Issue 3 - 7/1/2026

The grass in the field behind the school had turned green again, and the big oak tree at the center of it had become the unofficial gathering spot for every kid who wasn't quite ready to go home yet.

Mina sat cross-legged in the shade with half a dozen friends scattered around her. Somebody had a Bluetooth speaker playing music too far away to make out the song, just bass notes. The baseball team was slowly making their way to their dugout on the far side of the field. The sun hid behind giant fluffy clouds with a gentle breeze.

The whole afternoon felt lazy. Which was good. Spring had finally won. For the first time in months, life felt almost normal again.

Almost. She'd spent most of the winter hiding inside of her schoolwork after Omar's death. But the warm weather and her friends were enough to help heal the wounds.

Graduation was only a few weeks away. College applications were done. Exams were coming whether anyone wanted them to or not. The future had stopped feeling impossibly far away and started feeling uncomfortably close. Mina wasn't at the top of her class, but she was close enough that her guidance counselor kept bothering her about scholarships.

At least somebody believed she had her life figured out.

A joint made its way around the circle. By the time it reached the kid sitting beside her, it had burned nearly halfway down.

"Anybody got a lighter?" he asked.

A few people checked pockets. A few shrugged. Whoever had lit the joint had walked away.

Mina reached into her hoodie and pulled out a silver Zippo.

"Here, Shane. Use mine." She handed it to him.

She hadn't thought much of the lighter. It was just something she'd gotten from Omar's apartment after he died. One of the last things she'd kept.

Shane flicked it open and lit the joint. The flame burned steady despite the breeze. She watched him inhale.

"Cool lighter," he said through smoke, turning it over once in his hand. The spiral caught a flash of afternoon sunlight.

Mina shrugged. "Thanks."

"Here. Take this." He passed her the joint.

She took a deep drag, her eyes following the smoke at the end of the joint. The lighter remained in Shane's hand. Then, without even thinking about it, he slipped it into his pocket.

Mina saw it happen. "Hey Sha-"

A football came screaming through the air and nearly took Connor's head off. The ball bounced once and disappeared into the field behind them.

"Dude! What the hell?" Connor jumped to his feet. "Who threw that shit?"

A kid from another group raised both hands. "Sorry! It slipped!"

"Yeah? Well I'm about to let my fist slip!"

A few people around Connor laughed. A few behind the other kid stood up. They started approaching. For a moment it looked like somebody might actually swing.

Then common sense won. The argument fizzled out almost as quickly as it started. The football was recovered. People sat back down. The conversation drifted somewhere else. And the lighter was forgotten.

The afternoon slowly melted away. The joint disappeared. The crowd of people hanging around the tree thinned to just a few stragglers.

Mina checked her phone and groaned. "Shit. My mom's gonna kill me."

She got up to leave, and that's when she remembered.

"Hey, Shane."

He looked up.

"Yeah?"

"My lighter. Can I have it back?"

"What lighter?"

"The one you put in your pocket."

Shane laughed. "I didn't pocket your lighter."

"Yeah, you did. I watched you."

"No I didn't. Look." Shane rolled his eyes and turned his pockets inside out. Front pockets. Back pockets.

Nothing. "See?"

Mina frowned. She knew she saw it. Actually, she was positive she saw it. Without thinking, she shoved a hand into the pocket of her hoodie.

Her fingers touched cold metal. She froze. Slowly, she pulled it out.

"Shoot. I'm sorry."

"Told you."

The rest of the group followed.

"Damn, Mina."

"Justice for Shane."

"I can't believe you accused him like that."

Mina stared at the lighter, confused. She knew what she saw. Or at least she thought she did.

