"When else do you want to mention that trash?" The voice commanded, "Throw it in the reeds," he said, "and the patrolling guards could pass by here at any moment." ”

Avery obediently threw the dead cat out, and for a moment he felt a tingle in his arm, and the cat, soaked in water, was heavy as if it had been filled with lead, and it landed where the money grass bordered the reeds, rolled a few times, and then remained motionless.

The black cat's jaw and trachea were pinched by two thick fingers, its shiny paws were silently and furiously plucked in the air, and its captor held its head in one hand and its spine in the other, and with the force of his thumb, the cat's cervical vertebrae were dislocated at once, and its head hung down at once—the man who grabbed it walked forward, brushed Avery arm, and he crouched down at the water's edge, pushing the black cat into the water with a soothing motion that seemed like a stroke.

"That's it." The man said, "Follow me." ”

Avery blinked in disbelief when he saw his face, and the man shushed when he wanted to speak, "Don't be here," he said, "We're going to find a better, safer place." ”

He strode forward, and Avery hesitated before following.

The man was familiar with Grande, he had been hiding here for many years, he had made good use of every abandoned classroom, empty warehouse, deserted corner—he led Avery into a swarthy hut where Avery had been in Grande for several years, but had no impression of it.

The man turned on a yellow emergency light, the small room was filled with dust and cobwebs, the smell of rat droppings, and the smell of river fish, and a corner of the room was filled with nets, fishing rods, and other fishing-related things, and the lights flickered with shadows, and the "owner" of the hut dragged a folding stool from behind a wooden box painted with the logo of fragile items painted on the side, "Do you want to sit on a stool or a wooden box?" ”

Avery glanced at him. Avery was a large man, and needless to say, the man standing in front of him was a head and a half shorter than him, but judging by his horizontal dimensions. He was not much inferior to Avery, and the little stool made of thin canvas and a few thin strips of aluminum alloy might have gone from three-dimensional to two-dimensional at the moment when one of them dared to surrender his whole body weight to it.

"I'm sitting on the ground." Avery said that he put down his massive body with an agility that was hard to find in a man of his stature.

The "master" nodded, put away the folding stool, and sat down on the wooden box himself.

Avery thought he was going to say something, but he stretched out his arm and pulled out a slender glass bottle from the side of the crate, where it was blocked by the net. Instead of using the corkscrew, he unscrewed the cap with his own fingers - he took a sip and handed it to Avery.

Avery hadn't picked it up yet. He smelled a sweet fragrance, and he took a small sip, it was wine, but it was very sweet.

"Two more sips," the man said. The wording was still imperative, but Avery could detect a hint of kindness in it: "A sweet wine with a sweetness of 5 or more is a good way to prevent colds and bronchitis." ”

In order to drown the beige curly-haired fat cat, the cold river water soaked both of his arms from the cuffs, and some of the water splashed into the open neckline of his jacket as it struggled to die, wetting his T-shirt as the wind blew through. The volatile water vapor took away a lot of heat, Avery didn't know how to drink, there was no alcohol in the school, and his father would sometimes allow him to drink some beer, but it was just a civilian beer, like Budweiser or something. He didn't know that sweet wine was one of the noble liquors, and that the raw material for brewing it was also the most expensive of all wines, and that a small bottle in his hand could be exchanged for a case of Budweiser.

However, this does not affect the effect of sweet wine on his body, and its alcohol content is higher than that of ordinary mead. Almost flush with brandy. Less than an ounce of wine could light a small flame in the boy's stomach, and he soon felt warm, and Avery took two sips of the bottle's thin neck, two sips, and the flame became more vigorous than ever, flowing down the veins, transporting the vigorous heat to the tiniest places, including the stiff toes and fingers.

The man kept an eye on Avery and retrieved the bottle when he was about to drink a third of it, he needed to paralyze the boy and make him let his guard down and dull his mind, but he didn't want him to get drunk.

"I can guess why you're doing this...... "but it's stupid, ridiculous." Poor little fool, you almost sent yourself to court—and jail, yes, Avery, I think you can imagine, you're an adult, and the judge doesn't treat you like a child when sentencing, even though you are a child, and only a child would do something that makes those who care about you sad and disappointed—if you were found out, do you know how many years you would be sentenced? Every year, there are a dozen specialists and psychiatrists who want to prove that someone who abuses a cat or a dog will transform into a serial murderer when the time is right, and they will send you to a mental hospital or prison, whichever way, Avery is finished, and after your sister, your parents have lost their last bit of hope. ”

"It's just a few cats."

