Settling a Debt
“Tell me why I’m coming with you again?” Gareth muttered, narrowing his eyes at his friend Brody.
They walked along the city street between squat buildings. Sparse, weak streetlights provided poor illumination that only enhanced the darkness of everything else. A crescent moon did little to help. Nobody seemed to have their window light on in this neighborhood. Gareth shivered and zipped his windbreaker up the rest of the way, as if it would provide protection from what they were about to do.
“Because I need moral support,” Brody said, crossing his arms over his chest. He just wore jeans and a t-shirt, yet the wind and the cold didn’t bother him.
“This is majorly sketchy you know, right?” Gareth tried to ignore how his stomach twisted. He glanced at the numbers on the buildings -- it seemed like they were getting closer, unfortunately.
“Of course it’s sketchy. That’s why I’m bringing you,” Brody said, as if that should have been obvious.
Gareth took a deep breath and pressed on, ignoring his friend. Brody had to “settle a debt” though he never said with whom or how much. As far as Gareth knew, Brody was broke -- how would he even be able to settle a debt? While he underhow how dangerous this could be, Gareth cared enough about Brody to go with him. He didn’t want his friend dying, if he could help it.
“You can’t tell me anything about this?” Gareth muttered.
Brody shook his head. “Nope, not a thing. Think of it like an adventure,” he said.
“An adventure? You know people are killed on ‘adventures’ all the time, right?” He raised an eyebrow at Brody.
“And people survive adventures all the time, too. Don’t worry about it -- these guys promised there wouldn’t be any murder. No death, alright?” Brody said, in what he probably thought was a reassuring tone.
Gareth did not feel reassured. He felt even less reassured when the building they were supposed to go looked more rundown than even the other buildings nearby.
Grinning, Brody pulled a key out of his pocket. “This’ll get us in,” he said. His eyes shined even in the low light.
Instead of saying anything, Gareth remained silent. A shiver shot up his spine, and he wanted more than anything to tell Brody to turn back now. His stomach sank, adding more evidence that they shouldn’t have come here.
“So...what floor are we going to, exactly?” Gareth asked as they entered the dimly lit building. A bare overhead bulb provided the only light in the short hallway.
Brody opened a door to a narrow staircase. The bulb there provided even less light, somehow. “We’re going to the roof,” he said.
Gareth’s eyes widened. “The roof? You are gonna get us both killed,” he muttered. What, were his friend’s “associates” going to push him off the roof to settle his mysterious debt? He couldn’t quite dismiss that suggestion.
“I promise -- no death, okay?” Brody sounded annoyed as they walked up the stairs. The paint on the walls crumbled and exposed the concrete beneath it. Nobody had bothered to put a railing on these stairs -- an obvious safety violation.
“I’m not sure I trust your promises right now,” Gareth grumbled. He heard water dripping. The rhythmic sound unnerved him. At least, he hoped that was water and not something like blood. It could all too easily be blood in this horror of a building.
All too soon, the pair reached the door that lead to the roof. Brody punched in a code, the worn-out keypad beeping with each number, and that door creaked open with a final, louder beep. Gareth winced at the sounds and shivered at the cold blast of air that came in from outside.
Fighting his extreme reluctance, Gareth followed Brody out onto the roof. At least it had a metal railing, albeit a rickety and rusty one.
They got all of five feet from the door when two men grabbed Gareth. His heart stopped when he felt their hands squeeze into his arms.
“Hey, let me go. Let me go,” he yelled.
The men did not let him go. His heart thundered in his chest. He kicked out at the men, who tightened their grips. They did not so much as budge when his feet made contact with their legs. The two might as well have been made of metal. Maybe they were.
“Brody, help,” he cried, struggling against the iron grips of the tall, looming shadows. The roof itself boasted several lights, yet none of that illumination fell upon the men who had Gareth in their grasp.
Brody just smirked at him. “You must have wondered how I was going to settle my debt. The answer was simple, really. I had little to offer myself, yet my creditors wanted you. How convenient for me, yes? I knew you were trusting enough to fall for it. After all, you thought we were friends,” he murmured.
“You -- you.” Gareth’s heart sank. This couldn’t be reality.
“Don’t worry, they won’t kill you. I’m not sure what they want you for, really. But you won’t die, so that’s nice, right?” Brody said, that smirk still on his face.
“How could you,” he hissed, glaring at Brody. He soon lost the glare, though, when he realized how hopeless his situation was. He’d been betrayed.
Brody lifted something out of his pocket -- a piece of white cloth. He took a vial out of his other pocket, opened it and soaked the cloth with the liquid inside. “So you don’t struggle,” he said.
All this time, the men holding Gareth said nothing. His heart hammered as Brody approached him. He tried to turn away, but his friend -- former friend -- pressed the cloth against his mouth.
The world turned both over-bright and blurry, reality warping around Gareth as his field of vision narrowed. His sight fragmented, the world turning into something frightening and strange. He tried to curse Brody, but his tongue thickened too much for him to do it.
