A Silent Threat

A silent threat short story.

Everyone was buzzing with excitement for the new year. Hanging decorations, putting out food, gathering friends and family. It's December 31st 2006 about to be 2007.

This holiday is always taken to the next level in the humble town of Brooklyn, New York.
Always big, loud and flashy. Everyone loved them, except for Luka. He wasn't a fan of the big stuff; he preferred watching television and laying on his couch at home. Luka is a college student and lives in a small townhome, his family still living in Orgon. He had roommates but they were all out partying it up or something.

One of the reasons Luka doesn't like this time of year is all the sound that it make, people screaming, fireworks booming, why does everything have to be so loud, it make his anxious and paranoid. But this year Luka was even more paranoid then usually. Luka found comfort in his room, his small but neat room. He would hide in there when his roommate had people over, or if he was mad or anything else. He probably seems like a couch potato to his roommates, but he doesn't care.

He look around his musty old bedroom. He had a basic bed frame and mattress, a
rundown desk in the corner, and a two-door closet built into the wall. There was nothing special about his room. The whole townhome he lived in was rundown and old, the smell of musk dancing around the house. As like was looking around his room his eyes caught on a picture of his family, his mom and dad and two younger sisters, he missed them.His thoughts drifted to somber memories about his family and all the fun they had had, Luka hated leaving home but this was his way of pursuing his dreams. But as he was looking at the photo, something was off, the photo seemed to morph as he was looking, Luka took a closer look at it, squinting his eyes, there were strange little boxes in everyone's hand, and instead of hugging each other they all were looking at the boxes.

Fireworks when off near his home; he jumped, the sound knocking him out of his thoughts. Gosh, he hated fireworks, his heart was rapidly beating in his chest, he placed a hand over his heart as a way of soothing it. He looked back at the photo, the picture was back to normal. Nothing in anyone's hand, everyone hugging each other looking at the camera. Luka sat on his bed, holding his hand to his chest, catching his breath. Luka decided it was time to get some fresh air, maybe he was seeing things. He left his house dark house, shutting the creaking door behind him.It was late, around 10pm, almost time for the new year.

He walked a little way from his house into a large strip of shops and restaurants.
Decorations everywhere, lights flashing, people hooting and hollering. Luka wondered if maybe one of his roommates was here somewhere. He walked down the noisy street, everyone looking at him with a smile. He checked his clothes to make sure there wasn't a stain on his clothes and then checked his fluffy brown hair making sure it's neat. He wanted to look good for all these nice people. As he walked, he saw the door of a bar slam open and a group men walked out, clearly drunk. He looked inside and he saw his roommate, Tom. Luka walked in, the smell of wine and cigarettes overpowered any other smell. He slowly walked toward tom, avoiding being touched by any of the people here.

"Luka!" he hears from the bar table.Tom yelled.

"Oh, hey Tom." Luka said loudly over all the noise of the room.Tom defiantly looked wasted.

"Whater you doin here?" Tom spoke.
The lingering smell of the bar making Luka nauseous.

"Just getting some fresh air." He basically yelled over all the noise in the bar.

"January 1st the world is ending." Luka thought tom said.

"What?" Luka shouted. Tom looked just as confused as he did. Was he hearing
things now? First the photo and now this? The sound of the bar got a little too overwhelming, he covered his ears and stumbled back out into the streets, waving a slight
'goodbye' to tom. He missed a step on the way out and fell to the hard concrete ground.

"Ow!" he yelped. But that didn't seem to do anything. No one was looking at him. No
one even gave a glance, they were all looking down, looking at what? The boxes, the boxes from the picture. Luka got up, brushing himself off, then tried to get people's attention, but no one would give him the time of day. Luka couldn't place what those boxes were. He looked at the boxes analyzing them. On all of them it said,

"The world as we know it is ending."

Isn't that was tom said earlier?
Luka thought carefully about all the things that has happened to him these passed
few hours. Maybe it's all a sign. A sign that the world is ending. But what should Luka do?
Can he stop it? Is that why he's the one getting the signs? Luka panicked, not knowing what to do. So he ran. Ran out of the town, ran to his house which wasn't too far. The time was 11:15 if the end of the word is happening at new years then he didn't have much time.

Luka quickly collected all of his food, pillows, blankets and headed down to his basement, he had a tv downstairs that connected to the live viewing of the new years party.

The minutes crept by slowly and yet so speedily. He didn't even get to say goodbye to his family or friends, his roommates were all out at the party. Luka couldn't stop brainstorming all the possibilities of what could happen at the end of the world. Maybe there is a bomb going off instead of a firework. That would be bad. The time ticked by as he watched the live feed. People dancing in the streets, others drinking and stumbling all over the place. The time went by too quickly. It was now 11:53. The end of the world is in 7 minutes. Each minute, he thought of something he loved.

Seven, Stars

Six, Animals

Five, Learning

Four, Sunsets

Three, Friends

Two, Family

One, Love

Zero. Happy New Year. He prepared myself for the loud sound of fireworks and pot and pans banging and people screaming, and the sound of the world ending, whatever that may sound like. But Lula didn't hear any of that. It was silent. The tv had turned off. The silence was deafening. There was nothing. The world seemed fine, Luka was still alive for what it's worth.

Luka crept down the stairs of his house and walked toward the door. He opened it,
expecting to see people on the street having a good time and being loud but when he opened the door, everyone was walking like zombies, staring at those boxes again.
Evervone. No one was talking. No one was paving attention. Luka ran out, trying to get someone's attention by yelling and walking in front of them but it was no use, no one would even look up. It felt as though he was the only one in this world, he was alone, no connection. He then saw his roommate and closest friends also walking by staring at the box in their hand. Luka rushed over to them.

"Hey! Tom? Anyone." He said rushing around and putting his hand in front of their faces, and walking in front of them, but nothing was working. Luka gave up, realizing he was lost and alone, sure his friends were technically still there but, their minds weren't. Defeated, He looked up and saw an illuminated billboard.
On it was a huge version of those boxes and the board stated, "New cell phone devices now being sold! Get yours today!"