x
539Please respect copyright.PENANALvmnSTaVtK
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539Please respect copyright.PENANAwFoQpvLzrs
DREAMS don't make sense. Yes, they do. No, they don't. Here, I'll prove it to you.
539Please respect copyright.PENANAE3PO714Wyt
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I'M in the living room, sitting on the couch with my father, watching Corner Gas reruns on the TV. So far, so normal. 539Please respect copyright.PENANAQX5HBbNf2X
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."539Please respect copyright.PENANAsJ3xCiGrxw
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."539Please respect copyright.PENANAMVSFqxKm9K
"Yeah."539Please respect copyright.PENANA978G2CyTb0
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."539Please respect copyright.PENANA78fR7b2YYP
"Something you want to talk about?"539Please respect copyright.PENANADhThYj9sFA
"I see myself." I point across the living room, to where my doppelgänger is hiding behind double doors, peering out at me. He grins devilishly.539Please respect copyright.PENANAj55GNppz2r
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."539Please respect copyright.PENANASsQniSrWVs
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."539Please respect copyright.PENANAdKDjkjVSv0
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.539Please respect copyright.PENANACUAikH7MEN
I consider the offer. 539Please respect copyright.PENANAG37jqNamFw
During the time it takes for me to make my considerations, the other me waves and waves and waves, trying to grab my attention. I don't give me any attention. Positively none.539Please respect copyright.PENANAj7bUkIZ7lK
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."539Please respect copyright.PENANAGLwnwe3TdD
"Good. Go to sleep."539Please respect copyright.PENANAAz30CK7Rb8
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.539Please respect copyright.PENANAMPG59BNKlQ
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.539Please respect copyright.PENANAyneQCLi7dE
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
539Please respect copyright.PENANA5wubG0xEC3Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."539Please respect copyright.PENANAsJ3xCiGrxw
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."539Please respect copyright.PENANAMVSFqxKm9K
"Yeah."539Please respect copyright.PENANA978G2CyTb0
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."539Please respect copyright.PENANA78fR7b2YYP
"Something you want to talk about?"539Please respect copyright.PENANADhThYj9sFA
"I see myself." I point across the living room, to where my doppelgänger is hiding behind double doors, peering out at me. He grins devilishly.539Please respect copyright.PENANAj55GNppz2r
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."539Please respect copyright.PENANASsQniSrWVs
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."539Please respect copyright.PENANAdKDjkjVSv0
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.539Please respect copyright.PENANACUAikH7MEN
I consider the offer. 539Please respect copyright.PENANAG37jqNamFw
During the time it takes for me to make my considerations, the other me waves and waves and waves, trying to grab my attention. I don't give me any attention. Positively none.539Please respect copyright.PENANAj7bUkIZ7lK
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."539Please respect copyright.PENANAGLwnwe3TdD
"Good. Go to sleep."539Please respect copyright.PENANAAz30CK7Rb8
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.539Please respect copyright.PENANAMPG59BNKlQ
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.539Please respect copyright.PENANAyneQCLi7dE
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
2539Please respect copyright.PENANAlkjNfMsgeo
539Please respect copyright.PENANAyA28qepLAT
539Please respect copyright.PENANAyA28qepLAT
NOW I'm at a party. People I remember from my past are present. People are together who were never together. Sense is not the language being spoken.539Please respect copyright.PENANAL9ZEbO1XkN
I'm on the couch. Again. A different couch. Alone. Nodding off from sheer boredom. This is why I don't go to parties. I'd much rather stay home and occupy myself in ways only I can relate.539Please respect copyright.PENANAWyMQQW25aO
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"539Please respect copyright.PENANA44gZ1Puolz
I turn to take in the ruckus. Brandon is pummelling a cute little mooshka doll, bashing and beating in its brains with a baseball bat. White, fluffy stuffing leaks from the ever-growing head wound. Soft skull battered, bruised, and cleaved. I'm both troubled and amused by the scene.539Please respect copyright.PENANAC429lQWzXg
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.539Please respect copyright.PENANAxoQEaTAHqo
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"539Please respect copyright.PENANA68knGcOWTa
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.539Please respect copyright.PENANAq1Uvrw4i3L
As my old friend continues his savage beatdown of an innocent dolly, other partygoers disengage themselves from tepid conversations and instead opt to play witness to the ongoing spectacle.539Please respect copyright.PENANAfcazZt6YS1
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"539Please respect copyright.PENANAyq4ZeA4TRQ
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.539Please respect copyright.PENANA1s7DZzTdE6
"Drugs," he says cryptically.539Please respect copyright.PENANAXG1S6QSOBt
"Hmm?" I ask.539Please respect copyright.PENANApuueymeVIW
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.539Please respect copyright.PENANAkMe7pUGd2F
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.539Please respect copyright.PENANAHdzggD5ls3
A blonde-haired girl I used to know—Sarah—sits beside me on the couch. With a shocking immediacy, she turns to me and starts to talk: "Hey, Mike. What's new with you?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAKcCyJmLE1J
I look into her shocking blue eyes. So blue. Does she like me? She said she loved me once. But that might have been smoke. Words. Without meaning. Just words. In any case, I never loved her. How could I? We never really connected.539Please respect copyright.PENANAz7qxl2tS0q
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.539Please respect copyright.PENANAEsVim5tzh0
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAzsoBBWKGyK
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."539Please respect copyright.PENANAnd7FZn0jJg
"So, how long are you?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAPWvPIcOun1
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAPMm3sJKMhN
"Oh." She loses interest. Scoots over to the other end of the couch, as far away from me as she can get, and into the arms of her brown-haired girlfriend, Fiona. They giggle and hold each other.539Please respect copyright.PENANAOrNU6rnZpI
Bitch.
