Only human left?

It's so quiet this morning, almost like the house has been wrapped in cotton wool. Even the seagulls are silent. I quite like it. Once I'm done getting ready for work I step outside and feel the hairs on the back of my neck slowly rise to attention as I realize that it's still silent. Like it was at times during the pandemic. Like a graveyard.

Resisting the urge to go back inside and hide under my blanket, I step onto the pavement and head along the road, glancing over my shoulder after every step as a tiny, niggling part of my brains begins to insist that I'm being watched. But the world around me is still silent, still empty.

Something's wrong. I've got to get into town. There should be cars roaring past, people stumbling and shuffling out of their doors, birds singing their morning greetings, but there's still nothing, even as I walk onto Walter Road.

"Meow, meow."

"Huh?" I look around and finally spot a small basket that's fallen onto it's side. There's a ginger cat in there. Why would somebody abandon their cat here? Unless... no, I'm just being paranoid, I tell myself as I scoop the cat out of the basket and cuddle it close. "I don't suppose you know where everyone's gone?" I ask the cat as we carry on into town. There's still no one around, and I still feel like I'm being watched.

I quicken my pace, running through town, through the Quadrent and into the bus station. It's empty. The shops are open, the buses are there, and there's not a person in sight. I don't think I'm being paranoid anymore. Maybe I really am the only person left in the world.

Published 17th of September 2023