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Speaker 1: Gregg had always seemed untouchable. He was the type of

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guy who could talk a cop out of a ticket

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or drunk and half conscious, then somehow get the same

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cop to drive him home. So when his sister called

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me crying, struggling to get her words out, I thought

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something had happened to their mom. When she finally managed

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to speak, I had to ask her to repeat herself.

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It turned out that the police found Greg's body in

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his apartment after his boss called in a wellness check

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when he didn't show up to work for two days.

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The responding officers broke down the door and found him

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in the living room. They wouldn't let the family see

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the body. From what his sister had heard when she

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had caught the officers on brake discussing the scene, his

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limbs were twisted, his spine curved like someone had wrung

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him out from both ends, and his eyes were gone.

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Ever had done it was sadistic beyond belief. There was

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no forced entry or weirdly enough signs of a struggle.

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The case was being ruled as suspicious, but that just

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meant they didn't ever clue who was behind it. Despite

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having a wide net of friends Gregg's funeral was small.

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Only a few people made it in person. Jamie hugged

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me outside the church. Her eyes were red and a

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make up had started to smear, but she still looked

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the same, sharp, blunt, unapologetic. The others were there too,

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raff and legs. We all grew up together back then.

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We used the joke that we were stuck with each

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other for life, and for the most part we were. Sure.

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We drifted apart for a few years during college, but

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we always ended up circling back. But now Greg a

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part of us was a closed casket and a photo

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on an easel. The priest mumbled his way through a

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handful of generalities, though I didn't really listen. I kept

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looking around the room, half expecting Greg to appear at

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the back and make some sarcastic comment about how weird

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it was to watch people cry over you. For a moment,

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I thought I saw movement near the exit, but my

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brain had been plain tricks on me since the night

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I got the call. After the burial, we stood in

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a loose, uneasy circle in the parking lot. None of

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us seemed ready to go home. Then Jamie brought up

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that night at the lake when Greg fell off the

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dock trying to chug a beer upside down. We laughed,

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then we stopped. The laughter felt wrong. I still don't

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get what the hell happened, Ralph muttered. Nobody knew how

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to respond. Our silent grieving was interrupted by a man

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in his late forties wearing a plain suit with thinning

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brown hair. He moved with a kind of tired professionalism

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that told me he'd been doing this a long time.

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He stopped just outside our circle and introduced himself, Detective Harlan.

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Sorry to intrude. His tone was respectful. You were Gregg

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Sutton's closest friends, right, We all nodded. I was wondering

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if I could ask a few questions. I understand to

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day is not ideal, but I found people tend to

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remember important things in the hours after a funeral brings

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things into focus. I know you people have already been

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interviewed and questioned. I'm aware that none of you are

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deemed to be suspects, but Jamie crossed our arms. Go ahead.

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Did Greg have any enemies? I'm aware you've been asked

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this question before, but are you absolutely certain there's no

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one from the past someone who held a grudge, maybe

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something that didn't seem serious but could have been taken

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the wrong way. No, Ralph said immediately. Everyone liked Greg.

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I don't mean dislike, I mean resentment anyone he wronged,

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even by accident. We looked at each other. I could

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tell we were all thinking the same thing. No, I said, finally,

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not that we know of. He nodded slowly, understood. Did

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he mention anything strange recently, unusual messages, people showing up

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where they shouldn't, anything like that? Head the last question,

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Does the name Danny mean anything to you? There? It

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was his tone hadn't changed, but I felt my chest tightened.

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I glanced around. Everyone held the same expression as me. No,

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Jamie said, doesn't ring a bell. The detective watched us

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for a moment. I could tell he didn't buy it,

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but he didn't press. He thanked us, gave us his card,

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and walked off towards his car. As soon as he

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was out of earshot, Ralph led out a shaky breath.

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Danny true Low, I said, a name I hadn't said

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aloud in over a decade. Danny had been in our

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class from sixth grade until the middle of sophomore year.

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He was a thin kid with a quiet voice and

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thick glasses. He was always hunged forward, like he was

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trying to disappear. He didn't fit in, and we didn't

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let him. To make it simple, we bullied the kid.

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The last time we saw him, we did something that

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was supposed to be funny. A dare Raff said he

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couldn't fit. Jamie said we should find out. It was

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after school and the hallway was empty. Greg blogged the

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nearest stairwell while I held the door down. He fought

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harder than I thought he would. He cried, screamed, and begged.

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It only made us more determined. I remember the heat

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of his shoulder press against mine as we forced him

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into a locker. I remember the sound of metal slamming shot,

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the way it echoed, and his fists pounding from the

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inside while we walked away. I don't know how long

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it was stuck, Maybe until the janitor came in the

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next morning, maybe longer After that. He was gone, and

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that changed something in all of us. The school didn't

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make a big deal of it, which in hindsight, was

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to be expected. One of the guidance counselors said he transferred.

