[ WP ] Killing another human now allows you to exchange your remaining lifespan the victim 's . Young people live in fear while the elderly plan their attacks .

I ran down the street holding my jacket over my head to ward off the hammering rain. It was coming down so hard, you could barely see a few feet in front of you. 
 
 My heart raced. It was so early in the morning, the sun had n't risen yet. The most dangerous time of day. I needed to focus on getting home. Usually I had a car, but it had broken down the other day so I started using a bicycle. But some idiot stole that while I was on shift, so I had no choice but to walk home. 
 
 It had taken me 20 minutes, but I was finally nearing my sanctuary. The fear that gripped my heart was beginning to dissipate. 
 
 I hurried along, relief at nearing my home clouding my senses to the point where I was caught completely unaware when an object suddenly struck my ankle. I'd later figure out it was a baseball bat that had caused me to take a dive, sprawling all over the ground. 
 
 `` Move!'' A voice barked. 
 
 Several hands grabbed my feet and dragged me into the alley. I tried to fight them off, but you can only do so much. My jacket ended up restricting my movements, because my arms had been inside the arm holes slightly. When I fell, it twisted me all up. I was a sitting duck. 
 
 The rain abated, the alley being covered with a mishmash of objects all the way up to the top of the building. A few people surrounded me, looking down on me. They were completely shadowed, throwing off an extremely foreboding vibe. Ambient light from the streetlights filtered into the alley, illuminating their figures against the unyielding rain and the slumbering world. 
 
 My teeth started chattering. It was cold out. I could only hope that these people just wanted to rob me. They were more than welcome to the $ 7 I had in my pocket and my $ 40 watch I bought at a mall kiosk. 
 
 `` Well, hello there,'' a lilting voice said. Woman's voice. My heart sank. That voice sounded old. It sure looked like I had stumbled into a den of drinkers. I would n't say that word out loud to them, though. That'd definitely end things for me. As it was, I only had a very slim hope of escaping this alive. 
 
 `` Cat got your tongue,'' another voice teased when I did n't reply. Light laughter traveled around the circle of accomplices. A baseball bat nudged my knee roughly. 
 
 `` We're speaking to you, kid.'' 
 
 The sheer fright of the situation completely overtook me and I just could n't get the words out of my mouth. Instead, I chose to stand up. Maybe I could get a good look at the drinkers, recognize somebody. But there just was n't enough light to do so. 
 
 I put up my hands, trembling. 
 
 `` Look,'' I began. 
 
 `` Ooh,'' the woman's voice from before cooed. `` He's young!'' 
 
 A ripple of anticipation wove through the five shadows. 
 
 `` I have my whole life ahead of me,'' I cried out, suddenly. `` Let me live it!'' 
 
 `` Live it!?'' A voice lashed out in hot rebuke. `` You kids do n't know anything about living it. You do n't know anything about how we grew up and what we sacrificed. We had it good as children, then the world collapsed around us. Plenty of us made it to age 40 with crippling student loan debt, a checkered job history, and savings accounts in five digits, if not four!'' 
 
 The other drinkers joined in murmuring assent. 
 
 I tried to stutter out a reply, but was cut off harshly. 
 
 `` Then things turn around, and who benefits? Not us, no, no! Our time was already past. Suddenly the younger people had barely any student loan debt. The economy was back to what it was, back to giving people the American dream straight out of college. And these people gave birth to *you*. You've known nothing but a society that accepts who you choose to be. You know nothing about being raised to do well in school and everything will take care of itself after.'' 
 
 `` But it's not my fault!'' I cried. 
 
 The huddled mass drew even closer to me. 
 
 A voice hissed. 
 
 `` It was n't our fault, either.'' 
 
 I felt something sharp press against my skin, pressing against my abdomen. My voice caught. 
 
 `` Please...'' 
 
 `` Mind your please and thank yous,'' someone said in a lilting, sing-song voice. Everyone laughed. 
 
 I knew from the after-school classes I had taken after work that the only way to survive was to fight back and then run. This was the antithesis of most ways to deal with gangs, but there were certain advantages when dealing with drinkers. 
 
 I feigned shock, collapsing to the ground. I forced my body to tremble violently, even though that was already pretty much happening of its own accord. I prayed briefly that there were no guns in this crowd, but I thought I was relatively safe on that front given the age limit ban on guns. 
 
 A smattering of laughter. 
 
 `` The boy's pissing his pants!'' Someone said between wheezing breaths. 
 
 I sighted on that person's voice, drawing the outline of his body in the shadows. As I rose, I staggered into the football stance that had been taught to all of us and exploded out. I heard the sharp exhale of surprise as I slammed into a body, driving him back into the wall. I heard a couple of his ribs snap. 
 
 `` What the hell!'' A roar from another drinker, the man with the baseball bat. I saw a flash of the bat, slicked with ran, and half-ducked, half leaned back. I could n't see where the bat went, but it did n't touch me. The force of the swing had caused the man to twist so that his back shoulder was facing me. I let loose just as soon as he started to twist back and my fist connected perfectly on his chin. 
 
 With a loud crack, he flew backward and plowed into the ground. Arms outspread, unconscious. 
 
 `` Brad, get me out of here!'' The woman's voice cried. 
 
 The remaining three drinkers melted into the darkness. You could hear the slow pattering of their shoes lurch away. 
 
 I turned tail on the sound and ran out of the alley as the sun broke the crest of the horizon, spilling hope and dreams out onto a world that had sank into darkness long ago. 
 
 I ran with every ounce of energy I had. I ran, the fountain of youth surging in my body. 
 
 And only I was allowed to drink from it.
