Last Days

Chapter 1

~ Drew~

"If you're viewing this, I'm not here anymore. Stop staring at your phone and glance around for a moment. Tell me what you see. I'm sorry. You're experiencing Earth's last days. If you see this, chances are He's arrived and taken us to his side, and presently you're part of those left to face the next seven years before his complete return. Be warned that these following few years will be more dangerous than any you've ever lived through; remember back to your worst year and multiply it 10, 20, 50, or 100 times. I'm sorry to everyone I've ever hurt. I'm sorry to those I couldn't save. I'm sorry... *end transmission*

I blinked. The information I'd just heard from one of my favourite YouTubers cut off. My phone died in my hands as I quivered a little. "Seven years? What did he mean?" I asked my buddy, who was out like a light next to me, drunk and coated in vomit. He mumbled something incomprehensible as his head lulled over his shoulder. I got up, and moving away from everyone, saw an outlet to plug my phone in to charge. 'Seven years' kept ringing in my ear, and I couldn't help but shiver. I set my phone down and found an empty chair nearby to get off my feet.

~Sophie~

I stood in shock, staring at my big brother's clothes lying on the ground. "What the fuck," was all I could utter. My brother and I were discussing our mom's surprise retirement party when out of nowhere, he disappeared. "Jim! Jim! Jim..." I slumped to the ground in tears. "Why?" was all I could utter as I sat in the middle of our favourite park. I sat in hushed disbelief for several minutes then tried to phone my mom. No answer. I tried Dad, both of my sisters, my best friend. Nothing. I was getting desperate, so I dialled the one person I knew would be here if what I thought was happening was. The phone rang for several seconds before I heard a tired voice groan on the other end. "Joey?! Oh, thank you!" "What do you have to thank me for, kiddo? Your birthday's not for another two months, so I haven't gotten you nothing."

Tears rolled down my face. "Is Marie there?"I asked shakily, "Yeah, she's upstairs cleaning the Master Bath. Why? Do you need to speak to her?" "Go check on her, Joey, please? For me?" "Sure. Hey Marie! Are you up there? Sophie's on the line and wants to say hi!" No response. I began to get choked up. "Marie!" Joey yelled her name as I heard him climb the porcelain stairs of his Los Angeles mansion. "Sorry, kiddo, she must have her tunes up too loud to hear me. I'll get her on the..." Joey's phone hit the ground. "Fucking bitch!"

~Saul~

So. Much. Carnage. I was hardly able to hit the brakes in time to avoid running into the dozen or so vehicles that had crashed in front of me. From inside my truck, I could hear people screaming in anguish and begging for help. I sat there in shock; I could not move as my brain tried to process what had happened. Five cars in the middle of the intersection spun out of control, leading to a crash unlike any I'd ever witnessed.

I climbed out of my truck, still in shock, and trekked over to the nearest car where I could hear someone. "It'll be alright. I'm dialling help now." "My baby! My baby!" "Is your child alright, ma'am? I'll attempt to get to you." The woman kept crying as I attempted to pry the hinges off the door of her sedan. Just as I was starting to get the door to come off, a paramedic showed up and began to assist me in saving the frantic, bloodied woman from her car.

~Alex~

I arrived home from a tiring day at work. I wandered in the front door and took a drink from the fridge before reclining on the sofa to get my mind off everything for a few hours. I pulled up the most recent recording of my favourite show and popped the cap off my beer. As the show played, I slowly realized the house was too quiet. Usually, I could hear my wife upstairs preparing for bed, but tonight there was zip. The house was eerily soundless; also, I couldn't help but feel jittery. I knew she was home because her car was in the driveway, and she wasn't one to pass out this early. "Hunny, are you awake up there?" I didn't receive an immediate response, so I plodded up the stairs to say goodnight on the off chance she had turned in early. Our room door was cracked open, which was unusual. However, I brushed it off as forgetfulness, especially if she was already asleep. She wasn't in there. I was beginning to get confused. "Where could she be?" Thoughts started running through my mind. What if she'd run off with someone more attractive or with more money? If she had, more of her stuff would be missing, I reasoned. This soothed my racing mind only a bit but didn't answer the biggest burning question I had; Where was she if not in bed? Just as soon as I asked, I received an answer. Her Bible was lying on the bed open and face down.

