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That’s why I follow hirin I know it like I know parts of rin once or twice in rier boy who’d lost his father and had to take it out on the world I rin once while escorting a woman because she found rape scenarios terribly, horribly sexy

I vomited for an hour after that session, and tried to scrub her off, tried to scrub the evil out of me, out of humanity

It never worked

I follow the boy, and he leads h school, probably Skinny, with tight jeans and earbuds hanging out of their pockets No e That’s why they corner the homeless man between a duone brown on the edges Rotten They laugh and push hi hands clutching a half-eaten banana he fished out of the trash His gray beard is down to his chest and knotted, his face sunburned The man babbles under his breath, so low and fast it sounds like a chant, or a curse He doesn’t want to die He spends every day trying not to die

"What’s that, you crazy fker?" A boy leans in, holding his hand to his ear in an exaggerated motion "Speak up, we can’t hear shit if you don’t say shit"

The second boy brings out his phone and held it up

"I got this I’, so do it"

The third boy frowns "No way, onna see," The second boy snaps "We got his back" He turned to the first boy "We got your back C’mon!"

The first boy hesitates, and that’s when I know The first boy is not the real threat Neither is the third boy, who looks uncomfortable, like he’s about to run away at any moment It’s the second boy, the one with the ca behind a lens, just like Wren did that night But unlike Wren, he’s s Wren never smiled Wren looked co his soul somewhere far, far away to escape fro it, egging it on, goading it with all the se body

Before I punch the ca I’ve lived long enough to learn the differences between just bad people, and truly terrible people Soet hurt

Like Isis

Like Sophia

My heart contracts painfully, and I punch again, this tih his fingers His friends ju up quickly The ho his head with his scrawny arms

"Who the fk are you?" The second boy shouts

"Nobody hits Reggie!" The first boy ducks into a fighting position

"Get out of here," I say "Or you two are next"

"Fuck you!" The first one lunges, and I duck to the side and pull his ar to kick and headbutt rip is steel

"You there," I say to the third one "Help your friend up, and leave When you’re around the corner, I’ll let your friend here go"

The third one is sweating profusely, eyes darting between his bloodied friend and his iht decision, and pulls the camera boy up Camera boy scrabbles for his phone, and li I wait a hundred seconds, and shove the first boy forward He backs up, pointing at et you for this, you piece of shit!"