It was dark all around me. I couldn’t see a thing. There could be something—or someone—just a few feet away from me, and I’d have absolutely no idea. Not wanting to peer any deeper into the abyss, I turned so that I was facing the entrance of the cave and gently closed my eyes to try to get some sleep.
“…Hm?”
I was suddenly awoken by the prickly feeling of my exposed skin rubbing against the hard ground. And yet, although my eyes were open, I still couldn’t see a thing.
That’s weird, I thought to myself as I sat up in my sleep-addled state. It was still pitch-black all around me, even though I felt like I’d slept for hours and hours. Could it really still be nighttime?
Just then, I realized that the prickly feeling that had woken me up a moment ago wasn’t just my skin rubbing against plain old dirt; I ran my palm along the ground to see that it was covered with sharp gravel. What the heck? It sure had felt a lot less rocky the night before; was I just so tired and anxious that I didn’t even notice?
Twisting my neck to survey my surroundings, I realized that, although it was almost entirely pitch-black in the shelter, a bit further down the shaft, I could see a thin line of light running along the ground. Thinking this odd, I got up and walked toward it—only to discover that it was sunlight creeping in from the gap beneath some sort of wooden door.
I was 99.9 percent positive there hadn’t been a door on the entrance to the shelter when I arrived here last night. Who in the world had decided to come and install one while I was sleeping? And how had I not heard it and woken up? Were they trying to lock me in here or something? Suddenly, my heart jumped in my chest; now that was a scary thought. Panicking, I rushed over to the door and tried giving it a good push.
“Oh… It just opens right up,” I observed. “Phew! Thank god…”
After letting out a huge sigh of relief, I swung the door all the way open. And in the next moment, I realized my mistake, as a brick wall of humidity hit my face.
“Ugh… Why is it so hot…?” I mumbled, taking off my track jacket.
Anyway… Now what do I do?
I still didn’t want to go home, so I supposed my best option was to just head straight to school… Though I did wish I could shower or something first.
Wait, what time even is it? I pulled out my phone to check; if my mother had already left for work, I could easily sneak in to take a quick shower and throw on some fresh clothes.
“…What? No service?”
That was new. Thinking perhaps being inside a literal cave might have something to do with it, I stepped outside—but no matter how far away I walked from the air raid shelter, my phone didn’t pick up any signal at all. I even tried turning it off and back on again, but that didn’t work either. Frustrated and confused, I shoved my phone back in my pocket and lifted my head. And then I saw it.
“Wait… Huh?”
As I saw the view spread out before me, my eyes nearly popped out of my head.
“Where… Where is everything?”
I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating as I walked around the area.
Everything that’s supposed to be here is just…gone.
All the houses and apartment buildings… All the telephone poles, the electrical lines, the paved roads, the traffic lights… The footbridge, the park, the school, the police station… All of it had vanished without a trace. And in its place, there was a wide open field of green grass.
“But why…? What’s going on?”
I stood there, stunned by abject disbelief, right in the center of the field.
Had the whole town really disappeared while I had been sleeping?
I started tottering forward subconsciously, desperate to find anything at all that might make this bizarre phenomenon make even a tiny bit of sense.
After walking straight ahead down a dirt path for a little while, I finally came upon a hint of civilization. But even then, I could tell that something wasn’t quite right. And, after mulling it over for about half a second, I realized what it was: All of the buildings, utility poles, signboards, and fences were made entirely out of wood, which gave the whole town a dirty, old-fashioned brownish hue. But more to the point: I didn’t recognize any of these buildings or establishments.
There was no doubt: This wasn’t the town I’d grown up in. This was somewhere else entirely. But confused as I was, all I could do was keep trudging onward, hoping beyond hope that I could find at least some landmark to orient myself. And so I walked and walked and walked—until all of a sudden, I realized my throat was incredibly dry.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t had a single drop of water since I left school yesterday. Not good, especially in this sweltering heat. I could feel the sun’s harsh rays beating down relentlessly on my bare skin; I’d only been walking for a little while, and my entire body was already coated in sweat. I could feel myself growing lightheaded, too—I needed to find something to drink, and fast. Thankfully, I still had my wallet, at least, so I could buy something as soon as I found the nearest vending machine or convenience store. But no matter how hard I looked, there didn’t seem to be any around here.
God, it’s so hot…
I could feel a migraine slowly coming on, along with a nauseated feeling in my chest. I was so dizzy, it felt like I was about to puke—so I covered my mouth with one hand as I collapsed by the roadside. It was so inhumanly hot and humid that I struggled to breathe. I could feel the specter of death looming over me, in a corner of my hazy mind.
What a boring life I’d lived. Had I ever done anything particularly fun or novel in my brief existence? Though maybe dying now was okay, come to think of it—it wasn’t as if I had any real prospects for the future anyhow. I was sure my mother would be grateful to be rid of her defiant failure of a daughter, too. Maybe now she could actually live for herself.
I buried my face between my knees, on the verge of tears.
“Hey, you there… Are you all right?”
A voice, soft and cool as a light winter breeze, called out to me.
Startled, I warily lifted my head.
A shadowy figure peered down at me—though I could only see the person’s silhouette, since they were backlit by the bright summer sun. But judging from their voice and build, I assumed they were a young man. Probably a fair bit older than me, too—maybe around college age.
My throat was hoarse and I felt sick to my stomach, so I couldn’t muster any sort of response. Perhaps recognizing this, the man crouched down beside me as if to get a better look. And now that he wasn’t standing directly in front of the sun, I could actually make out what he looked like as well.
Wait… What the heck?
My eyes went wide the instant I saw what he was wearing.