"Where ya been?"

"I was busy helping you escape, Mister Carter."

Alfonse straightened his bow tie and brushed off his lovely butler jacket as he approached the door to Burke Manor. I stood up from my seat on the steps as he walked by.

"Hey, thanks for helping me out, I really appreciate it," I said as he unlocked the door.

"I did not do it for you, Mister Carter," said Alfonse, not looking at me as he opened the door and stepped inside.

"Oh," I replied as I followed him in. "Well, just the same, thanks, man, I owe you. Big time."

"Indeed you do," said Alfonse as he grabbed a paper bag from near a hall tree and tossed it to me. "A present."

I opened the bag and smiled at the sight of a fresh change of clothes and an oh so lovely mask looking up at me.

"Oh, how I missed you so," I said, grabbing the mask and holding it up to get a better look. "Alfonse, my friend, you rule."

"Of course, Mister Carter," said Alfonse, turning and walking deeper into the house. "There is a restroom upstairs, down the hallway to your left, third door on the right. You can shower and change in there. I suggest you hurry, though, as the Mayor will be leaving his office for the day very soon."

"Screw the Mayor," I said, still looking at the mask, "I want that robot."

Alfonse stopped and turned to me, a sly grin on his face.

"Mister Carter, the Mayor is who sent the robot after you in the first place."

Bush43
Issue #8
My Losing Ways
by Jason Kenney

I ran across the roofs already drenched in sweat.

Normally I would be enjoying this run, this freedom. I should have been, considering I had been locked up in a freakin' asylum like a nutcase for Lord knows how long. But there would be time for delight later.

Right now I was pissed.

Oh, the fury.

City Hall waits for no man.

I stopped for a moment at the edge of a building across the street from the seat of government for Pacific City and scanned the area.

Cops. And the press. And bystanders. Lots of each. Why the crowd around City Hall? Someone expecting me?

And how the hell was I going to get in there?

The street between me and city hall was one of those four lane deals with a median down the middle, wider than most streets in Pacific City and therefore harder to leap across. The only thing I'd have going for me in that kind of jump was the fact that the building I was on was taller than city hall and I was super strong.

But everyone would see me leaping.

And while that might not have been a bad thing before, I'm not necessarily out and about on the best of circumstances.

I ran to the opposite end of the roof, making up my mind to try the jump.

"Millennium Man could make this jump," I said aloud to myself. "Think Millennium Man."

I ran towards city hall, getting my feet on the edge of the building and pushing up and off and into the air.

I leaned forward, trying to streamline my body to get as little drag as possible, reaching out so I could grab onto the edge of city hall should I fall just a wee bit short.

But as I started my downward arc I realized I was going to fall a little more than just a 'wee bit' short.

I shielded my face as I tore through a window a few floors from the top, colliding with a chair and then a desk and toppling both as I fell into the office.

I continued my tumble, trying to make it a graceful cartwheel of some sort and land on my feet, but instead hitting the far wall of the office with my ass and legs. I lay there a moment, letting my body adjust to the feeling of tumbling through an office, and then I pushed myself to my feet.

I opened the office's door and stepped into the hallway, smiling as I heard gasps from people who were shying away from the room where the wonderful clatter came from.

"Pardon me, folks," I said, putting my hands on my hips in some sort of heroic gesture, "but could one of you fine citizens point me towards the mayor's office?"

***

"Shit," said Officer Michael Self as he looked up to see a man sailing through the air towards City Hall. And he wasn't the first to see it, oh no. The entire damn media looked up and caught the image before he even thought to take a peek. And now they were about to have a situation played out live for the world to see.

He watched with the rest of the crowd as the man flew through the air and through a window of an office in the building.

"Shit," Self said again, reaching for his radio. "All points, be advised, we have a cape on the premises, I repeat, we have a cape on the premises. I want the mayor secured immediately and the building evacuated, repeat, secure the mayor and evacuate the building.

"Thompson!" Self shouted to another officer inside city hall. Thompson ran to Self. "I want a two block radius cleared outside, push the media and the crowd back. Mathers!" shouted Self as Thompson ran out of the building and another officer perked up. "Get on the horn and tell HQ we need the air space over downtown restricted stat. No media, no private, no commercial and no god damned super powered sons of bitches or Goddamned robots. If anyone's in the air we shoot them down, got that?"

