Choice

The sound of music in the apartment above her own woke Abigael the next morning. Her bed was soft and comfortable, the perfect temperature and she had just been in the middle of the most amazing dream. Something about flying above the city on a gust of wind or hiding in between the trees of a forest, but also still in the city... anyway, she didn't want to wake up. Softly moaning her displeasure at the sounds coming from upstairs she grabbed her pillow and put it over her head, hugging it close to her ear to block out the noise. It kind of worked, but now her arm was cold and her head was hot and she was beginning to feel the repercussions of those shots the night before coming on in a headache.

With a reluctant sigh she let go of the pillow and squirmed her body off the bed to half clamber and half fall on the floor. It was a bit of a maze at this level, bags full of clothes and other miscellaneous items she had bought in yesterday's shopping spree were dumped here and there in piles around the room. In between the bags were her heels and dress, as well as other things she hadn't been bothered to put away throughout the week.

Still too lazy to open her eyes past slits, she crawled through the mess, trying to avoid getting her loose hair caught on anything, or 'stepping' on hidden earrings she might have left lying around. It was a struggle, but she eventually found herself sitting unsteadily near the cupboard. Eyes closed and still half asleep, she could hear the cupboard door scraping across the floor as she pushed it open. She managed to get out a pair of grey slacks, undies and a T-shirt before crawling her way to the bathroom.

A shower and two paracetamol later and she was finally ready to face the day.

She did her best to drown out her upstairs neighbour's music with her favourite radio station while she made breakfast. Humming along to the tunes Abigael decided to have a stay-in and clean-up day, her poor apartment needed it and she didn't need to go out again today anyway. Regardless of what Selena said, the tech shop simply didn't open on Sunday, so she would have to close up her coffee shop early on Monday and go after work. It was a bit of a hassle, but that was just life unless she wanted to travel all the way into the city, and that would take more time than it was worth.

She slowly blended the milk with her double shot espresso coffee, grabbed a yogurt out of the fridge and an apple and sat at her small two seater dining table to eat breakfast as the radio started the news reports.

'In local news now, dozens of protesters were attacked and two are in hospital as a protest held in the city's east met a violent end. An individual claiming to have been offended and personally attacked by the statements made by speakers at the protest used unknown means to attack the crowd. Protesters were injured, with reports of dizziness and vomiting, and two were taken to hospital after suffering symptoms of severe dehydration. Initial investigations suggest the use of an airborne drug or chemical. The perpetrator is reported to have fled the scene after the attack and is still at large. It is unknown if the perpetrator is armed but police warn the public that the individual is highly dangerous and, if seen, citizens are not to make contact but to call emergency services immediately.'

Abigael licked her spoon free of the yogurt as she stared out the window. [I live in the city east, I wonder if it was that protest I saw yesterday?] She frowned slightly at the unpleasant memory of being whacked in the head by a sign, squished by the crowd and getting a door closed in her face. Shaking her head free of the thought she looked down at the watch that had caused her to be there in the first place.

'If I was there any later I could have ended up one of those people in hospital. That means I was almost injured, and you're the reason. What do you have to say for yourself, huh?' she quipped at the watch.

The display flashed and a message scrolled across the screen.

{The personal safety of the wearer has been identified as {At Risk}. The Pilot Launch Omni-Technical Armour's sole purpose is to guide the wearer and provide assistance at all times. One app can currently be made available for the purpose of personal safety. To determine the appropriate app please complete the following:}

{Goal: Unlock App}

{Choice 1: find a hiding place}

{OR}

{Choice 2: tell them}

Not expecting the watch to actually respond to her question Abigael's eyebrows shot up and she chocked on her coffee a little. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as she recovered, she stared at the screen, scrolling through the message again just to double check her eyes weren't deceiving her.

Ambiguous as always, the message didn't really tell her much, but it reminded her of the thoughts she had come up with in the hallway last night, and the question of how the watch knew she would need to make these choices before they happened. How did it work exactly?

[No way!] She shook her head viciously and tipped the rest of her coffee down her throat, burning away those irrational thoughts [Drunk. I was drunk and crazy last night. I wasn't thinking straight so it can't be. It's just a hoax, some voice recording thing meant to prank me.] She took her finished breakfast crockery to the sink and forced the questions out of her head, repeating to herself mentally that it didn't matter what the watch said or did, it was coming off on Monday anyway.

Suddenly sick of listening to the radio she switched it to her favourite playlist and started the big clean. Singing at the top of her lungs to keep away the thoughts that she knew were just simply crazy.