Red sky at morning

Sunlight crept through the gaps in the blinds, streaking across his face as he irritably turned his head away from the invading daylight. He'd been too drunk to remember to pin up the blanket across the hole last night and his head was fiercely regretting the decision now, drilling a sharp reprimand into the base of his skull. His left hand snaked out to scrabble around blindly in the drawer of his night stand and triumphantly located the painkillers stashed there. He pushed two from the plastic tray and swallowed them dry, eyes still screwed tightly shut, and eventually mustered up the will to slide his body out from bed. Sometimes he wondered if he wasn't falling too much into the Rhys persona, as he'd never drank much before this assignment and now it was starting to become habit to reach for a bottle of spirits.

The painkillers kicked in mercifully fast, one of the few perks of working at the clinic. He put the kettle on and heaped spoonfuls of instant coffee into a chipped mug, adding an almost equivalent amount of sugar, and paused to breathe in the aroma. As a junior medic, his apartment was tiny and bare, though he'd spent some time fixing the more obvious faults and peeling wallpaper that had irritated him too much to ignore. Most of his possessions had been left back in Delta, few as they were, and the few bits and pieces he'd picked up as Rhys were more functional than decorative. Someone else had installed a complex hidden safe system before he'd arrived, which he used to hide most of the equipment Rhys wouldn't have access to, and the door was deceptively secure. The only real change he'd made was the addition of metal bars, one above the door and a number on the wall, almost like rungs on a ladder, with a set of weights stacked neatly next to them. He'd pitched Rhys as vain enough to be obsessive about his body image, explaining the frequent evening runs and musculature, but it was still safer to keep most of his routine inside. A medic who kept himself in shape was one thing, a medic with the strength of a soldier was quite another.

He fell into the exercises easily, finding the usual serenity in the ritual. It was one of the few times that he felt content with the world, losing himself in the flex and burn of muscles and the meditative repetition of actions he'd performed thousands of times before. His body was a weapon as much as his mind was; how many times had he managed to beat targets with access to the supernatural with nothing more than his own, human, abilities, albeit with a little genetic enhancement. Some of the boys he'd trained with had been terrified about the procedure, fearing it would make them too similar to the monsters they hunted, but Alex would take every advantage given to him.

It took less than an hour to finish his routine and shower, instantly returning to make more coffee once he was finished. He dressed while he waited for it to boil, frayed pair of jeans and plain tshirt acceptable for his day off, and took the cup with him as he left the apartment. He liked to watch people in the mornings, conjuring up stories about their lives and sordid secrets, and so he sat on the wall in front of the block of flats, drinking his coffee as he idly planned how he'd best take down those passing by. Still a few hours before most people would start work, Gamma was surprisingly busy, either those trying to get a headstart for the day – food, especially, tended to run out quickly, especially if you wanted something nice – or those finally making their way back after nights spent in a variety of fun. For all its other faults, Gamma offered a huge variety of sins to partake in.

It suited him. He liked the anonymity, the roughened edge of society, and he had never been one who cared overly much for comforts.

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MADE BY ★MEULK OF GS