Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 The following is part one of what will become a series about two young men
named Daniel and Gabriel who share a close and ideal friendship.  In this
chapter, one of the boys falls victim to a violent and horrible crime.  Any
resemblance to real people and events is purely coincidental.  The author
does not condone any of the actions that take place in this story.
   Fitting In
   Gabriel and Daniel had been friends for three years, but it seemed more
like they had known each other their entire lives.  Gabriel, with dark
blonde, almost auburn curls, brooding blue eyes, a short, yet
broad-shouldered stature and an oval-shaped face with ruddy complexion, was
two years Daniel's senior.  At eighteen, Daniel, like most teenagers, felt
awkward in his form, though he was handsome in a casual, blue jeans kind of
way, with compelling brown eyes that always seemed moist with compassion,
curly hair that was mahogany in hue and appeared casually tossed about as
if he hadn't combed it since he woke, and a relatively toned chest and
slightly muscled arms.  His only shortcomings were the small paunch on his
stomach, his somewhat oversized, yet boyishly rounded nose, and the
shuffling gait with which he walked, head downcast.  At most, he was an
insecure, self-conscious adolescent struggling to fit into the college
fold. As a first semester freshman at the local college, he had not yet fit
into the overall routine of campus life, or even into any social circles on
campus.  His only alleviation was his friend Gabriel, a junior at the
college, who had proposed that he play guitar at the school's arts and
music festival that evening.  Though anxious of embarrassing himself before
his peers, Daniel had agreed under the condition that Gabriel play his
guitar to complement his performance, and also to comfort him with another
presence on the makeshift stage the school set up at the downtown park for
the event.  At least twenty different college bands had played that night,
all the upperclassmen given priority, and by the time it was Daniel's turn,
it was past eleven o'clock at night, and the throng of young adults around
the small outdoor stage had grown excited.
   When Daniel scampered on stage, with Gabriel at his back, the crowd
yelled out approvingly, stoked for another performance, although Daniel was
willing to bet that 99 % of his audience had no idea who he was.  Yet. 
That was Gabriel's idea: a performance at the college music festival would
hopefully ingratiate him into the school's artistic and musical community
and identify him before his peers.  Daniel made it as far as center stage,
and gulped, his face hot and reddening with anxiety; before now, he had
only performed before an audience of a maximum twenty people, and all
people he was personally familiar with.  He was not at all prepared for
such a huge leap.  Luckily, Gabriel appeared at his side, clapping him on
the shoulder with his unusually strong hand and whispering words of
encouragement.
   He stumbled up to the microphone, nearly knocking it over, and a small
wave of laughter passed through the crowd.  His face was aflame.  Gabriel's
hand reached out, patting him reassuringly on the back, and Daniel glanced
over, startled to see his friend standing directly beside him. 
Strengthened by his presence, he gripped the microphone, speaking into it
with newfound vigor in his voice.
   "Hello.  My name's Daniel.  I'm a freshman here.  This is my friend,
Gabriel."
   He gestured to Gabriel, who waved at the audience, about half of which
responded with shouts and cheers, presumably acquainted with his musical
prowess.
   Daniel finished, "Tonight we're gonna be playing `Wish You Were Here' by
Pink Floyd."
   He stepped forward slightly so that his lips almost touched the
microphone, straddling the guitar slung over his shoulder in both arms as
he began to strum the chords skillfully with his fingers.  Normally, the
song would be played solo, but Daniel had insisted so stubbornly that
Gabriel and he had finally agreed to take turns playing guitar, even adding
a few chords.  When Daniel began to sing, Gabriel took up the guitar, his
own mastery of it far exceeding Daniel's and eliciting screams of
encouragement from the audience.  Daniel's deep baritone voice, however,
was not one to be overlooked.
   "So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell, blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?  A smile from a veil? 
Do you think you can tell?" his voice thundered across the crowd of youths,
overwhelming them with cheers.
