Prompted Shorties

Everybody Knows Your Name

Prompt: You've been going to the same bar every night for the past five years. In fact, you're such a regular that when you enter the, the other patrons yell your name and the bartender already has your drink waiting for you. But then one Friday you arrive and no one seems to recognize you, not even the bartender. What's going on?

Story:

Virgil inspected the oddities of his county at 3 in the afternoon as he walked past the empty playground and the park that was always full of familiar faces this time of the day. The moms that used to hold their babies in their arms up, Virgil had seen them grow over the last few years in this very own park.

But how come no one was around now?

The place was so deserted that all he could hear was the rusty sound of the swing set being carried by the mercy of the wind. 'It was odd' he thought, but he continued his walk to the pub.

There were no cars parked around the pub, when it would usually be full by this time.

"Curiouser and curiouser" Spoke Virgil. He looked at the signboard hanging at the door. Garry's pub was already open, yet it seems like there's no one inside, or so he thought.

As he entered the now unfamiliar doors, he was surprised as to how full the pub was. It was full of people he recognized, yet somehow they don't seem to know Virgil. No one looked at his way when he entered, no one cared that he was even there. There was even a person on his usual spot, which was near the restroom and the pool table, where he would watch the players play on the pool endlessly for hours.

Virgil thought there was something wrong, from the static noise coming from the radio down to the people drinking not drinking beer, but water. The pub was so quiet that the static from the radio was the only sound you could hear. The people drinking never talked, they looked at each other like they were talking telepathically, some were smirking awkwardly, some were frowning and some were winking but kept a straight face.

"What an odd sight to see" Virgil spoke. Everybody turned their eye on Virgil in unison, like they were trained by the army to look at one thing altogether in harmony at the snap of a finger.

Virgil trembled in fear. 'What was happening?' He thought. In all of the five years he'd been going to Garry's pub, not once he experienced what he was going through right now.

Everyone was staring at Virgil, eyes wide, lips pursed, they all look ready to attack him. Then it started.

Murmurs. Murmurs coming from the back turned into soft whispers going around, until it was loud enough to consume the pub with nothing but whispers. Virgil couldn't even hear his own thoughts. All the people in the pub were walking slowly towards Virgil in an attempt to invade his personal space.

The whispers turned into small voices, getting louder and louder. He couldn't make what they were saying, even though the voices only repeat one phrase over and over again. "State your name".

Virgil steps back, but a hand made its way onto his shoulder, sending shivers all over his spine making him stop in his tracks and swallow in fear. The voices stop as he looked to the person who was touching him.

"State your name" the familiar man that he never knew the name of spoke. He recognized him from playing pool over the past. Virgil noticed something at the man's eyes, it was grey, and his own reflection was upside down. 'That's scientifically preposterous' Virgil thought.

"V-Virgil?" he spoke full of doubt. His hands were shaking, his heartbeat erratic and his sweat dripping down from his forehead.

Virgil was waiting for the man's response even when he knew he shouldn't have. But still, he did.

"Take him for memory replacement"