Port Azul, Florida.
It was 2 in the morning, but the city was wide awake, as evidenced by the warm hues of orange and gold glowing from the windows of towering high-rises.
Their radiance cut through the lingering chill of the midwinter night, painting the cityscape in a dazzling display of light.
Yet, for all their brilliance, they did nothing to dispel the gloom weighing down on the hearts of Floridians who had come to know about the ongoing disaster from various sources.
In the same city, inside a two-bedroom house next to a construction site, a young man sat on a white sofa.
One of his arms was draped over the backrest, while the other rested on his lap.
Opposite him, a wall-mounted TV broadcasted a terrible news.
Looking at what was displayed, the young man couldn't help but exhale slowly.
"Even the President got swept away. Looks like everything I gathered from the internet in the last half an hour is true. In the face of this unprecedented disaster, no one is safe. Anyone could disappear at any moment. It could be us or someone we know next."
Beside the young man, a petite woman with fair skin and exotic features sat with her legs crossed. She opened her little mouth and said,
"Kev, when you woke me up in the dead of night and told me people are mysteriously disappearing, I thought you were playing a sick prank on me. But now, watching the President disappear into thin air on live TV with my own eyes, I realized I was stupid to doubt you. Everything you have said is true."
"The world I knew and grew up in ended in my sleep. In its place, there's this new, sickening reality where people can lose anything or everything, including themselves, at any time without being given the chance to resist. For the first time in my life, things were finally starting to look good for me. But this happened. This is so damn unbearable."
Tears slid down her beautiful face as she finished speaking, making her look as pitiful as a cat abandoned by its owner.
Kev was not good at dealing with people. But he wasn't entirely hopeless either.
"Need a shoulder to cry on, Lena? I can lend you mine."
She aroused his pity, and so he uttered some words of comfort to appease her.
Lena nodded and buried herself in his chest, sobbing miserably.
She was Kev's housemate and the campus belle.
Her reputation was well deserved.
She had a small and oval-shaped, which was as delicate and mesmerizing as a flower kissed by the morning dew. Her long, feathery lashes framed her deep blue eyes like the strokes of an artist's finest brush, and her hair—rich, luscious curls of chestnut brown—cascaded down to her waist like a bouquet of roses. The rich tones of her healthy hair perfectly complemented her fair skin, adding a warm elegance to her already radiant beauty.
Her figure was nothing to scoff at either. Though short in stature, she possessed a soft and curvy figure, radiating youthful vibrance with an undeniable sensuality, and her personality wasn't bad either.
Anyone who spent time with her would liken her to a breath of fresh air. She was, after all, gentle, considerate, and effortlessly pleasant to be around.
Compared to her, Kev, who lacked conventional attractiveness and had a blunt, no-nonsense personality, appeared as plain as a rock.
Had it not been for a series of coincidences, they would have never ended up living under the same roof.
"You know," Kev said.
Lena raised her head to look at him signalling him to continue.
"Reality's cruel. It doesn't cater to the mournful cries of those who suffer beneath its weight. But that's all the more reason why we shouldn't let ourselves be overcome with despair in times of hardship. Instead of despairing, we need to stand up and fight against fate to take control of our life.
"Cry as much as you want now. Let your emotions out. I am here for you. But don't feel depressed after that. Facing hardship with a positive and strong mindset will do you wonder."
Kev patted her head gently. Her hair was quite soft.
Lena nodded, feeling encouraged upon hearing his words.
She raised her head and, while looking at his chiseled face, she asked, "Your investigation started when the disaster began, right? What did you find?"
The Vanishing was a disaster of such an unprecedented scale that both state-owned and private media were covering it.
In less than an hour, countless people across the world had already become aware of the fact that humans were mysteriously and rapidly disappearing from Earth.
Although, billions of people remained completely ignorant of the fact that any moment could be their last on Earth despite the efforts made by countless individuals and agencies who were spreading the news about the deadliest disaster to ever strike humanity because the means of communication of the human race were simply not advanced enough, Kev wasn't one of them.
In fact, he was among the first few to know about it.
He had started his investigation right after learning about it.
Since then, around half an hour has passed.
In that time, he had gathered a vast amount of data about the Vanishing from the web, absorbing every detail into his mind.
It hadn't proven immensely useful, but it had clarified certain things.
Lena knew about that fact so she asked him such a question.
Kev's expression was unreadable as he said, "I made four unquestionable discoveries."
"Please list them out for me," Lena said while looking at him like a puppy begging for a treat. He couldn't bring himself to say no to such a look from her.
"Firstly, there's no way to outsmart or outrun the Vanishing. Its pattern is chaotic. There's no clear cause, no warning, no way to predict who will wind up dissapearing all of a sudden. And it can occur in multiple locations at the same time."
"Secondly, there's no way to hide or escape from it. It can strike anywhere on or off Earth. From sprawling capitals and small towns to underground bunkers and even space stations, there's no safe place left for us human to escape this disaster. Internet users had shared clips of wealthy elites vanishing from their heavily fortified shelters. And I've personally witnessed an astronaut disappear into thin air from the International Space Station on a livestream."
"Thirdly, even immense luck isn't enough to survive it. It can strike the same place multiple times. Even if you manage to escape the first time by chance, it doesn't mean you're safe. It could come back for you at any moment. Our president wasn't expressing helplessness for no reason." Kev paused to take a breather.
"You said you made four big discoveries, but that only makes three. Where's the fourth?" Lena asked.
"I was about to share it." Kev replied, "It's really intriguing, so listen well."