   He fell to the guitar then, playing it wildly, with a zest he had only
just now discovered.  Even Gabriel appeared surprised, his jaw
half-dropping as he watched Daniel play.  Whistles and cries of approval
racked his ears.  As soon as he returned to singing, Gabriel returned to
the guitar, his fingers swift and practiced.  "Did they get you to trade
your heroes for ghosts?  Hot ashes for trees?  Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?  Did you exchange, a walk on part in the war, for
a lead role in a cage?"
   Daniel's voice was young and rugged, yet startlingly deep and rife with
emotion, grabbing hold of the audience and filling them with a rare awe for
a small-town college music fest.  His success on the guitar was no less
impressive, though still inferior to Gabriel's, and Daniel almost lost
himself in the chords before he realized that it was time to sing the last
few verses of the song, "How I wish, how I wish you were here.  We're just
two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year, running over the
same old ground.  What have we found?  The same old fears.  Wish you were
here."
   The audience bellowed once more as he sang, and both Gabriel and Daniel
played the final guitar riff in unison, their enthusiasm and careful
attention to hitting each chord exactly right more than making up for any
mistakes they made.  When they had finished, the audience erupted into a
uniform outcry, startling the two young men with their zeal.  Though their
performance had been far from a professional rendition of the popular Pink
Floyd song, it had been a marvelous and memorable one, and as the two
hurried down the steps on the side of the stage after a grand bow, they
were assaulted with sonorous pats on the back, overzealous handshakes and
promises to buy their CD whenever they produced one.  Both laughed as they
reached the outside of the crowd, their arms on each other's shoulders in a
sheer effort to keep from collapsing from all the excitement.
   "That was insane!" Daniel exclaimed, his face sweating and fingers
quivering from the experience.  "I've never had a rush like that in my
whole life!"
   Gabriel grinned, pulling away and giving him a sucker punch in the arm.
"See?  All you have to do is make yourself noticed and you'll fit right in.
Didn't I tell you?"
   Daniel blushed.  "It wasn't just me they noticed!"
   Gabriel shook his head, dismissing Daniel's modesty with a wave of his
hand.  "They noticed you plenty more than me.  Don't be ridiculous."
   Before Daniel could object, Gabriel glanced at his watch in alarm.
   "Shit!" he pronounced in a shocked tone.  "I was supposed to pick up my
girlfriend half an hour ago.  She's gonna be furious that I'm so late!"
   He turned to Daniel, giving him a final pat on the back.  "I gotta go,
buddy," he sighed apologetically.  "You can make it back to the apartment
okay?"
   The two were roomies at an apartment rented out by the college a few
blocks away.
   "Sure," Daniel answered, struggling to conceal the disappointment in his
voice.
   Gabriel waved goodbye, and Daniel returned the gesture weakly, feeling a
slight pang of sorrow as his friend disappeared around the corner, headed
to the parking garage where he had stowed his car.  He was about to turn
around and walk home when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  He wheeled
around to find himself face-to-face with a tall, lanky man who appeared
about twenty-one, with shoulder length black hair, intense sable eyes and
pale, creamy-colored skin.  His limbs were disproportionately large for his
body and his chest was broad and firm, his shoulders wide, facial features
sharp and almost aggressive.
   "Hey," the stranger smiled.  "Name's James.  I'm new at this college.  I
saw your performance.  That was some good stuff, man."
   Daniel shrugged, glancing about to see if he recognized anyone else from
the audience, but was unable to locate anyone in the mass of departing
students.  "I'm okay," he answered.  "My friend is really the authority on
the guitar."
   James laughed, his whole face seeming to become animated with his
laughter.  "You're a modest one, aren't you?"
   Daniel shrugged once more, eager to go home, crawl into bed and fall
asleep.  "Sorry, but I gotta head home.  Maybe we can talk later?"
   James appeared annoyed.  "You're walking home alone?  Isn't that a
little dangerous considering how late it is, not to mention what part of
town we're in?  How about I walk with you?"
