It had been less than one week since the disappearances and it was still plastered all over the news and newspapers. Funerals, births, birthday parties, weddings, and just about every other possible occasion that could possibly occurred had been caught on video camera and were shown over and over again. "Hey, Sheen, it's on!" Jimmy said turning up the volume to full blast.

"Jim… aren't you sick of those yet?" Sheen asked marveling at his most prized Ultralord action figure.

"Not this one!" Jimmy said as if that was the dumbest thing Sheen could have said.

"What do all of these people have in common?" Came the voice-over on the commercial as numerous pictures flash across the screen in the same fashion that they usually used on suspects of crime. "Each of these people, children and adults alike, disappeared without any notice last Friday night. If you have any ideas as to why these people disappeared, who –or what- did it, and where they are please contact our hotline at 1-800-555-VANISHED." As the number flashed underneath pictures that continued to flash off and on the screen Jimmy's eyes grew watery… he knew exactly what picture would be next. Swallowing hard he looked back up at the screen. As always the picture that Dani had made Melanie take on the one occasion that they had convinced Jimmy to come to a church related activity flashed on the screen. To anyone else it would be just a reminder of how many people disappeared that unforgettable night… to Jim it was a threat.

Looking back he could not believe just how selfish he was. Dani and Stacey had been having a blast along with Shayna, Shelby and the rest of the youth group, and when asked to take the picture he didn't even TRY to smile. So now, on local channels the whole county saw him sulking while the others ALL appeared to be having a blast.  The picture only got a second or two just like all the others but just seeing Dani, Stacey, Shelby, and Shayna up on the screen made Jimmy speechless. He couldn't swear by it, but he was pretty sure he would have watched the Passion of Christ with them if he had known he wouldn't see the after that.

"Jim, you OK?"

"What?" Jimmy said when he realized Sheen was talking to him. "Yea… I'm good… I just don't get why I didn't at least TRY to have fun that night."

"Because it was CHURCH… and do we REALLY have to go over this EVERYTIME you see that commercial?"

"No…. I just…"

"I know for some weird reason you miss them…. but no matter what you say or do they are gone… and even if you COULD bring them back… you'd beat yourself up for it because you were stupid enough to bring them back once they started talking about 'God's love' again.

"I guess you are right…. but still… all they ever did was put up with my intolerance and love me regardless how I acted towards them."  

"Dude! You were ALWAYS were complaining about them girls' 'love' and now you'd think that Cindy doesn't even exist!"

"She does too! She's just been…busy this last week." Aside from Dani and all of the other Christians in the world disappearing Cindy had also been spending A LOT of time with Libby…. So whenever Jimmy was out of tears from crying over his sister he'd start crying over not seeing Cindy.

"Well…. she can stay busy for all I care… long as Libs don't have time to try to talk to me about accepting Christ before it's 'too late.'"

"I know! Alexa and her are about five times worse than Dani and them ever DREAMED of being! Jackie, can I spend the night again tonight?"" Jimmy asked Sheen's mom from the other room.

"I guess… but you can't just hide out here for the rest of your life."

""I can't? Why not? My mother disappeared; dad was killed in a car wreck coming home from work, and to top it all off Alexa and Libby have turned my house into a church hideout!"

"What I don't get is who…or what…would make EVERY single child and selected people from every-other age group just vanish beneath their clothes."

"I dunno… but Natas is saying it was nuclear warfare and only the strongest of us are left.

"Sheen, your granny died as soon as she heard about the disappearances… yet you are STILL watching the news!"

"Habit."

"Speaking of… if you are going to be making a habit of staying here… might as well get you settled. Sheen, could you possibly fit another bed in you room?"

"Yea."

"Ok then! Consider yourselves roommates."

Jimmy and Sheen did a little combo high five thing that they had made up throughout the unexpected week of school being canceled… and the news said that it'd be another two or three weeks before school resumed. "Hey, I wanna see that treaty get signed… it should be on in another thirty or so minutes." Sheen said heading toward his room.

"Ok… I think I'm going to go hang with Cindy seeing as Libby Alexa are doing the first meeting of the new weekly Bible study they are starting up. Be back later!"

"Good luck!"

"Sheen… the ONLY reason we haven't talked is she's BUSY." Jimmy said leaving the house only to realize that it was pouring down rain. He pulled the hood on his hoodie over his head and walked the rest of the way to Cindy's with his head down to avoid getting rain water inn his eyes. When he go to her house he knocked on the door and within seconds Cindy appeared and opened the door… only to shut it back on him a couple of seconds later. Man! It's raining out here! She's just playing… right? Jimmy knocked on the door again.

"Oh, for heaven's sake get in here… I'm mad but I can't let you get pneumonia or anything."

"And you are mad because…"

"Oh… I dunno how about the fifty or so calls you have yet to return!" Cindy shouted crashing on her sofa.

Jimmy followed close behind. "What are you talking about?"

"I only called your answering machine about FIFTY times! And did you EVER call back?"

"I haven't been home since Saturday. Why didn't you just call my cell phone?"

"Because all cell towers are down while they 'add a new feature.'"

"Oh… I'm sorry…I woulda called had I known."

"And Alexa and Libby didn't tell you?"

"I didn't listen when they talked. I'm sorry."

"Really?"

"Honestly… you think I would decide I didn't love you after that party?"

"I…. Thought about it… but…."

"Cin… I love you... and NOTHING is going to change that."

"Just like I can always talk to Dani whenever my emotions get out of whack, she sure wasn't there at the party…. she's not even in the city anymore!"

"She promised you too?"

"Yea… she said that while we should be honest with each other…. If I told you everything we'd end up doing something we'd both regret."

"Yea… same here."

"I REALLY didn't mean to push you…it's just… at the moment I… that was all I wanted and… and…"

"And what?" Cindy ran across the room and sat down next to Jimmy crying on his shoulder. Jimmy heard a muffled something and then 'I just wanna be a kid!'

"What are you talking about?"