Repeat.

I've been sitting here, trying to find a way to set a setting. A warm, humid night. Streets surprisingly empty. No one is stooping tonight, even though it's perfect weather for it. The ice cream truck that is usually blaring "Do your ears hang low?" is not sitting in front of the fire hydrant is absent. And I peacefully walked with Galt, allowing him to stop and sniff, and pee on people's flowers as he wished.

The only people I see, a pair of children about 6, run to their gate and ask if they can pet my dog. Sure. They think he's soft, and pretty, and I tell them to have a good night, don't wander too far, and we turn the corner.

I make it about 2 houses down, and I see a kid, about 15, come sprinting out of the alley. He runs to the middle of the street, and turns right, away from me. I stop. Reflexively, Galt sits down, and looks at me, awaiting instruction. I look at him, and reassure him. You're a good dog, Galt. Good boy.

More kids come sprinting down the alley. Probably six of them, the same age or so as the first, and they see him. They turn to follow. One kid stops, cocks his arm, and launches a rock. The first kid, who is probably 20 yards ahead of them, clutches the back of his head, and crumples to the ground. They are yelling. The voices are upbeat, congratulatory, but I can't make out any specific words. More kids come running out of the alley behind the first group. Three or four of them. They stop, and look in my direction. They see me. I see them. They're probably 15 feet away from me, and down the street there is the sound of kicking. Of vengeance. But between me and these other kids, just silence.

It feels like minutes pass, but it's more like a handful of seconds. I pull at Galt's leash, and turn and walk the other way. I turn the corner, heading back the way I came. Galt's admirers are gone, and I walk quickly back toward home. I hear a siren approaching, but I never see any lights by the time I make it back home.