At first it was so dark that Santino though he'd gone blind. Then, as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he realized all of the streetlamps were out. He stood up and walked out from beneath the overpass. It was dead quiet, no cars passed over head, he could literally hear crickets chirping.
He walked out onto the road. The road was packed with stalled cars. No…not stalled. These cars looked abandoned. Lights and engines were off. Santino frowned and approached the nearest car.
"Hello?" he called, "Is anyone in there?"
He got no answer. He peered inside, the car was empty. Strange.
He went from car to car, opening doors, searching, but they were all empty. He didn't understand. Where were all the people?
He wandered up the road in the darkness. With no streetlights he noticed the stars looked twice as bright as usual. The night was actually quite beautiful.
He spotted a small corner store up ahead. Like the street and the cars, it was dark with an abandoned air about it. He tried the door. It was unlocked. He cautiously pushed it open and poked his head in.
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
It was dead silent.
Santino walked in the store, "Hello?"
It was so silent his voice seemed to echo back at him. What the hell was going on here? His stomach growled, reminding him he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast that morning. Well, there was food here, he might as well. He rummaged around in the dark and found a package of beef jerky and a box of twinkies. He took them into the back room, ate and then curled up on the floor and went to sleep.
He woke up early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking and sat up, bleary eyed and scratching his head. For a moment he didn't remember where he was or what he was doing there but then he saw the half empty box of twinkies and he remembered.
He unwrapped a twinkie and munched on it as he emerged from the back room of the convenience store. Looking around, he could tell it was still empty. He was still alone. He made himself some coffee and ate a stale donut before loading up a bag with some bottled water and snacks. He had to find out where everyone went.
He walked out into the morning sunshine, blinking a little as he looked around. Just like last night it was quiet, so quiet that he could hear his own heart pounding in his ears. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "HELLO!"
His own voice echoed back at him but there was no answer. Santino shook his head. He didn't understand. Where had everyone gone?
He started to walk down the road when he suddenly realized something. There were dozens of abandoned cars with keys still in the ignition. Why not take one of them?
He slid behind the wheel of a Honda Accord and turned the key. It started right up. He put the car in gear and eased out onto the road.
It soon became apparent that maybe the car wasn't such a good idea. The roads were still clogged with cars, stalled exactly where their owners had left them when whatever had happened happened. He couldn't go half a block without having to get back out and move cars to clear the path. The third time he had to get out of the car he paused to assess his situation. This wasn't working. He needed to find something that could get passed the stalled cars, like a motorcycle or barring that a bicycle. He looked down the road and saw a grocery store. He had drank almost all of his water, it would probably be a good idea to get some more and stock up on better provisions.
The grocery store was just as empty as every other place. He walked in yelling, "HELLO?"
No answer.
The lights were out here to and the place was starting to smell slightly rotten, probably from the cold cases being out for nearly 12 hours. He avoided the cold items, instead getting more bottled water and some fruit. As he was browsing through the canned foods he spotted a very familiar bronze lamp on the shelf between the peas and the green beans.
He picked up the lamp and stared at it. This stupid lamp had caused him nothing but trouble since he found it. He had the urge to throw it on the floor and stomp on it with both feet but held it up and rubbed it with his sleeve.
Smoke poured out of the spout and coalesced into the familiar shape of the genie.
"What is thy wish, my master?" the genie intoned.
"OK, " Santino said, pointing his finger at the genie, "So, what is going on here? I asked for world peace and suddenly, everyone is gone? Where are all the people?"
The genie looked at him, with an arched eyebrow. "Do you not find it peaceful?" he asked.
Santino looked around, "Well, I guess, but where has everyone gone? I mean, I cannot find anyone."
The genie looked like he was suppressing an annoyed sigh. "There is no one else." He replied.
Santino blinked. He wasn't sure he'd heard that right, "Uh, say again?"
The genie repeated, "There is no one else."
"Are you saying I am the only person left in the world?" Santino yelled.
The genie didn't even blink, "That is what you wished for, master."
"I wished for world peace you stupid genie!" Santino looked as if he were about to pull his hair out.
The genie nodded, "Yes, and I have granted it. All wars have ceased. There's no more fighting, no more racial tensions. No more domestic violence, no more crime."
"NO MORE PEOPLE!" Santino shouted, jumping up and down. "You stupid, that's NOT what I meant, I wanted you to make people to get along! Not to make them disappear!"
The genie shrugged," You were not specific, master. So I used my best judgment."
Santino let out a primal yell of frustration."AAARRRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!" He picked up a can from the shelf and threw it at the genie. It passes right through his cloudy form. He kicked over a display of chips. He was having a right proper tantrum.
"I wish I never bought that stupid lamp!" he shouted.
…..Santino blinked as he looked at the old, battered oil lamp in his hands. The reflection of the sun off of the bronze must have gotten in his eyes. He turned the lamp over. Well, it was an interesting lamp but there was a large dent in the side. It was probably not worth buying.
He tossed it back in the cardboard box and glanced at his watch. Oops, he had lingered her longer that he'd meant. He needed to hustle to get to the arena. He had a match against The Miz tonight.
As he headed toward his car the middle aged woman minding the sale gave him a wave.
"Thanks for stopping! Have a nice day!" she said
"Thank you, you too!" Santino said and got in his car and drove away.
The woman walked over to the box and picked up the lamp he had been looking at. She turned it over in her hands and looked in the direction Santino had gone, chuckling. She gave the bronze an extra good polish with the sleeve of her shirt and placed it carefully on top of the pile in the box where the next customer would be sure to see it.