PREY II: End of Era
Thoughts in my Head
Nicole was tired. She dragged herself to the room next door and muttered a groan when she saw her bed was at the other side of the room. The room was quite big, about 25 metres across and to an extremely tired person it seemed longer. Somehow she made it and she flopped onto her bed. Lying on top of the bed, something was troubling her about what Tristan said - but she couldn't put her finger on it. She decided to sleep on it and see if it will come to her. She didn't bother to change into pyjamas and fell asleep almost instantly.
Something had woken her. 'What is that', she thought, still feeling groggy. It felt like a Monday morning where you have no interest in getting up because you're still recovering from the hangover you had the previous two nights. She felt fur against her face and she opened her eyes to see a grey cat. She recognised it immediately, it was the cat that came to her house for food and shelter, why was it here? Then she forgot about the cat for a moment and thought about what Tristan had said. If light bulbs above people's heads were real Nicole would have a huge one over her head. 'That's it, Tristan has been lying to me' She realised. She had a shadow of doubt over that, because Tristan never lied, he couldn't keep a lie in, especially one that involved nano-machines infusing bodies. Tristan would make a joke out of that. 'What if it's not at all about this operation? Maybe it's something more - but who would fund something as big as this if they didn't get something really useful out of it?' Nicole knew she didn't have enough information. So she decided to go and get some breakfast, if only she knew the way to the canteen.
Nicole stepped out of her room and glanced at her watch which read: 99:99. "Huh, is there something wrong with my watch now? It can't get any worse!" Nicole voiced aloud. But as if on cue her watch started flashing and in a plume of smoke it blew up.
'This is not my day', Nicole thought, looking as if someone had stuck her red scarf in the washing machine with her white dress. She stomped down the empty corridor until she saw a sign pointing the way to the canteen. She took an elevator up to the second floor, but then realized that she hadn't a clue which level she had come from? When the lift doors opened Nicole was surprised to see no-one in the foyer. 'This place is deserted', she thought. For all the chrome and modern space-age look, it still had a feel of a haunted house about it. Then she stepped outside the lift because she heard voices. She made a bee-line to where the voices were coming from. Nicole turned right and found herself facing a bright yellow door with a window on it. It had 'Canteen' in big, friendly letters written on the front. Through the window she saw a lot of people sitting at tables randomly scattered around the room. Nicole saw Tristan talking to five friends; he glanced at the door and signalled her to come in. As Nicole stepped closer and with a pneumatic hiss the door opened. The walls of the canteen were painted red with images of food on them. Nicole approached Tristan's table and sat down in a seat. Tristan gave her a big smile, "So Nicole, what do you want for dinner?"
End Chapter 8