I was the last one standing…

Mayan Beach, Tuesday of March 13th, 2012. Ian spread his legs in the sand as the grainy warmth fell through the cracks of his toes. The sun shining down on him and all his friends was the last time anything was normal. 

‘Iann!! Get your butt over here and help me with this” Lauren yells at Ian, struggling to move the heavy ice chest full of the coldest, throat quenching tropical summer drinks. “I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!” Ian continues to lay in the warm sun and treasure the moment. Nothing was more perfect than the dewy sweet air and slight breeze. High school had finally ended and it was time to relax after what felt like decades of studying to get into Yale. 

With the letter of acceptance he had got in the mail just a day before graduation, he couldn't have a care in the world..

“IANN! I swear if you don't get over here right now” Lauren says now barely being able to pull the weight of the bin anymore, dramatically sighs and falls into the sand.

Ian whips up and starts to laugh at how Lauren dramatically fell over and headed to get up and help. As he stands up the ground starts to grovel and the sky turns a celestial black. Everyone could see but it looked as if the world had been ported into the twilight like zone. Nothing further than that happened, the sky stayed black and everything looked a layer of dull. 

Of course the world had a mass panic and everyone stayed inside for the next few days, stores were cleaned out, people went crazy and fought over the last remaining things in stores but initially the world went quiet. The only up and running source was the news. Apparently special scientists had been out in groups taking measures of the atmosphere and trying to find the reason as to why the sun is a bright hole in the middle of the black sky. 

News broadcasts took over TVs every night at 6:00pm. For the first week inside Ian sat in his room waiting and eager to hear the reports, he was so upset this could happen to him, was he going to die after all that hard work? Why was his chance to live life torn from him? Everyone was scared but why wouldn't you be when it looks like the world is about to end, was it?

Ian springs out on his bed and starts to call Lauren. She hasn't been answering her phone since he dropped her at home the day of the darkness. He couldn't help wondering if she was ok.

The thing Ian didn't know is that when he had dropped Lauren at home with her family she entered the home to something that wasn't her family. Yes the world had been met with the adjustment of living in a twilight zone, but there were no other threats of dangers. Or so everyone thought. As Lauren opened the door to her home, she was greeted by an eerie silence. The black sky outside seemed to have seeped into her house, casting long shadows across the walls. She called out to her parents, but there was no response. 

She shrugged it off, thinking they might be in their room or out in the backyard. But as she made her way deeper into the house, she noticed something was off. The furniture was all there, but it seemed...different. The couch was in the same spot, but the cushions were slightly askew. The coffee table was a little too far from the wall. And the air was thick with an unsettling energy. Lauren's heart began to race as she approached the kitchen. She saw her parents sitting at the table, but they were not moving. They were just...sitting. Their eyes were open, but they were vacant, as if they were staring into another dimension. Lauren's skin crawled as she realized that they were not breathing. She tried to scream, but her voice was caught in her throat.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and went out. The darkness was absolute, and Lauren was plunged into a world of terror. She heard footsteps, heavy and deliberate, coming from the living room. They were slow and measured, as if whatever was making them was savoring the fear it was inspiring.

Lauren tried to run, but her legs were frozen in place. She was trapped, unable to move or speak. The footsteps grew louder, closer, until they stopped right behind her. She felt a cold breath on the back of her neck, and a voice whispered in her ear: "Welcome to the new world."

Lauren's world went black.

When Ian finally got through to Lauren's phone, he was met with an eerie silence. He called out her name, but there was no response. He tried calling again and again, but the only sound was the distant hum of static. As the days went by, Ian grew more and more desperate. He tried contacting their friends, but no one seemed to know what had happened to Lauren. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.

Ian's obsession with finding Lauren led him down a dangerous path. He began to explore the abandoned streets, searching for any sign of her. But the world was a twisted and sinister place now, full of creatures that lurked in the shadows. One night, as Ian was wandering through the deserted streets, he stumbled upon a figure in the distance. It was Lauren, or at least, it looked like her. She was standing in the middle of the road, her eyes vacant and her skin pale.

Ian rushed towards her, calling out her name. But as he got closer, he realized that something was off. Lauren's eyes seemed to be staring right through him, and her skin was deathly cold to the touch.

Suddenly, she spoke in a voice that was not her own. "Ian, I've been waiting for you."

Ian's blood ran cold as Lauren's eyes turned black as coal. He tried to run, but it was too late. She reached out and grabbed him, pulling him into a world of darkness. The last thing Ian saw was the black sky, and the sound of Lauren's laughter echoing in his ears.

As the world descended into chaos, the creatures that lurked in the shadows began to emerge. They roamed the streets, preying on the living. The darkness had consumed most people, and the world was forever changed. As for the scientists who had been trying to find a solution to the black sky, they were never heard from again. Some say they were consumed by the very phenomenon they were trying to study. Others say they were silenced by the creatures that lurked in the shadows. 

The only thing left that we know is Ian had been left floating in a black abyss having a vision of returning to earth to save humanity, He was the last one standing… 

Well floating..