I approached where it lay, and I swear my heart stopped beating for a second. Underneath my wife's Bible was the two-piece pyjama set I bought her for Christmas. Her watch laid where her wrist should've been. Her earrings she always wore to remember her grandmother was at the neck of her pyjamas. As realization struck, I slumped to the ground, the overwhelming grief that flooded my thoughts, beginning to drown out any remaining logic and rationale I may have had. I started bawling at the side of our bed. No one could've consoled me enough to ease the pain I felt over the loss of my best friend.

-------

The first weeks after the mysterious disappearances were tumultuous for the world at large. Entire conflicts across the globe came to a halt as militiamen on both sides of various disputes grieved friends and family. No one was unmoved. Thousands lost their lives to aviators disappearing during flights and motorists going 70+mph disappearing on interstates and highways, abandoning their cars to lurch out of control. The saddest part was the babies. Not only had billions of people of all ages, races, and nationalities vanished. But every baby, born less than a year before the carnage disappeared as well.

It didn't take long for conspiracy theorists to imply aliens or secret, illegal military operations were the culprits behind the disappearances. Virtually like clockwork, a new, unique theory popped up every couple of hours. "Aliens abduct millions." read one. "President remains adamant he had nothing to do with disappearances. Is the administration concealing something?" asked another. The disappearances were unquestionably a puzzle for the world. Only a few would learn the truth in time to redeem themselves.

~Sophie~

(month 1)

Uncle Joey had come over to comfort me after he'd found Marie's belongings. It was a tear-jerking day for us both, and he'd offered to let me stay with him, but I couldn't. There were too many memories at my house. There were too many things I had to figure out. The first week or so was tough. I'd realized what had happened as soon as Jim disappeared. It didn't take me long to engross myself in what he and the rest of my family had been trying to tell me for so many years. I found nuggets of knowledge throughout the house that I'd been far too oblivious to notice before millions of synchronous disappearances had ravaged the world. They were scattered throughout; some lay in plain sight while others were a bit more subtle. Mom's favourite mug had Bible verses etched onto the bottom of it. Both Jim's Xbox and PS4 controller skins had verses on them. The more I walked the house, the more I realized how much I'd been missing out of bitterness towards God. I'd blamed him for letting my aunt get killed by a drunk driver. She'd been such a loyal, devout woman, and I couldn't fathom why such a loving God could allow her to die like that. The idea sickened me to my core even now, but I had a new perspective on the situation. I sighed as I set the photo of Aunt Linda and Uncle Joey I was holding back on the mantle.

"How are you managing, kiddo?" Uncle Joey questioned me as he drove me to his house for a late brunch. I'd been fine at my home, but he insisted that I have brunch with him every other day so he could check up and ensure that I was eating correctly. I was if you were wondering. Eating brunch with Uncle Joey was nice, though. It allowed me to get a look at what the world was becoming. Quietly I answered, "I'm doing fine, Joey. I feel closer to them right now than I did when they were alive." I paused for a moment, and Uncle Joey nodded, knowing what I meant all too well. Marie had been precious to him. She was his last tether to his late wife, my Aunt Linda, and now they both had passed on to bigger and better things. I attempted to keep my tears at bay as I coolly stated, "They're happy, Uncle Joey. I know they are." Uncle Joey wasn't quite as capable; I patted his back tenderly as tears stained his roseate cheeks. He pulled over to the side of the highway and turned the car off. For a good fifteen minutes or so, we held each other and cried before we could get back on the road safely. Shortly following that, Uncle Joey and I reviewed current events at brunch, i.e., the disappearances.

