Searing pain tore through my eyes. Someone shoved me hard, and I crashed to the ground.
"Stupid beggar! You're so dumb!" Johnny's laughter rang out.
Sparks flew around me. I smelled burning flesh.
I scrambled blindly to the side. Everything was a blur. When I tried to open my eyes wider, the pain cut straight to the bone.
"Joel, it hurts..."
"Take me to the hospital... I can't see..."
No one answered. The laughter faded into the distance until there was nothing.
I curled up in the snow. My hand brushed against something cold—the safety lock I'd given Johnny.
In the last moment before everything went dark, I felt myself lifted into a warm embrace.
