Early morning sunlight spilt through thin curtains, the superhero print on them now faded with time. The warm, hazy sunlight fell on a desk with open textbooks and unfinished homework, spilling onto a messy floor where clothes, both dirty and clean, were thrown into a pile that would be moved to the bed then back again later on. The faint sounds of L.A. traffic floated through the open window with the light.

On the bed, blankets thrown about, lay a young boy, deep in sleep. The sudden sound of his alarm on his messy bedside table woke him, his hand reaching out from under the covers limply to hit the snooze button. Sitting up, the boy yawned, having to squint against the light coming through the faded curtains.

"Evan! Are you up yet? You're going to be late!" His mother's voice called down the hallway.

"I'm up!" Evan called back and promptly fell back on the bed, pulling the blankets back over his head. A few minutes later, the alarm went off again, making Evan groan as he sat up and turned it off. He pushed himself out of bed, tripping over his phone cord and made his way to the door and out into the hallway.

"Your breakfast is on the table. I gotta go, hun. Have a good day at school!" His mother gave him a smile as she left the bathroom, dressed in her usual interview suit. She hadn't had a proper job in months.

"I will." Evan nodded as she gave him a quick hug, not saying when he didn't raise his arms to hug her back before hurrying down the hall and out of sight. Evan stepped into the bathroom, turning the taps to wash his face. He didn't want to go to school today.

He didn't want to deal with the anxiety today.

Hearing the front door close, Evan made his choice to go back to bed but not before getting his plate of eggs and toast.

It wasn't until noon that Evan got dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans, quickly lacing up his red running shoes before grabbing his backpack, making his way to the back door. He stepped into the warm early summer light, looking around the small backyard. The grass was brown, and the flowers in the small garden had been dead for a long time. Evan had wanted to tend to them, but his mother kept saying that they weren't going to stay here in this house for long so there was no point. She kept saying that even when months passed.

Putting his earbuds in his ears and pressed play on his phone, he pushed dead flowers from his mind and pulled his bike from its place against the wall and rode out to the road, the warm wind pulling at his black hair. A smile spread on his lips as he stood up and pedalled as fast as he could away from the small yellow house on the corner, feeling like he could fly. His left hand let go of the handle bar, wobbling for a few seconds before he gripped it again and sat back down, narrowly avoiding falling to the hot pavement. He was too nervous to take both hands off the handlebars.

Pulling into the small parking lot of a corner store, he locked up his bike and headed inside, wandering through the hazy, neon-lit aisles. At the back, he pulled an orange pop bottle out of the fridge and a bag of chips off the shelf. Setting them down on the counter, the college student looked at him with a questioning glance, probably wondering if he should be in school at this time.

"Is that all?"

"Uh…" Evan counted his money, then quickly grabbed a chocolate bar, setting it down on the counter with a smile. "Now it is." He paid, some of the coins falling to the counter top with a loud clatter. He apologised and quickly picked them up and gave them to the cashier before stuffing his treats into his bag and left. He took a deep breath before he got on his bike to calm the anxiety that had started to build in his chest, his fingernails digging into the palm of his hands. Getting back on his bike, he found himself heading towards the river with its sloping cement walls and algae. He didn't mind how gross it could be sometimes, no one went there unless they were filming something. He turned off the road onto the dirt and road towards the fence, dust flying up behind him.

He got off his bike once he reached the fence, looking down onto the dry cement river bed. Walking along the fence, Evan looked for a shady spot to sit down and have his pop. He didn't know when his mother would be home, but he had until three before he had home. If his mother found out that he had skipped again, she would be upset with him and she wouldn't understand why he didn't go if he told her the truth. She had become worried, more than usual. He would be graduating next year if he passed. Evan began thinking of excuses, a result of him always thinking that the worst would happen.

Finding a shady spot, he leant his bike against the fence, only then noticing the person leaning against the fence on the other side and the blood that oozed down the slope to the river. Evan stared at the man, unable to tell if he was still alive or not. His breathing shortened. The man coughed suddenly as he tried to turn, his weak gaze meeting Evan's wide eyes. He looked like he had been beaten brutally, or shot several times; either way, Evan didn't want to know. The sunlight now felt like a hot, neon light, sweat dripping down his neck.

