x
586Please respect copyright.PENANACuo1bJPPII
-
586Please respect copyright.PENANAis3JQBZ7pq
DREAMS don't make sense. Yes, they do. No, they don't. Here, I'll prove it to you.
586Please respect copyright.PENANAfHofOSCMDa
586Please respect copyright.PENANAQu7mkPhfmY
1586Please respect copyright.PENANAHIgt4olyBH
586Please respect copyright.PENANAw45At4tsp2
586Please respect copyright.PENANAw45At4tsp2
586Please respect copyright.PENANALliQ0UH1EL
I'M in the living room, sitting on the couch with my father, watching Corner Gas reruns on the TV. So far, so normal. 586Please respect copyright.PENANAdIduhsFMz5
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."586Please respect copyright.PENANATWgJsiZg36
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."586Please respect copyright.PENANAsP2nT61g57
"Yeah."586Please respect copyright.PENANAhraVTMz57N
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."586Please respect copyright.PENANAJqksDUKTUb
"Something you want to talk about?"586Please respect copyright.PENANAcCWcMo3CDt
"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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAkoxBrfWCW1
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."586Please respect copyright.PENANAGN23uQ6ZSm
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."586Please respect copyright.PENANAsTNOMJidIN
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.586Please respect copyright.PENANAM21o5iWe64
I consider the offer. 586Please respect copyright.PENANAiFutuHLQht
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAuWjakiNgvH
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."586Please respect copyright.PENANAeRoZuyZVSg
"Good. Go to sleep."586Please respect copyright.PENANAmHkIXnQeLp
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.586Please respect copyright.PENANAyejIjxwBdV
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.586Please respect copyright.PENANAYbkj8UUntS
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
586Please respect copyright.PENANAEQoJJNilQtDad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."586Please respect copyright.PENANATWgJsiZg36
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."586Please respect copyright.PENANAsP2nT61g57
"Yeah."586Please respect copyright.PENANAhraVTMz57N
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."586Please respect copyright.PENANAJqksDUKTUb
"Something you want to talk about?"586Please respect copyright.PENANAcCWcMo3CDt
"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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAkoxBrfWCW1
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."586Please respect copyright.PENANAGN23uQ6ZSm
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."586Please respect copyright.PENANAsTNOMJidIN
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.586Please respect copyright.PENANAM21o5iWe64
I consider the offer. 586Please respect copyright.PENANAiFutuHLQht
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAuWjakiNgvH
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."586Please respect copyright.PENANAeRoZuyZVSg
"Good. Go to sleep."586Please respect copyright.PENANAmHkIXnQeLp
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.586Please respect copyright.PENANAyejIjxwBdV
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.586Please respect copyright.PENANAYbkj8UUntS
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
2586Please respect copyright.PENANADgUZXAKyGo
586Please respect copyright.PENANAIgm8mDJbpL
586Please respect copyright.PENANAIgm8mDJbpL
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAvavDscrLsK
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAf6qDh3YSHl
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"586Please respect copyright.PENANAY34bk3bKb4
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAqEFbsYBbeZ
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.586Please respect copyright.PENANARt3HZmyvBR
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"586Please respect copyright.PENANAByX1DUPknE
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.586Please respect copyright.PENANADACNWbXzLM
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAXkGHM6oo43
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"586Please respect copyright.PENANA58zC1TbZUd
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.586Please respect copyright.PENANA3HfBdcZseq
"Drugs," he says cryptically.586Please respect copyright.PENANAF4172or2LL
"Hmm?" I ask.586Please respect copyright.PENANAYi2FhCRzUU
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.586Please respect copyright.PENANAcIWu76nKXF
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.586Please respect copyright.PENANATX5QO50qct
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?"586Please respect copyright.PENANAfyGQjEgnnX
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAmWeUmqYkZF
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.586Please respect copyright.PENANAH6RcCFusdB
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"586Please respect copyright.PENANA6UehPnCPsJ
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."586Please respect copyright.PENANAg7Yw0QkYVv
"So, how long are you?"586Please respect copyright.PENANASaZ9xBpfA0
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"586Please respect copyright.PENANA3yYUWm9Z4z
"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.586Please respect copyright.PENANA2LVNxRJP3Z
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAf6qDh3YSHl
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"586Please respect copyright.PENANAY34bk3bKb4
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAqEFbsYBbeZ
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.586Please respect copyright.PENANARt3HZmyvBR
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"586Please respect copyright.PENANAByX1DUPknE
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.586Please respect copyright.PENANADACNWbXzLM
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAXkGHM6oo43
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"586Please respect copyright.PENANA58zC1TbZUd
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.586Please respect copyright.PENANA3HfBdcZseq
"Drugs," he says cryptically.586Please respect copyright.PENANAF4172or2LL
"Hmm?" I ask.586Please respect copyright.PENANAYi2FhCRzUU
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.586Please respect copyright.PENANAcIWu76nKXF
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.586Please respect copyright.PENANATX5QO50qct
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?"586Please respect copyright.PENANAfyGQjEgnnX
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAmWeUmqYkZF
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.586Please respect copyright.PENANAH6RcCFusdB
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"586Please respect copyright.PENANA6UehPnCPsJ
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."586Please respect copyright.PENANAg7Yw0QkYVv
"So, how long are you?"586Please respect copyright.PENANASaZ9xBpfA0
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"586Please respect copyright.PENANA3yYUWm9Z4z
"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.586Please respect copyright.PENANA2LVNxRJP3Z
Bitch.
586Please respect copyright.PENANA1i8W0weIyn
586Please respect copyright.PENANAKuik35eJgh
3586Please respect copyright.PENANAmiIJWlnAw9
586Please respect copyright.PENANAYD0Cdig3SS
586Please respect copyright.PENANAYD0Cdig3SS
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAlJNkfSNWTZ
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAK0Hic7X1TT
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANACwmsFLqfdk
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.586Please respect copyright.PENANA1sHzop7KmO
Some nerve.586Please respect copyright.PENANAmhj9F0hTx6
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.586Please respect copyright.PENANAk9A1xTyeG9
Never mind.586Please respect copyright.PENANATaF1VHageg
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?586Please respect copyright.PENANAnHh7rY0tOy
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?586Please respect copyright.PENANA7h4SmsGFrl
The door swings open.586Please respect copyright.PENANAeX4BRLgKiN
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.586Please respect copyright.PENANALLrhYTNMZt
"Hello."586Please respect copyright.PENANAHrbSiwMRkG
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAPO3gscx7IB
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.586Please respect copyright.PENANAC8GhxqTYqv
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"586Please respect copyright.PENANAeBHCSh9skq
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"586Please respect copyright.PENANAUuyWFnysA0
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?586Please respect copyright.PENANA6ZP35hWhwX
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANA7RbNNg7FEs
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"586Please respect copyright.PENANA7Ab5D5Gdzh
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."586Please respect copyright.PENANAed4gakJv0p
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.586Please respect copyright.PENANAAk6iHhHqs6
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.586Please respect copyright.PENANAN2DMoUf5eB
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.586Please respect copyright.PENANAhMoxeuzjjx
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAK0Hic7X1TT
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANACwmsFLqfdk
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.586Please respect copyright.PENANA1sHzop7KmO
Some nerve.586Please respect copyright.PENANAmhj9F0hTx6
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.586Please respect copyright.PENANAk9A1xTyeG9
Never mind.586Please respect copyright.PENANATaF1VHageg
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?586Please respect copyright.PENANAnHh7rY0tOy
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?586Please respect copyright.PENANA7h4SmsGFrl
The door swings open.586Please respect copyright.PENANAeX4BRLgKiN
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.586Please respect copyright.PENANALLrhYTNMZt
"Hello."586Please respect copyright.PENANAHrbSiwMRkG
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAPO3gscx7IB
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.586Please respect copyright.PENANAC8GhxqTYqv
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"586Please respect copyright.PENANAeBHCSh9skq
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"586Please respect copyright.PENANAUuyWFnysA0
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?586Please respect copyright.PENANA6ZP35hWhwX
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANA7RbNNg7FEs
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"586Please respect copyright.PENANA7Ab5D5Gdzh
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."586Please respect copyright.PENANAed4gakJv0p
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.586Please respect copyright.PENANAAk6iHhHqs6
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.586Please respect copyright.PENANAN2DMoUf5eB
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.586Please respect copyright.PENANAhMoxeuzjjx
Huh. Funny dat.