Soon enough, his vision and consciousness darkened into nothing.
They walked along the city street between squat buildings. Sparse, weak streetlights provided poor illumination that only enhanced the darkness of everything else. A crescent moon did little to help. Nobody seemed to have their window light on in this neighborhood. Gareth shivered and zipped his windbreaker up the rest of the way, as if it would provide protection from what they were about to do.
“Because I need moral support,” Brody said, crossing his arms over his chest. He just wore jeans and a t-shirt, yet the wind and the cold didn’t bother him.
“This is majorly sketchy you know, right?” Gareth tried to ignore how his stomach twisted. He glanced at the numbers on the buildings -- it seemed like they were getting closer, unfortunately.
“Of course it’s sketchy. That’s why I’m bringing you,” Brody said, as if that should have been obvious.
Gareth took a deep breath and pressed on, ignoring his friend. Brody had to “settle a debt” though he never said with whom or how much. As far as Gareth knew, Brody was broke -- how would he even be able to settle a debt? While he underhow how dangerous this could be, Gareth cared enough about Brody to go with him. He didn’t want his friend dying, if he could help it.
“You can’t tell me anything about this?” Gareth muttered.
Brody shook his head. “Nope, not a thing. Think of it like an adventure,” he said.
“An adventure? You know people are killed on ‘adventures’ all the time, right?” He raised an eyebrow at Brody.
“And people survive adventures all the time, too. Don’t worry about it -- these guys promised there wouldn’t be any murder. No death, alright?” Brody said, in what he probably thought was a reassuring tone.
Gareth did not feel reassured. He felt even less reassured when the building they were supposed to go looked more rundown than even the other buildings nearby.
Grinning, Brody pulled a key out of his pocket. “This’ll get us in,” he said. His eyes shined even in the low light.
Instead of saying anything, Gareth remained silent. A shiver shot up his spine, and he wanted more than anything to tell Brody to turn back now. His stomach sank, adding more evidence that they shouldn’t have come here.
“So...what floor are we going to, exactly?” Gareth asked as they entered the dimly lit building. A bare overhead bulb provided the only light in the short hallway.
Brody opened a door to a narrow staircase. The bulb there provided even less light, somehow. “We’re going to the roof,” he said.
Gareth’s eyes widened. “The roof? You are gonna get us both killed,” he muttered. What, were his friend’s “associates” going to push him off the roof to settle his mysterious debt? He couldn’t quite dismiss that suggestion.
“I promise -- no death, okay?” Brody sounded annoyed as they walked up the stairs. The paint on the walls crumbled and exposed the concrete beneath it. Nobody had bothered to put a railing on these stairs -- an obvious safety violation.
“I’m not sure I trust your promises right now,” Gareth grumbled. He heard water dripping. The rhythmic sound unnerved him. At least, he hoped that was water and not something like blood. It could all too easily be blood in this horror of a building.
All too soon, the pair reached the door that lead to the roof. Brody punched in a code, the worn-out keypad beeping with each number, and that door creaked open with a final, louder beep. Gareth winced at the sounds and shivered at the cold blast of air that came in from outside.
Fighting his extreme reluctance, Gareth followed Brody out onto the roof. At least it had a metal railing, albeit a rickety and rusty one.
They got all of five feet from the door when two men grabbed Gareth. His heart stopped when he felt their hands squeeze into his arms.
“Hey, let me go. Let me go,” he yelled.
The men did not let him go. His heart thundered in his chest. He kicked out at the men, who tightened their grips. They did not so much as budge when his feet made contact with their legs. The two might as well have been made of metal. Maybe they were.
“Brody, help,” he cried, struggling against the iron grips of the tall, looming shadows. The roof itself boasted several lights, yet none of that illumination fell upon the men who had Gareth in their grasp.
Brody just smirked at him. “You must have wondered how I was going to settle my debt. The answer was simple, really. I had little to offer myself, yet my creditors wanted you. How convenient for me, yes? I knew you were trusting enough to fall for it. After all, you thought we were friends,” he murmured.
“You -- you.” Gareth’s heart sank. This couldn’t be reality.
“Don’t worry, they won’t kill you. I’m not sure what they want you for, really. But you won’t die, so that’s nice, right?” Brody said, that smirk still on his face.
“How could you,” he hissed, glaring at Brody. He soon lost the glare, though, when he realized how hopeless his situation was. He’d been betrayed.
Brody lifted something out of his pocket -- a piece of white cloth. He took a vial out of his other pocket, opened it and soaked the cloth with the liquid inside. “So you don’t struggle,” he said.
All this time, the men holding Gareth said nothing. His heart hammered as Brody approached him. He tried to turn away, but his friend -- former friend -- pressed the cloth against his mouth.
The world turned both over-bright and blurry, reality warping around Gareth as his field of vision narrowed. His sight fragmented, the world turning into something frightening and strange. He tried to curse Brody, but his tongue thickened too much for him to do it.
Soon enough, his vision and consciousness darkened into nothing.