Only Ones Left

One

     It was a quiet afternoon in the town of Elwood. It was 2nd period Chem class when the teacher vanished. Mr. Malio gone in the middle of mixing mystery chemicals to create a mystery substance for students to identify. Then gone without a trace. Students started milling around the spot where their teacher previously was.

 Zane was staring out a window, watching the ensuing chaos outside across the street. He sighed and heard someone say, " What happened to the teacher?" Noise from crashes, alarms and screaming continued as Zane watched on. He looked over at the students as the most obvious conclusion crossed his mind.

 "Well he disappeared. Some magic trick they cooked up," Zane stated. Everyone stared at his sarcasm. 

"How can you be so sarcastic about this? It's Chem class and who knows what that chemical is," a kid named Emilio said pointing to the greenish liquid on the floor. In Zane's opinion, Emilio was too short and dumb for his age and should've known that the 'mysterious' liquid was a harmless acid.

"You're right. We need to get it cleaned up." he said. Zane proceeded to clean up the greenish liquid. A few students followed his lead and helped with the clean up.

"It's as if he just 'poofed.' Too bad there wasn't any smoky explosion." 

Quentin was one of the cronies for the local bully, Ronald. His remark created no laughter and earned him an annoyed look from Zane. "Come on, you really expect me to keep in all my joyous entertainment?"

"Quentin, must I remind you that our teacher disappeared into thin air without a trace, students seem to be freaking out with the cause of this phenomenon as I can clearly hear them in the halls. So if we ever have a need for your ridiculous humor then I will have you informed immediately." Zane stared pointedly at Quentin, and the snickers and "Ooos" filled the room. Quentin's nostrils flared, seeming to hate the idea of someone, especially someone like Zane, insulting him in front of an entire classroom of students. He stormed out and that left Zane in the middle of a room, cleaning up acid, with kids looking to him for what they should do next.

Just then, the door banged opened and Zane's older sister, Ivy, stood there gazing over the scene in front of her. Zane spared her a glance before going back to work. 

"What on God's green earth do you think you're doing," she demanded. Zane shrugged and showed her the bottle.

"Cleaning," he said. Ivy sighed and walked towards the small group. The group parted and Ivy knelt beside Zane. 

"Zane, what exactly is going on," she asked. 

"So you ask me instead of your smartass boyfriend," Zane snapped at her. Ivy took the hint and looked at the others. 

"He just vanished without a trace," Emilio replied. A girl around the same age as Zane spoke up. She never really talked, so it was a surprise.

"He was in the middle of pouring acids into a beaker. He disappeared and the dropped beaker landed here. Everything is just..." she paused trying to find the right word. "It's just insane. Nothing is normal and I doubt normal will come anytime soon."  Zane just continued cleaning and stood when he completed. He looked to Quentin and said, "Why not make yourself useful and properly dispose of these rags. If you paid any attention during class, then you would know where to put them." 

"Zane why would I listen to you," Quentin cooed. 

"Because you don't know anything other than the fact that you need to be in the constant presence of a 'normal' human being."