"A man who, after arguing with his girlfriend, vented his anger at his dog, he punched it with a golf club, shot at it, dragged it in the back of the car, because he knew that he would be arrested and tried if he punched his girlfriend enough, and he, like you, thought it was no big deal to kill a brute, and someone called the police, and he was caught, and the judge sentenced him to fifteen years in prison, dear, fifteen years, at least five years, before he could get parole—this is a normal person, and I'll talk about it again, David, the quarterback of the Hound Dogs. Pease, the poster of him was plastered on the wall of the team's locker room, this poster was going to be taken down soon, he was banned for life by the association, the Hound had to sweep him away, in his prime age, why? He hanged his dog because it didn't do well in the dogs' fights. ”

"How stressed do you feel about them? Are you big? The man continued: "When you are standing in the dock, can you defend yourself loudly? Grande's school committee will laugh and hand over all the evidence they can find – the little hooligans who were kicked out of the school football team for illegally selling drugs, the magnanimous school that allows you to continue your education at Grande, but you transfer your frustration and anger to innocent little creatures, killing them with brutality, and dumping their bodies on the boardwalks that come and go with people – how many people do you think you're excusable? How many people think it's best to nail your ass to the prison floor for thirty years, lest there be another dangerous scum in human society? ”

"I'm not selling – I'm just ......"

"You just gave him a box of medicine and took the money. And it was photographed by a surveillance probe. That's enough. ”

"This is what he begged me for, it's not fair!" Avery screamed, "I know more people are in business!" ”

"What about the evidence?" The man said sternly, "Grande isn't a charity - the things your parents are holding have already made the commissioners angry, and if you shout like that, they will prove that you cheated on the last exam - do you think they really can't do anything about you?" You're going to be here for another year and a half. And this little scandal will sink to the bottom of the Grande River before Christmas. ”

"Don't waste our expectations," he said, "your parents', your sister's, and ...... It's mine. ”

He smiled generously when he saw Avery in his bewildered eyes, "What do you think? What photos and videos did God send angels to your parents? ”

Avery opened his mouth wide, the alcohol making his eyes straight and his face red: "...... But...... I mean......" he stammered, "...... Thank you...... But why would you want to do that? ”

"You're one of my favorite students," the man said, "and you may not notice it, because I don't speak harshly to any student." But it's true, I like you kids, especially you—that's why I'm here, and I can't bear to watch you spoil yourself like that. ”

Avery shifted in a daze. The damp and cold new "seat" sobered him up: "I've been ruined," he said in frustration and sadness: "I'm done, I've been kicked out of the rugby team, I can't apply to Manchester again." ”

"Manchester is the university that every student aspires to," the man said, "but it's too late, if you want to apply to Manchester, at the latest." It's time for you to start focusing on your grades in the fourth grade – and you've been getting around 3 to 3.5, and you'll have to admit that you prefer to run on the pitch rather than study. Also, I distinctly remember that in the second semester of 8th grade, you submitted an intentional assignment. You said you'd be applying to Tufts University, which is known for its biology and agricultural research, and is ranked 123rd, which is very good. You've discussed it with me, and you love the fields. Love the crops, love to see the lush harvest, and you'll inherit your father's farm—"

"I've changed my mind," Avery interrupted rudely, "I want to apply to Manchester." Of course," he added discouragedly, "with my grades, my application would have been rejected without mercy...... That's why I'm ......."

"Use of illegal drugs." The man gently reproached, "You want the quarterback, and the captain's position." ”

"If you want to get into Manchester, there's only one way."

"You're unscrupulous, you're just trying to get into Manchester, Avery, it's not quite right, you've never been an ambitious child, can you tell me why?" The man said.

"Why do you have to get to the bottom of it?" Avery replied bitterly, "I may not be able to apply to a university ranked 321 now, given the amount that the Grand School Board will leave behind." ”

"Because I can get you to Manchester." The man said.

Avery looked at him like a madman who was even crazier than himself.

