Excluded and Uninvited
When a gang of men posing as death-row escapees dragged me into the alley, my girlfriend and my best friend fell into a familiar rhythm and started playing freeze tag.
I struggled ten feet away, desperate. They stood at the mouth of the alley without moving an inch.
After I was finally rescued, Michael Sykes bounced up to me, grinning.
"Brad, you're a champ. You actually managed a few syllables. A couple more scares like this, and you'll be talking again in no time."
As he said it, he shot Diane Raynor a look, and the two of them fought to keep straight faces.
I didn't need to look to know they'd already sent a video of me falling apart to the family group chat.
Ever since I'd lost my