Free The 17 by Mike Kilroy

switch.
    Zack made his way up a winding staircase to the landing of a long hallway. Doors lined both sides of the wide corridor. He opened the first door just to the right of the landing and was stunned to see a lavish bed in the center of it, another rather large flat-screen television mounted to the wall and more gaming consoles. He imagined every room was similar.
    He meandered back downstairs and spotted another door that led to a lower level. He carefully prowled down the steps.
    Zack thought nothing about his new surroundings would shock him anymore.
    He was wrong.
    In this room was a two-lane bowling alley. Through a glass wall on the left he could see a racquetball court. Through a glass wall on the right was a basketball court.
    He couldn’t help but smile.
    “Holy crap!” Brock bellowed as he descended the stairs. It was very un-Brock-like. It took a lot to elicit such an emotional outburst from him. He guessed a bowling alley did the trick. “This place is spectacular.”
    One by one the others descended the stairs, all with a look of awe on their healthy faces.
    Jenai sprinted to Zack and threw her arms around him. “You avenged me. I always wanted to be avenged.”
    Zack was about to tell her the truth, that he, in fact, did not avenge her, that he had the opportunity to do so, but chose mercy instead. He wanted to say that he didn’t strike the death blow upon the German girl out of some sort of honor. The fact, he came to realize, was he didn’t have killing in him.
    He opened his mouth and the first few words of his confession spilled out, but he was interrupted by Harness.
    “You did it, dweeb. You freaking did it.” Even in a compliment, Harness found a way to belittle. “I can’t believe you did it. You won it for us. You won it big time.”
    Harness gave Zack a hardy slap on the back. It stung. Zack wanted to wince, but he smiled through gritted teeth instead. Wincing would show weakness. I have plenty of weaknesses, no need to show them all.
    Even Cass offered congratulations. “You’re okay.” She offered him a drag from her e-cigarette, but he politely declined.
    Zack felt the urge to set them straight.
    He felt a bigger urge not to.
    How could he? The drug of acceptance was intoxicating.
    Harness stared at him with a huge, perfect grin on his face. “So, how did you do it?” Harness made a quick downward thrust of his right hand repeatedly. “Did you bash their brains in?”
    Jenai answered for him. “There was the two of us and the two of them. They were Germans by the way, not aliens. The German dude grabbed me, but I kicked him in the balls and smashed his head in.” Jenai offered that explanation with full shadow reenactment. “Then the German chick and I fought and she must have killed me. Zack must have finished her off.”
    Zack flashed a half smile as the group peered at him with adulation.
    Harness let out a hoot. “Man, didn’t think you had it in ya. We’ll make a cold-blooded warrior killing machine out of you yet. They’ll all see you, a weak little runt with match-stick arms and they’ll underestimate you, then— BAM! —you’ll pulverize them into frickin’ dust. We’ll be unstoppable.”
    Harness grabbed a bowling ball, lifted it high in the air in triumph and rolled it down the lane. It struck the head pin perfectly and the other nine fell.
    He was even good at that. Is he bad at anything?
    The others, except for Mizuki, who sulked in the corner, laughed, looked for a bowling ball that fit their fingers, and joined in. The crash of the pins became deafening.
    Zack just watched.
    Jenai, after rolling another gutterball, noticed Zack moping and playfully walked over to him. “What’s wrong, bae?”
    “Bae?”
    “Yeah. Before Anyone Else, stupid. You’re my bae. My baby. Why is my bae Mr. Pouty Pants?”
    “Nothing. I’m okay.”
    “No. You’re not okay.” She slapped his cheek gently with her small hand. He barely felt it. “I know when