Post by Office Ninja on Jul 4, 2010 3:45:45 GMT -5
This is a work in progress. Any critiques or comments are appreciated.
Four forty two.
The bright numbers on the face of the alarm clock cast a red glare across the tiny darkened room. A bottle of sleeping pills, half empty, stood next to it, the lid casually thrown aside, a few of its previous occupants scattered about the wooden nightstand. An empty glass stood beside them, its contents consumed hours ago with some of the pills.
Four forty three.
The curtains covering the open window rose gently in the breeze. As it shifted little shafts of yellow light from the street lamp were allowed in temporarily hiding the red glow of the alarm clock. Next to the nightstand on the floor was a mattress with a man sleeping peacefully. His body was entangled in the mess of sheets strewn about on the bed. On the floor next to the bed, clothes were scattered about in a haphazard manner.
Four forty four.
The man who seemed to be sleeping peacefully suddenly opened his eyes. The ceiling fan above his bed squeaked as the force of the spinning blades shook the wobbly base. He stared at the fan blades for what seemed an eternity, not wanting to look at the clock. He knew it didn’t matter because he was already aware what he would see when he broke down and turned his reluctant gaze toward the red numbers.
“Alex, you have got to stop doing this to yourself…”
He sighed as he watched the spinning blades of the ceiling fan in hopes that they will distract him long enough to fall back asleep. In his mind he knew this was foolish, but something about the time of morning made him feel unsettled. Every morning for over a year now at four forty four in the morning he just woke up like clockwork. The place did not matter, as it still happened on the rare occasion that he slept in the library office where he worked.
The doctors tried prescribing sleeping pills, but never fail at four forty four he still managed to wake up. The sleep aids did however help him sleep in the morning when he was supposed to be working. He tried researching online to see if anyone else might have a similar issue and turned up nothing. He was alone.
After what seemed like hours of just staring at the fan he reluctantly turned his head toward the alarm clock. It felt ominous, and the feeling only grew worse with each passing day. He knew something was not right about this, but had no idea how to go about fixing the problem. The red numbers met his glaze and burned into his retina. In his mind he knew it had been well over a minute but the clock still read four forty four.
The world seemed to fade away around him as his eyes met the clock. He no longer heard the fan squeak, or felt the breeze coming in through the open window. The car that ran into a trashcan as it drove down the street did not even register, there was only the clock and its red numbers. He continued to stare at the clock unable to even blink.
Four forty five.
Alex was asleep, as if he never even woke up.
“The death toll from last nights attack is currently up to thirty two. The source of the explosion is believed to have originated in the parking garage under the apartment building. As of this moment, police do not know what kind of bomb exploded, or how it was brought into the building. Outside video surveillance did not show any vehicles coming into the garage. We will bring you more of this Breaking News as we have it. And now for a look at today’s forecast…”
The alarm blared the morning news as Alex slowly sat up in the bed, he was already sweating from the morning heat. He yawned and rubbed his eyes trying to adjust to the bright sunlight streaking in from the window as the curtains shifted in the morning breeze. It was hotter than usual for this time of year. The weatherman on the radio was warning people about the latest heat wave. Alex shifted himself and stood up from the bed letting the sheets fall to the floor, it did not even register to him that he was standing naked in front of an open window; luckily for him he lived on the fourth floor and had no neighbors across the way. He stretched and yawned again.
“This heat is unbearable…”
He turned off the alarm and walked across the tiny apartment to the bathroom. After a few unsuccessful attempts he managed to find the light switch in his groggy state and proceeded to stand in front of the sink looking into the mirror. His red hair, which he normally kept spiked, was a shaggy mess and his goatee seemed to be flattened against his chin. He of course paid no attention and began brushing his teeth. After his teeth felt clean he clumsily climbed in the shower and let the cold water fall all over his body for what seemed like hours. It was a nice way to temporarily forget the blistering heat wave.
After the extra long shower Alex dried off and got dressed in his work clothes, which consisted of black slacks and a white button up shirt that he wore open over his tank top. He liked that he could be casual at work because dressing up always made him feel uncomfortable.
