D
Doughguy
Guest
The clock ticked over to 7am and the alarm started ringing. A hand immediately shot out from the sheets and slammed down onto it, silencing the noise. The arm flew backwards and threw the sheets revealing the person beneath. With bleary eyes heavy with black bags Edward pushed himself up off the bed. It had been three months since he had slept properly thanks to his new vision and his body was suffering for it. His movements were jerky and robotic as he swung his legs from the bed and stood up.
He ignored the mirror on his wall and left the room, walking down the hallway and straight into the kitchen. He kept his eyes on the ground and refused to glance at the wall or the furniture. Entering the kitchen he was greeted by its cold, dirty familiarity. The tiles that covered the floor were discoloured and there were cracks running all over the floor. The walls had also once been white yet were now stained by god knows what and multiple drips leaked from the ceiling.
Searching through his cupboards he managed to find one undamaged bowl but had to settle for a cracked cup. Grabbing a box of Crunchy Nut he poured it into the bowl, very thankful the food looked normal and not half rotted. Quickly topping the bowl off with some slightly off smelling milk he dropped into a chair and began to eat quickly.
On the table next to him was a glass vase filled with decayed leaf matter in a pool of stagnant water. He had tried replacing it a week ago with fresh flowers but it had taken only a day for them to age a year and start decaying. Now he just let it sit there as a reminder of the new world. Strangely it was one of the few things in his house he could look at without breaking down. The cereal rapidly disappeared and he poured the remainder of the milk down the sink, unable to stomach it on its own.
Dropping the bowl into the sink he walked back down the hall and into his bathroom. Taking off his pyjamas he stepped into the shower and turned the taps on. The pipes gurgled for a few seconds before the showerhead coughed out two short bursts of tepid water and went silent. He sighed and got back out of the shower knowing there would be no water for a while. Going into the bedroom dry he pulled out a suit and dressed.
Picking up his briefcase from beside his bed Edward finally left his house. Outside the air was filled with the smell of sulphur, not particularly strong but on the edge of every breath. He walked around the corner and unlocked his battered commodore. Half of the red paint had flaked off revealing the corroded metal beneath. Climbing in he turned the keys in the ignition and the engine spluttered into life. Reversing out he started the trip to work.
His apartment was in the south east and was fairly close to the City Centre where he worked. Despite this there was plenty of decay visible along the way. Three buildings along the route were now just piles of rubble and he had to constantly swerve to avoid potholes in the road. Each ruin smelt horrible and he knew that was likely from the bodies still trapped within. He made sure to keep the windows up whenever he was driving now.
As usual the City Centre was packed with traffic and he soon came to a standstill. Erben had a focus on underground parking which was a great space saver yet created bottlenecks at every entrance and exit. It took him an hour to get into the underground complex for his building and find a spot.
He walked through the car park avoiding the dark splotches where the lights had simply died or in rare cases exploded. A couple fluttered as he walked by but they all held for now. The inside of the building was just as bad. In the car park the bad lighting hid the effects of the decay but the bright light of the sun highlighted them in their glory. The plaster of the walls had turned to dust in many places revealing the rusted supports in the walls. It was no wonder buildings were collapsing everywhere.
In the lobby he took one look at the stairs that led upwards. The bannister was gone and the stairs themselves had holes or were missing completely in places. He chose to trust the elevator's cable even if he couldn't see it. Arriving at the eighth floor he walking to his office and collapsed into his work chair. His computer was a pile of slag having melted a month ago without anyone noticing. Somehow he still had a job despite the fact he spent eight hours doing nothing. Making sure his door was closed he put his head in his hands and began to sob, praying for normality to return.
He ignored the mirror on his wall and left the room, walking down the hallway and straight into the kitchen. He kept his eyes on the ground and refused to glance at the wall or the furniture. Entering the kitchen he was greeted by its cold, dirty familiarity. The tiles that covered the floor were discoloured and there were cracks running all over the floor. The walls had also once been white yet were now stained by god knows what and multiple drips leaked from the ceiling.
Searching through his cupboards he managed to find one undamaged bowl but had to settle for a cracked cup. Grabbing a box of Crunchy Nut he poured it into the bowl, very thankful the food looked normal and not half rotted. Quickly topping the bowl off with some slightly off smelling milk he dropped into a chair and began to eat quickly.
On the table next to him was a glass vase filled with decayed leaf matter in a pool of stagnant water. He had tried replacing it a week ago with fresh flowers but it had taken only a day for them to age a year and start decaying. Now he just let it sit there as a reminder of the new world. Strangely it was one of the few things in his house he could look at without breaking down. The cereal rapidly disappeared and he poured the remainder of the milk down the sink, unable to stomach it on its own.
Dropping the bowl into the sink he walked back down the hall and into his bathroom. Taking off his pyjamas he stepped into the shower and turned the taps on. The pipes gurgled for a few seconds before the showerhead coughed out two short bursts of tepid water and went silent. He sighed and got back out of the shower knowing there would be no water for a while. Going into the bedroom dry he pulled out a suit and dressed.
Picking up his briefcase from beside his bed Edward finally left his house. Outside the air was filled with the smell of sulphur, not particularly strong but on the edge of every breath. He walked around the corner and unlocked his battered commodore. Half of the red paint had flaked off revealing the corroded metal beneath. Climbing in he turned the keys in the ignition and the engine spluttered into life. Reversing out he started the trip to work.
His apartment was in the south east and was fairly close to the City Centre where he worked. Despite this there was plenty of decay visible along the way. Three buildings along the route were now just piles of rubble and he had to constantly swerve to avoid potholes in the road. Each ruin smelt horrible and he knew that was likely from the bodies still trapped within. He made sure to keep the windows up whenever he was driving now.
As usual the City Centre was packed with traffic and he soon came to a standstill. Erben had a focus on underground parking which was a great space saver yet created bottlenecks at every entrance and exit. It took him an hour to get into the underground complex for his building and find a spot.
He walked through the car park avoiding the dark splotches where the lights had simply died or in rare cases exploded. A couple fluttered as he walked by but they all held for now. The inside of the building was just as bad. In the car park the bad lighting hid the effects of the decay but the bright light of the sun highlighted them in their glory. The plaster of the walls had turned to dust in many places revealing the rusted supports in the walls. It was no wonder buildings were collapsing everywhere.
In the lobby he took one look at the stairs that led upwards. The bannister was gone and the stairs themselves had holes or were missing completely in places. He chose to trust the elevator's cable even if he couldn't see it. Arriving at the eighth floor he walking to his office and collapsed into his work chair. His computer was a pile of slag having melted a month ago without anyone noticing. Somehow he still had a job despite the fact he spent eight hours doing nothing. Making sure his door was closed he put his head in his hands and began to sob, praying for normality to return.