Four hours earlier, Graham and Nicola were in bed. The first feeble grey light of the dawn seeped through the gap in the curtains. Graham was awake, laying on his back. He had just awoken from a dream in which he was unable to move. His heart was racing and his feet sweaty. Once he had regained his composure and his bearings he looked over at the bedside clock.

6:48

The dust on the clock glowed green, reflecting in his glass, which stood empty next to his glasses. His throat was thick with the night. Nicola was lying with her back to Graham on the other side of the bed, right on the edge. Graham got up, took his glass to the kitchen and filled with it water from the tap.