Alex woke up to silence.
Not the peaceful kind. The wrong kind. The kind that made his skin crawl.
He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Something felt... off. He couldn’t place it at first. Then he checked his phone.
No notifications. No texts from Jason spamming memes. No morning message from Maya about a weird dream.
Nothing.
A cold feeling settled in his stomach. He got up and walked to the window.
The street outside was empty. Too empty. No cars driving past, no kids on bikes, no Mr. Bennett watering his front lawn like clockwork. Even the usual barking from the neighbor’s dog was gone.
Alex grabbed his phone and dialed Jason.
No answer.
Maya.
No answer.
Camilla.
Nothing.
His pulse picked up. He threw on a jacket, grabbed his keys, and bolted outside.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
The quiet was suffocating. The air felt thicker, like the town itself was holding its breath.
He sprinted down the street, heading straight for Jason’s house. He didn’t bother knocking—he just pushed the door open.
“Jason?” His voice echoed.
Jason’s house was a mess—half-eaten chips on the table, a controller left mid-game, a hoodie tossed over the couch. Like he had just been there.
But he wasn’t.
Alex checked his phone again. Still no messages.
His stomach twisted. He tried Maya next, then Camilla, running between houses, banging on doors.
Empty.
Everywhere.
No Jason. No Maya. No Camilla.
No one.
The entire left side of town was just… gone. Like they had never existed.
He stumbled onto Main Street, breathing hard. The usual traffic? Gone. Storefronts sat abandoned, doors swinging slightly in the breeze.
His reflection stared back from the glass of Joe’s store—except there was no store anymore.
Just an empty lot.
His pulse pounded. He needed to find someone. Anyone.
Then—his phone buzzed.
?? Maya: Meet me at Willow Creek. Now.
Alex didn’t hesitate. He ran.
By the time he got there, Maya was pacing by the water, gripping her notebook so tightly her knuckles were white. Camilla stood nearby, arms crossed, face pale. Jason—
Jason was shaking. Not from cold.
“What the hell is happening?” Alex demanded, chest heaving.
Maya swallowed hard. “Half the town is gone.”
“I know. I saw it,” Alex said. “It’s like—like they were never there. No one remembers them.”
Jason clenched his jaw. “That’s not the worst part.”
Camilla held up her phone. “The news doesn’t remember them either.”
Alex’s stomach dropped.
She turned the screen toward him. It was a news article about Maplewood’s population.
And the number?
It had changed. Like it had always been this way.
“They’re rewriting reality,” Maya whispered. “And we’re next.”