Missing the Light

1~Natalia

I sat quietly in the parked car and stared at my reflection in the rearview mirror. My wavy brown hair fell just below my shoulders and my brown eyes were shielded by large-framed glasses. I had a small frame and I wasn't very strong, but I would never back down from a fight. If someone was off I'd let them know. I wasn't afraid of violence either, though I hardly ever showed it. No one would take me serious if did though. I was the youngest and the shortest and the most careful, and nothing I could do would change that. I tried not to count the minutes before it was time to enter the looming school building. My mom was dropping me off early, so there was no one in the parking lot except a few teachers walking inside. They all had white key cards they swiped over the lock to open the door.

My mom looked over at me and asked if I was ready to go. I didn't want to, of course, but I also didn't see any reason to be resentful when I didn't have a choice in the matter anyway. I nodded, unplugged my headphones and got out of the car. It was notably dark in the parking lot and it took a while for my eyes to adjust. A few streetlights were out too. Strange but I was pretty  sure it was nothing. In addition to the darkness, the chilly November air forced its way through my unflattering school uniform and into my bones.

I made it to the door of the drab building and turned around to give my mom a kiss goodbye. I wasn't particularly embarrassed by doing that, I also didn't care what others thought of me. But when I turned around she wasn't there. I looked around and thought she might've stayed at the car, but when I looked, the car was still there and she was no where to be seen. The teachers were gone too. What was going on?

With a lump of panic rising in my throat I yelled out, "Mom? Mom where are you? Hello! Mom?" 

I dropped my backpack and ran around to the side of the school, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with a tall brunet boy. He had his backpack slung over one shoulder and also wore the uniform. His kind eyes crinkled and his mouth formed a smile. "Hey, Natalia"

"Oh, hi Tyler," I said without returning the smile. "Uh, did you see my mom anywhere?"

He looked at me and the smile disappeared. "No, and my dad left pretty abruptly. I thought it was nothing. Did you see him?"

"No,"

"Well what the hell's going on? No one else is around either."

I had to swallow the panic in my throat and keep the tears in my eyes before saying, "I don't know but let's try going inside to get some help."

Tyler nodded and we began walking, "Good plan,"

My hand fished for his and he grasped it without question. We were both more afraid than we were willing to let on and needed some kind of closure.

"I'm glad you're safe," he said and squeezed my hand. I could only nod, for fear a sob might've escaped my throat.

I picked up my backpack from the floor and pressed the button on the intercom labeled "Talk."

"Student," I said but no one unlocked the door. I tried again and still nothing. I knocked on the door lightly and then a bit harder when there still wasn't an answer. There was a sound like someone had fallen and an even taller, slightly disheveled boy appeared. He was always here extra early because his mom's a teacher. He flashed us a goofy smile and opened the door.

"Are you two dudes okay?" He asked when we were safely inside. I noticed the office was dark. What happened to administration?

"Yep. Also I'm not a dude." I replied sarcastically. The panic from outside began to subside and I could almost talk to my friends normally. Almost.

"I'm sorry my not-dude,"

"Never mind then. Dude it is." I replied. William nodded triumphantly and Tyler chuckled. It seemed he too forgot all about the outside panic. "What about you William, are you okay?"

He shuffled uncomfortably and looked at the floor. "I don't know. I can't find my mom and a bunch of teachers aren't here yet. Can we go back upstairs to my mom's classroom?" They started talking on our way upstairs but I was too deep in thought to listen. Why had I gotten so panicked so quickly? I couldn't put my finger on it and then the image of the deserted road suddenly flew into my mind. It was so eerie and quiet. And dark, for some reason. Tyler snapped in front of my face, derailing my train of thought.

I looked up, "What?"

"Bro, I said 'When did your mom disappear?'" William repeated.

"Oh um, well we were walking up to the school building and I turned to give her a hug and she was gone." Then I remembered something else. "All the cars on the street were gone too, remember? Only the parked cars were still there." The boys shared a look and nodded slowly.

"Should we check if anyone else is in the school?" Tyler asked.

"I already checked every room," William said darkly. "There's no point really, but I'll go with you dudes if you want."

We went ahead and checked every room, finding no one and reconvening at the top of the stairs.

"Did you guys find anyone?" This was a stupid question since no one else had joined us.

"Actually yeah," Tyler said unexpectedly. "There was a kid outside in the dark but when I got to the door, they had vanished. That's another thing. It's still really dark out but it's nearly eight o'clock."

"That is very unlit," William joked.

I was coming to a conclusion and in another fit of panic I lost my very thin layer of chill. "William this isn't a joking matter!" I yelled. "This is real. Everyone's gone except for us and we need to find them before it's too late!"

"Wait what do you mean 'too late'?" Tyler asked.

"I've been thinking and if everyone's gone but us, which is highly improbable by the way, it will only take a one week for perishables to spoil. If there are other people out there, they could potentially pose a threat. Anybody can steal anything and all the food in the world will go bad eventually." The others nodded grimly, they obviously hadn't thought about the big picture.

William's breath audibly caught in his throat. "Where's Adriana?" I hadn't thought about that. "We have to go and find her!"

I had to think of something before he tore the world apart looking for her. A crazy thought came to mind. "Do either one of you idiots know how to drive?"