Chapter 1
I
can’t remember the last time I woke up with a headache this bad. I racked my
brain trying to remember what I did last night. Was there a party? I didn’t
think so. Usually I remember the parties. So what happened? I racked my brain
trying to think, but I just couldn’t remember. I got up and stumbled to the
kitchen to get a glass of water, then made my way to the porch to get some
fresh air. It was a beautiful morning. The clear sky gave way to a brilliant
sunrise. I loved coming out on mornings like this to watch the sunrise and
listen to the sounds of the neighborhood. That’s when I realized that something
was off. I couldn’t hear any birds. I couldn’t hear any people. In fact, I
couldn’t hear anything. It was dead quiet. Where was everyone? I decided to take
a walk around the neighborhood to find out. The more I walked the more I grew
concerned. There was no one around. No one in the supermarket. I passed an
idling car in the gas station parking lot and hope rushed into my gut. When I
approached the car I realized that there was no one in there either. I couldn’t
find anyone. No one at all. A panic began to set in. Where was everyone? I
walked back to my house and tried to call my friend Jeff that lived across
town. The voice on the other end of the line politely informed me that my call
could not be put through at the time. I guess the lines were down somewhere or
something. I spent the rest of that day trying to find somebody. Anybody. No
luck. I went to bed that night and tried to get some sleep. I hoped that maybe
I could get some sleep and that I would “wake up” in the morning and find that
it was all a bad dream. I woke up a short while later and I thought I heard
someone outside. I checked my watch and saw that it was about 3 am. I got up to
check it out, but didn’t see anything. I assumed it was my imagination and went
back to bed.
