Ebbing

Back in the year 2020 A.D., something mysterious happened. The world doesn’t remember, but the story has been passed down through my family over the generations. I think it’s finally time that everyone else knows what happened. It’s a long story, so sit back. You won’t want to miss a thing.

Geordan Flint, age 19, worked at a bakery located in a mall. As the Assistant Patissiere his job was to help the other chefs and keep an eye out up front where the goods were sold. He had to deal with unhappy customers and confused chefs.

Over the two years of working there he had grown tired of people. The only people that really ever talked to him needed something from him. This day had been extremely bad. One of the cashiers had forgot to inform the chefs of a large order that was due two hours ago. Geordan was stuck dealing with the endless complaints that the customer had to offer. After forty-five minutes the customer stomped off unsatisfied, with a full reimbursement and a purse full of coupons.

He sighed and returned to the kitchen. Don, the head chef, smiled sympathetically, “I know it’s tough for you Geordan, but I’m glad to have you working here. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Geordan ran his hands through his hair and forced a smile. “Yeah, I just wish it would be less stressful,” he said.

Don nodded. “Well there is something good in all this bad,” he said.

Geordan looked up and said, “Oh yeah? What?”

“You’re shift is over now, you spent the rest of it with that lady.” Don said, “You can go home now.”

Surprised, Geordan looked at his watch, the digital numbers read 4:15, but the analog hands, which he could never get to stay at the right time, read 7:15. His shift had indeed ended fifteen minutes ago. He thanked Don and clocked out.

As he headed to the car the earth began to shake and Geordan stopped. “Another earthquake, they are getting more and more common,” he said to himself. He pulled out his keys and pressed the button to unlock his 2014 Toyota Avalon XLE. He had just bought it off a used car lot, but the previous owner who bought it was rich so they drove it for a few years and moved on. The car was in great condition, but the interior was cluttered with Geordan’s things. While he was normally very strict about the condition of things, he never bothered to keep his things tidied-up because he found it tedious.

His house was a ways from his work, and he made it home just in time to see a beautiful winter sunset. Unbothered by the chill of the wind, Geordan leaned back against his car and enjoyed the silence as the sun lowered in the sky. Tomorrow would be another busy day, but as long as he could keep seeing beautiful sights like this, his life would be more livable. As twilight began Geordan headed into his house and prepared himself for bed, he had an early morning tomorrow. He pulled back the covers and laid down. He plugged in his phone and checked to make sure the alarm was on. With his doubts satisfied, he rolled over and fell asleep.

Loud music awoke Geordan from his sleep, he fumbled for his phone and brought it towards his face. The time read 3:50. He turned off the alarm and sat up. Time to get ready. After taking a shower and getting dressed, he grabbed a box of cereal and turned on the television. The early news wasn’t on yet, but he didn’t care, too much sadness. His life was bad enough on its own. Instead, he watched a few early morning cartoons.

After he finished eating he walked to the sink and cleaned last night’s dishes. Once he finished he pulled on a jacket, grabbed his mug of coffee, and headed outside. It was five o'clock and his shift started soon, he needed to leave now to be on time.

He walked in the back door and clocked in. Don was already there and greeted Geordan. The day continued as normal and Geordan was satisfied that everyone is doing much better than usual. The chefs were working twice as hard and the cashiers hadn’t been making any mistakes. On his break, Geordan retreated to the Chef’s office to rest his eyes. He flipped the lights off and lay down on the small couch. With an alarm set for thirty minutes, Geordan closed his eyes and fell asleep.

An earthquake shook him awake, his eyes opened and he listened, he didn’t hear any screams so he rolled over, he’d check on the store when his break is over.

Geordan woke up, no alarm, no earthquake. Sighing he searched for his phone but with no avail. He clicked the light button on his watch only to see a garble of lines. “Blast it all!” he said, his watch was broken it seemed. He stood up, walked to the door, and turned on the light switch. He located his phone and pressed the home button to check the time, but the clock wasn’t there, he unlocked the phone but he couldn’t find the time anywhere. He even noticed that the analog hands on his watch were no longer working either.

He headed into the kitchen to find out what was going on, but there was no one there. He noticed the overhead clock had stopped as well. Geordan headed up front to an eerily silent mall. He climbed over the counter and checked the other stores. No one, not a single soul in any of the stores. He checked the big clock at the mall center, it was stopped at 12:30, just like the clock in the kitchen. Geordan stood dumbfounded in an empty mall.

Alone