Rhett and Link One Shots

Gone

The California sun shone brightly that morning, warmth dripping off it and covering the ground and air. It was a comfortable heat, not too humid, not too hot. The soft and beautiful singing of the birds outside filled the air, but the typical hustle and bustle of Los Angeles was strangely hushed, in fact, there was no noise indicating any sort of human life. Rhett opened his eyes and slowly stretched his long body, feeling the gentle pull on his loosening muscles. He smiled and took a deep, steady breath. It was Saturday, there was no work, no alarm, no rushing to be ready by the time Link got to his house so the two could carpool into work together, he had nothing to do all day, and this fact filled him with joy. 

Rhett yawned again and rolled over to look at his beautiful wife of nearing sixteen years, but her spot in the bed was empty. Rhett shrugged it off, she was probably up already, maybe making breakfast or at the gym. It didn't phase him at all. He yawned once more and rubbed his eyes, blinking in the sunlight that shone through the window of his bedroom. The gentle giant slowly stood up and grabbed some clothes for the day. He brought them into the bathroom and started up the shower. Rhett showered, changed and brushed his teeth.

As he stepped out of the bedroom, he noticed his wife, Jessie, was not in the kitchen, or any other room for that matter. He looked out the front window to the driveway, but the car was here. Maybe she went for a walk. Rhett went to his sons' rooms, only to find them empty too. Rhett furrowed his eyebrows, slight anxiety creeping up to his heart. He shook his head. His dog was gone too, they must have gone on a walk. There was no other explanation that Rhett could see. He sat down and dialed Jessie's number, but his phone popped up with a message saying there was no service. Nor was there wifi, or power. Now Rhett was getting concerned.

He got up, grabbing his keys from the table and tore out the door. He got into the car and jammed the keys into the ignition, starting the car up and backing out of the driveway. There were no children playing outside, no one was watering plants, or mowing the lawn. No one was driving, Rhett seemed to be alone. Competely alone. "What is going on? Where is everyone? What happened?" Rhett drove all the way to Link's house and parked in the driveway. He ran up to the door and turned the door knob. It was unlocked. He ran inside, not even paying attention to the fact that it was unlocked, yet the house appeared to be empty. "Link! Christy! Lily, Lincoln, Lando! Jade!" Rhett had even called for Link's dog, but she never came. Nor did any of the others he called. Rhett sat down and drew in a shaky breath. "God, what happened? Where did they go? Where is everyone?"

Tears of anxiety and fear burned in Rhett's eyes. He didn't want to cry, but, he couldn't hold back the one tear that did fall. He looked around the house, seeing pictures of Link's family. Then, there was one of both families this past Thanksgiving when the two families vacationed to Hawaii together. Sadness filled Rhett's heart and he stood up, walking over to the pictures. He reached forward as to tentatively touched it. "Please, come back. Please, all of you, my family. Please, please, I need each of you." Rhett let his head fall and a few tears escaped his closed eyes.

That's when he heard the soft voice of wife callng him. "Rhett, Rhett, sweetheart, come here. Over here." Rhett lifted his head and looked around, but he saw nothing. Then, he heard Link, but Link wasn't quite calling him. No, Link was begging, begging for Rhett to recognize him. "Rhett! It's me! Link! Please, please, brother, it's me! You've known me since we were six, we work together! Christy doesn't recognize me, o-or the kids! Please! You've known me longer than them, please, just say you recognize me and help me get my family back! Please! Rhett no! No, don't!" Then he heard himself, but he wasn't saying anything, but he still heard his voice talking. "I have no idea who you are! Get out of my house, you creep! Never come back or I'm calling the cops! Go! Now! I swear if you don't leave I'm going to throw you out!" He heard Link let out a sob and then heard a low thud as though Link had fallen to his knees. He could hear the faint yelling of what seemed to be himself.

Suddenly, a door appeared in front of Rhett. It was glowing and there was no wall around it. In fact, it stood alone in the middle of Link's family room. Rhett could now more clearly hear the voices. He heard Link screaming, screaming for Rhett to put him down. Then he heard Link groan and the slam of his door. Rhett opened the door and saw only the bright glow. He took a deep breath and stepped into it. He then saw Link curled up, sobbing on the sidewalk of Rhett's own house. Rhett gasped and placed his hand on Link's shoulder. "Link, Link! It's me! It's Rhett, oh buddy, what happened?" Link gasped and looked up. "Rh-Rhett, you recognize me?"                            

Part one of two! I'll release Link's part of the story soon. Thanks for reading!