May 12

Chapter 2: Jessie

After two days I thought would have come to terms with the idea that I was the only person left in this town...maybe even the world. A million thoughts rushed through my head that weekend. They couldn't have disappeared right? They'll come back. This is all just a bad dream. Why me? What now? I had no idea what I was doing. Other than knocking on neighbors' doors, I stayed in my tiny apartment. I hadn't even stepped foot outside my building. I simply spent the two days grieving.

Then Jack Moon responded to my Instagram story.

It was pretty stupid, I didn't really know why I put it up. It was just the question: "Are any of you guys still alive?" I didn't think anyone would actually see it, but it comforted me to think I was working to find answers.

I pounced on my phone the second the notification went off. The thought of anyone out there was enough, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the tiniest bit disappointed. Why couldn't it have been my brother, or my mom, or my best friend? But knowing that Jack was alive somehow gave me hope that they all were too.

Except Jack didn't provide any answers. He was more confused than I was. He hadn't even realized what was going on. Being the last person alive is one thing, but sharing that role with someone obtuse seemed worse. I really hoped I wouldn't have to wait for him to catch up.

He seemed to not want me to come over, but I didn't care. My urge to find out what happened outweighed my wish to avoid awkwardness. So, I put together a travel bag, climbed on my bike, and set my GPS to 71 Legacy Road.

Things went smoothly for about five minutes. The first thing I noticed was downed trees and power lines. Probably from the storm the night before. I thought nothing of them and continued on. It started to go downhill when I noticed graffiti spray painted onto the town monument. Most of had washed away with the rain from that morning, but I was able to make out what resembled a bird of some sort. Weird. You didn't really see graffiti in my town. Much less in public areas. Even less when there was no one left on the planet...right? I guess my first mistake was to brush it off. My response was simply to bike faster.

Ten minutes later I heard a sound, followed by the sky turning even darker. I looked around. The universe really had to do this to me? Jack was right, it was gonna start raining. I checked the GPS. I was only another ten minutes away. If I kept going I could make it before the weather got too bad.

The third time I stopped biking. I was interrupted by something shooting across the sky. It was too fast to discern but the gust of wind which followed was intense. I clung onto my backpack as I flew off my bike. I had scraped my shoulder badly, but payed little attention. I checked my phone again, only two minutes away, but I was quickly distracted. Something else shot across the sky. Then another, and another. Every five seconds or so, getting faster. This time they were higher up, but I couldn't shake the fear that they would get closer. I took a longing glance at my bike which lay sprawled on the ground about ten feet away, and then at the house which I could only see the tips of. If I ran I might have been able to get there faster, but instead I ran back. It was an expensive bike, my mother had bought it for my birthday. Maybe it was childish of me, but I couldn't leave it behind.

The two minute ride to Jack's house felt much longer. By then I had started to notice the burning pain in my shoulder. I didn't think falling off a bike could cause so much damage but it was starting to feel like my arm was falling off me. Exhausted, I fought back tears of pain and tried to ignore the sounds coming from above.

By the time I reached the front steps it had started raining. My shoulder was bleeding through my shirt and the pain was overwhelming. I fumbled with the lock on my bike and proceeded to pound on the door like a maniac. The spots in my vision were too disorientating to navigate where the doorbell was. Jack took one look and pulled me inside. He said something I didn't hear. I took one step and fainted on the spot.