"Good God. I thought your Japanese friend had some standards." Samuel muttered to Aaron as Ichiro left the room with Lola - who had not been shy in eyeing both himself and Aaron up before leaving with her prey. Despite the obvious attractiveness of the woman, he'd never felt tempted to fall into the trap lying between her legs. If he was that desperate, he'd rather go into the city and find a prostitute.

He'd feel more honest paying for the services.

"Well, this has been more depressing than a funeral. I should have known better than to show up." Samuel said, draining the remainder of his whiskey before refilling it. Taking a glance at Aaron, a mischievous grin flitted over his face.
"Looks like the Police Chief is rather tied up at the moment." He said, motioning across the room towards Yates, who was drunkenly flirting with a rather nervous looking young woman - and it was quite remarkable the man had gotten himself so damn sloshed so damn quickly.

"One of the Warbler's must have put vodka in his juice pouch. How sweet."" He added with a sarky chuckle, turning back to look at Aaron.

"Fancy one last look at the sun? Should still be setting; and despite the cold, the roof should give us a good view." He said, raising his eyebrows in a tempting manner. Technically, the roof was out of bounds, unless maintenance work was being done, or a helicopter was emergency landing. But the Chief was sloshed, and Samuel just loved to bring out Aaron's rebellious side. He truly was a bad influence on his younger friend.

Eh.

It must come with being English.

---

7:00 AM

Unlike most Alaskan mornings in Whittier- The sun did not rise and the birds did not sing. An eerie silence among the darkness swept over the Begich Towers. Once naturally lit hallways were now replaced with a cloud of dull grey. Shifting of beds, coughing, and the faint cry of the youngest resident Joey Giles we're the only sounds that could be heard until once again, the familiar and often dreaded four note tone rang through the tower.

This morning Margorie wasn't accompanied by the Mayor, his post sexual advances and hangover even too much for the old man. Her bright and cheery voice began, "Goooood morning Residents!" she paused adjusting her salmon toned cardigan over her body. The lack of sun made the cold months even more crisp. "I would like to begin by thanking every one for coming out for the festivities last night. It wouldn't be the same here with out every single one of you!" she babbled, rustling her papers around. "Here are the following announcements for the day:"


1) Church service starts promptly at 7:30am lead by Pastor Quentin Adams and Rosemary Adams.
2) Post Office is closed. Mail will resume promptly on Monday.
3) School for all ages will resume on Monday.
4) Both the restaurant and cafe will not open until at 12:00pm
5) Mayor Goodge will be taking meetings after 3:00pm

Margorie stopped, before a small gasp released from her lips, "Oh! It's also our very own Daryl Davis' birthday today, so make sure you stop by the office or his room and wish him a happy birthday and give him a present or two!" she let out a childish giggle. "Let's have a wonderful day today." she ended the announcement, the static filling the sound system before an abrupt end of silence.

---

First Floor Activity:
Margorie wrapping up her announcements and heading towards the mayor's apartment and then church.

Second Floor Activity:
Closed

Third Floor Activity:
Officers reported in.

Fourth Floor Activity:
Several people from last night in the drunk tanks.

Fifth Floor Activity:
Closed

Sixth Floor Activity:
Mr. & Mrs. Adams setting up for service.

Seventh Floor Activity:
Closed

Eight Floor Activity:
Closed

Ninth Floor Activity:
Always open. Several machines going.

Tenth Floor Activity:
Closed. Usually open 24/7. Antonio Parona hasn't reported in yet.

Eleventh-Thirteenth Floor Activity:
Residents waking up and beginning their day.

Fourteenth Floor Activity:
Mess from last night still present.

---

Was it dark? It didn't feel dark.

Jasmine woke up halfway off her couch, wrapped in a cotton blanket, with all the same clothes on from last night. It was difficult to explain, sometimes she just... neglected the fact that she owned a bed. A bit groggy, she rose up from her slumbering position and slowly slid off the couch. Rubbing her eyes with one hand and unravelling the blanket with another, she stood up and tossed the lump back on the couch, where it often remained.

Jasmine stumbled over to her meager excuse of a kitchen and thought for a moment what to substitute for breakfast instead of something actually appropriate for the timeframe. She was really starting to regret not snagging an extra bowl of mashed potatoes to wrap up and take back home for later consumption.

Oh well. She could always make eggs.

She opened up her refrigerator.

She was out of eggs.

_"Fuck." She muttered, suddenly developing an unnatural craving for pan-fried eggs with salt, pepper, shredded cheese, and maybe some garlic. She had everything but the eggs. In her head, she mentally projected a quest marker over the location of the nearest in-building grocery stockroom.

Jasmine walked over to her room. Nothing spectacular, though it was certainly the untidiest in the apartment. She crouched and pulled up half of her mattress, inspecting a hole cut into the already-damaged fabric. Shoving her hand in the hole, out she pulled a gym bag. And in the gym bag was a considerable amount of currency. The ill-gotten bounty her not-father reluctantly shared with her.

Came in handy for shit like this.