~Alex~

(Month 1)

"What should I do?" It had been a couple of hours since I'd found Debbie's belongings, and I couldn't comprehend it. Tears streamed down my face as her sister tried to calm me down over the phone while she was nearly bawling on the other end. "It hurts. Knowing that Debbie tried to tell us, and we didn't listen..." The thought gave me a stabbing pain through my chest I couldn't shake. An overwhelming sense of grief and despair washed over Beth and me as we cried together over the phone. It was too much to bear, it seemed, and I'd exhausted every last bit of strength I had in me. I asked once more. "What should I do, Beth? The earrings, the Bible. I can't even look at them right now. It feels wrong almost to move her stuff off the bed." Beth didn't answer, and I had to check my phone for a second to make sure I hadn't accidentally hung up on her. "Beth?" "I'm here, Alex; I just don't know." She choked up a bit as she spoke. Tears stained my cheeks as I sighed heavily into the phone and sat down to compose myself.

The throbbing at the back of my skull wouldn't leave, and the stress of the situation was giving me a headache, so I told Beth I'd call her back on my phone in a while and ended the call. I set Debbie's phone on the coffee table and noticed my beer still sitting there, untouched since I'd gone to check on her. I grabbed it as I went to the kitchen for some meds to help with the pain and poured it down the sink. I popped some pills real quick and headed upstairs. I walked past my room, ignoring the door, and went to the Study instead. As I sat down to check up on my blog, my sight started to blur. The last thing I saw was the website loading and a prompt popping up onscreen.

~Drew~

(Month 1)

'Seven years.' The words rang in my ear. I held my head, the constant pounding blocking out any other thoughts I had. I stumbled slightly on my way to the kitchen, almost bumping into my buddy Bill who still sat with his head lulled over his shoulder. I tried my best to ease past him into the kitchen without disturbing him with surprising success. After making it to the kitchen, I made myself some breakfast. Eggs, toast, bacon, OJ, nothing fancy, and sat down while I decided what to do with Bill, who'd puked all over my leather couch and himself.

As I ate, I pulled up the video I'd been watching the night before. "...to those, I didn't reach here on YouTube. I always meant to make a video about these things, but God never led me to do so. That's why I'm making this video now. I don't know if it will ever post. If you ever see this, that means I nor any of my close friends were around to push it back another day." I paused the video there and checked his channel. It was the last video posted. Just a mere 15 hours prior. I knew he wasn't one for dramatics, but this just seemed too far-flung to be legitimate. I closed out of the video and set my phone face down on the table right as I heard groans of disgust coming from the living room. "What the hell?! How drunk did I fucking get last night?!" "You were pretty wasted, bro." I went to the hamper and grabbed a towel. "Here, go clean yourself off. I'll have a change of clothes ready for you by the time you're done getting ready." Bill mumbled as he headed to the lavatory. I decided that this was the last time I snuck alcohol onto a campground.

Once Bill returned and had thrown his clothes into a trash sack, we headed to the Mess Hall, where we ran into my parents. "How are you, Drew, my boy!" My father threw an arm over my shoulder and ushered me over to the table he and Mom were sitting at with Bill's father. Bill snickered under his breath until my little sister Lacey pulled him over to where she and her friends were seated, much to his dismay. I sat down with my parents and began talking with them. Surprisingly the talk this morning wasn't bothering me, not as much as it was Bill anyway. I told my parents about the video, and they laughed hysterically. " You don't believe that load of malarkey now, do you, son?" My father chuckled as he put a hand on my back. "Christians made that whole thing up to scare people. If it was true, don't you think it would've affected somebody here? As far as I know, not a singular individual was missing from their bunk this morning. Not one." I couldn't help but chuckle with him. He made a good point. Maybe he had made it all up, and I was focusing too much on it. I sat and talked more before Bill, scrambling to get away from my sister, insisted we head back to our cabin.

~Saul~

(Month 1)

My head pounded like a drum. The panicked woman's screams still rang in my ears, and the sight of the buckled car seat with a child's unoccupied clothes remained forged onto the forefront of my mind. How could I explain that? I'd called my boss to let him know that I wouldn't be in, but by that point, the crash had already made it to the News, and he knew. I shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts. 'Go to the Waffle House down the street, and look for a woman with a green handbag.' I looked around to see if someone was talking to me. Still, I was sitting in the most secluded corner of the hospital waiting room, and the nearest people were well out of earshot. "I must have been hearing things," I reasoned. 'Go to the Waffle House down the street and look for a woman with a green handbag.' I heard the same voice again, louder than before. Once again, I looked around and saw no one near me. No one else seemed phased by the voice, so I knew it wasn't the PA System. Feeling suddenly hungry, I decided to go to Waffle House to grab a small bite to eat, if nothing else. I gathered up my few belongings I'd brought inside with me and headed out to my car.