I'm on the couch. Again. A different couch. Alone. Nodding off from sheer boredom. This is why I don't go to parties. I'd much rather stay home and occupy myself in ways only I can relate.539Please respect copyright.PENANAWyMQQW25aO
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"539Please respect copyright.PENANA44gZ1Puolz
I turn to take in the ruckus. Brandon is pummelling a cute little mooshka doll, bashing and beating in its brains with a baseball bat. White, fluffy stuffing leaks from the ever-growing head wound. Soft skull battered, bruised, and cleaved. I'm both troubled and amused by the scene.539Please respect copyright.PENANAC429lQWzXg
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.539Please respect copyright.PENANAxoQEaTAHqo
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"539Please respect copyright.PENANA68knGcOWTa
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.539Please respect copyright.PENANAq1Uvrw4i3L
As my old friend continues his savage beatdown of an innocent dolly, other partygoers disengage themselves from tepid conversations and instead opt to play witness to the ongoing spectacle.539Please respect copyright.PENANAfcazZt6YS1
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"539Please respect copyright.PENANAyq4ZeA4TRQ
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.539Please respect copyright.PENANA1s7DZzTdE6
"Drugs," he says cryptically.539Please respect copyright.PENANAXG1S6QSOBt
"Hmm?" I ask.539Please respect copyright.PENANApuueymeVIW
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.539Please respect copyright.PENANAkMe7pUGd2F
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.539Please respect copyright.PENANAHdzggD5ls3
A blonde-haired girl I used to know—Sarah—sits beside me on the couch. With a shocking immediacy, she turns to me and starts to talk: "Hey, Mike. What's new with you?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAKcCyJmLE1J
I look into her shocking blue eyes. So blue. Does she like me? She said she loved me once. But that might have been smoke. Words. Without meaning. Just words. In any case, I never loved her. How could I? We never really connected.539Please respect copyright.PENANAz7qxl2tS0q
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.539Please respect copyright.PENANAEsVim5tzh0
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAzsoBBWKGyK
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."539Please respect copyright.PENANAnd7FZn0jJg
"So, how long are you?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAPWvPIcOun1
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAPMm3sJKMhN
"Oh." She loses interest. Scoots over to the other end of the couch, as far away from me as she can get, and into the arms of her brown-haired girlfriend, Fiona. They giggle and hold each other.539Please respect copyright.PENANAOrNU6rnZpI
Bitch.