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Some whispered that his parents pulled him out after a breakdown.

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There were rumors about his mom showing up in tears

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at the principal's office, demanding to know what happened. We

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didn't face any consequences, and we stopped thinking about him

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until now. I don't think it means anything, Raff said,

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could be a coincidence. Someone with the same name. Jamie frowned.

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He said, Danny not the full name. Sure could have

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been any Danny, But why on earth did bring that

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name up in the first place. What if it was him, though,

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Leg said. Ralph rolled his eyes. Jeez, don't start, I'm serious,

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Leg said. He said the name right after asking if

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Greg had any enemies. That means something, Ralph snapped. You

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really think some kid we bullied fifteen years ago came

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back and twisted Greg into a goddamn pretzel. Raf softened

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a little. We were bad, yeah, but we were kids.

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I don't feel good about it either, he continued, But

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that doesn't mean we jumped to wild ass theories. Greg's dead.

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That's horrible enough without spinning it into a revenge fantasy.

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We don't even know if Danny's alive. Jamie exhaled through

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his nose. Look, if it turns out something more is

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going on, we'll talk to the cops right now. We'd

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sound insane. You want us to bring up a kid

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we bullied fifteen years ago in a murder case. I

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shook my head, no, exactly. We agreed not to bring

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it up again. We went home, each returning to our

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separate houses under the closed street light and the silent

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orbit of patrol cars. I lay in bed for hours

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with the covers pulled up to my chin, staring at

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the ceiling and reminiscing. The next day, raph and I

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were at his place, sitting on the couch of the

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television on though neither of us was watching it. A

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game was playing, but the volume was low, yet neither

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of us had the energy for small talk. We hadn't

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seen Jamie since the funeral and didn't talk about Greg anymore,

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not because we were already moving on, but because we

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didn't know how to carry the weight of what happened.

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H sat between us like a third person in the room.

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We were speaking about some things, trying to crack the

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silence that loomed when we were interrupted by an incoming

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call on RAF's phone, his mom. He answered it on speaker, Raf,

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she said, and a voice cracked half way through his name.

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Something happened at Les's apartment complex. He sat forward slowly,

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eyes narrowing, already braced. What do you mean someone's dead?

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She said, it's bad. Have you not seen the news?

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They said? She couldn't finish. You both stared at the phone.

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Ralf asked for details. She didn't have many. He hung

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up without saying good bye, then turned to me, pale

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and still we need to go check up on legs.

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On the drive to Lex's place, Ralph drummed his fingers

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on the steering wheel the entire time, A nervous ticket

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had since middle school. By the time we pulled up

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to the complex, who was blocked off with please tape.

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Flashing lights turned the lot into a mess of collar

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and shadow. An officer out front was talking to a reporter.

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She asked if he was related to the sudden case.

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The officer said they couldn't comment. The reporter kept pressing.

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She mentioned the name we weren't expecting to hear Les.

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We got back in the car without saying anything. We

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drove straight to the police station. Ralph ran to red light.

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I didn't stop him. Our silence had turned heavy, and

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there was less shock and more fear. Now we walked

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through the glass doors, and we met with a sound

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of voices, paper shuffling, and phones ringing. The front desk

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officer looked up, recognized us somehow, and nodded us through

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without much hassle. Jamie was already there. She sat in

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one of the waiting chairs near the front, arms folded,

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foot tapping. Her hair was tied back in a loose

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bun and looked like she hadn't slept. Her face went

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stiff when she saw us. I heard already, She said,

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did you Ralph nodded yeah. I wanted to contact you guys,

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but I was in such a rush to get to

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the police station. I was so scared after find the

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count I Jamie stood and walked down the hall with us.

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I already told them we need to talk to Detective Harlan.

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He's in a meeting. This wasn't a coincidence, I said,

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and I hated how thin my voice sounded. This person

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is clearly targeting our group, Danny, Jamie said, biting down

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on the word. You think it's him, I don't know

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who else it could be. We waited. Eventually Harlan came

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out of a side hallway. His eyes moved across the

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three of us before settling. He didn't look surprised. He

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waved us into a back room without a word. Once

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the door shut, Jamie spoke, first, we lie to you

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about Danny. The detective nodded slowly. I figured, Ralph stepped forward.

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We knew him a long time ago. We went to

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school together. His name is Danny Truieloh what happened? We

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bullied him? I said hard. It wasn't teasing, It was

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full and cruelty. We pushed him out of that school,

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maybe out of his mind. We locked him in a

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locker and left him overnight. Then he was gone. The

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detective took a breath and rubbed his jaw. You didn't

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mention that, no, Jamie said, because well, we didn't want

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to bring him up. We thought we were all being

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weird of conspiracy theorists. You think he's doing this after

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all these years. He was the last person we ever hurt.

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I said, Danny going away changed us. We felt guilty.

