I woke up some time after day break. By the feel of the heat in the room, it felt like a good deal after day break. I slept in a lot that first night back in the house. I spent the morning going through the kitchen and garage and taking stock of my situation. Food for a few days, almost no meat, no car, no gas or other fuel, and only sporting goods for use as weapons if need be. It was not a good situation. It was around noon when I got the knock on my door.
It was my next door neighbor Mr. Jenkins. He didn’t look too well, bags under his eyes, cuts and bruises, about the same as I looked, I suspect. He asked me how I was, and I told him lies. I told him I was fine. He smiled a little. He told me that the rest of the neighborhood was going to have a meeting that night and that we, my parents and I, should come to it if able. I told him we would be there. I then decided to take a bath. It turned out that the water system was still working, which I was very very grateful for.
The meeting that night was in the street, in the middle of the block. It was a bonfire made from dried leaves and other debris. The power was still off everywhere in the neighborhood. A man stood up and started speaking. I’m not entirely sure who he was. I remembered him from around the neighborhood, but I don’t think we ever talked. He said something to the effect that there had been some kind of event and many people were missing. The power was out, but the water was still on–but no one knew for how long. He said he had a radio and that we should all listen to the current broadcast.
It was the President. Or the man acting as President. The real President had disappeared along with half of everyone else. That was the main focus of the broadcast. Half of everyone had disappeared, and no one knew where they had gone. The government was investigating the issue, but in the mean time, the entire country had been declared a disaster zone. The sudden disappearances had wreaked havoc on the nation’s infrastructure. Planes, trains, and cars were in ruins. Power was out across a majority of the country, although efforts were in place to bring the grid back online. All military reserves were called out, and anyone not on duty was asked to report to a number of different locations the President listed off. He said we shouldn’t be afraid and we shouldn’t panic.
After the address, the man in charge said that tomorrow we would do this again and take a head count, but that until power was restored, we should all stay indoors as much as possible after nightfall.
