All Alone?
Chapter One: the Discovery
Zoey Brooks sat up in bed and yawned rubbing her eyes. She was wearing a pair of pink pajama pants and a ragged old T shirt. Her two roommates, Quinn Pesky and Lola Martinez lay asleep in the bunked across the room. Throwing back the covers, she glanced at the clock and started. The digital display read 11: 30. How had they slept for so long? It was a Saturday so luckily they had no classes but their friends were bound to be wondering where the trio were.
Chase would be especially worried. She smiled to herself as she thought of her best friend turned boyfriend, Chase Matthews. Last night, the senior PCA prom dance had seemed like a dream. Chase had returned from England and was back at PCA where he belonged. He was back and here to stay.
Shaking her head, she called to her roommates "Lola! Quinn! Wake up its late!" The pair started awake. "What time is it?" Lola asked her "Its 11:30!" She replied. Quinn's eyes flew open "What? How did we manage to stay asleep until so late?" "I don't know but let's get up!" The two nodded and scrambled out of bed. They hurriedly washed their faces in the dorm bathroom, brushed their teeth and changed into suitable clothes. Lola sprayed herself with deodorant, Quinn grabbed her glasses and Zoey quickly blow dried her hair.
Now ready, the trio exited their room and hurried out of their dorm, Fulton Hall. But as they finally emerged from their dorm, a surprising and eerie scene greeted them. The campus grounds were silent and empty. The lawns seemed deserted. There was no movement. Only the trickling of streams of water from a nearby fountain broke the silence. It was nearly deafening.
"Where is everyone?" Lola demanded. Zoey shook her head "I don't know." She said slowly. This was beginning to creep her out. "Well they must all be somewhere!" Quinn insisted. She cupped her hands around her mouth "Hello? Anyone? You can come out now!" Silence ensued. She tried again "This isn't funny guys!" This time Zoey tried "Hello? Is anyone out there?"
No one answered "Okay…this is beginning to get slightly weird…"Lola said. Zoey and Quinn nodded. "Everyone can't have just vanished!" Quinn stated in frustration "It's scientifically impossible!" "Well everyone clearly has gone somewhere."
"Maybe everyone's gone on a field trip?" Lola suggested "There's no way everyone on campus would go on one trip." Zoey replied "Multiple trips then?" "We would have heard about it" Quinn replied. "Perhaps it's a mass prank?" she suggested. "Well if it is then it's not funny. Come on." Zoey said and turned to re-enter her dorm.
"Where are you going?" Lola asked as the two followed her. "To find out what's going on." She replied. The trio walked back down the hallway. Zoey knocked on the first door they passed "Open up now!" She demanded. The door creaked open and the trio walked in. The room was empty. The beds were messy with blankets and pillows crumpled, clothes lying around and the desk covered in clutter.
"Okay then let's try the next room." Zoey decided. They exited and headed across, the next room's door stood ajar and they looked inside. The room was also messy meaning it was occupied but it was also vacant. The next two rooms proved to be locked. By now Zoey was becoming frustrated. "Okay there must be at least one room in this dorm that's still got someone inside!"
Suddenly the group heard noises "Wait listen!" Lola, grabbing Quinn's arm said. The trio paused and listened out. The noises came again. "What is it?" Zoey asked. "SSSH!" The pair replied straining to hear. The sound came again. This time it was clear, they were human voices shouting. "It sounds like the guys! Quinn said, her voice wavering with excitement. "What are we waiting for?!" Zoey demanded and the trio took off running in the direction of the voices.
They raced down the hallway, burst out of their dorm and began shouting their friend's names. " Hey Michael!" Lola called. "Logan!" Quinn yelled "Chase? Where are you?! Zoey shouted. Then a reply sounded off in the distance "Zoey! Zoey we're over here!" It was Chase shouting "Where?" "Follow my voice!" The voice ordered. The trio took off running as Chase shouted "Follow my voice! You can do it Zoe! You can do it!"
The trio ran across a field and passed the parked coffee carts before at last they spotted three tiny yet distinct figures standing under a tall oak tree waving and shouting. "It's them!" Lola cried grinning." Logan!" Quinn shouted, smiling. Zoey smirked "Come on you two!" They ran towards their friends and the trio ran towards them until the two groups met in the centre of the playing field.
