“Do anything and I’ll cut your shiny ass into little pieces fucker,” I yelled with what little breath I had.

I took the time Anthony used to collect his head to quickly slash down and free my ankles of his stupid, fucking zip ties. I was now a ripped monster bully again, armed with a deadly weapon.

“Please,” Anthony pleaded and threw his hands up in surrender. “We’re even now,” he finished with a bow of his shaved head. “We’re even. You can leave.”

I stared at Anthony for what had to be another 30 seconds. I couldn’t believe I had seen the guy go from pillar of strength to that boy I beat up all those years ago in a minute.

I didn’t even know where I was, but I took Anthony up on his offer and left immediately. I didn’t care if the guy had taken me all the way to Buffalo, I was going to walk all the way back home so I could get to my place and try to shower off the awful stench of horror which was all over me.

Waiting for me outside of Anthony’s bedroom door was a hallway which reminded me of my long-dead grandma’s old house on Staten Island. Lit with just dusty sconces and lined with framed photos that seemed to go all the way back to World War I, the setting also reminded me of one of those waiting halls at the Haunted Mansion ride at DisneyWorld.

I didn’t waste a single second taking in the scenery. I ran down the hall in a flash until I reached a flight of stairs which led down to the front door.

Making it out of the house and into the cover of a cold winter’s night with the snow falling was maybe the best thing I had ever felt in my entire life. I felt like the snow gave me cover as I ran around a shitty neighborhood long enough to discover I was in Atlantic City. The lights of the sad, run down casinos off in the distance felt symbolic of my diminished manhood and confidence as I shivered in my bloody clothes.