Losing Humanity
0
Jericho Antares
FAKKU Writer
The prologue for my longer work 'Of Those Who Claim Humanity', explaining what happened to the two main characters that ended up with them being who they are in the actual novel. No names are used to keep a bit of mystery as to who is who. I'll work on posting the novel here if anyone wants me to. If you'd like my full work so far to be posted, please let me know via PM or post. Thank you.
Critiques also happily welcomed, though I'd honestly prefer content-based over grammatically-based reviews.
Losing Humanity
He shrugged off the sheets of his bed and carefully maneuvered from Her grip. Slowly extricating himself from the bed, he looked down at her sleeping face and smiled before turning and walking out of the bedroom into the sunlit living room, its white walls dyed red by the wary sunrise in the distance. He quickly located his dry-cleaned suit hanging on a lamp and made a mental note of its location as he sat down and turned on the T.V. with a flick of his finger. The set detected his heat signature and movement and flickered to life before turning itself to his choice news channel, where the standard newscaster had an uncharacteristic look of worry on his face.
“Once again back to our top story for the seven o’clock audience tuning in: The Tanseele Commonwealth has once again threatened reprisal for Ilya Sornan action, this time citing north-western Ilya Sorna as the target. President Atrius has issued a statement urging citizens to take these threats seriously and for those in possible danger-zones to evacuate with all due haste. It’s no surprise that this statement was issued, in light of the fire bombings of Karos that took place last week in response to the Siege of Gehirn two months ago. Please stay tuned for further developments.”
Shoving the fear in his gut down, he turned the T.V. off and leaned over the side of the sofa to grab his viola case, his hand strongly grasping the smooth plastic handle. He pulled it onto his lap and gingerly opened it, smiling at the lacquered wood instrument gleaming back at him. He took it from the case and plucked its strings, performing slight tuning, then drew his bow and ran it across before making further adjustments. A minute passed before he breathed a sigh of contentment and adjusted his head on the cheek-pad.
“Beethoven Symphony Number 5. Second Movement.” He murmured to himself before beginning to play softly. He let the usually long, lilting notes stretch themselves out and fell into the mellowness of the sound before finally moving on to quicker, more upbeat notes, his bow quickly jumping around. He descended farther into the sound and unintentionally drew out much louder notes. He sank into a deep timbre and felt the floor beneath his feet thrum slightly, then a weight came down on his shoulders and he smelled light lavender. The bow abruptly stopped and he turned his head to her. She was on her knees behind the sofa with her head resting on his shoulders. She breathed calmly and smiled at how surprised he was to see her.
“It’s cute, how much you get into that.” She commented slyly, causing him to look away. She saw his cheek turn red from a profile view and laughed lightly before standing and walking to the kitchen. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Want some breakfast?”
“No, I woke you up, so I’ll handle it. Preferences?”
“No, I’ll leave it to you.” She replied, anticipating his reaction. In one continuous movement, she backed up out of the kitchen turned on her heel, then continued into the bathroom, grabbing her lime green towel off the rack next to the door before closing it.
He watched her go into the bathroom and scowled. He should have just let her make breakfast. After all, he woke up first, and she goes to work long before he does. Now, she’ll take all the hot water. He vocalized his complaint with a sigh and put the viola away, locking the case before getting up and walking slowly to the kitchen, where he opened the refrigerator and calmly perused. After a moment’s consideration, he took out a case of eggs, a pack of bacon strips, and a carton of orange juice.
“Steady, steady.” He reminded himself as he gingerly set down the ingredients, then walked past the stove, turning on two burners as he slid by. Stopping, he bent over, opened a cupboard, and took out two skillets, which he placed on the already hot stove.
“Alright, I’m going to turn the water on, so no hot water out there.” She yelled from inside the bathroom.
“Come on, you know me! Am I really that dis-respectful, that cruel?” He shouted back in a hurt tone.
“Yes, that’s why I knew I had to make sure to say it. You are predictable, you know. It’s a mixed blessing.”
“I’m only predictable because you complain when I’m spontaneous.”
“Spontaneity for you always ends up badly.”
“But it’s fun at the beginning, right?”
Their rapid-fire conversation immediately halted, and he smiled at her hesitation. Seconds passed before she finally spoke.
“I’m getting in the shower.”
“Ah, that’s a yes!”
The sound of the shower turning on was his only reply, and he smiled stupidly as he turned back to the now hot skillets with a little more motivation. He opened the egg carton and took out four eggs, which he broke smoothly and put two in each skillet. They landed with an immediate sizzle and were quickly joined by two strips of bacon apiece. He took two spatulas from the sink and wiped them off on a dish towel before poking at the contents of each skillet, pushing them around slightly to feel like he was doing something. He watched with mild interest as the eggs turned white and stopped running, and the bacon gained a brown color and curled.
Within minutes, the skillets were in a sink full of water and two plates rested on the table with a glass of orange juice next to them. The raw eggs, bacon, and orange juice were stowed away safely in the fridge and only the egg shells remained. He figured she could at least clean up that after stealing all the water.
“I swear, sometimes I’m too nice. Stuff like this is kind of a balancing act.” He said to himself, looking at the shells listlessly. He hardly noticed the bathroom door open and her head poke out into the living room.
“Hey…”
He jumped slightly and looked over blankly. “Yeah?”
“I forgot to bring in fresh clothes.”
