760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGStmo00Hyr
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760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsy3ySYtzRj
DREAMS don't make sense. Yes, they do. No, they don't. Here, I'll prove it to you.
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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. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX5sEaWsZKM
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJFDSgNILv
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPDPO83d6v
"Yeah."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxsFlyeiqo
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbLvzeYfSp
"Something you want to talk about?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GphMbBHlp
"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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoPPdiDvaZ
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqsRKS4ZoA
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiC61gF8lq3
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpF3N5XIphf
I consider the offer. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeV9iQpPudO
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJ2baVWDmB
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSxy1f7Mcm
"Good. Go to sleep."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnOF3p9ROG
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVobPgx3wYe
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgClORoVti
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5W0JGyC86Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtJFDSgNILv
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtPDPO83d6v
"Yeah."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxsFlyeiqo
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMbLvzeYfSp
"Something you want to talk about?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8GphMbBHlp
"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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoPPdiDvaZ
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqsRKS4ZoA
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiC61gF8lq3
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpF3N5XIphf
I consider the offer. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeV9iQpPudO
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJ2baVWDmB
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSxy1f7Mcm
"Good. Go to sleep."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnOF3p9ROG
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVobPgx3wYe
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgClORoVti
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
2760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAF35fynFm4
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYX8OYWHuOD
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYX8OYWHuOD
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFrge6nO3jU
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRx4xAscRyL
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHPSqPMn3M
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjV8acB0eo
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKH8WMG2wJE
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVChr6ZnBRe
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbM5clI161t
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYUqRM2NRr
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9qfhDjq6H
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CLxK4BkwT
"Drugs," he says cryptically.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAClUOcKOQ
"Hmm?" I ask.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdMReeKRHo
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4PPXPVnVP
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoBa38MgoE
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?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVzZiJUKHU
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkN95TtoEv0
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDBwl0os4c
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrYfT6PSZ6
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdifDNtLdT8
"So, how long are you?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDo8RydW5bp
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9zhzDJhzw
"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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtnD7mW9dB
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRx4xAscRyL
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLHPSqPMn3M
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjV8acB0eo
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKH8WMG2wJE
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVChr6ZnBRe
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbM5clI161t
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYUqRM2NRr
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9qfhDjq6H
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1CLxK4BkwT
"Drugs," he says cryptically.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAClUOcKOQ
"Hmm?" I ask.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdMReeKRHo
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4PPXPVnVP
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoBa38MgoE
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?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVzZiJUKHU
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkN95TtoEv0
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDBwl0os4c
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrYfT6PSZ6
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdifDNtLdT8
"So, how long are you?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDo8RydW5bp
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9zhzDJhzw
"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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOtnD7mW9dB
Bitch.
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSkAv66mEv4
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3760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMWKFIU6v0
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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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDuoyaNE6a
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5jBiqr5Z3
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZTzYuDZe1
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoEztnwopt
Some nerve.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFqAj6lbWG
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYSkWIY9TT
Never mind.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwEhGSA6G9
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVnUD7emQg
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiD8xYI5Vbi
The door swings open.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLS6apDBRm
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfynRHwA3k
"Hello."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BvDZSV7mR
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKP7h00eV35
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT490HeAY7U
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBXTelMLUo
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEGJM0fLrx
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDrOLNNzVP
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4YcHsut7n
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3awTIZZjk
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkJ9a3kRIf
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2osTLdrQd
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ecG9YRB52
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2lxsV7yAP
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5jBiqr5Z3
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyZTzYuDZe1
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoEztnwopt
Some nerve.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFqAj6lbWG
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYSkWIY9TT
Never mind.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqwEhGSA6G9
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVnUD7emQg
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiD8xYI5Vbi
The door swings open.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPLS6apDBRm
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfynRHwA3k
"Hello."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BvDZSV7mR
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKP7h00eV35
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT490HeAY7U
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBXTelMLUo
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFEGJM0fLrx
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDrOLNNzVP
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4YcHsut7n
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3awTIZZjk
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkJ9a3kRIf
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf2osTLdrQd
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ecG9YRB52
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2lxsV7yAP
Huh. Funny dat.
