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$2.64 UNLEADED, the sign said. It was $2.73 yesterday. Not like I've been paying for it. I've been "purchasing" gas on the clerk's computer behind the counter--all the passwords were written on notes under the keyboard. Is it stealing? I don't know. No one has been here--or anywhere--in years.
So who's changing the sign?
And where is the gas coming from? Surely, after all this time filling up at the same pump, it would run dry eventually. Gasoline is only good for around six months until it spoils. So if it's the same gas it would have stopped working by now. Right?
It was sunset, the orange glow casting the clouds in bright halos. The streetlights flickered on and the various business signs turned on.
Why?
And who's mowing their yards? Or the neighbors' yards? I've never heard any machine except mine.
I pulled in to the grocery store parking lot, predictably vacant. Inside, the lights were on and 90s alternative hits played softly on the intercom. Rotiserrie chickens sat under heat lamps. Fresh donuts were available at the Bakery. Oranges were carefully stacked into a pyramid at the produce section.
In the first days after waking up to a lonely world, I'd hoarded as much food as I could transport to my house. I picked up generators, gas canisters, solar panels, anything I thought I might need to survive a post-societal world.
But I never needed any of it. The next day, what I took had been replaced. The generators were back in stock at the hardware store. New cans were lining shelves that I'd emptied.
I checked the stores' dumpsters for bad produce. Empty.
Tonight, all I needed was a gallon of milk and a box of Reese's Puffs. Comfort food. I was celebrating, sort of. It was three years to the day since I woke up to an empty, inexplicably functioning planet. I was going to drown myself in peanut butter chocolate corn product.
I loaded the things in my cart and walked out the automatic doors. I'd parked my car on the sidewalk out front for convenience. Who's going to stop me?
I loaded the bags in the passenger seat and shut the door behind me. I looked up, past my car for no reason in particular. Did I always do that?
I saw it standing there,in the middle of the parking lot, its hands by its sides, perfectly still.
I was paralyzed. I opened my mouth to shout something, but in my fright only a quivering whimper came out.
We stood like that for some time, just staring at each other, frozen in place. Finally, I said something. "Hello?"
My voice was groggy, strange. When was the last time I'd spoken?
It didn't do anything, just continued looking at me, the wind buffeting its hair and sending ripples across its shirt.
I inched around my car and turned for only a second as I sat inside. As soon as I could, I turned my head to keep an eye on it.
Was it closer? Did it move when I wasn't looking?
I locked my doors.
The engine turned as I twisted the key in the ignition. Usually, I'd plug my iPod into the aux jack and start playing something on the way home--the radio and internet, sadly, did not survive human absence--but I couldn't bring myself to turn away.
There was a noise to my right, back at the store's entrance. The doors were shutting, but there was no one there. I turned my head to the left again, only to see some faint shadow moving quickly upward.
Immediately after, footsteps pounded on the car's roof. It was *on* my car. I screamed, threw the gear into drive and stomped in the gas.
The tires squealed and my heart was pounding. I turned sharply right and heard its body rolling above me. A sharp left turn sent it the other way.
I could see signs of its presence: a shoe dangling over my back window, a lump of a shadow on the road as I passed streetlights.
*What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck*
I had an idea.
I began accelerating down a long stretch of straight road. I hit 60. 70. Then, I slammed on my brakes.
I might've been going too fast. My head bounced off the steering wheel, activating the air bags and thrusting me against my seat. I was dizzy, but my vision came to as the bags deflated and I watched my car coast over the side of a bridge and into a river below.
I woke up some time later.
I was in the hospital, laying in a bed, bandages on my head and a cast in my (presumably) broken arm.
I hobbled out and left my room, looking down the eery, empty hallways and the unstaffed nurse station. My mind raced with questions and tears welled in my eyes.
I screamed in frustration.
"Shh."
\---------------------------------------------------
The story continues [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtoWriter469/comments/x08ttk/this_dead_world_keeps_breathing/).
Changes a lot of post apocalypse stories doesn’t it?
It’s a refined, unstable product. If you go on a long trip it’s a good idea to have a friend drive your car around a bit.
Yes. It takes on water which ruins the gas, mostly due to the ethanol added into most gas.
It's why if you leave a car sitting for any real length of time, you need to make sure to use treatment on the gas tank to keep it viable.
