Hear Me

4

4

I guess there is an advantage to being back in Science; I can tell the time and figure out the amount of days. A week had passed since I woke up here. My days had become a monotonous routine.

A little jolt of shock joined me when I opened my eyes to see Hudson beside me. No matter how many mornings went by, the shock stayed. I curled up at the edge of the bed, separating us as much as possible. My eyes were trained on the wall as Hudson climbed out of bed and left the room. I counted in my head and judged the time it would take for him to finish in the bathroom.

*****

After growing up in this sector, I hoped that the coldness of the floor would eventually become less noticeable. It hadn't. I turned on the water in the sink and let it start to pool. While waiting for the water to warm, I took the chance to look in the mirror. I look, older. The last time I remember seeing myself, I looked sun-kissed and healthy. But that all had faded and was replaced by my former scarily pale skin and dark bags. My cheeks had sunken in a little and if I looked close, I could see various tired lines on my forehead. How has everything changed so much since before? My stomach dropped. Maybe what happened before, didn't happen. Sighing, I started to clean myself up for the day.

Walking in the kitchen, I collected the breakfast waiting for me before sitting down beside Hudson. The food felt like sludge in my mouth as I attempted to swallow it. My aim was just to get it down as fast as possible, but I have yet to finish an entire meal.

I pushed the bowl away from me as Hudson asked, "Have you taken your medication yet?"

I shook my head. Between my fingers, I rolled a tablet. It was split into two colours, yellow and red. It was smooth when you swallowed it but got caught in your throat just before it was fully down. I coughed and cleared my throat before taking a sip of water. Silence radiated across the room as we sat staring at one another. A lump sat in my stomach. It had formed when I first woke up here, and it hadn't dissolved yet.

Hudson's eyes traced over me while he kept a sad frown on his face.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked, keeping his voice light.

I shrugged. "Tired."

I wasn't lying; my body wasn't able to do much. Any strenuous activity exhausted me. Even walking for a short while tired me.

"Do you have any plans for today?" he asked.

"I'll probably go talk to Kim," I murmured.

He sighed as he pushed out his chair. A wobbly smile formed on his lips while he watched me carefully.

"You're not very talkative."

I didn't respond. Instead, I pursed my lips and shrugged again. My mind was too clogged with confusion to bother trying to talk. His eyes flickered for a moment before he said, "It probably feels horrible to be stuck inside all day. When I get off work, we'll go for a walk."