Day 106

It took three days for the world to realize it. For the world to realize that something was wrong.

Before that people were just wanting to believe that it was a terrible coincidence that so many people they knew were going missing.

But after three days, it became evident.

While conducting a televised live interview to a person whose whole family was gone, a newscaster disappeared. She vanished from thin air on live television. Everyone in front of and behind the cameras started screaming in terror.

The whole world soon knew about the incident. And the chaos that emerged made the situation worse.

We still don't know how many disappear per day. And we don't know who takes them or why they are being taken. We don't even know if they're alive or dead.

We only know it hasn't stopped.

My mother disappeared on the sixth night. We were all sleeping in the basement, and when we woke up, she was gone.

My brother disappeared on the forty-eighth day. I was scavenging an abandoned Walmart with him and our father. And he didn't return to the meeting point to meet with us.

More than half of my friends are gone as well.

I have my youngest sister and my father left. Two of my cousins live with us since both of their parents are gone.

We keep the house boarded and locked and we only go out every other day to find supplies.

We mostly go out after the sun sets to avoid other people. Other people usually means trouble or danger.

It's not unusual to find dead bodies out on the street. People are killing others for as little as a can of beans.

Laws are gone. And people aren't scared to act if they're not going to be punished.

A third World War almost started at the beginning. The problem was that nobody knew where to send their fighters to. It seemed that everybody and nobody had the blame.

And governments collapsed soon enough anyway. And along with their deaths died any thought of war.

It took our government less than two weeks to collapse. The president disappeared on day six. And the vice president on day seven. Everything went into chaos. Government officials kept disappearing, and they finally realized that a government was useless. There was nothing they could do. And all left to do was wait.

“John, are you up?" whispers my cousin Jeff's voice.

My stomach jumps. It's time.

“Yep," I respond in the same muted voice. I'm lying on the floor next to Beverly. She's sound asleep holding the elephant stuffed animal our grandmother gave her for Christmas.

I quietly get up, grab my backpack, and tiptoe to the basement stairs that lead to the house. Jeff is there waiting for me. I see Ben waiting for us on the surface.

“Do you have your weapon?" Jeff asks me.

I don't need one, I think. I don't want one is probably more accurate.

I shake my head and retreat back into the room. I go to the wall and grab my father's blue ax.

I feel the weight of it on my chest.

“So, where are we going?" I ask Ben. He's usually the one that plans our late night scavenges.

“To Waterford Mall," Ben responds. “It's not that far, and we all need new clothes and shoes. It's right next to the Costco as well. Maybe we can still find some food there."

I stare with surprise. We had mostly stuck to smaller shops and local food places.

“I don't know," I say. “There's probably plenty of people there."

“We'll be fine," says Jeff. "There's three of us. Just make sure your weapon is visible. I have three guns on me. They won't do shit."

“Yeah, John. Don't be a coward," Ben says with his classic grin.

I sigh.

“Alright let's go change our wardrobes," I say.

We climb upstairs and go into my bedroom. I knock on the front window. After a few seconds the boards on it come off and it swings open.

My dad stands there. The moon shines down on him. He's been keeping watch for the past few hours.

"You boys ready? Did you get some rest?" he asks.

"Yeah, we're ready to go," I respond.

We all climb through the window. And one by one we hang by the edge and jump down onto the ground.

We look towards my dad and wave him off.

"And remember," he calls out. "Don't hesitate on using your weapons. These people aren't playing around. If you feel threatened, act. Or they'll kill you before you do."

We all shake our heads in agreement.

And we start our journey to he Waterford mall.

Before the happenings, the mall was where most of the teenagers hung out. Being the only mall in town, it was usually always full. Most would head here every day after class.

I rarely came. I always had I.T. Club after class. And even when I didn't, I didn't feel like going to the mall.

It takes us over an hour to get there.

We stay silent for most of the time. Not only to avoid attracting attention but truly because we don't have much to say. We rarely saw each other even though they didn't live that far away and I went to the same high school as Ben. We haven't been close since we were kids and played hide-and-go-seek at family barbecues.

Even though I'm the oldest of the three, I feel as if I were the youngest one. I stay quiet and mostly do as they say.

"Well..." Ben says while looking up at the building. "We should start at the shoe store. And from there go to get some clothes and batteries. We can raid the Costco last for food. Do you guys remember if we need anything else?"

"I don't think so," I say. Though I wouldn't mind some new records, I think to myself.

"I might check the gun store. See if there's anything left," Jeff says.

"Okay, we can do that if we have time," Ben says.

We go through the front entrance and ignite our flashlights.

The mall looks like something out of a horror zombie movie. It's pitch black except for the light coming from our flashlights.

There are trash and objects everywhere. The dead silence threatens to devour us whole.

I can myself holding my breath.

"Alright no time to look around," Ben whispers. It almost seems like his whispers make echoes around us. "Shoe store is this way. Keep your eyes peeled. There's bound to be people in here."

As we walk out feet collide with the trash and make a crunching noise that sounds like the beats of a drum.

I shine my light down and avoid stepping on trash. Ben and Jeff do the same.

After a few minutes, we get to the store.

And as we're going through the broken windows we hear it:

A high pitched bloodcurdling scream coming from a few doors down.