After making sure his hair and goatee were properly groomed he exited the bathroom and made his way across the tiny apartment to the kitchen area. It was a tiny one-bedroom apartment. The bedroom and the living room were the same room, and the kitchen consisted of a small cabinet in the corner with a mini refrigerator next to it. It was cheap enough, and with Alex’s current salary it was really all he could afford in a town with such a horrible economy. He didn’t mind the cramped accommodations, as he never had anyone over and pretty much sat at the computer when he was home. To him, it was plenty of space.
He grabbed his bottle of water along with his bag and decided he was ready to go to work. He stepped out of his apartment and felt miserable right away, the effects of the cold shower already forgotten. The heat was terrible and it was only supposed to get worse as the day wore on. His clothes were sticking to him from the sweat and he hadn’t even started walking to work yet. He made sure that he locked his door and proceeded to head down the hallway to the stairs. He hated living on the fourth floor but he kept reminding himself it was good exercise, even if the heat was already pushing one hundred degrees at eight in the morning.
Alex left his complex and began his daily trek to the downtown library. He hated that he didn’t have a car in the summer. Normally walking did not bother him, as he enjoyed the exercise, but walking in the heat was terrible. Oklahoma summers were notorious for the unbearable heat, and this one was breaking all kinds of records only a couple of weeks in. Alex longed for the winter to return.
As he was walking Alex noticed that traffic was almost non-existent today. He figured the current heat wave was keeping most people indoors unless they absolutely had to get out and run an errand. He liked it when there were less people out, it typically meant that he wouldn’t have any visitors to the library and he could relax most of the day.
Working at the library was the perfect job. Most days you can just sit and read a book, and never have to deal with another person. On the busiest days you might see a handful of people, but they are still nothing compared to other jobs. Alex used to be a waiter, and dealing with the large crowds of rude people nearly drove him mad. He quit a few years ago and found a more peaceful job at the Central Library. It paid less, but the peace and quiet was worth it to him.
As he walked downtown between the skyscrapers towards the Central Library he hoped today would be a peaceful day.
Four forty two.
The bright numbers on the face of the alarm clock cast a red glare across the tiny darkened room. A bottle of sleeping pills, half empty, stood next to it, the lid casually thrown aside, a few of its previous occupants scattered about the wooden nightstand. An empty glass stood beside them, its contents consumed hours ago with some of the pills.
Four forty three.
The curtains covering the open window rose gently in the breeze. As it shifted little shafts of yellow light from the street lamp were allowed in temporarily hiding the red glow of the alarm clock. Next to the nightstand on the floor was a mattress with a man sleeping peacefully. His body was entangled in the mess of sheets strewn about on the bed. On the floor next to the bed, clothes were scattered about in a haphazard manner.
Four forty four.
The man who seemed to be sleeping peacefully suddenly opened his eyes. The ceiling fan above his bed squeaked as the force of the spinning blades shook the wobbly base. He stared at the fan blades for what seemed an eternity, not wanting to look at the clock. He knew it didn’t matter because he was already aware what he would see when he broke down and turned his reluctant gaze toward the red numbers.
“Alex, you have got to stop doing this to yourself…”
He sighed as he watched the spinning blades of the ceiling fan in hopes that they will distract him long enough to fall back asleep. In his mind he knew this was foolish, but something about the time of morning made him feel unsettled. Every morning for over a year now at four forty four in the morning he just woke up like clockwork. The place did not matter, as it still happened on the rare occasion that he slept in the library office where he worked.
The doctors tried prescribing sleeping pills, but never fail at four forty four he still managed to wake up. The sleep aids did however help him sleep in the morning when he was supposed to be working. He tried researching online to see if anyone else might have a similar issue and turned up nothing. He was alone.
After what seemed like hours of just staring at the fan he reluctantly turned his head toward the alarm clock. It felt ominous, and the feeling only grew worse with each passing day. He knew something was not right about this, but had no idea how to go about fixing the problem. The red numbers met his glaze and burned into his retina. In his mind he knew it had been well over a minute but the clock still read four forty four.
