Last night was the final call.  They were both reminded that the decision had to be made today.  Brian was nervous driving in to work and the rain made him even more nervous.  It was a constant reminder of what’s to come.  The final decision made him remember the protests of water shortages on his land.  He had shared water at the damn with his neighbor, Saul, and regretted it ever since.  It was foolish for him to make an agreement like the one he made.  Now, today was doomsday.  He pulled into the parking space and took a deep breath.  Saul saw him and grinned as he held the door.

“Nervous?”  Saul smile widened, affirming his certainty.

“The last drop is what counts.”  Brian walked in with him, taking the elevator up.

“Of course, but.”  Saul snickered.  “I have to remind you of your water leaks and improper maintenance of your utilities.”

“All of which had been taken care of immediately when it occurred.  It’s normal.  How I manage my side is my business.”  Brian took another deep breath, still unsure of himself.

They both walked into the conference room and turned on the monitor.  There they saw live feeds of the measurement of water usage.

“Two more minutes and then we are done, but we both know who has this.”  Brian spoke, reserving his seat.

“Yes, the agreement we made.  Here.”  Saul placed the written agreement on the table looking directly into Brian’s eyes, waiting for a response.

“The agreement.”  Brian picked it up and peruse it again.  “The one who saves the most water and uses less wins.”

“That’s right.”  Saul eyes were now glued to the monitor.  The water usage measurements were nearly the same as they watched each drop making a huge impact to the final decision.

With one drop left, Brian held his breath.  That was it.  It was done.  The clock stopped.  The agreement had to be enforced.

“So this is it.  No more of this challenge.”  Saul said as he got up.

“Yes, indeed.  The last drop is in.”  Brian left the room and went to his office to call his military, then gave his orders, slamming his phone down as he released a heavy sigh.

The next morning, it was still raining.  Death had came last night into daybreak.  The water had been poisoned on the losing land.  People died instantly and whoever slept through the night without water, felt the result in the morning.  All that was left was to pick up the dead bodies.

The agreement, due to scarcity of clean water was to end the sharing of the damn.  The losing side must kill all their people, leaving the winner soul responsibility of the damn.

Brian’s side had busted pipes and intermittent water leakage, where he had to turn off the water supply several times.  It was that, which save him.  The shut downs were so many and protests were disturbing, but it was that which forced his side to save what was most precious.

Saul’s plan was a winning one.  He had tanks holding water, allotting restricted quantities and constantly taking measurements.  It was unreasonable conditions for his people to live under, but he had confided with his people of the agreement.  They were more than willing to participate and endured the extreme hardship temporarily for a final win.

Now, the military was throughout the losing land, picking up the dead bodies.

“Sir, are we burying them?”  The soldier asked.

“No.”  Brian replied.

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