The Eevee looked up, tilted its head, and barked a soft “Vui.”
Leo didn’t look back. He stepped into the cold Kansas night, Pixelmon by his side, and for the first time—he was the one in control.
“Tackle,” Leo whispered.
Not in the malicious, virus-ridden way Leo expected. He’d spent three hours dodging “Free Diamond Generator” pop-ups and fake CAPTCHAs. No, this button was different. It sat alone on a plain black webpage, the text in crisp white:
The Eevee’s ears flattened. It growled. Download Pixelmon Mod Here
He double-clicked.
Leo’s hands stopped shaking. For the first time in ten years, he wasn’t afraid. He walked past his father, didn’t say a word, and scooped Mateo off the couch. The little boy stirred, murmured, “Leo? Is it morning?” The Eevee looked up, tilted its head, and
Leo’s laptop was a junk heap—fan wheezing, screen cracked in the top-left corner—but it was his only escape. His mom had left for her night shift at the plastics factory. His little brother, Mateo, was asleep on the couch, thumb still in his mouth. Outside, the Kansas wind howled across dead cornfields.
“What the—” Leo whispered.
Leo heard heavy footsteps in the hallway. The familiar clink of a belt buckle. The smell of cheap whiskey seeped under his bedroom door.
“Leo!” His father’s voice. Slurred. Angry. The man wasn’t supposed to be home for another three days. The night shift rotation had changed. Leo’s stomach turned to ice. Not in the malicious, virus-ridden way Leo expected