The world seemed to fade away around him as his eyes met the clock. He no longer heard the fan squeak, or felt the breeze coming in through the open window. The car that ran into a trashcan as it drove down the street did not even register, there was only the clock and its red numbers. He continued to stare at the clock unable to even blink.
Four forty five.
Alex was asleep, as if he never even woke up.
“The death toll from last nights attack is currently up to thirty two. The source of the explosion is believed to have originated in the parking garage under the apartment building. As of this moment, police do not know what kind of bomb exploded, or how it was brought into the building. Outside video surveillance did not show any vehicles coming into the garage. We will bring you more of this Breaking News as we have it. And now for a look at today’s forecast…”
The alarm blared the morning news as Alex slowly sat up in the bed, he was already sweating from the morning heat. He yawned and rubbed his eyes trying to adjust to the bright sunlight streaking in from the window as the curtains shifted in the morning breeze. It was hotter than usual for this time of year. The weatherman on the radio was warning people about the latest heat wave. Alex shifted himself and stood up from the bed letting the sheets fall to the floor, it did not even register to him that he was standing naked in front of an open window; luckily for him he lived on the fourth floor and had no neighbors across the way. He stretched and yawned again.
“This heat is unbearable…”
He turned off the alarm and walked across the tiny apartment to the bathroom. After a few unsuccessful attempts he managed to find the light switch in his groggy state and proceeded to stand in front of the sink looking into the mirror. His red hair, which he normally kept spiked, was a shaggy mess and his goatee seemed to be flattened against his chin. He of course paid no attention and began brushing his teeth. After his teeth felt clean he clumsily climbed in the shower and let the cold water fall all over his body for what seemed like hours. It was a nice way to temporarily forget the blistering heat wave.
After the extra long shower Alex dried off and got dressed in his work clothes, which consisted of black slacks and a white button up shirt that he wore open over his tank top. He liked that he could be casual at work because dressing up always made him feel uncomfortable.
After making sure his hair and goatee were properly groomed he exited the bathroom and made his way across the tiny apartment to the kitchen area. It was a tiny one-bedroom apartment. The bedroom and the living room were the same room, and the kitchen consisted of a small cabinet in the corner with a mini refrigerator next to it. It was cheap enough, and with Alex’s current salary it was really all he could afford in a town with such a horrible economy. He didn’t mind the cramped accommodations, as he never had anyone over and pretty much sat at the computer when he was home. To him, it was plenty of space.
He grabbed his bottle of water along with his bag and decided he was ready to go to work. He stepped out of his apartment and felt miserable right away, the effects of the cold shower already forgotten. The heat was terrible and it was only supposed to get worse as the day wore on. His clothes were sticking to him from the sweat and he hadn’t even started walking to work yet. He made sure that he locked his door and proceeded to head down the hallway to the stairs. He hated living on the fourth floor but he kept reminding himself it was good exercise, even if the heat was already pushing one hundred degrees at eight in the morning.
Alex left his complex and began his daily trek to the downtown library. He hated that he didn’t have a car in the summer. Normally walking did not bother him, as he enjoyed the exercise, but walking in the heat was terrible. Oklahoma summers were notorious for the unbearable heat, and this one was breaking all kinds of records only a couple of weeks in. Alex longed for the winter to return.
As he was walking Alex noticed that traffic was almost non-existent today. He figured the current heat wave was keeping most people indoors unless they absolutely had to get out and run an errand. He liked it when there were less people out, it typically meant that he wouldn’t have any visitors to the library and he could relax most of the day.
Working at the library was the perfect job. Most days you can just sit and read a book, and never have to deal with another person. On the busiest days you might see a handful of people, but they are still nothing compared to other jobs. Alex used to be a waiter, and dealing with the large crowds of rude people nearly drove him mad. He quit a few years ago and found a more peaceful job at the Central Library. It paid less, but the peace and quiet was worth it to him.
As he walked downtown between the skyscrapers towards the Central Library he hoped today would be a peaceful day.