"Whatever," she muttered.

~~~

The next afternoon found them walking through town after school. . Mina walked beside Alice, hands buried in the pocket of her hoodie. The spring air felt warm against her face. Shane walked a few steps ahead, scrolling through his phone.

Connor was bouncing the ball off of store front windows as they walked.

"One of these times you're gonna break something," Alice said.

Connor snagged the ball out of the air and grinned. "Not my problem."

"That's literally the definition of your problem."

Connor considered this. Then threw the ball again. "Nah."

A little further up the block, Shane stopped walking, dug in his pockets, and pulled out a crumbled joint. "Spark time! Who's got a light?"

Connor shook his head, patting his pockets. "Nope."

Alice threw her hands up. "I don't even smoke."

Shane held up the poorly rolled joint. "Well somebody lit one yesterday."

Nobody answered. Slowly, Shane turned around. "Mina?"

She already knew where this was going. "No."

"Oh come on."

"No."

"I'll give it right back."

"You said that yesterday."

Shane laughed. "I did give it back."

Mina narrowed her eyes. Technically, he had. Or at least she somehow got it back.

Eventually she sighed and reached into her hoodie pocket. "Fine. But only because I wanna get high." She began to hand it to him. "But promise to give it back," she said.

"Yes, Mom."

Mina rolled her eyes and handed it over.

Shane flicked it open. The flame burned steady. The spiral flashed briefly in the afternoon sunlight. He turned the lighter over in his hands. "You know," he said, "this thing's actually pretty cool."

Mina glanced over. "Yeah."

"No seriously. It's got like a vintage thing going on."

Connor snorted. "Dude, it's a lighter."

"It's a cool lighter." Shane looked at Mina. "Can I keep it?"

"No." The answer came immediately.

Shane laughed. "Didn't even think about it, huh?"

"It was my brother's." The joking atmosphere disappeared for a moment.

"Oh." Shane looked down at the lighter. A cruel grin formed on his lips. "The one that overdosed?"

Mina stopped walking. Alice looked up from her phone.

"What?" Shane shrugged. "He did, didn't he?"

"My brother had a name. And he wasn't a drug addict!"

The grin faded. "Okay, I just heard-"

"It was accidental, asshole!"

Connor suddenly found the tennis ball in his hand very interesting. Alice pretended to read a text message.

Shane shifted awkwardly. "I was just joking."

"Yeah?" Mina stepped toward him. "Well it wasn't funny."

"Mina..." Shane looked down at his feet.

"No. Seriously. What the fuck, Shane?" Her eyes began to well with tears.

Alice stepped beside her. "Why would you say that?"

Shane rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I said I was joking."

"Well it's not fucking funny!" The tears began to roll down her cheeks. She turned and started walking away.

Alice shot the boys a disgusted look. "You're both idiots." Then she hurried after Mina.

For a few seconds the boys stood there in silence.

Connor finally broke it. "Damn dude. That was kinda fucked up."

"Shut up."

"I'm just saying."

"Shut up, Connor."

Shane shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and started walking. The lighter felt heavy against his leg.

~~~

Alice stopped at the end of Mina's driveway. "You gonna be okay?"

Mina shrugged. "Yeah."

Alice gave her a look that said she didn't believe her. "If he keeps being an asshole, tell me."

Mina laughed despite herself. "Tell you? I'll punch him in his face."

"Good."

The two shared a brief smile.

"See you tomorrow."

"See you."

Alice headed down the sidewalk while Mina walked up the front steps.

Inside, the house was quiet. Her mom was still at work. Mina dropped her backpack beside the kitchen table and headed for her room. By the time Mina stepped inside, she'd almost forgotten about Shane.

The door had barely shut behind her when her stomach dropped. Her hand shot into her hoodie pocket.

Nothing.

Mina froze.

"Shit. That asshole stole my lighter!"

The thought of him stealing it in front of her face made her blood boil. He only lived a few streets over. She looked out the bedroom window and narrowed her eyes.