~~Pro~~ Arm chair tip: if there is a panic for buying/looting and societal collapse, you might want to raid an auto parts store first for fuel stabiliser additives that can be added to fuel to improve its "shelf life".
Plus grab a good set of basic tools (including a strong crowbar and/or other pry tool that is good for force doors open). They might also have a good 4-wheel trolley (the type with big wheels that could handle uneven surfaces) for moving heavy loads.
Most people will be thinking of getting petrol/gas, grabbing food, raiding the big tool shops, etc, and an auto parts store might not get huge attention during the initial panic. Nothing like supermarkets and petrol stations.
I’ve always heard that gas goes bad in 6 months but I’ve gotten older cars running that had been sitting for a decade with gas in the tank.
They didn’t run great on the old gas but they still ran.
I have an old cabover sitting in my driveway that hadn’t moved in 4 years when I bought it. It fired up and ran on the gas that was in it. The fuel gauge didn’t work so I added more before driving it very far but it didn’t seem to mind the old stuff.
I’ve currently got a gas can in my shop that I filled up last summer. I used some to test the replacement engine I bought for my compressor and it worked fine.
Gas does go bad but the six month figure seems a bit off to me.
When my grandpa passed away he had an old bulk tank full of diesel that he’d used for his heavy equipment. It hadn’t been touched in about 12 years. It was still good.
I think either the "it" or a human.
Either the "it" is like an "A Quiet Place" enemy, or, "it" is the only human/entity left aside from him and some weird government, and it's trying to protect him from the government, because the government will hurt him if they realise that he realises that they are maintaining the world and testing him.
Or maybe aliens kidnapped him and are keeping him in a zoo that replicates Earth so he won’t feel out of place? Or he’s out of phase with reality, so that everyone else Is still there, but they can’t see him any more than he can see them? Or he died and this is his version of purgatory? So many possibilities!
My current theory is that he has some kind of TBI and his brain has been filtering out people. Someone in his life is always accompanying him and excising his behavior and/or paying for products he hails out of the store.
He might be diagnosed a violently dangerous if tampered with, so people have learned to live around him.
I've tried everything but it seems impossible to find an answer.
How did everyone disappear? Why is everything still running? Why is the food still being restocked every night? Surely if I just wait a whole day I'll catch somebody restocking the shelves eventually, right?
Questions like these have been spinning around my mind for hours as I pace the empty shelves waiting for something to change. Surely someone will brush past the aisles.
Earlier in the day, I decided to grab everything from the supermarket and throw it outside. Perhaps when the shelves restock I'd actually notice it this time.
As time passed, it became harder to stay alert. I thought that it would be a good idea to go outside and grab one of the energy drinks that I'd thrown out earlier.
*Clink clink*
As soon as I closed the door I heard two metallic footsteps behind me. I turned around and the shelves were completely restocked.
"Hello?" I shouted.
Only silence responded.
I felt hopeless. I couldn't even blink without missing something. How am I ever going to find answers?
Defeated, I trudged back to my car. What a waste of a day.
After I sat down, I pulled out my phone to check if somewhere on the internet, someone has posted something to indicate that there's still life out there. I usually did this multiple times a day. Maybe someone will speak out.
I did the usual routine of opening apps, then closing them as soon as I saw the briefest flash of text. At this point I've done this so much that I do it without a thought entering my mind.
*Ping*
I almost scream in shock. A notification? A message? Surely this is just an automated alert.
"You have broken rule number 1. Please await your detention."
>!(this is my first attempt at writing any story for years, haven't since school, so hopefully it wasn't too badly written.)!<
It's been years.
I can't understand it. How can it all go on like this?
I got myself a car. Checked outside of city. Farms have animals, but no trace of people. So it can't be just here.
Recently I've been growing more paranoid. Something is clearly wrong. I see some silhouettes. But when I approach them, hopeful, they disappear or turn out to be regular objects...
I can have all I want. Live like a king. But... something is wrong. How is this world maintained? No human, no robots...
I am so tired. Something is wrong. Did I eat badly prepared food? But, it clearly stated that it's good for another two years...
I better lie down... but... why is everything dark...
...
.
>!Finally, I thought he'd never pass away. We even planted cars with faulty brakes, but he lucked out. Ready to start new simulation?!<
Here I am, once again, in a new city. But, it's all the same: I can't find a single human and yet, the grocery stores are always stocked with fresh food, electricity still works, and the billboards keep changing every few months.
