Chapter Text
After the scientists had disclosed their findings to a waiting world, the world responded. By going mad. Riots, suicides and mayhem filled the news media both written and visual. Everyone was running scared. And there was no way to fix or stop the problem. It was way too late. Rioting, looting, vandalism of every kind. Schools shut down releasing kids and teens into the equation. Cults and end-of-the-world survivalists came out of the woodwork. It was a mess.
The reason for this insanity was both simple and very complex. For centuries, people have vanished without a trace off the face of the earth. Now, some had left society and hid themselves away, others fell afoul of natural disasters. Then there are the inexplicable vanishings. The Mary Celeste for one. Amelia Earhardt for another. These took place on or over the oceans and skeptics just dismissed them as hoaxes or tragic accidents. Then came the very public vanishing of a schoolbus full of children in the middle of downtown New York.
It was pandamonium. The parents were hysterical with fear and grief. Some couldn't understand what they had seen and begged whomsoever had abducted the children to '' please, please return them'' on the news media, who painted them as going crazy with grief. Then another public disappearance occured. Then another. The governments of the world put together a team of scientists to find out what was going on. After weeks of research, they came out with the theory that our reality was breaking down, and that as it did, more people and animals were going to disappear, and they didn't know where the vanished ended up. Or if they were still alive. This is what lead to the insanity in the world I mentioned.
At the time of this spate of madness, I was living far from the centers of 'civillization', and very far from my family, as far flung as they were. I had retreated there five years ago in an effort to calm and clear my mind from the press of so many emotions and, though I love my family, sometimes it was easier to distance myself from them. The ironic thing is that when living in close contact with them, there was always a rather nasty friction. This far away, and we got on better than a hippo in water. I love them, but they were Christian and 'normal', while I was Pagan and an empath. It is the right path for me, but the older generation and the few Catholic members were always trying to 'return me to God' and wouldn't listen when I explained that I hadn't turned fom Him, but also embraced Her. Ces't la Vie.
When this news came out, there were conference calls on the phone and internet. We always signed off with declarations of love. When the phonelines died and the net crashed, that was all I had to keep me warm at night as I prayed for their safety and sanity. I knew that unless things changed, I would never see or hear from them again. It hurt alot more than I had ever known or thought it would.
The community I lived in was made up of mainly Native Americans, and the rest of us were a mixed bag of outsiders, Caucasian, Asian, then African/African American. I worked at the main grocery store as a night shift Supervisor in the gas bar. I lived alone but for my long haired black cat, Mischka. I had had a dog for a while, but she escaped her leash and vanished into the wilderness. As did the majority of the families who had lived in the small town. Those that stayed did so either out of a sense of 'safety in numbers' or were very adverse to the idea of living in the bush. With the breakdown of society, there were soon no more delivery trucks and we had to figure out a way to live. I had been taught how to hunt with a bow and arrow, and what plants were good for eating - so I was often out in the bush around town, bringing in squirrels, rabbits and ptarmigan and once, I took out a deer.
I kept Mischka with me at all times. I didn't want to come home to find her vanished, or for me to leave her behind. Besides, she'd proven her weight in gold when she scared off a grizzly bear when I had been cleaning and dressing some rabbits and it had wandered into the clearing. Then again, my little cat has an attitude so I wasn't all that surprised when she fluffed up and flew at the bear. I was in awe at how she routed the beast and had it running scared. I never left her behind.
That particular winter, there had been sightings of wolves near the town. The few trappers had set their traps, and I and the other two hunters went in three different directions to see if we could shoo the pack away, or barring that, kill enough to make them leave. I wore my oldest clothes covered in a thick hooded coat I'd made from the furs of the rabbits and squirrels. I carried more weapons than my bow - twin katanas rested on my back, and in my boot I carried one of those huge Winchester knives. My quiver sat at my hip and the pouch I made to carry my cat rested at the small of my back, under the fur coat.
It was bitingly cold even under all my layers. No wind blew to make it worse. The snow was hip-deep in places and in others, barely a dusting covered the ground. I walked as quietly as I could, my scarf up over my nose and the hood up and secured. My hands were aching a little as I had to wear fingerless gloves in order to pull the string and notch arrows. I moved as quietly as I knew how. A part of me was thinking of how to convince everyone that we should move south to escape the freezing temperatures, when Mischka suddenly squirmed in agitation, a shriek tearing through the air...
next thing I knew I was staring into startled, dark green eyes. The overwhelming heat hit me and I felt myself collapse into oblivion.