The unveiling

Unveiling Chapter 14

Chapter: 14

Agnar stood and wrapped his arms around him, it was freezing out here. He would have gone to sit in his father's car while they'd talked, but the parking lot was outside the barrier. He slipped back in as quietly as he could. It was almost eight, but despite that his parents were still sleeping. It was probably their first peaceful rest in months.

He turned to the cribs, Makana and Karena were both standing at their crib bars silently holding hands. Karena smiled when he turned to her and lifted her arms to be picked up. He grunted under their weights as he picked them up. It was going to be a while before he was back to full strength, right now he'd be useless in a fight.

He set them on the bed he'd been sleeping in and placed a finger to his lips before turning the TV on low. He made them some cereal and juice before heading into the bathroom to relieve himself. He froze when he caught sight of himself in the mirror while he was washing his hands.

He'd noticed how thin Turid had become, but he wasn't aware of how bad his own body was. Not to mention he desperately needed a haircut and shave, he wrinkled his nose, he also needed a shower pronto. It seemed soulless Agnar hadn't been too much into hygiene. He looked down at his arms and pulled his shirt over his head. Where had his muscles gone? Surely three months wasn't enough time to do this much damage. He turned to the door when he heard a small knock.

"Agnar." Turid's voice rang out low. "Are you alright in there? Makana said you've been in there a while."

"I'm fine, just getting ready to take a shower." He didn't want to open the door, didn't want her to see him like this, though he was sure she'd noticed how bad he'd gotten, she hadn't been the soulless one this whole time. But if he was going to take a shower and shave, he needed the stuff she'd brought him. He sighed and pulled open the door. She'd been standing right in the doorway, she took a startled step back when he opened it. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when she saw his bare chest.

Even when he was in a much better shape than this she didn't often see him shirtless. He was too self conscious. She sat the bag she'd been holding down and reached out a hand, sliding it across his prominent ribs. He shivered, for more than one reason at her touch, and quickly placed his hand over hers to stop her. She looked up, her expression seemed hurt. He kissed her forehead.

"That tickles." He said with a smile before pulling the bag off of the floor. "I'll be as quick as I can." He said, placing one more kiss on her cheek before stepping back and shutting the door in her face. While the water was heating for his shower he dug through the bag to find his toothbrush glad to finally be rid of the taste in his mouth. Once that was done he stepped inside the shower. He wouldn't be able to do anything about his hair right now. The last time he'd tried to cut it himself he'd ended up nearly having to shave bald. Once he'd done what he could to make himself more presentable he stepped out of the bathroom.

"I was wondering if you were ever going to shave." His mother said with a smile when she saw him. He smiled back, it was nice to see the woman look so happy. His father and Turid were nowhere to be seen, just his mother and the twins.

"Where's dad and Turid? He asked sitting down next to the twins to put his shoes on. They paid him no mind as they watched their favorite cartoon, he was comforted by the normalcy of the situation. Normal was something they didn't get very often.

"They went out to check the barrier, a squirrel got in while you all were gone yesterday and your father's concerned." He stilled, it was amazing that their lives had come to a point where a squirrel could cause panic, but it was how things were now. The only animal that was supposed to be able to come and go here was Buddy, and that was only if one of them was touching him when they stepped over the barrier. Birds couldn't fly above it, and worms couldn't tunnel beneath it as far as he knew. He stood.