It cracked the air and he hit the ground. There was no slide, no skid on the gravel of the sidewalk; just up then down, like a flip book with all the between-frames taken out. He had a moment to lie with the side of his face against the side walk, dim wounds from yesterday lighting up again and think aloud, "Goddamn, this crashing thing is getting redundant," before rough hands grabbed him under the armpits and dragged him up off the ground.
"Get up! Come on, are you retarded?"
"Seriously, this is what should definitely come naturally, right? Oh hey, I hear a gunshot--let's lay down on the fuggin' ground and think about it for a while."
Ezra cranked his neck around and took in his captors. The first speaker was a severely overweight man in a snug leather jacket, black sweat pants and dirty white sneakers. The second was taller and pale and wore his fading black hair in a greased-back ponytail which descended just past the collar of his black raincoat. Ezra dazedly tried to get his footing back as he was pushed roughly through the doors of a building and deposited into a small and rickety elevator.
"So, uh...what's the deal with all this? What's going on?" said a nervous Ezra, mostly to the gate of the elevator.
"Why do they always gotta ask? I mean, he's gonna find out sooner or later, right?"
"Yeah, it'd be pretty funny though if nobody told him."
"Well don't say that. You'll make him all nervous, and then he'll start thinkin' he's never gonna find out why we're takin' him here. Then he'll keep asking. And then we have to kill him."
Ezra's eyes popped open. "No you don't! I won't ask again! I ummm...I don't even care what happens, really!"
Both men laughed stickily. "Well stop goin' on like that or we will have to kill you!" said the fat one.
The tall one wiped the corner of his eye with a fingerless glove and said, "Well, we need your assistance, so we've gotta keep you around a while longer, so I wouldn't worry too much yet."
Ezra breathed a sigh of relief as the rusty gate slid open and they walked him into the room. He whipped his head around, shouting, "Wait, what do you mean, 'yet'?!"
***TO BE CONTINUED***