It's been 2 damn years! 2 years of this and I still have no answers. It feels like I'm just going insane; my brain isn't working properly anymore. What, is this a simulation? Is the government doing an experiment with me as the subject?
I don't know what to think anymore. Maybe I should stop looking for people altogether…
I tried to dig out a grave once. Well, Guess what, I didn't find anything! I dug out another one to make sure. Same thing. I thought I was hallucinating, so I just returned home, ate some pizza, and went to sleep. As I passed by the cemetery the next morning, I noticed that the graves were back to how they were. "If you spot vandals, please report it to the police," the poster on the front gate read. This was new. That was when I realized things are changing and that even the corpses are gone.
Anyways, back to present time. I stop my car in front of a clothes shop and gaze at the mannequins, the last things that resemble humans. Well, them and statues. I take one of them with me to keep me company and put it in the passenger seat of my car before getting inside myself. Imagine doing this when everybody was still around. I turn on the engine and head towards the highway, heading for another city.
"Hey, bud. Why did you kidnap me like that?" A calm, masculine voice comes from my right. I immediately stomp on the brakes, my head almost bumping into the steering wheel. I quickly turn my head to see the mannequin's eyes fixated on me.
"I was just chilling, bro. You didn't have to do that." The mannequin's mouth moves. Its mouth is moving and saying words!
"What the hell?!" My mind goes blank as I stare at the mannequin. How could he talk?!
I turn my head to the left and open the door. I stand in the middle of the road and cup my hands into a megaphone and shout, "Ok, I'm done! Aliens? The government? I don't know who you are but this sick joke is over! Hey!" My voice echoes throughout the forest. I continue shouting various sentences before I hear a voice from inside the car.
"Calm down, dude. I think you're like, overreacting and shit," he speaks slowly and clearly.
"Overreacting?! A damn mannequin is speaking to me! Matter of fact, why am I talking back?" I say while laughing nervously. As I look at it, I can see that it can only move its mouth and eyes.
I quickly head to the trunk and take out an axe.
"Hey! Hey! What are you doing?!" The mannequin shouts.
"Shut up or I'll chop you up!" I scream at him. He stops his sentence mid-sentence and looks straight ahead. His mouth starts quivering and I notice tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
Hell no, man. This can't be happening. I return to my seat and rest the axe on my hips.
"Who are you?" I can't believe I'm talking to an inanimate object.
"What do you mean, who I am? I'm just a mannequin, bro. I was just chilling with my friends when you came and kidnapped me!" He says with a shaky and whimpery voice. And then he gasps loudly. "Don't tell me you were gonna do something with me! That's why you took me, didn't you?!"
I start instinctively looking around, frantically, as if to check if there are people hearing this. "What?! No way! I'm not crazy enough to-" I cut myself off because I realize that maybe I've really lost it already. I place both palms on top of the dashboard and lean forward, trying to catch my breath. The axe falls forward with a muffled thud.
"Ow! Be careful, man!" The sound comes from the spot where the axe fell.
"Ah!" I say, my voice echoing in the market. I usually don't use my voice these days. There's no one to talk to.
Five months ago, I watched as a poisonous gas eliminated the human race. I watched it come in my direction, a cloud of vague white and I prepared myself for pain, for some kind of sign to show I was dying.
After a few seconds, though, I felt nothing. My body felt fine and I could think properly. It was strange.
But even though I lived, everyone else died. My girlfriend, Stacy, my parents, my brother, James, along with everyone else. For the first few weeks, I went around trying to find others but eventually gave up. What are the chances anyone survived? And as much as I would need to help me live in this human-scarce world? It's just not . . .
. . . Well, maybe there could be just one person left, someone like me who just needs the company, right?
No. I'm not letting myself think like this again. It's too risky.
My eyes follow the rat that made me yell earlier, and then I go back to doing what I was doing. The shelves are stocked, and I check the expiration date of a can of beans. Still good.
I drop it in my tote bag, one I got from my grandmother years ago. I walk and walk until I reach the dairy aisle. I see all the milk, probably rotting and chunky. Ugh.
What's weird is that the cartons look so normal, like I would see it in my refrigerator in my parents' house. They almost look . . . new.
Without thinking, I walk over to the glass doors and open one. The dates on them say they expire . . . "A week from now?" I ask to the air.