   Daniel hesitated, wondering why this man was concerned about his safety,
and why he seemed so interested in talking with him.  He seemed a bit
overly compassionate for a complete stranger.  However, the man was right,
stranger or not.  There had been incidents involving attempted robbery and
assault in the area recently.  Although, he was still wary of accepting
this man's invitation to walk him home.
   "Ah," James spoke with a sense of understanding in his voice.  "I get
it. You're anxious about the fact that I'm a stranger.  Well, I'm not.  Not
really.  I'm a friend of Gabriel's.  We've known each other for years
actually.  He's the one who convinced me to come to this school."
   His defenses relaxed at this news, Daniel responded, "All right.  My
apartment's not far away.  I suppose you can walk with me."
   James' face lit up once more, and he fell into stride alongside Daniel
as they left the park and headed down the sidewalk towards the side street
that led to his apartment complex.  Daniel wasn't sure why, but he felt
strangely nervous in the company of this man.  Dismissing it as misguided
paranoia, he continued to walk abreast of the man as they turned onto the
next street.  The buildings were tall and packed closely together, mostly
brick-made, and only a few lights were still on in the windows of the
houses, though most were commercial buildings that had been closed and
locked up for hours.
   "I'm a senior.  How about you?" James' voice caught Daniel off guard.
   "Oh," he started, his voice shaky for no apparent reason.  "I'm a
freshman.  First semester."
   James proceeded in a relaxed, friendly tone, "It's pretty scary at
first. College I mean.  But you get used to it once you meet new people and
get adjusted to the workload."
   Daniel nodded absentmindedly, feeling a peculiar sensation in his chest,
urging him to walk faster, talk less, and make it home as speedily as
possible.  James, however, had other ideas.  Gripping Daniel's arm lightly,
he inquired, "Why are you walking so fast?  What's the hurry, man?"
   Daniel pulled away, staring into James' eyes, fear in his own.  He
thought about the situation suddenly, and realized that it made no sense.
Gabriel had mentioned no friend named "James" and, considering how close
they were, he would have at least mentioned it in passing, especially if
this man were coming to their school on his account.
   "Who are you really?" he demanded, his eyes growing wide behind the
lenses of his thin-rimmed glasses.
   James' face suddenly assumed a stern appearance, and he seemed to be
suppressing some desire to lash out in anger.  "I am James," he replied
curtly.  "I already told you that.  James.  A friend of Gabriel's."
   Daniel shook his head, not convinced any longer.  "I don't believe you.
Why hasn't he mentioned you before?"
   James groaned quietly, his eyes rolling in aggravation.  "Probably
because we're not that close of friends."
   Daniel felt terror well up inside him now.  "But you just said that you
guys have known each other for years."
   James gulped audibly, realizing his mistake.  His mind worked at a
furious pace, searching desperately for some excuse to win back Daniel's
confidence, but before he could find one, Daniel turned heel and began to
run down the sidewalk with surprising swiftness.  James sighed; he hadn't
planned on chasing him.  He broke out into a sprint, matching Daniel's pace
easily.  Daniel felt his legs straining to move faster, his breath rasping
in his throat, but to no avail.
   James overcame him, ripping the guitar off his back and throwing it down
against the pavement, then grabbed him by either shoulder and tackled him
to the ground.  Daniel kicked his legs, catching James in the kneecap. 
James gasped in pain, but only momentarily.  In an instant, he had flipped
Daniel over on to his stomach, wrenching his hands behind his back.  Daniel
opened his mouth to scream, but James was prepared for that.  He held
Daniel's wrists together in a deathly grip with one hand, and clamped his
free hand over Daniel's mouth.
   "I have a knife in my pocket," he seethed in Daniel's ear.  "If you
scream, I'll cut your throat in a flash."
   He removed his hand, and Daniel let out a yell.
   "Stupid kid!" James snapped, whipping his knife out of his pocket and
pressing the cold blade against Daniel's throat.