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He looked at the table, then back at us. We've

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had that name at both scenes. Danny, no other traces

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or clues. Whoever did it definitely knew Greg and now Les.

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If you're saying this person might be Danny Shruillo, then

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that gives me something to go on. We'll start pulling

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rend records and see what we can dig up. If

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you think you'll target, I'll make sure patrols stay in

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your area in case this person comes back. Find him.

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Raf said, please. After we left the station, I couldn't sleep.

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I kept picturing my dead friends. I waited until morning

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and then started calling around. The high school secretary remembered me.

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She didn't remember Danny, not until I gave her his

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last name. I lied and told her it was for

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an old alumni project. She gave me the principal's name

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from that year and said he'd retired but might still

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have some information on him. I contacted Raff and Jamie

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about it, and we all tried getting as much information

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as we could. Later that day, Jamie sent a message

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in the group chat and she told us she drove

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to the local records office. She had a hard time,

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but apparently she managed to get something. Danny's parents were

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found dead in their home less than a week after

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he moved. Both bodies showed signs of massive internal trauma,

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blunt force and tearing. No weapon was recovered and no

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one was arrested. The case was marked undetermined and closed

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after eight weeks. The report was cold and clinical. He

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was relocated to a state facility, new residents sealed per

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court order. That was it. There was no trace of

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him after that. It was as if he disappeared completely.

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I stared at the block of text on my phone.

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My hands were shaking, but I didn't notice until my

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phone started to slip from my grip. I used to

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think guilt was something you felt in moments right after

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something happened, or when someone confronted you about it. But

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it wasn't like that. It spread. It pushed into your

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ribs and your spine and made it hard to breathe.

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I knew what we did to him was cruel. I

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knew that for years, but I never thought about where

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he went, or what came next, or who he had

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become to survive. Jamie came over the next night. I

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heard a knock and felt a flash of panic in

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my chest before I saw her through the people. She

239
00:17:38,079 --> 00:17:40,759
was holding two coffees in a tray and a fast

240
00:17:40,759 --> 00:17:46,480
food paper bag. Her hands were shaking slightly. I let

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00:17:46,519 --> 00:17:48,759
her in and we sat in the living room with

242
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the TV off. I keep hearing him, she said after

243
00:17:54,279 --> 00:18:02,599
a while. Gregg I nodded, yeah, I am. I haven't

244
00:18:02,599 --> 00:18:06,119
slept since they found legs. I'm scared to close my eyes.

245
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I feel like something is watching me when the lights

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00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:14,720
go off. I told her I felt the same. We

247
00:18:14,839 --> 00:18:18,559
laughed for a second. The laughter came quick and shallow,

248
00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:24,039
with no weight to it. We sound crazy, she said,

249
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Probably are, I replied. Then we went quiet again. The

250
00:18:31,799 --> 00:18:35,839
conversations after was short and awkward, but he felt good

251
00:18:35,839 --> 00:18:39,119
to be in some one's presence. I'm sure that's why

252
00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:43,279
she came over in the first place. We parted ways

253
00:18:43,279 --> 00:18:49,160
shortly after that. She texted me the following afternoon. The

254
00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:54,079
police approved it. I'm going into protective custody. They're placing

255
00:18:54,079 --> 00:18:57,519
me in a secure prison unit. It's the safest place

256
00:18:57,519 --> 00:19:05,200
they've got. I called her immediately. She didn't answer. Ten

257
00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:10,240
minutes later, she sent a voice message, I'm sorry, I

258
00:19:10,279 --> 00:19:14,599
can't keep doing this. I'm losing my mind. Every sound

259
00:19:14,640 --> 00:19:18,279
at night makes me flinch. I barely eat. I'm scared

260
00:19:18,319 --> 00:19:20,880
I'll end up like Gregg and Les, and I don't

261
00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:25,799
want to die screaming. This place is safe and you

262
00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:31,279
guys should probably do the same. I texted back that

263
00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:34,640
I understood. I told her we'd miss her and that

264
00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:38,680
i'd stay in touch however I could. She replied with

265
00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:43,839
her thumbs up and a broken heart emoji. Later, Raph

266
00:19:43,839 --> 00:19:47,240
and I sat together in his living room. He'd packed

267
00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:50,000
a duffel bag, but didn't know where he wanted to go.

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00:19:51,079 --> 00:19:54,119
He said he didn't trust any systems meant to protect people.

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I didn't argue. I felt the same, and we decided

270
00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:02,640
that we would be going into anything like protective custody.

271
00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:07,119
He ended up crashing on my couch that night. We

272
00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:10,279
made a deal to stick together for now. We had

273
00:20:10,319 --> 00:20:13,640
each other, we had a weapon, and we had police

274
00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:18,559
patrols circling the block. We tried pretending life could go on.

275
00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:22,599
Ralph kept sleeping on my couch and I stopped logging

276
00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:27,000
into work entirely. We stocked up on groceries, though most

277
00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,720
of what we bought stayed unopened. I didn't say it

278
00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:35,319
out loud, but we both believed Jamie was safer than us.

