At first, Caleb was confused. He wasn't sure if he had gone deaf because of the sudden silence or not. He tested his ears. He flicked, and sure enough, he heard it. Looking around, he slowly got out of bed and got dressed.
Opening up the door to his room, it was peacefully quiet. He walked around, the house creaking with his footsteps, and for the first time, he was able to hear a clock ticking in the living room that he didn't even know was there.
Looking up at it, he understood that it was five in the morning. Even though he didn't like getting up this early, he decided he might as well.
He was still shaky from his incident at school, and he looked around, realizing the house was completely empty. Narrowing his eyes, he called out, "Hello? Mom, dad? Where'd you go?"
No answer.
Even more confused, Caleb unlocked the front door and looked into the street. Cars were stopped in the middle of it, still running, others were crashed to the side. Some went completely through a few houses. One of the cars was on his front lawn. They were all empty. Blinking the last bits of sleep from his eyes, he looked to the ambulance and not only had the siren died, but the people in and around it were gone.
Going back inside and putting on his shoes, Caleb grabbed his backpack and some food and water to take with him. He snagged his headphones, phone, and charger and stepped outside. His backpack was unusually light.
Something compelled him to start walking, and so he did.
Never in his life was he able to enjoy the sounds of just nature. Birds tweeted joyfully in the trees overhead, dogs played happily in the streets, and even though it wasn't quite light out, it was brightening up and he could see the first bits of sunlight catching in the sky.
It was beautiful. The silence that added to it only made it even more stunning.
YOU ARE READING
Leave Me Alone
General Fiction|SFW | COMPLETE| Leave Me Alone is a short story about a high school student struggling with depression and crippling social anxiety. Prior to the events taking place in the book, he had to deal with keeping up with conversations, trying to act norm...
