[#029] Chime

I sat up at the first bell and glanced around the room.

Light from the television played across the heaps of ragged clothing strewn across the couch along the wall. The smell of trash drifted from the kitchen corner, where food had spilled from the refrigerator and sat on the floor so long it began to rot. Tiny claws scratched at the dishes in the sink where a rat dug for something special between the crusty stacks of china.

Somewhere in the distance, I could hear a siren wailing through the streets. Was it the sound of rescue? Was it a warning?

I shrugged as the final bells of the old grandfather clock died. I stretched back out on the couch and spent the last of my strength lifting my frail, skeletal arms and tightening the strap on the plastic goggles wrapped around my eyes. I reached across the divide toward the end table where the controller waited, and I pushed the button to resume the simulation.