"Where's the victim, officer?" The paramedic slowed his truck to a stop. A dozen patrol cars were circled like wagons against an attack.

"Right there," the cop pointed toward the center of the circle and let him through. He rolled his truck forward a few yards to a very large motionless body on the asphalt. After killing the lights, he still had to squint in the blinding glare of all the red, white and blue police flashers

A young woman walked up to him and said, "You're too late. I just called the coroner."

"And you are?"

"His niece. I'm the one who called in the 9-11."

"I see. I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am." She nodded and then the paramedic cast a glance at the man on the ground. "And your uncle, his name is?"

"Sam. My uncle's name is Sam." She corrected herself, "Was Sam."

"Wow, was he a body builder or something? He's humongous." he said

She looked at the paramedic sadly, "Yep. That's what 'roids will do to you."

"I must say I've never seen anything this bulked up in my life. And I've seen quite a few." He sighed, "It's kinda hard to tell looking at him now, but he must've been a good looking guy once upon a time."

"Yes he was. And talented too. Arts and sciences. Sports. You name it. And beloved by all."

"So sad," the paramedic shook his head slowly. He looked up past the patrol cars and suddenly his expression changed to one of disbelief, "Holy cow, what the heck happened to the neighborhood? Looks like a war zone!"

"'Roid rage. After he got blindsided by some Middle Eastern fellows--those guys standing over there talking to the cops." She pointed. "Cut him over the eye. Drew blood. Bad scene." She paused thoughtfully. "They said they were pissed off because he'd so often barge into their homes and not leave without a fight. But he said they attacked him without provocation. I don't know what exactly happened. At any rate, he got totally freaked out. Getting cut like that scared him out of his wits."

"He was scared of those guys? They're no match for old King Kong here!--Sorry, I mean, your uncle. I mean to say, he looks so powerful. Why was he so afraid of them?"

"Steroid-induced psychosis. He's been pumping himself up for years--said it was to make sure no one could ever hurt him. But the 'roids made him even more paranoid and he'd get to pushing people around--pre-emptively, you know--and they'd fight back, he'd freak out, and he'd take more 'roids and get even more pumped than before. And more paranoid. And on top it off, he was dealing to support his habit. A big vicious circle, you know. After this latest attack, he just went nuts, went on a rampage. Tore up everything in sight. I didn't know one human being could do so much damage. The Middle Easterners freaked out and organized their friends and came after him."

"Sure, I get it. And they killed him!"

"No, no. That's the strange thing. He was way too big and strong to kill. No, he just dropped in his tracks all of sudden. Sad part is, even when he was lying there dying, even his closest friends were afraid to get near him to help. Crazy huh?"

The paramedic reached down and scooped up an empty prescription bottle. "Ah, here's the culprit right here!"

The young woman leaned in to read the label: "Rx #H.R.6166. 'Rid of Habeas Corpus' Original Bavarian formulation, now in American Pie flavors. Goes down easy! Works fast! Remember: If you wanna get absolute power, you wanna get Rid of Habeas Corpus. It's the final solution! Exp. date: (none)."

She looked perplexed, "What in the world is this?"

The paramedic blew through his lips, "Geez, this stuff is the ultimate step up from 'roids. It's the hottest new drug out. Addictive as hell, 100% lethal. Pumps you up good for a while, but all the while your insides are eating themselves up. After a while you just implode."

The niece was horrified. "I kept trying to get him to kick the steroids, but I had no idea he'd moved on to this! Why would anyone be allowed to legally sell something so dangerous?"

"Oh come on, my dear, you know how the market has been left to pretty much regulate itself these days. The reasoning being, people wouldn't buy something if it was bad for them. Right?" He spat. "Yeah, right."

He continued, "A real waste, isn't it? Sounds like your uncle was a great man at one time. Well, I've seen this syndrome before. They all start off unique, full of promise, and they all end up the same." Grim-faced, the paramedic climbed back into his truck, looked back at the forlorn young woman one last time. "They all end up the same: Pumped up, paranoid and puss-down on the pavement." He fired up the engine and drove off silently into the Crystal Night.