"Yes, sir," said Officer Mathers as he ran off to do as he was told.

***

I figured the fire alarm was because of me.

I ran down the hallway and grabbed the first person I came across, gently pinning him against the wall and leaning all close like.

"Sorry to bother you," I said, "but I was wondering where I might be able to find the mayor."

"Se... second floor," said the man, visibly shaking.

"Good enough," I said, letting the man go, "thanks."

I ran towards the elevators, ignoring the people scrambling to get out of my way or evacuate the building thanks to the fire alarm.

Without stopping I thrust out a fist into the elevator door, denting it enough to put a gap large enough for me to get my hands in there and pull the doors open.

A big number six greeted me as I looked in the shaft.

"Going down," I mumbled to myself as I leapt into the shaft.

***

"The mayor does not wish to be disturbed," said Mayor Cliff Jerrod's secretary as she stood in front of his office door, blocking the police from entering.

"Miss Meyers, please," said Officer Kevin Moore as he pleaded with the woman. "We have to evacuate the building and to ensure the Mayor's safety he must leave as well."

"The mayor does not wish to be disturbed," repeated Meyers, crossing her arms.

"Miss Meyers," said Moore, standing up straight and getting a serious look on his face, "if you do not step aside I will be forced to arrest you for impeding an officer..."

"The mayor," said Meyers, "does not wish to be disturbed."

Moore reached for handcuffs but stopped as a loud bang sounded down the hall behind him. He and the other police officers turned to see a dent forming in the elevator door down the hall.

"Shit," said Moore, drawing his gun as another bang sounded and the dent changed form, the crack between the doors creaking.

The other officers drew their weapons as well, a couple flattening against the walls of the hallway, all of them aiming for the elevator door.

Another bang, and the crack between the doors widened again, this time opening slightly to the shaft beyond.

An eye poked through the hole, or, rather, an eye socket, the shadow falling deep, a dark hole peering into the hallway.

"I see you," said a voice from the shaft, a hint of playfulness in its tone.

Moore did not give the order, but the police officers opened fire anyway, the face pulling back from the crack as bullets tore through the doors of the elevator and rang loud in the shaft.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" shouted Moore after what felt like a lifetime of shooting.

The officers all stood ready, staring at the bullet riddled elevator doors.

"Jesus," whispered one of the officers as they all waited.

"Elliot, Ware," said Moore, snapping his fingers at two officers and then pointing towards the elevator. The two officers nodded and started to slowly move forward, staying close to the walls, guns drawn and ready.

Each of them went to a side of the elevator, their backs against the wall to either side. Elliot nodded and slowly turned to peer through the holes and the crack in the door and into the elevator shaft.

The door suddenly burst open, tossing Elliot back as a hand reached out from inside the shaft and grabbed Ware, pulling him inside.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" said Moore, trying to ensure that his officers did just that.

Ware's screams sounded from inside the darkness of the shaft, continuing even as he was thrown into the hallway and landed on top of Elliot.

A man leapt out of the shaft after Elliot, landing just before the two officers and then leaping over them, running towards the collected cops and the Mayor's office at the end of the hall.

One officer fired, the bullet seeming to hit but the man continued down the hall towards them unfazed. Moore stepped to the center of the hall, gun drawn, legs wide, ready.

"FREEZE!" he said, but the man kept coming, pushing Moore's arms and gun out of the way and charging right into him, picking him up and continuing forward and right through Mayor Jerrod's office door.

***

I tossed the cop to the side as I tumbled into the room and came to my feet, crouching low just incase anything was there waiting for me.

But there wasn't.

"Ah, good evening," said a voice from across the room. I stood upright and looked to see the mayor standing behind his desk, his hands behind his back, a smile on his face. "What a pleasant surprise."

Then I felt a gun against my head. I looked out the corner of my eye to see the officer I used as a battering ram standing there, waiting for an excuse to shoot me.

"You and I need to talk," I said, staring at Mayor Cliff Jerrod as he walked from around his desk. He approached me silently and then stopped a couple feet away, simply staring into my face.

"Officer Moore," he said finally, never taking his eyes from mine, "please remove Mister Carter from my office."

I punched Jerrod, my right fist cleanly connecting across his jaw. I spun and brought my other arm up, knocking Officer Moore's arms and, more importantly, the gun up and away and then I punched him in the gut and sent him staggering.

