After a few hours of rest, Howard woke up to find the door open and his chain removed. His old clothes, wallet, and phone were gone. Putting on the clothes Michelle had left, he wandered outside to find himself in a large pantry, its shelves lined with all sorts of foodstuffs.
A noise startled him. Near the back of the pantry, a bearded man had his fist deep in a packet of Goldfish crackers. "Want some?"
"No. Who are you?"
"Name's Emmet. I've been down here for a couple of days, at least."
"Were you kidnapped?"
"Nah. Michelle hired me to build this place. Figured it was the safest place to hide after the-well, I'm sure she's told you by now."
"You believe that crap, too?"
"Saw it with my own eyes, in fact. I was driving home when I saw a huge flash in the sky."
"A nuclear bomb?"
"Nah, it was brighter. Almost like the Sun exploded. I'll never forget it, that's for sure. Soon as I could think straight, I turned back and came here. Michelle had just locked the door. Thank god she owed me, or I'd be dead, same as those other folks out there."
"What do you know about her?"
"Not much. She was in the Navy, or maybe NASA. Has all these wild theories about what goes on in the world. Hell, she locked me in your room for three days when I first showed up. Probably to make sure I wasn't some alien spy."
"Would she kill us?"
"Now that I can answer with confidence. Michelle just wants to make sure we're safe. So long as you don't make trouble, you'll get along fine with her."
Michelle popped in out of nowhere. "Dinner's ready."
"We'd better get going. She does not like to wait."
(Stop)