“Well go get them, then.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“The towel shrank in the laundry, I guess.”
“How much?”
“Too much.”
His cheeks instantly burned and he nodded quickly, standing up and rushing to their room.
Critiques also happily welcomed, though I'd honestly prefer content-based over grammatically-based reviews.
Losing Humanity
He shrugged off the sheets of his bed and carefully maneuvered from Her grip. Slowly extricating himself from the bed, he looked down at her sleeping face and smiled before turning and walking out of the bedroom into the sunlit living room, its white walls dyed red by the wary sunrise in the distance. He quickly located his dry-cleaned suit hanging on a lamp and made a mental note of its location as he sat down and turned on the T.V. with a flick of his finger. The set detected his heat signature and movement and flickered to life before turning itself to his choice news channel, where the standard newscaster had an uncharacteristic look of worry on his face.
“Once again back to our top story for the seven o’clock audience tuning in: The Tanseele Commonwealth has once again threatened reprisal for Ilya Sornan action, this time citing north-western Ilya Sorna as the target. President Atrius has issued a statement urging citizens to take these threats seriously and for those in possible danger-zones to evacuate with all due haste. It’s no surprise that this statement was issued, in light of the fire bombings of Karos that took place last week in response to the Siege of Gehirn two months ago. Please stay tuned for further developments.”
Shoving the fear in his gut down, he turned the T.V. off and leaned over the side of the sofa to grab his viola case, his hand strongly grasping the smooth plastic handle. He pulled it onto his lap and gingerly opened it, smiling at the lacquered wood instrument gleaming back at him. He took it from the case and plucked its strings, performing slight tuning, then drew his bow and ran it across before making further adjustments. A minute passed before he breathed a sigh of contentment and adjusted his head on the cheek-pad.
“Beethoven Symphony Number 5. Second Movement.” He murmured to himself before beginning to play softly. He let the usually long, lilting notes stretch themselves out and fell into the mellowness of the sound before finally moving on to quicker, more upbeat notes, his bow quickly jumping around. He descended farther into the sound and unintentionally drew out much louder notes. He sank into a deep timbre and felt the floor beneath his feet thrum slightly, then a weight came down on his shoulders and he smelled light lavender. The bow abruptly stopped and he turned his head to her. She was on her knees behind the sofa with her head resting on his shoulders. She breathed calmly and smiled at how surprised he was to see her.
“It’s cute, how much you get into that.” She commented slyly, causing him to look away. She saw his cheek turn red from a profile view and laughed lightly before standing and walking to the kitchen. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Want some breakfast?”
“No, I woke you up, so I’ll handle it. Preferences?”
“No, I’ll leave it to you.” She replied, anticipating his reaction. In one continuous movement, she backed up out of the kitchen turned on her heel, then continued into the bathroom, grabbing her lime green towel off the rack next to the door before closing it.
He watched her go into the bathroom and scowled. He should have just let her make breakfast. After all, he woke up first, and she goes to work long before he does. Now, she’ll take all the hot water. He vocalized his complaint with a sigh and put the viola away, locking the case before getting up and walking slowly to the kitchen, where he opened the refrigerator and calmly perused. After a moment’s consideration, he took out a case of eggs, a pack of bacon strips, and a carton of orange juice.
“Steady, steady.” He reminded himself as he gingerly set down the ingredients, then walked past the stove, turning on two burners as he slid by. Stopping, he bent over, opened a cupboard, and took out two skillets, which he placed on the already hot stove.
“Alright, I’m going to turn the water on, so no hot water out there.” She yelled from inside the bathroom.
“Come on, you know me! Am I really that dis-respectful, that cruel?” He shouted back in a hurt tone.
“Yes, that’s why I knew I had to make sure to say it. You are predictable, you know. It’s a mixed blessing.”
“I’m only predictable because you complain when I’m spontaneous.”
“Spontaneity for you always ends up badly.”
“But it’s fun at the beginning, right?”
Their rapid-fire conversation immediately halted, and he smiled at her hesitation. Seconds passed before she finally spoke.
“I’m getting in the shower.”
“Ah, that’s a yes!”
The sound of the shower turning on was his only reply, and he smiled stupidly as he turned back to the now hot skillets with a little more motivation. He opened the egg carton and took out four eggs, which he broke smoothly and put two in each skillet. They landed with an immediate sizzle and were quickly joined by two strips of bacon apiece. He took two spatulas from the sink and wiped them off on a dish towel before poking at the contents of each skillet, pushing them around slightly to feel like he was doing something. He watched with mild interest as the eggs turned white and stopped running, and the bacon gained a brown color and curled.
Within minutes, the skillets were in a sink full of water and two plates rested on the table with a glass of orange juice next to them. The raw eggs, bacon, and orange juice were stowed away safely in the fridge and only the egg shells remained. He figured she could at least clean up that after stealing all the water.
“I swear, sometimes I’m too nice. Stuff like this is kind of a balancing act.” He said to himself, looking at the shells listlessly. He hardly noticed the bathroom door open and her head poke out into the living room.
“Hey…”
He jumped slightly and looked over blankly. “Yeah?”
“I forgot to bring in fresh clothes.”
“Well go get them, then.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“The towel shrank in the laundry, I guess.”
“How much?”
“Too much.”
His cheeks instantly burned and he nodded quickly, standing up and rushing to their room.