Images kept flickering through his brain. Alexis hanging on to Bran. Mariana’s mangled leg. Alexis brushing the hair out of Bran’s eyes. The weight of Mariana’s skull in Nick’s hands. Interspersed with pictures of other things, darker things. What kind of dreams would he have, full of blood and screams? He most definitely did not want to go to bed right away. With luck, Kyle would be up, he thought as he put his key in the door. Or at least he would get up once he heard Nick. He let the front door thump closed. Their mom slept so hard that nothing could wake her, but Kyle was a light sleeper. Nick needed to let off steam. To get out some of the energy still humming in his veins. He and Kyle could play a little Call of Duty. It would be way more fun without Mom hovering in the background, looking appalled. She claimed COD was too violent. Violent it might be, but Nick already knew that a two-dimensional image and some shouts and sound effects weren’t much like real life. It sure didn’t include the coppery scent of blood, or the way a girl’s face felt under your fingertips as she walked the frayed rope between life and death.
