(The night before)
Restless. Marcus tossed and turned in his bed, tossing the covers about his well-built frame; a sheen of sweat layered him, his hair plastered against his face, which had contorted into a despairing frown. 

Fractures and shards of images were there and gone through the maze of thought that was his dreams. Figures stood, shrouded in light and shadow; voices overlapped, sounds deafening, lights blinding. He couldn't take it anymore, it was too much. 

Marcus cried out in fear, bolting upright in his bed. He ran a single hand through his tangled mess of hair, breathing shaky and uneven. He swallowed difficultly, attempting to regain his composure. 

He turned over, looking at the holo-clock on his bedside table. "Only 2 in the morning." He said to himself in a breathy tone, chuckling weakly. He stood, throwing a simple gray t-shirt on and a black pair of sleep-pants. He left his bedroom, walking to the adjacent living room, the soft [i]patting[/i] of bare feet on the polished floor of his home. 

He hit a simple switch against the wall of the large living room, a dim glow lighting up the room. Marcus' eyes squinted as they adjusted to the introduction of light. He walked to the open kitchen/bar, beginning to pour himself a glass of wine. He frankly didn't give a damn that it was this early, he needed something to help relax his senses. 

He took the glass and sauntered over to one of his tall, bleach white armchairs. He turned on the holovision, taking a few sips of wine in-between flipping through channels. One of the channels he passed by was showing reruns of 'Interstellar Attraction'. "Ugh, who watches that garbage?" Marcus asked to no-one in particular. He finally settled to stopping it on a news channel. He watched, only half-paying attention for what seemed like forever before finally losing himself to sleep once more. 

He awoke uncomfortably in the chair, the half-finished glass of wine still on the coffee table where he had left it, undisturbed. 

Marcus rose and stretched with a deep groan, pops sounding from his back and arms as he did so. 

He left the living room and went back into his bedroom, tidying up a little bit. "Heh, maybe I should invest in one of those cleaning droids." He said to himself once more. 

He walked into the bathroom that connected to his bedroom, quickly undressing and hopping into the shower. Light had peeked on through his windows and upon pressing a few buttons on a wall-mounted console in his shower, the internal speakers throughout the house began playing Weird Fishes, by Radiohead. The song would be considered a 'classic' at this time. But Marcus took a certain joy in listening to them. Perhaps something in his damn messed up brain cells that enjoyed them. He didn't know and didn't care. 

Marcus got out of the shower and fixed his hair, smiling simply as he fixed it up just the way he liked it. He got dressed, putting on a knee-length leather trench coat over a black long-sleeved shirt with matching jeans and boots. 

He began reaching for the holstered pistol he kept in his dresser, holding back for a moment. The whispers started again, mismatched and unintelligible. Only a small, sharp command could be heard amongst the hundreds of voices issued. [i]"Take it..."[/i] The harsh voice spoke, its tone sounding like fissures in ice. 

Marcus sighed, looking weary as he grabbed the pistol and holstered it within the confines of his coat. He left the house, locking it as he walked away. He approached his car, a sleek black car, top market. 

He stopped as he began opening the door, images and voices filling his head and vision once more. He clenched his head with both hands, squeezing his eyes shut. He reached inside his coat, pulling out a small, sleek looking syringe and injecting it into his neck. The hallucinations subsided and he breathed out a sigh of relief; stepping inside his car. He turned on the ignition, LED lights lit up all over the interior and a computerized voice spoke from the center console, "Good morning Mr. Aurelius, how are you today?" 

"I'm just peachy, Computer." Marcus replied sarcastically, shifting it into reverse and leaving his residence silently.