   Daniel gulped as James pressed it harder and harder against his throat,
until he drew a thin stream of blood.  Luckily, no one was around to hear
Daniel's scream in the first place.  However, he might not be so fortunate
next time; he decided he would have to solve the problem of Daniel's mouth.
James reached into his other pocket, pulling out the rolled up rag he had
carried with him to remedy just such a predicament.  He shoved the rag into
Daniel's mouth, slipping the knife back into his jeans.  He kicked the
young man twice in the side to knock all the wind out of him before raising
him to his feet.  Still holding Daniel's hands behind his back, he prodded
the half-staggering youth down the street a few paces before they reached
an alleyway.  James directed Daniel into the alley and behind a dumpster,
cruelly kicking him in his back to knock him flat on to the ground.  Daniel
landed face-first on the pavement, his whole body shaking with fear and
anticipation of what was to happen to him; was James going to kill him?  If
he was, why hadn't he yet?
   Daniel felt James' knee on his back, holding him down in a prostrate
position.  Before he even had the chance to fathom what would come next, he
felt James' hands around his hips, pulling the loose jeans down from
Daniel's waist without having to unfasten them.  Daniel screamed into the
gag upon realizing what was happening to him, but the thick cloth muffled
his outcry as James yanked down his boxers as well.  He grimaced in pain as
his soft genitals scraped against the pavement while James positioned his
boxers and jeans around his ankles, lifting his knee just long enough for
Daniel to rear up and elbow him in the face.  James cried in pain as he
felt his mouth begin to bleed, and grabbed Daniel by the hair, pulling his
head around to face him.  Daniel's face contorted in pain as his head was
jerked around by a fistful of his hair.
   "Listen to me, and listen good," James hissed.  "Don't you play fucking
games with me.  You just behave yourself and I won't have to kill you. 
Understood?"
   Daniel felt tears streaming down his cheeks before he realized he was
crying.
   James yanked his head back by the same fistful of hair, so violently
that Daniel heard something snap.  "I said, understood?"
   Daniel nodded slightly, and James smiled, gathering a lump of saliva in
the back of his throat and lurching back his head to spit it in Daniel's
face.  Daniel's features crinkled with disgust as the thick, oozing loogey
traced a path from his forehead, down his nose and to his mouth.  With the
gag firmly in place, Daniel couldn't clench his lips shut to prevent the
foul liquid from entering his mouth and some of it trickled in, staining
the roof of his mouth, while most of it was absorbed in the rag.  He felt
bile rising in his throat as he tasted James' spit.
   Satisfied that he had taught Daniel a lesson, James slammed him back
against the pavement, pressing his knee against his back as an extra
precaution while he undid his pants and pulled them down from his hips.  He
had to stand up momentarily to shed them completely, and it was at this
time that Daniel made the stupidest mistake of his young life.  He leapt
up, punching James in the face with the full force of his fist, and tried
to make a run for it.  His efforts were tragically cut short as he realized
that his pants and boxers were still around his ankles; he fell flat onto
the ground, and James laughed a sinister, stifled laugh, bent down to grab
him by the ankles, and dragged him back behind the dumpster lest anyone
should see him.
   "You're not too bright, are you?" James chuckled.  "Or perhaps,
desperation has made you stupid."
   He decided not to waste any more time.  He reached down and withdrew a
length of rope from his jacket, hastily binding Daniel's hands.  "I had
hoped I wouldn't have to tie you up," he sighed.  "Like a pig when it's
slaughter time."
   Daniel felt his face grow hot at the comparison, and wished more than
anything that he could take him on like a man, but the way James was
handling the situation, he had no chance to take him on fair and square. 
James knelt behind him then, removing Daniel's shoes and yanking his pants
and boxers off of his ankles, throwing them in a pile with his.  Parting
Daniel's legs, he moved in between them, his penis growing hard at the
thought of entering the young man's tight virgin ass.  He had no time for
foreplay; he wanted to get the job done quick and easy, making Daniel his
forever in a matter of moments.
