Breaking Enigma || The Imitation Game

◈ NINE- Three Days is All it Takes ◈

It had been three days since my arrival at Bletchley Park and I seemed to have settled in well. Despite the fact that the four of us had stayed up every single night, without falling asleep, it's been pretty good. Yes, we were all sleep deprived and needed a well earned rest, but it was good.

I'd gotten to know Hugh and Carlton and bit better, while John seemed to be a bit of a sociopath. He preferred to keep his mouth shut (unless it was to speak of a sarcastic comment) rather than join in with the jokes and conversation the rest of us made to try and forget the immense amount of work on our shoulders.

During the afternoon, I had decided to take a trip home to visit my family. I know they'd ask about what my job was like and what it involved, so I had to just make it up as I went along. Something that didn't sound too crazy, too boring or too conspicuous.

Mother and Father had stayed in the living room for most of the day. They read, listened to the wireless and the three of us talked for a rather long time. Jack and Louisa were out with their school friends; it made me think of how much of an introvert and how much of a loner I was. They were the most sociable teenagers I'd ever come across and then there was me- the outcast with a history of being stuck indoors (with the exception of the garden). I wouldn't be surprised if my parents would disown me. Then again, that's who I am. There's plenty more people in the world like me and nobody should tease someone else just because they are not like them. It's wrong and it's cruel. If only there was a way to abolish actions like that...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Time had passed unbelievably quickly. I barely remember the conversations I had with my parents. But all that mattered was that they were happy and now that they had one less child to deal with, their days would be more in the form of a routine and hopefully (for Mother and Father's sake) more stress-free.

I hadn't realised that I had fallen asleep. The living room was so comfortable and warm, that it was like anaesthetic; helping me to drift off, but once I awoke, I felt even more tired than I already was.

Outside, the sky was beginning to darken, giving off a blue-purple and the  glow of the moon was only just visible from behind the clouds.

The house was quiet. It was nice, yet the silence didn't belong. Louisa was staying at a friend's house and surely Jack couldn't be in bed- it was only half past seven.

Half past seven.

I told the team in Hut 8 that I'd be back for six o'clock. 'How long had I actually been asleep?' Was a question with no answer because I couldn't remember I thing. Exhaustion had taken my body and mind hostage.

I just about managed to sit up, although quite stiffly, and swung my legs over so my feet were touching the floor. I noticed that there was a fire lit in the fireplace; the flames crackled quietly, towering above the burning wood.

Getting up off the sofa, I decide to go and find my parents, who I presumed were in the kitchen having supper.

And I was right.

As I entered the kitchen, Mother and Father were sat down at the table with plates of toast and jam in front of them. Mother was writing what looked like a shopping list for the next day as she'd be going to the market, and Father was simply reading the newspaper as he normally would- the headlines were always doom and gloom nowadays...

"Good morning," he jokes, looking up at me as I sat with them. There were dark circles under his eyes, telling me that Father hadn't been sleeping well recently. His breathing was also irregular, which worried me.

"Morning," I reply sarcastically, but with a genuine smile. "Where's Jack?"

"In bed," Mother answered. "He doesn't feel well. We think it might be a fever of sorts and your Father is going to take him to the doctor's tomorrow."