until you lose grip. He drops his claymore, but you still have your trident. You rush towards him and jab him in the chest.
You did it! You defeated John Cena the king of the Uriam seahorses. When you pull out the trident a big burst of light engulfs you and the surrounding area.
The light clears and you regain consciousness to the time right before you jumped off the bridge. It seems like it was all a dream.
You check the time on your phone just to be sure, “Yep it’s still the same day. Maybe that old fortune telling machine actually did have some sort of power.”
Although your revenge against Cena was imaginary, you feel a new sense of self worth. You’re ready to get back out there and try anything, nothing will keep you down. You check your phone a second time, and see you have a missed voicemail from an unknown number. As you listen to the message, a familiar voice resounds throughout the speaker.
“Is this Matt? It’s Katie, we need to talk, do you want to meet up somewhere?”