539Please respect copyright.PENANABFqLU1ycG9
539Please respect copyright.PENANA3ap2fhyNjA
3539Please respect copyright.PENANAgBAVV3j1nP
539Please respect copyright.PENANAdwl9ccU8wV
539Please respect copyright.PENANAdwl9ccU8wV
WE pull into the driveway. I'm quick out of the car and even quicker into the house. I just want to sit and see my cats.539Please respect copyright.PENANAxLFRYYNjs6
In the house. Through the hallway. Ginger is on the stairs, peering over the edge of the staircase like a scared little owl. Afraid of strangers. I'm no stranger to him and his ways. Bear is sleeping on my bed—peaceful, tranquil.539Please respect copyright.PENANAKU3czlwcXv
My sister Lesley and her husband Jason enter the house. Riley, their dog, yaps behind them. Noisy bugger. Which is odd. He's usually quite quiet.539Please respect copyright.PENANApZO7xOaG31
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.539Please respect copyright.PENANA4bNvXQt015
Some nerve.539Please respect copyright.PENANAHIY5FGyH0g
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.539Please respect copyright.PENANAwrbXBBm2uX
Never mind.539Please respect copyright.PENANAvFJrnkBQ2s
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?539Please respect copyright.PENANAuEYrot3hg2
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?539Please respect copyright.PENANAS9vZOBPXWf
The door swings open.539Please respect copyright.PENANA0X1tS7hO1G
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.539Please respect copyright.PENANAryoNhlU4R8
"Hello."539Please respect copyright.PENANABA2mMAmqpq
They don't wait for my approval before storming the castle. God damnit. What the hell happened to this world. Where did respect die, I wonder, so I know which hole to hide in.539Please respect copyright.PENANAdHoIQx753B
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.539Please respect copyright.PENANAsiW3BLcA6k
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAml6Fp47Thv
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"539Please respect copyright.PENANAUTGfYdKQey
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?539Please respect copyright.PENANAu9Tr5BDnKI
The girls push me back through the hallway and there's nothing I can do to stop the flood of them. Woe is me. Oh, sweet woe.539Please respect copyright.PENANAv7HR4JCb3i
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"539Please respect copyright.PENANAtdmV0fk7rt
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."539Please respect copyright.PENANAdjlqqndFDs
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.539Please respect copyright.PENANAyLmSeAuJH4
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.539Please respect copyright.PENANAWgckMBTaey
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.539Please respect copyright.PENANAtZvfrXIbxh
Huh. Funny dat.
In the house. Through the hallway. Ginger is on the stairs, peering over the edge of the staircase like a scared little owl. Afraid of strangers. I'm no stranger to him and his ways. Bear is sleeping on my bed—peaceful, tranquil.539Please respect copyright.PENANAKU3czlwcXv
My sister Lesley and her husband Jason enter the house. Riley, their dog, yaps behind them. Noisy bugger. Which is odd. He's usually quite quiet.539Please respect copyright.PENANApZO7xOaG31
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.539Please respect copyright.PENANA4bNvXQt015
Some nerve.539Please respect copyright.PENANAHIY5FGyH0g
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.539Please respect copyright.PENANAwrbXBBm2uX
Never mind.539Please respect copyright.PENANAvFJrnkBQ2s
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?539Please respect copyright.PENANAuEYrot3hg2
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?539Please respect copyright.PENANAS9vZOBPXWf
The door swings open.539Please respect copyright.PENANA0X1tS7hO1G
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.539Please respect copyright.PENANAryoNhlU4R8
"Hello."539Please respect copyright.PENANABA2mMAmqpq
They don't wait for my approval before storming the castle. God damnit. What the hell happened to this world. Where did respect die, I wonder, so I know which hole to hide in.539Please respect copyright.PENANAdHoIQx753B
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.539Please respect copyright.PENANAsiW3BLcA6k
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAml6Fp47Thv
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"539Please respect copyright.PENANAUTGfYdKQey
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?539Please respect copyright.PENANAu9Tr5BDnKI
The girls push me back through the hallway and there's nothing I can do to stop the flood of them. Woe is me. Oh, sweet woe.539Please respect copyright.PENANAv7HR4JCb3i
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"539Please respect copyright.PENANAtdmV0fk7rt
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."539Please respect copyright.PENANAdjlqqndFDs
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.539Please respect copyright.PENANAyLmSeAuJH4
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.539Please respect copyright.PENANAWgckMBTaey
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.539Please respect copyright.PENANAtZvfrXIbxh
Huh. Funny dat.
