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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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715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlyapIxMbhr
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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. 715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Z3MqXfT88
Dad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYv5nmDVLWP
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKtYLhilSs
"Yeah."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZp6tqlY8k
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rzVx3lWkH
"Something you want to talk about?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeo8ZkwulR2
"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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7JhXRGncr
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyeaIgB2NW
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIBYNcUY4D
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KmMM4O1ze
I consider the offer. 715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jr16GiUH1
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVO0fGzrs3c
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnitlbw6nh
"Good. Go to sleep."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpd3CokHfP
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgPeoXAqmI
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51u3L9OWuO
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpo4rJpWDmHDad turns to me and says, "You look sleepy. Mike. You've got a vein on your forehead."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYv5nmDVLWP
"Oh, yeah? Bizarre."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHKtYLhilSs
"Yeah."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZp6tqlY8k
"Ponderous, father," I say. "Simply ponderous."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rzVx3lWkH
"Something you want to talk about?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeo8ZkwulR2
"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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh7JhXRGncr
"I know," Dad says. "You're fading away."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyeaIgB2NW
"I know," I say. "It isn't fair."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIBYNcUY4D
"Maybe you should go to sleep," Dad offers.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KmMM4O1ze
I consider the offer. 715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jr16GiUH1
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVO0fGzrs3c
I say, "You know what? Maybe you're right. I am tired."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnitlbw6nh
"Good. Go to sleep."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpd3CokHfP
Suddenly, the mirror me is no more. Vanished. Into thin air. Into nothingness. I've faded away.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgPeoXAqmI
"I'm gone!" I say, not trying in the slightest to keep the astonishment out of my voice.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51u3L9OWuO
Dad says, "That's what you get, Mike. You're dead."
2715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrgLod4mZr4
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715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYP3SU5ptEr
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxMR8EP4xnB
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrslvIbqro
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChRZMaTF6F
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsfa2XaBUn
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJPhHPeKyh
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyOz03ar0M
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ujMAFvaqL
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqlQDvqH4q
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjsDxB9jnh
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypV9QkmJVJ
"Drugs," he says cryptically.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCGpIDW7Pw
"Hmm?" I ask.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZbIYHJIlS
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7ei73qFA3
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBb1y9Zd5TI
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?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAPIKexrkj
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGenfjgkcv2
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncNk3HBBQK
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcb0Vsabh8
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtXA5KIpfn
"So, how long are you?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxMXUMX4oe
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWw821eqd6
"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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OuG9cg7R0
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrslvIbqro
"Prick!" says my old friend Brandon from behind. "God damned Russian prick!"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡChRZMaTF6F
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsfa2XaBUn
The doll takes the abuse admirably, if I do say so. It doesn't even make a peep.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJPhHPeKyh
"That's what you get for hitting my sister! Potato water–drinker! Snow-sucker! Filth! Rubbish! Filth!"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyOz03ar0M
I'm confused. The more Brandon talks, the less Brandon sounds like Brandon.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ujMAFvaqL
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqlQDvqH4q
"Filth! Rubbish! Filth!" is heard amidst cheers of "You get 'em, Branflakes!" and "Go, you!"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjsDxB9jnh
I shake my head and roll my eyes just as Brandon's dad, Brian, walks by.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypV9QkmJVJ
"Drugs," he says cryptically.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCGpIDW7Pw
"Hmm?" I ask.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTZbIYHJIlS
"You heard me. Get out!" he screams, pointing to the front door.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv7ei73qFA3
I ignore him and he walks onward, sitting in a rocking chair where he begins to knit an ugly ball of yarn.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBb1y9Zd5TI
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?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAPIKexrkj
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGenfjgkcv2
"I've been writing," I say, growing excited. I'm starved for human contact and connections.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡncNk3HBBQK
"Oh yeah? Like a novel?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfcb0Vsabh8
"I wish. No. I've been working on one but I haven't finished it yet. Short stories, I guess."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNtXA5KIpfn
"So, how long are you?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxMXUMX4oe
"I dunno. 14 pages, I think?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWw821eqd6
"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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7OuG9cg7R0
Bitch.
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3715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcS9kpd5zH
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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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzfikX66xH
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJCFG5Rwlu
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC20UNws0EI
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJ6YoVflNX
Some nerve.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdgySktPDC
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtpFhIs1Gvu
Never mind.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPeDTquGA4
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95e3ZuBZTz
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33gH82drY5
The door swings open.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2gLmdEkdE
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEXMibTdjiv
"Hello."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVXZnjZsk7
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4unweMeuC
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rvw7AAi2V
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8A3bNI79R1
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfLbk8t6MJ
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFeCutzkEI
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2rWeGOm4P
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVG5BnWH4C
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDdoBHjc7i
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15UPnWMqfm
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS52rYbGkdF
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUETpJFqvEd
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJCFG5Rwlu
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC20UNws0EI
Ginger is disturbed. Bear is perturbed.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXJ6YoVflNX
Some nerve.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdgySktPDC
I crash into my chair. Time to relax.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtpFhIs1Gvu
Never mind.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPeDTquGA4
There's a knock at the door. Who could it be?715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ95e3ZuBZTz
I go to answer it. Two girls. Blonde Sarah. Brunette Fiona. What the hell do they want?715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33gH82drY5
The door swings open.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY2gLmdEkdE
"Heeeeey!" I hear both girls say.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEXMibTdjiv
"Hello."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVXZnjZsk7
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4unweMeuC
"Abuse! Abuse!" they say.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1rvw7AAi2V
"What in the steamed hobo scarves are you two talking about?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8A3bNI79R1
"Abuse! Dogs, cats, food, poop!"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfLbk8t6MJ
Anger rising. Rage-foam forming at the corners of my mouth. Feel my hands tremble. What is this?715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFeCutzkEI
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2rWeGOm4P
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!" they squeal. "Abuse!"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVG5BnWH4C
Grab for the nearest shoulder. Spin the girl around. Speak into her face, "There's no abuse here."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDdoBHjc7i
Fiona cringes and backs away. Sarah and her exit the house.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ15UPnWMqfm
Wonder what sent them packing. My breath, perhaps? I ponder such trivialities as I return to my chair.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS52rYbGkdF
I gaze into the reflection of my mouse. I'm dressed like Spider-Man.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUETpJFqvEd
Huh. Funny dat.