586Please respect copyright.PENANAPhBUhuTO9L
586Please respect copyright.PENANAybw2B4p1yv
4
586Please respect copyright.PENANA4BFH4gky85
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?586Please respect copyright.PENANAVLzmTAlFgT
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAUkepJ6BC89
"Hey, Nick."586Please respect copyright.PENANAf724csoj7B
"Hey, Mike."586Please respect copyright.PENANAft3RvHyFFS
"What's good?"586Please respect copyright.PENANAjdvm8zqZyC
"Not much," he says with a sigh.586Please respect copyright.PENANA5tuqYSrvmy
"How come?"586Please respect copyright.PENANA5r38ZgPWzv
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.586Please respect copyright.PENANANnz4xKhC3M
"Where?"586Please respect copyright.PENANA1wIws4OXKO
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 586Please respect copyright.PENANAB2ZASoe06v
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.586Please respect copyright.PENANA6YT5rxau6O
"Who's he?" I ask.586Please respect copyright.PENANAMCSCE8hbAl
"Stanley," Wannabe says.586Please respect copyright.PENANA2iXXj1jiTD
"Oh."586Please respect copyright.PENANAKQiuERvb0G
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAZv3rPgwC6V
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.586Please respect copyright.PENANAdJvZ3E8DNk
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."586Please respect copyright.PENANAugYGJXA6Ou
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.586Please respect copyright.PENANAESsKgoZvRd
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"586Please respect copyright.PENANAIZ1IB2p0fm
"Mike."586Please respect copyright.PENANAdZNeG3RJT9
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"586Please respect copyright.PENANASjJPkM2Fep
I keep my yap shut.586Please respect copyright.PENANAuIfzrsGGVX
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.586Please respect copyright.PENANAwlLjIII0Sw
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.586Please respect copyright.PENANA1WWIV7YT46
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.586Please respect copyright.PENANA9wFNU1ufCZ
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.586Please respect copyright.PENANAql5KyLIeQ3
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.586Please respect copyright.PENANAkyXfdteNHq
"Like what? LSD?"586Please respect copyright.PENANAO7F2H2iyF9
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.586Please respect copyright.PENANAB021TG4hX6
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."586Please respect copyright.PENANAB4EnukxZK3
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.586Please respect copyright.PENANArnuSr7Dy0p
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!"586Please respect copyright.PENANAwLsAnp3JTY
Everything changes then.586Please respect copyright.PENANA3qHOwSNdCp
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.586Please respect copyright.PENANAzJ25iwybUP
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 586Please respect copyright.PENANAP18qWiZdNA
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.586Please respect copyright.PENANAKWbDr9raXy
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 586Please respect copyright.PENANA0QYLocaK8n
No one listens. They laugh.586Please respect copyright.PENANAaQRkzjXZQg
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!586Please respect copyright.PENANAI5gSwQcptW
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANANbUBdH4TMF
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAQEpaprYlsl
A pull.586Please respect copyright.PENANAuSfQqxWoVT
Rip.586Please respect copyright.PENANAAOHlHol9Gc
RIP.586Please respect copyright.PENANAWQoeDraRoG
I'm dead.586Please respect copyright.PENANAmtPaDZrzpT
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAUkepJ6BC89
"Hey, Nick."586Please respect copyright.PENANAf724csoj7B
"Hey, Mike."586Please respect copyright.PENANAft3RvHyFFS
"What's good?"586Please respect copyright.PENANAjdvm8zqZyC