I arrived at Waffle House with minimal effort. The smell of breakfast wafted through the air, making me feel like I was walking on clouds. I looked around but didn't notice any green handbags, so I assumed that I'd just been hearing things, and it was just my stomach subtly letting me know I was hungry. After I waited for a short while, I was seated. I began hungrily skimming the menu to see what was available. Suddenly I heard yelling. I looked up and saw a man being detained by two employees while a third comforted and protected a young woman who looked to be in her early or mid-twenties. I didn't get a great look, but I could barely make out a small, green handbag clutched tightly to the woman's chest.

~Alex~

(Month 1)

"He'll be just fine, ma'am. Don't worry." "I understand, ma'am. We're all experiencing the same thing right now." I could hear someone talking, but my body wouldn't move. I couldn't open my eyes or mouth to let anyone know I was conscious; try as I might. I heard someone sit down beside me and start typing on a computer. I could overhear keys clicking away and a soft hum as the individual worked. "Brainwaves are stable. We're just not sure when or if he'll wake up." "Should we tell her?" "There's no point in worrying her until we hear more." "Understood, sir." I sighed mentally. I tried to yell out that I was awake with no success. Just as I expected, accepting that I wasn't going to be getting anyone's attention anytime soon, I started looking inward. Debbie had been a devout believer and had known, better than anyone else I knew, what was coming, and she'd been ready.

"Hey, Alex? I've got something I want to share with you." I was suddenly sitting on my couch with a football game playing. Debbie sat beside me. "What's up, babe?" "I saw an old classmate of mine today. We got to talking, and they invited me to visit their church tomorrow. Let's go together, honey." I looked at Debbie like she was crazy. "So you ran into a religious nut and thought it would be a good idea to listen to them?" I chuckled softly. Debbie, on the other hand, didn't find it funny, though. "I'm serious, Alex." "So am I, Debbie. What good could some imaginary God that was created by a crazy guy who tried to kill his son simply because the voices in his head told him to do for us?" Debbie just gave me a death stare and stood up. "I'm not implying that you give your life to God, Alex. I'm just asking you to go with me this one time, so I have someone to talk to during it all." With that, she walked upstairs and shut our bedroom door. Looking back on it, I knew I'd screwed up that night. If I'd been more open to her, maybe I could've been ready for all this.

~Sophie~

(Month 1)

"I'm just saying, kiddo." "You know as well as I, Joey, that that's not true." Joey and I had been discussing the disappearances until he'd suggested something other than God could've been behind it all. We both knew the truth, so I couldn't begin to understand why he'd make such a suggestion. "Look, Sophie, I'm just suggesting we keep our minds open to the possibility. I think it's still too early to tell for certain." I shook my head. "It was God, Joey. I know it was." "Then why is Brady still here? Why didn't he get whisked away?" I looked across the street from Joey's mansion's second-story balcony to look at Old Man Brady's estate. "Maybe for the same reason you and I are still here." I paused as Joey tried to find an argument. "Maybe he has a grudge against God he never let go of." We looked at the marble cross in Old Man Brady's front yard and wondered. It was at that moment that Old Man Brady emerged from his estate. His ignorant, blissful smile beamed at us as he waved a pleasant hello. We waved back politely as Mr Brady began tending to his garden. Uncle Joey sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "You know, kiddo. You might be onto something. I can't say I fully agree, but you may be right."

Right as Joey and I got ourselves settled down again, I got a call from my friend Debbie's number. "Hey, Debbie..." I was cut off. "Hi Sophie, it's Beth, Debbie's sister. Look, I only have a moment to explain, but Alex is in the hospital, and Debbie is..." I stopped her. "I figured she'd be gone. Jim, Mom, Dad, everyone except Joey and I are left." "I'm sorry to hear that, Sophie, but you need to hurry and get down here. Alex is unconscious, and the doctor doesn't know how much longer he has." As she spoke, I picked up my purse. Joey asked what I was doing, and I silently mouthed the words 'We need to go.' He got up and followed me out of the house. Once we were in the car, I put Beth on speaker, and she guided Uncle Joey and me to the hospital where she and Alex were.