"Zoey!" "Chase!" The two collided and embraced tightly. Their lips collided. She wrapped her arms around him and he wrapped his arms around her back. Their kiss deepened. Their tongues battled for dominance as Zoey began gently running her right hand through his bushy tangle of hair. "Hey, you two lovebirds! Cut it out!" Logan shouted, rudely interrupting their moment.
The two pulled apart and looked flushed as they noticed their friends watching them with expressions ranging from anger to amusement. "S- So um..." Chase began, blushing "Have you guys noticed what happened?" Quinn nodded"We woke up really late and after getting dressed we went outside and there was nobody there." "We checked almost all the rooms in our dorm but they were all empty." "Wait we didn't!" Logan cried. He looked at his two roommates "Maybe there are still people inside?"
"Dude don't you think they would of heard us shouting and banging on the doors?" Michael said. "Well it's worth a try." He retorted "Right girls?" Zoey and Lola looked reluctantly at each other "As much it kills me to admit it, Logan's right." Zoey said and he smirked. Chase rolled his eyes "Alright we'll go check out our dorm. Girls why don't you go see if you can find Dean Rivers?"
Quinn nodded "That does sound like a good plan. Zoey nodded "Ok we'll do it. Meet back here in thirty minutes." Everyone nodded and they split into two groups. "See you in a bit Zoe." Chase said smiling. Zoey smiled back. Logan and Michael shared a frustrated look before dragging their bushy-haired friend away as he struggled and protested. Zoey smiled despite herself before following Lola and Quinn.
Upon arriving at their dorm, the group heard strange noises. They all halted. The noises were snuffling and thudding and short howls. Michael paused "Alright I know those aren't human sounds." Logan nodded "So what do we do?" Before Chase could reply, a small figure appeared behind the glass-paneled doors of their dorm. "Guys look out!" Logan yelled and the group backed away. Suddenly the doors flew open and a familiar figure came into view.
A small dog with short legs scampered into view. Scruffy white fur with brown patches covered its wiry coat. Spotting them it yelped, wagging its tail. Chase grinned. He immediately recognized the dog "Elvis!" He said happily and leaned down to greet the animal. He petted the dog as it barked and licked his hands. The dog jumped at him. Laughing, he tickled its stomach as it rolled over onto its back.
"Is that Elvis?" Michael questioned looking confused. Logan simply rolled his eyes "Well great we found your dog. Hurrah!" He said sarcastically. Chase scooped the dog up into his arms, rose and scowled at his friend "Hey! Elvis means a lot to Michael and me!" The other boy nodded in agreement.
Lola, Quinn and Zoey walked up to the concrete building that housed Dean River's office. They pushed open the double doors and stepped into the lobby. The spot behind the polished wooden desk stood empty. There was no sign of his secretary. The three shared anxious looks. This was really beginning to worry them. They walked up to the oak door of the office. Zoey knocked on it but there was no reply.
Hesitantly, she pushed the door open and they stepped through into the office. The plush spiral chair behind the wooden desk stood empty. There was no sign of Dean Rivers. Quinn sighed "I guess this means Dean Rivers is gone too." The other two nodded sadly. Zoey sighed "I guess we should go back to wait for the guys. The three trudged out of the office and left the building.
However as they walked across campus, a voice called out to them "Lola!" The brunette turned and her eyes lit up as a familiar figure sprinted over to them "Oh my god, Vince!" Zoey and Quinn turned as the dashing football enthusiast sprinted up and Lola threw her arms around him. The two shared a long kiss. Zoey recognized the passion behind it. Fear at the thought of losing a loved one turned to joy at finding them. It was the same way she'd felt when she'd kissed Chase this morning.
Her worry and fear of losing him turned in joy when they finally met up. "Oh my god Vince I thought I'd lost you!" "I know I thought you were gone?"
He turned as if noticing Quinn and Zoey for the first time "Zoey! Quinn! You guys are here too!" The pair nodded "It's good to see you" Zoey said and Quinn nodded. The football player nodded "Hey have you guys found anyone else yet?" Quinn nodded "Chase, Michael and Logey are still here." Vince looked confused "Who's Logey?" Zoey rolled her eyes "She means Logan Reece."
Then he nodded his understanding "So where are they?" "They went back to search their dorm hall for other people. We already searched our dorm. There was no-one there except us." Vince nodded "I know! I searched my dorm too but I was the only one there. Do you know where everyone is?" Zoey shook her head and his shoulders slumped. There was a general feeling of disappointment among the group.