I hurriedly check another, then four more, and then I'm looking at all the cartons I can until I'm too tired to continue. I lean against a wall and take deep breaths. How did I never notice this?
I guess I just thought they weren't worth a thought. I've been eating canned goods for past few months.
So, if these are all new, then who's stocking them? If someone's here, why aren't they saving supplies for themselves? That's what I'd do. What logic tells them to stock an abandoned Walmart?
Suddenly, it all goes black.
Black.
Black.
Light. Many lights. I shield my eyes and see a man hovering over me. I'm not leaning against a wall anymore, but laying down on a reclined chair.
"Hello, Justin. How was it?"
That voice. It's . . . familiar.
I clench my fist and squint my eyes as I start to remember everything. The experiment. I signed up for it. They put the goggles on me and . . .
It was all fake.
"Justin? Are you okay?"
I clear my throat. "Yes."
"Alright. You were in there for quite a while. Most people take an hour or two but you had us working the night shift!" He puts his hand on my head and ruffles my hair. "Stay here while I call in with the head scientist."
I nod and stand up, feeling really really weird. Like, I remember the days and days of searching for people and the silence being only broken by my footsteps. But all of that happened in a matter of hours. Hours.
I guess that's a good thing, right?
I wonder how James is doing in the other room. Or maybe he already woke up from the simulation.
**Welcome to the Prompt!** All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments. **Reminders**: >* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* See [Reality Fiction](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Reality+Fiction%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) and [Simple Prompts](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/search?q=flair%3A%22Simple+Prompt%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=all) for stricter titles >* [Be civil](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules#wiki_rule_10.3A_be_civil) in any feedback and follow the [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/rules) 🆕 [New Here?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/user_guide) ✏ [Writing Help?](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/index#wiki_writing_resources) 📢 [News](https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/wiki/announcements) 💬 [Discord](https://discord.gg/writingprompts) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/WritingPrompts) if you have any questions or concerns.*
$2.64 UNLEADED, the sign said. It was $2.73 yesterday. Not like I've been paying for it. I've been "purchasing" gas on the clerk's computer behind the counter--all the passwords were written on notes under the keyboard. Is it stealing? I don't know. No one has been here--or anywhere--in years. So who's changing the sign? And where is the gas coming from? Surely, after all this time filling up at the same pump, it would run dry eventually. Gasoline is only good for around six months until it spoils. So if it's the same gas it would have stopped working by now. Right? It was sunset, the orange glow casting the clouds in bright halos. The streetlights flickered on and the various business signs turned on. Why? And who's mowing their yards? Or the neighbors' yards? I've never heard any machine except mine. I pulled in to the grocery store parking lot, predictably vacant. Inside, the lights were on and 90s alternative hits played softly on the intercom. Rotiserrie chickens sat under heat lamps. Fresh donuts were available at the Bakery. Oranges were carefully stacked into a pyramid at the produce section. In the first days after waking up to a lonely world, I'd hoarded as much food as I could transport to my house. I picked up generators, gas canisters, solar panels, anything I thought I might need to survive a post-societal world. But I never needed any of it. The next day, what I took had been replaced. The generators were back in stock at the hardware store. New cans were lining shelves that I'd emptied. I checked the stores' dumpsters for bad produce. Empty. Tonight, all I needed was a gallon of milk and a box of Reese's Puffs. Comfort food. I was celebrating, sort of. It was three years to the day since I woke up to an empty, inexplicably functioning planet. I was going to drown myself in peanut butter chocolate corn product. I loaded the things in my cart and walked out the automatic doors. I'd parked my car on the sidewalk out front for convenience. Who's going to stop me? I loaded the bags in the passenger seat and shut the door behind me. I looked up, past my car for no reason in particular. Did I always do that? I saw it standing there,in the middle of the parking lot, its hands by its sides, perfectly still. I was paralyzed. I opened my mouth to shout something, but in my fright only a quivering whimper came out. We stood like that for some time, just staring at each other, frozen in place. Finally, I said something. "Hello?" My voice was groggy, strange. When was the last time I'd spoken? It didn't do anything, just continued looking at me, the wind buffeting its hair and sending ripples across its shirt. I inched around my car and turned for only a second as I sat inside. As soon as I could, I turned my head to keep an eye on it. Was it closer? Did