279
00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:37,960
She was supposed to be the one that made it.

280
00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:44,640
The call came from the detective, not the news. He

281
00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:48,559
didn't speak right away. I remember his breathing more than

282
00:20:48,559 --> 00:20:51,920
his voice. He came through the speaker like it'd been

283
00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:56,880
running or pacing. When he finally said a name, my

284
00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,720
legs buckled. I sat down on the floor next to

285
00:21:00,759 --> 00:21:03,880
the coffee table, while Raft stood frozen by the door.

286
00:21:05,759 --> 00:21:10,720
They found her that morning, dead in her cell. Her

287
00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:16,480
body was destroyed, and somehow there were no traces. The

288
00:21:16,519 --> 00:21:20,640
prison's availing system had failed overnight. All footage from a

289
00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:23,480
wing was blacked out. Between three o two and three

290
00:21:23,599 --> 00:21:28,319
seventeen a m. Three guards were found unconscious outside a unit,

291
00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:37,839
and again that name, Danny Raph and I sat in silence.

292
00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:41,160
After the call ended. He put his head in his hands.

293
00:21:42,279 --> 00:21:46,119
I could hear him whispering to himself. He didn't cry,

294
00:21:46,519 --> 00:21:48,519
but he shook hard enough that the glass on the

295
00:21:48,599 --> 00:21:53,279
table rattled. Detective Harlan came to the house later that day.

296
00:21:54,640 --> 00:22:00,799
He looked like hell. Look, he said, voice low. I

297
00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,839
understand you boys don't want to be placed in police custody,

298
00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:07,839
not after what has happened. But I say this as

299
00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:11,839
a friend, not as a government body. Now, pack your

300
00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:17,000
things and get the hell out of here. We didn't reply,

301
00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:23,000
but he continued, I've got nothing to go on, he said, solemnly.

302
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:28,720
We're increasing patrols, I've pulled favors for federal assistance. But

303
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:33,119
this person, who we assumed is Danny Truillo is skilled

304
00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,519
to a degree I've never witnessed in my life. The

305
00:22:36,559 --> 00:22:40,240
thing's happening at these scenes don't make sense. I've seen

306
00:22:40,279 --> 00:22:42,880
twenty year veterans from it, and what was left of

307
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:49,119
that girl. He shook his head and stood, we'll keep

308
00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:52,880
a car outside, but if I were you, I damn

309
00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:55,319
it all to hell and go as far away as

310
00:22:55,319 --> 00:23:01,920
you can. After the detective left, rap and I decided

311
00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:06,319
to follow his advice. I brought up a plan. Said

312
00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:09,960
we could go west, stay with my cousin, disappear until

313
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:14,039
this all blew over. We wanted this case solved, we

314
00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:19,599
truly did, but we were too scared. Raff said going

315
00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:23,279
west would still mean being close. Jamie was in a

316
00:23:23,319 --> 00:23:29,119
maximum security location and Danny somehow got to her, repacked

317
00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:33,319
our things, decided we'd start the following morning, drove until

318
00:23:33,319 --> 00:23:39,480
we reached the coast, and then decided from there. I

319
00:23:39,599 --> 00:23:43,799
woke to the sound of something pounding that night. It

320
00:23:43,839 --> 00:23:46,640
took a few seconds to understand what I was hearing.

321
00:23:47,519 --> 00:23:51,400
My mind was still fogged with sleep. I sat up

322
00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:55,200
and reached for the gun instinctively. I'd replayed what if

323
00:23:55,240 --> 00:24:00,480
situations hundreds of times my mind already. The pounding came again,

324
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:05,240
three dull thuds, somewhere on the other side of the house.

325
00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:11,440
I called out a Raf. No answer. I moved toward

326
00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:15,160
the hallway, keeping the gun raised. I tried not to

327
00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,000
think about why. The air smelled sour. I tried not

328
00:24:18,079 --> 00:24:26,839
to think at all. RAF, I whispered, still nothing. I

329
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:30,079
reached the door to the guest room and stood outside it.

330
00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:34,839
I could hear something moving on the other side, a wet,

331
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:38,720
dragging sound like wet meat pulled across the wood floor.

332
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:46,200
My fingers closed around the doorknob. I turned it and pushed.

333
00:24:48,759 --> 00:24:53,599
The door opened slowly, hinges creaking loudly. The smell hit

334
00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:58,960
me first, rot and bile. The room was dim. The

335
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,480
blackout curtains kept most of the light out, but there

336
00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:07,599
was enough from the hallway to make out shapes. Raf

337
00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,519
was on the bed, oh what was left of him.

338
00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:17,599
His body was bent in half, his spine cracked backward.

