H λ L F - L I F E: Bishop's War✔️

CHλPTER 01: A Break In Routine

                                                                    PλRT ONE
                                                                –EMERGENCY–

                                                             Subject: Eric Bishop
                                                   Education: Belton High School
                                                          Assignment: Security
                                                             Clearance: Level 2

                                                     Disaster Response Priority

                                         High: Preservation of equipment/materials
                                        Secondary: Welfare of research personnel
                                                            Low: Personal safety

Eric Bishop opened his eyes and found himself staring at glowering red numerals in a field of darkness. They proclaimed: 6:59 AM. He laid there on his side and found a thought sailing to him through the lethargic, mostly calm seas of his mind. Was this habit or bad luck? It seemed all too often that he awoke just before his alarm was set to go off, and even on his off-days he couldn't seem to sleep in past 8 A.M.

The alarm ticked over to 7:00 AM and Creepin' by Chamillionaire kicked on. As far as wake-up calls went, it was a pretty decent one. Eric rubbed sleep from his eyes and sat up, pulling the blankets back. He yawned and stretched, feeling his shoulders pop, and then rose to his feet. It was time to start another day some fifty or sixty feet below ground in the middle of the New Mexico desert. He spent ten minutes doing sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups on the bar he had set up in his closet door, getting his blood pumping and helping kick the lethargy from his system, then he pulled a fresh uniform from his dresser and moved into the bathroom.

His motions came to him with a machine-like autonomy by now. Eric set the clothes down on the counter, flipped on the lights, then took a piss. He flushed, transferred the clothes to the closed toilet lid, then brushed his teeth and looked at himself in the mirror. Not the best idea. He'd never been convinced that he was anything above average, even on his better days, but mostly that didn't concern him any longer. Being as fit as he was, which was very after several years in the Marine Corps, tended to help with getting dates.

Although it was a bit harder nowadays, what with living underground and being mostly around other guys. Most of the women were scientists for whatever reason. He kept wishing they'd hire more female guards, or at least female technicians, because he'd certainly come across enough badass ladies in the Marines and just in general, before and after, but that just didn't seem to be happening. No, what was bugging him was that he was so damned pale. He looked unhealthy now. And like he'd lost a little bit of weight, and his eyes were darker.

He was still getting about the same amount of sleep as always, but...

There was a vague, nebulous aura of anxiety that seemed to hang around him nowadays. He finished brushing, rinsed and spat, sighed, then got into a hot shower. No time for whining, even inside own head. He had a schedule to keep. Eric washed up and considered whether or not to shave today, then finally decided against it. It'd give him a little more time at breakfast, and honestly he liked the way he looked with a stain of dark stubble across his face. Honestly, it was tempting to just buzz his head and be done with it. His dark hair was short enough as it was. He finished washing up, dried, and dressed.