Bromy opened his eyes to what should have been a familiar face.

"Ah!" Bromy jumped backwards.

It was the kid from before.

"What...?" Bromy looked around.

He realised he wasn't in danger.

He was soaking wet from the rain, it was was still dark, it might have been midnight, though the position of the moon was obscured by the clouds.

"Bromy!" the kid exclaimed.

Bromy raised an eyebrow.

"Oh god... this kid knows who I am too!?"

"Y-yeah?" he asked.

"What are you doing here?" asked the kid.

"I'm..." Bromy began but stopped when the images of what happened came into his head.

He placed a hand to his shoulder and noticed that the wounds were gone, the holes in his clothes the only remaining evidence of what happened.

Bromy immediately hung his head again and began crying.

"I don't know what to do..." Bromy admitted, the kid was confused as you'd expect.

Uncertain how to help the crying man before him, the kid rushed over and picked Bromy's hat which was now completely wet, off the ground and placed it on his head.

A mix of water and mud from the hat streamed down Bromy's face.

"Better?" asked the kid.

Bromy's eyes continued to water as he nodded.

"Yeah..."

He sniffled.

"I'm fine... you should go back home or you'll catch a cold..." Bromy said faking a smile.

The kid looked at him for a while with an unchanging expression.

"Are you sick?" he asked.

Bromy wiped the mud and tears from his face.

"I have no idea..." he replied with a chuckle as he began making his way away.

Bromy could hear the splashing behind him as the kid's feet followed Bromy's desperate pace.

"Seriously, you should get going, kid..." Bromy said not looking back.

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"The man with the cat-ears is looking for you!" the kid explained.

"Is that so..." Bromy kept walking, didn't remember Alex.

"Yea! He and the man in the expensive-looking clothes were out all night looking for you!" the kid elaborated.

Bromy kept walking, he made sure to take the alleys that looked empty so as to stay out of people's sight.

The whole time, the kid followed him.

"Quit following me!" Bromy said walking even faster.

"But what if you get lost again?" asked the kid.

"I didn't get lost! I just..." Bromy let out a sigh.

"No point talking to a kid about this stuff..." he thought.

"But-" the kid began.

"Just leave me alone! Alright?!" Bromy exclaimed.

They went silent as from all around came growls.

A pack of thee massive dogs circled around them.

"Wolves!?" Bromy exclaimed looking at the beasts.

He looked around, there was one escape, the alley straight ahead.

He made a run for it, there was a small wall a few meters ahead, if he hopped over it, he'd be safe from the dogs.

He began to run.

"I'll be fine!"

"I'll survive this!" Bromy exclaimed.

As he was about to make it up the stairs out of the cross-roads he was in, he heard the cry from behind him.

The kid was waving a stick around at the dogs.

"GO AWAY!" he exclaimed.

Bromy looked back seeing the three dogs circling the kid.

"What the fuck is he doing?!" Bromy thought as he tried to force himself to help,

He clenched his fists.

Gritted his teeth.

Puffed out his chest.

Shut is eyes and exclaimed "Sorry, kid!" as he sprinted away, running towards the wall before hopping over it.

Bromy opened his eyes already on the other side of the wall.

He fell to his knees and began breathing heavily.

"What was that!? I- I tried to help... but-!"

Bromy looked back to the wall and considered climbing back over as a wave of terror came over him.

"I- I can..." his eyes began to water as he realised he could not do it.

He wasn't taken over by cowardice, he was cowardice.

Not a single fibre of his body was willing to act recklessly.

He ran a dozen meters forward before falling to the ground again.

He gritted his teeth once more.

"I... left a kid to get eaten..."

"I couldn't even go help him..."

"I couldn't help the woman who pushed me out the window..."

Bromy continued sobbing as he lifted his fist into the air and smashing it into the wet ground with a loud splash.

"FUCK!" he cried.

He felt his blood boil with rage at his inability to act.

"I... I WANT TO HELP!"

"BUT I CAN'T!" he exclaimed out loud.

He smashed his hand into the ground once more.

And again and again and again.

The puddle becoming pink as blood mixed with the water, his knuckled becoming exposed

The pain was monstrous, but he couldn't stop.

Bromy couldn't explain his inability to act, but he felt his anger increase, like a kettle bubbling faster with every passing second.

"WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!?" he cried.

That was when the pain in his hand suddenly disappeared.

Greem lights followed by a fizzing noise coated his hand as all the damage disappeared.

"What!? Who is there?!" Bromy demanded, he looked around to no avail.

Bromy closed his eyes as an image came into his head, it was an endless black expanse, in the centre was a wooden chair on which he sat, around it stood a dozen different silhouettes.

"Who-?"

"Looks like it's the cowards that took over the Body..." remarked one of the voice that sounded like Bromy.

"Should've been me! Would've kicked all their asses!" another Bromy exclaimed.

Finally, the original Bromy spoke up.

"Just hand over the control to us already..." he said.

"You're the ugliest, most pitiful side of Bromy..." they Began.

"You'd leave a child to die and take help from someone facing torture and death and still have the audacity to cry about how sad that made you!"

He looked down and saw it.

The Bromy currently seated on the wooden chair was the cowardly, pathetic one.

He wore a plain white shirt with the text "Coward"

He opened his eyes, but the voices continued.

Unwillingly, his eyes were moved to the corner of the alley, there lay a single brick.

"We're going to put Bromy back... but we won't be needing you..." said another Bromy as Bromy began to crawl towards the brick.

He wasn't being controlled.

He wasn't being manipulated.

He was feeling relieved.

"Yes!... I let you guys take it over! You'll save them for me, right?!" Bromy thought.

He made it to the brick and picked it up.

It was big, heavy and grey.

Bromy's eyes widened as a smile crept onto his face.

"I don't have to do it! And they'll be fine!"

Bromy lay down on the ground, he took a deep breath and placed the brick over his head.

Holding it up high, as high as he could.

He smiled.

"I'm actually smiling..." he thought.

It was a bittersweet feeling.

"Smiling..."

He began releasing the brick, one finger at a time.

"Smile..."

That's then he remembered it.

The woman's smile, the warm genuine smile she gave Bromy as he threw his life away.

His smile disappeared.

He threw the brick down to the ground.

He took the coward's smile off his face and instead grinned.

He wasn't magically brave.

He was still afraid, he felt every cell in his body refuse every order he made.

And yet, he charged on, he ran towards the wall and climbed over it - he jumped to the other side seeing the dogs and the kid.