Snippet #1225829

Ryan fumbled with both his words and his posture. He was felt immediately woozy after the change of scenery, and had to prop his leg behind him for support. He looked at the old man with his thousand-yard stare, trying to cross reference his memory and the man's face. The long beard and the shiny bald head were indistinguishable from Tao, who had fallen into a similar state of old age, and Ryan simply shook his head, suddenly becoming angry.

"Look, I don't know who you are," he gestured with the red crystal. "and I don't know what this rock is, but you're playing a very sick game with me, old man. If this is a joke, or if someone else sent you to toy with me, you can just forget it. I'm not messing around with this otherworldly crap anymore. So you think carefully before you decide what you brought me here for; I'm not someone you can freely fuck around with."

Ryan could see his own breath, the cave was so cold. He was used to warm climates, having spent so much time in California during his time in the Trooper Program. He tightened his jacket around his shoulders and went back to standing normally, trying to make a statement of strength with his body posture, as though he were an animal trying to puff its chest so he wouldn't be eaten.