Moon Light

I woke up suddenly in a cold sweat, shooting straight up in bed with my heart still racing from my nightmare. I look around my bedroom and it is dark, so I assume it is the middle of the night. I slowly make my way into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water, only to realize my fridge light is out. I turn around and flick the kitchen light on, but the room remains dark. The power is out. I step onto the back porch to look for the glow from streetlights. I realize the only light source is the moon light.

Barefoot, I walk onto my back porch in a soft ruby-red robe and sit down on the back steps to look at the moon. I sit there in the peace and quiet for a few minutes, but something feels off. I check the time on my watch, it's 3:00 am. It is too early to wake up. I stand back up and go inside, grab a glass of water as I had originally intended, and head back to bed. Rain sounds playing in throughout my bedroom speakers to help me back to sleep.

Waking up again, I felt more rested. I wandered into the kitchen to find coffee. The kitchen is still dark. I remember that the power was out earlier, but the sun should be rising by now. I check my time on my watch again- 3:00 am. No time has passed.

Staring at my watch in disbelief, I suspect that I must not have fallen back asleep. Or maybe I had dreamt waking up earlier. I once again wander to the back porch, and see no light source other than the moon light. I sit down on the steps and decided to listen for a minute. Silence. Everything is still, dark, and silent. I grab my cell phone from its charger to find it is out of service. No signal, no Wi-Fi. Nothing.

The disbelief begins turning into full blown fear. Loneliness sinks in. I rush back into my house, into my room, and open the top dresser drawer. Grabbing my heart-shaped locket that my dad had given me, and I place it around my neck. It helps me feel grounded. I go to the front door and grab my car keys from the shelf to investigate the outside world.

I start my car, flick my headlights on, and roll out of the drive-way ready to find answers. Every where is dark and silent. I begin driving towards my parents’ house. Maybe they are home, maybe they know what's going on. Maybe I’m losing my mind. I pull up in the driveway, and see their car is home. I park, grab my keys, and let myself into the house. "HELLO?!" I yell coming into the side door. Silence. Normally it takes a good 10 seconds before two little dogs come running, very excited for company. Not this time.

I begin walking around the house, investigating. I come to find that nobody is home. I can't find my mom, my dad, my sister, or the dogs. I am suddenly flooded with my worst fear. Did something happen?

I head back out to my car, now determined to find any body. The moon light is still covering the sky as if no time has passed. I begin to drive towards the city’s dark downtown. There are always people in that area. I drive along our dark one-way streets, looking for any signs of life. As I am driving along, I come across a man sitting at a dimly lit, desk sized wooden table on the side of the road. I immediately put my car in park, and bolt out of my car towards this man.

"Hi! Hello! Hi!" I yell as I am running towards him. As I approach him, I see that he has short dark brown hair, a healthy build, and good color in his face. Dressed nice. Probably in his forties. "Hi, Autumn,” he says as I quickly approach the table. I frantically ask him, "What is happening?" He stares at me blankly, "Autumn, do you have the locket?" I look at him and just manage to studder, "I-I do, how do you know about my locket?" I can feel my anxiety rushing through me. My skin is getting clammy, I am shaking, scared, confused, and desperate for answers. I don’t understand what is happening.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way, Autumn," he begins. I stare at him completely wide-eyed and in total fear. He continues, "You weren't supposed to make it. The earth experienced a large unknown flash at 2:55am that wiped the world clean of the entire global population. A fresh start." I can feel my eyes twitching, "A fresh start?" I ask, "what does that even mean?" He continues looking at me and calmly explains, "I am not from here, well, technically. I am from the next realm. I was sent to find you and bring you home…. your locket?" he nodded towards my locket around my neck. I nod slowly, still absolutely in shock. "You are to follow that light. You are in the in-between. The earth is merely a shell now. It has been used and abused past its capacity. Follow the moon light… your locket will guide you, as it already has been," He calmly stands up from his table and walks away. I watch him leaving, in complete shock, as he walks towards the moon light. He disappears in thin air. Fearfully, I follow his footsteps. I have nothing to lose. As I approach the moon that never seems to get closer, I feel its energy. I grab hold of my heart shape locket for strength, and I feel myself disappear into the moon light.

I woke up suddenly in a cold sweat, shooting straight up in bed with my heart still racing from my nightmare. I look around my bedroom and it is dark, so I assume it is the middle of the night. I slowly make my way into the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water, only to realize that I have been here before. I look down and check the time on my watch- it is 2:54am. Everything that I had just experienced floods back over me. I take a deep breath, open my back door, and go sit on the back steps. A blinding flash of light covers the entire sky, I grab my locket and close my eyes. I see the biggest, most beautiful moon light… then everything goes black.