"H-Help...H-Help me…" Evan didn't move. "H-Help me! P-Please!" Evan knew that he couldn't leave this man here. Taking a deep breath, he tried to stop his hands from shaking. He gripped the fence but had to wipe his hands off on his pants, too sweaty to climb. It took him a few painful moments, but he managed to climb over the fence, dropping to the hot cement beside him. He knelt down, reaching into his backpack for the pop. Using the hem of his black t-shirt, he took the cap off and held it out to the bloody man who with a shaking hand took it and took a long drink from it. "T-Thank y-you...W-What is your name?" Evan hesitated, not wanting to say anything. "I-I'm A-Adam…Y-You don't have to t-tell me yours."

"Evan." He answered quietly, trying to keep his voice steady. He didn't want to be scared, but he could hardly breathe.

"Evan...Evan. T-That's a nice name...Evan...C-Can I trust you with something?" Adam asked, coughing up blood. Evan wanted to say no but he could only stare. "You can't tell anyone, okay?" Evan nodded. He didn't know why. "Four...One...Eight...Two...Five. Don't tell anyone those numbers, okay? Can you do that...that...For me, Evan?" Instead of answering, Evan reached into his bag for the chocolate bar, unwrapping the slightly melted chocolate and handed it to Adam who managed a smile. "T-Thank y-you…"

"I-I'll call an ambulance." Evan said, reaching for his phone.

"No...Don't. We'll both be killed if you d-do...It's better me...t-than you, Evan." Adam said before taking a bite from the chocolate. "Why a-aren't you in school?"

"I don't want to be there." Evan shrugged. He knew he should just leave but he didn't want to leave him alone in the hot sun during his final hours.

"W-Why? You s-should be in school. D-Don't tell me y-you're a-a runaway…"

"I'm not. I just can't handle it...I can't talk to people…"

"You are t-talking to me…"

"That's not what I meant. I mean that-"

"I u-understand...Y-You know...You are the k-kindest p-person I've e-ever met...I'm s-sorry, Evan."

"For what?" Evan asked, looking out over the thin river.

"F-For w-what I've b-brought you i-into. I-It w-won't be kind t-to you..." Neither of them said anything for a little while, looking out over the Los Angeles River. A cool wind off the ocean gave them some relief from the heat. Evan felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, the unknown laying before him. He wasn't sure what he was going to do after this. He wanted his mother though, to talk to her and know that everything would be okay. He turned to Adam to ask him what the numbers meant, but he couldn't say anything. Adam was gone, his empty gaze on Evan as the chocolate bar continued to melt in his limp hand.

A cool breeze drifted around Evan as he biked down the street, trying to put what had happened out of his mind. However, he couldn't stop thinking about one thing; if he had gone to school, Adam would have died alone. Adam who understood why he didn't want to go. Adam who needed someone kind and Evan was that person.

"Stop...Stop…" Evan began to feel sick, having to stop and lean against his handlebars to breathe. "Stop…Nothing is going to happen to you. Nothing can happen to you. No one saw you right?"

There had been a car. A black car parked on the road that hadn't been there before.

"No one saw you." He told himself again. "Go home. Go home." He made himself keep pedalling, constantly looking over his shoulder to see if he was being followed. "Go home." Glancing over his shoulder again, car headlights suddenly blinded him, causing him swerve and fall from his bike. He fell to the still warm pavement, his elbow splitting open as he skinned his knee, ripping his jeans. Evan laid there for a moment, dazed. The black car came to a stop beside him.

"Did we startle you?" A voice called out. Evan shook his head as he got to his feet, shakily pulling his bike back up.

"N-No...Just a rock." Evan managed to say.

"Quick question, kid. Did you happen to be at the river at all today? See anything out of the ordinary?" The driver asked. Evan couldn't see his face. Nervous, he shook his head. "Are you sure?" As fast he could, Evan got on his bike and pedalled faster than he ever had in his life. He could have lied. He could have kept talking and they would have continued on but something had sparked in him. Maybe it seeing a man who someone had attempted to kill die slowly.

