[ WP ] The protagonist slowly realizes that he is not at all part of the actual story .

Nick rolled out of bed and on to the floor with a groan. He had hoped the uncomfortableness of the floor would help wake him up, but he was so sleepy the floor felt about as good as the bed. He felt himself drifting off, but forced himself to stand up. I just need some coffee, he thought to himself. He worked his way downstairs, where the TV was on. *'' Breaking News! `` * screamed the headline. The TV was turned down, and he could n't hear what they were saying, and honestly he did n't care. He worked his way over to the coffee pot and turned it on. Working his back across the kitchen to the bathroom, he caught another glimpse of the TV. *'' War rages in...'' * he did n't bother to read the rest. The middle east was always in an uproar, he figured, would n't be surprised if more drama started there. Did n't really matter to him. Yeah it was unfortunate, all the death and such, but was he really affected by it? No, and no one he knew would. 
 
 He reached the bathroom and plastered on some shaving cream. Carefully, he slid the razor down his face, taking all of the shaving cream and stubble, and leaving a fresh smooth finish. He got a small sense of pride from shaving well. As he was finishing around his chin, a police car threw on its sirens near the window as it raced by. He slipped, and cut himself. Shit, he thought, today is gunna be a rough day. He put a shred of toilet paper on it and went to put on his suit. Another thing he prided himself on was his ties. He had dozens of ties for dozens of occasions, and he always made sure his knot was perfect. A small or messy knot always tells a lot about a person, he figured. His knots were always double windsors; broad and perfectly shaped. As he was tying the knot, the tornado sirens went off. Probably just a test, he thought. 
 
 He poured himself a cup of coffee and then it struck him, it was a friday, the last of the month, were n't the sirens tested at the beginning of the month? He glanced outside. The sun was rising, the sky was clear, and it looked like it was going to be a gorgeous, warm, sunny day. It could n't be the weather. 
 
 He grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the TV. ``... battle rages across Europe and the far east. In addition, Russian and Chinese forces are reported to be entering into some parts of Alaska, but are meeting fierce resistance from US and Canadian forces in the -- - hang on a second, We are just getting reports of... of missile launches across the US and Russia...'' The reporter sat back in her chair with a blank, shocked look. After a second she took a deep breath and continued. `` Now, America, is the time to-'' 
 
 Nick shut off the TV, he did n't want to hear it. If he'd caught it earlier, maybe he would have had time to do something useful, maybe get close enough to his stocked cabin up north that he would escape the blast- but it was too late now. His story was ending. He poured himself a glass of scotch, and sat by the window and watched the chaos outside as the bright, burning light descended toward the city in the distance.
