28

You slide between two cars and sprint towards the crowd, which has grown with onlookers. Shirtless swings around in a wide circle, flailing his arms, mouth open, saliva pouring out. Deranged and aggressive, he tries to grab anyone close to him, but his staggering makes him easily avoidable. You crack your knuckles and consider the best approach to taking him down. As you weave through the dense group encircling Shirtless, he dashes at a teenage girl, who sidesteps him with a shriek.

"What's wrong with him?" an older woman yells.

The man hobbles straight-legged and clawing the air, hammering the hood of a Jeep. He spins around at the woman's words and vomits over his naked chest. The clear, green liquid dribbles down his belly, and the crowd gasps.

You push your way past the front of the circle just as the biker steps back up and slugs Shirtless square in the jaw. The topless man falls over like a chopped-down tree, smashing his head on the bumper of a car. When he lands, his body straightens rigidly, and he stops moving.

The biker backs away, and several members of the crowd applaud and thank him for taking action. You crouch beside Shirtless and feel for the pulse in his neck. Nothing. "He's dead," you mutter. The words ripple through the crowd, and when you turn to find the biker, he's already gone.

Sirens blare in the distance. You fall back into the circle and maneuver your way to the edge of the crowd. Vivian stands before you with a crisp smile. Long, black, untamed hair falls down her back, and though no makeup covers her light-brown skin, she wears paint of a different sort, the tail of a dragon peeking out from the edge of her sweater, resting in the nape of her neck.

"Luth? I'm Vivian," she says, breathy like a classic movie star. She skips to the sidewalk and turns to wait for you, squinting from the glare of the high sun. You join her and walk into the megaplex. A gust of air follows you inside, blowing loose litter along the smooth tile floor.

The two of you step into line to buy tickets. Through the tall glass walls, you see the snow has stopped but the wind has picked up, blowing white flakes in swirls across the pavement.

"I'm glad we could get together," Vivian says. "I haven't been to a movie in a while. What movie would you like to see?"