She grabbed a few tens and quickly put the gym bag back inside the mattress, setting it down and covering it up with the sheets. Not bothering to wash up, change clothes, or even slap on some deodorant, she exited her apartment on a mission for assorted food item purchases.

One month of darkness. She could take it.

Aaron pondered for a moment on whether or not he should take his foreign friend up on his offer, but then remembered the last time he had been caught slacking off while on duty. It wasn't actually with Samuel that time. Rather, Aaron had fallen asleep while covering one of his colleagues shift and Yates had caught him and given him a piece of his mind.

"We best not," he answered. "Remember what I told you what happened last time Yates caught me?"

Aaron ended his sentence with a chuckle as he watched Ichiro and his new partner depart the party. He glanced at Samuel, who had also noticed the duo, and turned his nose up at the idea. The officer yawned and continued to keep watch over the party as it slowly died down and he was eventually dismissed by his commander.

He returned to his room, and went straight to bed. He'd been up since 6am, and would have to be up at the exact same time the following morning. He despised the early starts, but once he got started, it was fine. Aaron liked his job anyway, and counted himself lucky he was not one of the maintenance crews taking care of the tower's sewer pipes. Swiftly, Aaron dozed off.



Beep, beep, beep... Those sounds drove Aaron insane every time he heard them. Each morning, he contemplated picking that damn alarm clock up and hurling it at the wall. Many times had he been woken by the droning screech, just to go to a debrief by Yates, who seemed to have a dislike for Aaron and tore him a new one every time he walked into the room.

Slowly but surely, Aaron got up, showered, got dressed and had breakfast. The clock on the wall informed him it was now 06:43. He had plenty of time to get from his floor to the third. He always took the stairs down to the third floor. Aaron had a particular hate for enclosed spaces, namely the grimy, unkempt elevator that ferried people up and down.

At 06:50, Aaron stepped out of his door, with all his necessary components in place, and started his descent to the third floor via the stairs. The general buzz of the tower was now beginning, with residents going about their daily routines. A gaze out the window showed that it was now pitch black outside. Almost as if a switch had been flicked and all light had gone.

Ichiro awoke early the next lightless morning. He was in a tangle of limbs with Lola, after a long and very satisfying night of company. His head was clear, not hinting the slightest at the vast amount of alochol he had imbibed with the lovely woman late into the night. He'd always awoke with the crack of dawn, but today had been a little later than he was used to, but early by any's account. Without the first light of the sunrise, his body's clock was confused, but hadn't deserted Ichiro. Now, the Japanese man needed to go about his normal routine. He set about on his morning prayers, then exercises in his weight room, and finally took a long and much appreciated shower.

After drying off and tying up his hair in a messy ponytail, he grinned at Lola's elegant and alluring appearance. Her form was outlined by the silk top sheet that now lay about her, giving rise to a resurgence of passion he felt for her. Chuckling softly over the rim of his mug as he remembered the night, or morning, if one stopped to consider the time they'd been involved until. Either way, Ichiro's amusement was short-lived as pangs of hunger hit him. He'd not yet eaten, wanting to wait for Lola to awaken, but he didn't think it prudent to put it off much longer. His lounging robe was a traditional kimono that one would wear to bed or around their house. Rolling back and pinning the long sleeves, he cooked himself a piping hot omelette, stuffed with goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh green and red pepper, diced beforehand. He had long since cooked his own meals, a habit picked up from his time as a Yakuza member. Since he cooked and prepared his own meals, no one had ever had a chance to kill him with imbibed poisons. He hated the idea of a good meal ruined by a cowardly poison. It just didn't seem right.

He settled in to a second cup of coffee and his just made omelette. Lola would wake up in her own time, Ichiro knew. What he didn't know, was why he didn't hear the chirp of birds, even so late into the dark morning... Where had they gone?

Lola cracked one eye open, still in a sleepy daze. Her brain assumed that it was not time to wake with the lack of sunlight before she had to remind herself that would not be any sunlight for a whole month. Her mind flashed back to the evening before, making her smirk deliciously at the activities she performed with the Japanese man. She giggled, rolling over to find he was not laying beside her. She curled into a ball, wrapping the soft, silky sheets around her form, debating if she should awake, though the smell of breakfast was enough convincing for her to rise. Lola sat up, holding herself with her elbows supporting her, taking in Ichiro's decorated room, pleased that he had a sense of style. She slide off to the side of the bed to stretch and work out her kinks while reminiscing about the money she was going to make from her private photos. Lola had quite the day ahead of her. The blonde bombshell cloaked her nudity before following the scent that aroused her to wake in the first place.

She halted her stride from the bed momentarily when she felt unusual chills make their way up her back and neck, giving her goosebumps like you wouldn't believe. She tried her hardest to shrug off the eerie silence and cold air, though it stuck with her on her way to Ichiro's kitchen in search of him.
"Something smell yummy." Lola spoke aloud to let her lover know she was awake.
"I hope you saved me a drop of coffee." She chuckled, finally spotting Ichiro. She tried to comb her fingers though her hair only to have them caught in a blonde, poofy mess. "Guess we got a little rough late night."