When They Were Gone

How Do They Neglect It? - III

A consistent fluidity of beeps awoke him – a shrill and high pitch that rang in his ears. Squeezing his eyes open and closed a few times and squinting, he sat up, clutching his head. "What on actual earth...?"

A slow movement forward. He paused. A groan. He stared at his legs, lifeless. The first sleep he'd had in forever, and now he had to get up? What nonsense?

He stumbled from his bed, still shaking his head slightly and reached for the boxed device. The soldiers hadn't discovered it last night, of course. It had a concealment mechanism similar to a chameleon where it reflected its surroundings, performing an act of camouflage. If you didn't know what to look for, it was almost impossible to spot its location... unless you ran into it. Which, luckily, with all their crazed searching and overturning of table and belongings, the soldiers didn't do. Of course, after he had returned, he turned its hidden mode off and made sure the cameras looped his pre-organised feed he'd worked so hard to sneak into the system prior.

Placing a hand atop the device, he switched the beeping off.

A yawn and his back bent, following his dreary tread back to his bed. And he collapsed on it, drawing his pillow into a hug. A soft smile rose on his face. 

Another few seconds and his mouth fell open slightly, a soft snore drifting from it. No use for any sort of silence, after all.

A minute.

Then another one.

A torrent of beeps leapt through the air into his ear, louder than before. He groaned and raised his head, staring at the clock. The beeping continued. A sigh. He flopped back on the hard bed beneath him.

"Five more minutes..."

The beeping refused to stop. A soft buzz started with it, climbing.

He wrapped the pillow around his head.

A voice emerged through it. "Sunshine and rainbows, you kiss me like the light. Like a stormy brew drifting into my heart, you take my sadness away..." An old rock ballad. Music - completely banned in the State, but sometimes still slipping under the radar for the higher part of the middle-class. He pressed down harder. "And like a bearded eagle, my heart takes flight. And like a golden angle, when you arrive, my heart is a doorway-"

Richard threw his pillow to the side. "Hermes lockout."

The music stopped. Several clicks, then a robotic voice. "Meeting today. Aphrodite."

He rose, heat radiating from his cheeks as his face turned bright red. His lips pulled back, stopping themselves from twitching into a smile. "Okay... Shouldn't have set her name as that... I get it, I get it." He stood, still muttering to himself. "Geez, Richard, why did you have to be such a nerd! Agh, come on!" A breath in and out as he looked at his clothes. A pause. He turned back to the bed, a longing stare... He shook his head, swallowing and reaching for the clothes. "Okay... Okay... We're going, we're going... She comes first, she comes first... Please let this be worthwhile!" 

He walked to the table below the mirror, searching for his contact. He'd taken it out before he went to sleep which, of course, meant he needed to put it in before going anywhere. He glanced at his hair. Nope. 

He walked to the shower, removing his clothes and starting the water as he reached for his small dye bottle. Temporary. He needed more permanent dye soon, but it would do. Brushing it into his hair, he finished up. A natural colour. Good. A smile as he dried his hair and himself, walking out to his glasses and placing them on his head. 

He turned to the mirror, swivelling his body sideways, left, right. A whisper slipped through his lips, "Have I really gained that much weight? Is it...? It's not too noticeable, is it?" A frown. He swallowed. "Was it the food? I must have been pigging out... And then the walks recently... With all the-" Another swallow. He licked his dry lips. "Geez, I know I build muscle easily, but this is just..." A sigh, he reached to the side, slipping a hand around his water bottle and placing it to his lips. "I'm parched as." A swig. He placed it back down and reached for his clothes, throwing them on. "Well, no dinner for me tonight.