Just then a voice called out "Zoey?!" She blonde haired girl turned and her eyes widened "Dustin?" The others turned in surprise as Zoey's younger brother walked up the crest of a nearby hill. "Zoey1" He cried happily. "Dustin!" She replied with evident relief in her voice. The younger boy sprinted over to them and ran into his sister's arms. She hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head "Dustin! Thank god you're okay!" "I was so worried. I thought I was never going to see you again!" He murmured into her shirt.
"It's okay. You're okay." She said soothingly. He pulled away and gazed up at her then his cheeks burned slightly as he noticed the others watching the pair. "Hey Lola. Hey Quinn. Hi Vince." The trio nodded back.
"Hey Dustin!" "What's up?" "How are you doing?" Vince slapped him across the back in a friendly manner. "Yeah I'm good." He replied. Dustin turned to his sister "I'm sorry." He said gently. She looked confused "For what?" "About Chase. He's gone too isn't he?" She shook her head "No he's still here. So are Logan and Michael." As this, he brightened "Oh well that's good. I like Chase. His hair is cool, Michael's pretty nice and Logan's okay I guess." "Where have they gone?" "They went to search their dorm for other people." "Oh ok."
Just then, the group heard barking and a furry white dog ran up. "Hey isn't that Chase's dog?" Lola said. Zoey frowned "Yeah it is." She walked over and crouched down to pat Elvis. "What's he doing here?!" Quinn asked "He got out of my room when I went looking for you. He just took off. I think he went to find Chase." Dustin explained as the others walked over.
"Well then why isn't he with the guys?" Vince asked, holding hands with Lola. Just then a horribly thought hit the group. "You don't think…" Lola trailed off. Quinn swallowed hard "Maybe they've disappeared too." She whispered. Zoey's eyes widened "No. No way am I not letting that happen to Chase." She stood up and sprinted off towards the male dorm halls shouting Chase's name.
"Zoey wait!" Lola shouted. She and Vince raced after their friend. Quinn hurriedly scooped up the dog and followed.
Back near their dorm hall; Chase, Michael and Logan sat at a wooden picnic table debating. "You were supposed to be watching him!" "No he was tied up next to you!" Michael argued. Chase sat with his head in his hands. Elvis had run away. They had tied the dog's leash to the one of the four legs of the circular table but while they sat waiting for the girls, the dog had slipped free and run off.
All Chase wanted to do was start looking for the dog as soon as possible but as usual; Michael and Logan had decided to start another argument about whose fault it was that Elvis had run off. They had been about to go out looking for their dog when Logan angrily pushed Michael and blamed him for the dog's disappearance. Now nearly ten minutes later, they were still arguing about it.
It had gone on for so long that they had become tired of standing and angrily sat down whilst shouting insults at each other. Chase had attempted to intervene several times but as usual he had been ignored by his two friends. Now he sat, grinding his teeth with his head supported in his hands wishing he could bang his head on the table repeatedly.
Just then Zoey jogged into view. She looked sweaty and tired. As soon as she spotted them, she ran up and threw her arms around the bushy haired teenager nearly knocking him off his chair. Surprised he hugged her back. "Wow! Hey Zoey. What's up?!" "I thought you might have gone too." "Why would I go?" "We found Elvis and thought since he wasn't with you something might have happened to you guys." She turned to Michael and Logan grinning "But you're all ok."
This caught their attention "Wait you found Elvis?" Michael asked. She nodded. "Well hand him over!" He said eagerly. She laughed "Okay! Lola, Quinn, Dustin and Vince are coming over with him." "Wait you found Dustin?" Chase asked. She nodded "Yeah he was confused and scared and said he was missing me. It was really sweet." Michael snickered and she glared at him. He quickly put on a deadpanned expression. "Well that's cool. "Logan said. Michael and Chase nodded.
Dustin was a good kid and a true friend to all of them. He had the right amount of respect for each of them. They were relieved to hear that he was okay. "And you found Vince too?" Chase asked. "Zoey nodded. They guys all grinned. Vince had become as good friend to each of them and they regularly hung out together. The bad memories of the past had been replaced and they were glad to hear their good friend was still okay.
