The voices in the distance become louder and clearer within minutes. They sound rather distressed and out of breath, two or perhaps three vocal chords and tongues struggling to accomplish an understandable language in between fast and shallow breaths.

A man and a woman, that's for sure.

The albino creature of man is silent and still under the blanket, yet still seems tense and somewhat shocked at the sound of voices.

How long has it been since he last heard voices?

Voices that weren't torn in agony?

Voices that weren't rustling up the last almost-human shrieks they would ever emit?

For a second he is deep in thought, gears of his human mind rusty but hard at work, and so allows himself to pull the threadbare blanket down to just underneath his eyes.

His hair looks just like the surrounding gray.

His corners of mouth pull up just a slight bit into something like a grin at the apparent thought of his albinism once acting to his advantage.

Still, he moves slowly, not wanting the movement to give him away.

Careful not to uncover the body next to him, he decides to move further and gently climbs out of the folds.

The once beautiful, black and navy uniform that would have - should have - given him away is gray as well, only a fraction of the expensive, exclusive and highly decorated creation it once was.

There, he sees them. The red and bloodshot eyes slowly adjust to the distance, and his brain slowly begins to uncover the almost forgotten language skills buried under survival instincts.

The human brain is starting to function again.

Eardrum vibrates, nerve hairs react to the movements of the fluid in the cochlea. Electric impulses sent to the brain, which finally starts to translate sounds into words and words into sentences, and then gives the sentences a context and a meaning.

That's how it should be.

The look on his face tells of confusion.

Funny how something that used to be so familiar can turn so distant in such a short amount of time.

Funny how it is a tongue long spoken by this man, a tongue he never thought to abandon.

Funny how he now is mute.