   James grabbed him by the waist, lifting his hips slightly off the ground
and aligning his asshole with his penis.  Before he entered, he leaned
forward to whisper in Daniel's ear, "You're gonna remember this for the
rest of your life."
   Daniel closed his eyes and tried to imagine himself elsewhere; playing
guitar alongside Gabriel, singing his heart out, or perhaps just playing
air hockey with his friend, or going skiing.  He wanted desperately to be
anywhere but poised to take such a degrading blow.  He also knew that James
was right; he would remember tonight forever.  The shame, humiliation and
anger would never be wiped away.
   James closed his eyes and took the plunge, breaching Daniel's quivering
anus in one fluid motion.  Daniel howled as the pain of entry overwhelmed
him, feeling as if James had just torn his rectum apart.  James had used no
lube to ease the friction and as he forced himself inside further, the
chafing grew worse and worse.  The man's penis grated against his insides,
filling him with a burning, ripping sensation that made him feel certain he
was going to die.  James moaned in pleasure, the satisfaction of
dry-fucking such a fresh piece of meat overwhelming him.  Daniel screamed
into the gag until he had exhausted all his energy, jerking his body back
and forth in an attempt to break free.  This motion only made James'
invasion more painful and he quickly grew still, sobbing quietly.
   James had thus far only made it halfway; his nine-inch hard penis was
still aching to bury itself in Daniel's ass.  He gripped Daniel's hips
harder, pulling them up further off the ground, and thrust his swelling
member deep within the recesses of Daniel's ass, grazing his prostrate as
he submerged himself completely.  Daniel felt his penis, which had been
flaccid up until now, jerk against his will at the stimulation of his
prostrate.  James pulled out slightly, slamming back in again and hitting
the same spot, watching with a wicked grin as a confused and humiliated
Daniel's penis grew hard against his will.  James' grin grew so broad it
stretched his face; he knew the shame and guilt Daniel was feeling as his
penis hardened.  His body was betraying him.  Though he was disgusted and
terrified by what was happening, he could not prevent his body from
reacting to the continued stimulation of his prostrate, perhaps the most
pleasurable part of anal sex.
   Daniel sobbed, his lip trembling as James continually thrust back and
forth, each time banging against his prostrate, each time his penis growing
stiffer until a trickle of pre-cum formed at the tip.  Daniel gasped; he
felt nothing but revulsion for the act James was performing on him, but yet
his penis was on the verge of exploding.  James watched the young man's
penis as he repeatedly pulled in and out, crushing his virginity to
smithereens.  He knew that if he could make Daniel cum, it would make the
situation all the more humiliating and dreadful for him; Daniel would blame
himself for the inevitable reaction by his body and would feel an intense
guilt unparalleled by any other.
   He reached down then, pumping Daniel's penis up and down in his hand as
he slid in and out of his rectum, teasing his prostrate persistently.  He
thrust his penis up and down and drew in and out of him so swiftly Daniel's
penis shot forth a stream of copious cum before the petrified youth was yet
aware of what was happening.  Daniel groaned and closed his eyes,
whimpering quietly; how had he let it happen?  He hated James now more than
ever, wanted to kill him.  Though the pain in his ass was unbearable, he
felt the urge to rise up and strike him down, punch and kick him repeatedly
until he passed out.  He had forced his body to react in pleasure to
something that disgusted and reviled him, and on a logical level he knew it
was only a natural physiological reaction, but in his current state he
could only grieve.  His penis shrunk back to its normal size as the last of
the cum sputtered out and James spat, "See, you like it."
