Genesis

Walkie Talkie Alarm Clock

     I was smiling, taking the cooking flour into my hands and spreading it onto my nose, giggling at her. Her golden hair glistened in the cheap, dim light as she turned her head to look at me, smiling and giggling with me.

     The next thing I saw was a faucet. Running water. I was washing my little hands, splashing the chlorinated water onto my face to wash the flour from my nose. I closed my eyes as I rubbed my hands on my cheeks again. That's when I heard them shouting.

     A gunshot blasted my ears as my eyes burst open. The tap was overflowing with red and I staggered backward, slamming my back against the tiled wall as the blood poured out from the kitchen basin and towards my shoes. An image of her cold, dead eyes flashed before me as I heard a distant ringing. It almost sounded like a child screaming.

     "Hello?"

     The crackling sound of the voice was so sudden that I was jolted awake, sitting up. When I noticed that my hands were trembling, I clasped them to each other, the feeling of what I thought was fear fading from my mind. I wiped away two tears streaming down my face in confusion as I wondered what I had dreamt about.

     "Hello? Boss?"

     There was the voice again, barely audible through the sound of static. I waited for the next noise to determine where it was coming from.

     "Boss? You there?" I heard the voice clearly now, turning my head towards the walkie talkie on Dorian's nightstand and recognizing who was speaking; Danny.

     Dorian groaned as he dug his head out from his pillow, before reaching over lazily and grabbing the walkie. He lifted the walkie closer to his face and pressed the talk button.

     "Yeah?" he said in a rough voice.

     "Oh, hey. Just wanted to let you know that we're getting close with the trucks," Danny said.

     Dorian mumbled curses in a low voice, before pressing the talk button again and speaking.

     "Okay, thanks. Let us know when you reach the town."

     "Will do Boss."

     And then there was silence. At least before I heard Dorian sigh to himself.

     "Alright," he mumbled to himself, before walking over to Lucius' bed and shaking his shoulder.

     Lucius let out a dissatisfied groan as Dorian shook his shoulder some more.

     "What ?" Lucius snapped at him in a whisper.

     "We need to get up. Danny and Kit are going to get here soon," he whispered.

     With that, Lucius grabbed the pillow next to him and swung his arm, hitting Dorian smack in the face. Dorian looked very unimpressed when he finally raised his head upwards, squinting and smiling as he noticed me.

     "Good morning, Quinn," he whispered.

     "Good morning, Dorian."

     When I spoke, Lucius lifted his head to look at me.

     "Oh, hey there, Quinn," Lucius mumbled.

     "Did you sleep well?" Dorian asked me in a whisper.

     "Yeah," I replied quietly, "Also, why are we whispering?"

     "Why are you whispering?" I heard Colt's voice say, and as soon as he did, Dorian and Lucius squinted with a groan, as Lucius pulled a pillow over his head and Dorian rubbed his temples. I was confused by their actions as, to me, Colt was speaking in a normal tone. That's when I realized: they were hungover.