"Not much," he says with a sigh.586Please respect copyright.PENANA5tuqYSrvmy
"How come?"586Please respect copyright.PENANA5r38ZgPWzv
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.586Please respect copyright.PENANANnz4xKhC3M
"Where?"586Please respect copyright.PENANA1wIws4OXKO
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 586Please respect copyright.PENANAB2ZASoe06v
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.586Please respect copyright.PENANA6YT5rxau6O
"Who's he?" I ask.586Please respect copyright.PENANAMCSCE8hbAl
"Stanley," Wannabe says.586Please respect copyright.PENANA2iXXj1jiTD
"Oh."586Please respect copyright.PENANAKQiuERvb0G
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAZv3rPgwC6V
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.586Please respect copyright.PENANAdJvZ3E8DNk
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."586Please respect copyright.PENANAugYGJXA6Ou
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.586Please respect copyright.PENANAESsKgoZvRd
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"586Please respect copyright.PENANAIZ1IB2p0fm
"Mike."586Please respect copyright.PENANAdZNeG3RJT9
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"586Please respect copyright.PENANASjJPkM2Fep
I keep my yap shut.586Please respect copyright.PENANAuIfzrsGGVX
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.586Please respect copyright.PENANAwlLjIII0Sw
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.586Please respect copyright.PENANA1WWIV7YT46
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.586Please respect copyright.PENANA9wFNU1ufCZ
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.586Please respect copyright.PENANAql5KyLIeQ3
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.586Please respect copyright.PENANAkyXfdteNHq
"Like what? LSD?"586Please respect copyright.PENANAO7F2H2iyF9
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.586Please respect copyright.PENANAB021TG4hX6
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."586Please respect copyright.PENANAB4EnukxZK3
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.586Please respect copyright.PENANArnuSr7Dy0p
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!"586Please respect copyright.PENANAwLsAnp3JTY
Everything changes then.586Please respect copyright.PENANA3qHOwSNdCp
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.586Please respect copyright.PENANAzJ25iwybUP
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 586Please respect copyright.PENANAP18qWiZdNA
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.586Please respect copyright.PENANAKWbDr9raXy
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 586Please respect copyright.PENANA0QYLocaK8n
No one listens. They laugh.586Please respect copyright.PENANAaQRkzjXZQg
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!586Please respect copyright.PENANAI5gSwQcptW
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANANbUBdH4TMF
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.586Please respect copyright.PENANAQEpaprYlsl
A pull.586Please respect copyright.PENANAuSfQqxWoVT
Rip.586Please respect copyright.PENANAAOHlHol9Gc
RIP.586Please respect copyright.PENANAWQoeDraRoG
I'm dead.586Please respect copyright.PENANAmtPaDZrzpT
In bed.
586Please respect copyright.PENANArXUjYQKZmC
586Please respect copyright.PENANAxtvWPiCuqH
?
586Please respect copyright.PENANAfhhkE3tUPH
THE Rain Has Fallen.586Please respect copyright.PENANAYBuYVVBJOq
No. That's not it.586Please respect copyright.PENANAMawQiNEA10
They Came After The Rain.586Please respect copyright.PENANA0HM1A1ZEO7
There it is.586Please respect copyright.PENANA2MFV2Nuc9E
That's the one.586Please respect copyright.PENANAYRngUxvkKM
The end.
ns 172.70.178.53da2 No. That's not it.586Please respect copyright.PENANAMawQiNEA10
They Came After The Rain.586Please respect copyright.PENANA0HM1A1ZEO7
There it is.586Please respect copyright.PENANA2MFV2Nuc9E
That's the one.586Please respect copyright.PENANAYRngUxvkKM
The end.