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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. 745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4J5ly6m1Yq
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Pj6NHfWBy
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIqaE6PBmo
"Yeah."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡme20Okk1h2
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUi2oaGBct
"Something you want to talk about?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fKZvgNlJ7
"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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVypi1b4JF
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpAgEM0IRE
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfX4nve6fej
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBk15CukOQ
I consider the offer. 745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZG9yioK2bF
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyXOP5bEqa
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPLjdU1fse
"Good. Go to sleep."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3Q245g7nN
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4NHNABrjhq
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUxGMsbCrm
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS4TUTtvOxWDad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Pj6NHfWBy
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAIqaE6PBmo
"Yeah."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡme20Okk1h2
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUi2oaGBct
"Something you want to talk about?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6fKZvgNlJ7
"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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVypi1b4JF
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJpAgEM0IRE
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfX4nve6fej
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBk15CukOQ
I consider the offer. 745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZG9yioK2bF
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKyXOP5bEqa
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFPLjdU1fse
"Good. Go to sleep."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3Q245g7nN
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4NHNABrjhq
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUxGMsbCrm
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
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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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2RCT3Xllpv
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVu2a9Wh82G
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSK1daPGS9
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs37dG0mIiv
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXQzmwiiZU
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUtd79sZtg
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TLoWDAPuw
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36hxZgj4zn
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNX05Wm948o
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7M4coxZ23
"Drugs," he says cryptically.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVUVYZU0lv
"Hmm?" I ask.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOS6c0T80Bx
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqTu0JtydL
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61U4EtMvvB
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?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgv6Z8k9f5v
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsR7XiXTdc3
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkWJG1Hwb9
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCBhfYr0by
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBaaD7Yqw2
"So, how long are you?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCw0mWI3TJ
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMcYH6c6j4
"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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYhx6zmW1d
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVu2a9Wh82G
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSK1daPGS9
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs37dG0mIiv
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAXQzmwiiZU
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUtd79sZtg
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TLoWDAPuw
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36hxZgj4zn
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNX05Wm948o
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ7M4coxZ23
"Drugs," he says cryptically.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVUVYZU0lv
"Hmm?" I ask.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOS6c0T80Bx
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFqTu0JtydL
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ61U4EtMvvB
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?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgv6Z8k9f5v
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsR7XiXTdc3
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHkWJG1Hwb9
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCBhfYr0by
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBaaD7Yqw2
"So, how long are you?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFCw0mWI3TJ
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMcYH6c6j4
"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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYhx6zmW1d
Bitch.
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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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4f9YNTENP
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Ez0C0Heut
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8OK8Qidw3W
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGMOLOo5WL
Some nerve.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnDnZKEDJl
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3I4nKUjyX4
Never mind.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlVEDvIOhz
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KLiCtOmkL
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrBmYdARef
The door swings open.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9Fh3rBEBI
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO88itb6vuG
"Hello."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQHQgTJ6wJ
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYTAGMGgAn
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKGYNWBIIq
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYGSNgNZZB
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJ6iyou6Go
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgu0aWIaLo
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jCQSbJ3NJ
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUp75JJsMJK
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7xM5I7bIs
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UAMZQ5Rbm
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkEeWM7ty8
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdfCMbLH4e
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Ez0C0Heut
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8OK8Qidw3W
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGMOLOo5WL
Some nerve.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnDnZKEDJl
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3I4nKUjyX4
Never mind.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNlVEDvIOhz
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KLiCtOmkL
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrBmYdARef
The door swings open.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9Fh3rBEBI
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO88itb6vuG
"Hello."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQHQgTJ6wJ
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYTAGMGgAn
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsKGYNWBIIq
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrYGSNgNZZB
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiJ6iyou6Go
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhgu0aWIaLo
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jCQSbJ3NJ
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUp75JJsMJK
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR7xM5I7bIs
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UAMZQ5Rbm
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkEeWM7ty8
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdfCMbLH4e
Huh. Funny dat.
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4
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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?745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQTYl1jeEh
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqLuDkPv8a
"Hey, Nick."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Y6WT6sdwB
"Hey, Mike."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsWx6h4bTE
"What's good?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiKsuQLUPX
"Not much," he says with a sigh.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuJAyShI7y
"How come?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaJ1l8fOay
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhHFPhqeUB
"Where?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI79oyPyIGc
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkf4O8rnPHu
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5sADWDeGf
"Who's he?" I ask.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8YPCEdVuv
"Stanley," Wannabe says.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNr2uJVeBMw
"Oh."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5HFC0biQl
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrdQcKO9aG
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4Ycm4cj8w
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ebj5pzguu
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXGTUNrH7i
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGpPs0MnhP
"Mike."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQRTDDSaB9
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EyqD5m7Q8
I keep my yap shut.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZ50yoOrtA
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfGo6RqNGA
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TnyO2rUC1
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs034k4jU9Z
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCEo485C4A
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4JmvtJWl0
"Like what? LSD?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQWYX1ybzu
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPRGEsiuhM
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbICpFkqdpB
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7fLIpBh95
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!"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt80syXVNAT
Everything changes then.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovNShVormB
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAW8dTJZvtq
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4dhchVjs9
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxhbI3d1lL
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfE1RkU6jK
No one listens. They laugh.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrXUa47VCM
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!745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPaooc5tWP
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOEL5M1kV4
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd691o1Swo3
A pull.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8HoHGmnbI
Rip.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIf8yzdFz7l
RIP.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsI6gtQo9xn
I'm dead.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4opy6PsUM
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqLuDkPv8a
"Hey, Nick."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Y6WT6sdwB
"Hey, Mike."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGsWx6h4bTE
"What's good?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsiKsuQLUPX
"Not much," he says with a sigh.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUuJAyShI7y
"How come?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaJ1l8fOay
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhHFPhqeUB
"Where?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI79oyPyIGc
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkf4O8rnPHu
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS5sADWDeGf
"Who's he?" I ask.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8YPCEdVuv
"Stanley," Wannabe says.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNr2uJVeBMw
"Oh."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5HFC0biQl
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxrdQcKO9aG
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4Ycm4cj8w
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ebj5pzguu
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMXGTUNrH7i
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhGpPs0MnhP
"Mike."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiQRTDDSaB9
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EyqD5m7Q8
I keep my yap shut.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZ50yoOrtA
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfGo6RqNGA
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TnyO2rUC1
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs034k4jU9Z
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCEo485C4A
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4JmvtJWl0
"Like what? LSD?"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgQWYX1ybzu
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPRGEsiuhM
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbICpFkqdpB
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB7fLIpBh95
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!"745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt80syXVNAT
Everything changes then.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovNShVormB
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAW8dTJZvtq
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4dhchVjs9
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUxhbI3d1lL
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfE1RkU6jK
No one listens. They laugh.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvrXUa47VCM
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!745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPaooc5tWP
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOEL5M1kV4
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.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd691o1Swo3
A pull.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8HoHGmnbI
Rip.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIf8yzdFz7l
RIP.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsI6gtQo9xn
I'm dead.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4opy6PsUM
In bed.
745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMy13ps4xH1
745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT2juDXXk7Z
?
745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNgWiuFUgza
THE Rain Has Fallen.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8LXnvUWzR
No. That's not it.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQT4qJd7zC
They Came After The Rain.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxB1OsE3K9O
There it is.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6Q0xe85Kt
That's the one.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlO8oqRNE3
The end.
ns18.224.136.160da2 No. That's not it.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtQT4qJd7zC
They Came After The Rain.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxB1OsE3K9O
There it is.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6Q0xe85Kt
That's the one.745Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlO8oqRNE3
The end.