Just then Elvis raced up barking. He jumped onto Michael's lap. "Hey Elvis!" He patted the dog. Chase leaned over and also stroked the dog's back. "Good to see you Elvis." Just then Dustin sprinted over and slowed as he approached "Hey guys." "Hey Dustin." Chase said. "What's up kid?" Logan greeted "Good to see you man!" The boy grinned at all the attention he was receiving.
Just then Lola and Vince strode up holding hands "Good to see you guys are okay." Lola said and Logan grinned. Vince smiled at them "Hey Vince" "Cool man." You good/" "Yeah I'm ok." He replied. Lastly, Quinn walked up and gave Logan a kiss. He smirked at her as she stood by him. "Right now that everyone's here. We need to decide what to do next." Zoey said. The others all nodded "Any suggestions?"
"I think we need to search every building and place on the campus to look for anyone else. If we don't find anyone else on campus then we leave PCA to search the city. What happened here might have affected the city as well. If we don't find anyone we re-think our plan." Lola said. Everyone considered the plan and nodded "I agree" Chase said. Michael and Logan nodded. "That's a really good plan." Zoey said and Quinn agreed Lola smirked "Well I am amazing." "Yes you are." Vince agreed and the pair kissed
"Alright we'll split into groups. There will be two people in each group. Chase and me, Lola and Vince, Quinn and Logan and Michael you take Elvis." Michael frowned but said nothing. Everyone else nodded, pleased with Zoey's arrangement. The couples winked and smirked at one another. Lola and Vince held hands and walked off. Logan and Quinn kissed and headed off, walking close together. Michael gave Chase a high five, then grabbed Elvis' leash then tied it to his collar and headed off with the dog looking slightly miserable.
Chase glanced at his retreating friend "Poor Michael. He's been sad ever since he split up with Lisa." Zoey nodded and bit her lip "We need to find someone for him otherwise it's just not fair." Chase nodded "So what do you say Miss Brooks shall we head off?" She smiled "Lead the way Mr. Matthews" Grinning, he took her hand and they walked off.
Several hours later, the exhausted and dejected group gathered outside the girls' dorm halls. They had searched every building on campus including the classrooms, the dorm, rooms, the gymnasium, the cafeteria, the lunch hall, the staff meeting room, the janitor closets, the storage rooms, Dean River's office, the infirmary and all the playing fields on the campus. They had found no-one. They were the only ones left at PCA. The light-hearted mood of the morning had faded. They were tired, confused and very hungry but didn't know what to do.
There was no-one in the lunch hall to prepare and serve their food. There was no one around they could ask and they felt too uneasy to sleep. Now they were gathered in the student lounge sitting in armchairs or on the sofa in silence, lost in their thoughts. Michael seemed especially morose. He sat in a corner staring at the wall. Elvis lay asleep beside him. Zoey finally broke the silence
"So what do we do now?" "I say we leave PCA" Lola said. Logan gawked at her "Are you crazy? We can't leave PCA?!" "Why not?" Chase asked. "Well we don't know what's happened here. What if it hasn't affected the city? If we leave the campus we'll be arrested by the police and brought back by force." "Yes and that's good. Then they'll see the campus is empty and help us out." Zoey said and everyone else nodded. Logan floundered
"Well what if it has affected the city? Then leaving PCA is pointless." "Yes but in the city there will be restaurants and shops where we can get food and bottled water. We can use our phones or the street phones to call for help." Chase explained "Well we can call for help from here!" Logan retorted. Zoey shook her head.
"The reception will be much better in the city centre." Quinn nodded "I'm sorry but he's right." Upon hearing his girlfriend's opinion, Logan gave in and nodded "All right. Let's go." The group all stood up but as they turned to leave Chase and Logan noticed Michael hadn't moved "Hey Michael." Logan said. The teenager raised his head "Come on man." He nodded "Yeah cool. "He stood up and tugged on Elvis' leash "Come on boy." The dog awoke, got up and trotted alongside the teenager as they followed the group out. Chase walked beside his friend "You okay man?" He asked.
The teenager turned and forced a smile "Yeah course man! Just tired that's all. Now why don't you go talk to Zoey? I bet she's missing you dude!" He said in an upbeat tone. Chase sighed "Alright." He moved towards the front of the group and took Zoey's hand "How's Michael/" She whispered. "See for yourself." He whispered back. They both looked to the back of the group. Their friend trudged along with head down and shoulders hunched. He was clearly depressed. Elvis trotted alongside him as he loosely held the dog's leash.
