Warning: Mild depictions of violence/setting a person on fire.

Lev had gone home by nine a.m., and the group was scheduled to come by the Prior house by eleven for their trip to the BuzzHouse. Alex lingered in the kitchen ready to start on the dishes piled in the sink, when the sounds of loud voices nearby stopped him. His head spun around the room until it landed on the open window over the stove. he went over and peered through, where he saw the same older boy that had been talking to Jeremi yesterday, this time donning a brown turtleneck. He wasn't too far from the Prior home as he faced the opposite direction, Alex only able to see his backside while he spoke to someone on his cellphone.

"Yeah yeah, I'm down to one bag left," the older boy said. .... "So crazy Colton will be around tomorrow to deliver the stuff? What happened, bug-eyed Bert was buggin'?" .... "Ha ha! Hey, relax boss, I was just kidding." .... "Oh, what?" .... "You mean that skateboarding punk? Yeah, he paid his dues just yesterday." .... "Don't worry boss, I reminded him of his place." .... "What...teach him a lesson still? Heh, well how much hurt are we talking here?" .... "Haha, alright, got it boss! I'll make it happen." .... "Yeah yeah, I know, sooner rather than later."

The boy shoved his phone into his back pocket before turning around and freezing in his tracks upon the ominous sight creeping up behind him.

The boy flinched back a step. "What the hell you lookin' at, Junior?"

Alex, his smile stoic yet broad, followed forward with a step of his own. "How much?"

"W-what? What'chu talking about?"

Alex took another step forward. "You didn't hear me? I asked how much?"

The boy pushed forward, marching two steps to close the distance between him and Alex, leaving them face-to-face now. "Don't think I'm hearin' you right. You want-"

"Vampire dust," Alex finished. "That's what it's called right? All my friends are trying it. Didn't want to feel left out."

The boy stared Alex down from head to toe, his expression chary. "Snortin' some dust so you won't feel left out, huh? That's a new one. I guess that's what this town does to you. Alright, Junior. One bag is twenty-five dollars. Not a penny less."

"They don't make pennies anymore," Alex joked, his countenance still inscrutable.

"Aren't you a smart-aleck. Do we have a deal or not, Junior?"

"Yeah, of course. What should I call you, by the way?"

"On the streets they call me, Turtleneck." He patted the puffy collar of his turtleneck.

"Interesting..."

"Shut it, Junior! Are we doin' this, or what?"

"Actually, I need to get the money first. I live on the other side of town, so it'll take a while. How about we meet at the town entrance. Say, thirty minutes?"

"First you're the smart-aleck, now you're a master negotiator. You've probably been bathing in that freaky-ass moon too much, like everybody else here. See you in thirty then. Don't be late."

Turtleneck sauntered off down the sidewalk into town, and when he was far away enough Alex dropped his stoic look and bolted back to the house. He had about two hours before the group came over for the outing; hopefully it'd be enough time to for what he was planning to do next.

Turtleneck had arrived at the dirt path leading out of town sometime after a half hour had passed. He dawdled over into the trees, traversing through the damp dirt. The sun had been out all day, and it hadn't rained yesterday, yet the entire ground was wet. He looked all around, but Alex wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Sets this whole meetup but he can't even be bothered to show up on time...damn kid," Turtleneck mumbled.

"Hey! Over here!" called Alex, from somewhere. Turtleneck's gaze jerked all about his surroundings, trying to pinpoint the voice's location, until he finally noticed a figure perched on the branch of a tree waving down at him. Alex, and Aetherius; his bow braced and aimed at Turtleneck, two arrows prepared to launch from the string.

"What the hell, Junior?" Turtleneck yelled. He shuffled around in tiny circles trying to step out of the bow's aim. "You think I'm playing around?"

"Oh, sorry, Turtleneck! I got the money from my house, but then I remembered that I left my bow here earlier, so I came here as fast as I could to get it back. Lucky for me it was still here, and then the sun appeared and I saw this huge tree just sitting here. It had a nice angle from the other trees, so I thought, why not have a little target practice from up-"

"Would you just shut it already!" Turtleneck shouted. "I don't give a frosty-fuck about whatever the hell you're yappin' about right now." He stalked closer towards the tree, an odd odor beginning to emanate as he did. "Let's just get this over with already."