I turned back around to come face first with a punch that nearly sent me off my feet. Jerrod's second one did, sending me back and onto the floor. He was strong. Which I expected.

"I gave you the opportunity to do this easily, Mister Carter," said the Mayor as he shrugged off his suit coat and started to pull at his tie.

"I want answers," I said, jumping to my feet.

"You are a criminal and a fugitive," said Jerrod. "You are mentally unstable, have put the people of this city at risk and you have just assaulted numerous police officers attempting to do their jobs. I owe you no answers."

I leapt at him, swinging out, but missing as he easily pushed my arm out of the way and swung at me again, hitting me in the side of my neck. He brought his other fist down and into my gut, doubling me over and sending my face into his knee.

I stumbled back and onto the ground, gasping for air.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked in between breaths.

"You are the one that attacked me in my office, Mister Carter," said Jerrod. "Why are you doing this?"

"I'm trying to save people," I said, slowly climbing back to my feet, "and you're busy sending big ass robots out to kick my ass for no good reason."

"No good reason?" said Jerrod. "Do you know how much it pains me to have to take these measures? Heroes used to stand for something, stand for what was right and protecting the people above all costs. But YOU, you and your generation of heroes have grown up on a culture of violence and filth, you've blurred the line. Look at Millennium Man's actions."

"Millennium Man is a hero," I said as I straightened myself upright and balled up my fists again.

"Millennium Man is a murderer," said Jerrod, "just like you."

I leapt at Jerrod again, not swinging this time but coming in low and tackling him and getting on top of him, hitting him in the face once, twice, thrice, and he caught my fourth attempt at a hit. I tried to hit him with my other free hand and he caught that too. He quickly brought his head up and into my nose, sending me back and off of him.

"You have a complete disregard for those around you when you gallivant around," said Jerrod as he hopped to his feet. "There was a time when heroes lived up to their names and were HEROES. They'd protect those that needed protecting above all costs. But you, you look at this as a game. You make a mockery of what generations have done before you."

I lunged at him again but suddenly he was gone, sending me crashing to the floor.

"You wear the mask of an idiot and hope to be validated by your defeating jokes and cast offs," said Jerrod from behind me. "You put the lives of others at risk to make your exploits seem greater. You resort to villainous tactics at the expense of those you are supposed to protect. And you call yourself a hero."

"I'm not the one who released two psychopaths to help a tin can beat up a hero," I said as I pushed myself up to my hands and knees and stared at the red liquid that dripped through the holes in my mask.

Blood.

Wow, so much for thinking myself invulnerable.

"Do you think I wanted to do that?" said Jerrod, grabbing the back of my shirt and pulling me to my feet. "Do you think I enjoy having to fight 'heroes' in my own city? I gave you all a chance, I held off on enforcing the law on you all because I believed you could make a difference like those before you. But you failed me, you failed Pacific City, and you have put them at risk."

"So you release nut cases to lessen this supposed risk?"

"They have expressed a willingness to work within the boundaries of what is good. They have made an effort to correct their ways and follow the golden path. You on the other hand," he said, accentuating his point by connecting with a punch to my gut, "have resisted our efforts to show you the way at every turn." He punched me again and then threw me back. I stumbled but kept my footing.

"I was doing just fine without your 'efforts'," I said, trying to stand in some sort of ready fighting position.

"Bystanders were killed because of you, Mister Carter," said Jerrod as he cracked his knuckles, "I really don't think that's what one would consider 'fine', do you?"

"Your robot killed them," I said.

"Your means killed them," Jerrod replied. "The Siege Engine was a tool of good, you the tool of evil, and it was your machinations that led to the death of those two people."

"THEY WOULDN'T HAVE DIED IF YOU COULD HAVE JUST LEFT WELL ENOUGH ALONE!" I shouted, staying put, trying not to get my ass kicked any more, trying to think of my next move.

"Well enough? You were on a crash course with disaster, Mister Carter. We're lucky we stopped you when we did, who knows how many more people would have died at your hands of by your actions."

"I can think of one more," I said, coming at Jerrod again. He blurred out of vision and I spun around to try and find him again, ducking as he swung at me from behind. I came around with a kick and connected with his leg, getting a slight shout from him. He brought a fist down into my face, followed by the other in quick succession.

He was fast.

He was strong.

He was Olympus.

