"Cas?!"

He was smart enough not to respond with something like I'm here, or on this side. He just responded by calling my name.

I pushed aside whoever I had just run into and started following the voice.

"Almost there," the smartass said when I stopped, unsure how to proceed. I turned my head to the left. His voice came from below. He was sitting. Away from everyone else. I smelled beer. I saw the outlines of something moving, but I couldn't tell if it was just Cas or if the other bastard was there too.

"Masao?"

"He went to get more beer."

"Which is near the fire, I bet."

I heard the gurgle of liquid being agitated and Cas taking a sip.

"Why don't you tell him to put it out?" And why was I so angry? I felt like I had the strength to strangle someone with my bare hands.

I was forced to wait in silence, not knowing what expression his face was making.

"It doesn't bother me." He finally decided to lie.

Of course. And I'm not bothered groping in the dark.

Masao went to get more beers? Fine. Let's go pay him a visit.

I turned towards the light and marched with all the confidence of a man who knows where he's putting his feet.

"Masao!"

He wasn't equally willing to give me a direction. I reached the fire, keeping my eyes half-shut, and searched the surroundings for shapes resembling people. "Are you too much of a coward to answer me?"

"It's just that I don't give a fuck about answering you."

Well, at least I knew where he was now. Just a meter ahead, hunched over what I supposed was the crate of beers.

I didn't know how close the others were, so I crouched down slowly next to the crate and reached out a hand to grab something.

"Don't touch me." He grabbed my wrist to keep me away, but it was enough for me to have a grip.

"Why the hell is there a fire here?!" I spoke softly, but the anger still seeped through.

"Because I'm not Jack's babysitter, and if he doesn't want to admit he's scared, it's his fucking problem."

What a bastard.

I would put it out myself.

I stood up and found my orientation after recognizing the distant scribble that was Cas sitting. His house was a minute from there and I could see more or less something. I could go back, fill a bucket with water, and come back.

"Ben? Where are you going?" I heard Cas's voice somewhere to my left but decided to ignore him.

I was angry with him too.

Wasn't he supposed to be the fearsome leader of the Coyotes? What was stopping him from ordering to put out the fire? Or was it precisely because he had to be fearsome that he couldn't admit to being terrified by the flames?

But who in their right mind would believe he was a coward? Even the newest members of the gang must have known about the fire. The scars weren't exactly hard to notice. And I was sure Masao didn't miss any opportunity to tell everyone how he had saved his life.

After turning around, retracing my steps, I reached the stairs too quickly. The steps stopped me in my tracks, making me lose my balance. Fortunately, stumbling was my specialty. I pricked my palm against something sharp, but at least I stopped the fall.

Footsteps behind me made the ground creak.

"I don't need help," I burst out, getting up, ready to push Cas away.

But the hand that grabbed me wasted no time in straightening me up. It squeezed my shoulder, pulling me back before slamming me violently with my back against the wall. Or at least I thought it was a wall.

I tried to keep my breath calm and my feet firmly on the ground. If I panicked and shouted, Cas would make the evening much, much more violent.

"You're not planning on saying anything? Are you enjoying the fact that I can't see shit in this darkness? I know it's you, Masao."

A blow knocked the wind out of me. After spitting out all the air I had in my lungs, I found myself groaning on the ground.

I didn't think he would actually hit me.

I felt fingers grip my hair, and a metallic sound, like the click of a pocket knife.

"If I scream... Casper will come here and kill you." I felt dirty using Cas as a shield, especially because I knew he would really do it.

The owner of the hand holding me hesitated.

It wasn't Masao, I was sure. That bastard hated me, but he would never try anything like this.

My assailant was another Coyote, and I had just revealed to him that I couldn't see shit. Great move.

But why would another one of those losers have something against me? They barely knew my name.

The hand pushed my head against the ground, and I prepared to scream. But as soon as I took a breath, the attacker released me, leaving me gasping, crushed on the ground.

I tried to pay attention to the footsteps, but I couldn't hear anything except that they were moving away.

Great.

I was trembling.

Despite being a particularly annoying person, I wasn't used to being beaten up. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

I found the stairs groping my way, and held my stomach as I climbed up. I went back into Cas's house limping and trembling. I turned on some lights as I entered the bathroom, but didn't wait for my eyes to adjust before dipping my hands under the sink water and rinsing the dirt from my face.

The evening had taken an unexpected turn.

After rinsing enough, I turned off the water and brought the towel with me as I sat on the toilet seat. I dabbed my face until it was dry. Slowly, I recognized the outlines of the orange towel, the bathroom tiles, and the rusty washing machine cube.

Now that my stomach had stopped pulsating, my forehead had started.

I got up again and dragged myself in front of the mirror. If I was swollen or bleeding, I wasn't hurt enough to be able to see it.

"What the hell did you do?" Masao appeared at the door.

Either he was really good at playing dumb, or I was right, and it wasn't him who attacked me.

"I fell."

"What a klutz."

I would have liked, sooner or later, to blindfold him for a day and see how many walls he smashed his nose against.

"What do you want?" I asked, staring at the mirror and feeling my sore forehead.

"Jack sent me to see where you disappeared to."

"You're always his most faithful lapdog. Well, you found me. Go back to your master to get your treat."

Masao entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

I didn't feel much like getting beaten up again, but sometimes certain things came out of my heart and I couldn't stop them.

"Why are you back here again?" he asked with a dark voice. "You said you'd never come back. That you'd never speak to him again."

"He asked me a favor."

"And you took advantage of it right away. As you always do. You come here, pinching your nose to protect yourself against our smell, you attract him, let him come after you, until you get tired of playing with him, and then you tear his heart out of his chest, and leave me to pick up the pieces."

Playing with him... What the hell did Masao know?

"It's a really tearful story. I'm serious. I could cry."

Masao grabbed me by the collar, and for the second time in five minutes, I was slammed against a wall.

"Listen to me, pale shit, Jack may find it cute to carry around a chihuahua too stupid to understand that it's not wise to bark with its squeaky voice at bigger dogs, but everyone else doesn't find it cute, they find it extremely annoying. And one day someone will smash the head of this stupid little dog, and there will finally be silence."

He concluded his threatening speech by pushing me against the wall before letting go.

"If you turn him into a derelict again, this time I'll make you pay dearly."