339
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,839
One arm had been torn, cleaned off, and tossed against

340
00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:25,599
the wall. His jaw hung open from one hinge, the

341
00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:31,559
tongue swaying beneath it. It, on the other hand, was

342
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:36,480
hunched over him. The creature looked up when I stepped inside.

343
00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:40,960
Its skin was tight and gray, pulled so thin. I

344
00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:44,920
could see every bone beneath it. Saws ran up its

345
00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:48,400
back and neck, leaking a dark yellow fluid that clung

346
00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:52,920
in thick strings. Its arms were long, ending in hands

347
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:56,480
that dragged down to the floor. Each finger tipped in

348
00:25:56,519 --> 00:26:01,160
what looked more like bone than claw. Its chest with uneven,

349
00:26:01,319 --> 00:26:08,039
wet breaths. It didn't move. I raised the gun and

350
00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:13,559
emptied the clip into its torso each shot hit, but

351
00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:18,599
it didn't fall or seemed phazed at all. It stepped

352
00:26:18,599 --> 00:26:23,119
toward me like the bullets had annoyed it. I turned

353
00:26:23,519 --> 00:26:28,880
and bolted down the hallway behind me. The door exploded.

354
00:26:29,839 --> 00:26:33,240
I felt pieces of it bounce off my back. The

355
00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:36,440
thing was moving faster now I could hear its feet

356
00:26:36,519 --> 00:26:40,640
slapping the floor. I reached the bedroom, slammed the door,

357
00:26:41,079 --> 00:26:44,480
and locked it. I grabbed the dresser and pushed it

358
00:26:44,559 --> 00:26:48,200
in front of the frame, then the bookshelf. My breath

359
00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:52,200
came too fast, my chest climbed down in waves. I

360
00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:56,200
could barely see straight. I darled nine one one, but

361
00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:59,960
before the operator could even pick up, glass burst behind

362
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:05,200
me in an irruption of sound and wind. It came

363
00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:09,759
in all at once, the window imploding inward, spray sharps

364
00:27:09,759 --> 00:27:15,039
across the room. Hands grabbed me from behind. One clamped

365
00:27:15,039 --> 00:27:19,279
around my wrist, the other gripped my shoulder. The next

366
00:27:19,279 --> 00:27:22,039
thing I knew, my feet were off the floor and

367
00:27:22,119 --> 00:27:28,319
a voice was barking into my ear. Move He dragged

368
00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:31,000
me through the broken window frame, and I hid the

369
00:27:31,079 --> 00:27:36,400
lawn hard. My shoulder slammed into the dirt. I rolled,

370
00:27:36,559 --> 00:27:40,319
tasting blood in the back of my throat. Behind us,

371
00:27:40,759 --> 00:27:45,799
the bedroom door cracked open. Get up, the man said,

372
00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:50,440
He bawled me again. We ran through the yard, past

373
00:27:50,519 --> 00:27:53,480
the clapsed garden bed, over the gravel path that tore

374
00:27:53,559 --> 00:27:57,400
up my souls. My legs moved on instinct, powered by

375
00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:01,079
nothing but fear. I didn't even know what was going

376
00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:05,640
on anymore. There was a car parked two houses down.

377
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:08,359
We got to it, and the man yanked the door

378
00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:11,480
open and shoved me inside before climbing in after me.

379
00:28:12,799 --> 00:28:17,119
He started the engine without hesitation. It spluttered and groaned,

380
00:28:17,519 --> 00:28:21,400
but it roared to life. We peeled away from the curb.

381
00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:26,559
I turned to the man behind the wheel, heart pounding.

382
00:28:28,039 --> 00:28:31,039
What the hell was that thing? I asked? And who

383
00:28:31,079 --> 00:28:36,839
even are you? He looked over at me slowly. His

384
00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:40,559
face was worn down to the bone. Deep creases were

385
00:28:40,599 --> 00:28:44,599
carved across his cheeks and forehead. His eyes darker than

386
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:48,079
I remembered anyone's eyes being, watched me for a second,

387
00:28:48,119 --> 00:28:57,960
longer than felt comfortable. It's me, Danny, he said. My

388
00:28:58,079 --> 00:29:02,319
mind refused the process. He told me this man couldn't

389
00:29:02,359 --> 00:29:05,119
be the same kid we stuffed into a locker. This

390
00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:07,480
man looked like he'd walked through deserts and lived in

391
00:29:07,519 --> 00:29:12,559
parking garages. His beard was wild, patchy around the jawline,

392
00:29:12,839 --> 00:29:16,759
thick in the middle. His voice carried gravel in every word.

393
00:29:18,559 --> 00:29:26,160
You're Danny, trueilo, He nodded. Before I could respond, he

394
00:29:26,240 --> 00:29:31,440
spoke again. I just want to say I forgave you,

395
00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:38,440
he said a long time ago. I wanted to speak,

396
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,799
but I let him continue. I used to lie awake

397
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:46,720
every night, he said, back when I lived at home.