You'd be surprised at what kind of gossip the butler of the Burke Estate has.

Fine, you son of a bitch, you want to play with the 'morality' of being a hero, I'll play along.

"You fight pretty good for an elderly Nazi," I said as I spat blood. He swung at me again, too fast for me to dodge or block.

I stumbled back and watched him seethe. Seems I'd hit on something that wasn't completely common knowledge.

"Cheated your way to Olympic gold how many times?" I asked. "And then you goose-stepped with the best of them, kowtowing to Hitler until the fight looked like it was going the other way, eh? Is that what you call fighting the good fight?"

He punched me again, knocking me off my feet and onto my back.

"People change," he said, practically ignoring all of my comments as he stepped over me.

"Times change," I said, bringing a leg up into his nuts.

***

"Where are they?" asked Officer Self as he stormed down the hallway.

"In the mayor's office," said Officer Moore as he followed closely behind, limping slightly. "Mayor Jerrod said he wanted to be alone with the man and they started fighting. The Mayor waived us off when we tried to assist."

"Damnation," said Self, leaving it at that as he stomped to the elevator doors and turned towards Jerrod's office. "Move!" he said as he stepped through the group of officers that crowded around the door to Jerrod's office to get a view inside.

Mayor Cliff Jerrod lashed out and sent the other man back on his ass, stepping towards and towering over him.

Then the other man kicked the Mayor in the crotch.

"Son of a bitch," said Self as he recognized the man the mayor was fighting.

***

"Ah, the signature move," said Jerrod as I waited for him to react to an amazing nut smashing, compliments of my foot. But he didn't budge. "Unfortunately there were some side effects of certain medications administered many years ago."

He brought his foot into my side and stepped from over me, kicking me again.

"We had fixed the world at one time," said Jerrod, kicking me again. "The second Great War was over, the Cold War was won, we were living in a time of peace and prosperity brought about by my generation, the greatest generation. And then YOU," he said with another kick that sent me up and back, stopping when I hit his desk, "and your kind came along and brought villainy back with you."

"Wait, wait, wait," I said, catching my breath and waiving for him to stop as he stepped towards me. "Didn't you disappear like a coward back in the fifties?"

He ran towards me, readying a punt, but I pushed myself out of the way, glad I did as I watched his desk splinter as his foot tore through it. I came around with my legs and caught his, bringing him to the ground.

"You used to be a hero," I said, jumping to my feet and backing away from him, trying to get some distance and some time. "You used to be a good guy and stand up for what was right. What happened? When did you turn on the heroes?"

He quickly rose to his feet.

"When did I turn on the heroes?" he asked. "When did THEY turn on the world?" he shouted, using one hand to toss his desk at me. I sidestepped it only to find his hands quickly around my neck.

This guy was too damn fast.

"How dare Millennium Man kill another human being simply because he feels he is in the right?" asked Jerrod. "How dare you put the lives of others at risk simply because of your immaturity or inability to understand that the world does not revolve around you? How dare your generation of heroes treat humanity as if they were simply in the way? We're supposed to be protecting them!"

"We are protecting them," I rasped as air trickled in and out of my throat.

"By putting them at risk?" said Jerrod, shaking me and his head. "No, oh, no, Mister Carter, I'm afraid I can't allow that."

"It's not as black and white as you think," I said. He held me there for a moment as a smile grew across his face. Then he tossed me to the side. I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"Of course it isn't," said Jerrod, looking at me with that smile. "It's four color."

And then he punted me through the wall.

***

"Mayor Jerrod," said Self, stepping into the office, "we can take it from here, sir."

"No," said Jerrod as he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "The Engine will be here soon enough."

"Sir," said Self, "we don't need the Engine. We are more than capable of handling this man."

"No," said Jerrod again, walking towards the hole he made in the wall with Bush43. "I want to make an example out of this kid."

"Mayor Jerrod, I'm afraid I must protest," said Self, stepping towards the hole as well. "This is a police matter and certainly not something the mayor should be involved in." He leaned closer to Jerrod. "Especially in front of the media."

Jerrod stopped and looked at Self who stood up straight and nodded with a satisfied grin.

"This is not about publicity," said the Mayor, removing the smile from Self's face, "nor is it about elected office or the press. This is about right and wrong. Have your men stand by to take Bush43 into custody once the Engine is finished with him."

