Alex McKenna: "Ren."

My name is floating around me, bouncing on the clouds in my mind. "Ren. Wake up, Ren." Everything's cocoony, drifty. The clouds are so soft. "Ren, come on, it's time to go." Go? Go we? Who said that? I don't recognize this voice. I look around my cloud, but it's dark, like a storm is coming.

Then, thunder begins to roll. "Ren." I pull in, hunker down. Why is he on my cloud? "Go away", I mumble through the rocks in my mouth. I need a drink. Maybe if I licked the cloud. "She's totally wasted, Mom."

Wait. That was Annabella. What's she doing on my cloud? She was definitely not invited. The knark. I can't see her either, though. And now, the cloud is rocking, rocking and spinning.

"Go back to bed", my mother whispers. My mother? No, not her too. A new voice struggles into the darkness. A small, sleepy voice. "What's going on?" It's Moe, my little buddy. My Mowgli, my Moe-bro. He can be on my cloud. Any time.

But ... no. Wait. First, I have to hide some things. Quick, I need to hide some things. "Take Morris and get back to bed", my mother hisses. "I can't believe you're doing this", Annabella says. "Take your brother and go", my father commands. My father? Why am I even on this cloud? It's so crowded now, and dark, and rolling with thunder.

"Ren. Wake up." Who is that? Light stabs my eyes as I peel them open. A man comes into focus. He's large, standing over me, wearing dark blue with gold embroidered shoulder patches. A ... a cop? I sit up a little. Yes, a cop. He starts swaying, but ... no, it's not him swaying. It's me. Or my bed. I grab for my trash can and puke. My mind runs to Nico as my guts come up. Did he get busted? Is that why there's a cop here? Did they connect the dots?

I try to play it cool as I wipe off my mouth. "Sorry, flu." That line's always worked before, but this is a cop, not my parents. And he's got that look. He's not buying. The clock digits are a bloody red. 3: 47 a. m. "What happened?", I ask my doorway parents. "Why is he here?" "It's for your own good", my father says. His voice sounds icy, hard, a freezer door slamming shut.

"Can you walk?", the cop asks. I muster a sneer. "Of course I can walk." "Then get up and get dressed." He hands me jeans and a hoodie. "You are coming with me." "What? Why?" I look over and one of my doorway parents has disappeared. "Mom?", I call. I can hear her crying her way down the hall. "Mom? What is going on?" She doesn't answer me. Nobody answers me.

I'm shaky and cold and my head is pounding. There are handcuffs on the cop's belt. I've heard they hurt, so I pull on the jeans and yank the hoodie on over the t-shirt I slept in. I feel haphazard, on the verge of puking again. And then I notice that my phone's gone. Full on panic floods over me. I scramble around inside the covers, under my pillow. "We've got your phone", my father says. I am so busted.