“Mister? Mister? Spare some change for a veteran?”
Terrence Jones glanced over at the previously-unseen man huddled in the entryway of a shop. It was too dark to read the cardboard sign that he held in one hand, but the fast food soft-drink cup held in the other hand, jangling with donated coins, was instantly recognizable. For the briefest of moments, he earnestly gave consideration to the man’s request, and he even mentally checked his wallet to try to remember if he had any coins on him. Then, a different part of his brain took over.
“You useless loser. Don’t talk to me,” Terrence snarled.
“Sorry man, sorry. Have a nice day,” said the homeless man, who was clearly used to negative responses from the people he accosted. He turned his body back into the doorway.
Terrence wasn’t done. He walked up to the man and roughly grabbed his shoulder to turn him back around. “I told you not to talk to me.” Without warning, he drew back his fist and punched the man directly in the jaw. His victim immediately fell backwards against the brick wall, then slumped to the ground. He lay on the ground, moaning, the change from his cup scattered all around him.
“GET UP! GET UP!” Terrence yelled gleefully, kicking the man in the legs with as much force as he could muster. This torment wasn’t enough, however, and his kicks graduated to full-on stomps across the man’s stomach and chest. The man writhed in pain and tried to yell for help; the hoarse croaks coming from his battered chest were delightfully weak to Terrence’s ears. As he continued to beat the man, there was a small part of his mind that was commanding him to stop, but he only stopped the assault when the sound of a faraway police siren spooked him.
Looking down at the man, who was barely conscious and moaning piteously, Terrence barked, “I don’t got any change,” before spitting in the man’s face.
Terrence wasn’t sure if his attack had been seen by any passersby. Nevertheless, he quickly ran away from the scene, feeling a sick sense of pleasure. But as he got further and further away, the pleasure was replaced with overwhelming shame.