539Please respect copyright.PENANAgAPuyXBcoM
539Please respect copyright.PENANAALNhb3K0pF
4
539Please respect copyright.PENANAFODdON1pJS
WALKING down the street. There's my old school. Through the playground. The yard is empty. Where are all the kids? Oh yes, it's Monday. Wait. That doesn't make a lick of sense. What time is it? My non-existent watch says noon. Weird. What's the season, I wonder? Feels like summer. What year is it? Have I even been born yet?539Please respect copyright.PENANAzTlNIhxw9H
There's an old friend. Down by the sycamore tree. The tree that was never there. Interesting. It's grown mighty tall since I was last here... when it was never here. I meet the friend. Nick. Used to sell me drugs. Good stuff, too.539Please respect copyright.PENANAZaoua2NHYE
"Hey, Nick."539Please respect copyright.PENANAWxiWSwqFGr
"Hey, Mike."539Please respect copyright.PENANAlw0ulgIFve
"What's good?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAtTOE17nW07
"Not much," he says with a sigh.539Please respect copyright.PENANAqAxK8BdvPF
"How come?"539Please respect copyright.PENANACdWJdPcs7P
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.539Please respect copyright.PENANAnptE2kuxMD
"Where?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAZHX8PiZnJR
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 539Please respect copyright.PENANAMlys0UNDpr
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.539Please respect copyright.PENANAxEL7VTtCtn
"Who's he?" I ask.539Please respect copyright.PENANACHTbv4BfnM
"Stanley," Wannabe says.539Please respect copyright.PENANARyH2jNh0L0
"Oh."539Please respect copyright.PENANA5gSIagUyWf
Stanley wears a black leather jacket, and blue Levi's jeans. His brown hair is slicked back and he smokes a filtered cigarette. "Bitches, man," Stanley says.539Please respect copyright.PENANAemin53JTqg
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.539Please respect copyright.PENANAJXcogwbCRm
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."539Please respect copyright.PENANATK25S0YJmW
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.539Please respect copyright.PENANAPrM0HJ1vv9
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAwOoXjrFW8P
"Mike."539Please respect copyright.PENANApro3TUPFj1
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAEHy6xHPNbl
I keep my yap shut.539Please respect copyright.PENANASKOItX2CX5
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.539Please respect copyright.PENANApQMWRpsJ9Q
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.539Please respect copyright.PENANAgKxO2xaT9R
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.539Please respect copyright.PENANAJ3YqmaQ1gP
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.539Please respect copyright.PENANAyfjW4t5Zz6
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.539Please respect copyright.PENANAY2XnT8Kttt
"Like what? LSD?"539Please respect copyright.PENANADpnoFRmDfs
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.539Please respect copyright.PENANA5rl5ShLruT
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."539Please respect copyright.PENANAWwCRGqyLxA
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.539Please respect copyright.PENANAe90KiRbKxH
Stanley doesn't take my laughter kindly. "Easy, playa. I'm hard. Harder than you." Veins were popping out of his face in places I never knew veins existed. He looked about ready to pop. "I may not smoke drugs yet, but I will. What, you think I'm not bad? Huh? LOCKDOWN!"539Please respect copyright.PENANAg4JVYG4yoZ
Everything changes then.539Please respect copyright.PENANAptJIv0CK4h
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.539Please respect copyright.PENANAhtDGlPw1pz
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 539Please respect copyright.PENANAHGQGjeOZk6
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.539Please respect copyright.PENANAQjaNmRfnOr
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 539Please respect copyright.PENANA60QeMhclld
No one listens. They laugh.539Please respect copyright.PENANAzCJ0ob3MsX
I try to get by a wall of rats when I feel two hands grip me around the kidneys. I look back and there's a smiling little girl. We've formed a chain. A chain of kids. Gripping each other. Gripping me. Let go. I don't like to be touched. Stop it!539Please respect copyright.PENANAiqlMVGH8Aa
The pain is excruciating. Feels like fire. What the hell is wrong with them. They won't let go of me. I smack hands and attempt to remove them. They push harder. Feel the burn. Against my flesh. What is wrong with them. Why won't they stop.539Please respect copyright.PENANAuiTknvguQH
I'm driven mad as fingers pierce skin and blood is drawn. Bleeding out. A hand enters one side of me. Another hand. Other side. Feel a tug on my organs.539Please respect copyright.PENANAvtw3H3MNF5
A pull.539Please respect copyright.PENANAeJm8w7zKTR
Rip.539Please respect copyright.PENANApVGQSmYkkh
RIP.539Please respect copyright.PENANAZ0qT7ikVBB
I'm dead.539Please respect copyright.PENANAkSFHh0FI6K
In bed.