~Saul~

(Month 1)

"You dense bitch! Why in the world would you assume I'd want to have our date at Waffle House when it's three in the afternoon?!" I heard the jerk behind me strike his date. Suddenly, a commotion as a pair of employees jumped in to wrangle the barbarian. A third walked the woman away from the fight. I turned to see what was taking place and noticed, just for a moment, that she was clutching a green handbag against her chest. My initial instinct was to get up and speak with her but seeing the employees, and the situation made me understandably apprehensive. That's what I told myself.

I noticed that I had begun to stand up, and I sat back down quietly. 'Go and talk to her.' The same voice I'd heard at the hospital invaded my thoughts. The mysterious voice had led me here to find her, so I decided to trust it after I convinced myself. I got up and went to speak with the trembling woman as she watched her oppressor, ushered from the premises. I got about halfway to her then I froze. What was I going to say to her? "Some voice told me to come and talk to you." I laughed softly at the foolishness of it. She'd think I was some daft idiot trying to hit on her at the most inappropriate time ever. 'Trust me.' I sighed and kept moving forward. I was almost to her when she spotted me. Our eyes met for just a moment; then, she quickly looked the other way. I walked closer and said, almost in a whisper, "Hi there, I saw what happened just now and thought you might need someone to talk to." The youthful woman looked at me warily. I could tell she was shaken up. The gaze of her emerald eyes said to me that she didn't entirely trust me. I looked at the employee behind the counter. "Could you get something for the young lady?" I handed her my debit card and let her know that the young lady was free to get whatever she wanted/needed. I went back to my table as the young lady ordered some food.

She approached my table to hand me my card right as my server arrived with my food. I invited the young lady to sit with me and leave my food until her's was ready and at the table. We spoke for several hours. Her name was Sarah, and she'd lost her father in the disappearances and her mother in a car crash caused by them. The woman I'd helped earlier flashed vividly before my eyes as Sarah spoke. I hadn't lost anyone, at least no one I could think of off the top of my head. But just seeing the dread and desperation in the woman's eyes again made Sarah's words resonate strongly with me. I felt like her loss was my own.

~Drew~

(Month 1)

Arriving back at our cabin, I got changed into swim trunks as Bill sat on our little porch waiting on me. "Attention all campers! Due to a heat advisory in effect, all hunting and horseback activities will be unavailable during Free Time today. Please wait in your cabins until you receive further instruction." From the back of the cabin, I heard Bill groan. "Come on!" Archery was his favourite Free Time activity. If he decided to come with me to the lake, we would undoubtedly run into Lacey. I chuckled at the thought. That'd be reason enough for him to turn down my offer. When I emerged from the cabin, he'd disappeared. "Bill, Where'd you go?!" I didn't receive an immediate response. No surprise there. I shrugged and casually waited for further instruction.

~Bill~

I couldn't believe this was happening. It was just totally whacked. No archery meant no Breana. If I couldn't see Breana, I figured that meant no fun. Free Time was the one time of day I got to see her without Drew's annoying little sister getting in the way. With this heat advisory crap, chances were that she'd be down by the lake with everyone else. Lacey was bound to notice me down there before I could even get a chance to talk to Breana. That wasn't happening, no way. I chose instead to head back over to the Mess Hall; they typically had some exciting stuff happening down there throughout Free Time. It only took five minutes to get down there, and lo and behold, Breana had drawn the same conclusion. I was heading over to where she was when some dandy walked up and started talking to her. I instantly became disheartened. The dandy she was talking to was better looking than me and seemed more athletic. I happened to know that Breana was into that type of guy, which is why I joined archery and fell in love with it. I decided it best to sit in the corner of the Mess Hall until Breana finished talking to the dandy, but right as I began to head over, I heard her call my name. "Hey Bill, wait up!"