Maybe it was the numbers and their unknown significance that he now had to protect. Either way, he had to get away from that car. He heard the engine of the car roar as it sped up to catch up to him. Evan swerved into a small back road suddenly, glancing over his shoulder to see the car have to back up to give chase. He turned onto a driveway and onto the next street, hoping that it would be enough to lose them. He wasn't sure if the burning in his chest was from how fast he was pedalling and the panic that surged through him.

A sudden bang startled him, sparks flying up from the pavement beside him. Evan screamed, his bike wobbling under him. He looked back to see the car behind him, having gone back around the corner to catch up to him. A man hung out the passenger window, a gun in his hand.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Evan cried, trying to stay on his bike. "I don't wanna die...I don't wanna die." Another bang and his bike lurched under him, the back tyre popped. Evan screamed as he fell to the pavement, rolling to a stop as his bike crashed into the sidewalk a few feet over. Flowers in the front garden of the house he had fallen in front of, shivered in the early evening breeze. "Fuck…" Evan couldn't breathe. He struggled to get to his feet, his left side and back aching with pain. His bike was destroyed but he could still run if only he could get up. No one would help him, they would have heard the gunshots. They knew not to get involved.

The car came to stop beside him, both the driver and passenger getting out of the car.

"Nice shot, Ryan."

"You're sure this kid knows it?"

"Why would he have run if he didn't?" Evan had tried to ignore them, slowly staggering to his feet only to have his legs kicked out from under him. He crashed to the pavement, hitting his chin off the cement. He cried out in pain, blood filling his mouth. "Hey go easy on him. Brian will want him to talk and he can't if he bit his fucking tongue off." Hands roughly went under his arms and pulled him to his feet, dragging him towards the car. "Wait...Take his bag." His backpack was yanked from his shoulders, his phone clattering to the pavement. Evan tried to struggle, but the pain was overwhelming, leaving him weak and terrified. Anxiety held his breath, only letting out small wheezes as they pushed him into the back seat.

"He ain't going to jump out, is he, Luke?"

"Fucking look at him, Ryan. He ain't going anywhere." The larger man spat, slamming the door on Evan who curled into a ball on the seat, struggling to breathe. As the car started up, Evan felt tears fall from his eyes. How did this happen? This was all his fault. All his fault. He was going to die and it's all his fault.

The black car slowly drove down a pothole-ridden street, shaking the bruised and battered boy who lay on the back seat. The headlights illuminated a warehouse, the large door open and waiting for them. Inside, there was a bright industrial light on, the blinding white neon light making Evan squint, just as the morning sunlight had. There were dead flowers outside the front door.

The door open and hands were grabbing Evan's arms, pulling him out of the car. He leant against Luke for if he didn't he would have collapsed to the cement floor. There was a group of men in front of him, only one of them in a suit. The rest looked like they had been picked off the street and paid to look like gang members. Yet despite their streetwear, Evan had a feeling that they would be just as mean as the other two had been if not more.

"You said that he knows the code?" The man in the suit asked. There was a bit of accent in his voice but Evan wasn't sure where it was from.

"Yeah. We saw him climb over the fence and talk to Adam before he died." Ryan said, pushing Evan forward. He stumbled and fell to his knees, his panic rising in his chest again. "He tried to run when he asked him if he was there. He won't talk to us."

"We can do something about that." The man in the suit stepped forward, kneeling down in front of him. "What's your name?" Evan couldn't make a sound. He couldn't open his mouth, couldn't move. He felt numb with pain and fear, his breath catching in his throat. "Oh come on. It's just your name. What is it?" He smacked the side of Evan's head roughly. "Your name."

"Evan."

"Last name?" Again, Evan said nothing. The man smacked him again upside the head. "Last name."

"Fong."

