The depth of short stories and micro-fiction 2

The Empty September

The first thing Kevin noticed was the silence. An unnerving, absolute silence that pressed against his eardrums like a physical weight. He blinked, the morning sun slanting through his bedroom window, painting the room in a warm, golden light. It was October 1st. He checked his phone, the date confirming the impossible. He had gone to sleep on August 31st.

Panic clawed at his throat. Where was everyone? The usual morning rush hour symphony of car horns and distant chatter was missing. His street, usually bustling with activity, was eerily empty. His heart hammered against his ribs as he threw open his window, expecting to see the familiar scene of neighbours watering their lawns or kids walking to school. But there was nothing. Just the swaying branches of the maple tree in his neighbour's yard, and an unnatural stillness that made the hairs on his neck prickle.

He ran downstairs, his breath catching in his throat. The house was silent, devoid of the warmth and chaos that usually filled it. The remnants of his dinner from the night before sat untouched on the table. A wave of nausea washed over him. What had happened?

Across the street, a figure emerged from the neighbour's house. Roxy, a woman with a perpetually kind smile and a penchant for gardening, now stood on her porch, her face mirroring his own confusion. She looked like she'd seen a ghost. And perhaps, in a way, she had.

"Kevin?" she called, her voice trembling slightly. "What... what's going on?"

Kevin rushed out of his house, relief washing over him at the sight of another living soul. "I don't know, Roxy. I woke up and it's October 1st. Everyone's gone."

Roxy's eyes widened. She looked around her empty street, a sense of disbelief creeping into her features. "It's like... like they vanished into thin air."

As they stood there, exchanging bewildered glances, a movement caught Kevin's eye. From behind Roxy's shed, a familiar, scruffy brown dog emerged, tail wagging tentatively. It was Buster, her old terrier, who had passed away three years ago. A chill ran down Kevin's spine. This was beyond bizarre.

"Buster?" Roxy gasped, a mixture of shock and joy evident in her voice. She cautiously approached the dog, who licked her hand with unrestrained enthusiasm.

Over the next few days, the three of them, Kevin, Roxy, and the impossibly resurrected Buster, tried to make sense of the situation. They searched their houses, their streets, the entire neighbourhood. It was like a ghost town, emptied of all life except for them and the echoes of a vanished September. No cars, no birds, no insects. Just an eerie stillness.

The initial panic gave way to a strange, unsettling calm. They began to establish a routine, sharing food, stories, and the growing unease that gnawed at them. They found no clues, no explanations. The world seemed to have skipped a month, leaving them as the sole inhabitants of a forgotten time capsule.

One evening, while sifting through Roxy's old photo albums, Kevin stumbled upon something peculiar. An old newspaper clipping, dated September 15th, detailing a strange atmospheric anomaly reported over the region. It mentioned unusual weather patterns and a series of unexplained power outages. The article dismissed it as a minor occurrence, a scientific curiosity. But to Kevin, it was a potential piece of the puzzle.

"Roxy, look at this," he said, showing her the clipping. "Maybe something happened in September. Something that erased everyone."

Roxy's eyes widened. "But why us? Why Buster?"

The question hung in the air, heavy and unanswered. Yet, it fuelled a new resolve within them. They had to find out what happened in September. They had to understand why they were the only ones left.

They started their investigation, venturing out beyond their neighbourhood, armed with a map, a rusty compass, and a growing sense of dread. The world they once knew was a stranger now, devoid of the familiar comforts of human interaction. They faced abandoned supermarkets, silent libraries, and deserted amusement parks, each a chilling reminder of a life that was no more.

Their journey took them through desolate cities and deserted highways, the silence a constant companion. Yet, with each step, they felt a strange kinship, a shared burden of responsibility for unravelling the mystery of their solitary existence.

They faced dangers they hadn't anticipated - wild animals that had grown bolder in the absence of human interference, crumbling infrastructure that threatened to collapse around them, and the ever-present fear of the unknown. But their determination remained unshaken.

One day, nestled in the ruins of an old observatory, they unearthed a hidden bunker, buried deep underground. Inside, they found cryptic notes, scientific data, and a chilling recording of a scientist detailing a failed experiment - a project aimed at manipulating the fabric of time itself. A mistake, he called it, a catastrophic ripple in the timeline that had erased everyone but a handful of individuals.

The recording ended abruptly, leaving them with more questions than answers. Had the experiment gone wrong? Had it created a temporal rift, a pocket of reality untouched by the catastrophic event? Were they truly alone, or were others out there, scattered through the remnants of a vanished September?

The answers remained elusive. But as Kevin, Roxy, and Buster stood in the cold, dimly lit bunker, they knew their journey had just begun. Their fight for understanding, for survival, had become intertwined with the fate of a vanished month. A month that held the key to both their past and their uncertain future.