Free Inside Out by Terry Trueman

red, and I feel sick.
    â€œ DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE .”
    â€œ YOU NEED TO DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE .”
    Dirtbag says softly, “ You know you are worthless, Wasteoid. You know you are nothing, worm shit, a dead nothing—less than nothing, you are shit—you gotta end it all. ”
    Rat laughs, screaming, “ Yes, yes, yes … end it all! ”
    Right now, this second, I want to end it all, once and for all, end it all. My body feels like it’s on fire. I force my eyes open and see my reflection in the window of the door—flames lick my face, and my eyeballs melt down my cheeks—I quickly close my eyes again. When I force them open and look back at Joey, slimy bugs crawl out of his nose and ears, and when he opens his mouth to scream, his lips peel back and start to swallow him....
    My head feels like it’s cracking in two. God, make it stop!
    I shake all over, trying to catch a breath. Sweat pours from under my arms and down my chest and back. My tongue is thick. I hear nothing but the voices of Dirtbag and Rat. I’m like a bug stuck on a pin.
    â€œStop there!” a voice yells at us from out of the darkness.
    I look up and see a man dressed in black. He’s holding a rifle. Is he Dirtbag? Rat? I’ve never seen them before! Maybe they’re not just voices. My god, maybe they’re real!
    â€œHalt!” the voice yells again.
    Now another figure comes around the corner of the building, also dressed in black, his rifle at his shoulder. He yells, “Backup, position two!”
    Alan and Joey swing around quickly and race back toward the coffee shop.
    â€œHalt!”
    â€œ Kill them, slaughter them all! ”
    â€œ Kill them! Kill them!! ”
    Alan and Joey race back through the door. I am alone. My head feels like it’s splitting open.
    â€œ Kill him … KILL HIM! ”
    â€œ KILL HIM! ”
    â€œFreeze or I’ll shoot!”
    â€œ Shoot! ”
    â€œWait, is he the hostage boy or one of the perps?”
    â€œ Who cares, shoot him.... Kill him!! ”
    â€œI don’t know!”
    â€œ Kill him NOW!! ”
    â€œDoes he have a weapon?”
    â€œI can’t tell!”
    â€œHold your fire!”
    â€œ NO!!! FIRE, FIRE!!!!! ”
    I think, yes, please, fire. Once and for all, please fire.
    â€œ FIRE, FIRE, FIRE … ”
    A second later someone grabs my shirt and pulls me from behind. Dirtbag and Rat are ripping me down to hell. I’m too weak to fight. I stumble backward, letting myself go.
    There’s a sharp cracking sound, and a bright blast of red and blue.... I hear someone cry out in pain.
    My eyes are still closed tight. I can’t tell where I am.
    Now I’m falling into a chair. My head hurts so bad that I think it might explode for real.
    When Dirtbag and Rat have me like this, all I can do is to hold on and wait for them to go away.... But I’m afraid that one day maybe they won’t leave.
    â€œZach.” I hear a voice calling to me. “Zach,” the voice says again. I force open my eyes, squinting to keep the pain away. I see Alan’s face.
    I hear Joey’s voice somewhere, calling Alan’s name. Joey sounds afraid.
    â€œZach.” Alan’s lips move, and I hear my name again. “Are you okay?”
    I try to answer, but words won’t come.
    Joey keeps calling to Alan over and over. But Alan keeps asking, “Zach, are you all right?” He looks scared and pale.
    I manage to say, “Okay,” softly.
    Alan says, “You’re okay? You’re okay?”
    I nod and realize that I’m telling the truth. As fast as they came, Dirtbag and Rat are gone now.
    I feel a cold wet spot on my chin where I’ve been drooling. The top of my shirt is wet from drool too. My armpits and chest and the back of my shirt are soaked through with sweat. I feel like I might puke. My eyes sting, like hot needles are being pulled out of them. My skin feels