There's an old friend. Down by the sycamore tree. The tree that was never there. Interesting. It's grown mighty tall since I was last here... when it was never here. I meet the friend. Nick. Used to sell me drugs. Good stuff, too.539Please respect copyright.PENANAZaoua2NHYE
"Hey, Nick."539Please respect copyright.PENANAWxiWSwqFGr
"Hey, Mike."539Please respect copyright.PENANAlw0ulgIFve
"What's good?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAtTOE17nW07
"Not much," he says with a sigh.539Please respect copyright.PENANAqAxK8BdvPF
"How come?"539Please respect copyright.PENANACdWJdPcs7P
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.539Please respect copyright.PENANAnptE2kuxMD
"Where?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAZHX8PiZnJR
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 539Please respect copyright.PENANAMlys0UNDpr
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.539Please respect copyright.PENANAxEL7VTtCtn
"Who's he?" I ask.539Please respect copyright.PENANACHTbv4BfnM
"Stanley," Wannabe says.539Please respect copyright.PENANARyH2jNh0L0
"Oh."539Please respect copyright.PENANA5gSIagUyWf
Stanley wears a black leather jacket, and blue Levi's jeans. His brown hair is slicked back and he smokes a filtered cigarette. "Bitches, man," Stanley says.539Please respect copyright.PENANAemin53JTqg
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.539Please respect copyright.PENANAJXcogwbCRm
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."539Please respect copyright.PENANATK25S0YJmW
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.539Please respect copyright.PENANAPrM0HJ1vv9
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAwOoXjrFW8P
"Mike."539Please respect copyright.PENANApro3TUPFj1
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"539Please respect copyright.PENANAEHy6xHPNbl
I keep my yap shut.539Please respect copyright.PENANASKOItX2CX5
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.539Please respect copyright.PENANApQMWRpsJ9Q
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.539Please respect copyright.PENANAgKxO2xaT9R
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.539Please respect copyright.PENANAJ3YqmaQ1gP
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.539Please respect copyright.PENANAyfjW4t5Zz6
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.539Please respect copyright.PENANAY2XnT8Kttt
"Like what? LSD?"539Please respect copyright.PENANADpnoFRmDfs
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.539Please respect copyright.PENANA5rl5ShLruT
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."539Please respect copyright.PENANAWwCRGqyLxA
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.539Please respect copyright.PENANAe90KiRbKxH
Stanley doesn't take my laughter kindly. "Easy, playa. I'm hard. Harder than you." Veins were popping out of his face in places I never knew veins existed. He looked about ready to pop. "I may not smoke drugs yet, but I will. What, you think I'm not bad? Huh? LOCKDOWN!"539Please respect copyright.PENANAg4JVYG4yoZ
Everything changes then.539Please respect copyright.PENANAptJIv0CK4h
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.539Please respect copyright.PENANAhtDGlPw1pz
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 539Please respect copyright.PENANAHGQGjeOZk6
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.539Please respect copyright.PENANAQjaNmRfnOr
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 539Please respect copyright.PENANA60QeMhclld
No one listens. They laugh.539Please respect copyright.PENANAzCJ0ob3MsX
I try to get by a wall of rats when I feel two hands grip me around the kidneys. I look back and there's a smiling little girl. We've formed a chain. A chain of kids. Gripping each other. Gripping me. Let go. I don't like to be touched. Stop it!539Please respect copyright.PENANAiqlMVGH8Aa
The pain is excruciating. Feels like fire. What the hell is wrong with them. They won't let go of me. I smack hands and attempt to remove them. They push harder. Feel the burn. Against my flesh. What is wrong with them. Why won't they stop.539Please respect copyright.PENANAuiTknvguQH
I'm driven mad as fingers pierce skin and blood is drawn. Bleeding out. A hand enters one side of me. Another hand. Other side. Feel a tug on my organs.539Please respect copyright.PENANAvtw3H3MNF5
A pull.539Please respect copyright.PENANAeJm8w7zKTR
Rip.539Please respect copyright.PENANApVGQSmYkkh
RIP.539Please respect copyright.PENANAZ0qT7ikVBB
I'm dead.539Please respect copyright.PENANAkSFHh0FI6K
In bed.
539Please respect copyright.PENANA2K2FrxayQw
539Please respect copyright.PENANANBHOufZP4i
?
539Please respect copyright.PENANAQ3paXmBZhK
THE Rain Has Fallen.539Please respect copyright.PENANAoRXp22twoU
No. That's not it.539Please respect copyright.PENANAX54hP6ABab
They Came After The Rain.539Please respect copyright.PENANAOEiWDlG3eh
There it is.539Please respect copyright.PENANAkIYsyRlSas
That's the one.539Please respect copyright.PENANAKrW6xg7V9c
The end.
ns 172.70.43.82da2 No. That's not it.539Please respect copyright.PENANAX54hP6ABab
They Came After The Rain.539Please respect copyright.PENANAOEiWDlG3eh
There it is.539Please respect copyright.PENANAkIYsyRlSas
That's the one.539Please respect copyright.PENANAKrW6xg7V9c
The end.