"Kira! KIRAA!" Someone shakes me while I'm in bed.

"Kira, wake up!" They keep shaking me back and forth.

"What... I don't want to get up..." I mumble. They slap me across the face.

"KIRAMAH, WAKE UP!" I instantly wake up, rubbing my stinging cheek.

"Ow! Why are you in my house, Haten?" I rub my eyes and see tears in her eyes. "Wait, what's wrong?" I put my hand on her back and hold her close.

"Everyone's gone, Kira! Everyone's gone!" She cries out.

"What do you mean, everyone's gone?" I ask, panicking.

"Nobody's here..." She takes a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I checked every house on the block. No one was home. My parents, my siblings, they're all gone..." She sniffles. "You were the only one at home."

She starts crying again, more intensely. "Haten, did you check Maven's house?" I ask, getting up and putting on my shirt.

"No, I skipped her house on the way here," she replies. "You stay here. I'll go check."

She grabs my arm, pleading, "Please, don't leave me alone." Her fear unsettles me, so I agree.

We walk downstairs, hand in hand, and head towards Maven's house. "Tell me what happened on the way," I say, trying to understand.

"I-I" Her stuttering is immense, "I woke up to my alarm, got ready for school, went downstairs for breakfast. But I realized no one else was home. I called my mom's cell, no answer. Dad's phone was left on the couch. So I asked the neighbors..." Her voice cracks. "But they weren't home either. I checked almost every house on the block before coming here."

We walk down the concrete sidewalk until we reach our destination. "Kira?" Haten asks, noticing me rubbing my temples. "Are you okay?"

I sigh, "Just a headache. It's nothing." I reach out and knock on the door loudly.

"Coming!" we hear a voice respond from behind the sturdy oak door.

Haten grows excited as she recognizes Maven's voice. "Yeah, what is it, you two?" Maven opens the door, having just come out of the shower with her hair wrapped in a towel and wearing a robe.

"Ask her. She says nobody's in the neighborhood, like they're all gone or something," I point back at Haten with my thumb.

"They're not gone... nobody's anywhere! Look at all the random cars on the street. Doesn't it seem strange!?" Haten's nerves start to rise again.

"Well, I mean, now that you mention it, it does seem weird," Maven admits, looking around at the deserted neighborhood.

"Can we come inside, Maven?" Haten looks up with apprehension.

"Yeah!" Maven responds with a smile. "Come on in!"

We enter through her front door, stepping into a sprawling house that feels like a miniature mansion.

"I'm still waking up, and I don't really understand what she means. See if you can make any sense of it," I gesture towards them, rubbing my temples.

After Haten shares the story with Maven, she too is puzzled. "What do you mean? Everyone's gone? Are you sure you're not overthinking things?"

Haten looks at both of us, her eyes filled with certainty. "NO! I'm not. I swear."

I sigh and suggest, "Fine. Let's turn on the TV and check if the local stations are working."

We all make our way into the living room. "Wow, you've got a huge new TV, Maven," I remark, noticing the massive 72-inch screen mounted on the wall.

"Alright, turn it on to channel 14." Haten grabs the remote and obeys. To our surprise, there's no news reporter on the screen.

"What the hell? No one's there?" I take the remote from Haten and flip through all the live channels.

"What the fuck?" I exclaim, realizing there's no one on any of the live networks.

"Hold on." Since the internet is still functioning, I open a program called Stutter, a live streaming software used for gaming, esports, and other entertainment.

"There's no one live streaming on this site either?!" I'm starting to feel concerned.

"Hun, did you find anything?" Maven remains surprisingly calm, despite the fact that we haven't seen another human being besides the three of us for the past five hours or so.

"No, I'm still scrolling through social media to see if I can find anything about this... but there's nothing. I stayed up late last night, but I went to bed around eleven-thirty. I haven't seen another person since then." I was confused.

I sit up, feeling the weight of the situation. "So, what is this? Some kind of doomsday scenario? Is everyone gone?" I realize that I don't have many people in my life besides these two. Haten and I met in middle school, though she continued with her education while I dropped out around 10th grade. We mostly saw each other during school hours, but after I left, she started visiting my house frequently. Maven came into my life about two years ago. Given my less than ideal family situation, I often stayed at her place. She was basically my stand in motherly figure. Besides these two, I don't really have any other friends, so this sudden turn of events hasn't affected me as deeply. But for Haten, it's devastating.

