Breaking Enigma || The Imitation Game

◈ THIRTY-FOUR- Death is Unforeseeable ◈

John returned to Bletchley exactly a week later. But he was no longer the John Murphy the Team and I knew so well. As soon as he entered the Hut, I noticed his pale, exhausted, distressed complexion and his blue eyes were dull and filled with a lingering melancholy. He clothes hung off his thin body and didn't seem to fit.

"John?" Allany exclaimed, gladly and in surprise.

"Good afternoon, Turing," he replied gloomily, although tried to sound more upbeat. "It's, erm... Good to be back."

"It's good to have you back," I attempted to smile, but I felt too bad for him; it must have been one week of hell for him back in Edinburgh.

"Thank you," John mumbled, then slipping off his coat and hanging it over the back of his chair. "So, what needs doing?"

"That's the spirit," Hugh smirked, walking over to him with a large quantity of paper. "Look, if it gets too much for you, John... Just take a break. We understand how difficult this moment in time is for you-"

"I'm perfectly fine, Hugh," John snapped. "I appreciate the offer and it's very generous of you, but I really don't need your pity. It makes me feel worse and I'd prefer it if you would all treat me in exactly the same manner as you did before I left; to treat me normally."

Taking the papers from Hugh, John sat down with a heavy sigh. His eyes more weary than before like he was going to fall asleep at any second. The Team shared the concern for our colleague and it wasn't good for anybody. But I have to admit, John is right in his requests- we should treat him like nothing's happened. I could go back and contradict what I said previously, but I truly think that this experience has changed John. Therefore, he isn't the same person that left Bletchley just over a week ago.

I also saw the expression in Hugh's eyes that suggested he wasn't quite convinced by our colleagues' words. He was showing signs of sympathy and remorse; something that John didn't want. But it is human to try and console somebody else when a loved one had died. It was only natural for Hugh to do so as well as Carlton and Anthony. Even Allany had done so, which probably surprised John himself.

I watched him set to work before continuing with my own, as did everybody else. There was silence for a long while; about an hour or so. Two girls had popped in with more encrypted messages for us to crack. I was slightly sad that neither of them were Rose, but didn't linger on the thought because there was so much stuff to get through, so many messages to crack, but that was almost impossible. That's why we needed Allany's machine to be up and running as soon as possible. Apparently, there was still 'adjustments to be made' and would 'take longer than predicted' to overcome.

"Kester?"

I finished scribbling down some numbers and lifted my gaze to see John looking down at me. "Yes?"

"Can I speak to you?" His voice was hushed. "Because you're an approachable and understanding guy and I need to get a few things off my chest."

"Erm.... Y-yes, course," I stuttered, not quite expecting what he had said. "Now?"

John nodded. "And preferably outside."

"Sure," and with that, I stood up and followed him outside, feeling the curious gaze of the Team as the pair of us left the Hut.

John and I walked side-by-side in silence until we reached the lake. The spring sun was blazing, casting shadows onto the ground. But it wasn't cold. It was rather nice, actually. There was a group of young men playing cricket on the grass by the bench where we had decided to sit down. It almost overlooked the lake, which was scattered with swimming ducks.

It was great to have a bit of freedom instead of being caged inside Hut 8 all day. It felt like it relieved the tension from both John and myself; tension from the past and the tension from recent occurrences. As much as it seemed odd, it was also a relief to get away from the rest of the Team. I'd never properly spoken with John before (and that's definitely excluding the arguments we have had), so it would be interesting to see where I conversation would go.