End of Time

Frank was a thirty-three-year-old office drone. He worked at a downtown tech firm as a network specialist. He currently sublets a house owned by an old friend named Jeremy and his wife Brooke. The sun light shone through the blinds of Frank’s room. Frank groaned and rolled around in his bed, trying to get back to sleep. He had a long night prior at work and rewarded a day off from the office. He had every intention of sleeping in until noon, at the very least. Groaning, he looked at his alarm clock on his nightstand. It read just past noon. Fuck it, I’ll sleep a little more, he decided, ducking his head back under his blanket. He drifted off.

It felt like he did not sleep long as the sunlight that was hitting the bed when he had woken up earlier did not change angle. Frank poked his head from under his blanket once more. He looked at his alarm clock and frowned. It was still just past noon. He stared at the light coming in from his blinds and then back at the clock. “What the hell...” he groaned. He knew he at least slept for a little more. He dug his smart phone from under his pillow and checked. It also still read the same time and seemed to be frozen as none of the functions worked.

He then realized how quiet it was. It felt like he was deaf. He knocked on his bed frame to be sure. The sound of his knuckles against the faux wood of his head board was loud. At least he was not deaf, he thought. He laid in bed and tried to hear anything else. Nothing. Frank felt a bit concerned and got out of bed and padded over to his window and looked out. “What the fuck...” he mumbled and blinked a few times to make sure he was not seeing things. Still not sure, he rubbed his eyes. Sure enough, there was a bird frozen in mid-flight. He looked down the road and saw there was a car just stopped in the middle of the road. Up the street, he saw a woman walking a dog. Both were not moving. They looked like they were wax-works. “What...” he breathed and backed away from his window in a bit of worry and horror.

Frank left his room. The hallway outside was empty and silent. He walked down the hall towards the master bedroom. The door was closed. He knocked on it before opening it. The room was empty, the bed neatly made up. He then remembered the time it was noon. Though he was off, it was the middle of the week. Jeremy would have been at work. Brooke, however, worked from home. She sold health insurance. “Brooke!” he called out. There was no answer. He headed downstairs and called for his Friend’s wife once more than he headed towards her converted in-home office. There was still no reply.

He peeked into the office space that had been the home’s sun room. Brooke sat behind her desk, unmoving. “Brooke...” he called as he stepped into the office. The woman remained seated crossed legged behind her desk. Brooke was a slender, fair skinned woman with short auburn hair cut into a pixie cut. She was in her usual work attire of a business casual top with sweat pants and house shoes under. A typical working from home look.

Brooke’s gaze was blank as she stared at her computer monitor with her fingers poised over her keyboard. “Brooke!” Frank yelled, standing right in front of her desk. He jumped at the sound of his own booming voice piercing through the silence, but Brooke remained unmoving. “What the hell...” he whispered as he reached his hand towards her. He poked her on the shoulder. She only wobbled stiffly in reply. He waved his hand in front of her face. Nothing. She seemed to be frozen...like the bird outside his window, along with the lady and her dog outside.

Lillian was an eighteen-year-old college freshman. She was an out-of-state student studying hospitality. Like other students her age and class year, she lived in one of her university’s resident halls. The hall’s name was Pike Hall. It was one of the campus’ six residential halls. It was a four story building that housed about four hundred students.

She had spent the evening with some friends at a campus hang out spot before returning to Pike Hall around nine. There was a party on her floor’s common area with music blaring and a mountain of pizza boxes. She stole some pizza that was unguarded and headed to her dorm room. In her room, she could still hear the music from the party, but muffled. She did some homework and ate her pizza before she got sleepy. The party was still going on when she headed for the showers and got ready for bed.

When she returned to her room, her roommate, Valarie, had returned from where ever and was already fast asleep with her clothes and shoes on. Valarie was a busty blonde with a curvy frame. She usually wore tight-fitting clothing that showed off her well-endowed ass and alluring breasts. They got along well enough, but the blonde partied a bit too much for her. Lillian smelled the booze on the girl. She placed a trash can next to Valarie’s bed just in case she had to vomit later before slipping into her own bed. It was just after mid-night when she drifted off to the muffled music and Valarie’s snoring.

She woke up rested. But was immediately confused. It was dead silent, and it was still dark out. She checked her phone and found it frozen; the time stuck at just after mid-night. “What the fuck...” the muttered and tried to switch on the lights. It did not work. She remembered the street lamp that was right outside her window and pulled open the black-out curtains that she and Valarie and split money on to get so the pair could sleep at night. Lillian pulled the curtains open and jumped, “Fuck!” She had forgotten about Valarie. When the bright street light shone into her room, it revealed her roommate to be still laying in her bed but there was no sound or movement coming from her. “Shit, shit...” Lillian stammered as she went over to check on Valarie.

The girl had no pulse. She was not breathing. Lillian was in shock and felt like was about to cry. She still had her phone in hand and was about to call 9-11, but remembered it froze. She then saw Valarie’s phone on the nightstand and also tried it. It was the same. “What the hell...” she remarked, looking at the frozen phone. She lifted Valarie’s wrist to check for another pulse. There was none, but the girl’s hand remained suspended in mid-air when Lillian pulled hers back. “What the...” She stared at Valarie’s hand as it floated in mid-air for a beat.

Lillian gulped as a feeling of boldness swept over her. She reached over and grabbed Valarie’s other hand and lifted it up. It too just stayed where she left it. She then pulled Valarie up in a seated position. The girl did not feel heavy, but there was some weight. Valarie seated up right though her legs and arms were at stiff angles. She looked like a doll. Her head was also leaned back unnaturally from laying down. Lillian pried her eyes open. Valerie’s lids stayed open, revealing empty eyes. It was like the girl was in some sort of suspended animation.