Excerpt: Message in a Bottle

It was early, too early. The morning’s light was barely over the horizon, casting feeble beams into the gaps between the clouds. Later on, it was sure to be a vivid red, heralding a tempestuous day. Now, however, it was merely an annoyance, seen through the gap in the curtains.

Mina was sitting up in bed, eyes bleary with sleep. What had woken her? It wasn’t her alarm, for that was set much later. Focusing on the illuminated digits of the clock, she read the time: 04:12. Far, far too early to be up. She wasn’t a morning person at the best of times.

A noise sounded, a sharp beep. Three beeps, each with a staccato pause following, and then silence. Her mobile. Dammit. Why was that going off now? Mina cursed once, and threw back the thick duvet. A string of expletives followed, ending with “-cold!” In one swift motion she had dived out of bed, snatched the mobile from her discarded clothing, and retreated to the sanctity of the quilts before the springs had had time to stop squeaking.

Two texts. Why was someone texting her at this ungodly hour? As she stared, another came through, the harsh beeping causing her to wince. Three. She rubbed sleep from her eyes, fingers moving automatically over the tiny phone to reach her messages. All three from Alan, her boss. All three, she found upon examination, held exactly the same words: a fourth came through, repeating the order.

'Get up and contact me. Now.'