"So, what do we do now?" I ask, trying to regain my composure.

"I'm not sure. How about I make some breakfast for you two, and then we can talk over breakfast?" Maven suggests, offering a full meal. I could certainly use it.

"I-I'm not hungry, sorry," Haten replies, looking down with a mix of shyness and confusion.

"Alright," Maven gives a warm smile to Haten. I decide to join Maven in the kitchen for a conversation.

"So, what do you think is going on?" I ask as Maven slices sausages, temporarily setting the knife aside.

"There's no telling," she responds calmly.

"How come you're not freaking out like Haten?" I ask, wanting to understand her composed demeanor. Maven resumes cooking, finishing with the sausages and proceeding to scramble eggs.

"I'm like you. Never really been a people person. I'd rather be alone or with close friends than out in public," she explains.

I continue scrolling through my phone until the food is ready. "Kira, breakfast is ready!" I hear Maven call as her voice from the dinning room fades through the door

"Alright!" Haten is already sitting down, staring off into space, and Maven is behind the counter. It's a strange sight to see both of my friends here, especially given the circumstances. Though too much thought for me, so I started eating, my hunger taking over.

"Should we just wait?" I ask, addressing both of them.

"Maybe. I think we should at least stay in town for a week or two," Maven suggests, wiping a cup clean as she speaks.

"Y-yeah, I agree with Maven," Haten adds hesitantly.

"Then it's settled. We'll wait for a week, and if nothing happens, maybe we can consider going to another town or something," I suggest, wiping my mouth clean. "Although, if no one is around, the power won't last for long. Maybe a day or two, possibly a bit more. But we have solar panels at my place, so we won't have to worry too much," I mention, uncertain about the reality of the situation, but finding a strange fascination in this peculiar dream-like experience.

"Maven, I'm going to take a look around town. See if I can find anyone. Keep an eye on Haten," I inform her.

Haten's head pops up. "HEY! No need to treat me like a child!" Both Maven and I laugh at her.

"I'll take care of her, Kira. Don't worry," Maven assures me.

I leave the house, exploring the town for a few hours, hoping to encounter signs of life.

"This place feels... desolate." The once bustling town of Sylvester now stands empty and lifeless. It's strange to see our vibrant downtown transformed into an abandoned ghost town. I searched through stores, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone, anyone, but there was no sign of life.

While I could handle being alone with just two other people for a while, I could sense that it affected Haten and Maven differently. I walked for a while, trying to clear my head. Strangely enough, this whole situation didn't feel entirely life-changing to me. If it were any other day, it might have been one of those ordinary days.

By around four or five in the evening, I decided to head back to Maven's house.

"Yo, I'm back," I announced as I entered, knocking on the door.

"Oh, hey!" Maven greeted me with a wave. "Welcome back."

Her warm smile made me feel a bit better. "Where's Haten?" I scanned the room but couldn't find her.

"She's sleeping in my room right now," Maven informed me. I nodded, understanding that she must be exhausted. She was the first to realize what was happening, and it had taken a toll on her.

"Kira, what was the town like?" Maven asked, curiosity in her eyes.

I took off my coat and placed my shoes on the rack, then replied, "Well... it was desolate. I've never seen the town like this before, not even during the pandemic five years ago."

We both seemed a bit down, but we weren't letting it defeat us. "So, there's absolutely no one in town? None at all?" Maven inquired as I sat down and let out a sigh.

"More or less, yeah. No one. And the way it looks, it's as if they simply vanished."

"Geez," Maven muttered, clearly stunned by the situation. "What on earth could have happened here?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I have no idea."

Chuckling to myself, I came up with an idea. "You know what? Maybe we should finally go see the Didymus Tindurinn. It could be a fun adventure. Who knows, maybe we'll find something out there!"

The Didymus Tindurinn was a place named by a mix of Latin and Icelandic influences, a result of the town's diverse heritage.

"That'd be nice! We'll have to ask Haten if she wants to go!" Maven's spirit lifted at the thought.

Little did we know, embarking on this journey would reveal that the changes in this world were far more profound than just the disappearance of everyone.