Tom did not like school hallways at night. It was like a breath that was being held in the corridors even late in the afternoon, when the sun had already begun to sink behind the buildings, waiting bad things to occur. Today was not expected to be a bad day he hoped.
Suddenly their friend Amy caught sight of the neon flyer tacked on the bulletin board THE YALU COSTUME PARTY - FREE ENTRY, she dashed like a she-cat to Tom and Danny, and fluttered it in her hands as though she had just discovered the golden ticket. "Guys! Look! We HAVE to go!" Danny laughed. Why, so you can play again a Disney princess? Amy shoved him lightly. "Shut up. It'll be fun." Tom couldn't help smiling. Amy possessed that vigor--that which caused one to forget the weight upon his shoulders. Life became more quiet and safe since he moved in with Nana, though, it became lonelier. This party was like a breath of relief. All day the three of us argued over costumes, who was to be the butt of the joke and who the prize of the best-dressed man.It felt normal. Safe. Until the bullies showed up. They always did. The crew with Carter surrounded Tom outside the cafeteria and hit him against the lock ups causing them to shake. Little Tommy Boy going to a party? Carter sneered. "Who invited you? The pity committee?" Tom did not protest--he never protested--but Danny intervened sharply and angrily."Leave him alone. Seriously." One of the teachers passed by, and the bullies disseminated like rats. The remainder of the day passed calmly... but the sense remained. That heaviness in Tom's chest. That voice which had given him warning that something was not going to go right.
THE PARTY
In the warehouse used as the Yalu Party venue, the place was alive by night with music, blinking lights, and costumed teens dancing as they apparently had been liberated. At the same time, Tom, Danny, and Amy came in laughing, taking photos, acting as though their world was not broken at its seams. Things were in a perfect manner during a couple of hours. At the end of the day at night they all walked out into the cool beats, vowing to text them once they were at home. Amy gave a smile of departure, bright with a smile, glitter in her cheeks, wings on her back. Tom never saw her smile again.
THE SWITCHED BAGS
In the house Tom flopped onto the couch of Nana. Nana was not very old at all, at least not in her late 50s, but she presented herself like the mother of the world. There was a cinnamon tea and lavender candles aroma of the house. She peeked into the room. "Back already? Good boy. Did you have fun?" Tom unzipped his bag and revealed to her the snacks that he had brought home after the party... only that something seemed wrong. There were makeup kits. Pink lip gloss. A notebook with stickers on it. "Wait... this isn't my bag." Nana raised her eyes out of her knitting."Then whose is it?" Amy's name tag was inside. His heart went cold. "I... I believe I took her bag off by mistake. "Call her," Nana said gently. He did. No answer. Tom swallowed, fear rising. "I'm going to take it back. She might be freaking out." Nana nodded. "Be careful, sweetie." THE HOUSE It was not a long walk to Amy and her house, only ten minutes. But as Tom was going out of the street there was something wrong. The lights were turned on in the house. The front door was half open. And someone was screaming. Tom froze. His whole body shook. He stepped forward on one side--another on the other-- forcing the door aside to a certain extent to peep inside. And that was when he saw her. Amy... Broken. Bleeding. Dying. And those men who did it were still there. THE PANIC Before Tom knew that he was screaming he heard his voice crack. "A-Amy!? SOMEBODY HELP!" He stumbled back, reaching to his phone - but one of the men swung around. "HEY! THE BOY!" Tom spun and ran. Like his lungs pulled to shreds he ran. He entered 911 with earnest fingers - "HELP!PLEASE-- " - but the cry in the back of him pierced the darkness. "STOP HIM!" The darkness was torn apart by the shot. Tom's world exploded. And everything went black. LUCY'S REACTION Lucy-- Lucy is the neighbor of Amy and one of the few people Tom trusted, who was not at school, heard the gun being fired. She ran out as she supposed it was fireworks, or a car-tyre bursting. But what she saw there instead made her choke on her breath. Tom lying in the street. Bleeding. Motionless. Phone shattered beside him. Her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my God... Tom? TOM! Somebody call an ambulance!" Her voice broke and she knelt over him shaking and the tears streaming down. Not Tom. Not the silent kid who would always assist her in carrying groceries. Not the boy who grinned timorously at every word she paid him. "Please... please wake up..." squeezing his hand, she said, hushpuppy. The sirens arrived too late. Tom's eyes were closed. His pulse was fading. And at this moment--at this very moment-- something impossible had occurred in him. Something dark. Something powerful. Something alive. The night did not only break Tom. It transformed him