"Yeah, of course!" Alex called from above. "Actually, how about you just toss the bag to the foot of the tree, and I'll grab it when I'm done here? Then I'll," he pulled out a thin roll of money held together with a blue elastic band, "throw down the money right now to you. Cuz I'm already up here with my bow, and it'd be a hassle to get down when I've just started-"

"Hey, smart-aleck! Did you forget we're in public? I ain't putting my ass out on the line out here."

"Relax, Turtleneck. No one's really passing through town this time of the day, right? But if we get caught anyhow, I'll take all the heat — say I was dealing to you. Promise."

"Promises are a dime a dozen, Junior. But since I'm in a hurry, I'll take you up on that just this once." Turtleneck pulled out a small, clear plastic bag fileld with pale white dust from the collar of his turtleneck sweater. He chucked it, and it landed a few inches away from the tree. Then he snapped his fingers up at Alex. "Cash, come on!"

Alex pitched the roll of bills at Turtleneck, well enough for Turtleneck to catch it cleanly. As Turtleneck began to unroll the money, he didn't notice Alex setting down his bow and taking out a lighter to ignite one of the arrowheads. Alex armed himself with Aetherius once again, positioning the flaming arrow.

Turtleneck was still so focused on counting the money to even realize the burning scent wafting through the air. "Pleasure doin' business, Junior," he said while stuffing the money into his pocket and turning to leave.

Then, it happened.

Alex released the string sending the arrow soaring into the left side of Turtleneck's back, just barely grazing his heart, the still alight arrowhead making it all the way through the skin of his chest.

"Ahhg! W-what the fuck?" Turtleneck screamed. "What the hell!" He hobbled away from the tree, or at least attempted to, but he only made it two steps before collapsing to his knees.

Fire gradually spread across his now blood-stained turtleneck, its brown puffs soaked in red. Alex equipped the second arrow, igniting it too. This time he aimed it at the ground by Turtleneck's legs, and a circular patch surrounding Turtleneck was aflame in seconds. Soon enough, so was his entire body.

Turtleneck's cries pierced the forested pathway, and Alex wondered how many, if any, could hear from Moonhaven. He didn't have much time to think about it though, and quickly attached Aetherius onto a black bow strap and hooked it over his shoulders before descending the tree. On the ground, he grabbed a fire extinguisher that he had hidden behind the tree's stump earlier, and carefully patrolled around the pool of fire engulfing Turtleneck, using the extinguisher wherever it seemed like the fire was spreading past.

"Ahhh! Junior, J-Junior! Hey, help me! Help me please, man...come on! Please!" Turtleneck had collapsed to the ground, tossing himself and frantically bashing around. Alex remained silent, continuing to watch for any rogue flames.

Turtleneck's screams started to quieten and his frantic movements began to decelerate. His body, lying upward in the boggy mud, had gone still. Finally Alex put out the rest of the fire. Turtleneck's body had been thoroughly scorched, only a few single strands of his black hair remaining atop his skull. Alex leaned down to assess the damage, then lowered his head over Turtleneck's face to see if he could catch any breathing. And Turtleneck was, low breaths escaping past his charred lips, though it was incredibly faint.

Alex sighed, a bit morose, as he straightened and pulled out his cellphone.

"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?" asked a female operator over the phone, seconds after the phone rang.

"I need the police," Alex said, almost too quiet to hear.

"What's the problem? Is anyone hurt?"

"I set him on fire..." Alex admitted, not really believing his own actions. "...I think he's still alive." The line went silent for a brief moment.

"Don't go anywhere or do anything. The police will be there shortly, and I'm also sending an ambulance."

Alex nodded even though the operator couldn't see him. "Okay. Sure."

"Do you mind if I ask how old you are?"

"Seventeen."

"Wow, almost to the adult years. What's your name, by the way?"

"Alex. Alex Prior."