The End of the Beginning

Chapter 1

June 19th

I woke up on the edge of my bed, literally. The house was oddly quiet. I couldn't hear my baby brother, Ralphie, crying for his bottle. The lack of my neighbor's dog barking his head off confused me. The sky was black and ominous. I must still be dreaming.

I climbed out of bed, and slipped on my faux fur slippers that I have had since my freshman year in high school. Walking down the hallway, I felt something was extremely off. All of the lights were off. The clock read eight in the morning, but I have yet to smell my dad's coffee being brewed.

I wondered to myself if it was the weekend. That would explain why I do not smell the coffee, as my dad likes to treat himself to Dunkin on the weekends. But, it was only Tuesday.

I walk down the stairs, and hear the obnoxious noises they make. Usually, our house is over the top loud that you cannot hear the wood creaking. I begin to get goosebumps as I wonder through the house to find none of my family. It looks like a storm is coming, and I just picture myself in a horror movie. This is the part when the thunder begins to shake the house and the lights go out. Neither of those two things happen. I am just being slightly dramatic.

I open the front door and the large gust of wind pushes the door out of my hands. Not only is my house oddly quiet, so is the neighborhood. My phone insists that it has no service, which is odd being that has never happened to me while at home. I quickly grab my car keys and head to my dad's shop. He owns a mechanic shop just around the corner and I wonder if maybe he went to work early, while my mom took Ralphie for a morning stroll.

I approach Mitch's Mechanic, park my car and take a minute to try and understand what is going on here. No morning coffee. No crying baby. No barking dog. No phones. The only possibility is an apocalypse, but that would be far too imaginative for my pathetic life. But if it isn't an apocalypse, then what is it?

I jump out of the car, and sit on the hood and pull out my smokes. Since my dad isn't here, he wouldn't possibly catch me smoking. I sit there for a few moments in silence, and wonder what could be happening. There is no one on the streets, my family is nowhere to be seen and my phone doesn't have service.

"Hello" I scream, and hear nothing but my echo. "Is anyone out there?"

Silence. Pure silence. I would say it was so quiet you could hear the crickets, but they seem to be missing as well. I begin to worry.

Driving around my town, I pull up to my high school, which I had just graduated from two weeks before. The toilet paper we threw around the building and trees that night are still there.

I am beginning to think this might actually be the apocalypse. But, why am I the only person who didn't make it to the pearly gates? Is this my hell? Or, is this my heaven? I don't know what to make of this. All I can do right now is crawl into a ball and cry. I am only eighteen years old, and I was expected to travel this summer with my family. We had a three week European vacation planned. We would start in France, travel through Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal. A week after returning I'd be getting ready to go to college.

I begin thinking about all of the things I'd be missing out on. Christmas break at my Grandma's cabin in the mountains. My 21st birthday. My first real love. Graduation. A real job. Getting married. Buying my own house and starting a family. Growing old with my husband and seeing my children grow. I feel cheated.

I finally return home. The silence is dangerous. It leaves me alone with my thoughts. The craziest thing about silence is, you never really know how much background noise you are living with. Imagine this... You have your air conditioning running, fridge and washing machine going as well. You just put that load of laundry in the dryer and you sit down with your caramel covered popcorn and catch up on the latest episode of The Real Housewives. Then, out of nowhere a tropical storm comes busting in your town. The winds take off and powerlines are in jeopardy. The wind becomes a howl and next thing you know, your power is out. The fridge stops running. The washing machine and dryer turn off. The Real Housewives are no longer screaming at each other. All you are left with are your thoughts... and your crunchy popcorn.

Reality is slowly beginning to set in. I go into my parents' bedroom and stare at myself in their full length mirror. My dirty blonde curls have seen better days. I let my hair down and it meets the small of my back. My dark green eyes are red and puffy from the amount of tears I have shed today. I try to turn the water on to wash my face, but it doesn't turn on. For a quick second I forgot what the world had become.