Running for Life

Chapter 7

I wake up to the sound of a blood curdling scream. I jolt out of bed and turn around on my heels looking for the source. Again, I'm in a pitch black cave. I have no idea where I am, but I realize I must be back at the labs. It happens again, this time I recognize it. It's Brendon. I run around trying to find any source of light to find him. I find a flashlight next to where I got out of a hard metal bed. I pick it up and turn it on. Right next to me I see B, strapped into a metal dentist chair. He looks like he's in pain, so I run over too him and try to unstrap him. He continues screaming. I try as hard as I can to unstrap him, but the buckles will not loosen.
"They're not coming off!" I scream in frustration, my teeth barred.
"Just-arrrrgh-get it off-arrrrgh-make it-arrrgh- stop!" Brendon yells, screaming and writhing in pain. I keep at it, struggling to loosen the bands. He lets out one last scream, and sinks into what looks like a deep sleep. I ignore this and keep grunting as I try to get his hands out of the restricting arm bands. After a few minutes I stop trying, still not giving up on B though. I lean over and whisper to him about the good times we had together and how much I hope to go back to that. Just as I'm done, he bolts up gasping for air.
"B! B! Your alive! I thought-" He interrupts me mid-sentence.
"Not-much-longer," He says between gasps, "Get-me-out!"
I continue on grasping at the cuffs, trying to break him free. Just as he takes his last breath, he looks at me and says, "Go. Before they get you too." He falls backwards, lying on the cold metal bed, breathless. I fall to the ground with my head in my hands, crying, the tears stream like a gentle brooke running swiftly over the meadow of seemingly harmless flowers that is my face. The silver cuffs that once seemed to be inseparable, open with a puff of smoke and with the slightest of ease. I'm alone, in a dark, dank cave, the spotlight on me and my once lively friend. Just as soon as the cuffs came undone, a man walked into the room. He was tall and lanky with greasy looking slicked back hair. His skin was glowing from the spotlight shown on the horrible scene, as if we were in some screwed up play where the audience came to see people die. He walked right over to Brendon's side and took his pulse. I crouched lower so that he couldn't see me as I continued watching him examine the body, which seemed new to him. As he checked he scribbled something on a clipboard. He walked all the way around the body, checking and scribbling, checking and scribbling. When he turned the corner of the metal bed and headed in my direction, he ignored me. He walked right passed me as if there was nothing there. I didn't say anything, thinking maybe he could still hear me, and jumped out of his way. He finally got around to the head after a few more examinations, scribbled one last thing, and clicked the pen. What he mumbled next sent chills down my spine, "It worked. He's one of us now." Then he walked into the darkness. I got up and leaned over B, looking at him, I noticed two little holes in his right wrist. I checked the other one, it too had two little holes, the size of needles. They must have injected him with something, but what? With that, all of my sadness turned into rage. They changed my friend into one of them. I don't know what those horrible creatures are, but all I know is that they are killers, and I'm not okay with them turning my friend into that. I touched his wrist one last time, but instantly his hand shot up and grabbed my wrist. I gasped and jerked back. He sounded like he was gurgling water and said "They can't see you, but I can because I'm like you. Your slowly fading though, find an antidote. Please. It's what your destined to do. I can explain it all later if I make it. I'm fighting it now, but I can't much longer. Go!" The gurgling stopped and his voice was gone. Instead it was replaced with a horribly deep voice almost inaudible and his eyes turned completely red.
"We're getting close. I will find you. I will stop you. We will win." Then the grip loosened and his eyes went back to normal and he closed his eyes. I walked backwards staring at what remained of what used to be my best friend. He's still there, I know it, I saw it, but he's also not there. It was almost like they could turn him on and off like a communication devise. I turned around still thinking about what just happened and walked into the darkness.