   Daniel shook his head adamantly, wishing he could scream, "NO!  I HATE
IT AND I HATE YOU!", but the gag prevented him from speaking.  Instead, he
just wept as James continued to fuck his ass, never slowing down or
breaking his rhythm.  Suddenly, feeling his own penis growing sensitive,
ready for release, he picked up the pace, literally pummeling Daniel's ass
until a stream of blood trickled out of his anus and down his leg.  Only
turned on by the sight of blood, James rammed into Daniel one last time, so
roughly that Daniel swore he felt something tearing deep within him, and
shot his load deep inside Daniel's rectum.  He continued to ejaculate even
as he pulled his penis out, and blew the rest of his load over Daniel's ass
cheeks, rubbing it all over.
   He collapsed on top of Daniel, gasping with pleasure, exhausted by the
experience.  He hadn't fucked an ass as tight as Daniel's in years and he
had forgotten how pleasing it was to screw his victims, force them to cum
against their will, and then cum inside them; he had only one final act to
perform and then he would leave Daniel to pick himself up, walk home, and
pretend nothing had happened.  He flipped Daniel over, surveying his
frightened, tearful face, and removed the gag, prying his mouth open with
his hand and seizing a fistful of his hair with the other.  This part,
though not for sexual pleasure as much as for sadistic pleasure, was one of
his favorite.  He tilted Daniel's head back, shoving his still hard penis
inside.
   Daniel gagged, and James patiently worked his way inside Daniel's mouth,
his gag reflex relaxing, and thrust in and out of his mouth slowly and
gently for a minute or two; each time he entered, he pushed his penis in a
little bit further, preparing him for the ultimate thrust.  Daniel's mind
was racing as he took in James' cock; was this really happening, was he
really being throat-fucked by a total stranger, by a man whose real name he
didn't even know?  James, his penis bulging once more, thrust in much
further, and Daniel gagged, tasting bile in his throat.
   He couldn't help it; he was so scared and disgusted, he lashed out in
the only way he could, by biting James' penis.  James howled, backhanding
Daniel across the face, and pulled himself out, cupping his penis in his
palm.  Daniel felt a tiny triumph as James whined like a wounded animal,
but within a few minutes, he had recovered and managed to stroke his penis
back to its hulking size, ready to give Daniel hell.
   James gripped Daniel's hair anew, his hold tighter and harsher than
before, and pulled his mouth open, shoving his cock inside, this time not
working his way slowly inside, but forcing his way swiftly down his throat.
He thrust his hips back and forth, fucking Daniel's throat brutally, and in
a moment, his eyes were closed in ecstasy, plunging his hot, angry cock
down Daniel's throat as far as he could go, completely cutting off the
young man's airflow.  He released a second stream of cum.
   As the stream of hot liquid grew thinner and thinner, Daniel realized it
was no longer just cum, but urine.  He grunted with disgust, struggling to
pull his head away, but James only held on to his hair more firmly,
releasing a steady river of urine down Daniel's throat.  He hadn't pissed
in hours and it seemed like an eternity before he had completely emptied
himself.  Daniel felt the liquid pooling in his throat, and with James'
cock completely buried in his mouth, had no choice but to swallow it.  The
more he swallowed, the more James pissed, until he had gulped down the
man's piss three or four times, the stale metallic taste overwhelming him
with repulsion.
   James released Daniel's hair then, letting the young man's head drop
down against the ground.  He stared at Daniel's penis, now completely
flaccid, and thought it unfair that the kid who had dared strike out at him
in his most sensitive area should escape without some form of damage to his
lovely, delicate member, no more than five inches soft, with dark brown
hairs wreathed round it.  He grabbed Daniel's shrunken member, holding it
in his hand as he bent down, teeth bared, and chomped down on the head and
shaft of his penis as hard as he could, at least twice as hard as Daniel's
bite had been.  He pressed a hand to Daniel's mouth a fraction-of-a-second
in time as the young man let out a blood-curdling scream, the pain
consuming his entire body and making him tremble in agony.