715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbeKatSjtIH
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4
715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6sHpctDiud
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?715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4PcXMQjGcE
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosFLeFx1pa
"Hey, Nick."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhieSOp8CZ
"Hey, Mike."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BmQDRoHoD
"What's good?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkmpT7X8h0
"Not much," he says with a sigh.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQySZQGtTI
"How come?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ220kA8bEmV
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrNgvSFy69
"Where?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EQTnPTGHd
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KBCR3xLtA
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ogxdjcSnU
"Who's he?" I ask.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuodSaySOMw
"Stanley," Wannabe says.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiGtl2e9iO
"Oh."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSxrzBcdjF
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlCqChpedN
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdhKUPzVcA
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42V7eNP99s
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Hq2RGqjxv
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxTIRoxCjA
"Mike."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyYLWOgKs8
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqruTyQd69
I keep my yap shut.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXWpDTKGvS
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xJqLAUPkJ
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMocM7Tj24
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdweZK5yRSb
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yToaDrzZy
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41ku9hPD6E
"Like what? LSD?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYJZod3kC2
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOJSbXBbtN
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9kGAFR0ia
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbNhl6mBX3
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!"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6iXJRU5hFq
Everything changes then.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzxdWIQv2z
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOunv8yegos
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzD7CfIR4BF
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59h8l8LuMZ
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCneYFVOe9
No one listens. They laugh.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrktw70MNi
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!715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWh1G7ZLPHM
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEGropAucf
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrR9c5p0WuM
A pull.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4hONQh7fg
Rip.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTx86kKslL
RIP.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeR7iyriiI
I'm dead.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGRTVYdx9X
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡosFLeFx1pa
"Hey, Nick."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhieSOp8CZ
"Hey, Mike."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BmQDRoHoD
"What's good?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkmpT7X8h0
"Not much," he says with a sigh.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQySZQGtTI
"How come?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ220kA8bEmV
"Trouble is coming." He casts paranoid glances around and around.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmrNgvSFy69
"Where?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EQTnPTGHd
"There." Nick aims a finger to my right, past my shoulder. 715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6KBCR3xLtA
Some wannabe-badass teen who walks from the portable classrooms to where Nick and I are standing. Under the sycamore tree.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ogxdjcSnU
"Who's he?" I ask.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuodSaySOMw
"Stanley," Wannabe says.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiGtl2e9iO
"Oh."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaSxrzBcdjF
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlCqChpedN
I knew a tirade was coming. I was right.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzdhKUPzVcA
"Becky says I can't smoke my Camels anymore. Dumb bitch. I smoke what I want to smoke. I'm hard."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ42V7eNP99s
Nick nods but doesn't say anything. I follow suit.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Hq2RGqjxv
Stanley looks at me with contempt. "Who the shit are you?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxTIRoxCjA
"Mike."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLyYLWOgKs8
"Yeah, well, I'm hard, Mike. Harder than you, okay?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqruTyQd69
I keep my yap shut.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFXWpDTKGvS
"Yeah, I'm hard, alright. I'm the baddest kid around." Stanley takes a long drag off his cigarette.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xJqLAUPkJ
He is a kid, alright. I say nothing.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdMocM7Tj24
Stanley offers the smoke to Nick, who declines.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdweZK5yRSb
"Alright, bitch. Suit yourself." Another pull.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3yToaDrzZy
"Anything in that thing?" I ask him.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41ku9hPD6E
"Like what? LSD?"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYJZod3kC2
Sarcasm. Or maybe just stupid. Acid is destroyed at burning temperature. "No. Weed," I say.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOJSbXBbtN
"I don't smoke that shit, bro. Not yet."715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9kGAFR0ia
I laugh. What a badass. Wannabe badass. Plans his drug-induced future. What. When. Where. Why. How. Please.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbNhl6mBX3
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!"715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6iXJRU5hFq
Everything changes then.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhzxdWIQv2z
Kids come scurrying out of every hideaway hole and hovel imaginable.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOunv8yegos
Stanley gives me a hard shove. 715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzD7CfIR4BF
I fall on my ass, quickly get to my feet and try to run.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59h8l8LuMZ
Too many kids. In the way. "Move!" I say. 715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCneYFVOe9
No one listens. They laugh.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzrktw70MNi
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!715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWh1G7ZLPHM
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEGropAucf
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.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrR9c5p0WuM
A pull.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4hONQh7fg
Rip.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTx86kKslL
RIP.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeR7iyriiI
I'm dead.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGRTVYdx9X
In bed.
715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPalS0JMjF
715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSdbfqwg9Mm
?
715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDxMHSH7Pd
THE Rain Has Fallen.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtgrly4egLO
No. That's not it.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYBWpsBfWX
They Came After The Rain.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5SXat2faLq
There it is.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnVMJH8MKm
That's the one.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhPCGVAK8a
The end.
ns3.144.88.107da2 No. That's not it.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpYBWpsBfWX
They Came After The Rain.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5SXat2faLq
There it is.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnVMJH8MKm
That's the one.715Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhPCGVAK8a
The end.
