My dad hit me, hard, and the side of my face stung. I kept my face emotionless, despite the fact that my cheek seemed to be rising in temperature; I wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing my pain. He didn't deserve that reward.

"Stupid, lazy, good-for-nothin' kid," my father spat. I didn't reply. "What did you think, that I wouldn't notice you stealin' my food? What do I look like, a soup kitchen? Don't let me catch you eatin' in this house again, do you hear? Now go get me a beer." I stalked out of the room, and he called after me, "And don't you go near that fridge!"

Once in the kitchen I slid the door closed behind me and took a deep breath. Flicking on the light next to the sink I looked in the dingy mirror to assess the damage. My cheek looked red, and I winced as I gently touched it with light fingers. Yeah, that was going to bruise soon. A bad one too. With a sigh I turned off the light and grabbed a beer from the cooler on the floor.

"Here Dad," I said listlessly. I set the beer on the coffee table, right next to his feet. He grunted in reply, staring at the television with deep-set eyes. I looked at him with distaste, trying not to show my disgust. My father was a middle-aged man who looked much older than he really was due to his poor health. He had a beer gut larger than any of the neighbors' (which was saying something) and was generally fat, sweaty, and obnoxious. I hated every bit of him.

My dad looked up at me, irritation crossing his flabby face. "Are you still here? Get out of my sight." I did so, and gladly. Stepping outside, I looked up at the cloudy grey sky. It was a better sight than the one around me. Broken-down houses, people smoking on corners, trash lining the gutters. The place was a wreck. My house was no different; we lived in a run-down trailer home, just my dad and I. Mom left ages ago, claiming she couldn't take any more. I didn't blame her.

"Jason!" Someone called my name, startling me out of my depressing thoughts. I looked up to see Cali running toward me. She was a junior in high school, about my age, with dirty-blond hair and brown eyes. We'd known each other since we were little. Everyone said we'd make a cute couple, but we were just friends. Cali was nice, that's all.

"Hey." I greeted her with a smile once she reached me. We started walking down the street together. "How's school?"

Her face lit up with excitement. "It's wonderful! I wish you could be there, I'm learning so much."

I shook my head in reply. "Nah, I'm okay with what education I have. Besides, I have a job at the factory, and I could never get a scholarship like you." Cali was going to a nice high school uptown with the help of some grant or other. She absolutely loved it. I might want to do that too, but I had to work almost every day to support my sleaze of a father.

"Is everyone nice to you at school?" I asked. I worried about Cali, mostly because she was so sweet. She was like a little sister to me. When I asked that, though, her face fell. I frowned. "Cali, if anyone isn't nice to you, just tell them that you know a tough senior from downtown that can come and beat them up."

She laughed and playfully socked me in the arm. "Yeah, but you better not show up then. They'd hurt themselves laughing." I made a face, but didn't argue. The truth was, I didn't look very menacing. Because I hardly ate anything, I was slim and lanky. My hair was short and dark and my eyes a muddy sort of hazel. It didn't help that I was pale as anything either. Cali said I was good-looking, but I didn't think so. I did, however, look just like my mother. Sometimes I wondered if my dad was actually my biological parent. Thankfully, I was nothing like him.

Drawing myself away from my thoughts, I noticed that Cali was looking skeptically at me. "What?"

"You look really hungry," she said, her forehead creased with worry. "Your face is all gaunt. When was the last time you ate?"

I sighed, but told her the truth. "This morning I tried to eat some of the pizza in the fridge, but my dad caught me before I'd eaten much." To my shame, Cali's eyes flew to my face and widened with shock.

"That's horrible!" she exclaimed. I couldn't tell if she meant the bruise developing on my face or the fact that my father hit me. "You should come over, I'll get you some food." We turned a corner and went into a tall apartment building. Her home was on the third floor, looking out towards the factories and more of downtown. It was small but neat, and infinitely cleaner than our trailer, probably because only Cali and her mom lived there.

Cali moved into the kitchenette and started to make me a sandwich. I went to help her but she waved me away. "No, sit down. You need to rest. Here." She handed me an ice pack. "Put that on your cheek, it will help the pain." I did as she asked, and the inflammation in my cheek receded a bit.

"Thanks Cali."

"Of course." She sat down next to me on the couch, bringing with her two ham-and-cheese sandwiches. I grabbed one and tried not to eat it too fast. Cali smiled and, when I was done, slid her sandwich over to me. "I made two for you." I tried to protest but she just smiled and said, "No, please eat it. I don't know when you'll be able to get food next."

"Well…thanks." I couldn't keep arguing over free food, especially when what she said was true. Once I had polished off the second one I took the empty plates and set them in the sink. Then I sat back on the couch with a groan. "I wish I could never go home."

Cali made a sympathetic face but replied, "Well, you can stay here for the rest of the day. I don't think we have room to let you sleep over though."

"I can sleep on the floor," I muttered. Despite my grumbling, however, as soon as the sun began to set I started to head home. My neighborhood wasn't the kind of place you wanted to be walking through after dark. A bunch of guys were hanging around on the corner and smoking. They were also laughing rather loudly, so my guess was that they were drunk as well. I pulled my hood over my head and stuck my hands into my pockets, trying not to get noticed. The sun had seemed to set earlier than usual, and the last thing I needed was a fight in the dark.

"Hey!" One of the men called out to me. The greeting was followed by a string of swear words, which I don't care to repeat. I cursed my luck and tried to move on, but they would have none of it. One of the smokers reached out and grabbed my arm.

"Don't grab me," I said as angrily as possible. I wrenched my arm away and, in doing so, made my hood fall back. Once my face was exposed to the streetlight they laughed at my bruise.

"Looks like somebody got to this boy before us." Another man smirked, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"Can I move on now, please?" I said, being mockingly polite. The sarcasm went right over their heads. The man who had grabbed my arm moved towards me again.

"Oh, is the little boy scare-" I punched him before he could finish. He fell on his back, out cold, and I took off down the street. The men didn't waste any time caring for their fallen friend, and instead chased me down. Breathing heavily, I darted into a side alley. I looked ahead of me and stopped in surprise. A glowing blue light sat at the end of the alleyway, held up by something or other, I couldn't really tell. Either way, it was strange.

Unfortunately, I had other issues at the moment. My attempt to hide from the men hadn't exactly worked, and now I was trapped in a dead end. Putting my back to the blue light I turned and held my ground. If they were going to beat me up, the least I could do was cause them some harm as well.

One of the drunks smiled, revealing uneven, smoke-stained teeth. "You're in for a world of pain, boy." I tried to hit him but he ducked and, with more agility than I would have credited a drunk guy, slammed me against the ground. I swiped his knees while I was down there and he fell, allowing me time to get back up. The man recovered quickly, however, and I couldn't find an opening. I saw his fist flick to the left and I dodged it. What I didn't see was the fist coming straight at me from the right. He got me square in the eye, and I fell backward into the strange blue light. It didn't shatter, though; instead, it seemed to envelop me, keep me falling forever. Before I could wonder about it, the world went black.