   James pulled back and surveyed the damage he had done; aside from some
blood, he decided the damage was minimal, which wouldn't do at all.  He
grabbed the gag off the ground, forcing it back into Daniel's mouth, then
stood up, lurching back his leg, and brought it down full force against
Daniel's genitals, repeating the cruel, relentless kick two more times
before he was satisfied.  Daniel cried out, his lips straining against the
gag each time, and in the end lay writhing in pain, tears gushing down his
cheeks; he had felt each kick as if it were a battering ram slamming its
horns against his genitalia, and James smiled at the already bruising cock
and balls.  That would show him to fear James' wrath.
   He glanced at his watch and, pleased with all he had accomplished in a
relatively short period of time, he reached for his garments and stepped
back into them, and finally zipped up and buttoned his pants.  He studied
Daniel's broken, shivering body for a few seconds before retrieving the
young man's undergarments, jeans and shoes and redressing him with rough,
careless motions that aggravated the wounds on Daniel's genitals and in his
ass.  He spoke to him as he dressed him, in a harsh, threatening voice.
   "You better keep your mouth shut about this," he warned him, his mouth
twisted in a grisly smile.  "I know exactly where you and little Gabriely
live.  That charming apartment building on the corner of Smith Street, room
number 226."
   Noticing Daniel's shocked expression, he proceeded, "Don't be so
surprised, my man.  I've had my eye on you for a while.  Don't think for an
instant that this was spur of the moment.  I even had this alleyway picked
out long before now.  The point is, I have all the bases covered.  I know
where you two live.  I know where you go to school.  I even know where
Gabriel works, at the grocery store across the street from the dollar movie
theater."
   Daniel gazed up at him in horror as James pulled his jeans up around his
hips, and released a pained groan as the fabric grated against his aching
genitalia.
   "So you see," James snickered.  "I know everything about you and your
pal.  And if you tell anyone anything, I will personally have your friend
killed.  Even if I end up in jail, which I find extremely unlikely as I
have contacts that can have me disappear within a matter of hours, even if
I do end up behind bars, I have friends everywhere.  This town alone is
swarming with them.  I could have your friend killed by any one of them at
any time of the day.  So, take my advice.  Keep your mouth shut if you want
your friend to live.  You just go home, go to bed, and have a nice long
rest, because tomorrow morning you're gonna be in a lot of pain."
   At that, he flipped Daniel over on his stomach, untied his hands and
stood up slowly.  He looked at Daniel once again, and spat directly down on
his head, the thick, gooey substance streaming through his soft curls.  He
walked away, leaving Daniel sprawled out face-first on the pavement, a pool
of blood forming at the back of his pants, sobbing uncontrollably as his
confused mind struggled to absorb all that had just happened to him.  He
lay there sobbing that way, not moving an inch, for what seemed hours, but
was really only fifteen or twenty minutes.  He realized with a shock that
he was so dazed and in pain from what had just occurred that he had not yet
removed the gag from his mouth.
   Another shock came over him as he realized his cell phone was vibrating
in his pocket.  He yanked the gag out of his mouth and threw it with
disgust on to the ground.  He pulled himself laboriously into a kneeling
position, his ass not quite touching his legs (the pain was so immense),
and reached weakly into his pocket to retrieve his phone.  He stared at the
name of the caller: Gabriel.  He couldn't talk in his condition and waited
until the phone stopped ringing, then flipped it open to see if his friend
had left a message.  To his relief, he had.
   Lifting the phone to his ear, he pressed the call voicemail button and
listened intently.
   "Hey Daniel," Gabriel's voice entered his ear and he sighed with relief
at the mere sound of it.  "Sorry I haven't called yet.  You must be pretty
worried.  As you know, my girlfriend lives all the way on the other side of
town, and I'm just too tired to head home.  I'm gonna crash here tonight.
And don't you even think that we're sharing the same bed!"
   Daniel smiled weakly at Gabriel's mock chiding tone at the end of the
message, and closed the phone, slipping it back into his pocket.  At least
he wouldn't run into him in this frightful condition and he could take his
time getting back to the apartment, not that he would be able to manage
anything but a stagger for the next two blocks.
   
  
Fitting In  Part One