He just enjoyed the sensation of a wild run like this, controlled and yet almost at full speed. This person was a runner, somebody who jogged every morning, but right now this was a sprint for a finish line. Some conversation was going onbetween the two runners, but this woman he was connected to laughed as she ran.
She ran faster and faster, and it was such a weird sensation being in a female body, as he felt her breasts bounce with every step. Thankfully she wasn’t massive, as, for the first time in his life, he experienced the discomfort of that on a run. She wore a sports bra, and he felt the band around his chest. A part of him wondered at such a thing, even as the rest of his mind was fully encapsulated in this vision. The vision itself was an anomaly because he was awake and yet not awake.
He was not asleep, and yet his subconscious was taking over, but his eyes were open. Plus, he knew that he was in his bedroom, but he felt this run, this absolute flat-out joy of being healthy and fit and out running on a pathway in nature. And obviously there was such a sense of camaraderie with whoever she was with that just added to the fun.
He didn’t know how many people were in this group. The path wasn’t very wide at this spot, although it widened up ahead, and, almost as soon as they got there, the other person raced past. She wore blue jogging pants that looked more like leggings, made of that fancy special tech material to whisk away water, to keep you warm, and to keep the sweat from cooling you down. That woman wore a sports bra too, and that’s about all he saw, as the woman raced past, her long blond ponytail bouncing behind her. She was also fit, laughing and having fun as well.
The person Simon was connecting with swore and picked up the pace, running faster and faster, until the two were neck and neck. She was so focused on the path that she wasn’t looking at her friend. She caught glimpses of a long ponytail but that was it. And she kept going faster and faster, as the path widened ever-so-slightly up ahead yet again.
Thenbam. He jerked back several steps, shocked, his head screaming at him, as something came out of nowhere andslammed into his head. Almost as if he’d run flat into a tree branch. He was on the ground, and then there was just pain—something cold, wet, and then burning hot in his face. He started to scream, as he rubbed his face, trying to get rid of the hot stinging pain on his skin and in his eyes.
He got up and stumbled into the bathroom and poured cold water all over his face, but it didn’t help. He stared into the mirror, but that didn’t help either. All he saw were trees all around him. He stared down at his hands, but they were elegant, with long fingernails, not his short, thick muscled hands.
He was still caught in the same damn vision.
Yet, as he looked in the mirror, he didn’t see the victim. All he saw were the trees and the bushes and the pathway. Slowly he made his way back to his bed, trying to figure out what the hell was going on, when a rope came around his neck and his partner, friend, or whoever it was slammed up against him. She seemed to be unconscious, while he was awake. He couldn’t think at all because he was choking, his hands at his throat, the rope cutting his fingers as he fought it. Consciousness came and went, and then he felt something even worse. Something metallic, something thin and cutting, and then he knew no more.
He laid back down on the bed for a long moment, his breathing erratic, as he tried to go over the events in his mind. As soon as he thought he had a handle on it, he called Kate. When she didn’t answer, he groaned, then waited to leave a message. “I need you to call me back,” he demanded, his voice harsh.
And she didn’t, at least not right away, but, about an hour later, she called him, her voice distracted. “What’s up?”
“You have a runner who died.”
He heard the gasp in her voice, as she whispered, “What do you know about that?”
“I just saw her death,” he stated, his tone harsh. “She was so happy, so full of life, and so fun. She was out running, racingwith her friend. And then something came out of the blue and dropped them both. Then something burned their faces, and a rope choked off their throats. And yet there was a bit of consciousness, in and out, before something cut her throat. And I don’t know beyond that.”
“Yeah,” she said, her tone grim, sad. “That pretty well sums it up. So, through all of that, I don’t suppose you saw who did it, right?” she asked in a wry tone.
“I couldn’t see anything after that stuff was thrown in her face,” he stated. “Isn’t this a little overkill?”
“Any kill is overkill in my opinion,” she snapped. “In this case, we’re trying to figure out why. It was both of them, you know?”
“Both of them?”
“Yes, the one running with her also died.”
“Interesting,” he murmured. “I did sense that they were together, but I don’t know anything beyond that.”
“They were both killed at the same time,” she added, “at least as far as we can tell, with what we have so far. What we don’t know is why and how somebody was able to handle the two of them.”
“Well, the blow to the head would have done it right off the bat,” he noted. “My head is still killing me.”
“Sorry,” she replied gently. “You need to find a way to shut this off.”
“Shut it off?” He huffed. “Great idea. That would be awesome, but something that isn’t likely to happen.”
“Well, it could happen,” she said. “Couldn’t it?”
“Maybe,” he whispered, “but it isn’t happening right now. Whoever this is, he took away something very precious.”
She was silent for a moment. “No connection to the other one?”
“No, I don’t even know which one I’m connecting to, just someone full of life. Yes, I remember. The other one, the blonde, wore a blue tracksuit and a matching sports bra,” he said, “but, when I saytracksuit, it’s not like the old kind with the stripes down the outer side of the pants. These were like tight leggings.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “That special running gear they’re wearing these days. These two women ran together for years.”
“And that was obvious,” he confirmed. “A lot of joy filled their voices, and I felt so much joy in this woman’s heart as she ran.”