Logan's eyes fluttered open to the harsh glare of sunlight streaming through his window. He squinted at the clock on his bedside table, and his heart plummeted. 8:45 A.M. The school bus left in fifteen minutes, and today was a big day—his math exam.
"Alice!" he shouted, panic rising in his chest. His sister usually had a talent for waking him up, even if it meant a playful shove or a loud song blaring from her phone. But today, the house was eerily quiet.
He threw off the covers and jumped out of bed, his feet hitting the cold floor. In a frenzy, he grabbed a wrinkled shirt from the floor and pulled it over his head, barely managing to tuck it into his pants. He dashed into the hallway, his heart racing.
"Alice!" he called again, his voice echoing off the walls. He rushed to her room, knocking on the door with urgency. "Are you in there?"
No answer.
Logan swung the door open, half-expecting to find her sprawled on the floor, headphones on, blissfully unaware of the time. Instead, the room was empty, the bed neatly made. His stomach twisted in knots. Where could she be?
He sprinted down the stairs, his mind racing through possibilities. Maybe she went to grab breakfast without him. Or perhaps she was already at work, forgetting to wake him up. The thought sent a chill down his spine.
As he reached the kitchen, he found it devoid of any signs of life. The usual smell of toast and coffee was absent, replaced by the unsettling silence of the morning. He quickly grabbed an apple from the counter, shoving it into his backpack alongside his books.
"Think, Logan, think!" he muttered to himself. He grabbed his phone and checked the time. 8:58 A.M. He had to move fast.
Running out the front door, he glanced at the driveway—no sign of alice's bike or their mom's car. She was definitely gone. He took a deep breath, scanning the street for the familiar yellow bus. It was nowhere in sight.
He checked the time again. 9:01 A.m!
Couldn't the driver just give me one more minute!?
Logan started sprinting toward the school, his backpack bouncing against his back. The cool morning air hit his face, and he felt the adrenaline surge through him. With each step, he mentally reviewed the math formulas he had crammed the night before.
As he rounded the corner, the school building came into view. He could see other students milling about, some chatting, others rushing inside. He pushed himself harder, willing his legs to move faster.
He made it to the entrance before it was closed. Logan skidded to a halt, panting. He had made it, but just barely. It seemed like the math teacher was some minutes late as well.
Inside, he spotted his best friend, Ethan, leaning against the lockers, running his fingers through his styled black hair. He wore his ironed and neat uniform without a tie and blouse as usual. Walking to Logan's he hit him on his back, "Dude, where were you?" Ethan asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you'd sleep in forever!"
"Alice didn't wake me up," Logan replied, still catching his breath. "I thought I was going to miss the exam!"
Ethan chuckled, his wide green eyes filled with playfulness. "You know it's about time you became responsible, right? You should've set an alarm."
Logan rolled his eyes, feeling a mix of relief and embarrassment. "Yeah, well, lesson learned."
As they walked to class together, Logan couldn't shake the worry that had settled in his stomach. He needed to talk to Alice. She never skipped breakfast, and he hoped everything was okay.
Just then, their Math teacher arrived with their papers and started to sort them out. Logan, feeling a mix of worry and anxiousness, took heavy and slow strides towards the class.
Where could Alice have gone so early in the morning? She was the type to force me out of bed then make a delicious breakfast. She'd sometimes even sleep in until noon.
With all these thoughts surging Logan's mind, he took a seat on his normal spot and decided to put these worries at the back of his mind and focus on his math paper.
Wh-what in the world is happening?!
Logan quickly turned his head back to the window closest to his seat, and stared at what lay beyond and past the empty black void.
Suddenly, there was a vague tap on his shoulder, which caused Logan to snap out of his frozen state. He slowly turned his head towards the fragile girl standing beside him. It was Vanessa—Logan's deskmate. With her fiery red hair falling in soft waves around her delicate face. She looked both ethereal and anxious. Her green eyes wide with concern, sparkled like emeralds and her freckles gave her an innocent charm.
The sudden fright left him at a loss of words, as he stared at his classmate, with a worried and confused expression on his face.
"What's wrong... " she started, putting her elegant fingers on his cheeks. but he stood there frozen still not uttering a single word. Noticing the immense worry of her classmate, Vanessa was about to say something but she choose to give Logan time to state his troubles.
After what felt like minutes, Logan, still holding eye contact with Vanessa, cautiously lifted his right hand and pointed towards the window. Vanessa looked like she was about to say something but her next words died in her throat as she glanced at where his fingers pointed at.
Vanessa's mouth turned agape as if she had something to say, but she seemed to have forgotten how to speak. "Wh-where are we?" She finally managed to say.
Before logan had the chance to give his opinion, a sudden shriek erupted, and one by one, Logan's classmates strolled towards the window. Taking in the sinister scene, it took them a while to process what they saw, but once the sight settled on their minds, pure chaos and terror streamed across their faces.
"Someone, please help!"
"Wh-why is no one answering? All of our phones suddenly stopped functioning and the door's not opening!"
"F*ck! Where the hell are those wretched teachers when we need them the most?!"
Voices of students either cursing or crying reached Logan's ears. Looking around him, he started observing his classmates, their faces—most of them familiar to Logan since his childhood—devoid of an ounce of hope or happiness.
At this moment, the ground seemed to shake, causing the terrified students trying to budge open the classroom doors to crouch, helplessly taking shelter from the flying chairs and tables.
Logan took hold of the window, desperately trying to stick to his position.
After what felt like hours, the building suddenly came to a halt. The students seemed to come to their senses, steadying themselves,