"He's not getting away with this."

~~~

The trailer shook slightly as Shane slammed the screen door behind him. "Mom! I'm home!"

"You're late! Go get cleaned up. Homework first!" his mother yelled from the kitchen. "Then dinner!"

Shane rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

The smell of spaghetti sauce filled the narrow trailer. A game show played on the television while his little sister sat cross-legged on the floor, completely absorbed in it.

"Hi, loser," she said without looking away from the screen.

"Hi, idiot."

"Mom!"

"I heard both of you!" their mother shouted from the kitchen.

Shane grinned and headed for the back of the trailer.

His room wasn't much. Pretty standard for a high school boy. His bed wasn't made. His desk was stacked with books and papers. The dresser had one drawer with a missing handle next to a pile of clothes that technically wasn't on the floor because it was sitting on a chair.

He tossed his backpack onto the bed and emptied his pockets onto the desk. A few dollars in change. His phone.

And the lighter.

Shane picked it up and smirked. "Sweet."

The silver Zippo felt heavier than it looked. The spiral on the side caught the afternoon sunlight coming through his window.

For a moment he turned it over in his hand. Then he flicked it open. The hinge clicked softly. The silver Zippo felt cool against his fingertips. He looked at the spiral. Then the words on the other side.

"What the hell does that even say?" The lighter clicked open. For a moment he studied the engraving. Then he sounded it out.

"Iterum et Iterum." Shane shrugged. "Must be Latin."

From the kitchen, his mother yelled again. "Homework, Shane!"

"Working on it!"

Shane dropped into his desk chair and tossed the lighter onto the desk.

The old computer hummed beside him. The plastic casing had yellowed with age, and the mess of cables beneath the desk looked like somebody had dumped a bowl of spaghetti on the floor.

A half-finished math packet came out of his backpack. It landed on the desk. There was a brief moment where Shane genuinely considered doing it.

Then he laughed. "Yeah, right."

The browser opened. A few clicks later, homework had been completely forgotten.

A full glass of water sat beside the keyboard. Empty soda cans and old snack wrappers crowded the rest of the desk.

From the kitchen, his mother called out. "Dinner in twenty!"

"Okay!" He yelled back out.

The browser tab changed. Then changed again. Shane glanced toward the bedroom door, even though he knew nobody was coming back there.

Satisfied, he settled deeper into the chair. The computer fan hummed. The monitor cast a pale glow across the cluttered desk. His math packet slowly disappeared beneath other, more important priorities.

A grin spread across his face. "Time for a little 'me' time." His eyes found the lotion on his desk, then moved back to the screen as he unbuttoned his jeans.

He licked his lips. His tongue was dry and his lips were cracked. He reached for the glass of water and took a drink without taking his eyes off the screen. Then he set it back down.

Except he missed. The bottom edge of the glass clipped the corner of the desk.

For a moment, it hung there. Then gravity took over.

"Oh shit-"

The glass crashed onto its side. Water shot out across the floor under the desk and into the tangle of cables hanging off the back.

A loud pop came from somewhere beneath the desk. Blue sparks erupted from the power strip. The monitor flickered violently. Smoke curled upward.

"What the hell?!" Shane jerked backward.

The chair tipped. One wheel tangled itself in a cable stretched across the floor. The chair twisted sideways.

For a split second he windmilled his arms trying to catch himself. The wheels of the chair shot out from under him and sent him sideways. The back of his head struck the thirty-five pound dumbbell beside the bed with a dull crack.

His body hit the floor. And didn't move.

The monitor continued to flicker. Smoke drifted lazily toward the ceiling.

From the kitchen, his mother raised her voice. "Shane! Keep it down in there!"

~~~

Mina made it to the trailer faster than she should have. The short walk didn't help cool her temper any.

She knocked hard.

A few seconds later the door opened.

His little sister stood there holding a TV remote. "Oh. Shane's friend." She turned inside. "Mom! Shane's friend is here!"

Shane's mother appeared from the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel.

"Oh. You must be Mina."

Mina blinked.

"Uh... yeah. How did you know?"

"Shane talks about you. I think he's got a little crush on you or something."

Mina thought that seemed unlikely, but didn't say anything. "Is he here?"

"You're pretty. I see why." Shane's mom smiled. "He's in the back."

The smell of spaghetti filled the trailer. "You're welcome to stay for dinner if you want."

"No thanks."

"You sure? Plenty to go around." She smiled warmly again. "Alright. He's down the hall. Last door."

Mina nodded and headed toward the back of the trailer.

She knocked at the door at the end of the hallway.

Nothing.

"Shane?"

No answer.

Mina frowned. Then she noticed the smell. Not spaghetti. Something else. Burnt plastic maybe? A thin ribbon of smoke curled from beneath the door.

"Shane..." She pushed the door open.

The computer monitor flickered weakly. Smoke drifted lazily from beneath the desk.

The silver lighter sat in the middle of the desk. The spiral glowed blue.

Mina took a step into the room. "Shane. Stop playing around. I want my lighter bac-"

Then she saw him. The body beside the bed. The twisted angle of his neck. The empty stare from his eyes looking past her. Her stomach dropped.

All she could do was scream.

The spiral pulsed once more.

Faint.

Hungry.