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uplifting.
    â€œLife is hell, isn’t it?”
    The voice had come from somewhere nearby, a little farther down the alley. Gaia ducked behind the Dumpster and listened. She was quite sure she didn’t know the person behind the voice, but there was still something recognizable about its restless, energized tone.
    â€œMake him scream, John. I wanna hear him scream,” came another, more keyed-up voice.
    Gaia peered through the triangular gap between the Dumpster and the alley wall. They were just a few yards down. Two guys were menacing another who was backed up against the wall. Their jerky movements and the way they were practically panting with excitement were all the clues she needed to figure out what was going on.
    No, no, no! Crap, no! She did not want to deal with this again. What the hell were Droogs doing in this part of town?
    She rose up for a closer look. They weren’t Droogs. At least, not the ones she usually battled. These were Columbia students, judging by their Gap outfits and leather laptop cases. But they were clearly hopped up on the same stuff that fueled the IV heads she knew and loved.
    I should just run away. I should just sneak down the other way and race all the way to the bakery without looking back.
    But even as she thought it, she knew she wouldn’t do it. By now the more hyper of the Columbia Droogs had bounced to the left, revealing the pair’s intendedvictim. It was a homeless man, small and disheveled, his age unknowable. The skin of his hands and face was so weathered and rough, it was hard to tell where the weave of his brown coat ended and his skin began. Gaia thought of the delicate detail on the body of the bird. . . .
    She stood up straight and took a few shaky steps toward the trio.
    â€œAren’t you scared? Aren’t you scared out of your freaking mind?” the calmer of the two was demanding of the vagrant.
    The man just stood there, mumbling to himself, his eyes focused but unseeing.
    The bouncier guy bent down and picked something off the ground—a piece of gleaming green glass. “Use this, John. This will make him scared.”
    The other one, John, grasped the glass and turned the point toward the vagrant’s face. “How do you like this? Isn’t it pretty?”
    The man tensed but otherwise remained in his hunched stance, chanting under his breath.
    â€œWhat’s he saying, John?”
    â€œI don’t know.” John grabbed the man’s chin with one hand and kept waving the jagged piece of glass beneath his nose with the other. “Speak up! Speak up or I’ll cut you!”
    â€œLeave him alone!” Gaia’s voice seemed to blend with the breeze and fly away.
    It wasn’t quite the warning she’d been hoping to communicate, but at least she’d announced her presence.
    The guys turned and looked at her. Their smiles widened.
    â€œOh, goody! A girl!” exclaimed the more hyper one. “Get her, John! Let’s make her scream!” They turned from the homeless man, who slowly slid down the wall.
    â€œLook how scared she is,” John commented as they walked toward her.
    Gaia immediately jumped into a fighting stance, which only made them laugh. “Run!” she shouted at the vagrant, but he remained in his crouched position, mumbling and rocking slightly. “Run, dammit!”
    â€œHow come you don’t run, girlie? Aren’tcha scared?” The big, oafish one danced in front of her, giggling and making erratic grabbing motions with his arms. “We’re gonna get you!” he sang out. “We’re going to cut you up!”
    He walked toward her, putting his hands on either side of his face and wiggling his fingers. “Boo! Raaah! Oof! ”
    Gaia kicked him in the stomach. He doubled over and fell to his knees.
    John burst out laughing. Then he too raced toward Gaia, his hand with the glass shard leading the way.
    Gaia steadied herself,