Batter Up

            It was the bottom of the 9th inning, the bases were loaded, Billy’s team was down by three runs and already had two outs, when Billy stepped into the batter’s box.  Billy stared the pitcher down and dug his right heel into the dirt.  Billy owned him, he had owned him all game: 3-4; a double, a triple and solo home run. 

         The pitcher wound up and released the ball, low and outside, ball one.  Don’t even try to goat me into that shit!  Billy took a couple of swings to keep loose.  Come on, give me something good.

         The pitcher walked back to the mound.  Alright Billy, if I can’t get you to chase, then I’m gonna brush your ass back!  He let a screamer hurl through the air, way inside and stomach-high causing Billy to push his butt out to avoid getting hit.  We need four runs to win, not one!  Thought Billy.

         Billy tapped his cleats with his bat, knocking off the excess dirt, took a couple of quick swings and stared the pitcher dead in the eyes.  Let’s go you son-of-a-bitch!

         Let’s see how you handle this one!  The pitcher rocked back into this pitch, focused on Billy’s head.  He could see the sweat running down Billy’s face from underneath his batter’s helmet, then he let the ball RIP!  The ball came screaming at an other-worldlyspeed straight for Billy’s head.  Billy tried to drop to avoid the ball, but it caught him squarely in the head with a sickening thud.  Billy’s helmet and bat fell to the ground alongside his cleats, but Billy wasn’t there!  He had vanished in front of everyone’s eyes.  Everyone in the stadium looked on in utter amazement.  What the fuck had just happened?

           Billy slowly opened his eyes.  He was laying face-first in a beautiful field of green grass.  The grass was the softest he had ever felt and had an elegant aroma to it.  He stood up and brushed himself off.  He was still wearing his baseball uniform, but there wasn’t a speck of dirt on it.  He looked all around him.  He was standing in the middle of the vale.  There was a forest to his left and to his right was a large mountain range that curled around several miles in front of Billy and connected to the forest.

           The sky was the most amazing blue he had ever seen, the clouds were so fluffy and white.  Everything around him seemed so vibrant and beautiful.  The air was so refreshing and energizing.  Billy reached up to his head to feel where he had been hit, expecting to find a large bump there.  Nothing.  In fact, Billy felt great!  He had never felt better before in his entire life.  Where the hell am I?

           Billy saw smoke coming from up ahead in the distance where the forest and mountain range connected.  Well, I guess I’ll head over there.  Billy looked down at his feet.  He didn’t have his cleats, but the grass was so soft it didn’t matter.  It felt so comfortable, Billy decided to take his socks off and stuffed them into the back pocket of his baseball pants.  Billy looked towards the smoke and started walking.

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