Monster King

Chapter 9 - Regret

"Sorry if my car is a little messy." Dianna chuckled and tugged at her passenger door. 

Beer bottles, and burger king bags just dropped out from inside. Casey and I both just stared at her.  She chuckled and looked away, scratching the back of her head. I could feel her anxiety start to rise, she was worried about me noticing something.

"You like burger king a lot huh?" I asked and stepped toward the trash.

"Oh well, yeah, ya know!" She forced a laugh and stared at me. 

I scanned over the remains and started to clean out the rest of her seat. Her fear only grew more and more and eventually I found it. My eyes spotted a needle on the floor of her seat. I glanced up at her, and her entire body was dripping with fear and embarrassment.

"Ya know, I already saw the wounds on your arm, right?" I asked.

She just looked away. 

"It's still embarrassing." She mumbled.

"One more! One more!" A man yelled from behind.

The feeling of dread and hunger was coming from behind me, from whatever made that sound. I turned and saw an older bald man. He was in a ruffled up and stained business suit. WIth something plastic strapped around his arm. He wanted to hit up one more time. My hunger suddenly re-emerged and I wanted him. 

What the hell was this?

"Please! Please! Kid!" He cried and ran to me.

I opened my mouth and prepared to take a bite, but I stopped myself again. I can't afford to feed this feeling. Not until I know what it is. He stood in front of me and scratched his arm. This was definitely a ghost. Why didn't I notice him before?

He grabbed my shoulders and a chill ran down my spine. 

"Hey kid! Give me what you got! It's- it's importa-"

I shoved him off me, which actually worked and he flew back a few feet. The rocks rolled under his feet a bit and he looked surprised. 

"Get off and get lost." I demanded.

He stared at me for a bit, not a word came from his mouth.

"You okay?" Dianna asked.

An image of the man came into mind, I saw him working late at a lone cubicle. His name was Dale, Dale Hines. Flashes of his life and his emotions seemed to caress my mind. I only got pieces, never the full picture. He always worked late to please his wife's excessive tastes, yet it took a huge toll on his mental state. Which eventually led him to taking substance abuse to ease his pain. It started small, and eventually moved to bigger things with time. However, his life came to a head when his wife cheated on him and eventually left him. Which caused him to take even more drugs than before. Which led to his death.

. 

I took a breath and leaned back against the car, trying to collect myself. It was like I bathed in this guy's self pity. I couldn’t get rid of this feeling, and I started to hate whoever this woman was now too. Eventually it died down and I turned around and grabbed the needle. Then I looked over to Dianna.

"I'm looking at your future if you don't get a grip on yourself." I told her. 

Which made her bite her lip. 

"That a ghost?" She mumbled.

"You'd be happier if it wasn't, I'm sure." I said and hopped in the car.