Today I was walking down the street. It was a cold winter day, though not bitter. The leaves rustled as I walked by, as though cheerfully greeting me. About two blocks from my home I came upon an intersection and stopped to wait for the street to clear before I crossed. It was at that time I noticed a small glint in the corner of my eye. I looked down to the gray, cracking pavement, and there I found a quarter, though there was something odd about it. I would have expected a quarter on the sidewalk to be covered in dirt and muck, but this quarter was indeed one of cleanest quarters I have ever seen. It's beauty was quite exquisite. I bent over and grabbed a hold of the small treasure with my thumb and index finger, and for a moment I stayed there, knees bent, admiring the sheer beauty of the quarter. Suddenly a voice brought me out of my trance. I looked up to the man standing before. He spoke again. "You okay buddy?" I stared into his eyes for a moment, as though he was slowly coming into focus. "Yes" I answered, though I didn't fully believe my own response. The man gave me a strange look and walked away. I stood there. It was strange. Something had come over me, however brief it was, but something strange had definitely just happened. It was as though my mind became transfixed to the quarter… everything else in the world slipped away. The quarter and I were standing in a dark room, alone, nothing else was beyond the room… the universe was me and quarter, nothing else. I looked around, somewhat embarrassed by my behavior, and I noticed a man staring at me. He was wearing a black suit with a white shirt and black tie, and though he was wearing rather dark sunglasses, I had no doubt that his stare was directed at me, as though it was penetrating my soul. I turned, frightened, and crossed the street at a more urgent pace than before.

I arrived at my house and put the key in the lock. It was then that I felt it again. I knew, somehow, the man was staring at me once again. I turned to look. My heart began to beat faster and faster. The man was standing at the bottom of the steps, just starring up at me, and I starring down at him. I felt as if I was frozen in ice, unable to move, when suddenly, the ice was shattered as the man spoke. "Hello, Mr. Howard." My fears rose as quickly as my heart beat. "Who are you?" I asked, my voice shaking with fear and anticipation. "My name isn't important, Mr. Howard. What is important is that you have something of ours, and I'm afraid I need it back." My curiosity now outweighed my fear. "What do I have of yours?" The man smiled, a smile that sent a chill down my spine. "Oh, nothing much, just a quarter." My heart nearly stopped as my brain tried to comprehend what the man had just said. Did this man really follow me all the way to my house for his quarter back? "I assume you have it?" The man inquired. I dug into my pockets and pulled out the quarter. "Very good" the man continued, "now just give it here." He reached out his arm and opened his palm. I hesitated. "Why do you want it back? It's just a quarter." The man's smile faded momentarily. "Money is money, give it here please." I looked at the quarter, wondering what was so special about it. The sun glinted on the smooth surface, and twinkled in my eye. The feeling began to rise within me once again… there was nothing but me and quarter. "Give it, now!" the man suddenly yelled. I snapped my head away from the quarter to face him. "No" I said defiantly, it was as though my words were being typed inside my brain by someone else. "It's mine now." The man's smile turned to a sneer. "Young man, you cannot possibly understand what you are dealing with. That quarter has certain powers… just give it here, for your own protection." I didn't move. "Who are you, really?" The man lowered his arm. "I work for the government. That quarter is a secret weapon, we're still developing it, now please, give it back or I will take it from you." He outstretched his arm once again, but I remained motionless. "It's mine now, I can hear it talking to me, it wants me as it's owner, not you." The man was now glaring at me with blind rage. "You God damn fool, that's what it's designed to do, now give it here!" I began slowly backing away. "No! It's mine!" The man continued to glare at before reaching into his breast pocket and pulling out a pen. He pointed the pen towards me and clicked the end button. I felt a sharp pain on my neck. The world began to melt all around, and then there was blackness.

I awoke sometime later, though I'm not sure of the exact time. I had become confined to a chair, hands tied behind me with rope. It looked as though I was in a darkly lit warehouse of some kind. The man stood before me once again. "I told you" he said sneeringly. "We needed our quarter back. Do you think your government cares if you get hurt? We need this quarter… this quarter has the potential to control minds! Think of it! We simply mind control every country in the world to recognize the United States as the world leader, then we can have all the oil we want!" The man fondled with the quarter in his hand. I began to struggle against the ropes in an attempt to get a better look at it. The man noticed my attempts to look at the quarter. "Yes, I understand you have come under the effects of this quarter, haven't you?" I struggled harder. I needed to get a hold of the quarter once again, to feel it between my fingers just once more. "Please, let me hold it again, just once" I pleaded. The man smiled. "No, I'm afraid not. We already will have to do extensive mind erasing to reverse the damage already done. Well, goodbye Mr. Howard. Someone will be with you shortly." The man turned and walked out of the warehouse, leaving me to struggle with the ropes.

After awhile of struggling, I finally managed to slip out of my ropes. I then noticed a laptop in the corner of the warehouse. I rushed over there to ask you guys for help. I'm trapped in a government warehouse somewhere, under the effects of a mind controlling quarter, and they're about to erase my memory, any suggestions?