Dog Boys — Charles de Lint

Dog Boys is an original short story, set in the fictional Southwestern desert city of Santo del Vado Viejo, and is available here for the first time in any format.

Brandon is the new boy at Rose Creek High and he quickly figures out that the one thing you don't do in this school is get mixed up in the struggle between the Latino streetgangs and the Native kids from the rez. But when he sees a big Latino boy bullying a diminutive Native girl named Rita, he can't just turn away.

Unfortunately, the bully is a member of the 66 Bandas and now Brandon finds himself pulled into a spiral of escalating violence. His only allies are Rita's family, but even their help isn't going to be enough. In the end, the only way he can survive is to change in ways he didn't think were possible.