JJBA: The Chain

03 - Roller Mobster

Allison was panting heavily, sitting on a bench against the wall of the room. Her eyes were glued to the clock above the glass doors. One of her coworkers approached her, showing deep concern for her status. "...Y'know, Allie, uh..." He would then feel uneasy at the sight of her head slowly turning towards him, with her face showing a menacing expression. "Yes?" Her voice had no emotion, though she would still be panting and showing exhaustion. "...So, I have a situation at home." He stated as he handed her a small keychain. "Could you lock the doors tonight, or whatever?" He asked. Her eyes widened and she finally shut her mouth. She grabbed the keys and nodded. "Of course. Yeah."

The clock then struck eight o'clock. It was time for the gym to close. Everyone was already gone, except for one person who was currently hogging the treadmill in the corner of the main room. Allison watched her coworkers exit the building before standing up and approaching this one person. His hair was an electric shade of blue, and he had black irises, which would then glare at her. "It's closing time." She huffed. "Get out." She pointed at the door.

This man would shut off the treadmill and let out a chuckle. "Alright, okay. I just need to go to the b--" "OUT." Allison loudly interrupted him, slamming her palm onto one of the machine's handles. He gave her an offended scowl before shaking his head and exiting the building.

She walked up to the front doors, the keys in her hand, and took a deep breath. Though, instead of walking outside, she would instead lock the door, and proceed to walk towards the other end of the room. She shut off all of the lights, causing the room to become very dim. It was now dark, though everything in the room was still visible, due to the bright light from the streetlamps outside now seeping through the glass doors and windows.

She stared outside at the sidewalk for several minutes until it was obvious there was a clear absence of people. Then, without hesitation, she would slide her black sweater off, revealing a blue sports bra, as well as a star-shaped birthmark on her upper back. 'Finally, I can actually work out without killing myself.' She thought before throwing her shirt onto the ground.

She walked up to the electric bicycle that was set up next to the treadmill. Before sitting down, she started to feel tension again. She would then quickly look around, making sure she was still alone. '...Maybe I should do something quieter.' She thought, glancing at the other machine. She sighed and walked up to it, peeking at the dim glowing screen. Hesitantly, she stepped onto it, and reached for its buttons, only to then flinch at the sudden distant noise of a rattling doorknob.

Her heart began racing, and her hands started shaking. She was now frozen, silently listening for more sounds. After several moments of silence, her shoulders lowered, and she would then only feel annoyed at herself. 'I'm just paranoid. I need to focus.' She reached for the machine's buttons again and began changing its settings. Soon, it slowly began to move, gradually speeding up as she continued jogging on it, until she was suddenly interrupted by another noise - this one being much louder and closer.

A sudden crash in another room would scare her, causing her to nervously attempt to turn off the treadmill as soon as she could. After several seconds of trying to locate the button in the dark, she finally turned it off, causing its screen to fade away. She was now standing still again, listening for anything else. Her heart would skip a beat in reaction to another noise; rapid footsteps in a closer area. Before she could pull herself off of the machine, she was already faced with the source of the racket.

The visual of another person diving out of a solid wall across the room made her jolt. This person was covered in a glowing, ghostly suit. It was light blue with black accents and fists, though the face of its wearer was completely revealed. It was the previous user of this treadmill she had just forced out of the building, his black eyes now staring directly into hers with an intense aura of malice.