Chapter 12: Falling

Zeke found sleeping that night to be impossible. Every time he closed his eyes, a picture of Azia began to form in his mind. Every encounter they had up to that point kept replaying themselves in his brain, like a convoluted movie. He started to analyze every interaction and reaction she had with him, until he lay there, wide awake, groaning into his pillow.

"Dear God, what is happening to me?" he asked aloud, staring up at steel beams that ran along the ceiling. He lay there for another few minutes before clamoring out of bed.

The hallways of the Knowles compound were deserted. The moon, an almost perfect circle, was visible through the large glass windows as he shuffled past, bathing the hallway floors in soft white light. Zeke could hear the blare of televisions and soft snoring as he made his way past a myriad of doors in the residence quarters.