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“Watch yo’ lil’ mouth before I wash it out with cemetery dirt,” I said.

Khori’s eyes bulged. “Bro... you hear that?”

“I’m standing right behind you, little man.”

I stopped holding my form back. I didn’t manifest for the teachers or the playground at large. My energy was dialed strictly to this frequency.

One second, the woodchips behind them were bare.

The next second, my outline sharpened into a shape they could see.

Six-foot-four of dark silhouette, black hoodie, thick gold chain catching the dim light, arms crossed over my chest, staring down at three kids who suddenly realized they were completely out of their depth.

Khori slowly turned his head around, his jaw unhinged.

The runny-nosed boy let out a squeak like a stepped-on dog toy.

The third boy, who hadn’t said a word the entire time, instantly sat down in the mulch and burst into silent, terrified tears.

“Who are you?!” Khori yelled, stumbling backward into his friend.

I tilted my head, looking down at them through the cold haze. “Didn’t you just ask who was talking? I’m right here.”

Khori looked like he was about to pass out on his scuffed sneakers. “A-are you a giant?”

“I’m your worst nightmare if you don’t learn some manners,” I said, my voice dropping into that quiet, lethal tone I used to use on men twice my size. “Look at you three. Missing half your baby teeth, noses running, clip-on ties hanging crooked, and y’all out here trying to press another five-year-old over a pair of shoes.” I shook my head. “How old are y’all anyway? Six? Seven?”

Khori sniffled, trembling from his knees to his ears. “Ye-Yes, sir. We’re all six.”

“Six?” I repeated, disgusted. “At six years old, y’all should be worried about snack time, cartoons, and whether somebody stole your good crayons… not standing around plotting on another little boy’s LeBrons like you run a damn shoe robbery crew. What? Your mamas didn’t teach you to keep your hands to yourself? Your daddies didn’t tell you that reaching for another man’s property gets your fingers bent backwards?”

“My mama told me!” the runny-nosed boy wailed, wiping snot with both wrists. “Well… not the last part. But I told Khori to leave him alone!”

“You were laughing three seconds ago,” I said coldly. “Now all of a sudden y’all scared? Don’t get soft because his daddy, who is a ghost by the way, got involved. You wanted to make my son uncomfortable, so now I’m about to make sure every one of y’all remembers exactly why you should’ve left him the fuck alone.”

“A ghost?” Khori’s bottom lip shook so hard his teeth clicked together. “Sir, please don’t eat us!”

I had to suppress the sudden urge to laugh. “Eat you? You look like you taste like boogers and cafeteria milk. I don’t want to eat you. But let me tell y’all a little story.”

I crouched down until I was eye level with the three of them, resting my forearms on my knees. The shadow of my hood stretched across the mulch like spilled ink.

“Y’all ever heard of Bad-Mouth Benny?”

All three shook their heads frantically.

“Benny was a first-grader just like y’all,” I said, keeping my voice smooth and spooky. “Thought he was the toughest thing on two legs. Pushed kids off the swings. Teased boys about their shoes. Took their juice boxes. Walked around with his chest puffed out like he was running the yard.”

Khori swallowed hard. “W-what happened to him?”

“One day,” I whispered, leaning in half an inch, “Benny picked on a boy who had a shadow following him. A shadow that didn’t like bullies. That night, Benny got tucked into bed, closed his eyes, and heard heavy boots walking across his bedroom floor.”

The kid in the mulch let out a whimper, pulling his knees to his chest.

“Benny looked under his bed,” I continued, flashing a cold grin. “And two glowing red eyes looked right back up at him. The door locked itself. The lights went out. And every time Benny tried to bully somebody after that, a tall man in a black hoodie was standing at the end of his hallway waiting for him.”

Khori’s face crumpled into pure, unadulterated terror. “Is Benny okay?!”

“Nobody knows,” I said gravely. “All I know is Benny never touched another kid’s toys again in his life. So let me ask y’all three something.”