Runners

Chapter Four

Price sucked in a long breath of air that cut his throat like swallowing small shards of glass. The breath tasted of fog and years of exposure by a long pull of nicotine. He coughed and spat out the awful taste. Price tried to stand, but he couldn't get a feel for his legs. They were numb and unresponsive. A lukewarm, sticky liquid crawled through his light brown air and hovered over his eye. He moved his hand to wipe away what he guessed was blood. He didn't succeed, though. Price's hand was clasped in a chain that was stapled to the wall. He shook his head to wipe away the sinking feeling of blood loss. He blinked a couple of times, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness as a chill of fear crept over him. The pupils of his eyes refused to dilate. Price began to worry that the damage done to his head had caused him to go blind.

 A long, slender of silver slipped into the room creating a golden, dusty light. Price assumed his eyes just hadn't gotten used to the black yet, because now he could clearly see the things in front of him. One was a man dressed in dark clothing with a strange object in his hand. The other was silver, ghostlike animal that sat impatiently beside his master. The only other thing in the room was a table and a vial.

 Price remembered the earlier events and flew into an instant rage. "What happened to my brother?" The ghost chuckled, cynically. The eerie noise resounded across the room, bouncing inside Price's eardrums. The man shot the animal a disgusted look, which instantly shut it up. He lifted his hand, revealing the object to be a syringe. He set it on the table next to the vial and reached into his coat pocket. He drug out a cigar, lit it, and took a long drag.

 "Your brother, you say?" The idea of Price and Wesley being related seemed to interest the man. Not as bravely as the first time, Price spoke to the man.

 "Yea. The other boy. That was my brother. Where is he?" The ghost broke into hysterical laughter again. The sound was fearful, sending chills up Price's spine. He gulped. The animal started choking from all the laughter. The man took his hand and slapped at the animal. The man's hand only went in and out of its body, but the creature reacted like it had actually been hit, once again quieting itself. The animal smiled at Price, revealing a long set of sharp teeth that did not look very ghostly. In fact, they looked very, very real.

 "Well, I'm glad your awake and so willing to talk, but this isn't exactly a good time for us. Besides, you've already given us some of the information we needed. Goodnight, Price." The man spoke with a voice like sour sugar. Price tried to move away. The man picked up the syringe and the vial and started toward Price. Price tried to resist him, slinging his head back and forth. The man stuck the syringe into his arm and Price fell into a world of blackness where his skin felt lukewarm and the air faintly tasted of nicotine.