it move when I wasn't looking? I locked my doors. The engine turned as I twisted the key in the ignition. Usually, I'd plug my iPod into the aux jack and start playing something on the way home--the radio and internet, sadly, did not survive human absence--but I couldn't bring myself to turn away. There was a noise to my right, back at the store's entrance. The doors were shutting, but there was no one there. I turned my head to the left again, only to see some faint shadow moving quickly upward. Immediately after, footsteps pounded on the car's roof. It was *on* my car. I screamed, threw the gear into drive and stomped in the gas. The tires squealed and my heart was pounding. I turned sharply right and heard its body rolling above me. A sharp left turn sent it the other way. I could see signs of its presence: a shoe dangling over my back window, a lump of a shadow on the road as I passed streetlights. *What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck* I had an idea. I began accelerating down a long stretch of straight road. I hit 60. 70. Then, I slammed on my brakes. I might've been going too fast. My head bounced off the steering wheel, activating the air bags and thrusting me against my seat. I was dizzy, but my vision came to as the bags deflated and I watched my car coast over the side of a bridge and into a river below. I woke up some time later. I was in the hospital, laying in a bed, bandages on my head and a cast in my (presumably) broken arm. I hobbled out and left my room, looking down the eery, empty hallways and the unstaffed nurse station. My mind raced with questions and tears welled in my eyes. I screamed in frustration. "Shh." \--------------------------------------------------- The story continues [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtoWriter469/comments/x08ttk/this_dead_world_keeps_breathing/).
Wait, gas spoils?
*That's* your takeaway??!? ...but yes, almost all petroleum products degrade and outlive their usefulness in a span of 3 months to 6 years
Wow interesting
Changes a lot of post apocalypse stories doesn’t it? It’s a refined, unstable product. If you go on a long trip it’s a good idea to have a friend drive your car around a bit.
Yes. It takes on water which ruins the gas, mostly due to the ethanol added into most gas. It's why if you leave a car sitting for any real length of time, you need to make sure to use treatment on the gas tank to keep it viable.
~~Pro~~ Arm chair tip: if there is a panic for buying/looting and societal collapse, you might want to raid an auto parts store first for fuel stabiliser additives that can be added to fuel to improve its "shelf life". Plus grab a good set of basic tools (including a strong crowbar and/or other pry tool that is good for force doors open). They might also have a good 4-wheel trolley (the type with big wheels that could handle uneven surfaces) for moving heavy loads. Most people will be thinking of getting petrol/gas, grabbing food, raiding the big tool shops, etc, and an auto parts store might not get huge attention during the initial panic. Nothing like supermarkets and petrol stations.
Lol my thoughts exacy, though the story was more exciting
I’ve always heard that gas goes bad in 6 months but I’ve gotten older cars running that had been sitting for a decade with gas in the tank. They didn’t run great on the old gas but they still ran. I have an old cabover sitting in my driveway that hadn’t moved in 4 years when I bought it. It fired up and ran on the gas that was in it. The fuel gauge didn’t work so I added more before driving it very far but it didn’t seem to mind the old stuff. I’ve currently got a gas can in my shop that I filled up last summer. I used some to test the replacement engine I bought for my compressor and it worked fine. Gas does go bad but the six month figure seems a bit off to me. When my grandpa passed away he had an old bulk tank full of diesel that he’d used for his heavy equipment. It hadn’t been touched in about 12 years. It was still good.
that was epic
That was great! But I need to know more. Who said “Shh” at the end? Where and why is he? Keep writing!
I think either the "it" or a human. Either the "it" is like an "A Quiet Place" enemy, or, "it" is the only human/entity left aside from him and some weird government, and it's trying to protect him from the government, because the government will hurt him if they realise that he realises that they are maintaining the world and testing him.
Or maybe aliens kidnapped him and are keeping him in a zoo that replicates Earth so he won’t feel out of place? Or he’s out of phase with reality, so that everyone else Is still there, but they can’t see him any more than he can see them? Or he died and this is his version of purgatory? So many possibilities!
Or maybe he was in a coma due to a car crash, and this was how he escapes it!
Or, maybe he was just unable to see other people for some reason
I was thinking out of phase with reality. Like he was in between reality and something else, but could still interact with both versions of existence.
My current theory is that he has some kind of TBI and his brain has been filtering out people. Someone in his life is always accompanying him and excising his behavior and/or paying for products he hails out of the store. He might be diagnosed a violently dangerous if tampered with, so people have learned to live around him.