398
00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:53,400
I used to pray to anything that might have been listening. God, demons,

399
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,839
shadows on the ceiling. I didn't care what it was.

400
00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:00,839
I just begged for something to take them all away.

401
00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:04,839
Everyone who hurt me, my parents, the kids at school,

402
00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:10,720
anyone who made me feel smaller than dirt. His hands tightened,

403
00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:14,880
and the steering wheel. And one night after you guys

404
00:30:14,880 --> 00:30:17,720
stuffed me in a locker, I was more adamant that

405
00:30:17,839 --> 00:30:24,880
something answered than ever before. And something did answer. He

406
00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:30,839
stared ahead again, eyes glassy expression. Still he wasn't recalling

407
00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:35,079
it like a memory. He was reciting it something he

408
00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:39,119
told himself so many times the words had become carved

409
00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:43,680
into the inside of his skull. The first to go

410
00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,039
were my parents. I found them in the living room.

411
00:30:47,799 --> 00:30:51,720
My dad's back was snapped in half. My mom she

412
00:30:51,799 --> 00:30:55,440
looked like she'd been folded into the carpet. The police

413
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:58,559
said it was some kind of free collapse. They moved

414
00:30:58,599 --> 00:31:01,640
me into a home two towns and that should have

415
00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:08,559
been the end of it, but it wasn't. He finally

416
00:31:08,599 --> 00:31:13,920
looked at me again. He kept going every name I

417
00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,599
had ever whispered in anger, every person I wished harman,

418
00:31:18,240 --> 00:31:21,839
every curse I made with tears in my eyes. It

419
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:28,519
hunted them down, one by one, sometimes years later, sometimes

420
00:31:28,559 --> 00:31:34,079
across the country. His voice dropped lower. You were the

421
00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:39,799
last because you were far. That's it. You lived too far,

422
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:45,079
and it took time. I didn't know what to say.

423
00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:49,119
I didn't know it would last this long, he said.

424
00:31:49,759 --> 00:31:52,039
I thought it would burn out or turn on me.

425
00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:55,279
I tried to keep ahead of it. I really did.

426
00:31:56,079 --> 00:31:59,400
I moved every six months. I tried attacking it, and

427
00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:04,960
every you could think of I've probably tried it. It

428
00:32:05,039 --> 00:32:09,480
didn't help. I'm sorry about Gregg, I'm sorry about Les

429
00:32:09,839 --> 00:32:17,000
Jamie Raff. I tried my best. The car sat in

430
00:32:17,079 --> 00:32:20,920
silence for a long time. Danny's story drifted through the

431
00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:25,400
air like a bad smell that wouldn't leave. I turned

432
00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:28,880
toward him, my voice catching before it escaped my throat.

433
00:32:30,759 --> 00:32:35,400
How do we stop it? He didn't answer right away.

434
00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,319
He reached between the seat and the center console and

435
00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:43,400
pulled out a dented metal firmace. He unscrewed the lid

436
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,680
and took a sip. The smell that rose up was

437
00:32:46,759 --> 00:32:53,200
sharp and chemical. My stomach turned. I've been preparing for years,

438
00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:57,960
he said, testing things. I don't know if It's alive

439
00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:00,799
in the way you and I are, but it reacts

440
00:33:00,839 --> 00:33:06,759
to pain. I've harmed it before, so it can die.

441
00:33:07,079 --> 00:33:12,000
How I've built something that might work. Ammunition soaked in

442
00:33:12,039 --> 00:33:14,200
a mix I've been tweaking for the better part of

443
00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:20,720
a decade, silver powder, industrial salt, lye, iron fillings, a

444
00:33:20,759 --> 00:33:25,640
few other things. He reached into his pocket and took

445
00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:30,599
out a single round. The casing shimmered, not with polish,

446
00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:35,640
but something deeper, something buried in the metal. He held

447
00:33:35,680 --> 00:33:40,440
it between his fingers with care. I created the first

448
00:33:40,519 --> 00:33:43,799
version of this bullet a few months ago. I hit it,

449
00:33:44,799 --> 00:33:47,680
and that was the first and only time I've ever

450
00:33:47,720 --> 00:33:53,359
heard it make a sound. My throat was dry. How

451
00:33:53,400 --> 00:34:00,279
many of those do you have? Three? And that's enough? Maybe?

452
00:34:02,799 --> 00:34:07,079
I leaned back, mind racing. Every instinct in me was

453
00:34:07,119 --> 00:34:10,039
telling me to run, to take whatever car I could

454
00:34:10,079 --> 00:34:13,599
find and disappear into the back roads until the fuel

455
00:34:13,639 --> 00:34:17,840
ran out. But there was nowhere left to run. I'd

456
00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:22,519
seen what happened to people who tried hiding. What do

457
00:34:22,559 --> 00:34:27,639
you need from me? I asked Danny looked over his

458
00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:33,280
voice quieter. Now it needs bait, and you're the last

459
00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:39,320
name left. I nodded. There was nothing else to say.