"You want to apply to Manchester," said the man, "because the murderer has said so conclusively that he will be invited to be one of the Lions next year by Manchester's secret society, and that the Lions in Manchester will only admit fifteen second-year students a year, that is, one of the fifteen hundred first-year students at the University of Manchester this year – a range that will be greatly reduced to one-fifteenth next year; This recruitment ceremony is public, so you want to apply to Manchester and, if possible, you want to be part of the Lions Club, so that you can easily see the list of previous year members, and if you can't, you can also try to find out their names from other students, and the next step. You'll be able to check it step by step, until—until that bastard is dug up, and he's punched a hole in your sister's chest. ”

Avery had horror and fear in his eyes, and he didn't understand. How his biggest and deepest secret is known by this person.

"Look, even an ordinary man like me," said the man, "as long as I want to know—do you think this secret is really a secret?" They even killed a policeman, and the Jesse policewoman who told you about it on the public phone is gone—the people ignore you because you're just a little worm that can be easily crushed with a little finger, you're ruined, and your parents, maybe going bankrupt soon—and the embarrassment of life will oppress you to the point where you can't do anything and think about it. Yes. Or you would say, you'd have a press conference and tell everyone that your sister was shot dead by a scheduled member of a 'Lions Club,' but you have no proof. There are no witnesses, your sister was killed by a robber with a gun, your sister's fiancé died in the line of duty, the murderer was caught, and the case has been closed, do you think anyone will really want to listen to your nonsense? ”

The man looked outside: "They must be glad to see you straining at a few cats and a dog, and their people may be just outside the door." They will rush in and take you away at any moment, and if it turns out that you are crazy, no one will believe anything you say. ”

He was pleased to see the last trace of blood on the boy's face—the little fellow was terrified, but he held himself steady in a short time, he thought, and observed the old man's expression.

"But you said ......," said the boy, "you said you would allow me to apply to Manchester." ”

"Yes. I can. "But you see, it's hard, and I don't want to spend so much time, connections, and money only to get a mad dog that bites people everywhere," the man admitted. “

"According to you, my parents will soon go bankrupt." Avery said gloomily and suspiciously, "Do you want money now?" ”

"I don't want money." The man said, "First, I still like you; Second, I need manpower, and I've got a crush on you, lucky little fool. ”

"What do you want me to do?"

"I can't say it yet." The man said, "Don't worry, I'm not interested in small packets of powder, I don't like buying and selling bumps, and I'm not interested in politics – I need something else – like sand and sand. Hopkins. He kindly said, "Another kid I like, more than you like – but don't be jealous, he's special." ”

"Jealousy?" Avery said, "I won't, I gave up early, this guy is a Kryptonian." ”

The man was amused by his words: "Isn't it? He was wise, strong, and beautiful, and God must have made him with all his might—and Beelzebub. Bissandi, have you ever envied him? If you could do half the trick – you wouldn't be doing anything stupid about using illegal drugs. ”

"Everyone on the team, half of the students with Grande, are envious of him." Avery said, "I'm no exception. ”

"Actually," the man said, "it's also very unfair." ”

"They cheated?" Avery said, "Beelzebub's muscles weren't cheated — I didn't see him use drugs. He curled his lips: "Did he use medicine where we can't see?" ”

"He has no need for this," said the man, "Beelzebub. Bisangdi, Sasha. Hopkins, Boa. Douglas, and that swim team coach Catherine, who came and went, by the way, Anthony. Hopkins, our school doctor—these people, they exist to cheat—Avery, have you heard of the Paranormal? ”

Like many people living in a society governed by the rule of law, although Avery had seen in the newspapers several times that those "people" had taken advantage of their differences from ordinary people to commit all kinds of crimes, he always felt that they were far away from him, as if they were in another dimension, and he looked at them as if they were characters in a movie or a movie, and he couldn't imagine that they were alive and well - but just a few seconds ago, someone told him that the one he had known for nearly ten years, The boy, who had been living in a dormitory suite for months, and his father, his friends...... Monster?

"But I ......," he swallowed, "I've never seen ......," Sasha. Hopkins has neither fangs nor a tail, and he eats the same food as everyone else, though some of it (especially the ones he cooks) tastes very anti-human indeed.

The man shook his head, "What do you think the Adept is?" Godzilla? Abnormity? Or the deep-sea giant squid? No, they are human beings too, just stronger, more intelligent, and more fit to live in this world than the previous humans. ”

He stared at Avery.

"You can be them, too."

(To be continued)

((One second to remember)