"Good. Now you know that we have your name. You fuck with us, we'll fuck with you. Understood?" He snapped. Evan felt like he was going to be sick. "What did Adam say to you?" Evan didn't say a word. He closed his eyes tightly, pressing his shaking hands against the cold cement floor. "What did Adam say to you?" Silence filled the large empty room. The man stood up, turning around to face the men behind him. "Go ahead." One of the men in the group behind him took a step forward and suddenly hit Evan, blood filling his mouth. That was the second time now that he had painfully bitten his tongue. He let out a cry of pain, spitting blood to the floor. "What did Adam say to you, Evan?"

"Nothing!" Evan cried, his voice shaking. The man hit him again.

"We don't like liars, Evan!"

"H-he was dead when I found him!" Evan sobbed, tears streaming down his face. "Please let me go...Please!" The man in the suit reached inside his jacket, pulling a handgun from inside and cocked it, aiming it at Evan's head. "He was dead! He was dead!" Evan screamed. His hands were shaking uncontrollably. He wondered if they would ever stop shaking if he got out of this alive. The man sighed then, his grip shifting on the gun as if deciding to pull the trigger or not. Evan slowly raised his gaze to look up at him, hardly able to breathe at all. He wished he had hugged his mum back this morning before she left.

"Ryan said that you gave Adam a chocolate bar. Why? Why would you give a dying man that? A man who clearly was involved in some bad things." The man in the suit asked, his gun lowering slightly. He was curious.

"Because...That was the kind thing to do. It doesn't matter what he was involved in." Evan said quietly looking away from the men standing around him.

"Did you do it because he gave you something in return?" The man wondered. Evan mentally kicked himself. He wasn't curious. He had changed his tactic.

"No."

"So you're just a good person then, aren't you?" The man snapped. Evan nodded, almost frantically. The man laughed. "See, this kid should be a fucking example for all of you sick fucks! See what happens when you're a good person." Evan wasn't prepared for the impact of the gun's barrel hitting the side of his skull. He fell to the cement floor, feeling warm blood ooze down the side of his head onto his face. He gasped in shock and pain, blinking rapidly as he tried to get the world to stop spinning. A sharp kick to his side threw him onto his back, a burning pain spreading through his chest. He couldn't breathe. Tears fell from his tightly closed eyes. Evan kept thinking over and over that this was it, that he would die and for what? Some code? Adam had been so kind to him, but he had damned him with those numbers. "If you won't tell us the truth, I'll have them beat it out of you." Evan let out a sob, the pain too much to even move. The others moved towards him, each taking a turn kicking and stomping on him. He managed to cover his head with his arms, shaking uncontrollably.

This was the end, Evan was sure of it. His mom would come home to an empty house. First, she would shrug it off, thinking that he was still out riding his bike or something. Now though it was dark and she was sure that she would have called the police now, worry making her frantic. She didn't deserve this. Tomorrow, they'd find his mangled body either left behind in the warehouse or thrown in the river. He was all she had left.

Another kick to his chest knocked the last of his air out of him. He gasped, heaving for air through broken ribs. Another kick, this time pinning his arm to his chest at an uncomfortable angle. Evan let out a strangled noise, trying to roll onto stomach to protect himself from any further pain. "You got anything to say?" Evan said nothing.

"This is a waste of energy." Ryan sighed, his voice full of annoyance. "If he didn't tell already, he ain't gonna tell." The man in the suit stared down at the shaking, bloody boy. The warehouse was filled with the sound of his strangled, heavy breathing.

"Then get rid of him." The man turned away from Evan. This was it, Evan thought. He was going to die. Hands grabbed his shoulders roughly, pulling him to his feet. Evan cried out in pain, tears streaming down his face as he tried to flail, to get away, but it was useless. He could only scream as he was thrown into the trunk of a car, the hood slamming down over him. Darkness surrounded him. The engine rumbled to life.