460
00:34:41,119 --> 00:34:44,519
We made it to an abandoned house. Eventually the porch

461
00:34:44,679 --> 00:34:48,480
leaned toward the dirt. We drove in under the moonlight

462
00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:51,440
and killed the engine a few hundred feet back to

463
00:34:51,519 --> 00:34:58,400
avoid drawing attention. Inside the house was worse. The walls

464
00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:04,679
were covered in pages, scribbled diagrams, symbols, names, ingredients. Half

465
00:35:04,679 --> 00:35:08,320
of them I didn't recognize. The other half made my

466
00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:13,119
skin itch. There were dozens of shellcasings lined up on

467
00:35:13,159 --> 00:35:16,880
a cracked bugshelf. A single mattress lay in one corner,

468
00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:22,039
soaked through with old sweat. Danny opened a chest in

469
00:35:22,119 --> 00:35:25,719
the back and pulled out the weapon. It was a

470
00:35:25,800 --> 00:35:30,400
hunting rifle, heavily modified, with wire wrapped around the barrel

471
00:35:30,639 --> 00:35:34,880
and scratches etched into the stalk. He held it like

472
00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:39,559
a man holding a relic, not a tool. I'll take

473
00:35:39,599 --> 00:35:43,039
the shot, he said. You stay in the center of

474
00:35:43,079 --> 00:35:51,360
the room, try to distract it. We waited. Hours passed,

475
00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:56,719
the moon drifted. Every sound made my muscles twitch. I

476
00:35:56,760 --> 00:35:59,000
sat on the floor with the empty gun from my

477
00:35:59,039 --> 00:36:03,440
house across my line. It was useless now, but I

478
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:08,760
couldn't let go of it. At some point the wind died.

479
00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:15,039
Danny raised the rifle without a word. The door exploded inward.

480
00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:21,000
It moved through the door, leaving no trace behind. His

481
00:36:21,199 --> 00:36:24,840
chest rose and fell in quick jerks. Plus spilled from

482
00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:28,760
the holes in his shoulders. His head tilted as it

483
00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:38,440
found me. Danny fired. The creature shrieked, a high, rattling

484
00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:43,199
sound cut straight through my brain. It reared back, Smoke

485
00:36:43,360 --> 00:36:47,719
rising from the impact point. His chest steamed. The flesh

486
00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:53,519
there blistered and pealed. It lunged. I talked behind the

487
00:36:53,519 --> 00:36:57,239
table while Danny reloaded the thing through the couch aside

488
00:36:57,239 --> 00:37:01,159
and slammed its clawed hand into the floor. Outan seconds earlier,

489
00:37:02,039 --> 00:37:06,239
wood split open. I rolled and kicked out at its ribs.

490
00:37:07,119 --> 00:37:12,440
It didn't flinch. Danny shouted and fired again. This time

491
00:37:12,679 --> 00:37:17,199
it hit the spine. The thing screamed again, louder, and

492
00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:21,079
twisted in itself in mid air. His body started to

493
00:37:21,119 --> 00:37:26,239
clapse inward. His torso folded over its own shoulders, cracking

494
00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:32,519
like ice under pressure, It swung toward Danny. I moved

495
00:37:32,599 --> 00:37:35,960
before it could reach him. I grabbed a fire poker

496
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:38,440
from the hearth and jabbed it into the side of

497
00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:42,840
its skull. Its head snapped to the side, black icos

498
00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:47,679
spilling around the wound. The stench hit hard, my eyes watered.

499
00:37:48,800 --> 00:37:52,920
Danny raised the rifle one last time and fired into

500
00:37:52,960 --> 00:38:00,000
its throat. That did it. The body froze, Its lips

501
00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:05,320
trembled and bent inward, collapsing against its own weight. A

502
00:38:05,400 --> 00:38:09,159
low moan echoed through the room. Then it fell apart

503
00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:14,800
into ash. I dropped the poker and stood, coughing through

504
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:19,440
the smoke. Danny leaned against the wall, one hand pressed

505
00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:24,480
to his ribs. The silence after the creature fell apart

506
00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:28,559
pressed on the inside of my skull. My ears rang

507
00:38:29,239 --> 00:38:33,119
not from the volume, but from the vacuum that followed it.

508
00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:37,639
Dust drifted to the air where it had been. Danny

509
00:38:37,719 --> 00:38:41,119
dropped the rifle and slid down the wall. His knees

510
00:38:41,199 --> 00:38:43,679
gave out first, and he ended up sitting on the

511
00:38:43,679 --> 00:38:47,599
floor with his back to the crumbling dry wall. His

512
00:38:47,679 --> 00:38:51,159
breathing was uneven, and he had one arm pressed against

513
00:38:51,199 --> 00:38:55,159
his ribs. I saw a line of red seeping through

514
00:38:55,159 --> 00:39:00,239
his shirt, trailing down from beneath his elbow. He looked

515
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:04,960
up at me through strands of sweat drenched hair. We

516
00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:10,559
did it, he said, I nodded, I didn't have anything

517
00:39:10,599 --> 00:39:14,679
to say. My throat was raw and my chest ached

518
00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:19,320
dan He motioned for me to come closer. I stepped

519
00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:23,920
over to him. He reached behind and pulled out a revolver.