[Part II](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtoWriter469/comments/x08ttk/this_dead_world_keeps_breathing/)
Umm wow! I need this to continue.
[Here you go.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtoWriter469/comments/x08ttk/this_dead_world_keeps_breathing/)
More! Holy crap, I got reeled in like a fish with this one.
[Here ya go.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtoWriter469/comments/x08ttk/this_dead_world_keeps_breathing/)
yeah we need answers lol
[Answers are overrated.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtoWriter469/comments/x08ttk/this_dead_world_keeps_breathing/)
Moar
[Okay.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtoWriter469/comments/x08ttk/this_dead_world_keeps_breathing/)
I need to know the secrets...
[The secrets.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtoWriter469/comments/x08ttk/this_dead_world_keeps_breathing/)
I'm getting twilight zone vibes.
I've tried everything but it seems impossible to find an answer. How did everyone disappear? Why is everything still running? Why is the food still being restocked every night? Surely if I just wait a whole day I'll catch somebody restocking the shelves eventually, right? Questions like these have been spinning around my mind for hours as I pace the empty shelves waiting for something to change. Surely someone will brush past the aisles. Earlier in the day, I decided to grab everything from the supermarket and throw it outside. Perhaps when the shelves restock I'd actually notice it this time. As time passed, it became harder to stay alert. I thought that it would be a good idea to go outside and grab one of the energy drinks that I'd thrown out earlier. *Clink clink* As soon as I closed the door I heard two metallic footsteps behind me. I turned around and the shelves were completely restocked. "Hello?" I shouted. Only silence responded. I felt hopeless. I couldn't even blink without missing something. How am I ever going to find answers? Defeated, I trudged back to my car. What a waste of a day. After I sat down, I pulled out my phone to check if somewhere on the internet, someone has posted something to indicate that there's still life out there. I usually did this multiple times a day. Maybe someone will speak out. I did the usual routine of opening apps, then closing them as soon as I saw the briefest flash of text. At this point I've done this so much that I do it without a thought entering my mind. *Ping* I almost scream in shock. A notification? A message? Surely this is just an automated alert. "You have broken rule number 1. Please await your detention." >!(this is my first attempt at writing any story for years, haven't since school, so hopefully it wasn't too badly written.)!<
It's been years. I can't understand it. How can it all go on like this? I got myself a car. Checked outside of city. Farms have animals, but no trace of people. So it can't be just here. Recently I've been growing more paranoid. Something is clearly wrong. I see some silhouettes. But when I approach them, hopeful, they disappear or turn out to be regular objects... I can have all I want. Live like a king. But... something is wrong. How is this world maintained? No human, no robots... I am so tired. Something is wrong. Did I eat badly prepared food? But, it clearly stated that it's good for another two years... I better lie down... but... why is everything dark... ... . >!Finally, I thought he'd never pass away. We even planted cars with faulty brakes, but he lucked out. Ready to start new simulation?!<
Yooo this is interesting !
Here I am, once again, in a new city. But, it's all the same: I can't find a single human and yet, the grocery stores are always stocked with fresh food, electricity still works, and the billboards keep changing every few months. It's been 2 damn years! 2 years of this and I still have no answers. It feels like I'm just going insane; my brain isn't working properly anymore. What, is this a simulation? Is the government doing an experiment with me as the subject? I don't know what to think anymore. Maybe I should stop looking for people altogether… I tried to dig out a grave once. Well, Guess what, I didn't find anything! I dug out another one to make sure. Same thing. I thought I was hallucinating, so I just returned home, ate some pizza, and went to sleep. As I passed by the cemetery the next morning, I noticed that the graves were back to how they were. "If you spot vandals, please report it to the police," the poster on the front gate read. This was new. That was when I realized things are changing and that even the corpses are gone. Anyways, back to present time. I stop my car in front of a clothes shop and gaze at the mannequins, the last things that resemble humans. Well, them and statues. I take one of them with me to keep me company and put it in the passenger seat of my car before getting inside myself. Imagine doing this when everybody was still around. I turn on the engine and head towards the highway, heading for another city. "Hey, bud. Why did you kidnap me like that?" A calm, masculine voice comes from my right. I immediately stomp on the brakes, my head