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Fear. Everyone experiences it at one point or another. It’s undeniable. But when fears turn into reality, the fear eventually melts away and it becomes a memory. A bad memory. I have fears, you have fears, we all have fears. But lets get back to mine.

I fear losing my parents. One or both. The other day they were driving down Kramer, it’s the shortcut to get home from Rt. 44 instead of going down 55 and all the way down Overlook. It was raining that day, and they were in my truck when it happened – or so they narrate. The truck went on its side, nearly tipped right over but my dad, being as incredibly driving savvy as he is, managed to get it back down on two wheels.

The fear almost became a memory.

Of course I have other fears. I’m afraid the house might be swamped by zombies. Like, they’re outside waiting to break in and there’s nowhere else to go. Night Of The Living Dead screwed me up for life. My brother took a few of his finals today. I’m afraid he won’t pass them and go to college.

I’m afraid of moving away. I’m afraid of the change even though by now I should be use to it. I’m afraid of not being good enough at anything I do.

Four years ago I was afraid of high school. But now? Now it’s just a memory. Not a great memory, just a memory. Graduation came and went, the hype was meaningless. Attendees were mom, dad, Dylan, Jason, and my uncle Clyde. Now, dad doesn't like uncle Clyde. Come to think of it, dad doesn't like any of mom's family. Now, I don't know how common that is, but it was enough for dad to walk out and stand in the lobby for half the ceremony. Unprovoked.

Does that make him afraid? Of course not.

But i'll tell you what he is afraid of. My dad's naturally paranoid. I honestly don't know how it came about. Uncle Clyde's story is, he killed a man in Texas. Okay, not really a man. During a heated argument, he stabbed his wife, then fled the state. My mom welcomed him with open arms, and he lived with us for a while. He did a lot of stuff around here, but my dad always kept an eye on him. He might've been afraid of him then. But his paranoia extends far beyond that.

He's afraid of going into Manhattan. He's scared to death of another terrorist attack on the city, and with everything going on now -- metahumans trying to make a point by pulling the outrageous? I don't think he'll go to the city unless he absolutely has to. Last Friday's blackout just made his paranoia even worse. At least I voluntarily chose to skip prom. Otherwise, what would have I done instead? Run around in the dark and give my dad a heart attack?

I don't think so.