"Day 15.
Today I finally saw it, no I saw them. People. Yes, people. They were in a car, driving to God knows where. They didn't hear me yell for them to stop. Yes, I yelled- very unlike me. They didn't seem to hear me though. How unfortunate! I guess I'll be alone for a while.
My food reserves are piling up. Since all electronics still work, I do not have to worry about fresh food going bad in a while. Though ultimately, I will have to stick to cans. I'm still looking for food. House fourteen on block four is an empty nest. There's no food there. It would be best to just stay out. Don't waste your time.
Besides missing people, no other earth shattering events have occurred in this apocalypse. It seems rather mild, doesn't it. I will look out for signs tomorrow too. As for the missing people, I still don't have any idea as to where they could have possibly gone. It's almost as if they vanished into thin air. No bodies, no traces of migration, nothing. How strange!
This sums everything up. See you tomorrow."
***
Elias held the brown notebook in his hand, his brows furrowed in confusion and his mouth stretched in a thin line.
He recognized his handwriting as his but, he didn't remember ever writing these words. Still, it didn't beat the fact that the penmanship oddly resembled his, to the letter.
From this, he drew two conclusions. Either he didn't write this or he didn't remember writing this. These two were different.
Elias tapped his temples, a habit he developed when he became senior librarian, his gray eyes peering deeply into the book. Despite his posture of concentration, he was lost in thought. His mind tried to rationalize everything he had seen since he woke up today. The empty streets and the strange notebook, both seemed to venture into the realms of the paranormal.
Everyone was gone. The inhabitants of the hotel, the people on the streets, people in shops, parks, concerts,….they were all gone.
What had happened to the world overnight?
Was there a natural disaster alert he hadn't heard, which caused everyone to evacuate in a single night?
Impossible!
His assistants would have informed immediately such an alert was made.
No, rather, the mayor of the city would have personally called him long before the public was informed, and executive priority would have been given to his evacuation. It was a privilege only the likes of him could enjoy.
So where did everyone go?
Elias pondered this question as he sat, alone, on a park bench. After roaming through the streets all day, looking for people or any sign of them, he took a break on a wooden park bench. It was windy here too. Just the way he liked it.
As he basked in the setting sun, clueless as to what to do next, Elias's mind drove him down memory lane, when he was just a teenager. He liked to sit in parks, just like these, anytime he came across a theory he couldn't quite understand. His best friend at that time, Hargave, would always plop down, right next to him and the two would proceed to spend the rest of their day deducing the theory. It was their favorite pastime.
The corners of his mouth lifted up in a smile that didn't suit his pale stern face.
'Those were good times', he sighed.
Now, all alone, Elias had to figure out his next course of action.
It would be much easier with Hargave here, he thought. Hargave always knew what a particular situation warranted.
After thinking deeply for a while, he decided on his first course of action; to hoard food.
He stood up from the park bench, dusted his coat, straightened his tie, and walked off.
In his search for people earlier, he had discovered a large supermarket just down Jones Avenue. He decided to use this as his base of operations. It had enough food to last him a year and its owner had conveniently left the keys on a counter, so he could lock it up to keep others out.
As he stepped into the supermarket, Elias briefly looked around. Despite his expressionless face, his eyes betrayed the contempt and disgust he held for his environment. This was a place for lowborns, how could he possibly make his home here.
For a minute, he contemplated leaving. Finding a luxurious restaurant and making that his base instead but his mind cautioned against it. Those restaurants would only have fresh food at best, and that couldn't be preserved for a long period of time. He didn't know how long this apocalypse was going to last so he did not dare risk his chances of survival.
He headed to the furniture section of the supermarket and chose a bed to retire on for the night. Despite its luxury tag, it didn't quite meet his standards. He made a decision to find another bed immediately he woke up tomorrow. A more comfortable one. Hell, he would drag his bed from his penthouse if he had to.
Even if he couldn't eat as comfortably as he would prefer, he definitely wouldn't compromise when it came to his sleep.
As he prepared to lock the supermarket, ready to retire for the night, a person sped right past the entrance, not sparing a glance at Elias, who stood at the door.
Elias, stunned, quickly recovered and rushed out, yelling
"Hey, stop!"
But the figure had already made a right turn into another street, disappearing from his view. Elias followed suit, but his weak physique prevented him from keeping up. By the time he had made the turn, the figure was long gone.
All he saw was a piece of paper floating, slowly descending to the ground, as if it had just been thrown.
On it, a single word had been written,…..in ink,…red ink,...blood red ink,…blood.
The word was simple, nothing complex. Rationally, it was impossible for a word, any word to be weighed by specific metric. However, when Elias' eyes fell on the word written on the note, a terrifying sense of heaviness fell on him and he felt a pricking feeling at his back.
Turning around slowly, he looked up, on the rooftop of a two storey cafe right across the street. There he saw it, a shadow….., illuminated by the dying embers of the sun.
No!
Chills ran down his spine and Elias quickly turned around and fled.
That oppression!
That vileness!
It was terrifying. It was wrong. It was dirty.
He had to run. Escape. Find somewhere it couldn't follow. Somewhere warm. In his frantic desire to escape, there was another feeling, a strange one. One that shouldn't have been there. It was a vague sense of familiarity, one he couldn't shake off.
But where could he have possibly seen this shadow?
There was no time to contemplate this as Elias felt the shadow drawing closer to him. He could feel the chill slowly seep into his skin.
Fortunately, in his desperation, he found salvation. There, right on the fourth block was a house, warm and inviting. The lights were on and its door was slightly open, drawing him in. There was a faint smell of lemon tea lingering around the house.
Elias didn't hesitate to run right in, slamming the door shut behind him. Before he entered, he caught sight of a metal plaque hanging on the door. It had a number on it, fourteen. How familiar
Leaning against the closed door, Elias fell to his feet, desperately trying to catch his breath.
That shadow….what was that? The vileness, the evil,..it was tangible, cold.
He slowly stood up. He had to know if the shadow had followed him. If it was waiting in front of the house.
However, when he turned,…..
….the door was gone.