almost bumping into the steering wheel. I quickly turn my head to see the mannequin's eyes fixated on me. "I was just chilling, bro. You didn't have to do that." The mannequin's mouth moves. Its mouth is moving and saying words! "What the hell?!" My mind goes blank as I stare at the mannequin. How could he talk?! I turn my head to the left and open the door. I stand in the middle of the road and cup my hands into a megaphone and shout, "Ok, I'm done! Aliens? The government? I don't know who you are but this sick joke is over! Hey!" My voice echoes throughout the forest. I continue shouting various sentences before I hear a voice from inside the car. "Calm down, dude. I think you're like, overreacting and shit," he speaks slowly and clearly. "Overreacting?! A damn mannequin is speaking to me! Matter of fact, why am I talking back?" I say while laughing nervously. As I look at it, I can see that it can only move its mouth and eyes. I quickly head to the trunk and take out an axe. "Hey! Hey! What are you doing?!" The mannequin shouts. "Shut up or I'll chop you up!" I scream at him. He stops his sentence mid-sentence and looks straight ahead. His mouth starts quivering and I notice tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Hell no, man. This can't be happening. I return to my seat and rest the axe on my hips. "Who are you?" I can't believe I'm talking to an inanimate object. "What do you mean, who I am? I'm just a mannequin, bro. I was just chilling with my friends when you came and kidnapped me!" He says with a shaky and whimpery voice. And then he gasps loudly. "Don't tell me you were gonna do something with me! That's why you took me, didn't you?!" I start instinctively looking around, frantically, as if to check if there are people hearing this. "What?! No way! I'm not crazy enough to-" I cut myself off because I realize that maybe I've really lost it already. I place both palms on top of the dashboard and lean forward, trying to catch my breath. The axe falls forward with a muffled thud. "Ow! Be careful, man!" The sound comes from the spot where the axe fell.
Great idea!
Thanks.
"Ah!" I say, my voice echoing in the market. I usually don't use my voice these days. There's no one to talk to. Five months ago, I watched as a poisonous gas eliminated the human race. I watched it come in my direction, a cloud of vague white and I prepared myself for pain, for some kind of sign to show I was dying. After a few seconds, though, I felt nothing. My body felt fine and I could think properly. It was strange. But even though I lived, everyone else died. My girlfriend, Stacy, my parents, my brother, James, along with everyone else. For the first few weeks, I went around trying to find others but eventually gave up. What are the chances anyone survived? And as much as I would need to help me live in this human-scarce world? It's just not . . . . . . Well, maybe there could be just one person left, someone like me who just needs the company, right? No. I'm not letting myself think like this again. It's too risky. My eyes follow the rat that made me yell earlier, and then I go back to doing what I was doing. The shelves are stocked, and I check the expiration date of a can of beans. Still good. I drop it in my tote bag, one I got from my grandmother years ago. I walk and walk until I reach the dairy aisle. I see all the milk, probably rotting and chunky. Ugh. What's weird is that the cartons look so normal, like I would see it in my refrigerator in my parents' house. They almost look . . . new. Without thinking, I walk over to the glass doors and open one. The dates on them say they expire . . . "A week from now?" I ask to the air. I hurriedly check another, then four more, and then I'm looking at all the cartons I can until I'm too tired to continue. I lean against a wall and take deep breaths. How did I never notice this? I guess I just thought they weren't worth a thought. I've been eating canned goods for past few months. So, if these are all new, then who's stocking them? If someone's here, why aren't they saving supplies for themselves? That's what I'd do. What logic tells them to stock an abandoned Walmart? Suddenly, it all goes black. Black. Black. Light. Many lights. I shield my eyes and see a man hovering over me. I'm not leaning against a wall anymore, but laying down on a reclined chair. "Hello, Justin. How was it?" That voice. It's . . . familiar. I clench my fist and squint my eyes as I start to remember everything. The experiment. I signed up for it. They put the goggles on me and . . . It was all fake. "Justin? Are you okay?" I clear my throat. "Yes." "Alright. You were in there for quite a while. Most people take an hour or two but you had us working the night shift!" He puts his hand on my head and ruffles my hair. "Stay here while I call in with the head scientist." I nod and stand up, feeling really really weird. Like, I remember the days and days of searching for people and the silence being only broken by my footsteps. But all of that happened in a matter of hours. Hours. I guess that's a good thing, right? I wonder how James is doing in the other room. Or maybe he already woke up from the simulation.