A Box of Puppies
☓ —- | It was easy to lead the boy into obscurity. Despite being younger, Johan’s mind was decades wiser and mature than his. The other was a chatter box – constantly flaunting his clearly broken ego by talking himself up. Apparently, he was the toughest kid on the block, he’d even hit on his mother and could not be controlled by any of the adults in his life. He proclaimed that all of the kids in the neighborhood were his slaves – his to control; all except one; which is why they were there to begin with:
Anna.
The kid sucked in his snots as he walked behind Johan; he can feel his eyes burning the back of his head. He knew the kid would start to pry. “How come I’ve never seen you around here?” He would cough up loudly as they slipped behind a broken wooden fence and into an alley. “I just moved here a few weeks ago.” Johan replied plainly. But it was a lie. He had watched all the kids gather like roaches around this kid, laughing off their fear of him and obeying his every whim for years now. He never cared for his power play – that was until it was being used against his little sister.
“Where are the box of pups?” He groaned, following him deeper into the dark of the alley – the setting sun turning the sky into blood orange and yet, not a single drop of light shined on them due to the outstretch of buildings.
“We’re almost there don’t worry.”
He could hear the brief, soft tremble in the boy’s breathing. “Are you afraid of the dark?” Johan said plainly – poking fun at his fear.
“N-no! The hell you think I am?” He concealed his apprehension with that same tyrannical strength that covered Anna in cuts and bruises.
But today was a special day.
Anna came home with a rather big gash at the top of her head. They were throwing stones at her again. While crying, she told him how the biggest one threw a large rock he could hardly lift at her after she fell. Johan cleaned all of the blood dripping down her forehead and bandaged her up – forcing her to rest earlier than usual.
Johan wasn’t much of a liar. So there really was a box of abandoned puppies, illuminated by the harsh sunlight peeking lines through the fence before them. The boy would bend down, face full of pleasure and shock. That was when Johan could take a clean slice of his throat with a large piece of glass he had kept in his coat pocket. That look of joy in the boy’s eyes twisted into something inexplicable at first – but one he knew far too well; fear and confusion. He gargled and choked on his own blood; not knowing why this stranger had just ended his life – just like all those times his dear little sister was forced to endure hell without as much as an excuse. Without the pack leader – the wolves’ in sheep clothing would reveal themselves and cower. He waited, cold eyes watching him until he took his last breath before turning on his heel and casually leaving the alley.
