Force Reconnaissance

1

I wake up to pure darkness. I fight the panic rising up in my chest. I hear a creak and my breath hitches. I feel my left wrist and find my watch. I quickly press the button to turn the light on.

I let out a breathe of relief when it works. It was 0356. I sigh when I realize I had to wake up in an hour. I made a mental note to replace the night light.

I close my eyes and attempt to fall asleep. I do what my counselor had taught me to do. Breathe in, breathe out. Now think about something to prove I'm not there. I'm in my bed. Ezekiel is in the other room, fast asleep.

When those don't work, I result in talking to myself. I usually end up boring myself to sleep. I talk about what I'm going to do after I wake up again.

I look at my watch again and it's 0428. I realize I'm not going to fall asleep again and groan. I stand up to go to the bathroom.

I flush the toilet and go to wash my hands. I fill up the soap bottle, noticing it's empty, then trudge my way to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

Ezekiel and I cannot run without coffee. I pour the last of the grounds in the filter and start the brewing. The alarm on my watch goes off, alerting me it's time to wake up.

I go to start the shower, letting the cool water run over my body, washing away any thoughts of earlier. I turn the water temperature up after the cold water has made me less groggy.

I got dressed and put my hair in a pony tail, not caring today. I walked to the kitchen, passing Ezekiel's room. I laugh to myself, hearing the soft snores coming from behind his door.

I get out his favorite coffee mug. It has mountains on it with his favorite bible verse. I got it made for him on his 18th birthday and he uses it whenever he can.

I pour a small amount of Hazelnut creamer into his cup, almost gagging because it doesn't do much to get rid of that bight that black coffee has.

I pour the coffee and take a sip. When I spit it out, I know that it is the right creamer coffee ratio for him. I walk to his door and open it, careful not to spill the overfilled cup of coffee.

He smiles when he smells the coffee. "How much creamer did you add?"

I roll my eyes. "Don't worry, it's just as disgusting as you like it!"

"Healthy things don't always taste good you know?" He winks. I shake my head as he looks at me instead of the coffee I hold in my hands. He frowns. "What time did you wake up?"

"Why?" I ask innocently. I really don't care if I wake up early, but he is always worrying.

"I can tell you didn't sleep well Keturah. Bad dream?" He doesn't realize the worrying seems to make it worse. I shake my head, pushing back tears.

"No, I just didn't sleep as long as usual, that's all. Now, go take a shower, you stink!" I smile at his scoff and walk to make my own coffee, ignoring the tear I let slip.

I have a ratio of one-fourth creamer, three-fourths coffee. I smile when I hear the shower turn on. I boil water to make some oatmeal for breakfast.

I turn on the television, rolling my eyes at the news lady as she plays with her hair. "In today's news, the ASB seems to be backing off their assault on FORECON."

I roll my eyes, knowing that either ASB or FORECON paid the news company to say so. Ezekiel walks out in just a towel.

"Dude! Cover up!" I exclaim, shielding my eyes with my hands.

"Where are my boxers Ket? I can't find them!" He frowns, probably thinking I hid them as a joke.

"Probably in your dresser drawer!" I roll my still covered eyes.