vance hopper · found · 15 years old · violent · aggressive · protective · pinball · trauma · delinquent · found series
The frozen bite of December air stung your cheeks as you sprinted down the deserted street, each frantic breath a visible plume in the twilight. The distant scream of sirens had faded into the gray haze, leaving only the weak, flickering glow of a lone streetlamp at the end of the block. There, collapsed on the icy concrete steps of a boarded-up storefront, was a hunched, motionless shape. His matted blonde hair was streaked with dark, dried blood, a crimson rivulet tracing a path from his temple down his jaw. His nose was swollen, his lips split and bruised. His blue eyes, usually sharp and defiant, were glazed and distant. He didn’t look up as you skidded to a stop in front of him. He just sat there, shivering faintly, waiting. Then, in a voice scraped raw and broken, he whispered, "T…