Morning all. I had the strangest dreams last night. there was a group of people going into a meeting where they promised to keep a secret. To ensure they did, they removed their lips. It was cartoon like not bloody. They pulled out like a bubbly coin purse and then they put their coin purse mouth in a metal box with their cell phones as they went into the meeting. It was oddly disconcerting. Just thought I’d share. And now, on with the morning prompt.
I am going to have to figure out what sensitive information Frank has before I figure out where this story is going. But I kind of like the start.
Thursday, January 30th: He lay back in his hammock.
He lay back in his hammock. The day was perfect. The sun was shining, but not too hot. The breeze was blowing but it wasn’t too harsh. The trees had a leafy canopy that dotted him with shade. He stretched out. Frank let his body relax, feeling the tension in each and every muscle. He tried to imagine he was pushing it out of his body he imagined being squeezed like a tube of tooth paste, the tension being pushed town his body and out through his toes. He smiled to himself as he imagined the tension squirting out from his big toe and leaving him.
As he sighed with contentment he tried to remember the last time he was able to relax. He found he couldn’t. Work had been all hands on deck for the past six months. He had worked long days before but this was something different. This was work place insanity. New systems were coming on line and sensitive equipment was being delivered. It had to be admitted, logged in and installed when it arrived, it couldn’t wait in the parking lot until morning or Monday if it arrived on a weekend.
Supervising his division meant that he was called in at all hours and any day that anything arrived. Then of course came the installation and the necessary systems checks as everything was brought on line. For the past six months he worked, grabbing a bite to eat on the way home and often eating in the car so that when he arrived he could shower off his day and crawl into bed to sleep. If he was lucky then he made it until morning when he had to do it again.
As Frank lay there he realized that he couldn’t remember when he last had a day off. All of his scheduled days off had ended up with him called in.
‘But I am off today,’ he reminded himself. He closed his eyes, letting work go. What did it matter how long it had been since his last day off. He was off now. He was going to enjoy it.
The hammock swung gently in the breeze and he closed his eyes. The gentle rocking and the exhaustion of too many late nights combined and Frank found himself drifting off to sleep. The sun moved through the sky and still Frank slumbered on. It wasn’t until he heard the crash that he woke.
Frank came awake with a start, his heart thudding in his chest. He knew something woke him, but he didn’t know what. He felt disoriented.
“Fell asleep in the hammock,’ he thought. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “can’t believe I fell asleep in the back yard.”
He heard another crash. It was a soft one, but still loud enough to draw his attention. It was coming from the house. He turned his heads but the hammock was placed in he trees at the far back of the property. The house was a dark shape mostly obscured. Light flashed inside the house. Frank knew he hadn’t left any lights on. He rolled out of the hammock, but stayed hidden in the trees. He edged to the side and slightly forward. He kept his body shielded by the trunks of the larger trees as he peeked around the trunk to sneak a peak at his house.
The light came again. Someone was moving through his house with a flash light. ‘Several someones.’ He reached for his phone and realized he didn’t have it on him.
Ten til Midnight 