North Shore, Australia
Alex’s House
Martin took a sip of his beverage, then set it down. For a moment, no one said anything at the table. They were gathered here to discuss what to do, what was happening, and where to go. Andrew leaned back in his chair, eyes staring at the ceiling. They were all afraid, but no one wanted to show it.
Martin’s father had once told him that showing weakness was the only true cause for fear. The others were just substituting. All members of the table seemed to contribute to the situation.
“Well. So should we discuss what happened with everyone first?” Alex commented.
“That’s a good start,” Andrew added, closing his eyes.
“If you all don’t mind, let a man go first?”
“Sure thing Martin.”
Martin thought for a minute, and then began his story. “You see, I was downstairs in the basement at the time. I live downtown in Melbourne. I was working on a model of an older Boeing 737-400. Are you familiar with the model?”
Alex and Andrew shook their heads.
“Didn’t think you would be, it was retired from service in 2010. Anyways, I was working on the engines when I heard a loud bang. Sort of like the sound barrier being broken. Being the curious guy that I am, I rushed from my hobby shop downstairs to the front patio in less then ten seconds. What I saw amazed me. My brother Lucas was outside already, staring at the clouds. For good reason too. My eyes left him and to the heavens, where I witnessed a brilliant white beyond description. Well it was more orange then white, but it was big. Then it happened. I flew backwards. My feet felt like some strongman lifted them. I smashed through a window on my house, which then collapsed onto me as well. I landed on a table or something. When I opened my eyes again, I was on top of the remains to my house. An amazing accomplishment noting that my house was three stories minus the basement.”
“Wow…” Alex tried to imagine the picture.
“Yeah. But here is the sad part. I looked for an hour or so for my brother. Lucas was nowhere to be found. I was standing right next to him, but he was gone now. If the same force hit us, we should have ended up in the same spot. The only conclusion I can think of is that he just disappeared. Like the rest of the bloody city.
“Well that would seem like an odd suggestion. I haven’t seen any bodies yet either, but I am assuming they were all buried by rubble.” Andrew challenged his question.
“Then how do you explain the cars? No one was in any of them. Many that were driving at the time are now upside down on the freeway. The tire tracks make the same markings as those of a driver who has fallen asleep suddenly at the wheel. The same thing would occur if you were to just stop driving. As if you just disappeared.”
“But…” Andrew didn’t like to accept that a preposterous idea seemed to have no evidence against it.
“Well… let us assume they did disappear for now. We can discuss that next. I ended that search, knowing that everyone was gone. I hoped in my mind I was right, partly because I felt ashamed to leave my brother if he was really in the rubble. I walked around for a little while after that, not sure what to do. I saw the devastation at hand. An entire city block, not far from our family’s condo was destroyed. No, that isn’t the right words. What I meant was gone. Completely vanished.”
“Well, we know people are gone. But how can the buildings be gone?” Alex asked.
“Oh they were gone. Everything was just missing. A large hole had appeared, as if God himself had taken a gigantic cookie cutter and sliced away a portion of downtown Melbourne. I made my way blindly to the hole, dodging cars, telephone polls, and sections of houses that had blown over that all laid within the streets. Looking down that round crevice was a sight I will never forget. There was nothing. Nothing at all was visible. Pure blackness. Normally you should be able to make out some sort of thing at the bottom, but I tell you I would be confusing that with the night sky. To my right I saw a large concrete slab. After much effort, I lifted the rock and tossed it into the abyss. Down it went, a nonstop spiral to the depths. It hit the sides of the hole a few times, but I never heard it strike the bottom. Suddenly that feeling came to me. You know, that eerie feeling when your hairs stand up on your neck, where you feel as if you are being watched?”
They all nodded.
“Well I felt that. I headed out of there as quickly as I could. So fast did I run, that I actually made it a mile or so before I even decided to slow down. Only then did I spot Alex. He was heading into a department store. I made a decision right on the spot. It would be very nice to have friends or allies in this situation. I don’t know what it was that urged me to think of that. Maybe it was the feeling of being spied on. All I know is that it was a good decision, and now Alex and I are both here, along with you Andrew.”
“What a story,” Andrew laughed. “I do believe every bit of it though. Has anyone ever told you that you should go into story telling?”
“Actually, yes. I'm a director at my High School’s plays.”
Alex laughed at Andrew. “Well, anyways I have an explanation for your colored light.”
Martin looked to Alex. “Oh?”
