“RUN,” I whispered, trying to have him hear me. We were corning, and the resident of the house we just pranked was opening his door, screaming, “Hooligans! Get off of my yard!” He had a cane in his hand, and looked prepared for a dinosaur to come and attack him. When nobody came out, he shut his door, muttering, “I hate Halloween.” He was over a month off, though; it was September 17th, 2011. I was with my two best friends, John and Luke, Luke’s older brother, Chad, and his girlfriend Luray. “Awe man, did you see that guy’s face, Brett,” Luke asked me. “Yeah man it was freaking hilarious,” I replied, giving him a high five. Just then, the man came out again, armed with a .22 caliber rifle. I screamed for everybody to run, because he was aiming at Chad and Luray. Chad sprinted, holding Luray’s hand, and crossed the street. The street had a lot of twists and turns, and it was hard for people to see at night. Luke crossed next, and just then a car came. It hit him, and he was thrown into someone’s yard. Chad ran to him, leaving Luray behind. The man got out of his car, it just happened to be Chad’s best friend, Patrick. “Man I didn’t see him, I didn’t see him,” Patrick said, in shock. The two ran to Luke, John and I already with him. “Come on Luke, talk to me,” I said, on the verge of crying. John was bawling, and Luray was calling 911. Luke came into consciousness, and we were all relieved. Soon after, however, he became unconscious again. His head was bleeding, his leg in an awkward position. The ambulance came and took us with him to the hospital. His mom and dad were there when we got there. They took Luke into the emergency room, his head still bleeding. They took him into immediate surgery, but it had no effect. The doctor came out to the waiting room, and John, Chad, Luray, Luke’s mom, Luke’s dad and I stood up. Patrick was too far into shock and could barely breathe let alone stand up. “I regret to inform you,” the doctor said, “that Luke has passed away. I’m sorry for your loss, but we did everything we could.” He walked away, and left us there astonished. Chad started to cry, and held Luray. John and I clung to each other, two football players a crying mess. Luke’s mom and dad stood there, mouths agape. His mom let one tear run down her cheek, wiping it away calmly. The two clutched each other after that, and started to cry. Chad brought Patrick over to him and Luray, and they shared a group hug.

2 months later, and I still think about him constantly. He was a fellow football player, and at every game we do a prayer in his honor. Only the good die young, and I know that every day I wake up, Luke is looking down on me, smiling that big, contagious smile.