And Mayor Cliff Jerrod leapt through the hole in the wall.

***

I lifted my face out of the pavement and shook my head. The world was spinning, blurring, screaming, rushing by. I was a mess. I looked up and made out a crowd gathered across the street, a line of cops holding them back, lights flashing, voices shouting.

I had dropped in front of the media.

Great.

I heard a thud next to me and turned my head to see Cliff Jerrod standing upright and stepping towards me.

Oh, God. I was about to get my ass kicked in front of the world.

He grabbed the back of my shirt and picked me up. I pushed his hands away and stumbled back, trying to stay on my feet and not get hit again.

"Here's your adoring public," said Jerrod, gesturing to the crowd. "You want fame, you want adoration, attention, you want women swooning over you? Here's your chance."

I looked from the mayor to the crowd and then back to him.

I shook my head.

"No," I said, stumbling a bit. "This isn't right. You're trying to turn this on me, trying to make me out to be the bad guy."

"You are the bad guy, Jeffery."

"The people love their heroes," I said, trying to breathe, the mask starting to stifle me, tugging at it slightly to get more air in. Damn mask.

"The same people that elected me to office. The same people who support the Pacific City Police Department. The same people to fear these 'heroes' because of Millennium Man's actions. The same people who support our actions to ensure their safety."

"So you release villains to do your dirty work?" I shouted as best I could, trying to get the crowd to hear in some attempt to discredit him. Please, let this discredit him.

"They reformed, Jeffery," said Jerrod, opening his hands wide as if to say he had nothing to hide. Damn politicians. "As I said, people change."

"The people love Millennium Man," I said, more trying to convince myself.

"Do they?" said Jerrod with a smile. "You've missed a lot since you've been in the asylum."

Oh, God, what did he know that I didn't?

I spun to the crowd and pointed an accusing finger at Mayor Cliff Jerrod.

"YOUR HONORABLE MAYOR RELEASED A CHILD KILLER TO TAKE DOWN OUR FUCKING PROTECTOR AND YOU ALL JUST STAND THERE?!?!?!!" I shouted at the media, the gawkers, the world. I wanted a gasp, I wanted a shout, stunned silence, some reaction, some anger, some riot.

I got nothing.

"And as you said," said Jerrod as I looked over my shoulder and caught his grin, "times change."

Then something hit me, tossing me up into the air and against the wall of City Hall. Then the crowd decided to actually react to something, letting loose a collective gasp as I was hit, everyone seeing it but not seeing the cause.

But I knew the cause as soon as I felt it.

I slid down the wall and was stopped just above the ground by a claw wrapping around my neck and pinning me to the wall.

And for the first time in my life I had the very distinct feeling that I was going to die.

It was weird. My first thought on that was that I must be messed up. Even when the Imperial Magistrate tore through my apartment and killed my parents, I wasn't afraid. Not for myself. I had been doing this super hero thing for almost six months and never once was I afraid for my life.

Not even the first time I fought this tin can.

But then, hanging from it's claw, pinned against City Hall, gasping for breath while a crowd of reporters simply watched and flashed their cameras and recorded their film and held out their microphones and scribbled on their notepads and the great and wonderful Mayor Cliff Jerrod, former hero known as Olympus, simply smiled, during all of that, I felt like my life could end at any moment.

And I got scared.

And angry.

VERY angry.

And I wondered, "What Would Jesus Do?"

And I very quickly thought that I wasn't Jesus so the answer to that question wasn't going to help very much, so I tried to think of something else.

And when nothing came to my mind but my fear and anger, I decided I didn't like hanging on that wall with a claw around my neck making me gasp for air while a crowd of reporters did their thing and the Mayor smiled.

I brought my fists up and then down into where the arm of the thing should have been, considering how it had me pinned. I heard it whine and bend and I was dropped to the ground. I quickly pushed forward, happy to feel myself hit something, and I threw it to the ground, bringing myself over it and onto my feet near the crowd of reporters. I turned to them.

"Get the hell out of here!" I rasped as best I could considering my throat felt it was half as wide as it should have been.

But no one moved.

I felt the presence of something behind me and I fell to my right, rolling out of the way of what must have been a hell of a punch as it sent chunks of pavement flying. Some of them into the backs of police officers and the faces of reporters. I told those sonsofbitches to get out of there.

