Lost & Found

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Atfal pushed the doors to his home open slowly. Eddies of dusty whispered across the floor from the year of abandonment. Stepping over the threshold he walked slowly inside pausing to take in the eerie emptiness that awaited his long absence. It hadn't seemed like all that long in his mind but looking back at the events it was easy to see why he had been away for so long.


Dropping his knapsack Atfal moved to where the bar was situated and picked up a bottle of spirits. He paused briefly before  blowing the dust from the bottle and sifting through the glasses for a clean one. Satisfied, he poured a large glass and walked over to the lounge area pulling off a dusty sheet before sitting down to take the weight off his feet.


He could sense the soft glow just out of his line of vision as he stared out into the snow drifts outside. It always perplexed him and he wondered if anyone could really tell the difference if they took a close enough look. He'd looked at the implants closely in the mirror and was unable to discern any difference to a normal set of eyes, but the glow was still disconcerting.


His mind wandered some more and he began to think of what he should do. PIE had placed him on the inactive list and he should look at getting back online. Then there were his brethren in arms, he wondered what had happened to them since he left. Condor, Shalee, Laerise, Mitara and many more names that he struggled to put faces to nowdays. All just fancy at the moment he thought to himself, first I need to get my own house in order then who knows.


Atfal downed the last of his drink in one shot, coughing slightly afterward. He looked around the room before signalling for the cleaner bot to star it's work. He walked over and picking up his rucksack headed off to his room just as the whirring of the bot began. Finally he was home....