I paused, turning to look down an alley. Sure enough, I heard another whimper. I turned down the alley and looked around. Behind the dumpster was a small figure cowering in on itself.

"Hello?" My eyes adjusted to the dim lighting as I approached. I nudged the figure with my shoe, making sure they were alive and responsive.

"Pl-Please don't h-hurt me," the boy whimpered as he tried to curl into a tighter ball.

"It's alright," I cooed, trying to soften my voice so I wouldn't scare him more. "Are you hurt?"

He shook his head quickly. "I'm o-okay. Pl-Please just, just leave me alone." He tried to back away, but kept one arm pinned to his chest.

I stepped to the side, effectively cornering him. "Ah, ah. Stay still, and don't lie to me. Where are you hurt?"

"Pl-Please," he whimpered as he started to hyperventilate, "please don't hurt me. I, I don't want any trouble. Please, sir."

I shot him a stern look. "Last chance to tell me where your injury is before I find it myself."

The boy let out another shaky whimper, his body trembling. "M-My arm."

I closed the distance between us again, towering over the boy. I turned on my phone's flashlight so I can see better. "Show me."

He slowly unclutched his arm, letting out a pained groan. There was a nasty cut on his left forearm with a good amount of blood dripping from it.

"How'd that happen?" I asked as I slid off my leather jacket and dropped it on the ground behind me.

He watched me wearily, his breathing still quick and uneven. "I, I cut it."

I rolled my eyes and pulled my t-shirt off over my head. "How?"

His eyes darted to the dumpster next to us and then back to me. "Looking for food." He pressed himself harder against the wall as I crouched down in front of him. "Pl-Please, just let me l-leave, sir."

"Give me your arm."

The boy hesitated, tears brimming in his eyes, so I grabbed his wrist and forced his arm straight. He yelped and made a feeble attempt to pull his arm away, but there was no point; I had at least a hundred pounds of pure muscle on him so there was no way he could stop anything I wanted to do.

I closely examined the wound and pulled at the skin around it to see how deep it was. The boy was lucky. It was about six inches long but even the deepest part wasn't too bad. It'd get infected and he'd die from that if I left him out here, but it wasn't bad enough he'd need stitches. "Well, at least you don't need to go to the hospital," I mumbled as I wrapped my shirt around the wound and secured it as best I could.

"Th-Thank you, sir. Pl-Please, can I leave? Please," he whimpered.

I stood and brushed my jeans off, then pulled my jacket back on. I ignored his request. "How old are you?"

His lower lip quivered, and he looked up at me pathetically. "Please..."

"I asked you a question, boy." I raised an eyebrow.

His gulp was audible. "E-Eighteen."

"You live out here on the street? Did your parents kick you out or something?"

"N-No, I, I like spending the night out here. It, it's relaxing."

I would've thought he was being sarcastic if it wasn't for the pure terror his voice was laced with. I reached down and grabbed his jaw firmly, making his breath hitch in his chest. "Do you want to find out what happens when people lie to me, boy?"

The tears officially began to roll down his cheeks, and he shook his head rapidly. "No, sir! Pl-Please, I'm sorry. Please just let me go."

"Answer my damn question."

He let out a sob. "I, I got kicked out."

"Do you have any belongings?"

His eyes darted behind me, and it looked like he debated on lying to me again before thinking better of it. "A, a backpack over there. Please, it's n-nothing of value — please don't take it. That's all I have. Please."

I grabbed his backpack and slung it over my shoulder, then held my hand out to him. "C'mon. You're coming home with me."

He sobbed and slowly stood on his own, staring at my hand with wide, fearful eyes. "Pl-Please... You, you can have my stuff. I, I can just stay here. Please let me go. Please don't hurt me."

I lowered my voice to a menacing tone. "Did I say I was giving you a choice?"

"N-No, sir." His eyes frantically darted around as he desperately tried to find an escape route.

I stepped forward again, cutting off his only chance of getting away.

Realizing he was completely trapped and helpless, his eyes landed on mine. "Please..." he weakly sobbed.

"Listen closely. I think we both know I'm a hell of a lot stronger than you, and if you try to run, I'll catch you. I don't want to hurt you, but you're coming home with me one way or another. Are you going to walk obediently, or should I just throw you over my shoulder now?"

"I'll, I'll walk."

I placed my hand on the back of his neck, making him cower under my hand, and guided him out of the alley. "My car isn't far from here. What's your name?"

"Pl-Please just let me go, sir."

I tightened my grip on the back of his neck. "You know that's not happening so stop asking. Now, what's your name?"

He whimpered, sniffling back a pathetic sob. "M-My name is Seth, sir."

I relaxed my grip but left my hand resting on the back of his neck to keep him in line next to me. We crossed the street and headed into the parking garage to find my car. Seth shivered as we stepped into the dimly lit building and walked a little closer to me.

We progressed through the levels until we finally got to my car. Seth's eyes darted around, no doubt looking for a final chance to escape. I just rolled my eyes and pulled out my keys. Unlocking the car, I opened the rear door and nudged him towards it.

"Get in and buckle up."

He silently obeyed, his body still trembling.

I switched on the childlock and closed the door before climbing into the driver's seat. I buckled up and started the car, taking us to the boy's new home.