"Happy now, Cliff?" I shouted to the mayor as I tried to jump and dance my way away from the crowd. "Pleased to see your little toy hurting innocent people!" I turned back to where I assumed the robot would be. Right in front of me.

"Come get some, you piece of..."

It got some as I felt a punch in my gut and then another in my face.

And I fell back again, this time away from the reporters.

I pushed myself upright and rolled just in time to miss another big punch tearing into pavement.

I was starting to get the hang of this fighting an invisible machine thing.

And then it wasn't invisible anymore.

The air shimmered and split, the figure standing almost seven feet tall, its shoulders slightly taller than its head, its arms ending in claws, a purple cloak flowing behind it as the wind caught and played with it.

"Nice," I said, getting to my feet. "Where'd you get the cloak from, Liberatchi?."

It charged at me and punched me in the gut, sending me up. Then it went airborne and slammed both of its fists down into my back, throwing me face first into the pavement again.

I tried to get up but was stopped when a metal claw grabbed the back of my shirt and tossed me into the air.

I was at the top of the arc when the world exploded.

Supersonic slugs being fired at you from point blank range hurt like a bastard, even if you are invulnerable. They could have been bb pellets for all I knew, but each shot felt like a cannon ball slamming into me, tossing a part of me around, my body dancing like a rag doll in mid-air as bullets tore at me in quick succession.

I felt kinda displaced from the situation at first. My mind saw the events in slow motion, felt my body dance and the sting of the bullets, but it didn't register that this was my body that was going through all of this. It just sat back and watched instead of attempting to move me out of harms way, thinking the whole time, "this thing is going to kill that boy". Which really pissed me off.

Of all of the things to lose control over, my body was the final straw. And how dare I root against myself!

I finally hit the ground and my mind still sat back, registering the collapse, my heaving chest, the welts of bruises and blisters. My head rolled to the side and I looked at the crowd that stood and stared. Forest from the trees, I thought, but I'm still not sure why.

But then I focused. My mind snapped to as it centered in on one face in the crowd.

Regina Darling, hot as ever, near the top of my list of must meet women in Pacific City.

Neat.

And I winked at her.

Heh, of all the things to focus on when I'm dying.

I rolled my head and looked straight up, trying to breathe. I choked on blood and sweat and bits of rubber torn from the mask and into my mouth.

The mask.

Damn thing was going to kill me.

I had one shot at this, my body was telling me, one more chance to beat this thing or, at the very least, pull out a draw, because my body was giving up after that.

And I couldn't blame it.

I struggled to roll over and push myself to my hands and knees, hoping the robot kept back while I got up. I heard noise from the crowd, probably as astonished as I was that I could still move after that barrage. Hell, they were probably shocked I was still alive, and, truthfully, so was I.

I got to my feet and stood up uneasily, turning to face the robot, only it was gone.

Son of a bitch.

I looked around for it, but I couldn't see it.

"Where is it?" I asked, turning to the crowd. No one replied. "Where did it go?!!!" I shouted, some of them cringing and falling back. I swung around, looking to Mayor Jerrod who simply looked at me with a grim face. I hadn't noticed the naked lady next to him before, but I certainly didn't have time to stop and pay much attention to her now.

"Where the hell is your little lap dog, you son of a bitch?!!!" I spat at them to no reply.

I turned on the crowd.

"RUN you bastards!" I shouted at them. "SAVE YOUR-FUCKING-SELVES!"

I heard a step next to me and I spun around, lashing out and connecting with the air.

And my body gave up.

I lost my balance and fell to my hands and knees. I coughed and spat and stared at the puddle that formed on the ground below my face. It looked exactly how I felt, crushed, thick, ugly.

I looked up as, once again, the air broke into a picture of robotic death.

All I could do at that moment was appreciate the machine. So large, so high tech, so foreboding, it was awe inspiring in it's design.

And, for a moment, I was proud of myself.

THIS is what it took to end my glorious, albeit brief, career.

This physical embodiment of man's advancement in technology and weaponry.

It wrapped a hand around my head and lifted me into the air, holding me up there for a moment, like a rag doll trophy.

And then I was swung downward, face first into the pavement.

The world blurred, darkened at the edges, and I was faintly aware of being lifted back into the air, of lights flashing in the distance, the sound of silence enveloping me.

And then I went down again.

So this is what dying's like.

And the world went black.