Matthew’s Story

The first Vanishing happened in the middle of Times Square in New York City. The man, a lawyer, was walking across the street when suddenly, poof. He was gone. The space he’d occupied just moments ago now held only empty air without any sort of warning, other than a look of sheer terror on his face and his scream. Eyewitnesses described the event to the police, who were baffled by the reports. Politicians and scientists alike scrambled to find an explanation for the incident, but none was found. It was ultimately labeled as an isolated anomaly. Until it happened again. And again. Dozens, then hundreds of people vanished into thin air. Many leaders of the Christian church called it the Rapture. People sang praises in the streets while they waited for their turn. All that stopped when a freshly convicted serial killer vanished from a courtroom. Not even the most zealous believer dared suggest that these were God’s chosen people after that.

Other theories began to spread. Alien abductions. Transportation to another dimension or the future. Or perhaps some new form of terrorism, although virtually every country on the planet was affected by the Vanishings (as they were now being called). I never believed any of these, though. I wasn’t sure what to believe. 

There was seemingly no pattern to the Vanishings: Good people, bad people, rich people, poor people, young, old, the healthy, the sick - all disappeared without either a trace or explanation. Once in a while, a plane would crash because the pilot would Vanish; a hospital patient would die on the operating table because the surgeon was suddenly not there and a scalpel would drop into their exposed heart. One of the only things we learned about the Vanishings before there were too few people around to broadcast the news was that pre-Vanishing reactions varied. Sometimes those who vanished wouldn’t have time to be afraid. Others, like the first man, seemed to feel it coming almost at the exact moment of their Vanishing. They would scream or ask people around them for help before disappearing into thin air. Still others would feel it coming for minutes or even hours beforehand. These people were either the most or least fortunate, depending on your perspective on the matter. 

It got to the point where most government and law enforcement officials Vanished. Those who were still around simply retired to be with their families. I can’t say I blame them. I wish I could have done the same. But because of this, anarchy became the law of the land. Bandit gangs formed. They often clashed with one another and attacked those left on their own; stole from them. Afterwards, they usually killed them.  It is here that my story truly begins. 

I was in a grocery store, scrounging what I could from the mostly barren shelves, which had been raided of goods long ago, when I saw them. There were about six bandits in their gang. One of them, presumably their leader based on the fact that he was at the front of the pack, spotted me first.

“We got a loner!” he shouted and they bolted in my direction. I scrambled to my feet and burst out the door. It was nighttime, so I had the advantage of darkness on my side, even with their flashlight beams piercing the night as they gave chase. My muscles burned from the strain, but I kept going, knowing they’d probably kill me if given the chance. We ran through the streets of an abandoned neighborhood when I heard a scream from their leader. I chanced a look over my shoulder just in time to see his thin silhouette disappear and his flashlight hit the pavement, the light going out as it hit the ground.The gangs stopped in their tracks and looked around for a moment before they realized what happened. Using the distraction, I shot into action.

“Hey, buddy! In here!” a voice called. I turned to my left to see a young, freckled woman standing inside a house, waving at me from an open doorway.  “Get inside!” she yelled and I ran for the door. She slammed it behind me after I bolted through it and into my safe haven. The house was dimly illuminated with candlelight, creating flickering shadows across the young woman’s face. Two more people entered the room; a man and another woman. 

“What the hell, Jessica? I thought we said no more newcomers!” the man growled. 

“He was being chased by bandits. I couldn’t have let him die now, could I?” the young woman replied defensively. She stole a glance out the window. “They’re gone now, anyway.”

I spoke up. “I don’t mean to cause you folks any trouble. I can leave.” I gestured towards the door.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” the woman said. “I’m Jessica. That’s Amanda-” she pointed to the other woman. “-and my grumpy friend over there is Raymond.”

“Matthew,” I told her. Jessica smiled. Even in the semi-darkness, I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was. 

“I don’t want him here,” said Raymond. “The last person we let in here almost killed you!”

“You don’t need to remind me. And besides, he’s clearly unarmed,” Jessica argued. 

“I don’t want to hurt any of you. I promise,” I said. “Please don’t send me back out there.”

“You’re outvoted here, Raymond,” said Amanda. “He gets to stay.”

“Fine,” said Raymond, scowling. “But this better not blow up in our faces.”

“It won’t,” Jessica assured him.

She got me settled in a spare room on a thin cot and pillow. “Sorry about Raymond. He just gets nervous about newcomers, but you’ll get used to each other soon enough,” she said.

“It’s alright. I understand,” I replied. “I didn’t get a chance to say thank you for saving me earlier. So...thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Matthew,” Jessica said. “Goodnight.”