ARKEN

A Quiet Night

Kiera opened the door to the old apartment, allowing the light from the hall to invade the darkened space. She flicked the switch and light flooded the room, dim light from an old bulb, but it worked. She led Jordan inside.

He shut the door and examined the scuffed baseboards and the painted walls that had faded over the years. Most of the appliances appeared to be nearly thirty years old, well behind the modern standard.

It seemed almost every step taken awoke a floor board which angrily screamed at them in protest; no one could sneak around in here. "It might not look like much, but it doesn't have cameras around, and it has electricity and warm running water. What more do you need?"

"I'm a fugitive. I can't ask for much. This is fine."

Jordan continued to take in the place. Kiera went to the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice, taking several big gulps and setting it down, wiping her face. She pointed to a door across the room, "There's a bedroom you can use in there. The bathroom's behind me, first left past the kitchen."

Jordan walked past the living room into the hall. The first door was a laundry room and the second door was the bedroom. The old door seemed to stick a little and Jordan had to give it a good hard yank to force it open.

It was almost no bigger than the bathroom in an adequately sized house. There was a single window on the opposite wall, and the bed underneath it, which just barely fit between the two walls. There was a sliding mirror on the right wall that opened to a tiny closet. Jordan set his bags down and took a seat on the bed. He stared at the ceiling fan, which spun around and around dutifully, even though it looked on the verge of falling with every rotation. A large crack ran up the empty wall and along the ceiling toward the door.

Just yesterday morning he'd woken in his own bed for a normal day. Now, it was the beginning of a new day, and he was in a glorified closet in a rundown apartment from the early 80s.

Jordan left the bedroom and returned to the living room. The living room was half the entryway to the apartment and consisted of an old maroon colored couch and a green and purple plaid armchair. In front of them was a small flat screen, the only thing in the place that seemed to be from the current decade.

It sounded like Kiera was in the shower. He wandered into the kitchen, scouring the fridge and the pantries for something to eat.

Kiera shut off the water and pushed aside the shower curtain. She climbed out and grabbed a towel to dry off, wrapping it around herself and exiting the bathroom. Jordan was at work in the kitchen preparing something, using the stove and moving around a pan. He glanced, "Oh...I hope you don't mind...I was just making some eggs."

"Uh...no, no...that's fine—as long as you're sharing."

Jordan grinned, "I am."

"Great, just let me get dressed."

She entered her bedroom, closing the door. She deposited the towel into the hamper and suddenly felt the cold, it put goosebumps on her arms and she tried to rub them away. She'd left the window open and now it had gotten chilly. She briskly moved and closed it.

Kiera went to her dresser and searched the top drawer, pulling out some underwear to slip on. She opened the second drawer and took out a Muse shirt. She pulled it down over her head and put on some shorts.

When she came back out, Jordan had found two plates and forks and set them at the small table contiguous to the kitchen. He also found some cups and poured them both a helping of orange juice. "Wow," she said.