Another submission for the  Thursday_Prompt with the word this week being face. To those who read this, if you have any feedback for me, let me know. I hope you enjoy reading this!

Inspiration for the story came from the TV show Wipeout. If you want a little context, here's a video of what I based it off of (this is the UK version of Wipeout just cause it better showcases what I was trying to show): https://youtu.be/omWG373GiKc?t=2162


A Clean Sweep
By Rando Shywoulfe

Leon could feel himself shaking as he stood on a small platform ten feet above a large pool of water. Running a paw through his mane and adjusting his helmet in nervousness, the lion feared what he was about to face.

The fact that he was up here was thanks to Bruno, a pug, and his best friend, though Leon was starting to question that friendship right about now.

Bruno had come to him one day, his head in his paws, with a dilemma. He was the lead organizer for a charity event titled Splashdown for Hunger, whose goal was to raise funds to give to the local food bank with a water-themed extravaganza. Somehow, he'd managed to contact and convince the producers of the hit show Falling With Style to lend the use of their Clean Sweep bar for the event. He explained that twelve furs had signed up and would be on platforms jumping over the bar as much as they could, trying not to fall into the water below. For every successful jump over the bar, sponsors would donate a bit of money to the charity. However, he'd run into a snag, as one of the furs scheduled to jump had injured their ankle and been forced to drop out. Bruno needed to find a replacement fast since the event was the next day, and he thought Leon would be perfect.

The idea of getting up on a small platform to jump over a speeding green and blue foam-covered bar that would get faster and higher made Leon shake in fear. Whenever he saw a fur get hit by it on TV, he’d wince and wonder how they could stand being up there and putting themselves at risk of getting injured by it.

He'd wanted to say no, but he also knew he couldn't disappoint his friend, so with a sigh, he agreed to do it.

This brought him to his current situation. Part of him thought about chickening out and climbing down the platform, but as an air horn signaled the start of the Clean Sweep’s rotation, he knew there was no backing out.

He was in the back, so he watched as the bar started its first rotation. Despite some wobbles and some windmilling paws, the furs ahead of him seemed to be making it over. Leon knew he would die of embarrassment if he fell off his platform on the first rotation, especially if he was the only one too. As the bar approached him, he bent his legs and prepared to jump. As the fur in front of him jumped over, he did the same, making it over, though he almost did lose his balance. Sighing in relief, he applauded himself for not failing the first jump. Though he knew that there would be more to come and that it would only get harder from here.

As the Clean Sweep continued its rotations, it started increasing its height and speed. Despite his worries, Leon surprised himself with how well he was doing. On most rotations, he was able to clear the bar with relative ease, though there was one time where the bar clipped his foot paw and he had to grab onto his platform to keep from falling off. However, for the most part, he’d gotten into a sort of rhythm with his jumping.

While he was waiting for the bar to come his way, he watched the other furs as they also attempted to clear the bar. A lot of times they were successful, but sometimes they weren’t. He saw different levels of falling, from losing their footing to the bar knocking them off. He even saw one mouse get hit square in the chest and knocked into the base of the platform behind them.

Soon enough, he realized that there was only one other fur still jumping, a brown rabbit in a pink top and black exercise shorts. At this point, the bar was moving at a great height and speed, and it was taking all of his effort to clear it. More close calls happened, but both he and his competitor were determined to be the last one standing and get as much money as they could.

As he kept jumping, he could feel himself starting to get exhausted and his foot paws were starting to hurt from standing and jumping on that platform. He looked at the rabbit and saw they showed no signs of giving up. It made him wonder how much longer he could go.

The answer came to him on the Clean Sweep’s next rotation. He jumped how he’d been doing it before, but either his jump was too late or was too short because he felt the bar hit his knees. His legs swept out from under him, he face planted on his platform as he tried and failed to get a grip on it. He fell into the cold water with a loud splash, and after breaking the surface, watched as the rabbit was soon knocked into the water a few seconds later.

***********

Bruno saw Leon get knocked off the platform and was worried. He knew Leon had been nervous about doing this event, and he’d expressed a fear of the Clean Sweep before. Seeing him fall, Bruno felt he wouldn’t hear the end of how wrong he was

After Leon plopped himself next to Bruno on the stands, the pug couldn’t help himself. “Hey, are you alright? That was a nasty-looking fall you took there.”

Leon removed his helmet and life vest and wrung out some of his mane, the smell of chlorine overpowering Bruno’s nostrils. “Oh yeah, I took a tumble alright.” It was then a wide smile grew on his face. “But that was honestly so much fun! All of that jumping was exhilarating, and when the bar did hit me, it happened so fast I didn’t know what was happening. Wiping out was more fun than I thought it would've been!! I can’t believe I was so scared of facing that thing! If I could, I would go back up there and do it all over again!”

Shock couldn't begin to describe what Bruno felt at Leon's words. He shook his head a bit, making sure water hadn't gotten in his ears.

"You're serious? Like, full-on serious?"

Leon nodded his head, and without another word, began to walk over to where the other jumpers had gathered. They had surrounded the rabbit and were giving their congratulations to them. That's when Bruno noticed Leon's tail moving back and forth in almost uncontained excitement. Laughing to himself, Bruno headed over as well, his own tail wagging in excitement, ready to congratulate all of them on a successful event. Even though the rabbit had been the last fur standing, he and everyone else knew there were no real losers today. Not with all the money they’d raised for a good cause.