Alone ~ collab. with gingerheit

Part 1

It was October 18th, 2020. I was walking home from my job at the bakery down the street. The cold air was my only company. My phone had died hours earlier. I walked down a usually busy street, where for some strange reason, no one was. I pushed the bangs back away from my face which was red from the wind. I looked down every ally that I passed, hoping to see someone. I walked into an open store. It was empty.

"Hello?" I called.

No response. I started to become worried.

I continued down my usual route, wondering if there was some holiday  I hadn’t gotten the memo on.  But I could feel my eyebrows furrow, remembering how many  people had come into my shop this morning. Typically, a holiday meant leaving town, taking a trip down to the lake and escaping the oppressive work week. But no one had mentioned anything about the lake. It wouldn’t even make sense considering how the clouds overhead were a promising grey. Maybe the rain had persuaded everyone inside.

I glanced nervously at the clouds and pulled my coat's collar up to my ears,  hurrying as fast as I could to my apartment the next block over. Only I never got there.

I was stopped by a cry above. Looking up, I found to my horror, a murder of crows swooping down on me, attacking me. My jacket and long jeans covered me from the worst of their sharp beaks and talons but I was certain my blood curdling scream begged to differ. As soon as they had begun, they stopped and flew off as if nothing had ever happened. I got back up to my feet, shaken by what had just happened.

"What was that?" I said unsure of whom I was asking.

I then heard the giggling of small children. Finally, someone I could ask about all if this. I ran towards the sound. It called to me at every corner. I twisted and turned throughout the suburb. I stopped. What was I even chasing after? I walked backwards, trying to find my apartment. I suppose I had made a wrong turn because what I saw next was horribly stunning.

I was standing on a low-hanging overpass looking down over the highway, where not a car was in motion. Instead the highway was deserted, not a single human inhabiting their vehicle. There were massive build-ups of wreckage and fires igniting, melting the tires and paint off of cars.  The mass accident seemed as if it had happened hours before but the news had been on in the shop until the moment I left it. I would have heard if there were any accidents. Where were the firemen? Or the police holding the news reporters back who were trying to cover the action for those at home to see?

Where was anyone?

This is when I realized I was dying for food. Now was about the time I would have dinner ready. Still in shock, I left the scene. I made my way down the local grocery store. The automatic doors were still working, thank God. I walked in, still having a tiny bit of hope that there would someone, anyone, inside. I went over to the deli, and made myself a sandwich. What's the point of paying if there's no one to pay? Soon I became a little light headed. I thought that it was because of the last hours traumatic events. Soon I smelt smoke. I immediately got up, but had to sit back down. Things were spinning, and I had to get out of there. My muscles would not move in the way I ordered. I started to panic. I was not about to die in a fire. I kept on fighting to make it to the doors. Now a cloud of smoke surrounded me. It was difficult to see and my eyes burned. I was so close to the exit, but then a flaming wooden beam fell in front of me in an orange blaze. It made me lose my footing. I flipped around and fell onto my hands and knees.

The tile was hot and it scorched my hands. I quickly removed them, the pain became incredible, and I started to sob. I don’t remember much after that.