"No, no, no." Evan blubbered. He felt blood soaked into the scratchy carpet on the floor of the trunk. "Oh god, no...No...No…" He couldn't breathe. Maybe it was panic or it was the pain, either way, he couldn't breathe. "N-No…"

The car turned and sped up. Evan lost track of time, fading in and out of consciousness. He could hear traffic, the roar of a highway. He could faintly hear music and Ryan and Luke's voices. He couldn't make out what they were saying. Maybe they were talking about what they'd do to him. Maybe they weren't talking about him at all. Evan didn't know which one was worse. "I wanna go home…" Evan whispered as if someone could hear him. Blood oozed down his face. He could taste it. "I wanna go home…"

Evan realised he must have fallen unconscious as the dark world suddenly came back into focus as the car suddenly jostled, the sound of gravel hitting the metal snapping him back to consciousness. It was silent. No highway, no talking, no music. Was he dead already? The pain came over him and he knew he wasn't dead yet. Maybe they would have mercy. The car slowly came to a stop. Doors opened and slammed closed. Evan couldn't breathe. He could hear footsteps on gravel.

"Here?"

"Loosest dirt..." They were walking away from the car, looking for a spot to dump him. Evan slowly raised a bloody hand, feeling around for anything that might serve as a weapon or get him out. His adrenaline was building despite the pain that crushed his lungs. He had to tun. Find someone who could help him before he collapsed.

"What's that?" It was Luke's voice that suddenly sounded close. "I thought we weren't being followed."

"Fuck." The trunk opened, hot, fresh air filling the trunk. Evan gasped for air through broken ribs, every movement making him want to scream with pain. Hands grabbed his wrists and ankles, dragging him out of the trunk. He couldn't stop the cry of pain. Evan couldn't focus on anything. The world was blurred and dark. He couldn't breathe through the pain and fear. He couldn't struggle.

He just wanted to go home; wanted to go home and wake up in bed to hear his mom yelling at him from down the hall that he's going to be late for school. He should have gone to school. His anxiety seemed silly now that he was being half dragged through the desert in the middle of nowhere, beaten to a pulp. "Here's fine. No one is gonna find him." Ryan dropped Evan to the dust harshly. In the distance was the rumble of an engine.

"Did he want him dead?"

"Look at him, Luke. The birds will be on him in no time. No need to waste our bullets...Especially if those fucking assholes followed us." Ryan kicked some dirt over Evan. It clung to his bloody t-shirt and face. Luke joined him, throwing dirt over him in a quick attempt at burying him alive. Even when he coughed they didn't stop covering him with more of the dirt, suffocating him. "Let's get out of here." Evan didn't watch them hurry back to the car. He laid there, half buried in hot desert dirt, the world blurring out of focus.

What a desolate place this seemed. Not even flowers grew.

Evan heard the car start and turn aggressively, speeding off down the small dirt road they had come. After a moment, there was a few faint bangs and the sound of a car coming closer. It sounded different, more aggressive.

Evan couldn't think anymore. He felt heavy, his limbs weighing him down to the dirt. He felt as though he were sinking deeper into his grave, consumed by the earth to be eaten by worms. Maybe one day, there would only be plants above him to show he was once there. Out of the blur that surrounded him, numbers found their way to his bloody lips.

"Four...One...Eight, two...Five…" He didn't know what they meant. He didn't know why he was saying them now, but he felt that he had to say it. They were Adam's dying words and now he was dying because of them. Would he be the last one to know that order of numbers? He wondered if it even mattered if he didn't know what they were for.

The loud car got closer and rumbled to a stop. Evan faintly heard car doors slam.

"Did you see where they took him?" A new voice called out, echoing in the hot, night air.

"No." Another called back.

"H-H...Hel…" Evan struggled to speak, blood and dirt suddenly filling his mouth. He choked on it, spitting the harsh metal tasting blood onto the dirt. He couldn't move, couldn't try again to speak. There were footsteps. Maybe they would have mercy.

"Over here!" Evan struggled to make sense of the blurry figure that came into view. It looked distorted, and the head was wrong. It wasn't a human head. "Fuck, it's a kid." Evan faintly heard as the pain suddenly took hold of him, the feeling of being pulled into the earth coming over him. As darkness came over him, Evan realised what seemed so wrong about the figure.

The man that stood over him had the head of a pig.