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfm00Qxelmn
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4
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVP83G3JWBH
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?760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx1I3X4liEe
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9NhcDOcCb
"Hey, Nick."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLHu8Odm2v
"Hey, Mike."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPm758vr1R
"What's good?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmZOvZUjMQ
"Not much," he says with a sigh.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs45fZjflHM
"How come?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ljNYI42mW
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhYrtGOphB
"Where?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSe1bqSgOse
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7N8TBTlLVR
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7lyCs6afr
"Who's he?" I ask.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwm9GddfdbJ
"Stanley," Wannabe says.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEZfAJ5DaL
"Oh."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIW4ogRi1CB
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pRLdr1Ke3
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVsjaFbnZI
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYPczUIhLE
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbt22fYDIia
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKXoZM8wvP
"Mike."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhohQdtjmiS
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVriaQmTiyU
I keep my yap shut.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI105khec7W
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSPng8zsfv
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8I04l7Fvhy
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILCmOwvTs0
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YNTuxiBQG
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQE2B7NBsmr
"Like what? LSD?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1JD6frKlL
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJI7O5cwcx
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmQzeBaBwD
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZQnsx2rr7
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!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxOvsjrCiM
Everything changes then.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrC4rA9zPlG
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡye2yxmdVhT
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0LhhHjbyi
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedsXM8CrDh
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMbiN8q1cj
No one listens. They laugh.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgaPrYJ5lR
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!760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0SXGQO2BJ
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCDHDt6zdD
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQJTb2lw4D
A pull.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7MhO6Yok6
Rip.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡca6G40cDA3
RIP.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWTwhbzXyo
I'm dead.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkwaqjevon
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ9NhcDOcCb
"Hey, Nick."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLHu8Odm2v
"Hey, Mike."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPm758vr1R
"What's good?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzmZOvZUjMQ
"Not much," he says with a sigh.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs45fZjflHM
"How come?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6ljNYI42mW
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkhYrtGOphB
"Where?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSe1bqSgOse
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7N8TBTlLVR
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy7lyCs6afr
"Who's he?" I ask.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwm9GddfdbJ
"Stanley," Wannabe says.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEZfAJ5DaL
"Oh."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIW4ogRi1CB
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pRLdr1Ke3
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRVsjaFbnZI
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJYPczUIhLE
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbt22fYDIia
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDKXoZM8wvP
"Mike."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhohQdtjmiS
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVriaQmTiyU
I keep my yap shut.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI105khec7W
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpSPng8zsfv
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8I04l7Fvhy
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡILCmOwvTs0
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YNTuxiBQG
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQE2B7NBsmr
"Like what? LSD?"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1JD6frKlL
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJI7O5cwcx
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmQzeBaBwD
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZQnsx2rr7
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!"760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxOvsjrCiM
Everything changes then.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrC4rA9zPlG
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡye2yxmdVhT
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0LhhHjbyi
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡedsXM8CrDh
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMbiN8q1cj
No one listens. They laugh.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjgaPrYJ5lR
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!760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0SXGQO2BJ
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCDHDt6zdD
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.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQJTb2lw4D
A pull.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7MhO6Yok6
Rip.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡca6G40cDA3
RIP.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWTwhbzXyo
I'm dead.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDkwaqjevon
In bed.
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm08bFVUHu8
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHYs0izdyN
?
760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Bf9U37N2l
THE Rain Has Fallen.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8e0OBESycZ
No. That's not it.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDLLfone77
They Came After The Rain.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaqiklUMNe
There it is.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9tfj3GoTR
That's the one.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvRhvBlTqK
The end.
ns216.73.216.192da2 No. That's not it.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXDLLfone77
They Came After The Rain.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaqiklUMNe
There it is.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI9tfj3GoTR
That's the one.760Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQvRhvBlTqK
The end.
