The morning air is chilly on my face, and I can feel the hush that has settled across the town. Panic has set in again, and I can almost hear their hushed whispers echoing in my ear.

"A boy has never gone missing before.."

"We are all going to die!"

I shiver slightly and shake my head to clear it. Mr. Parker had canceled our morning class, and so had the other teachers. Any kid would have thought sweet! No school today! But not in Oldemeadow. In Oldemeadow, this meant things were going downhill. Fast. I dust off my cloths as I plow through the branches and the shrubs. I shouldn't be doing this, considering all the dangers following my actions, but I know something they don't. Something even the whole lot of them couldn't figure out on their own. Not if they kept thinking it was a thing making people disappear.

He was hungry. That was the first thought that occurred to the young boy sitting on the building's rooftop, the wind running through his auburn hair. He had been in a daze, watching the trees shiver in the cold, and now he was aware that another boy was walking towards him, and the building he was sitting on. Being as still as possible, he quickly climbed down and sprinted into the welcoming hands of the trees. He could hear a loud gasp coming from behind him, but he kept running. He ran until his legs ran out of strength and his lungs ran out of air.

His hunger struck again, now more demanding and painful. Sweat trickled down the side of his cheek, the wind slapping him in the face with its chilly fingers. The pain was almost too much to bear. He had never been hungry in his life; in fact, he always had food on the plate whenever and however he wanted it. He didn't let that get to his head, however. He knew this day was coming. He had been preparing for this day for a very, very long time.

He glanced around to get his bearings, and stared in disbelief. He was inside a town, out of the forest, and staring right at a fast foods place. His stomach grumbled in protest. But he shook his head and turned away, trying to keep his mind preoccupied with something other than food. Please, he begged, anything other than food. The town, however, was eerily empty and quiet, but he could see little lights turned on inside the houses and the stores. Not so bright as to attract attention, but not too dim as to not attract attention at all. Shadows danced in some windows, and in most cases the curtains were drawn. He wasn't trying to be a peeping tom, oh no, but he couldn't help but let curiosity get the best of him.

He could almost feel the tension in the air; it was so powerful and so very distinct that it was as if the whole town was painted black. In fact, it was polluting the air so intensely that he could feel his eyes begin to sting. The town, with its darkness and the certain feelings that it radiated, seemed terrifyingly familiar. Maybe he had seen pictures in the news. Yeah, that must have been it. He brushed off the Deja-vu pulsating through him and began to walk again. He didn't know where; but he was walking, at least.

I sit on the bench beside the wooden structure in front of me, pondering over whether what I saw was a person, an animal, or better yet, if it was just a product of my imagination. The paranoia must finally be getting to me. Who could blame me? The tension around here was a mile thick, and you could almost feel like you were inhaling smoke instead of precious oxygen. It hadn't been like this for a very long time, and I almost welcomed the feeling 3 days ago when Anne went missing. It was nearly enough to drive someone to the brink of insanity. Nobody spoke to you or explained what the hell was happening; all you got was the feeling of isolation and panic, just like everyone else. The town would go into shut-down mode: The people locking themselves in, the stores closing, people turning on little to no lights, the list goes on and on. Just like now.

I sigh, roughening up my hair more than it already is, and stand up to leave. There is no use staying here any longer. The sun glares down impassively, and I realize that it's already in the afternoon. I have been losing track of time? But I'm sure It's barely been an hour...Swallowing the lump in my throat, I start leaving the forest. I seem to have forgotten why I was here in the first place...