They left the student lounge and down the winding path to the massive iron-barred gates at the edge of campus. Normally, the huge gates were electronically sealed shut but now they slowly creaked open when Chase and Vince pulled. The group exchanged glances. This wasn't good. Dean Rivers would never have left the PCA campus open and unguarded. They walked out and immediately noticed a difference.
An eerie scene greeted them beyond the PCA campus. The streets were deserted and silent. There were no people walking on the streets and no people in the shops. The roads were a scene of chaos. Smashed cars lay crumpled against trees. Other cars had driven off the road and crashed through shop doors or display windows. Broken glass covered the crumpled vehicles. Other cars lay abandoned or overturned. Broken glass and pieces of metal lay strewn along the highway. Several cars sat as burned-out wrecks after catching fire.
Wisps of smoke still wafted from two of the burned-out vehicles. The pavements were empty and silent. The roads were deserted. The shops and stores were dark and shut. The apartments across the street were clearly vacant.
The office towers and skyscrapers stood deserted. The only cars on the road that had not caught fire or crashed stood parked and empty. The buildings and houses all across the city were all glowing due to the lights from signs, televisions, computers, phones, laptops, lights, washing machines and thousands of other electrical devices but it was not the same in a silent city.
A desolate silence hung in the air. Normally there would be all kinds of sounds; people talking, joking or shouting, children laughing or playing, traffic passing and horns honking, cell phones ringing, babies crying. Now all was silent except for a few dogs barking in the distance. Elvis barked back and this snapped the group out of their shocked silence.
"Oh my god..." Zoey whispered fearfully. Chase tightened his grip on her hand "Oh man look at those cars…" Logan commented cringing. "What the hell happened here?!" Vince demanded, gesturing to the eerie scene. "The damage done is awful." Quinn commented looking shocked. Lola winced "What happened to the people in those cars?" "Where is everyone?" Dustin cried, echoing the question on everyone's minds. Only Michael remained silent yet his face bore an expression of disbelief.
One thing was absolutely crystal clear straight away. There were no people here. They had also all disappeared. If there were people anywhere they would have done something about the chaos and the mess. The entire city was completely deserted. They were, once again, all alone. "Well at least we know one thing…" Zoey said quietly. Everyone turned to her. "What do we know?" Lola asked. "It was no normal incident that caused this" Her friends shot her confused looks
"Think about it. Animals are somehow unaffected. Elvis is just fine. Those dogs in the city seem fine and I'm sure all the other pets and the zoo animals are all ok. There were birds in the trees back at PCA just as usual. This "whatever it is" only affects people. Human beings. Animals are left unaffected and don't even notice. That means it can't be a natural disaster like an earthquake or a hurricane or a cosmological disaster like an asteroid strike or a blast of solar radiation. It's something that only targets humans."
Everyone began nodding as understanding and realization dawned on their faces. "Like an illness!" Quinn exclaimed. Zoey nodded "Exactly." "But if it's an illness why are we unaffected?" Lola asked. Zoey shrugged "I dunno." "We may have a natural immunity to the disease or perhaps we were simply lucky or maybe we did not encounter it and everyone else did." "Everyone else in the entire city?" Vince asked." The aspiring young scientist nodded "It is possible." Everyone nodded. It was a radical and awful new theory but right now it made sense so they had to think that an illness had led to the disappearance of everybody else in the region.
"Then –then does that mean everyone else in the city is, is you know….dead?" Chase stuttered, cringing as he said so. He glanced at his friends Expressions of shock, grief and horror dawned on their faces as the thought hit them. At last Quinn nodded grimly "I am afraid so. It's the only explanation." She whispered. Then she began to cry quietly. Logan pulled her into his arms and held fragile form with a solemn look upon his face. Lola and Vince simply stood with ashen faces of grief. They weren't crying but their faces showed their true sadness and they tightly held onto each other's hands for comfort and reassurance.
Dustin looked about ready top cry. His face was ashen. Zoey walked over and wrapped her arms around him as he trembled and wept into her shirt. She kissed the top of his head gently and stood with a look of grief and misery on her face. She was holding her emotions in for her brother's sake. He needed her now. Michael simply stood with an expression of sorrow on his face.