520
00:39:25,280 --> 00:39:28,480
He didn't lift it toward me. He held it between

521
00:39:28,519 --> 00:39:36,400
his knees. I need you to shoot me. I stared

522
00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:42,880
at him. What in the side? Nothing vital enough to

523
00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:48,079
look real? I took a step back. Why would I

524
00:39:48,119 --> 00:39:52,159
do that? Because the police are going to need someone

525
00:39:52,199 --> 00:39:55,280
to blame. They're not going to take this story and

526
00:39:55,320 --> 00:40:00,639
put it in a report. You know that. He tilted

527
00:40:00,679 --> 00:40:04,119
his head and met my eyes. His voice stayed, calm,

528
00:40:05,719 --> 00:40:09,239
You shoot me. Tell them I lost it. Tell them

529
00:40:09,239 --> 00:40:13,159
I killed your friends, came for you next. You fought back,

530
00:40:13,519 --> 00:40:19,360
barely survived. I take the blame. It's over, and you

531
00:40:19,519 --> 00:40:26,360
go home. That's insane. You've saved my life. His gaze

532
00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:30,239
didn't waver. I crouched next to him and grabbed his arm.

533
00:40:31,599 --> 00:40:36,960
There has to be another way. There isn't. He pressed

534
00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:40,880
the gun into my hand. No one's gonna believe what

535
00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:45,199
we saw. You know that. You can barely believe it yourself.

536
00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:48,760
I can see it all over you, what we killed

537
00:40:48,840 --> 00:40:52,840
didn't leave proof. There's no body or explanation you can

538
00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:57,320
give to the copse. They'll think you snap too, unless

539
00:40:57,519 --> 00:41:01,320
you have some one to point to. I'm not doing this.

540
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:06,000
Danny leaned back and let his head rest against the wall.

541
00:41:06,920 --> 00:41:11,760
His eyes closed for a moment, then opened again. If

542
00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:15,719
you don't do this, they'll keep digging. You'll end up

543
00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:20,800
locked away, worse blamed for it. They already think I'm

544
00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:28,280
a ghost. Make it real. I sat there, gripping the revolver,

545
00:41:28,639 --> 00:41:32,880
feeling its weight press into my palm. You don't owe

546
00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:39,239
me this, I said. He didn't answer. I raised the

547
00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:43,760
gun slowly, hands trembling. I aimed at the soft space

548
00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:51,559
below his ribs. Do it, he said. I pulled the trigger.

549
00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:57,360
Then he groaned and slumped sideways, one hand clamping down

550
00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:01,760
over the wound. Blood poured between his fingers and darkened

551
00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:06,159
his shirt. He didn't scream, he didn't even fall fully.

552
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:10,920
He slid until his shoulders hid the floor, then gave

553
00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:16,280
me a small nod. Call them, he said, through his teeth,

554
00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:23,880
Tell them it's over. I did. The sirens reached us.

555
00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:28,280
Twenty minutes later. I stood outside, blood on my shirt,

556
00:42:28,719 --> 00:42:34,079
hands raised gun on the ground, They moved fast, weapons drawn,

557
00:42:34,400 --> 00:42:39,199
shouting commands. I gave them the story Danny told me

558
00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:44,920
to give. The detective didn't argue. Danny was loaded into

559
00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:49,679
an ambulance under heavy restraint. I never saw him again.

560
00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:55,559
The press latched onto the narrative, a local tragedy, a

561
00:42:55,719 --> 00:43:00,639
case with decades of history. An unstable man allegedly traumatized

562
00:43:00,679 --> 00:43:05,400
by years of bullying returned to take revenge. Authorities called

563
00:43:05,440 --> 00:43:09,920
it her revenge, free rooted in trauma and delusion. The

564
00:43:10,039 --> 00:43:15,400
public swallowed it whole. I was left empty in a hollow.

565
00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:21,840
Everyone that surrounded me was now dead. I spent a

566
00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:26,639
few months organizing funerals and accompanying grieving parents and siblings.

567
00:43:28,360 --> 00:43:32,199
I would later to find out that Danny died in custody,

568
00:43:33,119 --> 00:43:37,440
wounds from the bullet I had given him. I wrestled

569
00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:42,559
with that for a while. I had killed him twice,

570
00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:46,320
the first time in a locker and the second time

571
00:43:46,519 --> 00:43:52,880
with a bullet, and I don't know which one I

572
00:43:53,039 --> 00:43:53,840
regret more