Vanished

The year is 2075 in a city called Zephyr. It’s not Zephyr anymore, it’s more of a ghost town now. 5 years after the chaotic revolution with the government and the people. Our leader became paranoid that harm would come to our city and eventually he took “precautions” and ended up doing the unimaginable. The government went under martial law, forced people out of the city, and started killing innocent people. A few years after this revolt, people mysteriously started disappearing and it was not the government killing them. People vanished. Not just the government officials and military authority, but civilians as well. People never knew when they’re loved ones would vanish into thin air. People became afraid and mass hysteria took over and nobody trusted anyone anymore. One by one, people disappeared in our city, and eventually, everyone disappeared. Everyone on Earth. The population was non-existent. No one knew what it was. No one will ever know what it is, because there’s no one left besides me. 

It’s been 5 years since the global extinction. I have been wandering around various cities and countries by foot, plane, car, etc. With no one left on Earth, I can get by well as I have all the food in the world and the resources to last me more than a lifetime. I’m still currently in Zephyr because I made this city my base camp. As I still call it my home, I always come back here to plan my next trip to another place on the globe. I practically run the Earth as I don’t need a title or money to get by anymore. Although it gets lonely on Earth, I can always go to some random amusement park and do whatever I want. I run the world. However, I want and whenever I want.

I vividly remember the day I woke up and my entire family vanished. I always told my family I loved them every day and we cherished each day and each other together as if it were our last. I woke up and the room felt cold. I wasn’t hearing any laughter or any talk coming from our living room. I never knew silence could be so loud until that very moment. Hearing silence only gave me a clue as to what had happened. I knew what happened. I just couldn’t get myself to believe. I took myself they had just gone out and that they’d be back by sundown. It’s been 3 years and they never came back. Sometimes I wait at my home in Zephyr in hopes that they’ll come back. 

My next trip is to a city called Neocity. I’ve looked it up and it seems very lively. I thought maybe I could find some sense of company, by all the bright lights and neon signs. It’s a 4-hour drive from Zephyr so I will depart by car in the morning. I have hope for this city for some odd reason, it just feels right to go here. Something is bringing me here, but I’m not sure what it is. After a 4 hour drive, I arrived at Neocity. This place is exactly as I imagined it to be. Bright lights, party atmosphere, and those cool neon signs. I drove through the city to explore my surroundings before I did anything. After a good 20 minute drive, I decided to stop by this flashy grocery store. It was flashy almost to the point that it looked like a mall. I needed to see what I could gather before I headed back to Zephyr. 

I entered the store and it was gleaming with all neon signs and bright lights. I was almost blinded upon walking in. I ventured around for a moment to see what I should take until something caught my eye. Footprints. Fresh footprints. The footprints left behind a trail of mud. I knew I wasn’t alone in the world. Out of all the places in the world, I just knew something brought me to Neocity. I had to stay alert throughout the store in case this person was dangerous. I never carried a weapon with me unless I entered a new city so I had a gun prepared. I kept myself alert as I walked around the store. Getting items was my last priority as I wanted to see if someone else was also alive in this world. 

As I walked through an aisle, I saw the presence of a man. He had broad shoulders, tall, and was stubble all over his face. We made eye contact and we both froze in place. I dropped my gun because he didn’t seem harmful. He had the softest features. I cleared my throat to cut the tension in the air. “Who are you?”, he asked me. I responded with my name and where I was from. His name was Sebastian and he came from the city of Icarus, which is a town 20 minutes from Zephyr. Isn’t it crazy how we used to live so close together but met by chance at a random town 4 hours away? I had asked him if he wanted to work together as we can finally have some sort of company, but he seemed almost hesitant before agreeing. We wandered the store together and collected items before he stopped. He said, “I know I agreed to stay with you, but in exactly 5 months, meet me here.”, and then he proceeded to pass me a map with a large red X written on a city. I looked at the map and realized he marked somewhere I hadn’t been to yet. I looked up at him and before I could’ve asked him anything, he ran off. 

I still don’t know what Sebastian’s intentions were that day, but I knew he didn’t mean any harm. It’s been 4 months and I have a month left to go before I meet him at that mysterious location he marked on the map. I’ve traveled between Zephyr and Neocity in hopes that he’d suddenly appear in Neocity. I’ve sometimes traveled to Icarus to explore the small town and see if he’d be there. I felt desperate for more interactions, it had been years since I had any of that. But the best part of living right now is that I know that I am not alone.