2058

I woke up and proceeded with my morning routine as I always did. Right down to the exact detail. My parents were extremely meticulous when it came to my presentation. My tops were to be buttoned correctly and tucked into my shorts, my hair combed to flow in one direction and my shoelaces perfectly tied into bows as if they were the ribbons on a Christmas present. I made my way down the creaky, weathered stairs into the kitchen. My dog Sammy always greeted me as he did every morning. He was a golden retriever covered in a shiny, silky coat of fur that radiated a glow whenever light shone upon him. I called out to my parents. “Morning!”, there was no response, maybe they were still asleep but how could they be? They were usually awake by this time. I call out again, yet there is still no response. There was an eerie silence the engulfed me. The ticking of our demodé grandfather clock was the only sound that could be heard. I did a lap around our home, checking all the rooms, hoping to find my parents. My search proves unfruitful, there seems to be no sign of my parents. I call them on my phone. No service. Strange. My phone was in range of a celltower. I thought to myself, maybe my parents went out to buy groceries. Except the car keys are on the kitchen counter. At this point, I start to panic, thinking of all the possible scenarios that could provide me an answer as to why my parents just vanished into thin air. I walked into their bedroom. Their room was the way it usually looked when they left for work, the linen sheets were tucked into the bed frame and the pillows positioned at the headboard. I decide to venture out into our neighbourhood and take Sammy for a walk. They’d be back soon enough surely. I attach a leash to Sammy’s collar and we make our way out. As I begin to talk down the path, I begin to notice that every house in my neighbourhood is empty. There are no cars in any of the driveways. All the windows in every house are open, as if a strong gust of wind forcefully gaped them open. My heart starts to beat faster. I fear that I may be the only person alive in my neighbourhood. I walk back into the house and turn on the television. Nothing. All that I see is tv static. It was as if every connection I had to the outer world had been cut off like a piece of string. The radio on the kitchen counter begins to crackle. “If any-ne ca hear th-i-s, c-ome to th add-ess 14 Gillin-gha-m street. We ha-ve a s-afe hous. Th-e-re is 17 of us. J-ax if you ca hea-r thi-s, I lov yo-u”. The radio turns off completely. Mom?. I check the date on my phone. 13th of October, 2058. 40 years into the future. I switch off my phone. I couldn’t form any rational explanations. Perhaps it was just a technical glitch. I take a drink of water. The coolness of the water immediately soothes the dryness of my throat. I close my eyes. Suddenly, I hear Sammy barking loudly as if something had provoked him. I walk over to him to see what was wrong. He was viciously growling and moving around in a manic fashion. I see something out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t tell what it was.

That was when the shadows came.

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