“Yes. I was driving along the same highway we used to get here, only heading to Melbourne for work. I was listening to the radio at the time. Mr. Martz from NASA was giving a radio address, some sort of big revelation about the Mars Conspiracy. Right at the moment he was about to reveal the source of the big cover up, the radio went to a large blank of static. I remember looking to the sky seeing a large shaft of light. It penetrated down to the ground; the clouds were evaporated near it. It reminded me of those videos of the nuclear detonation that wiped out Lebanon in 2006. I hit the breaks as hard as I could. I suppose it doesn’t matter due to the fact that they were anti-lock brakes. Anyways I pulled sharply to the side of the road, into the shoulder lane. The other people in the cars obviously were too distracted to stop. There was a sudden flash, followed by an immense shockwave. The car I was in was thrown backwards onto its roof. The cars that refused to stop fared far worse. One of them flew into a telephone poll. The driver, who must not have been wearing a seatbelt, flew from his windshield into a billboard.
“Oh wow!” Martin almost fell backwards in his chair laughing.
“That’s not really funny…” Alex commented. He looked at Andrew for support, who was trying to hide a smirk.
“Not you too Andrew…”
“Well you have to admit it is rather funny. I can almost picture it in my head. Hah…”
“MOVING ON… Anyways more cars crashed every direction, a few exploded. After it was done, I was suspended by my car’s seatbelt. Fuel from the gas tank had begun to leak, and it was heading towards the sparking engine. I finally got untangled from the mess, and hopped out. My car exploded in a ball of flames right after that. It was pretty James Bondish. After that I looked around. The sky was red. It reminded me of a painting of the rapture that I had once seen.”
The room went quiet. The rapture was definitely a depressing thought.
“Anyways… I headed down the road. Sort of in a daze. I ended up at the department store. I met Martin there.” He finished his little story. They looked at Andrew.
“Well. I was sort of watching TV at home. I heard the bang, but didn’t think anything of it really. I thought it might be a fighter jet or something along those lines. A strange thing happened though. Right before the bang, my television went to a static mode. You know, the black and white fuzz? Anyways, all I remember was an intense howl of wind, and then it was gone.”
“That’s it?” Martin asked.
“Yeah. It was a lot less intense then what you guys described. I got up to look outside, and I noticed that everyone was gone. A mans lawnmower sat out in the grass, still humming. A car was coasting slowly, with no one in it. I went to go check with my neighbor. He was gone as well. Everyone was missing, just like how you guys described. I eventually was walking back home when I heard the phone ring in this house.”
Martin nodded. “What I can tell is that the blast was a lot less intense in areas away from the epicenter. But the effects seemed to have still occurred fifty miles away from ground zero. What you guys described was a light, a bang, and a shockwave. Since I was within a few hundred feet of the center of the deadly ray of ungodly evil, I never saw it. It was nearly on top of me. That is why my house was completely leveled, despite being made of brick. This house was hardly touched fifty miles away… Let me try something.”
Martin pushed his chair back, and walked over to the telephone, which was mounted on the wall. He picked up the receiver and dialed a long distance number to the US. He waited for a moment, and then set the phone down.
“My great grandmother is in a hospital bed in New York. She can never leave that bed. She didn’t pick up her phone.”
There was a long pause. “Maybe she's just sleeping.”
“No. She is on a strict schedule… it should be time for her morning meal there.”
A feeling of dread washed over them. Maybe this thing affected more then just the Melbourne area. Maybe more then just Australia. What if everyone on the whole world had just disappeared? This was getting more nerve-racking than weird. Alex for one didn’t like to think the world was ending.
“Well… let’s discuss what could have happened.” Andrew was feeling sick.
“What could have happened? Well let us make a list.” Martin pulled notepad from his pocket out.
“1. Aliens. 2. The Americans. 3. The Rapture. 4. Unknown”
He threw the list to Alex.
“I think I would have to guess Aliens.” Alex passed it to Andrew. He looked at the paper carefully.
“The rapture seems like it would make sense. But no. The people left behind are the ones who don’t believe. We all seem to be Christian right?” Everyone nodded.
“I don’t go to church, but I believe in a god.” Martin added.
“That shouldn’t stop you from going to heaven. So… what is going on exactly?” Alex questioned.
“Well… maybe it is the opposite of what was written. Maybe everyone is sent to hell, while the believers are kept to repopulate the Earth anew?” Andrew thought. It was a good idea with only one major problem. There were probably more divine people then them. This religion stuff was not making any sense.
“Look people. It happened, we survived; now we need to get through this. I for one suggest we go ‘Shopping’.” Martin smiled.
“Good idea. Maybe we should be making a stop at the Melbourne Mall?” Alex agreed. They looked to Andrew.
“Well why not? I could use some new… anything.” They all laughed. For once, Alex was starting to feel good. Maybe he really was lucky to be one of the last percentage of humans.
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