Down a white corridor, their footfalls echoing hollowly - alone. All alone. One elevator at the end.
"This is where you and I part company," Killian said. "Express to the street. Nine seconds."
He offered his hand for the fourth time, and Richards refused it again. Yet he lingered a moment.
"What if I could go up?" he asked, and gestured with his head toward the ceiling and the eighty stories above the ceiling. "Who could I kill up there? Who could I kill if I went right to the top?"
Killian laughed softly and punched the button beside the elevator; the doors popped open. "That's what I like about you, Richards. You think big."
Richards stepped into the elevator. The doors slid towards each other.
"Stay low," Killian repeated, and then Richards was alone.
The bottom dropped out of his stomach as the elevator sank toward the street.
-- "The Running Man", Richard Bachman
"This is where you and I part company," Killian said. "Express to the street. Nine seconds."
He offered his hand for the fourth time, and Richards refused it again. Yet he lingered a moment.
"What if I could go up?" he asked, and gestured with his head toward the ceiling and the eighty stories above the ceiling. "Who could I kill up there? Who could I kill if I went right to the top?"
Killian laughed softly and punched the button beside the elevator; the doors popped open. "That's what I like about you, Richards. You think big."
Richards stepped into the elevator. The doors slid towards each other.
"Stay low," Killian repeated, and then Richards was alone.
The bottom dropped out of his stomach as the elevator sank toward the street.
-- "The Running Man", Richard Bachman