."I couldn't really look my mate's Dad in the face. I just stood therelooking at my trainers.My mate's Dad put his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at...him. I wasblushing big time."I'm sorry about...you know...what we did." That's ok. I'm cool with it." Will you tell Stephen that I'll come round to see him tomorrow?" I'll tell him. He'll like that." That's if I...that's if you want me to." Of course. He's your mate. You're mates." I feel so...ashamed." Lee, there's nothing to be ashamed off."His. It had to be a dream. She paused for a moment, and then the light faded as the door silently closed. I was exhausted from a long weekend, and had just laid down for a short afternoon nap. The afternoon sun which had warmed my bed when I had settled in was long gone. It didn’t take long for the dream image to fade with it and my thoughts shut back down into deep sleep, briefly. I was aware now of a presence beside me. The mattress gave with its weight and I felt a new warmth. An arm enveloped. She catalogues every thing she had on her body in less than a second. She feels fear, and knows exactly how to use it. Two seconds pass. “Mother fucker”, she whispers. She pulls around the corner and unloads her m18 into the head of the beast: bone and grey matter burst into a plume of crimson. The thing tries to scream, but instead its body thrashes and twists violently. It gurgles from a nearly decapitated torso. Empty shells hit the ground and made a satisfying noise. “Almost as good as. Gareth, however, wore his own hat constantly and thus was one of the most recognizable candidates in the fray.The big day of the lottery arrived and Gareth stood among the candidates. In order to make the lottery more exciting, the townspeople had decided to have qualifying rounds in the lottery. After each competition, one candidate was eliminated. Gareth had survived each elimination round and now—with fourteen candidates still in the running—the mayor passed around a hat with seven black.