Chapter 4

I scooped my Benny against my chest and thundered down the stairs.

Every echoing footstep lit a spark of hope in the faces waiting below.

They thought I had dragged Benny Thompson out of the flames.

Then they saw the golden fur in my arms, and the spark died.

Sally shrieked, "Alex, where is my grandson? You said you'd save Benny!"

"I did," I answered, stroking the real Benny's ears. He nuzzled my soot-blackened fingers, tail thumping against my ribs.

A ripple of outrage swept the crowd.

"That's... that's murder!"

"You chose a dog over a human child?"

Benny whimpered at the crowd's blame, shaking like a leaf.

I tucked him closer. "Easy, boy. It's not your fault."

I leveled a stare at the first speaker, John Carter, a retired teacher from 402.

I calmly said, "One: Benny isn't just a dog. He's my family, my kid. So shut your damn mouth.

"And two: I didn't kill anyone. I simply didn't save him. If not-saving equals murder, every one of you standing down here is a murderer, too. This whole courtyard's a crime scene."

John's jaw flapped wordlessly. As the unofficial royalty of this neighborhood, he wasn't used to pushback.

Now my words had him totally thrown off. He was burning with anger, but couldn't think of what to say.

"Y-You're twisting... things!" he sputtered.

I gave him a lazy grin. "If you can't even finish a sentence, maybe you should just shut your mouth. Sound good?"

John was left speechless. There were gasps all around. Before the shock wore off, Emily Summers, star pupil of John's, professional do-gooder, jumped in.

She said, "How dare you speak to Mr. Carter like that? And you were already upstairs. Why not grab the other Benny? A human life, Alex! At least Mr. Carter cares."

I glanced over. So the teacher's pet had to step in when her teacher was cornered.

I smirked at her. "He's nothing to me. Why risk my neck?"

Sarcasm written all over my face as she started to look a bit uncomfortable. "Since you care about that boy so much, run up there yourself. Clock's ticking," I shot back.

Emily's face went from red to purple. She didn't move.

I rolled my eyes and barked, "Out of my way." The crowd parted like I'd swung a machete.

"No, you can't just walk away." Sally lunged, clawing my sleeve. "You go back and get him right now!"

I looked down at her hand, then into her eyes. "Let. Go."

She dug in tighter. "If my Benny dies, I'll make you pay!"

My slap cracked across her cheek like a starter pistol. Her head snapped sideways. The courtyard went dead silent.

"Get lost," I snapped.

"You hit her," Emily gasped, suddenly finding her voice again. "That's assault!"

Her rant was seriously getting on my nerves. How come I forgot about her?

I pivoted and walked over. "Keep talking, and I'll add you to the invoice."

She back-pedaled. "W-What are you doing? I'm serious; it's illegal! You can't—"

I could. And I did. Her words didn't faze me in the slightest.

If I'd still been that clueless kid, maybe I would've backed down. But in my previous life, I had even killed that family of four. A little assault meant nothing.

So what if they caught me? It was just slaps. Worst case, I'd get locked up for a few days.

Two quick pops left her cheeks flaming like the building behind.